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Teaching English to foreign students can be divided into two categories- teaching adults and teaching children. Though they both fall under the umbrella of TEFL, they in fact comprise two entirely different worlds. Each requires a different skillset and a different personality profile. Each has its own set of challenges, pros and cons, and each has a different learning curve.

I entered the world of online English teaching in 2018 after completing a TEFL course. I was going abroad for a couple of months and thought that teaching English online would be a wonderful way to make some income whilst travelling. Even though I had completed my 120 hour TEFL course, I didn’t have a good grasp of the day to day realities of teaching English online and what kind of teaching I wanted to do.

It is one thing to learn something in a course, but it is another thing entirely to make the leap into giving your first class. I had no idea as to whether I would prefer teaching children or adults, how I would feel about giving 25-minute classes versus 45-minute classes or how many classes a day I could manage. I only knew that I wanted to be paid a decent hourly rate and enjoy a flexible schedule that would enable me to travel and perhaps eventually work from home, avoiding the shackles of a 9-5 job. 

TEFL job boards and online teaching opportunities

I spent many hours scanning the TEFL job boards, a little overwhelmed by the vast array of schools and teaching opportunities. Teaching English is a booming industry in many countries, especially in East Asia. Adults are under a huge amount of pressure to improve their oral English in order to get job promotions, and many work in foreign companies where salaries are determined by their English proficiency. Children are equally under pressure to master English, knowing from their parents how essential it is for success in the workplace and for their future prospects.

It became clear to me early in my job hunt that there were many more opportunities to teach children online. It also became evident that the children’s online schools offered higher salaries. There was a proliferation of options and I created a shortlist of children’s platforms based on the schools offering the highest salaries and whether they accepted teachers from South Africa. This was quite a task. 

At the time it was hard to know where to begin but I soon discovered that Online English Teaching’s Job Search Tool matches job searches with companies are are currently hiring based on their qualifications.

Landing my first job

My first job was with SayABC, a well-established platform that provides an EFL learning experience for millions of children in China. I was thrilled to land my first job but discovered very soon after passing my interview and demo performance that my 2010 Mac did not meet the required technological specifications.

Furthermore, at the time I was in New York City (as part of my travels) and I realized that due to the time difference, I would need to teach classes very early in the morning, given that China is 12 hours ahead of New York and that peak teaching hours for children are in the evenings (Chinese time). For these reasons, the company put the offer on hold and when I returned to South Africa three months later I started working for SayABC.

Training and techniques for teaching children

In my training I had been briefed to conduct my classes with a huge amount of energy and animation. I had been advised to organize props, puppets and realia (real objects used to teach children new vocabulary). I was taught TPR (total physical response), which involves the use of gestures and mime to help children understand vocabulary. I was advised to create a colourful and lively background by decorating the wall behind my desk with bright educational images. 

I followed this advice and in my first few classes found myself channeling the energy and zest I had acquired in acting classes at drama school. Classes consisted of between 1-4 students, with the majority of classes having four students. The children were between the ages of 6 and 11 and I was entirely charmed by the sweetness and enthusiasm of many of them.

I started getting into the rhythm of teaching after the first few lessons, although I was somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of energy expended in each 45-minute class. But the experience was a new one for me and I was open to doing something a little outside of my comfort zone. However, after two weeks of classes the novelty started wearing off and I found myself exhausted after giving two or three lessons in a row. 

Qualities required to be a good children’s teacher 

What I came to realise was that teaching children is a high-energy job that involves buckets of patience. It requires a certain personality type - the kind of person who loves entertaining and is entirely at home with children. It requires someone who is able to meet the demands of teaching young learners with a good dose of imagination and creativity as well as the ability to elicit interest from a child.

If you enjoy creating characters with puppets and enjoy getting in touch with the clown inside you to make a child laugh, then you are likely to be a great candidate for this job. If you have lots of energy and are able to create a fun learning environment then you too might excel at this job. But if, like me, you are more of a quiet, shy and understated type of person, then you might want to explore teaching adults English. Likewise, if you are interested in teaching the technicalities of the English language- grammar and sentence structure, teaching adults English is most likely a better fit.

Scheduling and homerooms

While teaching at SayABC, I quickly discovered that I would need two jobs to reach my targeted income. When you join a platform that caters to children’s education, you submit your desired time slots and the company assigns you lessons. You are assigned fixed homerooms with the same children, and each homeroom lasts for about two or three months, with two lessons a week.

 A homeroom is similar to a school term, the length of which varies from platform to platform. After this period, the children can decide whether to sign up for another homeroom with you or whether to find a new teacher. As a new teacher with little experience, it can take some time to fill your schedule on many platforms. As you start proving yourself with good reviews from parents your bookings increase. The number of bookings you get when you first join a school varies from company to company and is something you should research before you apply for any job.

In my case, I was anxious to find some more work to supplement my income with SayABC. I thought that it would be a good idea to look for a job teaching adults as I had discovered that I struggled with the amount of energy required to give effective lessons to children and I wanted to experience a different aspect of TEFL. 

Teaching adults English and qualities required

I applied to teach with Hujiang, a company that specializes in teaching adults conversational English, and after a fairly rigorous interview and onboarding process I started teaching. The two teaching experiences- at SayAbC and at Hujiang respectively were worlds apart. For starters, my Hujiang classes were only 25 minutes long and only consisted of one student (my SayABC classes were 45 minutes long and were group classes). This is not the case in all adult TEFL schools, and I am currently working for a school that offers students the option to take private classes or group classes.

The starkest difference between teaching children and teaching adults English is the skillset that is required for each job. To teach adults you need to have very strong conversational skills. If you do not have a sense of curiosity about other people and do not enjoy having conversations with strangers, this is not the right job for you. You need to be inquisitive and engaging as well as affable and patient. 

You should also have an in-depth knowledge and grasp of grammar rules and you should have excellent articulation. Students need to understand you and a good, clear voice is essential. It also helps to have a good sense of what the right questions are to ask students and how to engage them in conversation. These classes require a different kind of mental energy. Whilst teaching children involves a lot of physical energy, teaching adults is more mentally rigorous.  

Bookings and ratings

I have now experienced two different platforms that teach adults English, and both give students the freedom to select their teachers. Teacher performance and receiving high ratings is thus essential to getting a high booking rate, with the ultimate aim of having many repeat students and building a following of sorts. As is the case with children’s schools, there are no guarantees of a full schedule. 

Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages. Having fixed bookings in children’s schools gives you more stability, but it also ties you down. Cancelling a class is seen as very detrimental to a child’s routine and if you do this regularly you stand the chance of losing your job. You have less stability when it comes to teaching adults, but the upside is that you have much more flexibility. It really depends on what is more important to you.

A comparison and summary- teaching children versus teaching adults

Teaching children:

• Very physical, high energy

• Requires strong miming and interactive skills

• Need to use props and realia

• Do not need in-depth grammar knowledge

• Need to create a colourful background

• Fixed schedule, less flexibility

• Higher rate per hour

• Platform assigns classes

Teaching adults:

• Less physically demanding, more mentally rigorous

• Requires strong conversational skills

• No need to use props and realia

• Need in-depth grammar knowledge

• Need a clear, plain background

• Schedule not fixed, more flexibility

• Lower rate per hour

• Students choose classes

Decide What Works For You

While these practical scheduling factors are important, the first thing to look at is what type of person you are and which area you will excel in. It is sometimes hard to know this until you have had some experience, and there is no harm in doing what I did, trying both out for a while until you have a clearer sense of where you are most comfortable. Salary is also a big determiner for most people, and for the most part you earn a higher hourly salary when teaching children.

In my case, purpose comes first and I have really enjoyed discovering the joys of conversing with adults from a culture that is vastly different to mine. If you love children, you will discover a different kind of joy - a delight in donning a mask or wig or bringing puppets to life, creating a magical learning environment for young learners. Choose the role that fits you best. Good luck with your online TEFL journey.