Are you looking for an opportunity where you can teach basic English skills to international students?
In that case, I guess it’s about time you consider teaching English as a second language online with some of the best companies out there. Not only is it a great part-time job, but it pays pretty well too!
Read more about this opportunity in my updated Whales English review! ⭐
When the pandemic turned the world upside down, many of us have finally realized the importance of saving for the rainy days.
Just like what wealthy businessmen always say, the key to financial freedom is not about having a stable career that pays well but also having additional income streams to help you, like side hustles and passive income flows.
Speaking of side hustles, one of the most recommended ones today, aside from freelancing, is actually ESL teaching.
As mentioned above, ESL stands for English as a second language. Unlike other educational platforms like Chegg, WyzAnt, Varsity Tutors, and Course Hero, the only subject to teach here is English.
While it may sound limiting, you might be surprised about how exciting the world of ESL can be.
From teaching business English, conversational English to supporting language learners from China, Thailand, Japan, and Korea, there is no shortage of the type of English help that you can provide online. 📚🤓
Depending on the company you will sign up with, you can even teach grammar points, writing structures, train for debate, and even help out zero-level students!
Teaching itself is a fulfilling career, but not all of us are ready to dive into the actual field requirements like grading papers, disciplining students, and preparing different instructional materials.
And this, I believe, is the beauty of online teaching! Check out this day in the life of an online English teacher video to see how it usually goes!
easily the best way to make money online!
The beauty of being an ESL teacher is that you can be the boss of your own time and create flexible schedules for yourself and your students.
You can even teach from different parts of the world without being shackled into an office or a faculty room. Allow me to discuss the benefits further below:
- You get to create your schedule – depending on the company you partner up with, you can set your working hours and let students come to you. A pro tip of mine would be to adjust your schedule accordingly (like early mornings or late afternoons) to see your name in the teachers’ roster if, let’s say, the company caters to students in Asia.
- The students are more motivated online – unlike in real classrooms, students pay to learn additional English lessons with you, which they usually do at home. It is normal to see parents supervising their kids during tutoring sessions, so they practically have no choice but to focus on the lesson.
- Embrace a digital nomad’s life – you can take classes anytime and anywhere as long as you can provide a conducive learning experience for the student (just go to a place that does not have unnecessary sound pollution).
- You are an international teacher – unlike regular teachers, you, as an online ESL instructor, can learn more about your students’ diverse cultures and belief systems while teaching them.
Are you interested in seeing if this is for you? Please find out more about this as I present to you my Whales English review below so that you can make up your mind on whether you should avoid this company or not.
Before I start, let me just clarify that I am not connected with Whales English, nor am I being compensated to write this post. This review will only contain my honest opinion about their service and nothing more.
If that sits well with you, then off we go! 🚀
Whales English Review
ESL teaching is quickly becoming a trend today because it allows people from all walks of life to become teachers.
Even if you are a stay-at-home parent, a college student, or a professional, as long as you have a laptop and stable internet connection, you can join in quickly and start transforming young learners’ lives.
While there are many ESL companies to choose from, do note that not all of them are not created equally.
Some may have higher pay per hour, require you to use specific props and accents, and some may even give you a fixed schedule to guarantee your earnings. One example of that is Whales English.
As you can see from this video, Whales English (also known as Sprout 4 Future and Rouchi) is a sought-after online teaching school based in Beijing, China.
They have their own language curriculum, so preparing for classes under them will be much easier with their educational portal with a class schedule and prepared lesson files based on Oxford University Press, Cambridge English Assessment, and National Geographic Learning.
Initially, the company was developed by parents, and it was mainly considered a non-profit organization back in 2012. They hooked up with native English speakers and asked for volunteer teachers for their kids. 🚸💡
As the number of teachers grew and the parents saw its potential, it became a full-blown company after a little while.
Unlike other ESL companies, Whales English is basically for Chinese students with ages ranging from 3-18.
As we all know, these age ranges are when kids become a bit conscious, which is why they have two types of classes – paired class or group class.
Unlike in similar companies like VIPKID or GoGo kid, you don’t have the opportunity to teach a one-on-one class.
Additionally, the classes here last for about 50 minutes, and the number of studies you will handle depends on your bookings alone. The term ‘booking’ refers to the roster of students asking you personally to teach them.
At Whales English, the parents are the ones who select teachers for their kids, so be sure that you are online during the peak hours – 6:55 – 9:00 pm Beijing time. ⏱️
So, what makes it different from other companies? 😊
Despite its name stating otherwise (English), you might be surprised to find out that this company also has other subjects under its belt.
This means that if you find yourself good at English or History, you might be given a chance to teach that too! Some of the in-demand subjects aside from conversational English are the following:
- Language Arts ✓
- Literature ✓
- Sociology ✓
- Academic Writing ✓
- Earth & Life Science ✓
- Social Studies ✓
- History ✓
- Advanced Reading ✓
- Debate ✓
Other subjects are not explicitly on the website, but if they find your performance up to standard, they might allow you to teach particular subjects other than those listed above.
In terms of social media presence, it only has around 2,450k followers on Facebook, 187 on Instagram, and four on Twitter. (yes…4!)
I think that we cannot blame the company at all. They only cater to Chinese students at the end of the day, which explains why their social media metrics are not as excellent as we’d expect.
How Does Whales English Work?
Joining Whales English as an ESL teacher is pretty straightforward. The basic qualifications are:
• You must come from a native English-speaking country.
• You must have a college degree which doesn’t have to be in line with teaching.
• One hundred twenty hours TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate.
• Must have the essential technical equipment like laptop and stable connection.
Please note: The native speaking countries are U.S, Canada, Ireland, U.K, New Zealand, and Australia.
Bonus points: Although it’s not a requirement, your chances of getting accepted will be significantly higher if you have previous teaching experience and teaching certifications from your home country.
If you think you qualify for those mentioned above, you can start applying by browsing through their website and keying your email and desired password.
Once you are inside the platform, you will have to complete the application form and upload your documents and professional photo.
After one or two business days, you will receive an email whether you passed the initial screening or not.
If you passed, you would have to log in to your account and book a mock class interview, usually lasting around 20 to 30 minutes (10 minutes for actual demo; 10 for question and answer; 5 for feedback).
Once you are done, you can expect an email in the next 1-5 days, and it will include your service agreement contract.
After the contract signing, you will be invited to complete a teacher’s training. After that, you will be finally allowed to begin your ESL career.
Unlike other ESL companies where you can apply and navigate on your own, Whales English offers a one-year contract for all the successful applicants.
The contracts are divided into two: 🔽
If you’re labelled as a Regular Teacher, it is stipulated that you need to be online for a minimum of 8 hours per week, but if you are an On-call Teacher, you should be online for at least 12 hours per week.
And do you know what the best part is? 🙂
Aside from plain old teaching, the company can also level up your status by allowing you to handle a part-time position like training other teachers or becoming a course developer under them.
All of those have additional bonuses! ✅
Can You Make Money With Whales English?
The best thing about Whales English is that it’s a good-paying job, and you can live off of your salary here alone.
Depending on the subject and the student’s level, you can expect anywhere between $18 to $30 per 50-minute class.
Add to that the bonuses like an additional $5 every time you clock in for 4 hours during weekends, and you got yourself a decent salary. You can also adjust and automate the withdrawal directly to your bank account or PayPal address.
So, if we are going to make a general computation of this, this means that if you have at least five classes per day from Monday-Friday, you’ll earn around $90 to $153 per week!
If you want to work longer than that and schedule an additional trial class, you can expect to earn even more! In this sense, I can confidently say that Whales English is a profitable opportunity.
And before I forget, please note that if ever you find yourself too tired or in need of leave, the company also grants short and long term leaves (1-3 days – week) so long as you give your teacher-consultant a heads up a week or two before your leave.
Is Whales English Legit?
Whales English is not a scam, and it remains to be one of the coolest and highest paying ESL companies out there. The only downside for me here is the fact that it is not available for other countries.
I understand that they may have excellent standards and want the students to acquire a neutral accent, but I know of other English-speaking countries that can also take advantage of this.
If anyone from the company ever reads this post, I hope that they consider opening their doors to other countries, which can also boost their popularity.
In terms of leave policy, I highly recommend this company as this is the first time I have ever come across an ESL platform that allows teachers to take a break when needed. For me, it reflects that they care about their teacher’s health and wellbeing.
Of course, it also has its cons. 😕
For instance, I appreciate that their lessons are already prepared, and the teachers just need to execute them.
However, some of these lessons are so detailed that teachers should take the time to prepare well, especially since not all the students they will teach for the day are not on the same level.
As a side-hustle, I think that the pay is excellent, but if you want something more beginner-friendly and will not require you to learn again how to teach kids (especially if this is your first time), then I think I may have something better for you.
ESL or Affiliate Marketing? (A Proven Blueprint!)
Like you, I have always been interested in exploring what the internet has to offer, and luckily enough, I found a great way to make a living online.
I was fortunate enough to stumble upon an everlasting type of business model, which made it possible for me to create a fully functional digital marketing business right out of my bedroom.
A business that finances my lifelong dreams. 💯
Before we go any further, I just want to let you know that this is not some type of done-for-you system with a fairy tale ending, okay?
This opportunity is indeed a legitimate one, but it requires you to invest yourself fully, and only then will you be able to enjoy the benefits it has to offer.
I’m not sure if this is your first time hearing about it, but the business model I’m referring to is known as affiliate marketing, and it remains to be one of the best choices for starter earners for a reason.
Its straightforwardness and passive potential are what got me into it, and I firmly believe they are the same reasons you would want to try it too.
Here’s how it goes. 👇
As an affiliate, you promote and sell other people’s products and services, and in return, you get compensated with high commissions that more often than not surpass the %40 marks.
The beauty of it is that you get to take nearly half of their profits with you without worrying about dealing with customer satisfaction, complaints, shipping, handling, and all that fun stuff.
Affiliate marketing can be done in many ways. 🙂
Still, the way I like to do it is very cost-effective, making it suitable for anyone unwilling to shell out a lot of money from the very beginning.
The only downfall of this method is that it takes some time (6-8 months), but once you get the ball rolling, you can relax and watch the commissions roll in.
There are countless reasons why AM holds the number one spot in my mind. As mentioned, I’m an affiliate myself, and here are some of the reasons why I think you should consider becoming one too:
- It doesn’t require any previous experience or expertise.
- It’s relatively less complicated than other income models.
- Two out of three online earners are affiliates.
- It’s a performance-based model of business.
- It’s pretty convenient and flexible.
- Its passiveness has the potential to earn you your freedom.
- I and thousands of others have done it, so can you!
- It has a low startup cost.
- It’s considered a low-risk investment.
- You can get started as soon as today.
I can go on and on for days on why affiliate marketing is so lucrative, but it might be best to save us both some time and have you read my ultimate beginners guide instead.
Inside, there’s a step-by-step explanation of how AM works, the passive potential it has, and I even discuss how to get started and some of the things you should watch out for along the way.
Like yourself, I was once also an internet dweller trying to figure out how this making money online thing works.
I had zero knowledge and no past experiences as a freelancer, but the thought of working from home seemed too attractive that I wasn’t willing to quit until I figured it all out.
Long story short, I came across Wealthy Affiliate, the leading educational platform for affiliates of all levels in the past decade or so.
You could say I was doubtful at the beginning, but quick enough, the community won me over and cleared all the doubts I had about its legitimacy.
They gave me all the much-needed pieces of training, tools, and support to go out in the real world and crush it as an affiliate, and I firmly believe they can do the same for you as well. 🤩
I’m more than happy to welcome you inside, introduce you to its owners, and show you why it has been the go-to choice for all the newcomers looking to get started with AM.
The platform may be far from perfect, but it’s pretty innovative and continuously updated with new features. In the end, no one’s ideal, which clearly explains why even pens sometimes have erasers.
WA currently deals with a unique freemium membership model that allows you to test the platform and see what it is all about.
With it, you’ll have access to the course’s first few lessons, giving you plenty of time to decide whether this is something you would want to pursue.
As I end my Whales English review, I hope that I was able to shed light on this platform and answer the question of whether it’s a complete scam and a waste of time or not.
If you enjoyed my post, please send it to your friends by sharing it on social media to help spread the news on all things financial.
If you have any questions or want to give your opinion on any of the platforms mentioned above, leave a comment down below, and I promise to get back to you as soon as I can. 👋
Hi, this is good info.
It’s essential to know English today. It’s almost fair to say that it’s considered the universal language.
If you want to work in Canada’s capital (or anywhere for that matter), you need to know English, so it was great to hear that I have all the requirements to apply as a teacher here.
I’ve tried other ESL sites in the past, but none of them seemed as promising as Whales English does.
Thanks for the review.
Lyne
I hope you get accepted, Lyne. Feel free to get in touch if there’s something that I can help with.
Hey there. Fantastic review, thank you. I am actually studying my TEFL right now and thinking about starting as a side hustle.
Like Whales English, many schools require you to be native, which I will never achieve obviously (BORN in Slovakia).
That makes it quite difficult for people like me to get this possibility. However, affiliate marketing doesn’t have this requirement, and I see there much more value and potential (earning wise).
So I think whoever is hesitating this review can really help them get a more clear picture. Thanks again for this great piece of advice.
I hope it does. I put in a lot of effort to write this review.
It’s worth trying, at least. You never know. You might just get accepted.
I’ve seen cases where applications of native speakers were declined, and the ones that came from non-English speaking countries got accepted.