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How To Get Hired as an Online English Teacher with PalFish

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First of all, I hope you are okay. Times are crazy right now and I hope that with everything that is going on, you are able to remain positive. This is a hard time but I am confident that this to shall pass.

With so many places closing due to the virus I know many people are struggling right now. I used to work at a school in Vietnam for 2,5 years before moved to Bali and made the transition to online teaching. In times like this, I am so grateful that I am able to make a living from home.

You can do this too and I'm here to help you! You can set your own schedule and you can teach from anywhere. All you need is a phone, an internet connection, and some good lighting. Yep, you read that right you can teach with PalFish straight from your phone!

You make between $18-$22 an hour, which is pretty decent considering you don’t need to prepare your classes or even were pants for that matter. 

Want to skip the talk and go ahead and apply? Follow this link or use this code when you're apply: 69239996.

What is PalFish?

PalFish is a mobile app that can be downloaded for both iOs and Android. There are three different ways to teach on Palfish, all having different requirements.

The Official Kids Course: 

This is the 'classic' course for students between the age of 3 and 15. Structured lesson material is provided and classes require little to no preparation. When you start teaching you will mostly get trail classes, which are pretty basic, covering topics like animals and fruit. 

After a while you'll start to build your student base, getting more and more regulars. Regular students are my favorite because you can really build a relationship with them and see their progress.

Requirements: 

  • Teaching certificate (TEFL/TESOL/CELTA): You can apply without having the certificate yet but I suggest you get after it with some anticipation.
  • Native speaker: As for most online teaching jobs you need to have a passport from a native English speaking country.
The good news is that compared to lots of online schools you do NOT need a Bachelors Degree to teach for Palfish. 

Not quite sure if PalFish is for you? Check out 11 other English teaching platforms and their requirements to find your perfect match!

Palfish Freetalk: 

This area of Palfish allows you to teach without meeting the requirements of the Official Kids Course. You do not need a teaching certificate and you don't even need to be a native speaker. 

Students (mainly adults) can call you and it's pretty much the same as a phone call. You can talk about any subject they like and it is usually quite casual.

Filipino Course:

This is the 3rd option for teaching with PalFish. This option is only available for teachers from the Philippines. You must have some sort of teaching certificate or degree to be able to apply.

I only teach the official Kids course because I believe this is the best way to make money teaching on Palfish so this is what I'll be focusing on in the rest of the article. 

Structure and lessons:

One class lasts 25 minutes and all lesson material is provided.

The lessons are fun and interactive with lots of songs and games. The material is pretty straight forward and tells you exactly what to do and say so little to no preparation is required. After class you fill in a short review, giving the students stars based on their performance. This will literally take you less than 2 minutes. 

Most important while teaching online is that you are enthusiastic and energetic.

Some kids can be pretty shy in the beginning but your enthusiasm will rub off on them and they will start feeling more comfortable and enjoying the lesson. Be yourself, let your personality shine through and try to make your lessons as interactive as possible to get more and more regular students.

A screenshot of the scheduling page on the English teaching app, PalFish
A screenshot of the app

You can open and schedule whenever you want as long as you are available for 10 peak hrs. Peak hours are typically evening times in Beijing and all day on the Saturday and Sunday. You can also cancel without any penalties if you do it within 24 hrs. Students can choose their own teachers so the more self-promotion you do the more classes you will get, although you can ask your admin for more hours if you’re having trouble

A unique aspect to PalFish is your ability to promote or market yourself as a teacher.

You can even send messages to Trial students (students you taught but have not yet committed to being a full-time student) to entice them to stay with PalFish! This ability to chat with your students and practice self-promotion allows you to be in more control of how you attract students.

In other platforms, you do need to make a teacher profile with usually an introduction video and a short bio but usually cannot contact students outside of classroom feedback. 

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Pay: 

Palfish works with a point system. The base salary is about $18 an hour and this can go up to $22 an hour depending on how many classes you teach. The more classes you teach, the higher your salary will be. I teach about 8 classes a day during the week, and more on the weekends. This makes a pretty nice paycheck at the end of the month. You also receive bonuses for teaching at peak times, selling a package after a trial and just simply being on time. 

Payment is at the beginning of every month and goes through Payoneer, which is very similar to Paypal but with lower fees. You can use your Payoneer account to make payments or transfer the money into your International bank account. 

How to apply:

To apply for the Official Kids Course, click here or use the referral code: 69239996.

You start by filling in basic information and setting up your profile. Once this is done, you will teach a trial class for 15 minutes. There is nobody in the classroom during the trial so it's a bit funny but also pretty easy. 

You just go through the slides to display your teaching style. Most important is that you are energetic and happy, which is kind of awkward without an actual kid in the classroom. 

After the interview, your profile gets verified and you're ready to start teaching! 

The whole process takes about a week so you can get started really quickly. 

I hope this helps! This might even be an opportunity since teaching online is a pretty sweet gig. It requires little to no preparation and it allows you to travel.

I especially like PalFish because since it's an app, it's flexible and you can do it anywhere. You don't even need stable wifi as long as you have a simcard with 4G internet, you're good to go. 

If you have any other questions feel free to reach out to me via Instagram! Stay healthy and happy teaching!

*I receive compensation on any successful referral* Read our disclaimer & privacy policy here.

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