Be careful, it may not be as easy as you think.

Tutoring english online. This seems to be the growing trend for people from all different professions who are native english speakers. They see a quick banner ad online, advertising that all you need is to be a native from the USA, Canada, or UK. Eyes light up when they see teachers are getting $30 to $40 per hour and they can't wait to jam in as many esl students as possible into their already busy schedule. If they are lucky enough to hook that first esl student, they quckly find out, its not as easy as they thought.

Why do they fail? We need a small amount of background here. Think about the audience. I dont't have any statistics on this, but it seems the majority of these students are kids. Sure, I have tutored adult students with Skype, but in my experience this new service is geared towards the younger esl learners. Now those of us who have had some experience teaching overseas know who pushes these kids into an endless loop or school and studying: the parents.

Let's use South Korea for example. You schedule a couple students from South Korea to being tutoring english online. You login and meet your student and now what. Do we just talk to each other? Well that's probably not what little esl students mommy is expecting, and trust me, she is lurking behind the webcam where you can't see. Koreans, as with many of the other cultures you might be considering aquiring students from, treat education slightly differently that most in the USA or Canada.

The best way I have always described it is this: its not that we don't place a high value on education, its just that they value it five or ten times more! It's not uncommon for Korean (keeping with our example) parents to shell out hundreds of dollars per month for each child's education. And just so we are clear, I am not talking about what we think of as private schools here in the USA. They have a free public education system too. I am talking about the "extra" hagwon (private schooling AFTER the public school day is done) costs, tutoring, and anything to get their little angels into a good college. I could write a whole book on just this last paragraph, but to sum it all up, THEY EXPECT THEIR CHILD TO BE LEARNING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO THE EXTREME. They want you to STUFF the esl student with as many facts as possible!

So back to your tutoring session. Knowing what I just told you, how is it going?

You struggle through a half hour or hour and by the end, you quickly realize that this is not as easy as it seems. A few things you should have realized:Tuesday, September 28, 20101. Your not an ESL teacher (or any other kind of teacher for that matter). Now I don't want to put down the average person here, but the truth is the truth. I am a teacher. I have had many years of schooling myself to earn those nicely framed papers on my wall that are titled Master of Arts. It also took me many years of experience to improve my own teaching skills to what they are today.

There are non-teachers out there who are exceptions. I have seen them. They can pick up the ball and run with it and the students follow and learn. Great! But thats hardly ever the case. You must have the ability to teach english concepts to your student using age-appropriate methods. Simply talking and carrying on a conversation with them means that your first tutoing session with them will likely be your last.

2. You were not as prepared as you thought for this kind of challenge. Did you have a "lesson plan" worked out? Were you able to quickly determine the level of english proficiency and adjust your lesson accordingly? Did you have the resources available to teach your student new concepts and allow them to practice them with each new step of the lesson? i hope you answered yes, because eyes in the background are watching.

3. Alot of these students are smarter than you think they are. Remember they have been studying everything since shortly after birth. If you make a mistake, trust me they will know. And its best to admit it and correct yourself. It is likely they might not correct you, but they kow.

With all of this being said, its not impossible. Know what you are getting into when considering becoming an online esl tutor. If you thnk you are ready, use our online esl tutor board to post an ad (its free) and work on getting that first student. Find resources avaialable at the ESL Teacher Community. If you have questions, use our forums to communicate with other esl teachers around the world. All of these features are free at The ESL Teacher Community