10 Companies where you can teach English to Adults

Teaching English to children is an amazing experience, but it’s not for everyone.

A large chunk of the online ESL market is indeed geared towards teaching kids, but there are plenty of adults that are eager to learn English without you needing to break out in song and dance.

If you’re ready to give up the props and enjoy a more mature teaching experience, here are a few companies that help you to teach English to adults:

Cambly

If you’re just starting as an online English teacher and you’re looking to gain teaching experience, Cambly is the perfect option. There’s not much that they require from prospective teachers other than being a native speaker. It’s also perfect for anyone wanting to make extra money from anywhere in the world. Teachers get to video chat with adult students from all over the world, and the platform caters to countries such as Russia, Brazil and professionals from Japan.

Because your students are from every corner of the globe, you'll be able to teach according to a schedule that suits you. Cambly has a separate program for kids, so if you ever have the itch to start teaching younger students, the option is always there.

So how does the platform work? Log on and start teaching - it’s that simple! Cambly is mostly conversation-based, so you'll be chatting to students one-on-one while using their video calling system. There’s no minimum number of hours required, and the time a student spends talking to you depends on the package they’ve purchased with Cambly. The length of each call depends on your student but usually ranges between 15-minutes to an hour.

Earning Potential: Cambly offers their teachers a chance to make $10.20 an hour or $0.17 per minute. You’ll be paid each week via PayPal.

Requirements: Aside from being fluent in English, not much else is required.

Preply

Becoming an online English teacher has never been easier, thanks to this online education platform. If you have a keen eye for marketing yourself and love being an independent contractor, then Preply is perfect for you. The platform even helps you to set up a personalized website for yourself, which enables you to look more professional and attract more students! Essentially, Preply provides you with a platform to develop and grow your online teaching business.

With Preply you have full control, and this can feel a bit daunting, but it’s worth the effort. You’re able to set your rates and create lesson plans based on the needs of your students. Most students on this platform are adults, but there are a few children that use the platform too. However, you’re able to get round this by indicating the age of the students you’d like to teach. You’re also able to create a teaching schedule based on your requirements using Preply’s calendar.

Earning Potential: This is a little difficult to estimate since you’re able to set your rate. However, the platform does take a commission from your hourly rate, which can usually range between 18% - 30%. The more lessons you teach, the less commission you pay. Preply also takes 100% commission from your first class.

Requirements: You don’t need to be a native speaker or have the qualifications that many other online platforms require from you. However, because marketing is such a big proponent of this platform, having a TEFL certification and teaching experience will only help you find more students.

English First

English First is a great company to work for if you’re a teacher who enjoys structure while working from home. Similar to Cambly, they provide courses for both adults and children, making it easier for you to choose an option that suits you. While EF provides an amazing and supportive online environment for its teachers with 24/7 support, they are quite firm when it comes to their requirements. You can expect to teach 20 and 40-minute private classes and 45-minute group classes. They provide world-class teaching materials, so you don’t have to worry about creating your own lesson plans.

Earning Potential: Most teachers will start with $12/hour, but this has the potential to increase as you continue to work for them.

Requirements: A degree in any field is required, along with a TESOL/TEFL certificate. They are currently only hiring native English speakers that hold a US and UK passport. If you meet these requirements - great. You’re then also expected to have a reliable headset and high-speed internet.

SkimaTalk

SkimaTalk prides itself in providing the best teachers to its community of students. Therefore, they place heavy emphasis on the student and their experience. Students can rate whether you’re “actually a good teacher" or not. Students evaluate their teachers according to their teaching capability, punctuality and likeability. The higher your rating, the better your chances of getting booked by students.

Students from all over the world can book through SkimaTalk, but you’ll mostly find yourself teaching Japanese and Korean professionals. SkimaTalk provides lesson plans to its students and teachers, but you’re encouraged to make the lesson your own through your creativity and various teaching materials. Classes are 25-minutes long.

Earring Potential: Ensuring you have a good reputation on this platform is crucial. Therefore, you’ll need to conduct three free lessons before you can start earning money. You’ll also be able to better understand the platform and improve your rating during this time. It’s also important to note that SkimaTalk takes 20% commission from your hourly rate, and pays their teachers monthly.

Requirements: Unfortunately, if you’re not a native English speaker you’re unable to apply with SkimaTalk. Aside from this, you don’t need any teaching experience or qualifications. To become a teacher you need to create a profile, record an introduction video and take the SkimTalk teacher guidelines test - it’s that easy.

Verbling

This is another great platform for ESL teachers looking to set their own rate and create a flexible schedule. However, unlike other language-learning platforms, you’re required to have previous teaching experience. Finding students shouldn’t be too difficult as they’re the “largest language-learning communities on the internet.” Teachers are matched with students based on their profiles.

Earning Potential: You’re able to set your own rate and withdraw your hard earned cash any time you like.

Requirements: The platform is all about pairing qualified native speaking teachers with students, so you’ll need to be a native speaker and have relevant teaching experience. Having a teaching qualification isn’t required, but it’s preferred.

Voxy

This learning platform is focused on providing it’s students with passionate native speaking teachers and offers lessons that focus on real-world English vocabulary. Most of the students are business professionals, so you can expect to focus on Business English. Teachers are able to create a flexible schedule with Voxy, but you need to work a minimum of 10 hours per week. They provide private one-on-one and group classes to their students.

Earning Potential: The minimum hourly rate is $10/hour. But there is room to improve this, and you can expect to earn as much as $15/hour. They also provide incentives based on your performance.

Requirements: You’ll need a minimum of three years of teaching experience for both private and group classes. You either need to be actively studying to be a certified English teacher or already hold the qualification. The interview process can be quite lengthy as you’re required to submit a cover letter and complete a test. Additionally, you’ll need to go through two interview processes before (hopefully) being selected.

Topica Native

This Vietnamese company caters to students in Southeast Asia, which includes Singapore and Indonesia. They claim to have around 50 000 students, which should make filling your schedule a breeze. Classes are 45-minutes each, and you can expect to teach up to six students per class. Teachers can work from anywhere in the world and create a schedule that suits them, but you'll have to work your schedule around the time in Vietnam.

Earning Potential: Teachers can expect to earn between $10 - $16/hour.

Requirements: You’ll need to be a native speaker or be highly proficient in English. No teaching experience or qualifications are required, but it is preferred.

Learnlight

Learnlight is an innovative online teaching company that creates a fun and light (wink, wink) environment for its students and teachers. They predominantly offer lessons to business professionals in Europe and strive to pair students with teachers who will do more than teach, but mentor and motivate. A few topics that you may find yourself covering during a lesson will be business and leadership. Having a background in business is preferred.

Earning Potential: You can earn up to $14/hour

Requirements: Teachers are required to have a TEFL/TESOL certificate, or equivalent. You don't need a bachelor's degree, but you do need two years of teaching experience. Being proficient in a second language is a bonus since they offer a wide range of language classes.

Likeshuo

Likeshuo is an E-learning platform that focuses primarily on adults but does offer coursework to kids. Teachers are able to choose between part-time and full-time positions and are required to work a minimum of 10 hours per week. Since the platform mainly focuses on adults, you’ll mostly be working after “working” hours. Lessons are provided on Powerpoint, but you are required to prepare for each class and provide feedback to your students after class. You’ll be teaching 45-minute classes, which will either be 1-on-1, 1-on-4, or 1-on-15.

Earning Potential: The minimum amount offered by Likeshuo is $10/hour, but this can increase to as much as $18/hour. However, this depends on your qualifications and experience. You also have the potential to earn incentives based on your teaching performance.

iTutorGroup:

iTutor Group might be a surprising addition to the list since they’re well-known for providing lessons to kids. However, they also have a large adult client base. This Chinese-based teaching company connects teachers with students from all over Asia. As a teacher, you’ll have 24/7 support and guidance, so you’ll never feel isolated while working from home. They also provide great incentives when teaching with them!

Earning Potential: Your hourly rate will depend on your teaching experience and qualifications, which can range between $8 - $11 when starting with iTutorGroup. However, they provide incentives in the form of contribution and completion bonuses. Teachers also have the perk of raising their rate through teaching more classes, and the longer you stay with this company, the higher your rate increases.

Requirements: You’re able to create a flexible schedule, but you’ll need to set aside a minimum of 5 hours/week. A bachelor’s degree, TEFL/TESOL certificate (or equivalent), and a minimum of one year’s teaching experience is required.

What to know before applying online:

Now that you have an idea of where you can teach english to adults, here are two important things to consider before applying.

Know the requirements:

Being an online teacher is a rewarding experience, but it also comes with a bit of responsibility. Making sure you know and understand what is required of you from your chosen company is vital to ensuring you have a great online teaching experience. This helps provide your students with a great learning experience - a happy teacher is an awesome teacher!

Along with aligning with your values, you’ll need to make sure you meet all the requirements. This includes ensuring that you have high-speed internet, a reliable headset and computer since this is something all companies require from potential teachers.

Is having a TEFL certificate necessary?

Many of the platforms listed above don’t require a TEFL qualification, but having one will help get you noticed by recruiters and students. Another great motivation to get your TEFL certificate is salary! Teachers who have additional qualifications are able to charge a higher rate thanks to their knowledge and experience. There are plenty of TEFL course options to choose from, so make sure you know which one best suits your online teaching goals!

There are endless benefits to teaching online, including teaching the age group of your choice. While there are plenty of other companies not listed that provide the option of teaching adults, we hope that this has provided you with a useful starting point!