Western Online Teachers
Minimum Requirements
If you do not meet the minimum requirements, or are not accepted by First Future, we can help you in a number of other ways. Join the Independent Online English Teachers community to stay updated, and visit our sister site: DigiTEFL eLearning.
LATEST STATUS:
A consequence of the current pandemic is that thousands of classroom teachers working overseas have returned to the home countries, resulting in a huge surge of applications for online teaching work. We are inundated with applications, so to preserve sanity are having to be extremely strict in our requirements. Currently we are specifically asking for only USA American/Canadian, British/Irish & Australian/New Zealand teachers aged 40 or under. Client demands are always changing, so if you are a non-native English speaker or South African (and please believe we've been banging our heads against the Great Wall of China for years over the fact that South Africans are native English speakers !!!), to save you wasting your time, please join our Facebook group so we can update you.
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EDUCATION / EXPERIENCE
- A full degree (BA, BSc or above)
- TEFL certificate or professional teaching qualification
- And at least one year of teaching experience (online or face-to-face)
NOTE: Both a degree and TEFL certificate are now officially required by the Chinese Ministry of Education.
TECHNICAL
- Fixed-cable internet connection (i.e. Ethernet) of more than 10 Mbps download & 10 Mbps upload ... this will be thoroughly checked.
- Laptop or desktop PC ... the work cannot be performed on a tablet or phone
- High-quality USB headset and webcam
GENERAL
- Currently, we are only able to process applications from USA American/Canadian, British/Irish & Australian/New Zealand teachers aged 40 or below
- You must be able to work in a quiet place, with a suitable background - with images relevant to English teaching
- Clear speaking voice, with no strong accent (i.e. neutral accent)
- Energetic! Able to come across as very lively, friendly and engaging on camera – CLICK HERE for an idea of what we’re looking for. This is not the type on online teaching you may be familiar with. First Future teachers broadcast live lessons to Chinese classrooms with 30 students on average.
TO APPLY
SERIOUSLY - USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand aged 40 or below ONLY. Currently FF are not hiring any non-native English speakers or South Africans … Please join our Facebook group to learn about other opportunities
We’re still getting around 100 applications a day from teachers we cannot process. Please don’t waste your time applying if you don't qualify – you will just get a standard rejection email.
Sorry – but that’s the situation at present.
1. Please download our CV Form.
2. Record a 30 - 40 second video introduction (see below).
Send these 2 items together in a single email to teach@firstfuturejobs.com
Video Introduction
Your video introduction will be shown to First Future's Partner Schools and their students, so it's important to make it appealing. You don't need to wear a headset for this. Wear bright colours, have an interesting background, use props such as toys, be lively in your use of body language, and most of all ... smile :-)
We are looking for teachers who are animated and engaging ... make sure that your video demonstrates this.
Your video should be around 30 - 40 seconds in length. Longer videos will be rejected.
The video on this page is an excellent example of the kind of thing we're looking for. Also, here is an example script. No need to follow it exactly ... It's just here as a guide.
Hello, [nice big wave and smile]
My name is …. and I'm from ... I love to teach English and share my knowledge of western culture with young students.
My degree is in … and I have also worked … (mention some of your work experience).
My hobbies are … (open up about this and say what you enjoy doing)
I believe the most effective way to feel comfortable and confident with learning English is to enjoy having conversations with a teacher who guides students in lessons that are fun and interesting, with plenty of congratulations [display the “Thumbs-Up”] and corrections where necessary!
I am friendly [big smile], motivated, funny [open hands up] and more importantly patient.
And I love to teach children! [another big smile with a pause]
I hope and look forward to seeing you or your students [big smile], in one of my classes soon.
Bye [keep smiling and give a nice wave]
!! Look at the camera ... eye contact !!