{"id":13152,"date":"2021-03-23T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/?p=13152"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T19:53:12","slug":"ruth-from-uganda-online-business-english-teacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/ruth-from-uganda-online-business-english-teacher\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruth, From Uganda, Online Business English Teacher"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With her sights set on working abroad, Bridge grad Ruth Nabaasa, from Uganda, kickstarted her career in the TEFL\/TESOL field by running English Corners, a program for Chinese people in Nairobi, Kenya. While waiting for travel restrictions to ease, she found an opportunity to boost her experience by teaching English online<\/a>. She discusses the benefits of working as a virtual ESL teacher and how she has made headway to develop her teaching skills.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hi, Ruth! Can you share a bit about yourself?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m from Uganda, and I’m currently living in the capital, Kampala. I lived in the UK after my university studies for a year, so I did a gap year in the UK, and then I was living in Nairobi for the last four years also. So, I was living in Nairobi working with Chinese students, running English Corners, and doing different things like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You initially intended to teach English abroad. How did the pandemic affect your plans?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I moved to my home country and while I was there, I was thinking I needed to get more formal experience teaching English because I had done the IDELTOnline<\/em>\u2122<\/a> at some point with Bridge. Well, I was really applying to jobs in different parts of the world. Obviously, I considered going to China and different parts of Asia, but also South America was at the top of my list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I got an [online teaching] job with Bridge Languages<\/a>. I had initially gotten another job with a school in Costa Rica to teach young people, but it didn’t work out because they needed somebody to start immediately and I needed to go through a visa process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I waited until the situation in Chile kind of settled; at some point, they paused the recruitment process because of the protests in the country and I felt it wasn’t safe for foreigners. When they resumed, I did the interview and got the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was looking forward to going last year, but the pandemic found me in Nairobi. I was just getting my academic documents authenticated and then I’d be ready to fly out and start a life in another part of the world, but the pandemic struck. I got stuck in Nairobi, so I stayed there for most of the year and then moved back home in December of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the top reasons why you should teach ESL online while waiting to travel abroad.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ruth while traveling<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How did you land your online ESL teaching job at Bridge Languages<\/a>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In September, I remember contacting Carlos, the Academic Director of Bridge Languages, and asking, \u201cAre there plans? Is the country opening up? Should I get myself ready to travel to Chile? What is the status of things?\u201d Carlos told me about how they\u2019ve gone 100% remote, that everything is happening virtually and there are no on-site classes. He asked me if I would be open to teaching with Bridge Languages online<\/a> and going through training. So, I said I was very open. I went through training, and I had to do a demo video<\/a>. I actually did the demo video twice, and then I got my first student on the fourth of December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you tell us more about your online English teaching job?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Well, I\u2019m mostly teaching adult students<\/a>, Business English students. I\u2019m a Business English instructor. I\u2019m offering Business English<\/a> classes, and most of the students work for companies ranging from pharmaceutical to food companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, I was amazed when one of the students recently told me in one of our classes, \u201cOur top competitor is Pfizer and AstraZeneca.\u201d And I was thinking to myself, \u201cOh my gosh, I am teaching people who are probably going to make a huge difference in the world, especially as far as COVID-19 is concerned and finding a vaccine.\u201d It was just so interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make teaching Business English your niche by taking a specialized TEFL\/TESOL course.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ruth at her friend’s home in Uganda<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What inspires you to teach English?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n