The IDEAL Online English as a Second Language Teacher

by Jillian Zavitz

Being the Programs Manager for TalktoCanada.com, I am always on the look out for that perfect teacher.  Unfortunately they are actually few and far between.  Working online isn’t an easy job… you can’t just “wing it” you are “on” for the entire time that you are teaching.  It takes energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to be successful in this field.  Plus the students need to be comfortable with you, and you need to be confident in your teaching.

Personality plays a HUGE role in online teaching.  It’s basically hit or miss.  If you have a great outgoing personality usually the students will love you.  If you are shy and quiet and not that exciting, well mostly likely the students will not be too impressed with you.  In an interview – usually within the first 2 minutes I can tell if you will be suitable for the job.  Do you give me one word answers? Or go into details and give examples and ask questions and not have awkward lulls in the conversation?

Some people think that because they don’t have direct teaching experience they are not qualified for the position.  Yes and no.  People who don’t have official teaching experience but have experience facilitating groups or tutoring individuals can also be considered for the position.  Just because someone spent a year teaching in Korea doesn’t necessarily make them more qualified.

On top of all of the regular “WOW” teacher qualities you also need to be quick with technology (no you don’t need to know the ins and outs of programming) but being comfortable with basic functions and picking things up quickly and without much guidance is essential.

I’m always looking for people who are flexible with their schedules.  Teaching online is not really a 9-5 type job.  Rather it’s an “all the time because we teach in different time zones” type job.  I understand that working in the middle of the night doesn’t appeal to everyone but our middle of the night is someone else’s morning – which is usually when corporate clients take their lessons.

Teachers who are demanding, complain about every minor detail, or just don’t work as a “team player” (yes, although we are all located in different areas – we are still a team) are not teachers who will succeed in this field.  Teaching online is a very independent thing and as an online teacher you need to be able to fix problems yourself, make decisions, and really facilitate your students learning.  Managers are always available for support – but ideally you should be able to manage things on your own.

Finally the ideal online teacher is someone who is really there for the students.  They love the job and give you positive updates about their students’ progress.  They understand that although it is online – it is no different from any other job – it is a REAL job, and treat it as such.

Being the ideal teacher is hard work… but the rewards definitely make it worthwhile!