How to Teach English Online

Are you wondering how to make money online, so that you have the flexibility to work wherever and however much you want? Then you might want to teach English online! As a freelancer without a steady income (and as someone who loves working with children) I recently decided to start teaching English online for a few hours a week. After doing lots of research on all the different teaching platforms out there, I decided to apply to Palfish.

In this article I will explain how to make money online by teaching english with Palfish. Answering any questions you might have about teacher requirements, the salary, the application process and the lessons themselves.

**If you sign up to Palfish please enter my invitation code: 51464949. I will be assigned as your mentor in the app and will be happy to coach you through the whole application process and answer any questions you might have :)**

Teach English online with PalFish : Everything you need to know

There are TWO ways to make money on Palfish. First is with the Free Talk where you just chat to people, you don’t need to have any specific qualifications for this (or to be a native English speaker) and you can set your own rates. The second is with the Official Kids Course (OKC) where you follow a prepared lesson; the pay is better here but you do need a TEFL certification.

How much money do you make teaching English online with Palfish?

Your income per lesson differs depending on how many points you make each month (see the points level below).

The payment for the Palfish OKC is between 55-75 yuan for a 25 minute class (£6 – 8.30). That’s around £12 – £17 or $16 – $21.50 per hour (depending on current exchange rates).

You also get a bonus of 200 yuan (£24.11) every month if you teach for over 20 hours in a month (and aren’t late for any lesson).

You’ll be paid via Payoneer at the beginning of each month for the previous months work. Sign up to Payoneer via my link to make an extra $25!

You get points on Palfish for:

• Teaching lessons (5-10 points)
• Selling a package (this is when a student trials a lesson with you and then signs up to the OKC) (40 points)
• Inviting other teachers to join (10 points)
• Being on time to all your lessons (20 points a month)
• Not missing any lessons (20 points a month)
• Opening 8 slots a week (1 point a week)

Teacher requirements for the Official Kids Course on Palfish

• You DO need to be a native English speaker (from the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand). However I have come across teachers on the platform who have the citizenship/nationality of one of these countries and a high level of English but are not native.
• You do NOT need a degree.
• You DO need a TEFL or TESOL certificate.
• You do NOT need teaching experience (but it is welcomed).
• You need to keep at least 8 slots a week open during peak hours (so 4 hours).

I did my TEFL online with International Open Academy for just €19! It’s a 120 hour course but it only actually took me around 10 hours. I then received a digital certificate that I could upload into Palfish.

Who are the students?

The students on Palfish are all Chinese aged from 3 to 12 years old. Through the official kids course you will teach them one on one. When you start you will mostly get trial students, these are children who are trying out the app to see if they want to join. Students can then decide to have you as their main teacher and book regular slots with you.

What are the peak teaching times (Beijing Time)?

• Monday – Friday: 5:30 pm – 9 pm
• Saturday – Sunday 9 am – 9 pm

What are the lessons like on Palfish?

The lessons on the official kids course on Palfish are already planned and the content will depend on the child’s English level. The lessons consist of around 20 slides that are fun and interactive for the students (and you!), there is even a little box at the bottom of each page telling you what to say!

There are also filters to play around with if you want to make yourself look like a rabbit, or dog, or cow etc…

You are encouraged to buy a few props to help engage and motivate your students. Palfish will give you 100 Yuan (around €13.20) to spend on props once you’ve been approved to the official kids course.

My props:

• Alphabet poster
• Numbers poster
• Alphabet flash cards
• Cuddley Toy Rabbit
• Homemade stars

Why I decided to teach English online with Palfish

• They accept British people (a lot of platforms only want Americans or Canadians).
• Fair wage.
• It’s very flexible – you can pick what time slots work best for you.
• You don’t have a minimum amount of hours that you need to teach (you just need to keep 8 slots open a week but that doesn’t mean that they will all be filled).
• The lessons are already planned.
• You can work remotely from anywhere in the world! Palfish is an app so you don’t even need to travel with a laptop as you can work from your phone!
• Palfish is growing really fast getting lots of new students so they’re in need of new teachers all the time!

How to apply to Palfish

Step 1 – Get your TEFL or TESOL

In order to teach english online you will need a TEFL or TESOL. If you don’t already have a TEFL, TESOL or teaching certificate you will need to get one before applying to the official kids course on Palfish. I did my TEFL online with International Open Academy for just €19! It’s a 120 hour course but it only actually took me around 10 hours. I then received a digital certificate that I could upload into Palfish.

Palfish accepts both TEFL and TESOL. If you’re wondering what the difference is between these two certificates, basically a TEFL certificate is what most British and Australian teachers will get, whilst TESOL is more for Americans and Canadian teachers.

Step 2 – Sign up to Palfish

Sign up to Palfish via your phone. You will need to enter your phone number to apply, but don’t worry this can be from any country (not just your country of origin). For example I’m British but signed up with a French phone number.

Please use my invitation code: 51464949. I will be assigned as your mentor in the app and will be able to coach you through the whole application process, as well as help get you started teaching and answer any questions you might have.

Step 3 – Complete Information

Fill in your profile with your information: Username, name, date of birth, text intro, audio intro, teaching certificate, proof of nationality (ideally copy of your passport) and work experience.

If you need inspiration on what to write on your profile you can find my account on Palfish under “Miss Ellie ??”. If you joined via my invitation code (51464949) you should also find me as your ‘inviter’ under settings.

Step 4 – Create a Payoneer account to receive payments

You’ll be paid via Payoneer at the beginning of each month of the previous months work. Sign up to Payoneer via my link to make an extra $25! Certain countries (like France) also allow you to directly link your bank to your account.

Step 5 – Schedule your interview

Once you have submitted your information you will be evaluated and then invited to interview. The Palfish interview is a quick and easy process of showing how you would teach a lesson. You’ll have slides to follow and you just need to go through them each of them and interact as if there was a child there.

I hope this article helps you to understand how you can teach English online with Palfish. If you have any questions about teaching with Palfish or the interview process, please join with my invitation code: 51464949 and I’ll be happy to coach you through joining Palfish!

You can also make money online by starting a blog or Instagram!

Like this post? Pin it to save for later!