South African schools have been closed for over a month since Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga made the announcement on 18 March. This was an attempt to contain the global COVID-19 pandemic. With several school weeks lost educators are harnessing the power of online learning resources to ensure that students can continue with their studies, despite the loss of classroom hours.
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The COVID-19 lockdown has seen a global increase in demand for online English teachers. In South Africa, 370 000 jobs are at risk, according to the South African Reserve Bank’s latest Monetary Policy Review, although industry experts consider this a conservative estimate. With average salaries between R190 and R560 per hour, depending on experience, teaching English online could be the solution for South Africans who find themselves struggling to make ends meet due to COVID-19 job losses.
Many companies that match up teachers with students do not have enough teachers to cope with current demand. “There are currently thousands of online teaching jobs available to South Africans, listed on the internet. It’s just a matter of getting qualified and finding a way to teach online that suits you,” says Tom Gibbons, Director at The TEFL Academy, South Africa’s leading course provider of teaching English as a foreign language.
In terms of working hours, many of the large online teaching companies are based in Asia. This means peak teaching times are Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 16:00 South African time, and 13:00 to 16:00 on weekends.
In order to teach English from home, all you need is the following:
- A legitimate teaching qualification
- A stable internet connection
- A pair of headphones
- A microphone
- A webcam
- A method to receive payments, like a PayPal account
For more information, visit theteflacademy.com.
