If the start of the 2020s has taught the world anything besides the importance of vaccinations, it has to be how fantastic it is to learn online.

But have you thought about teaching languages online before?

There are lots of great reasons to teach languages online:

🛋 It’s super convenient to teach from your home or office..

🚙 …and adventure is open to you because you can teach languages online when you’re on the road

💰 You can save money on class materials like outdated books and CDs.

⚖️ And it’s a super flexible job, which puts you in control of your time!

All this becomes much easier when you have the right tools, so today we’re rounding up the tools that we think you absolutely need to start your business.

Best Video Conferencing Tools for Teachers

As an online language teacher, you need fast internet and a stable connection, so the first important thing is to check your speed using something like Speedtest so you can be sure your internet is reliable.

Next, you need a video conferencing app. Here are 3 to try:

Zoom, one of the most popular video conferencing tools for online teachers that want to have meetings with high security, a cool whiteboard, and great video quality. The app is not entirely free, but if you go for it you can get group meetings included.
Google Meet has one big advantage: No need to download an app! You can easily screen share and chat in your browser or on your phone, and it works super well with Google Calendar. This is great when you want your students to make sure they show up for lessons. SMS invitations are easy now!
Whereby is a newer video platform. You can bring colour to your teaching life with its many custom options, and it never requires any software downloads. The free plan allows unlimited 1:1 meetings, though you only get one meeting room URL to share.

Best Online Tools to Teach Vocabulary

When you are teaching your students online, you will often want to share new words and expressions that come up in conversation.

The majority of online teachers use the in-built chat function in Zoom for this, and many will also type words into Google Docs as they go.

Here’s how to make it more fun:

As an online language teacher I provide many touch points so the student benefits from natural review and repetition. The following tools can make teaching vocabulary into a game:

Memrise is a vocabulary learning app with in-built courses and options to make your own vocabulary sets for students to use. The courses are built around CEFR levels (A1-C2). Memrise is easy to use and its feature of “mems” helps students make words sticky.
Quizlet is very popular with teachers, especially if you base your lessons on resources that you use many times. It’s a simple flashcard app, allowing students to review on the go. You can create a custom set of vocabulary phrases and words for them, or use pre-created sets from other users.
Kahoot is an amazing tool for creating super fun quiz games. Best for when you are teaching groups of students, because they can compete to get the right answers just like on a quiz show!

For more ideas to use as an online language teacher, click here and discover 6 vocabulary learning techniques.

The Best Online Tools to Teach Grammar

Let’s face it, teaching grammar is an art in itself. I do not advise teaching grammar by reading out rules to students, instead I use a curiosity-based method that is perfect for adult learners.

Online whiteboards like Limnu can help you and your student understand grammar through visual explanations.
Whimsical is a great place for more visual explanations, for example through flow charts and mind maps.
If you want to encourage speaking, why not ask your students to answer questions or record sentences where they practice new grammar structures! Tools like Speakpipe are fantastic for this, and personally I’d consider using Voxer or Whatsapp (it’s where I do my coaching sessions!).
Finally don’t underestimate the power of playing games with your language learners. Gamified apps are nice, but they will love it so much more when you can engage them in a game so they don’t even know you’re teaching grammar! Here are 5 games that will help you teach a language in lessons, online and offline.

The Best Platforms to Find Students as an Online Language Teacher

Languatalk’s listing page where you can find students

There is a BIG market of platforms for online language lessons, but beware because they are not all the same. Some platforms are MUCH more fair to teachers. My advice is that you should not feel pressured to price yourself cheaply.

If you’re a quality, creative language teacher (here are a few great ideas!), your students will benefit from your lessons and you can earn good money through your work.

So let’s see..here are a few platforms that make finding online students easy.

Languatalk are a new language learning platform who have been a big hit with teachers. The teachers on Languatalk love how easy it is to set up and adjust your profile and how there are no hidden fees. The team is also very available for supporting new tutors. Recommended for any online teacher with experience or qualifications.
italki are one of the big names in language learning, and they stand out for their HUGE range of languages. You will find students here no matter which language you want to teach, but be aware that the market is very busy. Italki don’t always accept new teachers for every language. Recommended if you teach a rare language.

Apart from those two platforms, I don’t recommend that you rely on the big marketplaces too much. Use them to get started and only continue if you find you’re getting great students at great rates. In my experience, the best way to get great work as an online is to build lasting relationships with great students.

Here’s The Full List of Tools for Online Language Teaching

I hope this list was helpful for you and that you found the tool you were looking for! Here’s a quick reference list of what they were:

For Online Video Conferencing: Zoom, Google Meet, Whereby

For Teaching Vocabulary Online: Memrise, Quizlet, Kahoot

For Teaching Grammar Online: Limnu, Whimsical, Speakpipe, Voxer, Games

For Finding Online Language Students: Languatalk, italki

If you would like to bookmark this article, here is the address:

https://www.fluentlanguage.co.uk/blog/online-teaching-tools

Frequently Asked Language Teacher Questions

How do I become a language tutor?

Anyone can start tutoring languages,

Advertise yourself locally with flyers in local venues like cafés and libraries.
Contact local schools and let them know that you offer tutoring services.
Find students online! In this article, you will learn about my top recommended platforms where you can make a profile and start teaching online.
Find a good location to teach, for example your home or a café.
Set yourself up for taking payments. This can be cash, by card, or via online platforms.

What qualifications do I need to teach languages?

This varies depending on the learner and the platform. Sometimes they will look for someone to practice conversations, and you can be that partner even without qualifications. At other times, you will need specific qualifications such as

Teaching diplomas like CELTA
Language degrees like Masters or Bachelor
Experience working in schools or tutoring environments

If you want to tutor young people in person, you might also need a criminal records check.

How do I become a freelance language teacher?

You will usually need to set yourself up as a self-employed person in your country, so that you are legally allowed to earn money. Please check this with your local government so you’re above board when it comes to tax.

To teach online, you need good internet, a microphone, and video conferencing software like you can read in this article.

Finally, if you want more experience you can offer to participate in free language exchanges. Here are some great tips for making language exchanges work for you.

Got More Questions About Teaching Online?

I have over a decade of online teaching experience, from 1:1 language lessons all the way to creating a hit language course.

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