Teaching English Online with VIP Kid

Teaching English Online with VIP Kid

I am constantly looking to find ways to add more money to our income as a stay at home mom. After leaving the classroom as a public school teacher for 10 years, I thought I would never be able to find a flexible teaching job that I could use both my experience and knowledge to do from home.  I never thought teaching English online would be a possibility! 

Until, I found an opportunity to teach English online to Chinese students with VIP Kid!

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Teach English Online to Chinese Students

It seems kind of crazy to think of teaching a 5 year old how to speak English through an online platform. How could you keep their attention? How will they understand you . . . I mean they are 5 years old and full of energy!

VIP Kid is an extremely organized program that has pre-planned lessons to follow. They expect all teachers to use the same sentence structures, teach the same format, and most importantly have the student speak 70% of the class time!

The virtual classroom is set up through software with VIPKid. (It’s kind of like using Skype or Google Hangouts.) Students can use a computer or tablet to participate in the lesson. The lessons are very engaging with lots of Total Physical Response (TPR), hand gestures to help with understanding as you talk, and total immersion into the English language.

Lessons last a total of 25 minutes and are quick paced and full of energy! Teachers use props, rewards systems, and lots of smiling to create a friendly environment that promotes engagement, confidence, and learning the English language.

Side Note: This is one of my favorite side gigs right now! I love working with these students, and I am motivated because I truly feel like I’m making a difference! I never thought I would be teaching English online or waking up early to do it 🙂

Teach English Online and Get Paid

The pay for teaching English online is approximately $8 per class. Classes are 25 minutes long, so you can book 2 classes per hour and earn $16 per hour.

After bonus earnings, you can earn an additional $1 – $2 per class.

Your potential earning is $18 – $24 per hour with the benefit of flexible hours.

Teach English Online from Home

How to Apply

VIP Kid requires that you have a Bachelors degree. You don’t have to have a degree in education, but you do need to have a college degree. They will accept an Associates degree in childhood education in some circumstances.

For more information you can check out VIP Kid’s FAQ.

Tips for your Resume:

• College Degree
• Experience working with children: volunteering, working with children at church, schools, summer camps, etc.
• Any relevant teaching experience
• Native North American accent
• Have a good internet connection with computer, camera, and microphone (I use my built in camera on my computer and my iPhone headphones that have the microphone.)

Interested in teaching English online? You can apply to VIP Kid here!

You simply fill out the online application and submit your resume. Then you will be notified by email about the next steps of the interview process.

Find out about my interview process and how my little guys almost wrecked my first Mock Trial

Interview Process

The interview process is fairly rigorous. You will end up going through 3 interviews/mock classes that are done over the VIP Kid software program. It’s important that you prepare for each lesson that you teach!

First Step: 10 Minute Demo Class – In this interview you will meet with an interviewer and talk a little about your background. Then you will teach a 10 minute demo class. It’s very important that you prepare for the 10 minute lesson. Your interviewer is looking to see if you have lots of energy, are engaging and use Total Physical Response (TPR).

Second Interview/Mock Class 1: Mock Class 1 is a class that you will teach to a VIP Kid mentor teacher. In this class, the mentor teacher will be acting like a 5 year old Chinese student with no English experience. The mentor teacher is looking to see that you are prepared, professional, engaging, and that you are using TPR (<<< TPR is MAJORLY important!).

Third Interview/Mock Class 2: Mock Class 2 is another class that you teach to a VIP Kid mentor teacher. In this class, you will teach 2 lessons totaling 25 minutes. You have about 15 minutes for the first part (teaching a Level 0: 5 year old with limited English) and 10 minutes for the second part (teaching a Level 3: 10 year old able to read English).

After you pass each interview step you will be sent an email for the next interview with information about the Mock Class. Make sure you prepare for your Mock Classes! Read ALL the information they send you.

Tips for Preparing for Mock Class:

• Wear an Orange shirt – This is the color of VIP Kid and teachers wear orange shirts. It makes you look professional. I was never told to wear orange during the interview process, but heard from other VIP Kid teachers that this helps you stand out!
• Background – I bought a map of the United States for my background. I used a lamp to give better lighting.
• Use Props – If there is a picture of an apple in the lesson, then have a real apple to show. Use a puppet to get the kid’s attention.
• Watch Youtube videos – Nancy Taylor and Alyssa Burks have great advice on how to be successful in each of the interviews. I watched their videos over and over again!
• Practice – I practiced my lessons on my 3 year old and 5 year old. I also practiced my lesson with my husband having him act like a 5 year old! 🙂 For me I’m way more comfortable in front of kids, so I wanted some practice with an adult.

Teaching English Online In the Classroom

Once you’ve made it through the interview process you will be sent a message that you have been accepted as a teacher with VIP Kid!

Now you can start booking classes with real students! Just remember the time difference between Beijing and where you are located. For me, Beijing is 12 hours ahead of us. So I teach my classes from 5 am – 7 am Eastern Standard Time and my students are taking class from 5 pm – 7 pm’

VIP Kid is growing fast so there are a lot of opportunities for you to work and book students!

Final Thoughts

VIP Kid is a great way to teach on a flexible schedule. The pay makes this job well worth the effort of the application process. I think it’s important that VIP Kid takes the time to help you be the best teacher with lots of training videos and a community to ask questions.

I love that this job can be done from home with completely flexible hours. I plan on working before my kids wake up and a couple hours on the weekend!

Want to apply for VIP Kid? Use my referral link to sign up! >>> Apply for VIP Kid

What do you think? Is VIP Kid a job that you are interested in?