Online English teaching, a safe, resilient livelihood , bridges peoples, cultures

July 18, 2020 Community Billboard

While the Philippine economy reels from the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic with the easing of quarantine restrictions, the months-long quarantine have created a chain reaction that led to many Filipinos losing their jobs and livelihood.
On March 16, President Rodrigo Duterte declared the entire island of Luzon with its population of 58 million under community quarantine to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Though community quarantine measures are effective methods in flattening the infection curve, it resulted in a downturn in economic activity.
Public transport was halted and the movement of private vehicles was also regulated. Various industries were badly-hit, causing a stoppage of business operations, massive lay-offs, and cease-hiring altogether.
Tourism, trade, and consumption drastically dropped during this period, and according to the Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III, 2.6 million Filipinos have already lost their jobs due to the temporary halting of operations of business establishments.
As the onsite or office-based jobs and opportunities dwindled, home-based, online jobs and livelihoods flourished as a safe and resilient way to conduct business and continue earning. The Philippines, as among the most populous English-speaking nations, has long been a destination for top business process outsourcing firms and call centers. In recent years, online English teaching has become a very popular career choice, which turned out to be one of the least affected jobs amid the pandemic.
Most online teachers in the Philippines typically work from home, which insulated them from the quarantine measures that have devastated other businesses. Being an online English teacher can be very rewarding. In 2019, the average monthly salary in the Philippines was PHP 50,600 and online English teachers may earn more than this amount per month, depending on their number of classes.
Online English platform 51Talk, which has been around since 2011, has been promoting this home-based online English teaching opportunity. 51Talk connects its 20,000 English teachers to Chinese students using its proprietary technology called Air Class to deliver live, one-on-one, interactive, and fun lessons.
On the picture – Huang Jiajia, or Jack Huang, Founder and CEO of 51Talk