SayABC is a fantastic online ESL company to teach with, particularly if you are new to teaching online. They are a highly popular company within the online teaching community, with a complaint being extremely rare when compared to their competitors.
There are so many pros to teaching with SayABC which I haven’t found as a full package elsewhere. But, like with all online ESL companies, SayABC doesn’t come without its downfalls.
As you may know from other posts within this blog, I highly recommend working alongside several online ESL companies at any given time. Though teaching online can be extremely rewarding in terms of career choice, flexibility and high hourly rate, it can also be challenging. Work can be inconsistent leading to an inconsistent pay packet, your job is never 100% secure even after signing a contract and companies have been known to disappear off the face of the Earth with no communication to teachers.
Some of the links used below I may be affiliated with. This just means that if you apply through one of the companies I teach with, I may earn a referral bonus if you are hired and successfully start teaching with that company.
Top Tip – Diversify your income if you are using teaching online as your main source of income.
I have worked for SayABC for 6+ months now and thoroughly enjoy teaching using their platform and lesson materials. Personally, SayABC is my chosen ‘backup’ company. If I gain a quiet period with my main teaching jobs, Whales English and UUabc, I will pick up hours with SayABC. I only open irregular slots, therefore just teach trial classes rather than their regular lessons known as ‘homerooms’.
For those looking to use SayABC as your main company, here are a few details to help get you started:
- Require applicants to be native English speakers from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- Must hold a TEFL/TESOL certificate and Degree
- Interactive lesson materials and platform provided
- 40 minute classes up to 4 students per class
- Offer $15 per 40 minute class
- Bonuses: teaching trial classes $8/student signup, Substitute classes $7 and a set of 9 homerooms $4 per class (paid in full after teaching last homeroom)
- Quick hiring process: You can start teaching within 10-14 days of applying if successful
- Short contracts are only 3 months long at a time, offering you even more flexibility
Related Post: Apply and Teach with SayABC (coming soon)
Here are the top pros and cons of teaching with SayABC:
The Pros of Teaching with SayABC
1. Platform
SayABC’s platform is incredibly easy to navigate and use. It has clear headings of where to find your classes, section for your next class and a countdown, parent feedback, self-training modules, your calendar and schedule plus, my favourite feature, access to your pay. The pay tab is broken down clearly and updated regularly. There are sections for each class taught, plus broken down sections for student sign-ups, home-rooms and substitute classes.
For the online classroom itself, the platform offers a number of functions that can be incorporated to engage students further. SayABC offers a dice icon, which when clicked on, brings an interactive dice on the screen. Both the teacher and students have access to it once on the screen and can take turns to roll the dice. It is great for playing games and turn-taking to answer questions.
Another function I quite like is a countdown timer. You can set the time e.g. 10 seconds or 30 seconds, for students to complete an activity within a given time. For example, for more advanced students you may only offer 10 seconds to answer as many questions as possible but for a lower level student, you might provide 30 seconds.
2. Lesson Content
Some online ESL companies though provide all of your lesson materials for you, which is a win for planning time. A lot of the lesson content is so dull and boring to teach. When you’re bored, your students have no hope of finding the class fun and interesting.
This isn’t the case with SayABC! They, along with Uuabc, completely lead the field in terms of offering fun, engaging and interactive lessons for their students. Within SayABC’s classes, each lesson offers
- elements of the slide which moves
- songs and sounds are embedded and accessible from a click of a button
- Opportunity to highlight students and drag their image onto the main screen
- everyone can use the drawing function and each student is given their own colour so teachers can see who is interacting and who needs more guidance
- interactive games with moving parts.
The lessons are top in the industry. They are constantly working on making them even better through updates and offering a range of fun learning activities. No matter what level of class you are teaching, all students have the opportunity to learn through colourful, interactive and exciting activities.
3. Flexibility
As mentioned above, what I love most about SayABC is that I can 100% control my own schedule. SayABC offers teachers an open calendar which they can select the slots they want to teach. You are able to open slots up to 14 weeks in advance, which is great to be able to plan your hours around other commitments.
For teaching regular classes aka homerooms, it is best to select the same paired slots for 14 weeks. This way, you will be more likely to have all of those slots filled, compared with if you only opened the same paired slots for 2 weeks. Homerooms come in 9 lesson blocks with the same students, hence SayABC is looking for teachers who can teach all 9 lessons.
Homeroom paired days available are (times listed are in BJT):
-
- Monday and Thursday (6-910pm)
- Tuesday and Friday (6-910pm)
- Wednesday and Saturday (6-910pm)
- Saturday and Sunday (950-1120am / 6-910pm)
For trial classes, you can open and close these slots on a week by week basis very easily (this is what I personally choose to do). However, to increase your chances of trial class bookings, ensure you have opened your slots for the following week prior to the Saturday. This is when the booking team will find teachers for their trial classes.
I actually really love this about SayABC, perhaps even more so than their lesson materials. It can be challenging to find a reputable company which offers such flexibility. However, SayABC does just that. If you don’t have a class booked in your available time slot, you have the option to cancel the slot and you don’t have to wait at your computer. Or alternatively, you can select to be a substitute teacher. You are required to wait at your computer for this, but if you do receive a class, you gain an additional bonus of $7 just for subbing!
4. Earn Bonuses
SayABC is such a fair company in terms of its pay to teachers. All teachers are offered the exact same rate of pay and bonuses. The base rate for a 40 minute class with SayABC is $15. Then teachers can earn extra per class:
Trial classes: per student that signs up, you receive an additional $8. Since SayABC teachers 4 students per class, you have the potential to earn up to $47 for one 40 minute trial class (if all 4 students sign up).
Substitute classes: if you are a substitute teacher for last minute cancellation, you will earn an extra $7 for that class.
Homerooms/Regular classes: for these classes, teachers MUST complete all 9 lessons within the set. This is teaching the same students for the 9 class block without having any cancellations, technical difficulties, complaints etc. At the end, you are then given a completion bonus of $4 per class ($4*9 = $36). This works out on average, $19 per 40-minute class.
5. Communication
Every week, SayABC send out weekly ‘newsbites’ to teachers via email. These are great as they keep teachers in the loop of what’s going on, any policy updates, class material alterations and upcoming training. They also provide details related to additional bonuses and extra teaching opportunities throughout student’s holidays (in the Summer and Winter).
On top of this, every week they send a reminder of your schedule and a further email to remind you how classes are booked and when to open slots e.g. trial classes are booked for the following week every Saturday.
The company is great at keeping teachers in the know and updated on what they have planned. Not to mention, unlike other companies, their emails are very well written and make complete sense. Not every online ESL company takes the time and care to ensure their communication with teachers is clear and accurate.
The Cons of Teaching with SayABC
1. Lack of Support
Though SayABC is fantastic at communicating with teachers via their weekly ‘newsbites’, I cannot quite praise the level of in-class support as much. I have found whenever a student has encountered technical difficulties, such as no sound or video, I have had to ‘wing it’ and carry on rather than the issue be rectified.
There is IT support at SayABC, it’s just I haven’t found them to be very fast or responsive. By the time I have gained a response, I am already 30 minutes into the class and they haven’t been able to help anyway.
They do have systems in place, so hopefully, this won’t always be an issue and I am sure other teachers might have a different experience. But for me, I have just found them too slow and not very helpful.
I am experienced enough so that when I do enter a class and the student has technical issues, I can modify my teaching so that they are still involved in some manner. But for individuals new to teaching online, it can be very unsettling if you aren’t gaining a reply from the IT support team.
SayABC has been aware of this and has put in a new support tab within the platform itself. Previously you could ask for IT help in the class and contact would be made via Skype. The new system looks great and is similar to a messaging service. You send the relevant team, aka IT support, a message, and they are able to reply directly to you.
Hopefully, this should help speed up support for teachers in classes and help lessons to run more smoothly.
2. Trial System
Over the last couple of months, SayABC brought out a new way to give trial classes to teachers. It was so that fewer classes were left with just 1 or 2 students and offered students a more realistic trial class with SayABC, ensuring there were 4 students per class.
The way it works is that teachers are booked their time slots given and then have to virtually enter a queue 5 minutes prior to the start of class. Once the class is filled with 4 students, the class will begin. I have never had a class take longer than 2 minutes to begin entering the queue. If a teacher isn’t given a class, they will be paid for the class nevertheless as it was a ‘booked’ time slot.
In theory, this is great. It means fewer teachers are left with no classes and students are given a better idea of what classes will be like with SayABC in the 4-1 format.
However, I never know what trial class I am going to receive until I am IN the class. For a planner like myself, this honestly drives me insane. Previously, I would be able to look at my schedule in advance, check what class I had, whether there were any slide updates and prepare my props accordingly.
Now, I have no clue whether there are any updates until I am teaching the lesson and I don’t know what lesson I am teaching until I am greeting my students. My desk ends up looking like an earthquake has hit with the number of props thrown left right and centre to ensure I have covered every potential class that I might be teaching.
3. Equipment Specifications
Due to SayABC’s professional platform and highly interactive teaching materials, they do require a lot higher specifications than other companies. Not such a plus if you have a very old computer, like I did – though I didn’t mind an excuse to purchase a well overdue update.
If you do not meet their specifications for the internet and computer, you will not be able to teach with the company. Within the interview, they carry out a technical check of your system and will tell you then and there if you pass or fail. Luckily, they are very friendly and will offer you the next stage if you can provide them with proof you can meet their requirements. As an example, my computer did not meet their specifications and I had to send them a screenshot of my husband’s computer specs in order to pass the interview and move on to the mock lesson.
Here are the specifications SayABC requires from their online teachers:
Related Post:Â Equipment Needed for Online Teaching
4. Schedule
The flexible schedule with SayABC is fantastic, especially for online teachers like me who use SayABC as their back up company.
However, if this is your main company and source of income, the flexible scheduling may not be for you.
Class bookings are not a guarantee, even homerooms. In order to ensure you receive bookings, you need to open your schedule for the full 14 weeks in advance. Plus, you have to make sure you are opening paired days and time slots, as listed above. This helps to maximise and increase your potential for bookings.
Unfortunately, no online ESL company can guarantee work. It is very seasonal and dependant upon student demand and the time of year e.g. exam period or holiday season.
Here are some tips to help increase your bookings with SayABC:
Open your schedule in paired days to gain homerooms
Preferably open your schedule 14 weeks in advance, if not this far then as far as you are able to
If you only wish to teach trial classes, ensure to open your time slots for the following week before Saturdays. This is when the bookings team will book trial classes
Be professional, show up on time and try to minimise any IT issues through checking your internet and computer (top tip: ensure to double check when your computer updates are scheduled for so they do not occur 5 minutes before you are due to start teaching – GUILTY!)
Maximise your student’s engagement and learning experience by using a range of props and TPR. SayABC as a company loves for its teachers to use props and demonstrate TPR in all lessons.
If you have any questions regarding SayABC, or would like one-to-one support during your application, feel free to email me caite@caiteelizabeth.com
Related Posts
How to Apply and Teach ESL Online with UUabc
Become an Online ESL Teacher: Apply and Teach with Whales English
Teach English Online: Getting Started
Your Teaching ESL Online FAQ Answered
14 Reasons Why You SHOULD Consider Teaching Online
Hi Catherine. Thanks for your information in this blog.
I agree Sayabc have a richly illustrated, interactive and easy to use online platform which uses a variety of phonic and learning approaches to help teachers and enable learners.
My experience with them so far has been ‘mixed’. I’ m a Primary School Teacher of over 20 years based in the UK and I thought I would sign up with Sayabc over the Summer Holidays, as I work on a contractor basis as I don’t get paid for the Summer months.
I currently enjoy teaching both ‘home rooms’ and trial classes, the children are eager to learn and well behaved – a delight to teach! I admire the way the company uses different learning approaches and the content overall seems to be good quality and enjoyable to both teach and learn from.
However, the ‘onboarding’ process/journey and the support (lack of) received was very rough/frustrating for me and I write this in case other teachers wonder, ” Is it me?!” “Is it communication?”
Eager to start Summer work as soon as possible, I first registered with Sayabc on 8th July 2019, whilst still in UK term time and they asked me to arrange an interview immediately, but as I was teaching ‘in real life!’ I didn’t book my interview until after schools broke up and also I was unable to select their option of recording an interview, it had to be a live interview for some reason? I booked an interview for 22nd July and completed it on 23rd. I booked an evaluation class for 26th. You are told the resources for the trial class will be online ‘within two days’ of the evaluation, so you rush around getting background and props ready and then it updates again, so you rush around again and get new resources, then in the day of the actual evaluation in updates yet again, within 2 HOURS of the evaluation starting. (Good job I’m on ‘holiday’ really and can run to the library to print things off?!)
Then you have the evaluation class and no one turns up! So you message IT support and support (as you have mentioned) is a bit slow in coming. They eventually say “You can wait in the classroom” (uhm I am doing!) – so you just wait for 40 mins like a lemon thinking “What am I doing?!”
I must add I DID get paid for the class, despite no children turning up and me just sitting there wondering what was happening!
Another was booked, but because you are NOT told that ‘the test evaluator’ is not an actual person, ( am I dim to think I was waiting for an actual interviewer/evaluator person?!) I was waiting for them to turn up to the lesson, thinking they were late attending and chatting to the pupil, who did turn up this time, saying “We will just wait 5 more mins” This time support were quicker in their response, but again it was IT support, not general academic support, who despite saying “You can always contact us on Skype, have never responded to me on Skype, despite keeping my own profile active on there?! I even sent them screen shots to show this and their response again was to ignore my ‘evidence of lack of support and say, ” You can always contact us on Skype!” (ever decreasing circles!)
The IT system overall works well for me, but parents are VERY critical. I am always on time, always professional, I use a lot of TPR, colourful resources, secondary reward systems such as sticker, puppets, toys, props etc and I am FULL if energy ( despite having taught for 20+ years hey/! lol)
If their son/daughter is having tech problems, it’s your fault, if they’re feeling a little lazy – it’s your fault. Just the other day I’d taught a trial class and as the trial class was assigned a good 12-14minutesinto the allotted class time I went through the slides at pace as they want you to cover all of the material despite starting the class later through no fault of your own. I received a parent complaint saying I had ended the class early, because we covered the material well and reach the ‘goodbye’ page at a certain time. As a teacher, I realised this and so extended the learning through questioning individuals, reviewing HFWs ( high frequency words) talking with students, giving stickers, discussing learning etc. However the parent used the screen shot as a ‘weapon’ to say ‘look she ended the class early’. Which, if the company actually watch the video footage to check this ( as I have asked them) they would see this was untrue. Some parents do this to get away with not paying for lessons, as it (I’m now told) would be counted as a TNS ( teacher no show) despite actually writing the extra minutes down on a whiteboard and teaching the extra time?!
Some feedback I receive (which perhaps comes from Sayabc representatives I the UK or the US seems to be encouraging and supportive while other ‘feedback’ from the same company but possible Bejing branch appears to be unfair, with communicative errors, incorrect, vying on the side of the parents (whether they are actually right or wrong) and just sometimes down right injust! It leaves me incredulous at times and then I just have to tell myself to “suck it up buttercup” and keep on teaching, but you do seemed to be blamed for things outside of your control? A few times, I’ve thought myself a fool for taking this job, despite the convenience of teaching at home, where I could just be working a regular 9-5 temp job over the Summer?
The hours are just from about 11am to 2pm UK (GMT) time which kind of blocks out the middle of the day if you want to work another job over the Summer, but it is enjoyable to work from home and not pay for petrol or your work commute.
Recently I also had an interview with another company: ” Dada abc” who pay a little more for qualified teachers and seem a little ‘more’ human, I don’t know? I will wait and see what happens with them!
Hi Claire
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to share your personal experience with SayABC. I only wish to provide value to my audience here and it is great to hear other teacher’s experiences with online ESL companies.
It sounds like you have had a mix of positives and negatives. I am really sorry for your initial application experience. The application is quite lengthy with SayABC and drawn out I feel, with the initial interview/demo and then a real evaluation class with students. It should have been explained better with whether staff would be attending and what to do if there were no students.
You are completely right, the IT support is highly lacking. Nearly every lesson I have taught, even with contacting IT, I have just had to ‘crack on’ and make the best of a situation with students cameras not working/sound not working etc. But, on the flip side, the lessons were super interactive and I actually had a lot of fun teaching them to the students.
I honestly haven’t taught with SayABC for a good few months now, due to taking on a secondary position with my main company I just do not have the time to teach elsewhere presently. I understand they have made a few changes to course materials and I received updated about possible 1v6 class format too instead of the 1v4 format.
Regarding the teaching hours, it is a pickle for us based in the UK as it impacts on the middle of our day so makes it highly difficult to have days out, other commitments. But, it is a lot better than those on PST time, who have to get up at 3am in the mornings to teach! You will find with most ESL companies with Chinese students, the hours are all between 11-2pm UK time, as that is the peak teaching hours in BJT (6-9pm). However, if you are looking for more hours, you can consider companies such as Itutor who offer 24/7 scheduling (though 10 hours need to be during peak hours and across the weekend too).
I started my ESL career with Dadaabc. They have undergone a lot of changes and management since I first taught there. I know they have strict policies and can have fines in place for taking time off. But, they book for you rather than parents choosing the teachers, so, if you are a good teacher, you will probably find yourself fully booked very quickly. They pay lower than some other companies, probably working out as average pay for the industry. IT was very responsive when I taught with them along with the platform. Every company has there pros and cons, I think it just takes time, trial and error to find the right company for ourselves.
Good luck with Dadaabc, fingers crossed for your application!
Thank you once again for such a detailed insight into your experience with SayABC.
Catherine.
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for sharing this post. I have been comparing online ESL teaching companies for some time now – there are just so many!! I feel like I am going in circles trying to decide who to apply with.
However, your article has taught me I can work for a couple. Thanks again.
Erin
Hi Erin
You are welcome. I am glad my post was helpful to you. It is overwhelming to start off with when looking for an ESL company to work with. As you said, there are 100s with new ones popping up all of the time. Just a note, be careful when looking at companies, ensure to read reviews from teachers online and in Facebook groups – this will give you a good feel for a company AND watch out for companies who have not paid their teachers etc, it does happen, unfortunately.
If you are a bit overwhelmed with where to look first, I would honestly write down what you want first e.g. do you want a fixed or flexible schedule, how much do you want to make per month, how many hours can you offer, do you want to teach adults/kids, materials provided to you or create your own? Then, write down what you can offer companies – do you have a degree, are you a native speaker, what country do you live in (this is important as many companies only hire from the US/Canada or other companies such as Itutorgroup pay by location not per applicant so if you held a US passport but lived in Thailand for example, your hourly rate would be much lower than a US teacher living in the US), and most importantly, do you hold a TEFL certificate.
Once you have worked these things out, you can search more accurately and lower the final list of companies to apply for much faster.
I do recommend applying for a few and trying a few companies out. Each company has different policies, bonus systems, material and support – so by working for a couple, you can figure out which one suits you the most. As an example, I have now worked for 6 online ESL companies, and the one I am currently with is the one that suits me the most with my teaching style, additional roles and the income I am looking to achieve.
I hope this advice is useful. Good luck in your search.
Catherine.
Hi Catherine,
A good read – thank you 🙂
I just started this week with SayABC and it’s not been good so far.
I’m an experienced face to face teacher and did my research about the best companies/best payers etc. Yesterday I tried to open my first slots and became a back up teacher where you enter the queue. But no PowerPoints are given. I’m completely new to this and haven’t taught any classes online at all apart from my mock. I don’t feel comfortable at all entering the queue and being given a class that I couldn’t prep for at all, how unprofessional would that look! I’ve never seen the slides before.
Anyway I’m also applying to BlingABC which is also a good payer with set schedule which is fine. I failed my interview with Whales English but might reapply when I’ve finally managed to get some experience!
Any insights would be appreciated as I really need some work.
Thanks so much
Charlotte.
…And I forgot to mention that I contacted their support team, and I agree with you – very slow at getting back to you and I just got directed to their website! I replied and was told ‘sorry, you can’t review the slides’. I think they’re in it for the money and don’t really care about their teachers from what I’ve experienced in 2 days!
Charlotte 🙂
Hey Charlotte!
Congrats on starting though you have had a few bumps in the road – honestly, we all get them! Yes, it is a shame about SayABC. They are a good company in so many ways but epically fail in others. It has been a while since I have taught with them I must say. Are there no slides within the training materials? Are you signed up to receive their newsletters (I think it is automatic, to be honest) as they have been including lesson content updates there – I know that isn’t helpful at all right now, but keep an eye on your emails and you might receive some lesson slide updates). Otherwise, it is one of those fall forward moments with both feet. You just have to dive in and have fun with it. You will probably just be getting trials to start with so that’s a great opportunity to practice and become familiar with the material. When you put the sudden fear of not knowing what class you will get and the lack of IT support aside, the lessons and platform are actually really fun to teach!
As to other companies, super sorry about Whales English they can be picky on occasions and I think as they had an influx of teachers over the summer, they might be toning it down for a little bit. However, I have heard they are gaining more students with schools going back this month, so perhaps reapply in a couple of weeks as there may be a bigger demand? I do not know much about BlingABC, just do be careful, I cannot remember if they were one of the companies, but there was one with high pay and lack of bookings. Of course, I do not have personal experience with this company and can only go by what I have read on Facebook. Every teacher with each ESL company will gain a completely individual experience. I say go for it and see what happens. BUT make sure to have a backup plan if for any reason they don’t fully book your schedule.
Though I do not work there anymore, Dada was the first company I worked with and, it has its flaws as they all do, but I highly recommend it to newbie online teachers. They book for you, no waiting for parents to pick you, the pay is average but not bad and IT was very prompt. The material could be better but it was easy to teach and shifts flew by with lessons being so short (if I remember 25 or 30 minutes?)
Honestly, with so many companies out there it won’t be challenging to find a position. Just brush up on some knowledge and skills they all want to see such as using props appropriately and especially making use of TPR.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Caite.
Hi Caite,
Thanks for your reply! Yes even though I have experience teaching, I’m new to online teaching and not being shown slides beforehand has really put me off! They want us to deliver quality lessons and be prepared right! I understand that the slides are straightforward to teach and you can just run with them, but I’m also new to the platform and want experience using it first. So I’m going to close my slots for now until I’m a bit less nervous (silly I know for an experienced 46 year old!) And I’m going to pursue BlingABC although I take your point about possible lack of bookings. I’m going to also apply for Dada and see how that goes. I might just have to throw a few companies against the wall and see what sticks. I also applied for one called IQBar, a UK based company so I thought that would be better, but the money’s not very good, more complicated platform and no-one I spoke to was actually from the UK! (All South African, where they can accept less money as the standard of living is cheaper than here). I also take your point about the need for more than one company.
I’ll let you know how I get on, and will take note of your referrals.
Thanks
Charlotte.
You are more than welcome! Do not worry, we all start somewhere and it is a bit of a learning curve going from classroom teaching to online, honestly, you are not alone there. Oh yes, I applied to IQBar, they seemed really nice and offer a few more than the normal peak hours. But, unfortunately, when I applied (perhaps a year ago now) they wouldn’t allow you to work for other companies alongside so I turned the offer down (just a heads up to double-check in your interview with that rule). Don’t give up, because when you find a company you gel with it really is great and you build such a bond with your students it is fantastic. Keep going with the ones you applied for that you have mentioned. I haven’t done much with PalFish, but it was really easy going and the lessons were simple and short. They have a LOT of teachers so I do not know about bookings wise, but that might be another alternative. Unfortunately, quite a few of the big named companies only accept US/Canadian citizens .e.g QKids, Magic Ears. But, if you are looking for more bookings, try Itutorgroup. I have heard all mixed reviews BUT, people do get given work, it is system booked not parent bookings and 247 hours available teaching both kids and adults. So, it could give you an excellent feel for who you want to teach and experience at the same time. Pay with them depends on your location, but it sounds like you are based in the UK(?), so you pay should be pretty reasonable per hour. I would honestly give them a try too along with the others you have mentioned.
Hi Caite,
Yes I’m based in the UK, soon to move to Plymouth. I know that rules out VipKid/Qkids/Magic Ears/Gogokid because of accent. That’s interesting about IQBar, I didn’t know you’re not meant to work for other companies, I suppose this is because they offer contracted hours, which is very unusual. I wasn’t keen on the set-up anyway, so I’ve stopped after half the training although I could complete it if I wanted. So I’m taking down all my slots with SayABC for now, until I’ve got more experience to take these ‘blind’ trial classes but it’s a shame!!! If they would give me homerooms I wouldn’t mind so much.
I’m going to persevere with BlingABC for now and see about number of bookings and also start the application process with Dada. It’s overwhelming how many companies there are!!
I do know about Palfish and that it’s an app where you have to market yourself. I have an Australian friend on it, whose bookings have dropped recently and is looking for another company, so that put me off a bit. The number of bookings I know can never be guaranteed and I do want to earn a certain amount so I’m really hoping this will work out.
Anyway, I’m feeling supported here Caite, so thank you very much!!!
Charlotte X
I hope your move goes smoothly – moving can always be so stressful!
Let me know how you get on with those companies above or if you have gone for another one. I really hope you find a great company soon. That is a shame about your friend regarding PalFish but I have heard that with the app. It is just so easily accessible and they have 100s of teachers within that platform and I have no idea how many students, so I just do not know if it is an opportunity for consistent work or not.
With your experience as well, don’t be put off by companies where you need to create your own lesson material. Sometimes these pay a little higher (though it can take time to gain students). But I have heard some good things regarding places such as AmazingTalker – that might be another one to look into.
Remember as well, this weekend (I think today actually!) it is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. So, it might be a little quieter in terms of gaining a response from companies or other teachers advising that it is quite still where they work.
I do think bookings will pick up across the board though after the festival. Chinese parents are really keen for their children to learn English as it provides so many opportunities for them later in life. But they also have to take challenging English exams to get into the good schools quite early on actually. So for now, there will always be a demand for online ESL teachers. I am a huge believer in if you are willing to work hard, build a rapport with your students and adapt your teaching style in line with what your company is looking for, then there will always be work available to you.
Like I said above, do let me know how things go and if you want to chat more, I am happy to keep in touch – my email is caite@caiteelizabeth.com. I am so glad you feel supported, this blog is intended to help and support individuals looking to work from home, so I am very happy to hear that.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Caite. x
Hi Caite,
Thanks for your response. Yes I worked teaching ESL in schools abroad for 6 years and I got back several weeks ago, I’m now staying with a friend in Kent and I’m from Brighton, so Plymouth is new to me but cheaper!! Yes there was a Chinese holiday on Friday so everything went quiet. I think it’s because you’re working on your own, and if anything goes wrong, you may or may not be able to fix it, and IT support might be slow, I think that’s the reason why I’m nervous about it. Even though I’ve got lots of face to face experience, this should be a walk in the park for me ha ha. Anyway, back to the companies, I took off all my slots from SayABC which is a real shame as I thought they were very good. I just got too nervous about not seeing the slides in advance and teaching ‘blind’ I think that’s not very good as they expect us to be prepared!! How did you get the homerooms Caite? I wouldn’t mind if I could get regular students, when I assume you do see the slides before? I’ve applied to BlingABC which so far seems professional, but the application process is lengthy (last mock class tomorrow) and also Dada, where the money is less but hopefully there’s enough students and the application process is quick. So I feel like all I’ve done is applications and mock classes and work for free so far!! I can’t wait to get up and running! I’m not afraid of hard work and working weekends for more hours.
Anyway, that’s enough from me 🙂
Charlotte
Hey, so sorry for my delay!!! How are you? Yes, when working independently everything relies on you to work well and when there is an error, especially IT-related it can be daunting knowing you have to kind of solve it on your own.
That is a shame about SayABC, but I completely understand regarding teaching ‘blind’. I didn’t teach any homerooms, because the slots I opened were not consistent. But, another lady has told me she only just opened some regular slots, so the paired days and long enough for students to complete a regular course with her (9 lessons) and she has her first homeroom booked. If you want to teach with SayABC, I honestly just say go for it. Every lesson will be a new experience and help to boost your confidence, become familiar with the material. It is a bit stressful teaching a class you haven’t been able to prepare for. But, there aren’t many different trial classes, so once you have taught each, you will then find it so much more relaxing and comfortable for future bookings (I think there are 4 trial classes in total – it has been a while though so I might not be accurate).
I hope you mock class went will with BlingABC and everything went smoothly with Dada.
Just to provide some personal experience with BlingABC… After getting offered a position with VIPKid, SayABC, BlingABC, Whales English, iTutor group, and… maybe another one or two, I settled on the first four. I’ve been teaching with those first four companies for five months. Currently, nearly all of my time is spent with BlingABC. I’ve decided to leave SayABC (pay rate). I’ve got 14 of my 17 available slots with Bling booked for next week. 14 forty-minute classes will pay me a total of $339 for the week ($27×5, $24×7, $18×2). In addition, only the two $18 classes require any student feedback.
If anyone else has questions about my experiences with any of the 4 companies, please feel free to ask. Good luck!
Hi Dugen,
Really appreciate you taking the time to comment and offering your experience. As I said, I haven’t worked with BlingABC so cannot advise personally. To be honest, most comments I have read about BlingABC have been on the negative side. It is really refreshing to hear something positive and I am so glad you have had such success with your bookings. Bonus regarding minimum number of student feedbacks (that is something I really dread having to do personally!)
Thanks so much Dugen for sharing your experience.