Teach English in Jinci Zhen - Taiyuan Shi

It’s after dinner time in Beijing. Ning (aged 5), Lean (aged 6), and many other children in China sit before their computers or tablets to start their online English classes. They log in to an online program, VIPKid, that connects 60,000 teachers with 500,000 children in China to learn English online¹. VIPKid is one of the many platforms that offer online classes. Katie (aged 36), who lives in Costa Rica with her 6-year-old daughter, received a TEFL certificate online just a year ago and applied for positions as an online teacher. Every year, roughly 100,000 online English teaching positions open, and the latest estimates put the number of ESL schools and language institutes at more than 40,000 worldwide². The English language education for non-native speakers is a $63 billion a year industry³. About 4 times a week, Katie wakes up at 3 am to boot up her computer and log in to the VIPKid platform. Due to the time difference between her and the young learners in China, she has to start her day early to connect with her students. She is enjoying this job a lot, mostly because it gives her the opportunity to work from home. Most teachers choose this job because it is location independent and provides them the opportunity to schedule their time according to their needs. The generation that was born in China around the 80’s grew up during the rise of the internet, with all its influences on business, social, and educational industries. At present, that generation has grown up to be the parents of children between the ages of 5 and 15, and they understand the advantage of learning English as a second language. Children such as Ning and Lean are very young and, therefore, they are most likely motivated by their parents to undertake classes in English. Young students such as them are enthusiastic and, hence, very rewarding for a teacher. Online teaching is slightly different from classroom teaching, but the same basic principles apply to both. Katie is also taking one-on-one classes with specific children. The same skills that are required for classroom management apply to online teaching (as in any regular class, it is important to have eye contact with the students, use their names, reward them when they perform well, and, above all, maintain discipline); however, taking one-on-one sessions is slightly different. Instead of the necessity of commanding the attention of several students at once, the teacher only needs to keep one student focused on the lessons. However, role play and group activities are not possible due to the lack of other students to form groups with. A big advantage of online teaching is that technology can provide interactive and appealing tools for the lesson to keep the children focused. Most digital learning tools have an aspect of entertainment to them and are, therefore, fun to work with. For instance, most platforms have ready-made screen material that the teacher works with and the 25–40 minute classes are designed according to the ESA (engage, study, activity) structure. This saves the teacher a lot of preparation time. The young learners can interact on the screen, and the teacher can grab their attention with props, flash cards, and other materials. As in any other class, here the teacher needs to ensure that the lessons have variety and that they are fun and interesting enough to motivate a child to learn. Furthermore, young learners (whose ages range from 5 to 6 years) have a short attention span. Therefore, it is important for a teacher to have a clear and enthusiastic tone while engaging with them. Additionally, good equipment to work with and a safeguard against frequent blackouts is indispensable. The young learners are complete beginners and might not even have mastered the grammar of their own mother tongue. The focus, therefore, is mostly on learning the correct pronunciation and expanding their vocabulary, which means that talking time with students is important. Katie, for instance, is quite attentive toward her pronunciation and facial movements because the students are in the beginning stages of learning how to pronounce English words. Young learners from Asia, specifically, are known for being serious and having respect for their teachers as well as the traditional way of teaching. They are also known for spending a lot of talking time with their teachers. However, in some cases, they might lack the motivation to talk or be creative. By practicing the phonology (that is, the sound system) of English at a young age, they can reduce the influence of their native accent in their later lives. Moreover, learning certain aspects of speech such as stress, intonation, and rhythm are easier at a young age. The interest in learning English as a second language is gradually growing. At the same time, access to internet and online work opportunities for people all over the world are improving. Today, more and more teachers such as Katie are in demand. The industry will continue to grow, and so will the number of people who know how to write and speak English. Sources: ¹ www.Forbes.co “Global Classroom: How 65,000 Teachers Are Teaching Over Half A Million Chinese Students Online”, Tom Vander Ark ² https://medium.com “The global English language job market is changing: what this means for ESL teachers”, Christie Van Tol, University of Toronto TEFL Online ³ https://cefrexambot.com “Why the ESL Market is set to boom in the next 10 years”