ESL (English Second Language) tutoring is a very popular work at home industry. There are quite a few companies that pay people to do it, and I've written about a lot of them. However, getting hired by those companies isn't always that easy.
Just being a fluent English speaker isn't necessarily enough. Some companies will require various language teaching certifications, a college degree, or possibly even teaching experience just depending on which ones you apply with.
Over the last month, I've been doing some research on a few easier ways to get paid to tutor English that require absolutely no special certifications or hoops to jump through to start work.
The only things necessary are your smartphone and/or a computer and fluency in the English language. And best of all, these are earning opportunities that don't tie you down to any schedule. You can work as much or little as you want.
ESL Tutoring – No Experience Required
1. Cambly
With Cambly, you can work from anywhere, getting paid to video chat with English learners from around the world. You get paid $0.17 per minute of talk time, and payments are sent via Paypal weekly.
Cambly users connect via an app and look for people to chat with them in English in order to help them learn how to speak the language conversationally.
You can log in to Cambly via your computer and take chatting sessions as they appear on your dashboard. Note that a webcam is involved, so you and the person you're talking to will have to see each other.
Cambly claims that around $10 to $12 an hour is possible. You are paid by the minute of talk time.
Go here to sign up for Cambly, or read our Cambly review.
And we do have another list of ways to get paid to teach English online if you're interested in checking that out for more options.
2. Preply
Preply allows you to work from anywhere in the world, You can work at home doing ESL tutoring for them, but they also have opportunities for you to tutor students in a number of other subjects as well.
You do not need any qualifications or official teacher training to tutor with Preply. It is just necessary that you speak the language you are tutoring in to a native level or near to that. If you are tutoring students in a particular subject, you just need to have that subject mastered.
Most Preply tutors earn between $10 and $38 hourly depending on the subject they are tutoring in. It will depend on how much you are charging (Preply lets you set your own rates) and how much you're working.
Once lessons you've taught have been confirmed by the student, your earnings for that lesson will be sent to your Preply account and you can withdraw them to your Paypal, Skrill, Wise, or Payoneer account at that time.
Go here to sign up to tutor with Preply.
3. Berlitz
Berlitz allows you to work from anywhere, teaching English online. These students are located globally, and they have a need for teachers in several different languages.
They do not require any past experience or qualifications, but they do have a 5-day online training program to teach you the “Berlitz Method” which is the method they require all their teachers to use in their lessons. You have to complete this before you can begin teaching and earning money with them.
According to Glassdoor, most Berlitz English teachers earn $25 to $31 hourly.
Go here to apply to teach for Berlitz.
4. Ringle
Ringle is always accepting students from universities in the US, UK, or other English-speaking countries to tutor for them. You do have to be a student in order to get accepted to work for them.
There are no tutoring or English-teaching credentials you need to start. It's just necessary that you are a student with high scores at a secondary school level.
As a tutor for Ringle, around $17 hourly is possible. For this company, you'll be teaching adult professionals trying to learn to speak English rather than children.
Go here to sign up to tutor for Ringle.
Looking For Even More Remote ESL Teaching Jobs?
FlexJobs is one of my favorite sites to use for finding remote jobs and learning about new companies that hire remotely.
Most of what I see there when I check the listings pays well above minimum wage and are known companies.
The great thing about FlexJobs is that they guarantee ALL listings are scam-free. They list hundreds of jobs — all of which are either remote or flexible in nature — five days per week.
There are also no ads on the site!
Because there are no ads, they do charge a membership fee since that is the only way they can see a return on their job-searching efforts.
But it's cheap — you can get access for a few weeks for just $2.95 for 14 full days!
If you sign up and don't like it, it's very easy to cancel right away so you are not billed again. You can do it any point during your 14 days of checking things out.
Go here to check out FlexJobs.
Good luck to you!
Article originally published on February 10, 2016. Updated with new information and re-published on August 20, 2024.
Anna Thurman is a work at home blogger and mom of two. She has been researching and reviewing remote jobs for over 13 years. Her findings are published weekly here at Real Ways to Earn.
Is there any other companies or sites that I can teach English without having a degree?
Hi. Are video chat required for all of the companies or can you just talk over the phone app without video?
Regarding the nicetalk app, is the this job strictly conversational, or do tutors have to come up with lessons too? I am a little worried because I’ve had no formal training in teaching TESOL or ESL.
I believe it is strictly conversational. You don’t need any experience or formal training. The students are just trying to learn to speak English conversationally, so the best way for them to do that is have conversations with fluent English speakers.
Thanks Anna! Sincerely, Kelly
You can post your own lessons but it’s not required. I’ve been on there a long time and haven’t gotten around to that yet :). I don’t have formal training either… just a lifetime of speaking English! Once you’ve done it for a while you’ll see what kind of things students are looking for. You might find that you know more than you realize. It could be as simple as a lesson that goes through vocabulary / phrases for cooking, food, or eating in a restaurant.
Thanks! Sincerely, Kelly
Do you need a international calling plan?
This is fantastic! I’m a stay-at-home mom with fibromyalgia so it’s difficult to commit to a “real” job. This would allow me the opportunity to get paid to do what I love-TALK! I’m so excited! I’ve even shared the apps you mentioned with my son who is a college freshman. We both could use the extra money. Thanks for creating your blog. You’re changing lives for the better!
Thank you, I appreciate your kind words. I hope the opportunities work out for you and your son.
Great post, Anna. I’d never heard of Palfish – I’ll definitely be checking it out! I’ve been on NiceTalk for several weeks now and really enjoying it. One thing to remember for people just starting out is that you need to build your reputation up on the app… so be patient. Students tend to choose tutors who have the most experience and good reviews (which makes sense) but if you stick with it… you’ll build up your profile over time. So far I’ve found two students who repeatedly call me (and me only) for LONG chats. There was something that just clicked between us… and that’s how you get repeat customers (as well as being a helpful tutor). We are genuinely friends now and we talk about all kinds of things. The days I get to talk with my regulars are good ones :). When you’re new, you just need to put yourself out there so students have the opportunity to “take a chance” on you… hopefully when they meet you, you’ll make a good impression. Different students will gravitate to different types of people so there’s room for everyone as long as you give it an honest try. The trickiest part for me is that you have to be awake during peak hours in China (2am – 10am Central Time where I live). But I do get calls earlier in the evening sometimes. Since I work at home, it’s nice to just be able to leave my status as “online” on the app and take calls when they come in.
Hi Gabe, how long does it take to hear back from Nice Talk after you apply?
I believe I heard back within a week. If you don’t hear back after a week, you might want to reach out via email: [email protected] – I imagine it all depends on the volume of applications they’re getting at the time.
This is only for Android I believe?
Hi, Anna! I’m one of the few people that DOESN’T have an iPhone or Android! But, I do have a desktop computer with a webcam. Are there any other sites like Cambly that is a no muss-no fuss tutoring site (I’m a native English speaker) that I can choose my rates and work when I want to?
Hi Pauline! Cambly is the most flexible that I’ve found with the least requirements, although you can browse my education page here for some other options (not guaranteed to be no muss, no fuss, but still worth checking out): https://realwaystoearnmoneyonline.com/money-earning-directory/education
Thanks, Anna! I’ll check them out.
Darn it…these are jobs I’d want to do from my laptop, instead of from my cell phone. I applied for Cambly a while back, and didn’t make it through.
Still, thank you for sharing this information. Maybe I’ll try again for Cambly in the future.
HI Anna,
Thanks for sharing these resources. I know it’s hard for people to find work without proper experience. It’s good to know there are places like this to offfer employment opportunities and to do it from home is a plus!
Hope you’re having a great week.
Cori
Thanks for stopping by, Corina!