Cambly - Remote Working Teaching on the Online English Learning Platform - My User guide and review

When I moved to my freelance role, and started exploring different options, teaching English as a Second Language kept reoccurring. At first, I thought I can't do that, because I didn't have any teaching qualifications. But one day, when other work was quiet, I started looking at what they required. In previous roles, I have gravitated to training and development. I love helping people reach their full potential, so I thought "huh, maybe this would be something I would enjoy."

Some sites don't need a specific teaching qualification, and Cambly is happy with people joining with a degree-level education. So I signed up and gave it a go! I have since gone on to get my TEFL 120h certificate so I can understand the needs of my students even better.

What do you need to be able to teach?

You have to teach from a Laptop or desktop computer with video capabilities and a headset with a microphone, you can't teach from a phone, although students can use a phone for their studies. You also need good quality internet so the lesson doesn't suffer from lag or buffering, which Cambly check for you automatically each time you log on.

How to sign up

When signing up make sure you head to the tutor section, not the learner's page. The sign-up process is then quite simple, and just requires an email (or you can sign in with Google, Facebook or Apple). Once on the site, you have to complete your details, this includes writing a short introduction about yourself so that potential students can read a bit about you before asking for a lesson. You also have to record a short video so students can see and hear your accent to help them make their decision. It can be quite nerve-wracking, so I wrote a few notes before I started to help me remember what I wanted to say. You then have some further prompts to fill in

• Teaching style

• About Me

• Languages (including dialect)

• Work Experience

• Education

• Certificates

Once you have completed your details your account has to be checked, but as long as everything has been filled in you should hear from them in a few days to activate your account. When you sign in for the first time you get a short guide on how to use the site and start teaching. Below is my quick guide.

Dashboard

When you sign in you will see the test prompt which you have to do each time you plan to teach. This ensures your internet is running at the right speed etc. Once you click on the start test button, you will see the video feed and policy reminders that you have to tick individually. It does suggest that the site works better in Google Chrome.

Once the test is finished you will get a continue button and you are all set. Your Dashboard shows you your upcoming events, whether you are visible to students and if you have an incoming call this is where you answer it from.

Priority Hours

Priority hours are put in place to ensure that there are enough teachers to answer all of the student's calls. It's an excellent way to start working and build up your ratings and maybe find some regular students. When you sign up for a priority hour you are agreeing to be available to any student for that hour and in return, Cambly 'features' you to new students and pays you for at least 15 minutes even if you don't get any calls. Any student can ask for a lesson with you at this time, and you can't say no to someone calling you unless the time they have requested goes past the time you want to work. In any 1-hour period, you can pause for 5-minutes if you need to grab a drink or nip to the bathroom, and you can sign up for 10 priority hours in any 24-hour period.

In the priority hours tab, you will find your calendar (in your local time zone) it will show hours that you can sign up for and some hours might have some bonuses attached.

The grey area hour blocks are available for booking. This is done by clicking on it and it will show as black when you are signed up to attend. Some hours have additional incentives, these are either 30 or +15. The orange triangle with the 30 indicates you will be paid for 30 minutes even if no students contact you. In my experience, these appear a bit closer to the day they are required and can often be found on the weekends. I have always had people calling me during these hours, so haven't had to rely on the guaranteed 30-minute pay, as I have always earnt more than this anyway. That said, it is nice to have that there. The blue triangle with +15 indicates the hour has the normal guaranteed payment of 15 minutes, and you will also receive a 25% bonus on the normal base hourly rate. I haven't seen these used so far so they must only be used if the 30 incentive doesn't get enough teachers.

Pros - Lots of people ask for lessons so you can earn more in a concentrated time.

Cons - You have to be online even when people aren't calling you. You don't know who will be calling you and can't prepare for the conversation.

Reservations

The reservation tab is another way you can let students know you are available. You can specify blocks of time that people can book a session with you. This might be a regular student, but you can also be found by students looking for someone who fits in with their schedule. The advantage of this is that you know who you will be meeting, and can prepare material if required. The tab shows you your calendar with any priority hours you are booked to do already showing. To show your availability you can click and drag over the time in 15-minute intervals. Once selected they show as blue with the covered time displayed. In the example below people can book lessons at any time between 10 am and 1 pm.

In my opinion reservation hours are good as a top-up if there aren't any priority hours available and if you have regular clients.

Pros - You can get work booked in even if you can't sign up for a priority hour. You don't have to be online unless someone books a lesson.

Cons - You might not get very many bookings.

Library

One of the big advantages of Cambly is its extensive library that they make fully available to teachers to use during lessons. Students can sign up for a course and arrive at their lesson with slides from the library, that you can then work through together. If students aren't signed up for a course, you can still use the library to open a session that you think they might enjoy. It has subjects from basics up to business English and IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam prep. It is very easy to see how many slides you have in a lesson so you can work through the time at the correct pace and they are things most English-speaking people can easily talk about. The only slides I sometimes struggle with are the grammar slides as it is taught in a very technical format, which I wasn't taught at school. Most times just reading through the slide and then going through the exercises will ensure the student understands, but if not Google is your friend 🤣 (other search engines are available)

Another advantage of the library is that it can add people to your student list. You can study a course and add it to your 'My Courses' section. This means if a student is studying this course and needs a tutor, you will be featured to them and they might ask for a lesson with you. I use any downtime between people to look at lessons, and can then add it to my list for more people. I really like that Cambly seem to be constantly developing new courses, so there is something for everyone.

If someone comes to a session with a lesson and you have no idea how to teach that lesson, let them know. The IELTS is quite specific, so might not be your thing to start with. The more you do, the easier it gets. Most students are happy to practice free speaking instead, so don't worry. Some people won't have a lesson, so you can also save some websites in this area. I have some games for a child or teen student, and some news sites specifically for people learning English. This way you always have something at your fingertips to discuss. I also have a prompt sheet on my desktop with small talk questions, so I never have to search for something to ask. I have a list for children, teens and adults with different areas from travel, work, hobbies and other random questions that can make people laugh.

History

Your history tab lists everyone you have had conversations with so you can easily contact them again, or add some notes so you can remember who they are. (See student files for more details), This section also shows you the amount you have earned in this pay week, your rating, total chats, students met, total talk time in minutes, and total payments.

Student files

Each student has their own file where they can update their profile with their age, interests and what they are working towards. To find this you can go into your history, or the future booking and click on their name. You can then see any chats you have had during the lesson, add any private notes to help you remember what you spoke about or anything relevant to your teaching and can see if they are signed up for any courses to possibly prepare for a booked lesson. In this area you can also send them a personal message, I like to send my students a "Well done!" message if they had a really good session, or you can send your availability if they are interested in booking more sessions. You can hold a spot by clicking on the button and selecting the relevant day and time on your calendar that opens, which they can then authorise, which some people might find easier, and helps you book future work quickly. You can also make them a regular students, meaning they will be on the dedicated section on your history page so you can find them even quicker.

How safe is the site?

Cambly makes your safety and comfort level a high priority, without tutors, their platform would fail. One way they protect you is if someone is on a free trial session (with Cambly you still get paid) their camera is automatically switched off. Once you have spoken to them and are more comfortable you can then opt to switch their camera on. The student also has the option to work without their camera, which means there are safety options on each side. If you feel the student is not taking the lesson seriously, or is rude or offensive you can report them, and even get them banned from the platform. Clicking on the Report/Ban button then asks for some further details, and will be investigated. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, but hasn't done something grossly offensive, you can hide your profile from them through the same button, but this doesn't stop them from booking with other tutors. I have had a very low number of people who fit into this category. Most people are there to learn but it is nice to know you have the ability to address these issues if you want it. There are lots of policies and advice in the tutor guide once you are on the platform so if you have any worries you can have a read.

Can I just teach adults?

Cambly has a specific site just for kids. Tutors can sign up for this and receive a higher rate of pay. This platform is called Cambly Kids, but it's not for everyone. The majority of the people on Cambly are teens through to adults, but I have had the occasional child who might be on their parent's account or hasn't been migrated over to the new platform yet. If the student hasn't filled in their age, I generally ask how old they are, and fill it in for them. I don't know if this helps move the children over to the children's platform but it will help future teachers plan, so I feel better doing it. I have a few games and funny books saved to my Cambly library just in case I have a young learner turn up, but I have found their English is generally excellent. As long as you pitch your subjects at their level, you can have a full conversation with them. Some children might have their parents with them and others will be on their own so it's up to you to control the session. In my experience young children are few and far between, so I don't mind them, and I have some fun with my regular teen learners that are dedicated to their learning.

How much can I earn?

Cambly pays 17 US cents per minute on the standard Cambly platform, and 20 cents per minute on Cambly kids. If you can get people back to back you can earn US$10.20 for an hour's work. It's not going to make you rich, but it can be a steady income once you start getting a few more regular clients. Cambly pays their teachers weekly by Paypal on a Tuesday. This all happens automatically, and so far the payment process has been without issue for me. All taxes need to be arranged by you in your country, as you are registered as an independent contractor.

So what do I think?

I have been working for Cambly for a few months now, and I really enjoy it. I love being able to help people improve their English and I get to speak to people around the world learning about their lives, their similarities and differences to my life and different experiences. I have built up a lovely group of regulars that I speak to most weeks, and have the satisfaction of seeing them improve and return to me.

I love the fact that I can do this job from anywhere, as long as I have a good internet connection. Since we are about to move to another part of the world, the only thing I need to consider is the new time difference, but other than that I won't need to change what I am doing. I love the flexibility it gives you, you don't have to work each day or week as you do with some other sites. You pick your hours, so you really can do it around your everyday life for some extra money if you want to. It doesn't take a lot of time to set up and you don't need expensive equipment, so you could try it and see if it is for you.

It has been my most consistent work out of any freelance work I have tried and it currently makes up the bulk of my income. The lessons last from 5min taster sessions (which you can opt-out of) up to 30mins or hour sessions, it depends on how the learner wants to split up their practice time. You are constantly moving onto a new subject or conversation which I enjoy. If I don't jell with a person it's fine as the lesson will be over soon. I just find the engaging people's lessons fly by.

I will admit the first time I heard the ring to say I had a student I was nervous but within a few calls, I was loving it. I try to get to know the person, what kind of place they live in and what they like to do, that way I can judge their level of English and pitch examples and conversations at the right level. I also ask them what they want to work on, and I don't assume just because they have a lesson that this is what they want to work on, they might just want to chat. Cambly gives you the below advice on how to have your conversations flowing with a student.

The other great thing that Cambly includes is a built-in translation tool in all sessions. If a student isn't sure of a word you are explaining, you can use the chat service, which they can then translate by clicking on, or you can use the direct translation tool which puts the word straight into their language. You can also use a pen to mark the slides you are teaching to help direct the learner or open up a blank page to draw something to help them. The student also has this ability so you can make fun interactive games to work through together to get them even more engaged.

If I have piqued your interest and you want to have a go at tutoring here is a link to the sign-up page https://www.cambly.com/invite/RK63R9DT?st=103022&sc=4

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