Message from Adam
Online teaching really is a great way to make extra money while living in Japan. Many of the expats living in Japan are English teachers so doing extra online classes is pretty easy to do. Use your teaching skills to make some extra money online. The work schedules are usually flexible and it can be really fun teaching online. It is fun meeting people from all over the world from the comfort of your house.
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Online Teaching in Japan
Even if you are already teach at a school in Japan, you could get another job doing online teaching. Work in the evenings or on the weekends as an online tutor.
These jobs can be lucrative and since you’re already used to teaching, these jobs should be easy for you!
There are a lot of people in different parts of the world that want to have a private English teacher. Right now online teachers are in high demand, so this is a good time to make money online teaching.
There are several good companies to sign up with that will connect you with students. Some of these companies have their own curriculum for you to follow, but some allow you to teach whatever you want. There are easygoing companies that allow you to decide your own working hours, while others hold you to a strict work schedule.
There are many different companies and each company has their own style, standards and pay. Most companies require a six month or a year long contract and most of these companies require a bachelor degree as well. Some even require TEFL\TESL certifications, so make sure to check the requirements for each company.
Check out these companies and see which style one appeals to you. All these jobs are online so you can teach from the comfort of your own house!
Please note that for these jobs, you will need to have a decent computer, high speed internet, a webcam and a mic for these jobs.
Italki is an interesting site with a unique style and they claim to be “the world`s largest online market for language teachers”.
With Italki, you can set your own price for your lessons. Charge as much or as little as you want! Of course, be careful to not price yourself too high because then you wont get any students. Your price should be based on your experience level. Start with a low price and build your reputation.
The student feedback on this site is very important and the more positive reviews you have, the more you can charge.. You can also see what other teachers are charging, so make sure to charge your students appropriately.
On the higher end of the scale, established and professional teachers are charging $25/hour but many of the community teachers are charging around $12/hour.
The classes are done via Skype, Facetime or Google hangouts. You can teach anything you want and these classes are all 1 on 1.
Teach students of all ages from all over the world. Italki takes a 15% commission on all of your classes, but this is a great site to make some real money. The more time you put into building your reputation, the more money you can make!
Cambly is a good option for teaching online!
Work from anywhere in the world and the teachers set their own work hours.
Cambly has 1 on 1 classes with children, but they also do a lot of adult classes. The adult classes can be fairly informal. Most of the adults already know some English and just want to practice speaking more or learn pronunciation. They offer different class options to their students. There are standard English courses, conversation classes and classes designed as prep for TOEFL/IELTS tests.
Cambly has their own lesson plans but they do allow you to make your own lessons as well.
Classes are 30 minutes long and they pay $10.20 an hour and they make payments through PayPal. This is one of the lower payouts on this list but it is less rigid than the other companies on this list.
This is a fun job because you can meet people from all over the world. You could talk to someone from Brazil, Russia and Thailand all in one day!
Online Teaching in Japan Option #3:
Lingoda is a UK based company providing online English lessons to people all over the world.
Teachers choose their own work schedules and are paid around $12 an hour.
Lingoda offers both private classes and group classes. Classes are 60 minutes long and group classes have a max of five students. Teachers will use the Lingoda curriculum so teachers never have to develop their own lesson plans.
Teachers must be a native speaker of English, have two years of teaching experience and have an ESL teaching certificate.
With only 6,000 students, this is one of the smallest online teaching companies on this list.
Online Teaching in Japan Option #4:
Topic time is very different from the other companies on this list. They are a very small company with only 15 teachers (currently).
This is a company that was started in Japan and primarily services only Japan.
Classes are done via Skype and they use “Scarlett Method” for teaching each class. Scarlett method is where the teacher types everything that the student says and then after the student finishes speaking, the teacher will show them what they typed. The teacher and student will then go over everything together and correct any mistakes that the student made.
Classes are generally 1 on 1 but classes can have up to 3 students. They offer 25 minute classes and 60 minute classes. A 25 minute class costs the student around $9.
It is interesting to note that they don’t want their teachers to have a predetermined lesson plan in mind before teaching. Their philosophy is that natural conversation is the best way to learn. They will be topics to talk about, but in general there is no curriculum.
Since the teachers have to type everything thing the student says, fast typing skills are a must for this job. They also require that all their teachers have an American social security number. Teachers can set their own work schedule but they must work at least 10 hours a week. Having some Japanese ability and knowledge about Japanese culture/customs is preferred.
Pay is per class and is payed through PayPal weekly.
Online Teaching in Japan Option #5:
VIP Kid is one of the largest and the most trusted site for online teaching jobs.
The minimum payment is $14 an hour but they can pay up to $22 an hour! They have six month contracts and want their teachers to work 7.5 hours a week. They allow a flexible work schedule but there are “peak” hours that have the most students looking for teachers. Peak hours are between 6-10pm on weekdays and weekends (Beijing time).
VIP Kid is an online teaching company based in China. All of the students are Chinese children 4 years old through 12 years old.
There are lesson plans already made for you to use and you are required to use these lesson plans. VIP Kid acts as the “middleman” between you and the client, so you don’t have to speak Chinese. They are the ones that talk to the parents of your students, so you don’t have to deal with any of the business side of things. All you have to do is teach!
Each class is 20-30 minutes long and each lesson is 1 on 1.
Teachers can teach from anywhere in the world, but only North Americans can apply to work with VIP Kid.
Online Teaching in Japan Option #6:
Q Kids is very similar to VIP Kid.
Here they pay up to $20 an hour and they handle all the business side of things so you never have to communicate with the students parents. Q Kids connects English teachers with over 500,000 children in China.
The students are aged between 4 and 12 years old. Each class is 30 minutes long and there is only one student in each class. The teachers never have to plan any lesson plans. They use a pre-made curriculum that uses interactive computer apps and games.
Work schedules are flexible and the teachers can choose how much they want to work. Teachers can live anywhere in the world but Q Kids only accepts teachers who are from North America.
Online Teaching in Japan Option #7:
DaDa has a lot of great reviews on the internet from people who have worked there. Teachers from anywhere in the world can apply here!
This is another online teaching job servicing China. Student levels are from early childhood through high school.
Contracts range from 6-12 months. All teachers for Dada must have TESL/TEFL certification as well as at least a bachelor degree in any field. Classes are 1 on 1 and last for 30 minutes. Working hours range from 3 hours to 20 hours a week. The work times are fairly flexible, so you can set up your own work schedule. Teachers use a set curriculum in all their classes.
The pay is pretty good at $15-25 an hour and they also offer bonuses for every new student trial lesson you do. They offer $100 for any successful new teacher referrals and even have attendance bonuses. Payments are made via bank transfers on the 15th of every month.
They have high standards for their teachers but this is a good way to make money teaching online in Japan.
Online Teaching in Japan Option #8:
iTutorGroup has more than 30,000 teachers and provide services in over 135 countries. There are some mixed reviews about this company online, but most reviews say that this is a decent place to work for if you take it seriously and put your time in.
Here you could teach anyone from 5 year olds or adults. iTutorGroup has their own curriculum so teachers do not have to design their own lesson plans. There are 25 minutes 1 on 1 classes or 45 minute group classes available.
You can set you own schedule and they provide 24/7 support for their teachers. Base pay starts low but there is possibility to get ranked higher and then get paid more. Many teachers don’t like this ranking system because higher ranked teachers get paid more than them. That is why teachers here need to be patient and put their time in before they can start to make better money.
Contracts are for one year and the minimum number of work hours a week is 10 hours. From their website, they say that the average salary for their teachers is $1,500 – $2,000 a month. They require that their teachers have a bachelors degree, TESOL/TEFL certificate and one year teaching experience.
This company can be pretty strict and it feels more like a real job than just a side hustle. But if you stay with them for awhile, you can make really good money with online teaching.
Final Thoughts
There many different options for online teaching in Japan and each one offers something different. Some are super relaxed and some are super strict. But all of these are decent options for making money online. Look at the different companies and choose one that appeals to you and give it a shot!
If you have taught with any of these companies, please leave a comment below and share your experiences.
