Gogokids is an online teaching company based out of Beijing China.
To work for them you must be a native English speaker from a native English speaking country. You are also required to hold a bachelors degree or above in any field and also have at least one year of teaching experience in order to meet Chinese regulations for ESL teachers.
At the moment, they are offering a $300 signing bonus IF you teach 3 classes and maintain a good rating from the parents. Currently, Gogo Kids are only hiring North Americans (United States and Canada) but may expand to other accents if needed.
The classes are for 25 minutes long and are strictly 1 on 1. They do have a minimum teaching requirement, but it’s only 1 class minimum per week. Apart from this you’re free to teach as much or as little as you like.
The technical requirements for the job include owning a desktop or laptop with a web cam, and a pair of proper headsets appropriate for online teaching. The pay ranges from $14 an hour up to $25 an hour based on your performance, qualification, ratings and attendance.
Job Overview
The job consists of you teaching a 25 minute English class in a 1 on 1 format to a Chinese student. The pay for the job is $14 to $25 an hour. Most teachers make about $20 an hour. For the class you will be provided all relevant teaching material to complete the lesson objectives.
However, it is expected that you will have your own teaching props as a way to make the classroom more fun and engaging.
Scheduling
Teachers open hours and are booked by the parents and not the company and are able to open hours as far in advance as they like but are advised to open hour at a minimum of 48 hours before class.
Teachers can open as many classes as they want but peak booking times are:
- Monday to Friday: 6-10 pm Beijing time.
- Saturday and Sunday: 9 am – 10 pm Beijing time.
Online Class
Class for gogokids is a 1 on 1 environment using a proprietary teaching platform where teachers and students can interact with the slides in fun and unique ways. Drawing, interactive slides and rewards are all built in.
You simply enter the classroom and load the slides to begin class. Teachers have access to the slides before class as to prepare appropriately.
gogokid Teacher Requirements
The requirements for becoming a teacher with gogokid is standard for any online teaching platform serving Chinese students. You must have:
- A bachelors degree
- Be a native speaker who can legally work in the United States or Canada
- Have some sort of teaching experience
Is a TEFL Required?
As China continues to regulate the online teaching space, a TEFL will at some point be required so consider getting one as a cost of doing business. It’s worth it because it will make you a better teacher and it will open up more interesting ESL jobs for you.
Technical Requirements
For the online teaching space there are a few things to take note when applying to gogokids. They require a modern computer with a modern operating system. Windows 7 or better is fine. Your laptop or desktop must also have an HD camera and you must use a headset when teaching online. Lastly, gogokids wants their teachers to have a wired internet connection.
You can get away with wireless, but it’s best to have your setup include a wired connection for online teaching.
How Do You Apply?
Applying is easy. You simply visit gogokid.com and signup. Upon signup you will have to confirm your email.
After you confirm your email you will be presented with the gogokid application portal. Here is where you fill out your name, education, experience and country you’re a citizen of.
Once you submit your information and meet the minimum requirements to be an online ESL teacher with gogokid it’s simply a matter of passing a 30 minute interview where you will be asked various questions about your background.
A 10 minute demo is apart of this 30 minutes so make sure to pay attention to all requirements as needed.
If you pass this interview, you’re hired and can move to the next stage which is the online orientation. The orientation is for about 2 hours where they go over various aspects of their platform that you need to know with regards to different policies.
After that, you simply open up teaching slots and start teaching once parents book you.
gogokid review conclusion
We took a look at VIPKID vs gogokid to see if it’s a viable alternative and we can strongly recommend you check out gogokid if you’re a native speaker from America or Canada.
Gogokids is an excellent “backup” platform to more established platforms like VIPKID where most teachers can easily get 20+ hours of teaching week to week. As gogokids is still a fairly new company there are still aspects of the platform that are changing and developing. If may also be difficult for new teachers to get enough hours but again, your results may vary.