11 Companies Where You Can Teach English Online to Adults

Teaching English online does not have to be for teaching children only. Empowering adults through language learning is just as rewarding an endeavor. Let's delve into the top 11 online platforms where you can teach English to adults and business English too.

How to Teach English to Adults Online

To teach English to adults online, begin by acquiring a TEFL certification. Next, explore reputable online platforms like Preply, italky, and Cambly, offering flexible teaching opportunities. Tailor lessons to adult learners' needs, focusing on practical vocabulary, workplace scenarios, and conversation skills. Employ engaging resources, such as podcasts, news articles, and role-playing activities, to enhance their learning experience.

Let's take a closer look at how and where to teach English to adults online below:

What Qualifications Do I Need to Teach English to Adults Online?

To teach ESL to adults online, you will typically be required to have the following qualifications:

• Possess a TEFL Certification

• Have a Bachelor's Degree

• Have Teaching Experience

• Be a Native English Speaker or Proficient in the English Language 

What does this mean in detail? Let's take a look:

Possess a TEFL Certification

A TEFL certification is usually required if you want to teach English online to adults. At the minimum, employers will want to see that you've completed a 120-hour TEFL certification course that includes some sort of live practice teaching component. Bonus points for if you take an additional specialized course in Teaching English Online like ITA's 30-Hour Teaching English Online Specialty Class or Teaching Business English Course that you can take during or after your standard TEFL certification course. 

Have a Bachelor's Degree

A bachelor's degree in any field is typically (but not always) required to teach ESL to adults online. Each online company will have different requirements and while it is possible to find companies that hire teachers without a bachelor's degree, it can be more challenging. 

Have Teaching Experience

Although not always required, having teaching experience will greatly improve your chances of landing a job teaching ESL to adults online.

Be a Native English Speaker or Proficient in the English Language 

While a majority of online ESL platforms will specifically require you to be a native English speaker from the main seven English-speaking countries (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa), it is important to note that this isn't always the case. Some job platforms for teaching English online to adults will just require you to prove that you are fluent in English (C2-level proficiency qualification)and have the professional qualifications to back it up. 

Read more: The requirements to teach English online

Where Can I Teach English to Adults Online?

There are several companies where you can teach ESL (English as a Second Language) online to adults instead of children. While it may seem that many online ESL teaching jobs cater only to students under the age of 12, there are platforms available that offer jobs for teaching ESL online to adults from all around the world, including:

Watch ITA alumnus Raymond Smith discuss his experience teaching English online to adults from Cambodia:

1. English First (EF)

With English First, you will be teaching adults from around the world who want to progress in their careers, gain a place at university, or achieve a personal goal. Whatever their motivation, EF students have one thing in common, they all want to practice with an enthusiastic and fully fluent English speaker.

English First Teacher Requirements:

• You must be a fully fluent English speaker (C2 level) or a native English speaker.
• Educated to degree level (a bachelor’s degree in any field is required)
• TEFL certification. You will be teaching English to foreign students, and EF wants to make sure they employ highly qualified teachers to lead lessons for adult learners.
• Computer literate – you’ll need to be comfortable teaching solely online.
• High-speed internet with an ethernet cable connection.
• Previous teaching experience is a bonus, but not necessary

English First Hours:

• Choose your teaching hours.
• Teach throughout the day.

English First Class Structure:

• There are three class options: 20 and 40-minute private lessons, and 45-minute group classes. 
• A typical lesson will include introductions, a review of the in-class lesson the student just partook in, as well as an application activity and a wrap-up at the end.
• Expert teaching materials including lesson plans provided as an additional optional resource for you.
• There may also be opportunities for you to prepare specific lesson content depending on student requests.

English First Pay:

• $12-19/hour compensation (dependent on experience and qualifications).

Apply:

• You can apply to teach English online to adults with EF on their site.

2. Learnlight

Learnlight connects you with culturally diverse and highly motivated business professionals in a variety of sectors from over 100 countries to teach Business English. They provide you with straightforward calendar management to help you coordinate time zones for worry-free scheduling on the go. 

Learnlight Teacher Requirements:

• A foreign language teaching qualification (i.e. a TEFL certification).
• A minimum of two years’ language teaching experience.
• Proficiency in the language you will be teaching (English).
• At least 10Mbps speed internet connection.
• Laptop/Desktop computer, headset, and webcam.
• Preferred but not required: A background in business.

Learnlight Hours:

• You will need the ability to commit to a fixed schedule for a minimum of one year.

• A minimum of 10 hours per week of fixed availability during their prime times:
  06:00 -9:00 / 12:00 – 15:00 / 17:00 – 20:00 / 22:00 – 01:00 (UTC/GMT)

Learnlight Class Structure:

• Learnlight offers a range of programs from one-to-one sessions, virtual groups, and specialized skills courses to level assessments.
• You will have access to an extensive library of engaging and relevant materials to help you deliver top-quality sessions to your students.

Learnlight Pay:

• Earn $12 - $15 USD per hour.

Apply:

You can apply to tutor ESL online to adults with Learnlight on their site.

3. italki

italki is a global language learning community that connects students and teachers for one-on-one online language lessons. They claim to be the world's largest marketplace for online language teachers with students of all ages, from right around the world. 

italki Teacher Requirements:

• italki's 'Professional Teacher' role requires one of the following qualifications:

  • A TEFL certification from an accredited institution (120 hours minimum), OR
  • A university degree in teaching English as a foreign language, OR
  • A national or state English teaching license, OR
  • Proof of employment at an English language teaching institute.
    
    

  So as long as you have your TEFL certification, even without a university degree, you can apply for this role.

  italki also requires that teachers have native proficiency or C2 level in order to teach English.

italki Hours:

• Set your own schedule and availabilities.
• Teach as much or as little as you want.
• Students schedule lessons during your available times.

italki Class Structure:

• Classes are taught one-on-one.
• Students can be of any age, but most commonly will be adults.
• Students can be from anywhere around the world.

italki Pay:

• As an italki teacher, you set your own prices.
• The lowest price per lesson professional teachers can charge is $10 USD.
• Teachers usually offer a lower trial lesson price to attract new students.
• When a lesson is completed, iTalki charges a 15% commission fee based on the teacher's listed lesson price (so if you list your lesson price at $10, you will receive $8.50 and iTalki will take $1.50 in commission).
• italki does not charge a commission fee for trial lessons.

Apply:

You can apply to teach English online to adults with italki on their site.

4. SkimaTalk

SkimaTalk helps English learners find the best teachers from all over the world and offer a platform where anyone can start one-on-one online English classes. Unlike some of these marketplace platforms that offer classes in all different languages, SkimaTalk focuses exclusively on English-language learning. Students are from every corner of the world and the age of students can vary.

SkimaTalk Teacher Requirements:

• To apply to be a SkimaTalk teacher, you must be a native English speaker with American, British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and/or Irish/English dialects.
• Those whose native tongue is another language or dialect than those listed above will be asked to wait until SkimaTalk expands its teacher qualifications.
• Tutors must be 18 years of age or older.
• Prior teaching experience/training is preferred but not required.

SkimaTalk Hours:

• Set your own schedule.
• Work as many or as few hours as you choose. 

SkimaTalk Class Structure:

• Lessons are one-on-one - just the teacher and the student.
• Classes are 25-minutes in length.
• Teachers can be creative and use their own teaching materials and methods to be unique and stand out on the SkimaTalk platform.
• There are SkimaTalk courses available for you to use during a lesson, but you do not need to use these unless your student requests that you do.
• Students can be of any age, but most commonly will be adults.
• Students can be from anywhere around the world.

SkimaTalk Pay:

• New teachers are initially required to conduct 3 free sessions to understand how the system works and build up their reputation on the platform.
• After the three initial sessions are booked, the price will automatically change to $8/session (25 minutes).
• Once the system automatically sets your price at $8, you will be able to set your own price if you choose to do so.
• Whatever price you set, just remember that SkimaTalk charges a fee of 20% of the session price, less applicable PayPal / Stripe fees. The remaining 80% of the session cost (less applicable PayPal fees) gets passed directly to the teacher.

Apply:

You can apply to teach English online to adults with SkimaTalk on their site.

5. Cambly

The Cambly platform enables you to engage in short discussion sessions with students from around the world via webcam - no experience necessary.  

Cambly Teacher Requirements:

• Be a native-English speaker from a native-English speaking country: United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
• No bachelor’s degree or prior teaching experience is required.

Cambly Hours:

• As a Cambly tutor, you set your own hours.
• Work as little or as much as you want.
• You can log in whenever you have a free moment and start taking student calls within minutes.
• No minimum number of work hours is required.

Cambly Class Structure:

• Lessons are one-on-one - just the teacher and the student.
• Cambly provides guided courses, including academic test prep, business English, conversation practice, and more.
• Most students have already taken English courses and are looking for tutors to practice their conversations with. Other students are preparing for an exam (TOEFL, IELTS, etc.) and wish to go over grammar, speaking, or listening exercises.
• Students are usually adults and can be from anywhere around the world.
• You might chat with a university student from Brazil, a marketing professional from Japan, and an English enthusiast from Turkey all in one day.

Cambly Pay:

• Pay is $0.17 USD per minute ($10.20 USD per hour).
• Cambly automatically tracks the time you spend tutoring.
• Cambly delivers your earnings every Monday via PayPal. 

Apply:

You can apply to teach English online to adults with Cambly on their site.

6. Tutoring

Tutoring provides a platform for students and tutors to meet instantly, in one click. Tutors simply need to set their online status to ‘Stand By’ to be visible on the students’ app. Students will call tutors with their designated Topic Card.

Tutoring Teaching Requirements:

• Tutors must be native English speakers from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
• Experience teaching ESL online and/or offline.
• Hold a Bachelor's degree.
• Degree in teaching or in a specialized subject with a certificate in education.

Tutoring Hours:

• Classes are on-demand 24/7.
• Just switch your status to 'stand by' as soon as you are ready to get started so you can be visible to students in the app.
• A student will call you with their designated topic card when they are ready to begin their lesson.

Tutoring Class Structure:

• Classes are taught in a one-on-one environment.
• Students are based in Korea and their ages will range from elementary students to adults in their 50's and 60's. 

• Tutoring provides ‘Topic Cards’ to students to generate conversational starter topics between them and their teacher.

Tutoring Pay

• Pay is roughly $11 USD per hour.

Apply:

You can apply to teach English online to adults with Tutoring on their site.

7. Open English

Open English is the most renowned online English school in Latin America. Since 2007, they have helped more than 500,000 students reach language fluency. Different from on-site courses, overcrowded and with fixed schedules, Open English offers online, live classes 24x7.

Open English Teacher Requirements:

• Open English is looking for qualified EFL/ESL professionals who are native, North American English speakers to provide services as Academic Specialists.
• Candidates without a relevant degree must have a TEFL/TESOL certification and at least 1 year of EFL/ESL teaching experience.
• Spanish language skills are a plus.

Open English Hours:

• Open English is a great fit for those who currently have a busy schedule working or studying, and are available during evenings hours (USA ET).
• Teachers must provide a minimum of 10 hours of availability each week, and can be scheduled a maximum of 26 - 36 hours a week, depending on location (part-time employees are limited to 26 hours per week).
• There are no guaranteed hours, and assigned hours can vary seasonally.

Open English Class Structure:

• Teach with developed lesson plans so no preparation is required.
• Access to the Open English Teacher Hub with resources, podcasts, training, and more.
• Teach adult professionals from all over Latin America in a group or one-on-one classes.

Open English Pay:

• Up to $15 USD per hour.

Apply:

You can apply to teach English online to adults with Open English on their site.

8. Preply

Preply is an online tutoring platform that caters to a plethora of languages other than just English. Language learners can easily find a tutor who matches their learning goals and begin taking lessons within minutes. Students are from every corner of the world and the age of students will vary from young to old. 

Preply Teacher Requirements:

• No degree or teaching experience is required.
• Looking for tutors that enjoy sharing knowledge and making a difference in students’ lives.
• Have outstanding communication skills.
• Are willing to provide a personalized learning experience to international students.

Preply Hours:

• Decide when and how many hours you want to teach.
• No minimum time commitment or fixed schedule.
• The more hours you tutor with Preply, the less commission they take from your rate of pay. 

Preply Class Structure:

• Lessons are taught one-on-one.
• Students can be from anywhere in the world.
• Students can be of any age, but the majority will be adults.

Preply Pay:

• Choose your hourly rate and change it anytime.
• On average, English tutors charge $15-25 per hour.
• Most popular tutors on Preply earn up to $550 a week.
• Your earnings depend on the hourly rate you set, the number of lessons you teach, and how many students continue learning with you after the trial lesson.
• A tip for newly registered tutors: start with a lower hourly rate to get first students faster. You can change your rate anytime.
• Preply takes a commission fee from your lessons.
• The commission for every trial lesson with a new student is 100%. For all subsequent lessons, the commission starts at 33% and decreases to 18% based on how many hours you’ve taught on the platform.

Apply:

You can apply to teach English online to adults with Preply on their site.

9. Verbling

Verbling is an online language-learning platform that connects language learners with a qualified ESL tutor online for private sessions through live video chat. Teachers can teach from anywhere in the world with a computer and Internet access. 

Verbling Teacher Requirements:

• You do not need to be a native English speaker but you are required to have a very good command (C2) of the language you wish to teach.
• Have previous experience teaching the English language to speakers of other languages.
• A formal teaching certificate (i.e. TEFL certification) is preferable and will increase your chances of admission. Candidates that don't have a certificate or a verifiable teaching experience will not be accepted.

Verbling Hours:

• Teach in any capacity: full-time, part-time, or just occasionally.
• Adjust your personal availability anytime on your calendar.

Verbling Class Structure:

• Classes are taught one-on-one.
• Teach international students from every corner of the world.
• Your students can be young or old, but a majority will be adults.

Verbling Pay:

• Set your own hours and rates.
• You can cash out your earnings using various methods including PayPal, TransferWise, Payoneer, or Verbling Credit.

Apply:

You can apply to teach English online to adults with Verbling on their site.

10. Verbalplanet

Verbalplanet is an easy and effective way for online ESL tutors to work remotely and connect with new students around the world. Sell your skills and time online to language students all around the globe in an open marketplace - students range from children to adults.

Verbalplant Teacher Requirements:

• A strong internet connection.
• The Skype video-calling platform. 

Verbalplanet Hours:

• Set your own hours.
• Lessons are 45-minutes in length.
• You don't need to arrange bookings, Verbalplanet does it all for you. 

Verbalplanet Class Structure:

• Lessons are one-on-one.
• Teachers customize lessons to fit their students’ needs.

Verbalplanet Pay:

• Set your own lesson rates.
• You keep 100% of what you earn with nothing to pay back to Verbalplanet - they add their commission on top of your set rate.
• Get paid directly from your students via PayPal.

Apply:

You can apply for online ESL teaching jobs to teach English to adults with Verbalplanet on their site. 

11. English2Go

With English2Go, you teach English online to business executives in Costa Rica and throughout Latin America. English2Go’s goal is to bring high-quality, competitively priced English language training to professionals in a completely online setting. 

Given the older and more professional student demographic that English2Go targets, they prefer hiring teachers over 40, especially if they have any life/business experience to offer!

English2Go Teacher Requirements:

• TEFL Certification.
• Native English speaker (North American English preferred).
• University graduate (BA or higher preferred).
• Experience teaching ESL or other teaching experience is preferred. 

English2Go Hours:

• Minimum six-month commitment with a preference of one year. 
• Set your own schedule.
• Most starting subcontractors can expect to receive 4 to 12 hours a week so they can get their feet wet.

English2Go Class Structure:

• English2Go will provide you with the necessary materials for your classes, but you are responsible for class preparation, lesson planning, daily class, and student reporting, as well as monthly course reporting.
• Class size will range from 1 on 1 teaching to group classes with up to 6 students per class.
• Your students will be business executives in Latin America.
• You should be prepared to adapt to different cultural and student needs. Any specialized vocabulary and knowledge that a subcontractor can bring to a class will be a plus, especially business, banking and finance, accounting, medical or legal vocabulary.

English2Go Pay:

• The current starting hourly rate is $11-$12.00 USD.

Apply:

You can apply for online ESL teaching jobs to teach English to adults with English2Go on their site. 

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