eHello Review Summary

eHello (eHailuo) is a Chinese tutoring company that has been shutting down and withholding pay from its teachers since China changed its regulations. As there is no guarantee you will be paid, even if you can get hired there at this time, you should look elsewhere for teaching.

Pay (per hour):$10-18
Native / Non-Native Speakers accepted?Both
TEFL / TESOL / CELTA required?No
Degree / diploma required?No*
Adult / child students?Both
Class size:1 or group
Minimum hours (per week):20
*depending on experience and position

eHello Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Considers both Native and Non-Native Speakers with fluent, neutral accents
  • Experience counts in place of a degree
  • Can earn a free TEFL certificate and teach without one while training
  • Options to teach either adult or child students, and one-on-one or group classes

Cons:

  • Company appears to be closing down and has stopped paying teachers what they are owed
  • Relatively low pay
  • May have to pass up to 3 unpaid 50-minute demo classes in addition to the interview
  • 50-minute-long classes make it more difficult to maintain students’ attention
  • High minimum hours requirement of 20 hours per week
  • Teaching materials contain grammatical and typographical errors

Is eHello Legit?

eHello, also known as eHailuo, was a legitimate online education company providing English (ESL) classes for Chinese students aged 5 years to adult, before it started shutting down and withholding pay from its teachers after China changed its regulations. Their headquarters is in Nanjing, China, and they have an international division in Nashville, USA. eHello (eHailuo) has more than 30,000 active students and hires approximately 75-100 TEFL teachers every month.

eHello Salary / Pay

The advertised eHello pay rate is between US$10-18 per lesson/hour (lessons last 50 minutes and so only one can be taught within the hour). The exact amount varies depending upon your experience, the position you apply for, whether you’re teaching individuals or groups of students, and are a Native or Non-Native Speaker (with the latter group reporting lower rates of $3-7):

  • Student teachers earn $10 for one-on-one lessons
  • Retired teachers earn between $10-12 for one-one-one lessons
  • Group classes pay $18

Bonuses are apparently available if you teach a high number of lessons or special types of courses, though eHello doesn’t provide specifics.

Payments are meant to be made via PayPal or bank transfer, minus fees, however, many teachers have reported that they are no longer receiving their pay since China changed its regulations.

eHello Hours

eHello one-on-one classes are available between 8am-8pm each day, while group classes are between 1-8pm on weekdays and 8am-8pm on weekends. All lessons last 50 minutes. eHello says that their most popular teachers have a booking rate of over 90%.

eHello Requirements

There are slightly different eHello requirements depending on your background and which position you’re applying for, but these are the common criteria for each:

  • Be Native or fluent in both spoken and written English, with a neutral accent
  • 21-70 years of age
  • Access to high-speed internet with at least a 10 Mbps upload/download connection (you can test your internet speed here)
  • Computer with Windows 7 or higher in a quiet and well-lit teaching space
  • Webcam and ‘operator style’ headset with microphone
  • Smartphone to advise eHello about any emergencies and need to cancel
  • 2 photographs for the website – one professional and one more casual/fun
  • Be highly motivated, energetic, patient, friendly, enjoy meeting new people, and have a passion for teaching and education

Here are the more nuanced differences between what’s required for each position:

  1. Accredited (AC) or Retired Teacher Positions – for graduates, current educators or Retired Teacher Association members. Must have completed at least an Associate’s Degree (AS) and be available to teach at least twenty 50-minute lessons across 4 days a week.
  2. Tutor – for experienced individuals without a degree, or current university/college students with a GPA of 2.8 or higher (in any subject) not enrolled in a Student Teacher Program
  3. Student Teacher Program – for students majoring in Elementary or Secondary Education. Must have a GPA of 2.8 or higher, commit to 20 hours of teaching and evaluation per week for the 5-month/1-term length of the program, produce a mid-term presentation, and accept that all lessons will be monitored and assessed as part of a performance review for the student’s university advisor.

eHello teachers instruct students in ‘Free Style Conversation’, Kids English, Daily English, Business English, while improving student speaking, pronunciation, and vocabulary.

For those without a TEFL or TESOL qualification already, eHello offers the opportunity to earn a 160-hour TEFL certificate on the job, leading to a full-time position with the company upon completion.

eHello Application Process

eHello hires around 75-100 new TEFL teachers every month. To apply to be an eHello online English teacher, submit the following information on the company’s website:

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Skype account ID
  • Current location
  • Why you want to experience or change to Online Teaching / Student Teacher Program / Earn your TEFL Certification
  • Link to self-introduction video
  • Resume/CV (upload)

eHello Interview

Should your initial eHello teaching application be accepted, you will be contacted by a Teaching Assistant (TA) from the company to set up a 30-minute Skype meeting and interview. Expect to discuss your educational background, qualifications and teaching experience, while past eHello interview questions have also posed situational scenarios such as ‘What would you do if you had an autistic child in your online classroom?’.

These videos from eHello give some insight into what their interviewers look for in a candidate, specifically:

  • Can the candidate get the interviewer to speak?
  • Is the candidate flexible; can they adjust their teaching methodologies to handle different types of students?
  • How does the candidate present difficult words, phrases and sentences?
  • Does the candidate communicate with TPR, vocal intonations and facial expressions?
  • Is the candidate’s teaching style compatible with eHello’s TRPS (Tri-Rounds-Role-Play-Scenario) methodology? (where teacher and student role-play three rounds of real-life scenarios focusing on 1) grammar, 2) pronunciation and intonation, and 3) creativity of communication)

If you are still a university/college student applying through eHello’s Student Teacher Program, you will also have to submit proof of your current GPA and contact information for your university advisor or student teacher coordinator.

Be aware that should you pass the interview you’ll be invited back to conduct up to THREE 50-minute demo classes, two with recruiters and one with a real student. These are all UNPAID.

You will be introduced to eHello’s PowerPoint-formatted learning materials (which contain grammatical and typographical errors) and given training in how to use their learning platform, set up your teaching schedule, book classes, and get paid via PayPal.

eHello Reviews

The eHello Glassdoor page gives the company an average rating of 2.3 out of 5, with 34% willing to recommend them to a friend. These scores have plummeted due to the company’s treatment of its teachers since China banned for-profit tutoring in 2021.

We were contacted by an eHello teacher reporting that they had not been paid for August or September, management were not communicating with them, and people were leaving:

Similar stories can be found on Facebook and in the latest eHailuo reviews on Glassdoor, reinforcing the view that this company is in its death throes and should be avoided at all costs:

Conclusion – Is eHello Worth It?

eHello’s treatment of its teachers in not paying them for the hours they have taught is indefensible and provides a stark warning to avoid this company and look for alternatives elsewhere – a list of non-China companies can be found here.

A full list of other online teaching companies can be found here.

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Dr Daniel Spence

Daniel Spence is the founder of Online Teaching Review. He has been an international teacher since 2008, an award-winning academic, author of two books, and holds a PhD, MA, BA (Hons), and TESOL.

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