The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2021 - 23

Teach for a
Flexible Online
Company
Pay
Teach English
in China
Pro
You choose how
much to charge.
Con
Pay
You're slightly
limited by what
others are
charging. If you
price yourself out
of the market, no
one will take your
class.
Curriculum
You teach whatever
you want!
Scheduling
You're in charge.
Work when you
want.
Prep Time
Once you have
taught the same
class several times,
there's no prep
time.
Equipment
If you have the
basics, you can
create classes
that don't require
additional
equipment.
Students
You may be
teaching children
or adults,
depending on the
platform.
Software: If you're working
with direct clients, you may
need a paid subscription
to your favorite video
conferencing software. You
may also want to invest in
teaching software that allows
you to display pictures,
words, numbers, and special
effects directly on your
camera screen.
Linguists:
The Perfect Candidate
for Online Teaching
I hope you can take this
information and use it to
diversify successfully with
online teaching and cultural
experience hosting.
Translators/interpreters
possess a wealth of linguistic
and cultural knowledge that's
highly valued by learners, so it
makes sense to share it.
www.ata-chronicle.online
Carlie Sitzman, CT is an ATA-certified
German>English translator with over 10 years of
experience as a freelance translator and technical
writer. She has an MA in intercultural German
studies from the University of Bayreuth in Germany,
as well as a BA in German and an associate of applied science
degree in design graphics engineering technology from Weber
State University. csitzman@sitzmanaetranslations.com
Students
Usually children
ages 3-12.
Very cute!
It's a lot of work to
create everything
from scratch.
None
There's a
tremendous
amount of prep in
the beginning.
None
Prep Time
Equipment
None
Scheduling
You always get paid
what's promised.
The pay is much
higher than
minimum wage,
but relatively low.
Some companies
subtract from your
pay for silly things
like being one
minute late to class
or having a single
dissatisfied student.
Curriculum
Just use what they
give you. Very little
work required.
Sometimes the
curriculum isn't all
that great and there
is nothing you can
do about it.
Some companies
are very flexible
with scheduling.
Classes usually start
in the morning,
so you will have
plenty of time for
translating during
the day.
Almost none!
None
Time zone. You are
usually teaching
from 4:00 a.m. to
8:00 a.m. EST. They
tend to overhire, so
it may be a while
before you start
getting students.
None
They may require
you to have some
toys and physical
props.
If you don't get
along with kids, it
won't work.
Pro
Con
American Translators Association 23
http://www.ata-chronicle.online
The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2021
