eTalk Review Summary

eTalk is an online school focusing on ESL for all ages/levels, though it also provides Math and academic prep. Classes are 1v1 and last 25/50 mins. They want certified teachers with 1+ year experience, and pay up to US$12 or €8 for most positions, however, they are selective about who they hire and have few reviews.

eTalk School Pros and Cons

Pros:

• No degree required
• Some positions open to non-Native speakers with a neutral English accent
• Recruiting for several positions (e.g. ESL, IELTS, academic prep, and Math)
• Socially-conscious company providing free language courses for Ukrainian refugees

Cons:

• Must have a teaching certificate and 1 year of teaching experience
• Only 1 out of 20 candidates are selected
• Successful applicants must pass an interview, online teaching test, and demo class
• Not many reviews available yet

What Is eTalk Online English School and Is It Legit?

eTalk is an international online English school that provides live 1v1 tutoring to adults, teenagers, and children over 4 years of age.

Formally known as eTalk Global Ltd. (not to be confused with eTalk Global Education Consultants), it is a legitimate company that was incorporated in London on 23 September 2021. With offices located in London and Vancouver, it employs over 50 teachers remotely from around the world.

eTalk’s legitimacy is reinforced by having raised $100,000 in seed funding from private equity firm Digital Leaves, being featured in Business Review publication, and following the Common European Framework (CEFR) for its curriculum.

Founded by Ukraine-born entrepreneur Slava Zhiradkov, eTalk also exhibits a social conscience by providing free language courses to Ukrainian refugees.

Below is the company’s introduction video:

About eTalk Online Teaching

eTalk offers one-on-one private tutoring and specialized courses in:

• General English
• Exam/test preparation (Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking) for:
  • Cambridge Exams
  • IELTS
  • TOEFL
  • CELPIP
• English for Academic Purposes
• English for IT
• English for Careers:
  • Customer Service
  • F&B/Restaurant Service
  • HR
  • Medicine
  • Real Estate
  • Sales
• Grammar
• Street English
• English through Songs

While the company’s primary focus is on providing English instruction, they have also started to cater for additional languages, e.g. French and Spanish, as well as other disciplines such as K-12 Mathematics, and academic preparation for children in UK boarding schools.

The eTalk curriculum follows CEFR standards and adopts a communicative methodology which from the outset encourages student speaking practice by imitating a native-speaking environment.

Materials vary depending on the age, level and needs of the student. Younger children (from 4 years up) play games, sing songs, and work on projects, while adults from beginner to advanced take classes covering more general, conversational English, as well as Corporate and Business English for professionals.

The eTalk virtual classroom is accessible through a browser and provides live audio and video communication with whiteboard functionality. Below is a screenshot of this, while a demo video can be watched through the company’s Facebook page.

eTalk Salary Information

eTalk pay rates (and currency) vary slightly depending upon the position being applied for:

eTalk Hours and Schedule

eTalk ESL classes last 25 or 50 minutes, with younger students usually taking shorter lessons. These usually fall between the weekday and weekend hours of 8am-8/9pm, depending on your timezone.

eTalk Requirements

The mandatory requirements to become an ESL teacher at eTalk are:

• A neutral English accent*
• Teaching certificate (TEFL/TESOL/CELTA/TKT or local teacher certification)
• At least one year of teaching experience
• A computer with ‘decent’ internet connection and headset

*Some positions will specify ‘English native speakers only‘, ‘American native speakers only‘, or ‘Polish Speaking‘, but not all vacancies.

Those applying for IELTS teacher positions additionally require experience preparing for that exam.

The requirements for math and academic prep positions are a little more specific:

• Online Math teacher (K-12)
  • Experience in K-1 Math teaching and familiar with the Math K-12 curriculum of Canada and the US
  • English must either be the mother tongue language or C1 level
  • Must have at least some Teaching Certificate or teaching higher degree
  • Must have at least one year of teaching experience
• Online tutor for high school academic preparation (only British)
  • British English accent and origin
  • Completed higher education in the UK or a current student of a UK university/college
  • Teaching certificate (TEFL/TESOL/CELTA/TKT or local teacher certification)
  • Teaching experience
  • Academic English
  • Exact Sciences (Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry)
  • Humanities (history, geography, political science)

eTalk Application Process

To apply, visit the eTalk jobs page, select the position you are interested in, and complete the application form by providing the following details (or link your Indeed account):

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Physical address, city, state/province, postal/zip code
• Attach resume/CV
• What other languages do you know?
• Specify the knowledge level for each of the languages chosen above according to CEFR (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2)
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Nationality
• Your current location (country, city)
• How much teaching experience do you have? (in years)
• How much online teaching experience do you have? (in years)
• What is your highest level of education?
• Name of the last educational institution you attended (school/college/university)
• Obtained teaching certificates
• Give details about your gained teaching certificates (number of points, year of obtaining, etc.)
• English Language Knowledge (ELK) Certificates
• Give details about your gained ELK Certificates (number of points, year of obtaining, etc.)
• What age groups of students do you prefer to teach?
• Do you have experience in teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP)? Specify
• Give details about your experience in teaching ESP (students’ achievements, certificates, etc.)
• How much do you expect to be paid for a 60-minute class (in US dollars or Euros – any currency you are comfortable with)?

Successful applicants will be invited to schedule an eTalk interview, which reportedly lasts around 30 minutes and is followed by an online teacher test (2+ hours) and demo class on the platform (30 minutes teaching followed by a 30-minute discussion).

It should be noted that only 1 out of every 20 candidates are successfully hired by the company.

eTalk School Reviews

Unfortunately, at this time very few eTalk reviews have been left by teachers who have worked there. While there are currently 5 contributions on Glassdoor, 4 of these predate the launch of this particular company and seem to be referring to another entity (the uploaded logo is for the Canadian showbiz show Etalk, there used to be a Chinese company called Etalk ABC which went out of business, while there is also an e-talk.vn based in Vietnam).

There are, however, reviews from students left on Trustpilot and Facebook, providing overall ratings of 4.4 and 5 out of 5 respectively, that talk positively about the teaching:

• “…my daughter is studying with Nivin and she loves this teacher, she always goes to class with joy and pleasure. The lessons are held in a relaxed and fun atmosphere, while I pay attention to how the child’s vocabulary increases and her confidence in communicating in English.“
• “I have been studying with my teacher for about a year, and I can say with confidence that it is not in vain. In the lessons we analyze new words, talk a lot, improving English pronunciation, and learn grammar. It is much easier for me to speak English, I feel freer and my language barrier has decreased significantly. My teacher is very responsive and helps me whenever I need it. Also, during the lessons I feel comfortable, as my teacher tries to create a relaxed atmosphere, which helps a lot in learning!”
• “My daughter’s teacher, Mrs. Martyna Nurzyńska is an ideal teacher, very committed to teaching English. Always open to our requests. After working through the material that my daughter currently has at school, the effects of these extracurricular activities with Ms. Martyna are amazing. Wonderful, wonderful, loved with a great knowledge of the language, which she can perfectly convey to the student. We are very happy as parents, and our daughter loves lessons with Mrs. Martynka.”
• “My son is 7 years. We take eTalk lessons since January 2021. The teacher speaks mostly English to him in the beginning of learning. But now we have only English speaking teacher. He understand more and more, can answer the questions and try to use English during our vacation. I recommend it for the young schoolkids!!!”
• “My 9-year-old son started this 6 months ago and apparently he loves it. At first, it was difficult for him to understand even simple phrases, but now he tries to participate in a mini conversation with the teacher. Our teacher was very positive and supportive of all the endeavors of the child.”

Conclusion – Is eTalk Worth It?

While eTalk advertises a number of open positions, the rates of pay are not amazing considering they want certified teachers with experience and are very selective about who they hire. The lack of reviews from existing teachers also means there is an element of risk in applying, even though the company appears legitimate. The application form is relatively short and simple, so you can always investigate them further if you lack other options. However, check out our full list of online teaching jobs first.