Turning Your Home into a Classroom: Tips for Aspiring Online Teachers

Over the past few years, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, more people around the world have been eager to start working remotely. As a result, there's been a move towards sectors that allow their workforce to benefit from fully remote or hybrid working arrangements, and online self-employment opportunities that can be pursued from any location. 

With that in mind, it isn't too surprising to note that online teaching has become a popular career choice, with more people than ever before taking TEFL certification courses that enable them to teach English to overseas studies in a virtual way. However, if you plan to take up this opportunity, you'll need to create a home classroom, which means you could benefit from some helpful tips and advice. 

The Importance Of The Home Classroom

By 2025, it's estimated that over 32 million people in the USA alone will be working remotely from home, and a significant proportion of them will be virtual English teachers. But if you plan to start teaching online from home, don't underestimate the importance of creating a home classroom. While it's technically possible to deliver lessons online from anywhere, nothing can compare with the convenience of having a space that is already fully set up and prepared with everything you need at your fingertips.  

Many prospective remote teachers think that if they have an office at home, they'll be fully equipped to go straight into taking their first class, but it pays not to be hasty. Creating a perfect home office is one thing, but turning your spare space into a classroom requires more thought and care.

Set Up The Right Environment

Creating an environment ideally suited to teaching and learning is the first step to success when working as an online education professional. Having a physical space where you can ensure privacy and quiet is key. Whenever possible, it's best to use a spare room with a door that can be closed so that nobody will accidentally walk past you as you teach and that no loud noises can be heard from elsewhere in the home that could distract your students. 

Using your spare room as a classroom means that you can keep it permanently set up for lessons, and you won't need to worry about moving anything or putting anything up or taking it down before each class. You can also ensure that the space is completely appropriate for teaching any kind of lesson to all age groups and that it creates the right professional impression on your learners. 

If you do need to create a multifunctional space in another room that will double as a classroom as well as your dining room, bedroom, or lounge. In that case, it's best to create a corner that is permanently set up and ready for teaching so that you don't waste time getting everything in place before class starts. If you're teaching from a public room in your home, make sure nothing personal can be seen, such as a bank statement or bill, and be mindful of anything that will be visible in the background. Your learners don't want to look at your bed, piled high with laundry, or see the other members of your family watching TV in the background! Not only is it highly distracting, but it's also unprofessional.

Create A Background 

If you work for an online language school, they may have a policy about what kind of background you use during lessons. Some will prefer you to use a white or plain background, particularly if you're teaching English to adults, and,, even if you've set yourself up as an independent English tutor, a plain background is still the recommended choice to minimise distractions. 

The simplest way to create a plain background is to use a white or light-coloured curtain or sheet hung behind you to block out any other features in the room or to angle your webcam, so you're sitting in front of a painted wall (without any pictures, photos or ornaments).  One thing to avoid,, is sitting in front of anything shiny, such as a whiteboard, since the light will be reflected, causing glare and distracting learners.

If you're teaching children, using a colourful, interesting, or educational backdrop is often the preference. Angle your webcam so that a plain wall is behind you, but stick up some posters that are relevant to the age group you're teaching – perhaps the alphabet or posters showing different animals and their names in English. 

Another option is to use a Microsoft Teams or Zoom virtual background. 

Get The Lighting Right

When teaching an online class, getting the lighting right is crucial. Your students need to see your face clearly, as well as any materials or learning aids that you're demonstrating to them. 

Perhaps the easiest way to ensure adequate lighting is to position yourself so you're sitting in front of a window, allowing your face to be completely lit. It's imperative, though, not to position yourself with a window behind you since this will make it virtually impossible for learners to view your expressions.

If you have no natural light source in your room or space, use an artificial light, positioning it above or behind the computer screen in front of you. One option is to use a floor lamp, but an alternative is to place a single light on each side of the computer to achieve a positive lighting effect. 

Some online English teachers choose to use a ring light, a circular desk lamp that provides diffused, soft light with filters that can be dimmed or adjusted as the daylight changes during the day.

Create A Positive Impression

The most important thing to take away from this is that just because you teach from home doesn't mean you can get away with an unprofessional and poorly set-up home classroom environment. Follow these tips, and you'll be setting yourself up for success.

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