Online ESL with Teacher Bell

Bookings, Bookings, Bookings! Bookings are GOLD! On Palfish you need to market yourself to get them... so how do you do it? Here is my experience... Your Profile When you first get on to Palfish you have the opportunity to set up a profile - This includes a profile picture. Other pictures, a voice intro and a text intro. THIS is what parents will see when they are searching through profiles to pick a teacher. Make it good! Be enthusiastic and friendly in your voice introduction. Use dot points and emoji's in your text introduction. Let them know about you! Share your interests. Use quality photos! You can always edit and improve your profile - so once you are set up - find some teacher's with lots of hours - look at their profiles and get some ideas!  Followers Some Palfishers (yep that's what we're called), don't see this as important. I totally disagree! Having more followers will get you seen more, and when you are seen parents will see that y

Pal what? Palfish! Ah now you get my fish reference last post 😂 Palfish is my backup - and for a back up it's pretty amazing! You are going to want to read on... What is Palfish? Basically Palfish is an app. You won't find a website if you search for it on the interwebs (I tried) you need to download the app. on your device. It looks like this: That's right you DON'T need a computer - or an Ethernet cable. You just need a device and good wifi or data. SO portable! Palfish uses a device because it utilises AR filters to enhance its lessons. (More on those later). Also you DON'T NEED A DEGREE! Yup you heard right. I have a degree... they wouldn't accept it. They only accept degrees with numbers on them... I don't know if mine has a number 🤷 but i'm not taking it out of it's million dollar frame to find out!! I'm literally teaching and earning money on an app., on my phone, using a Groupon 120 hour TESOL certifica

Here's a few home truths about the Online ESL world... First... NOTHING IS GUARANTEED! Now that's ok for me! I'm fine to NOT work - sure I enjoy the extra income and the fulfilment I get from teaching but I don't rely on it. Some people do... People do this full time! THIS is it! This is what their mortgage or rent payments are relying on! ...and THAT is why you should always have a back up plan. Here are some more tips: If you already have steady employment DON'T QUIT YET! Building bookings in the online teaching world can take time!! If you can do both for a while - do it! Teaching Chinese kids is seasonal- There is a high up take in extra classes during July/August things will get very quiet around Chinese New Year. The ups and downs of the market are part of the job - ride with it. Many experienced teachers refer to the 'revolving door' nature of the industry. If you miss or cancel classes or don't put in the effort you WILL be

I passed my evaluation class back at the end of May. SayABC is a company that books classes for you. You open the slots you would like to work and they fill them. There are THREE types of classes you might teach at SayABC: Trial Homeroom Standby Here is my experience with each: 1. Trial: When you first open your slots it is likely that you will be assigned trials to begin with. When I got approved I already had a preplanned week in Tasmania where I wouldn't be able to teach.  Basically I had a week where I could teach - and a week off. The big thing with Say (That's what the pros call it) is opening as many times that you can teach as possible. (More on that in point 2. Homerooms.) But basically because I had a break in the schedule where I couldn't teach I was only assigned a couple of trials - One in my first week and One in the week I got back from holidays.  Trials are paid at your base rate $13-$15USD. They are for parents that are tryin

As i've said before - this is my opinion taken from my own experience (Limited as it is thus far). SayABC was my first experience with the online teaching world! I've been with them now for two months. Here are my thoughts on getting the job... The first thing I did before taking the big plunge and signing up on the SayABC website was a LOT of googling ... and a LOT of You tubing! There are so many WAY more experienced teachers that have done amazing work that you can check out. Then I hit the shops...No! not for a new wardrobe (although that would have been nice). You will need a headset to teach and I didn't have one - I got this one from JB-HIFI. I also hit Facebook Marketplace and gumtree to look for a puppet - specifically one with a mouth that moves! These are much harder to find then you would think (and I live in Sydney!). I ended up getting a whole bag of puppets for $20 on Marketplace. They needed a good wash but they are fine! I also found this c

If you're anything like me...then when you first hear about the concept of teaching kids online you probably have more than a few questions on how that works. Based on my experience i've compiled a list of Q & A's for you to peruse. (Disclaimer: I am a self contractor that works for the companies mentioned in this blog. I have no authority to speak on behalf of those companies and all the views expressed in this post are my own.) Do I have to speak Chinese? No. I do not speak a lick of Chinese - and neither do most of my online colleagues - however you will pick up some basics as you teach- these kids LOVE to share! Is it a scam? Will I actually get paid? No. It's not a scam. There is a WHOLE WORLD of online teaching opportunities awaiting those that look. Each of them employ thousands (not joking, it's heaps) of teachers. All of these teachers attest to the ups and downs of the online teaching world, and they all get paid. Legitimately!

I guess this journey started back in May (around the same time that Disney re-released Aladdin), when a simple conversation with my nephew revealed ' A whole new world' (I hope you're singing as you read that! But first a little of my background. I have 10 years experience teaching in 'Brick and Mortar' classrooms (That's what the 'Online Folk' call them). I taught every grade in that time from Kindergarten (Pre-school depending on the state) to grade 10. In the latter part of those years I worked in school leadership, and studied to add a Masters of Education to my Bachelor of Education degree. Needless to say I have a passion for Education, I know, I know, such a cliche right? but it's true... I will talk anyone's ear off about the achievements and pitfalls of the current education system. Or debate at length things that REALLY matter in the classroom. At the end of 2011 I married my Husband and 6 years ago our world was turned u