Whales English is one of the highest paying online teaching platforms on the market. Based out of China, Whales English primarily targets a young learner market of students aged 5 to 15 years old.
You can expect to be paid between $18-30 an hour with bonuses and qualifications taken into consideration. The working hours are 6 to 9 pm Beijing time. Whales English operate as an after school for students.
Whales English Review Summary and Requirements
If you’ve been looking for a quality alternative to popular platforms like VIPKID, Say ABC or Palfish, here is what you can expect when working at Whales English:
- Teachers must have a bachelors degree and be a native English speaker from a native English speaking country.
- Teachers will need to have completed a TEFL certificate.
- Class is for 50 minutes with 1 to 3 students at a time.
- Class is conducted over Zoom.
- All material is provided as well as scheduling.
- You must be available to teach during peak times.
- You will be required to have various teaching essentials.
This is a high standard for some, but with Whales English you’re able to make $30 an hour (base pay and a performance bonus) so it’s worth completing a TEFL certificate or doing a year teaching abroad as a way to get the required experience.
How to apply and get hired by Whales English
To start the hiring process with Whales English you’ll first need to create an account. The signup process is quick and easy. You’ll need to submit a resume, photo (which will be your teacher profile picture), a copy of your passport, related teaching certificates and a short video introduction.
Most of these items you should already have. For the copy of your passport you can just take a picture using your phone and the video introduction can be completed with your web camera but it would be better if you use a quality camera on your phone, a point and shoot or a DSLR if you have one.
Introduction video for Whales English
It’s simply a personal introduction. It does not need to be overly complicated or long. 3 minutes is all that is required. Simply introduce yourself, your qualifications and why you would be an excellent teacher. Dress appropriately and record the video from a quite location with a nice background.
Application pipeline
The application pipeline has a few steps once you submit all the required documents:
- Your submitted material will be reviewed.
- An initial 30 minute interview will be conducted to see if you’re a good fit.
- If you pass the interview you will be required to complete a mock class.
- Once the first mock class is completed, you’ll need to complete a 2nd follow up mock class.
- If you pass both mock classes you’ll be given a contract and can begin submitting hours of availability.
- Once you sign your contract you go through some initial on-boarding training.
- Finally you start teaching classes each week.
The initial interview consists primarily of your standard interview questions. It’s a “get to know you” type interview to see if you would be a good fit as a teacher at Whales English.
For the initial mock class simply be prepared. You’re evaluated on how well you prepared. Did you follow all the instructions? Did you familiarize yourself with Zoom and the various annotations you can do? What about TPR and your comprehension of the lesson objectives?
It’s part of the interview process so make sure you spend an hour or two an prepare yourself. .
How to prepare for the initial interview
The initial interview you’ll have 30 minute video chat about your background, experiences as an ESL teacher and how you would handle different situations regarding students behaviors, reward systems you implement and various ways you would meet the lesson objectives.
From a technical stand point, you’ll need:
- A quality laptop for a teacher that has an integrated webcam
- A pair of headsets for teaching with a built in microphone.
It will be conduced using Zoom, so it’s a good idea to download Zoom and familiarize yourself with it.
Student levels and Curriculum at Whales English
The overall curriculum at Wales English follows the U.S Common core. All material is created in-house. Your responsibility as a teacher is to review the material and be prepared for class.
The actual classes are broken up into two groups:
- Trial classes
- Regular classes
Trial Classes
Trial classes are with brand new or prospective students looking to get started with Whales English. Often times this is their first online class with a foreign teacher so trial classes are usually reserved for teachers who have a bit of experience and a track record of converting students into paying customers.
Regular Classes
Students who are enrolled with Whales English start a 25 to 30 week long program where they have class each and every week. For regular class there is some variety of language ability and age.
Entry level teachers
Entry level teachers work primarily with young learners who are typically at a pre general knowledge level and are just starting to learn English.
Intermediate teachers
Intermediate teachers work with students who have some language ability and are able to form simple sentence structures. The key focus at this level is getting students to speak and write as a native speaker.
Advanced teachers
Advanced teachers work with students who are conversational to fluent. The goal at this level is to work on more difficult aspects of language learning like academic writing and advanced reading.
How much will I be paid by Whales English
Whales English has different standards of pay based on what your teaching as well as any associated completion bonuses
- Entry level teachers can expect a pay of $18-20 an hour.
- Intermediate teachers are paid $20-25 an hour.
- Advanced teachers get $30 an hour.
- For trial classes teachers get $20-22 an hour.
How will I be paid by Whales English
Whales English uses a service called Payoneer and pays in US dollars. Payoneer is an online money transfer service and will automatically convert to your local currency if you’re not American. If you are American you can simply setup direct deposit.
Whales English conclusion
Whales English is a good alternative to more popular alternatives like VIPKID. However, if you’ve not already done so you should first apply to VIPKID as they are the industry leader. Whales English is a good alternative however and they do in fact pay a high rate depending on the class you teach.