Online English Teacher for First Leap Online
Summary(Review): They offer $50 Sign On Bonus to teachers who start March Semester. First Leap is looking for a committed individual to complement our qualified workforce of educators. First Leap is the online English learning branch of public company TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL). They offer competitive pay rates $18 to $26 per hour. One to 4 students. Guaranteed class if you start teaching this March!
Job Overview for Online English Teacher
Pay Rate per Hour:
Minimum: $18
Maximum: $26
Class Size:
4
Student Ages:
Preschool (age 3-5)
Elementary & Junior (age 5-15)
Class Schedule:
Late Afternoon (3pm-6pm)
Evening (6pm-9pm)
Job Details for Online English Teacher
Accent(s):
Native North American
Native UK
Native Ireland
Degree Required:
Bachelor or above
Certification:
Yes
Years Experience:
1
Min Hours Week:
12
Internet Speed(Mbps):
Min Uploading: 20 MB/s
Min Downloading: 20 MB/s
Oakary works closely with First Leap Online and many schools. We help you land a job quicker and smoother by submitting one application and match you with MULTIPLE Teaching Jobs based on your teaching preferences and qualifications, and assisting you with the interview process and communication with the recruiters..
Online English Teacher Job Description
We are looking for a committed individual to complement our qualified workforce of educators. You will be responsible for implementing teaching lessons according to the company’s requirements. It will be fundamental to provide knowledge and instruction to students while also helping them develop their personalities and skills. The ideal candidate will be passionate for the job with an ability to reach out to students and create a relationship of mutual trust. You will know how to organize a class and make learning an easy and meaningful process. The goal is to help cultivate the students’ interest in education and be their dedicated ally in the entire process of learning and development.
Responsibilities
- Class type: group class with maximum of 4 students in one class
- Class length: 45 minutes
- Working hours: 17:00-20:30 Monday to Sunday (Beijing time)
- Required working time: at least 4 days fixedclasses every week
- Students age: 4-12 years old
- Provide 1 to 4 instruction to students by promoting interactive learning
- Present lessons in a comprehensive manner and use technology to facilitate learning
- Develop and enrich professional skills and knowledge by attending webinars, training, etc. provided by the company
- Observe and understand students’ behavior and psyche
- Collaborate with other teachers, parents, and stakeholders
Online English Teacher Job Requirements
- Has Bachelor/Master degree
- Obtained a teaching credential (eg. teaching certificate, TEFL, TESOL)
- At least one year of English teaching experience (online English teaching experience with young learners would be preferred)
- Excellent communicability and interpersonal skills
- Well-organized and committed
- Creative and energetic
- Strong moral values and discipline
- Preferred: Degree in teaching or in a specialized subject with a certificate in education
- Preferred: Thorough knowledge of teaching best practices and educational guidelines partnered with a willingness to follow the company’s policies and procedures
Online English Teacher Salary and Compensation
- Competitive pay rates $18 to $26 USD per hour taught
- Guaranteed class
- Professional Training
- Administrative and peer support
- Opportunities for growth within the company
How to Apply to Online English Teacher?
Oakary works closely with First Leap Online and many schools. We help you land a job quicker and smoother by submitting one application and match you with MULTIPLE Teaching Jobs based on your teaching preferences and qualifications, and assisting you with the interview process and communication with the recruiters..
Online English Teacher Interview Process & Tips
- CVs checking–Tech checking-video interview-Certificates checking
- Training
- Start teaching
Company Information for First Leap Online
First Leap China was established in Beijing in 2009 providing quality after-school English training for children aged 2 – 15 years old, in a fun, motivating, and entirely English speaking environment. First Leap has expanded to over 150 centers in 80 cities across China.
First Leap China is a member company of TAL Education Group (NYSE: TAL). First Leap teaches different subjects in English, a method based on and incorporating several educational theories. The curriculum is not only developed, but each lesson has been prepared and tested. Classrooms feature smart board technology, a limit of just 14 students per class, and a Chinese teaching assistant.
You can already read about First Leap’s sketchy in-person program here but since they started teaching online in November 2020 and there obviously wouldn’t be any trouble getting a visa, I decided to give them a go. There’s not a whole lot of information about them except this small thread posted a few months ago. Their website advertises their base pay in range of 18-26 USD per hour. Keep in mind they provide 45-minute classes so you get paid per 45 minutes, which has to be considered when making your hourly pay calculation. They offer a total of $3 incentives, $1 for attendance and $2 for completion. In order to give a base pay of $18 per hour, they need to offer at least $13.50 per 45 minutes. There is also a 9 hour training program that my interviewer said would be unpaid, despite telling me the company was doing well and needed tons of new teachers. Not a good start.
My interview went great and the only criticism I received was that I didn’t introduce myself to the students at the start of the lesson (I guess I was under the impression that they would be regular students so I didn’t think to do it). Aside from that, all the feedback was good. Next, they make you submit a teaching profile, the standard stuff: a written intro following their guidelines and a redundant intro video that had basically all the same stuff as the intro but required a professional red shirt and could only be 20MB (about a minute). They also required to submit banking information and other personal information before they would email the contract. I guess they did all this to suck you in and make you feel like you have to accept their shitty offer since you’re in too deep by that point and it would be a waste to not accept it.
I put some effort into building a great profile and then within a day I got my offer letter. I was expecting at minimum $13.50 to hit that sweet $18/hr starting point, maybe a little more due to my previous ESL experience and interview going well. At that point I was planning to negotiate for paid training. But oh no. After reading through an infinitely long contract, I found a measly $12/45 mins offer at the bottom. Of course no mention of paid training, signing bonus, or anything like that. That’s $15/45 minutes including the incentives which is $20/hr. A solid start, but it’s not what they advertise on their website.
I emailed asking them to increase the base pay to at least $13.50/45 mins as that would translate to the minimum they advertise on their website and, in addition, to offer paid training. Of course I received a very corporate response as I was expecting: “but with the bonus incentives, you’ll be making $20 per hour!!” Yes of course, but that’s not the definition of base pay, is it? Last I checked the definition of base pay wasn’t base pay plus bonuses. The email did not even mention my request for paid training nor a counter offer, so I assumed we were done at that point and did not reply.
I continued applying to other companies. Then about a week later they offered me an increase to $13.00/45 mins, still nothing about training. I replied saying it’s disingenuous to advertise a base pay of 18/hr and then offer less than that and to artificially inflate the calculation with incentives. I found out that previous applicants got a $50 signing bonus so I once again requested at least $13.50 base pay and either paid training at the rate of Miami’s minimum wage ($8.65/hr) where their US office is located and listed in the contract, or that I was willing to forego the paid training in exchange for a $50 signing bonus, quite a deal for them if you ask me. Of course, they replied that they would not like to move forward at this time.
Very interesting as in the other thread u/flufflilacs was offered 13.50 and paid training just 7 months ago, so what happened? Perhaps fluff can comment here about their experience with the company over the past 7 months.
They’re probably not the worst ESL company out there, but I do know it is illegal to not offer paid training in Miami. Whether or not that law applies to independent contractors I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t hurt to report them to the labor board and I recommend anyone else who is offered slave training to do the same. They’re obviously in pretty decent need of teachers if they didn’t tell me to fuck off right away, so the ball is in our court. I understand if you need to take the job for survival, but if you can afford it, don’t settle. Fight for what they advertise and fight for what you’re worth. Even if you don’t get the job.
tldr: First Leap gave me a lowball offer that was much less than the minimum base rate listed on their website as well as not offering paid training. I called them out on both and received an updated offer that was still short and still did not offer paid training. I put my foot down saying I want the base pay listed on their website as well as paid training and they said no thanks, as expected. Now I’m going to file a complaint with the Miami labor board where their US office is located about the unpaid training and I encourage anyone who gets a similar offer to do the same.
Wow! That’s interesting. They emailed me regarding a tech check. I’m interested to see how this plays out.. Thanks for the update.