I have been didactics online with VIPKid since Nov 2016. Having taught ESL in Korea for a couple of years, the idea of instruction ESL online to young Chinese students didn't seem as well far off. Now that I'm nearing my terminate of my starting time contract, hither'south the honest truth – a VIPkid Review.

Related: Education ESL Online with GoGoKid (A Review)

What is VIPKid?

VIPKid is an online teaching service. Teachers from Due north America teach students in Communist china. Most are betwixt ages v and 12, but they are expanding to more ages (I occasionally get a ii-yr-old!). The pay varies; they annunciate "upward to $22 USD an hour" and while technically truthful, it's realistically $15-20USD per hour. I personally become $19.

How do I teach for VIPKid?

You can sign upwards for VIPKid here.

The awarding procedure was pretty straightforward; with base requirements of being from North America, having a bachelor's caste in anything (or a higher diploma in early childhood education or something of the sort), and take some sort of teaching, tutoring, or coaching experience. Come across this postal service for updates on their hiring procedure.

Non from N America?Check out my list of other sites y'all can teach online with!

teaching online

The Application Procedure

First, you make full out the application and become together whatsoever supporting documents (TESL Certification, a re-create of your caste, etc.). After this stage, you'll be asked to do an interview. During this interview, you'll also be doing a short mock lesson where the interview pretends to be a 5-yr-sometime. Having an developed that you but spoke to and you know speaks English pretend to be a pocket-size child with no English abilities is a little scrap awkward, to say the to the lowest degree – but this part only lasts about 10-xv minutes. You're given the lesson ahead of time and then y'all're told exactly what to teach and how to teach it.

Once that's over in continues on about what you did well and what you could amend on. Then, assuming you pass, you lot'll get an e-mail that is similar a rubric with your score and comments within each section of your strengths and weaknesses. Forth with this rubric, you are given your base pay which will be betwixt $vii – $9 USD per class. Which each class running 25 minutes, you make $14 – $18 USD as your base of operations pay, plus bonuses, which are mentioned beneath.

Afterwards your interview, yous'll be asked to sign a contract. This contract is contingent on completing the teacher training and didactics practicum. The preparation consists of watching a bunch of youtube videos that explains their teaching methods, the dos and don'ts and general information most booking, how to use their platform, etc. After these video, you need to take a quiz to prove you know your stuff. It'due south an incredibly easy quiz if you watched the videos and a sort of easy quiz if y'all didn't.

As for the practicums, you may have 2, but if they feel you're ready afterward the first ane they'll move you onto teaching direct away. It is similar to the demo class in the interview, however, y'all'll be teaching a full course. Information technology will be done through their platform (like the demo form) where you lot can click through the ability betoken and draw on the slides.

Roughly one-half manner through the grade the "pupil" aka practicum teacher will stop pretending to be the pupil and tell you how y'all're doing. Then information technology will continue over again and you are to implement the tips they told you about. I was moved onto didactics afterwards my first practicum, but I've been told that in the second practicum they're by and large looking for you lot to implement what they told y'all in the first 1 to improve upon.

Tips!

They love  "TPR" (which stands for Full Physical Response). This is a educational activity method that is based on the coordination of language and physical movement. Basically, use a lot of manus and trunk movements while teaching. Also, being bubbly and smile a lot will practice wonders.

Really Working There

Once you go into the teaching part, it'south pretty elementary stuff. Y'all open up your availability on the scheduling tab and wait to be booked. Filling out an crawly teacher contour is a big part of this. You have an introduction paragraph, a short video, and a few (grinning!) pictures. That's it.

There are also TONS of Facebook groups where y'all can talk to other teachers, become tips and ideas, and ask whatsoever other questions y'all may have. Almost answers can exist found on VIPKid's Freshdesk site (along with all the updates you demand to regularly bank check), only sometimes they're confusing and asking the veteran teachers in the Facebook group is helpful. You tin also cheque out my Teacher Resources page for my favourite stuff for pedagogy online!

The Pros & Cons:

PRO: There is nearly no prep piece of work. You can 'enter the classroom' the evening before and review the slides you'll be teaching the next day. The slides are there and fabricated for you and they tell you exactly what they want yous to teach. You have to prepare the props y'all want to employ with it (letter flashcards, maybe a boob or blimp animate being if they're immature, etc).

CON: The instructions aren't always clear. Occasionally you'll come up across a slide that is a sort of game with express instructions at the bottom and y'all either have to effigy information technology out or brand it upwards for yourself.

PRO: Yous fix your ain schedule. They no longer have the 7.5hr commitment per calendar week which you may meet on some older training material, but you will nevertheless demand to work over xxx or 45 classes per month to get the related bonus. Also, your schedule doesn't need to be the same each week, it'due south really whenever you are bachelor and want to work.

CON: Once something is booked, it'due south booked. At that place'southward no irresolute it unless you want a cancellation – which you merely get six of per contract. If you want to build up regular students and bookings, it's better to have regular availability.

PRO: Brusque time delivery. Similar with the hours, you're not required to work likewise much a calendar week, and your contract is only six months long – many other online teaching positions require a year with a regular schedule – non ideal for travellers.

– No con to go with this one, just good stuff –

PRO: The bonuses. VIPKID is great for bonuses. Yous get a $1 bonus for starting and finishing all classes on time (you'd retrieve you lot'd exercise that anyways if you want to proceed your job), except for those with tech issues. Yous also will receive a 50 cent bonus (per class) if you teach 30-44 classes per month, and a $1 bonus if you teach more than 45 classes per month. This bumps my base of operations pay from $vii.fifty per form to $9.50 per class – that's $19USD per hour. Also if a educatee books you short find (within 24 hours) you lot get an actress $2 for that course. If they're a 'trial educatee' (not a regular course student), you receive an extra $five if they sign upwards. So there is potential for $16.50 for one class!

CON: Trials are sometimes difficult, you take to switch the lesson effectually and effigy out their level. Besides, if they don't show up, yous get paid one-half rate, different if course students don't show up – where you'll still get paid. Trial students are less likely to prove upwardly, but I guess the sign-up bonus helps make upwards for that.

PRO: The students are by and large well behaved and they often have their parent with them to assistance them. You hear sweet stories and they get really excited to talk to you and learn. It'southward typically a 1-1 environment where you get to know the kids and encounter how they abound and progress with English.

CON: VIPKid has started accepting younger children lately (two-3 years old) which can't stay focused during form. Also, not all of them are and then well behaved. If they make up one's mind to get upwards and run effectually, there'southward niggling you lot tin exercise virtually it. The immature ones are likewise sometimes a little scared and nervous and start crying.

PRO: They use a ticketing system (Freshdesk) when errors practise occur. It'southward a growing company so sometimes things don't run 100% smoothly, but they tend to reply to issues in a timely mode as well as any questions y'all might have.

CON: Sometimes you lot go random emails that seem poorly worded and can come off equally harsh. The peculiarly occurs if y'all had a network or tech error on your cease (or they deem you did whether or non information technology'southward the case). I call back it may be that the person sending the email isn't a native speaker and information technology can come off every bit really harsh when you get something similar "if you lot continue to accept technical problems your contract will be terminated." So getting those certainly makes me question my task security.

Final Thoughts

So far so adept!

In general, I'k a big fan of working for VIPKid and observe that the Pros outweigh the Cons. Due to it existence a new company, they take some growing pains. But from what I've seen things simply seem to exist getting improve. You tin meet another review of my thoughts on the changes they've made on VIPKid, The Skilful, The Bad, and The Ugly. There are some things I don't empathize or find transparent. These things include how they determine their base pay, (people with multiple years experience and masters degrees accept the same base pay I do, and some with less experience have more), merely hey, any works for them. If VIPKid seems similar something that would interest you, feel free to drop me a line or sign upward hither!

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VIPKid Review