TEACHER VOICES. REAL EXPERIENCES.

The reality of
private ESL teaching.

Finding students is only part of the job.
Explore what private teaching looks like behind the lessons.

An online English teacher working at her laptop, with lesson notes and a cup of coffee.

FROM THE ESL STAFFROOM YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Your experience belongs here, too.

This survey is part of The ESL Staffroom YouTube channel. Share your experience of private ESL teaching, then join us on YouTube for more teacher perspectives.

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Or fill in the survey on this page

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The results below are a snapshot collected 17–25 September 2026. New submissions do not update these charts automatically.

EXPLORE THE RESPONSES

Every percentage tells a story.

Selected group

WHAT THIS GROUP IS SAYING

BEYOND THE PERCENTAGES

Our take: what these results suggest

Private teaching also means running a business. These answers suggest that finding students, managing uncertainty and protecting time deserve as much attention as the lessons themselves.

VISIBILITY

Getting discovered is a central challenge.

63.6% selected finding enough paying students as a problem, while 54.5% reported difficulty reaching potential students. That suggests visibility deserves attention; it does not tell us whether teaching quality is a factor.

A practical next step Test a clear offer for a specific type of learner and track which enquiries turn into regular lessons.

THE REAL HOURLY RATE

A paid teaching hour is only part of the workload.

36.4% reported more than an hour of unpaid work per paid hour. For those teachers, earnings per total hour worked are less than half the advertised lesson rate, even before expenses.

A practical next step Track preparation and administration alongside teaching time. Use that total when reviewing prices and deciding which tasks to simplify.

INCOME STABILITY

A full calendar today does not guarantee next month.

51.5% reported quite or highly variable income over the last three full months. Separately, 60.6% selected unpredictable income as a problem. These measure different things, but both point to uncertainty worth planning for.

A practical next step Plan around quieter months as well as busy ones, and discuss upcoming student breaks early.

KEEPING STUDENTS

Continuity depends on life outside the classroom, too.

30.3% cited changing student schedules, compared with 21.2% citing lost motivation and 15.2% citing expectations about progress. Lesson continuity may need both scheduling support and visible learning goals; these answers do not establish why students leave.

A practical next step Agree realistic goals, check progress regularly and set clear, workable expectations for rescheduling.

SUSTAINABLE WORK

Protecting time deserves a place in teacher preparation.

36.4% wished they had known how to protect their time and avoid overworking—the most selected lesson learned. Preparing for quiet months followed at 30.3%, and pricing to cover time and costs at 24.2%.

A practical next step Set working hours, communication boundaries and preparation limits before adding more students.

How to read this section: This is our editorial interpretation of the full survey, with suggestions to consider—not additional survey findings. It stays the same when you filter the charts. The self-selected community sample cannot represent all ESL teachers, establish causes or prove that any suggested action will work.

Behind the percentagesMethodology & interpretation ＋

A community snapshot

Responses to “The Reality of Private ESL Teaching | ESL Staffroom”, collected 17–25 September 2026. All submissions answered all five questions. This is a self-selected community sample, not a representative study of all ESL teachers. Some respondents may not currently teach privately.

How the percentages work

Each percentage is the number of respondents selecting an answer divided by the number answering that question within the selected group. Multiple-choice questions can total more than 100%. Values are rounded to one decimal place; totals may differ slightly from 100%.

Keep the context

“I’m not sure” and teachers with less than three months of private teaching remain in the denominator. The income highlight combines “quite variable” and “highly variable”; unpaid work combines “61–120 minutes” and “more than 120 minutes”. Highlights always show the full sample.

Open responses & privacy

One free-text answer is summarised as “Other: missing a support network”. No names, contact details or individual timestamps are displayed. Group comparisons are descriptive; they do not establish causation or statistical significance.

THE ESL STAFFROOM ON YOUTUBE

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Make yourself a coffee and join The ESL Staffroom. Explore practical teaching ideas, recruiter advice and conversations about life as an ESL teacher.

START WITH A CONVERSATION

INTERVIEWS & DEMO LESSONS

How to Ace Your Online ESL Teaching Interview

A conversation with recruiter Sarah about what recruiters look for in online English teachers.

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CLASSROOM CONFIDENCE

Teaching a shy, quiet, or low-level ESL student

Explore ways to help quieter and lower-level learners feel comfortable and participate more.