Many are still surprised that teaching a foreign language comes with a lot of benefits and opportunities. It has, in fact, become one of the most in demand side hustle recently. More and more people are seeking to learn how to speak in another language, particularly English to those who are living in non-English speaking countries.
One of the best parts of becoming a language tutor is that the minimum requirement is fluency in the language you wish to teach. It’s actually a good news for native English speakers. While there is an option to get a certification, it is not strictly required. Foreign language tutoring is therefore an easy choice if you are looking for a job where you can earn extra.
What Type of Work can I do as a Language Teacher?
As a language expert, you have plenty of work options to choose from. Since we are more interested in working for side hustles, here are a few ways you can earn money as an expert:
Online Language Tutoring
If you are looking for the best option to utilize your skills, then teaching foreign languages online is the way to go. It is one of the best side hustles for teachers out there. Online language tutoring can be a full-time job as the good pay makes it sustainable. Also the demands of teaching online are easy to do.
There is also the option to teach via chat. While other students prefer to do face-to-face online classes, there are those who also wish to simply practice having online chat conversations. After all, verbal communication is different from text and chat communication.
The very purpose of chat messaging is to teach your students how to read and write in the language that they are not proficient in, like English! This is particularly helpful for students who need to send emails, write essays, fill up documents, and make formal proposals. Correcting spelling and grammar mistakes are also easy to do in foreign language chat learning.
Teaching online would only require you the basic stuff such as a stable internet connection, laptop or desktop with a clear web camera and mic, and a space where you can teach uninterrupted. Whether you choose this as your permanent career or keep it as a side hustle, online language tutoring is flexible and sustainable enough to meet your needs.
You can check out a variety of language tutoring opportunities at Preply. It’s one of the most popular platforms for Language students and experts. A few other notable platforms for language tutors are iTalki, Cambly and Lingoda.
Online Translation Jobs
If you are not that confident yet with face to face interactions done in online language tutoring classes, working as a translator is also another option. It can be done during your free time, making it another popular choice for those looking for good side jobs for teachers. It’s flexible and allows you to multitask if you are working on other activities as well. Hence, it can be a nice source of extra income for teachers.
As a translator, you will mostly be working with texts and scripts. Although, unlike in teaching language courses online, you need to have a deep understanding of the other languages that you are translating. Especially, if they make use of idiomatic expressions and other characters.
A few popular platforms for finding online translation jobs are OneHourTranslation, Translate.com, Fairlingo.
Blogger / Online Course Provider
Not everyone has the time to go online, work, and meet with other people in real time. In some instances, it might also be the same for you. In this case, there is still another way to pursue side hustles for teachers and teach foreign languages to others: blogs and online courses. So, how does this work?
In creating an online course or a blog, you will need to prepare a recorded lesson. To put it simply, you have to film yourself conducting lessons about a foreign language and then upload it to your own blog site or any other platform that you are using.
These videos can then be accessed by students. They can watch them on your page instead of meeting you face to face. People who want to watch your online video courses can subscribe to your website in order to have access to all the teaching materials that you have prepared.
Teachable, Udemy and LearnWorlds are all great options for launching and earning money from your language course.
Benefits of working as a Foreign Language Tutor
True enough, there is a wide variety of jobs that you can apply to with your foreign language skill set. At the same time, the benefits that these opportunities offer are also something to consider. So, what are they?
Make Global Connections
By teaching online, you will be reaching out and keeping in touch with people from all over the world. The nature of remote work allows you to tap on places that would have been unreachable physically if you are catering to a single area or location, but in online language tutoring, you can meet people not only from other cities, but as well as from other states and countries. Remember, the demand for language tutors is now on a global scale.
Expand your Skillset
While you are teaching others, you are also learning and honing your own communication, listening, and teaching skills. A lot of people who started online tutoring initially do not have a background in teaching, especially since a degree is not required to become a TEFL teacher. Yet, conducting these online lessons, whether in the form of videos or texts, helped them develop effective teaching skills that they can surely benefit from in their future endeavors. And this goes the same for you!
Get better offers and higher rates
The more you get used to online teaching, the more you become a professional. And once you have mastered this, you can successfully grasp good offers from companies that require foreign language as a skill. Believe it or not, being proficient in a foreign language pays extremely well. Especially as this is not something any common folk can do. It’s one of the best side jobs for teachers, after all. If you ever decide to take a break from regular teaching, becoming an online tutor would be the best option.
There are more benefits and opportunities out there for you once you have started teaching foreign languages online whether part-time or full-time. Again, this is a flexible job that will adjust to your own set schedule and preferences so it is definitely something worth giving a try to earn extra income for teachers like you.