Having taught English online for over fourteen years, I know how easy it is to fall into bad habits as an online English teacher.
(A note on dates: when I first wrote this I was teaching over Skype – a platform that was retired in May 2025. The habits below are exactly the same whether you now teach on Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or inside a marketplace classroom, so nothing here has dated.)
Recently, I’ve had a good, honest look at my classes and have identified three mistakes I constantly make, which I am sure are common to most online teachers of English. However, the good news is, these issues are easily rectifiable – and I’ll show you how below:
Mistake 1: Why is talking too much a problem?
This is a particular issue where you get on well with an advanced learner. As a teacher in this situation you can quickly find yourself having a chat rather than a lesson and end up spending 50% of the time or more speaking. I know, I’ve been there; you may both enjoy the experience but you understand, deep down, your student is not being well served.
Remedy:
Think of yourself as a facilitator rather than a conversation partner. This shift in how you see yourself should encourage you to focus time asking great questions, prompting, correcting, assisting with pronunciation and helping students to reformulate answers that do not make sense grammatically or semantically.
Mistake 2: Why should you allow pauses?
In day-to-day conversation, if there’s more than a two second gap in fluent conversation, it's likely someone will say something to break the ‘lull.’ We just don’t like pauses. Yet, such gaps in the context of a lesson can be valuable as they allow students thinking time and the space to formulate a response. Is this a familiar experience for you as an online teacher: you ask a question, your student doesn’t reply immediately, so you re-phrase the question in the gap? Yep, me, too.
Remedy:
I’m learning that non-native English speakers often need longer to process their responses; a pause doesn’t mean they don’t understand and it doesn’t mean the teacher should fill the gap. Have the confidence to ask your question clearly and simply and then wait.
Mistake 3: Are your questions too neutral and bland?
We know it is good to ask open questions to get students speaking, but unthinkingly we can fall into the trap of using the same ones regardless of the topic. Common questions like:
What are the disadvantages/advantages of…?
What was your favourite/best…?
Can be quite uninspiring over time.
Remedy:
Liven up your questions and your themes. I’ve recently found some fantastic articles on transhumanism (upgrading ourselves with AI) and the top 10 best cities to live in. Get students to read the headline first and guess the content. Encourage them to justify their views.
In terms of questions, ask about the worst place they’ve visited, rather than the best. Take a position:
I’m no fan of social media personally. I prefer face-to-face, how about you?
Find articles which are not neutral and get them to see how far they agree. Get your students to ask you questions about the theme. Choose your topics and your stance with care of course, but I have found engagement and interest on both sides ratchets up a level when you step outside the neutral zone.
The three mistakes at a glance
| Mistake | Tell-tale sign | Remedy |
|---|---|---|
| Talking too much | The lesson feels like a pleasant chat and you speak 50% of the time or more | Become a facilitator: question, prompt, correct and help students reformulate |
| Not allowing pauses | You re-phrase your question the moment a student hesitates | Ask once, clearly and simply – then wait and give thinking time |
| Bland, neutral questions | The same stock questions appear in every lesson, whatever the topic | Choose lively themes, take a position and invite students to challenge you |
How can you check your own teaching habits?
None of these mistakes announce themselves – that’s why they persist. A simple self-audit works wonders:
- Record a lesson (with your student’s permission) and listen back. Roughly how much of the talking was yours?
- Count the wait time. After you ask a question, how many seconds pass before you jump back in? Aim to stretch it.
- List your questions. Write down the open questions you used this week. If the same three keep appearing, it’s time to refresh them.
- Fix one habit at a time. Pick a single focus for the week – wait time, say – and review at the end of it.
If you’re building a career online, these small refinements matter: they are exactly what keeps students coming back, as we explain in our guide to how to retain online English students. And if you’re still at the setting-up stage, start with our full guide to teaching English online, freelancing and working for yourself.
Honing your techniques as I've outlined above is a sure-fire way to grow as a teacher and improve the learning experience for your students. Why not share your tips below or join in the conversation in our Facebook group?
Frequently asked questions
How much should the teacher talk in an online English lesson?
Far less than feels natural. If you find yourself speaking half the lesson or more, your student is losing practice time they are paying for. Think of yourself as a facilitator: your talk should mostly be questions, prompts, models and corrections, with the student doing the bulk of the speaking and you steering from the side.
What equipment do I need to teach English online?
Nothing exotic: a dependable computer, stable internet, a headset with a clear microphone, a webcam, decent lighting and a quiet background. Add your video platform of choice and a way to share articles or images on screen – screen-sharing is essential for the headline-guessing and discussion activities described in this post.
How much can I earn teaching English online?
It depends on your route and experience. Platform teachers typically start modestly and raise rates as reviews and qualifications accumulate, while independent teachers set their own prices and keep the whole fee. Specialisms such as business or exam English support higher rates – and strong teaching habits like the ones in this post are what sustain them.
What next?
Interested in teaching English online?
- Find out more about Magdalena's experience teaching English online for Palfish
- Discover how Liam's got started teaching for iTutorGroup as an online English teacher
- Why I love teaching English online - Louisa's story
- Get an initial 120 hour TESOL qualification, a prerequisite for the best paying online teaching jobs
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If you’ve got any questions about teaching or TEFL training, I'd love to hear from you so contact me direct.