Yeko: Guide to Teaching English Online | Salary, Hours, Demo Lesson

Teaching English online with a company like Yeko has become an appealing option for many English speakers to earn money even in the comfort of their homes. However, a major obstacle they have to hurdle are the requirements of many English teaching school abroad.

Many of these companies require their teachers to have a bachelor’s degree. While this has been the rule for many schools around the world, there’s always an exception to the rule. And one of these exceptions is Yeko English.

What is Yeko English?

Yeko is an online English teaching school based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is one of the few schools that accept teachers who don’t have a bachelor’s degree. It even accepts non-native English speakers as long as they come from Europe.

Established in 2016, it’s relatively new to the English teaching industry. While its minimal requirements are appealing to many English speakers around the world, some of its teachers have issues with the company. If you want to know more about these issues, read until the end to find out.

The company does not limit itself to teaching English to its students. It also wants to build up their confidence. It offers one-on-one classes for adults and group classes for children. The English classes are designed for beginners as well as advanced learners who want to learn how to speak English fluently and confidently.

While the school requires its teachers to commit at least 20 hours of teaching each week, they have leeway in choosing their teaching schedule. This means the teachers enjoy a flexible schedule.

What are the Requirements to Teach at Yeko?

As indicated earlier, the requirements Yeko has for its teachers are not as stringent as other English teaching schools. The requirements are as follows:

• Native English speakers or non-native English speakers from Europe with a neutral accent
• TESOL, CELTA, or TEFL certificate is preferred
• Open to on-the-job training
• Has a positive attitude
• Preferably living in a time zone close to Beijing time

The requirements of the school are quite relaxed compared to other English teaching schools in China and other parts of the world

Technical Requirements

Similar to its professional and personal requirements for its teachers, the technical requirements of Yeko are also not stringent. The following are the technical requirements of the company:

• Suitable internet connection with an upload speed of 10 Mbps and download speed of 1 Mbps
• Webcam
• Headset
• Access to Google Chrome

How Much does Yeko Pay?

The school offers a starting pay between $11 USD to $15 USD per hour. Each teaching hour consists of three 20-minute classes. One thing that sets Yeko apart from other schools is that it’s one of a few that pay its teachers even if a student doesn’t show up for the class.

Bonuses and Incentives

It appears the school doesn’t really offer a lot of incentives for its teachers. The bonuses and incentives the school offers are:

• An additional $10 USD if a student signs up with the school after a demo class.
• Monthly bonus for teachers who have the biggest number of teaching slots
• Monthly bonus for getting the biggest number of positive feedback after a lesson

How do you get Paid?

Yeko pays the salary of its teachers through PayPal. However, the website of the school doesn’t indicate when the payments are made.

Yeko Contracts and Taxes

While the website of the school doesn’t indicate the duration of the contracts it has with its teachers, it does consider them as independent contractors. With this in mind, the teachers are responsible for filing and paying their taxes in their respective countries.

What’s the Recruiting Process Like at Yeko English?

The recruiting process at Yeko is rather simple and straightforward. All the teachers have to do is fill out a form and wait for the school to get in touch with them.

The full process is as follows:

1. Fill out an online application form
2. Upload your resume
3. Wait for the school to get in touch with you
4. Interview through Skype

The form asks for the following information:

• Work experience
• Teaching experience
• Qualifications relevant to the job

Tips for the Interview

The interview questions at Yeko are rather easy to answer and the interview itself is relaxed. Even with this, you may want to go through the following tips:

• Be confident and speak clearly to the interviewer
• Have your documents ready in case the school needs it for verification
• Focus on your teaching experience since it’s relevant to the job

What is the Work Schedule Like?

Even as Yeko requires its teachers to set aside 20 hours per week for teaching, the teachers have the flexibility to choose their schedules. But you should open your teaching slots a couple of days before your schedule.

You should also keep in mind that classes are on Beijing time from Monday to Sunday. Due to this, you should check the time you need to open your slots for classes.

The Yeko Teaching Platform

Yeko offers both one-on-one and group classes for its students. Its students range from children to adults.

Even as the school has a lot of adult students, these students work for international companies and they are eager to learn how to speak English fluently and confidently. The school may provide resources to work with adult students, the one-on-one lessons can last for 17 minutes and are more informal chats rather than actual lessons.

The group classes are with children from 8 years old up to 13 years old. The classes usually last 25 minutes. The feedback on the classes is normally given by the parents. Since the school provides all the materials for each class, all the teachers need to do is to use it for the classes.

As indicated at the start, the teachers have some issues with the school recently. Some teachers were reportedly not paid in August. These teachers claim to have received an email from the school saying it was bankrupt.

But these teachers later found out that other teachers are still working with the school. As of the moment, there are no other updates on this issue.

The Takeaway on Yeko

Yeko is one of a few schools that aren’t strict when it comes to its requirements and offers flexibility to its teachers when it comes to scheduling their classes. Even with the issue it has with some of its former teachers, it’s still an appealing option for non-native English speakers who want to start a career in online teaching.

Have your Say about Teaching English Online With Yeko

What are your thoughts about teaching ESL online with Yeko? Is it a company to consider or do you have your eye on another one? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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