First time teaching with 51Talk? Here's what to expect

Before anything else, congratulations on making it through 51Talk’s rigorous application and interview process! This opens a new chapter in your teaching journey, and whether you are a new teacher or an experienced one, you can expect this new undertaking to be fruitful and rewarding.

Excited to know more about the exciting and flexible EFL teaching opportunity  that’s waiting for you? Here is just a quick glimpse of what the experience of teaching with 51Talk is like.

Say hello to home-based and flexible schedule.

Say goodbye to heavy traffic, travel expenses, and long queue lines. You are now one of the fortunate ones to enjoy the various perks of home-based online teaching opportunities! Teaching with 51Talk gives you the opportunity to teach Chinese learners through fun online video lessons right in the comfort of your home.

In addition, you have free rein regarding the slots you want to open for booking. However, remember that you are required to teach a certain number of peak hour slots per cutoff. Following China Standard Time, the peak hours are from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.  

You can strategize how many slots to open per day to reach the required teaching hours per month and still have enough time for your family, side hustles, and, most importantly, your rest days.  

You won’t need to create a lesson plan.

If you are a teacher experienced in physical classroom teaching, you would know how laborious it is to create a lesson plan. Moreover, if you have read up about other online teaching opportunities, you would know how other platforms require their teachers to create their own lesson plans or even lesson materials.

This is one crucial factor that distinguishes 51Talk from the rest. You don’t need to break your back to create and develop such materials because 51Talk crafts its own lesson plans in-house. The lesson plans are products of the company’s extensive experience and expertise in English language education for Chinese learners. You will have access to the digital materials you are to use during your lessons.

When students book you for a particular lesson, you just have to study the lesson material provided by 51Talk for that booking. Since you have gone through a demo lesson during your application, you already have an idea of how easy-to-use the materials are.

Considering this, you are encouraged to follow the teacher’s guide diligently—and have fun teaching it! You are free to be creative as long as you follow the lesson material and use teaching aids like pictures or educational toys to make the lesson more engaging.  

Remember, teaching (both for you and the learner) can be only as fun as you make it! 

You should cover the lesson material in the prescribed time.

Sticking to lesson schedules is as important as following the guide. You can’t practice one without considering the other.

A one-on-one lesson is 25 minutes long—the ideal length of instructional time proven by 51Talk market research to be efficient for young learners. Teachers are therefore required to finish the lessons in this prescribed time.  

You don’t need to worry about having too much or too little time to cover a lesson; the lesson materials are created to maximize this prescribed time. 

51Talk has a teacher leveling system.

51Talk classifies teachers into seven levels based on various criteria like experience, skills, and the number of hours taught: Starting Teacher, Newly Qualified Teacher, Junior Teacher, Senior Teacher A, Senior Teacher B, Master Teacher A, and finally, Master Teacher B.

You will probably begin your teaching stint with 51Talk as a Starting Teacher or a Newly Qualified Teacher, but there are many things you can do to level up, like the following: 

Meet the required number of completed lessons or teaching hours per level

Complete training sessions

Earn certifications

Of course, as with any promotion, your earnings per lesson will increase as you move up. Considering this, it is a smart move to maximize the free training sessions provided to you and teach as much as you can during your first months if you’re aiming to develop your teaching skills quickly with 51Talk. 

There are free online training sessions you can attend.

As already previously shared, one way to level up is to attend training sessions. Unlike with other teaching platforms where you are required to pay for training and certifications, 51Talk offers free training sessions for its teachers. Some of these training sessions even include TESOL certification, which is certainly helpful to your growth as a TEFL professional.

You have to manage your time well.

51Talk’s setup gives teachers like you complete control of the teaching time slots you want to open. However, such flexibility comes with a big responsibility. You are given the freedom to set your own teaching schedule but you have to be responsible for following it to prevent  problems and inconveniences.

If you want to open more slots for booking, you must manage your time well. As a starting teacher, overloading your schedule is not really advised. Starting with a more manageable and realistic load will help you adjust to the new tasks and system, too.  

Managing your time well gives you enough time to study the lesson materials, prepare in between lessons, rest, and just familiarize yourself with the whole process. Once you feel that you are getting the rhythm of online teaching, you can open more slots for booking. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you should be able to teach for at least 33.5 hours per cutoff.

Enjoy the perks of having an online teaching opportunity!

With the ongoing pandemic, full-time online teaching opportunities have aided in addressing the unemployment rate in the country.

Now that you are about to teach with 51Talk, you will enjoy the opportunity of growing in your journey as an online English teacher while earning in the comfort of your home. Such opportunities are hard to come by, so make the most of these wonderful benefits of teaching with 51Talk.    

Lastly, being able to work at home is undoubtedly fun, but it doesn’t mean you can compromise on quality. Make sure to follow 51Talk’s standards for professionalism, and most importantly, have fun teaching!