UUabc Review Summary

PLEASE NOTE (30/05/22) – THIS COMPANY HAS CEASED OPERATING SINCE THIS REVIEW WAS PUBLISHED. YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER THESE NON-CHINA COMPANIES INSTEAD.

UUabc offers Native Speakers reasonable pay after a short demo, but they must have up to two years of teaching experience, a Bachelor’s degree (and if no Education major, a TEFL/TESOL). There are question marks over booking rates, however, and teaching groups of 4 won’t suit everyone.

UUabc Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Reasonable pay
• All Native Speakers can apply
• No TEFL/TESOL/CELTA required for those with Education degrees

Cons:

• Non-Native Speakers not accepted
• Must have a Bachelor’s degree
• Must have 1-2 years of teaching experience (depending on offline/online)
• Groups of 4 students won’t suit all teachers
• Mixed reports regarding the quality of teaching materials, company support and booking rates

Is UUabc Legit?

UUabc is a legitimate Chinese ESL company, founded in 2016. They are based in Shanghai and are part of the OneSmart International Education Group Ltd. (listed on the New York Stock Exchange).

UUabc Salary / Pay

UUabc pay their teachers between US$15-24, based upon their interview performance and experience. Be aware that, like many other Chinese ESL companies, UUabc have slowly been cutting away at their salary rates (they used to offer $18-28 and provide standby pay), and so this could be reduced further in the future.

UUabc does offer some bonus schemes (after a 1-month probation period), which can add up to an extra $3 per hour:

You will require a PayPal account to get paid each month.

UUabc Hours

UUabc requires their teachers to work a minimum of 8 hours per week during the company’s peak hours of 5-9pm (Beijing Time), Monday-Friday, and 10am-9pm on weekends.

UUabc online teaching is carried out via 30 minute classes with small groups of up to 4 Chinese students between the ages of 4-16 years. Trial classes are one-on-one.

UUabc Teacher Requirements

Before you begin your UUabc teacher application, you must meet the following UUabc requirements:

• Native Speaker with a neutral accent and a passport from either the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or South Africa.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited educational institution (preference will be given to a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD in Education. Other subjects will require a supplementary TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate)
• Teaching experience of at least 1 academic year (offline) or 2 years (online)

Note: a TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate is only required if your degree is in a subject other than Education.

UUabc Technical Requirements

• Computer with Mac OS or Windows 7, 8 or 10
• Intel i3 dual core processor or above
• At least 2GB RAM
• Good quality video camera with at least 720p definition
• Stable broadband internet connection with a minimum download speed of 30 Mbps and upload speed of 5 Mbps (you can check your internet speed here)
• Overhead headset with microphone (Logitech H340 preferred)
• A quiet and undisturbed environment

UUabc Hiring Process

This is the timeline one is given for the UUabc application process:

You must begin your UUabc job application by registering your email address and password on the UUabc website.

You will then be asked whether someone has referred you (e.g., a recruiter on social media) or if you’re applying directly (in this instance, it’s the latter):

Next is the resume screen, where you will have to fill in the following personal information (have digital copies of your professional photo, resume/CV and certificates ready for uploading):

• How you heard about UUabc
• First and last name
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Skype ID
• Wechat ID (optional)
• Phone number
• Native Speaker of English? (yes/no)
• Nationality
• Current country of residence
• Highest degree
• Educational history (i.e. dates, country, institution, major)
• Previous teaching experience (i.e. online/offline, dates, country, institution, title, duties)
• Teaching certificates (e.g. CELTA, TEFL/TESOL/TESL, TKT, State Education Certification)
• Chinese language skill (none – advanced)
• Self introduction
• Professional photo (upload)
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae (upload – word/pdf)
• Academic certificates (upload – jpg/jpeg/png)
• Teaching certificates (upload – jpg/jpeg/png)

UUabc Interview

Once your resume information has been screened and accepted, you’ll then be invited to an UUabc interview on Skype, which will last 30-45 minutes and includes a 5-8 minute teaching demo. In this you will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Class effectiveness
• Teaching experience
• Neutral accent
• Certifications
• Positive and can-do mindset
• Discipline and professionalism

These are genuine UUabc interview questions that have been asked previously, so make sure you have prepared answers for them (in case they come up again for you):

• How many years of teaching experience do you have?/Tell us about your previous teaching experience?
• Have you taught online before?
• Tell me about your experience teaching kids.
• How is teaching kids different to teaching adults?
• How long are you planning to have this job in case you get hired?
• What is your favorite color? (this type of left-field question is usually intended to test your communication skills, so try and elaborate)

Below are two videos on how to pass the UUabc interview, including ideas for your teaching demo, where they suggest:

• Use a microphone headset (as this will be expected)
• Dress professionally (be well groomed and cover up any tattoos)
• Prepare your own materials on a simple topic you’re comfortable with and have previously taught, aimed at a 7 year old child (e.g. on letters, colors, animals, etc.)
• Introduce yourself
• Have a warm-up activity
• Correct all mistakes in a positive and encouraging way (positive reinforcement)
• Use appropriate teaching props (e.g. puppets, toys, background, realia, whiteboard, cards, pictures)
• Use TPR (Total Physical Response)
• Use a reward system (e.g. stars, smiley faces, blowing a whistle or bubbles)
• Be enthusiastic and engage the students to speak more
• Use target language in full sentences
• Speak clearly and adopt a neutral accent

Most applicants find the UUabc interview to be fairly easy, with it receiving an average difficulty rating of 2.1 out of 5 on Glassdoor, and 100% of reviewers reporting that they had a positive interview experience.

Should you pass the interview, you will then sign your service agreement, complete your teacher profile (including a short introduction video), and pass onboarding training. This comprises three hours’ worth of videos and documents to study before taking a formal test which you must pass with a score of 80% or more.

UUabc Teacher Reviews

UUabc teacher reviews on Glassdoor give the company an average rating of 3.4 out of 5, with 69% of candidates willing to recommend them to a friend. While only 3 reviews have been left in the last year, none have allocated fewer than 4 stars (out of 5) to the company. Generally UUabc teachers seem satisfied with their current pay, though there are mixed experiences regarding student numbers and booking rates, the standard of teaching materials, and the quality of company communications and support:

The most recent negative interviews were written over a year ago, but for balance we include them here:

Conclusion – Is UUabc Worth It?

If you hold an Education degree but no TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate, then UUabc is a good option to bypass any need to acquire the latter. Their application process is also relatively easy, requiring a short 5-minute teaching demo compared to 20-25 minute mock classes elsewhere. While UUabc pay reasonably well (at the moment), they do expect highly-qualified and experienced Native Speakers who could still earn more at rival companies, especially as there are question marks over UUabc’s student numbers and booking rates.

PLEASE NOTE (30/05/22) – THIS COMPANY HAS CEASED OPERATING SINCE THIS REVIEW WAS PUBLISHED. YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER THESE NON-CHINA COMPANIES INSTEAD.

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