Teaching English online is different than teaching in a real classroom in many obvious ways. It’s only logical then that online teaching will help you develop a different set of skills than offline teaching. Your relationship with students, your time management, and your teaching techniques as an online tutor will develop in a certain way that wouldn’t be possible or necessary otherwise.

Still, people will often think of online jobs as less rewarding in terms of personal growth than traditional jobs. We beg to differ, so we made a list of skills that every online English tutor evolves on the job.

Patience

It may not be the first thing to cross your mind, but patience is one of the crucial elements of any online teaching job. Since the teacher and the student are not in the same room physically, it is often harder to convey a clear message to the learners. This means your students will sometimes have trouble understanding things that seem perfectly simple to you. That may be the result of them just being overwhelmed by the asynchronous nature of online teaching. The lack of non-verbal communication may also be to blame here.

Either way, patience is your best tool in these situations. With time, you will learn how to be more patient. It will also come to you naturally to explain some things multiple times.

Communication skills

The lack of non-verbal cues also brings us to the second online English teacher skill on our list, and this is a more obvious one. It is understood that you have to be a great communicator in order to be a good teacher. And this is true regardless of teaching conditions. But, with online teaching, this is taken to another level.

Since you can use fewer visual cues than in a classroom, in an online class you have to pay special attention to your tone and language, as well as your style. As we already said, it is given that you’ll have to clarify things multiple times. But, your time is still limited. That’s why you have to give your all to try and be as clear as possible with every information that you’re giving to your students. This way, you will hone your communication skills more and more as you develop your online teaching career.

Effective use of props and visuals

Another way to overcome the physical distance is to use props that will grab your students’ attention. This is especially important when teaching children. Their attention span tends to be short, so you’ll need all the help you can get to keep your class interesting to them. Puppets or toys of any kind are of great use here.

On the other hand, visual props such as whiteboards can help you explain complicated concepts more easily. They are very useful when teaching to any age, as you can use them for drawing diagrams, writing examples, or illustrations.

Props will become an integral part of your every lesson. They will make your online classes much easier and more fun for both you and your students.

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Identifying strengths and weaknesses

As a teacher, you have to be aware of what your students can or can’t understand, do and learn. When teaching online, it can be challenging to fully understand their needs and their abilities, since you’re not going to meet them personally.

This is especially hard when you’re working on a teaching platform that connects you with different students for your every class. In that case, you may only have half an hour to identify your student’s strengths and weaknesses. At Lingo Turtle, tutors are provided with regular students. This way, teachers have the time to get to know their students and follow their progress.

Still, it is crucial that you get to know every student and adapt your classes to their current English level and their learning style. After a while on the job, you will start to notice small differences in your students’ personalities. You will find yourself able to better understand your learners, as well as other people around you. That’s because you will be focused on identifying their needs and finding ways to help them.

Compassion and empathy

When spending a lot of time with one student, you will often notice them gradually opening up to you regarding some personal matters. They will talk about their learning obstacles, and they will often find it easier to open up to a teacher they are never going to meet in person.

It is part of your job to have understanding for their problems and show some empathy. Sometimes it’s good to give a student a break if you notice they’re feeling overwhelmed. This will result in them having more respect for you. And, of course, with better overall results when it comes to their learning process.

These are just some of the skills every online English teacher develops constantly. As an online English tutor, you may not even be fully aware of the ways in which you’re growing as a person and a professional while trying to give your best at the job. But, when you look back, you can see how online teaching has changed you for the better. And when you know all the advantages of your job, you can go even further, and become a better person while working on being a great tutor.

If you’re thinking about starting a career as an online English tutor, there are some requirements you will need to meet. Some are more obvious, like great knowledge of the English language, or good teaching skills. But you also have to think about the equipment that you’ll need if you want your classes to be as effective as they would be in an actual classroom. In this text, we’ve put together a list of essential equipment needed for online teaching.

A Dependable Computer

Sure, you will need a good computer. But good can be a relative term. The minimal requirements depend on the software you’re using for online teaching. The good news is that most online teaching software don’t have very high requirements. Any laptop with 8GB of RAM and an i5 processor will probably work great for you. But it’s still best to get informed on the specific requirements of your platform.

In order to apply for a job at Lingo Turtle, you need a benchmark 3000+ or i3 processor or higher, 8GB RAM, and Windows 10 OS. 

A stable internet connection

Another essential for a good online teaching experience is the internet connection that won’t break suddenly, or cause constant lagging. You should check your internet provider options, and choose someone who doesn’t only offer high-speed connection, but who has a reputation of reliability. Fast internet doesn’t mean much if your connection goes down often and for no apparent reason.

Lingo Turtle platform requires a 10/2 connection, with a LAN cable connected to the computer.

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Webcam

To achieve a professional look for your classes, you’ll need a high-quality camera. If you’re using a laptop, it probably already has a built-in camera. But it’s best to forget about that one and purchase an external webcam. You should look for a camera that can stream in 30fps or more, and in HD resolution.

Your camera should also have good autofocus and face tracking. Some cameras come with built-in microphones, but, just like with the camera that came with your laptop, it’s best not to use it.

Headset or microphone

With language teaching, it’s crucial that your students hear you loud and clear. This is especially important if you’re teaching English as a second language because the learners have to get acquainted with the right pronunciation, and small distortions can make a big difference with this.

First, you have to choose between a headset and an external mic.

The headset might be more convenient since there’s only one audio input, so it’s easier to set up and also easier to transport.
On the other side, the audio quality will be a lot better with an external mic, plus you can choose between headphones and earphones, depending on what’s more comfortable for you.

At Lingo Turtle, you’re also required to have a noise-canceling microphone.

Whiteboard

It may not seem as essential for online classes as it is for a real classroom, but a whiteboard is an extremely handy piece of online teaching equipment. You can draw illustrations and diagrams on it, write notes, or write down a reward system for your students. 

It’s also very helpful with spelling practices. 

You can use different colors to accentuate important pieces of information and much more.

You can choose between a virtual and a physical whiteboard. A physical whiteboard might be more convenient because you won’t have to switch between the tabs all the time.

Do you find yourself teaching online? Don’t worry, you’re certainly not alone. Plenty of other teachers are in the same position and it can be hard to know where to start! In this guide, we will cover the most important aspects of online teaching and by the end you’ll have all the tools you need to plan and deliver awesome classes.

Choosing the right online English teaching platform

Before you start, you’ll need to decide on a platform to deliver your online classes. If the platform of your choice is well organized and offer benefits such as provided lessons and materials and mentors which can help you at any time, it will be more accessible to other users and you will not have problems using it. Lingo Turtle has numerous advantages which you should consider when applying. We break down the wall between students and instructors, creating an environment where anyone can teach or learn. And we always make sure there is time for questions and answers so you never feel trapped in passive learning.

Invest in good equipment

Investing in good equipment increases worker productivity and efficiency. As a teacher, you’ll need a laptop, desktop computer, or professional tablet to track your student’s progress and communicate with them. Though smartphones and tablets have their perks, nothing beats a laptop when it comes to typing a document or communicating via the internet. They are extremely useful in many situations. Also, be aware that you need a good camera and internet connection so your video lessons are sharp and without interruptions.

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Approach each class with joy

There is an infinite amount of emotion to be expressed, and the more you can learn to express all of them, the more effective and amazing you will be as a teacher. If you are able to express these emotions, your classes will be engaging and much more interesting.
As a teacher, you are in an environment where you are able to express all of your emotions. As the students interact with you, your goal is to inspire them. However, sometimes there can be a confusion between what they want to have from you and what you want to give them. The more clarity and acceptance you have within yourself, the easier it will be for you to teach effectively, rather than trying to cater to their demands.

Student engagement

Student engagement is a measure of how much students are interested in the content you are teaching. Student engagement helps you understand best way to engage your students while helping them to develop a sense of ownership and pride in their learning.
We prefer getting to know our students in person. In our experience, though, it’s difficult to maintain quality communication with students over webcam. The initial enthusiasm tends to wear off quickly for both parties.
An effective way is by having every single student in the class respond to your questions. Incorporate them into every lesson.

Grading and progress tests

Grading is a way to check how well students are doing in the course. Teachers use progress tests in order to measure the effectiveness of their teaching methods, and recording grades helps them assess students’ understanding of important concepts. Give your students more freedom to explore outside the bounds of the classroom by enabling them to share ideas and work on projects online.