{"id":28073,"date":"2023-09-05T14:33:36","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T20:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/?p=13165"},"modified":"2025-12-22T13:54:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T20:54:13","slug":"reasons-become-freelance-esl-teacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/reasons-become-freelance-esl-teacher\/","title":{"rendered":"A Teacherpreneur Shares 6 Reasons to Become an Independent ESL Teacher"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Josefina Castillo, from Argentina, has been teaching English for 10 years. She got her start working for a language institute but soon found the structured environment of being an employee was not the best fit for her, so she made the leap and became a teacherpreneur, launching her own English institute. She shares the benefits of becoming an independent ESL teacher for anyone considering teaching on their own terms. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who becomes an independent teacher? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you\u2019re an experienced English teacher who has taken countless TEFL courses<\/a> and worked in the industry for years. You get up every day, lessons ready, and head out the door to the institution you work for. Perhaps you still feel passionate about what you do \u2026 but something is amiss. Alternatively, you don\u2019t want to work for<\/em> others anymore. You feel the need to work for yourself, to be in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, maybe you\u2019ve just finished your online TEFL course<\/a> and are a new teacher at a school or online tutoring company. You\u2019ve long wanted to teach English, but now you\u2019re feeling disappointed. This structured environment is not what you imagined it would be. You want freedom. You want to be in the driver’s seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Josefina<\/a>
For Student’s Day (September, 21st) we played a game in which the students complete the sentences with their own ideas. My sentence prompt was “Confidence is…”<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re reading this, the independent spark is probably already burning within you, and one of these descriptions might hit close to home. I understand because some years ago before I decided to take a leap of faith to do what I loved, I had been the main character in these stories for a while. I felt frustrated, overwhelmed, and trapped in a safe, regular teaching job at a school. My heart just wasn\u2019t in it, and I knew I wasn\u2019t giving 100 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many options for teaching English independently. A freelance ESL teacher teaches online as a contractor with an online marketplace or language school, choosing their students, schedule, and teaching niche. Some teachers use this path to find students and begin private tutoring. Others, like me, become teacherpreneurs, creating their own online English teaching businesses. I specialize in teaching Business English<\/a> and English for Specific Purposes for adults, and once I got my business off the ground, I never looked back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of becoming an independent online teacher abound. Here are some reasons I recommend you take the leap:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interested in training to become a teacherpreneur? Learn about Bridge’s Teacherpreneur Academy, a pathway to gaining the knowledge, skills, resources, and community needed to launch a successful online teaching business.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a><\/div>
Want to work for yourself? Read the free guide to<\/h5>

Three Ways to Be an Independent Online English Teacher<\/h3>

<\/p>download<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1. You can do what you love, as all types of ESL teachers are in demand.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are potential students all over the world, from all ages and walks of life, looking to learn English, and they all have different goals. That means you\u2019re going to find a match between what you love doing and what students are hoping to achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I love working with adults in general, and retirees in particular. I enjoy every class that we have and how much energy they put into everything they do. I feel like I always get the chance to fulfill my passion as an independent teacher!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to build up your teaching skills and resume? Qualify to teach students around the world with the Bridge 120-hour Master TEFL Certificate.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. You are your own boss \u2013 teach who, what, how, where, and when you like.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can not only choose your ESL teaching niche<\/a> and preferred student age, but you also have the freedom to establish your own rates<\/a>, curricula, and teaching location (whether at home, a caf\u00e9, or an Airbnb while you\u2019re traveling!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when I worked for a language institute, I was teaching kids, but that wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. So, I became a teacherpreneur, starting my own teaching business. I specialized in teaching adults and began offering an online conversation group centered around having coffee together. Today, these \u201cCoffee Talks\u201d are a favorite at my institute!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out Josefina’s institute on Facebook: Idiomas: ARGOT Soluciones Ling\u00fc\u00edsticas.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Josefina,<\/a>
Josefina (center) with her business partner (far left) and a teacher (right) at a local cultural convention<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. You can feel free to let your personality shine. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As an ESL teacher, your preferences, style, and personality can permeate your teaching materials, methods, and processes, which is something that you often can\u2019t do when you work for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have an active personality; I’m very energetic and enjoy games a lot. Working for myself, I always try to transmit this style to my students: being passionate, taking the lead, and never being afraid to make mistakes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore eight strategies to build confidence in your ESL students.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. You\u2019re always allowed to have fun and opt for a change.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ESL teaching jobs are versatile; they keep you constantly challenged and learning new things. Maybe in the morning, you choose to teach English to children and in the afternoon, you teach a group of marketing professionals! Variety is the spice of the independent teacher’s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn about 10 fun and easy games for teaching Business English.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a><\/div>
Ready to be your own boss? Read the free eBook<\/h5>

New to TEFL? How to Become an Independent English Teacher<\/h3>

<\/p>download<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

5. You\u2019re able to make some time for yourself \u2013 at last!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since you\u2019re the one calling the shots, you decide your daily schedule, meaning you now have the chance to finally take that ceramics course you wanted to take. Or you can go hiking or start baking. I, for example, finally made the decision to buy my first mountain bike, and start riding it to the mountains \u2013 and beyond!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s important is to stay organized and set your own rules from the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Josefina stands in El Ateneo in Buenos Aires, one of the world’s largest libraries, during a visit with a former English student now employed at the library.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dreaming of traveling the world? Read about the rise of the digital nomad teacher, tips and strategies for making the transition, and the benefits of the lifestyle.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. You will always feel welcomed and included in the English teaching community \u2013 there\u2019s room for everyone.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

English schools, institutions, and companies that hire teachers can have firm requirements, such as a university degree and teaching experience, or even that you\u2019re a native speaker or have certain citizenship. With teaching independently as a freelancer or teacherpreneur, on the other hand, there\u2019s no need to fit standard job qualifications. Instead, you can highlight your unique background and skills and determine the course of your own career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My advice? Don\u2019t ignore the independent spark burning inside you \u2013 ignite it! Whatever is driving you to make the leap to independent teaching, once you\u2019ve experienced the benefits of becoming your own boss \u2013 and the possibilities have taken root \u2013 you may never want to go back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you ready to take the next steps to becoming a teacherpreneur? Learn the skills you’ll need, access a curated library of resources, engage in expert-led workshops, and join a global community of independent teachers at Teacherpreneur Academy. <\/a><\/em><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

She got her start teaching English at a language institute but soon made the leap from being an employee to launching her own English institute. Could the freelancer path be right for you, too? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":13204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,659,14],"tags":[68,130,511,180,190,506,248,260,512,330],"post-language":[],"popular_posts":[],"class_list":["post-28073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development","category-teaching-english-independently","category-teaching-english-online","tag-digital-nomad","tag-freelance-english-teacher","tag-freelance-esl-teacher","tag-living-abroad","tag-niche","tag-online-classroom","tag-specialization","tag-teach-english-abroad","tag-teach-english-from-home","tag-teaching-english-online"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Josefina-Castillo-with-cat.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Josefina Castillo","author_link":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/author\/josefina-castillo\/"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28073"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41143,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28073\/revisions\/41143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28073"},{"taxonomy":"post-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-language?post=28073"},{"taxonomy":"popular_posts","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridge.edu\/tefl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/popular_posts?post=28073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}