[SOLEX]

You may have seen some attractive adverts on the various ESL sites promoting the opportunity of teaching online. I saw an ad posted by TutorABC and it looked like a really great chance of working from home with flexible hours. But my experience has been less than encouraging and so I thought I'd share my recent online teaching experience with TutorABC who are based in Taiwan.

I completed scores and scores of sessions with TutorABC and so I know their system and there methods very well.

Things you should know,- firstly, the widely promoted rate of pay indicated as being an average of $630USD per month for 45 hours ($14 per hour) is totally false. I believe that it’s deliberately misleading. The most I ever averaged with them was just over $10.50 per hour,- and that was by working very hard and by being able to attain some session bonus payments. At first I thought that I could get the average up to $12 or $13 per hour, but after some very consistent performance I realized that it was completely impossible for even the very best of consultants to crack the $1.50 average session bonus on a regular basis. Their base rate is set at $10 per hour if you’re a white Caucasian ‘English as first language’ instructor, but otherwise you’ll be on a lower rate. Many of their consultants are Filipino that are on $5 to $6 per hour because TutorABC know that they can get away with paying that to them. I know that some Filipino instructors speak excellent and very fluent American English, and many of them are really excellent instructors,- but the fact is that generally they don’t command as high fees as native American or English speakers and unfortunately this is a fact that’s rorted by TutorABC.
TutorABC have a bonus system that pays up to $1 per student per session provided that the student leaves a bonus score of ‘10’ (on a scale of 1 to 10) 75cents for a ‘9’and 50cents for an ‘8’. They say that with an average of 3 to 4 students per session you can earn $3 to $4 bonus,- but in reality what happens is that 30% to 40% of students fail to leave any score at all, and then others will leave a ‘5’ or a ‘6’ which brings your overall session average back down to a ‘7’ for which there is zero bonus paid for that session. Even worse though is when the average score gets rounded down to a ‘6’ for which there is a deduction of $1.50 made to the session,- and that’s for each student in the session, so if you just worked your tail off teaching 4 students then you’ll get handsomely rewarded with a $6 debit against the session resulting in a $4 earn. That’s how they keep the payment average per session down to a minimum and the poor old consultant ends up chasing its tail trying to stay above an average of $10.50 per session for the month.
Their system of lesson delivery is quite streamlined with the use of PPT presentations for the consultant to walk the students through. Some of those lesson plans are quite good but most of them really suck and lack any pedagogical structure or uniformity and there are numerous spelling and atrocious grammatical errors as it appears that most of the material is put together by Taiwanese graduates of English. The sessions that have more than three students per session are a joke and that practice should be stopped because it means that one or more of the students feels left out or can’t keep up and that just reduces the overall session experience for all and results in frustration for the teacher and low scoring bonus points from the students. I did many sessions in which there were 4, 5 and 6 students per session and they were a complete farce. Those sessions are mostly fraught with problems and end up in either zero bonus or a deduction to the consultants base rate,- it totally sucks! And added to the frustration is the fact that with several students in a session the sound quality reduces to the point where you can hardly hear the students for sound drop out and interference and video failure,- when that happens you can virtually guarantee a low score!

Their online I.T. support is a joke and it seems that whenever there’s a problem then I.T. can’t fix it or they mysteriously disappear of screen and then later blame the consultant’s bandwidth or make some other lame excuse but they'll never take any of the blame themselves or admit error.
If that’s not enough, when it comes to payment time you may end up chasing them for a week to get paid whilst they make excuses about some Paypal glitch with your account (which is always YOUR fault) and then they’ll remove 20% tax which they insist is required by law under ROC taxation rules. This in fact is a complete sham as they are paying service providers located overseas in a foreign currency ($USD) and the consultant is not a resident of Taiwan (and never will be). Everyone knows that whatever income you place into a banking account of the country of you own residence is subject to taxation from that country. I suspect some kind of rort in which they’re pocketing an extra 20% margin from casual consultants that generally will come and go every month or two via the revolving door that appears to operate at TutorABC,- this explains their constant efforts to recruit new unsuspecting recruits into their fold.

So, if you’re happy to work your tail off online for around $10.50 per hour (if your lucky) less 20% ripp-off tax (now your down to $8.40 per hour which you’ll be taxed against in your own country) then go ahead and be my guest. But my suggestion to you is that you can spend your time far more productively elsewhere and also keep your sanity and blood pressure levels in check!

[Denis DNT]

Mmmmm! online teaching! It's harder than we think at first sight but I am putting up with it. I am into my 4th month now. Not the same company though. I am paid weekly no monthly.

[mesmark]

Interesting. I was curious what on-line teaching was really like.

Denis, has your experience been better?

[SOLEX]

Thanks for your comment Denis, I'm glad that your experience is paying dividends and that you've been able to stick with it. I agree that the experience is always different from the original concept, and I also agree that it can be enjoyable and rewarding. I'll certainly continue to give online lessons but I'll be very cautious as to the associations that I may form with any respective service providers. I think that freelance online teaching will become more poplar, and I am already doing a little of that now although the marketing is a little difficult. I'm curious as to which company you're having success with Denis?. Getting paid weekly is great,..the way to go if you can get it.

[Denis DNT]

I do my own freelance online teaching mostly to my former students in Beijing. PM me if you are interested or check it out on my website directly. That's the best because your former students know your style and are used to your accent. They stick to you because there is a high degree of confidence. The handicap with one's former students is that they don't pay well. They consider you more as a friend than a teacher.

Regarding the online teaching companies. I have known two of them. The first was just ****. The second - the one I am working with now is cool. The pay is really low, below standards, but very regular. He pays at midnight on Sundays through PayPal or ATM transfer. I was complaining about the pay but when I found out how much he charges students I realised he wasn't making much for himself. (PM me if interested and I will connect you).

To me online teaching is not so much about the money. To me it is a kind of tourism. I can't say the value of what I have learnt from over 40 online students from different cities in china (Shenzhen, Gzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan, etc). All of them would tell you what's special about their home town and everything else. In fact, sometimes you feel like you are being paid to listen to someone talk.

Common problems:
1. Students with very low level: You talk all along alone and typing at the same time.
2. Female students trying to date you. (More than five have tried with me). If they like your lessons they'd start to bring a twist into the teacher - student relationship.
3. Irregularity: They come online, have a few lessons with you and disappear for two weeks, resurface another day and expect you to continue. I keep a note book in which I keep track of who has had what lesson with me and when.
4. Poor sound quality. I teach using skype. It's the best so far but the sound quality is often having problems late at night when there are over 10million users on line. MSN is a good alternative too.

Anyone who can put up with these common problems + the low pay can handle online teaching. And yes, it's really becoming popular. It saves time and money.

[SOLEX]

Quote Denis DNT

To me online teaching is not so much about the money. To me it is a kind of tourism. I can't say the value of what I have learnt from over 40 online students from different cities in china (Shenzhen, Gzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan, etc). All of them would tell you what's special about their home town and everything else. In fact, sometimes you feel like you are being paid to listen to someone talk.

Common problems:
1. Students with very low level: You talk all along alone and typing at the same time.
2. Female students trying to date you. (More than five have tried with me). If they like your lessons they'd start to bring a twist into the teacher - student relationship.
3. Irregularity: They come online, have a few lessons with you and disappear for two weeks, resurface another day and expect you to continue. I keep a note book in which I keep track of who has had what lesson with me and when.
4. Poor sound quality. I teach using skype. It's the best so far but the sound quality is often having problems late at night when there are over 10million users on line. MSN is a good alternative too.

Anyone who can put up with these common problems + the low pay can handle online teaching. And yes, it's really becoming popular. It saves time and money.

Hi Dennis, I can totally relate to what you're saying about the "kind of tourism" aspect of online teaching. I've encountered some truly delightful students that have taken pride in giving the "guided tour" not only from a sightseeing perspective but also a socio-political perspective which has been very interesting and somewhat entertaining,- all within the framework of an online lesson!
I also was having a giggle about the "common problems" yuo outlined including that of your current students (the live classroom ones) presenting as the most interested prospects but not the best paying due to the familiarity factor. Yes, I think its kinda cute when some of the very lovely and charming female students turn on the charm and try and position themselves as potential candidates for relationships of a closer kind. That's the point at which I usually emphasise the fact that I'm happily married,- but none the less I tend to think some of them continue with the fantasy in their own unoffensive and harmless sweet way.
I briefly checked out your site and it looks great man. I'll revisit again when I have more time and I'll definitely PM you within the next couple of days. Thanks for the tips and the moral support,..much appreciated!

[Denis DNT]

You are welcome to PM at anytime or send me an email.
Peace.

[edeldonlon]

I have been thinking of doing some online teaching for a while but didnt know what company would be good to go with. I am currently living in Japan teaching english. Any ideas on what company is best?

[SOLEX]

edeldonlon, some worthwhile avenues to pursue would be ::: Teacher James ::: Learn English online by watching FREE video English lessons from YouTube (and meet some live English teachers too). Learn English grammar, English vocabulary, English pronunciation, and English comprehension (listening) by watching YouTube English le English Lessons Online With a Qualified TEFL Teacher
Try contacting them and you should be able to get some work for sure.