Teaching On Novakid: What You Need To Know

With the plethora of online platforms and companies offering English language lessons to learners and teaching positions to English teachers and tutors, it is difficult to know which online teaching companies are legit.

We’re going to get to the bottom of this by asking the people who really know what they’re talking about: the teachers themselves. 

In this series, we talk to teachers currently teaching online in 2025 and ask them the important questions.

Tasmika is a teacher from South Africa with both in-person and online teaching experience. She holds a BCom degree and PGCE qualification, and has taught various age groups from Young Learners to adults.

We caught up with her to find out about her latest online teaching adventure. 

Tasmika: I’ve worked with multiple online education companies, including iTutorGroup, Purple Ruler and now Novakid — a fast-growing ESL platform focused on Young Learners. 

Read Tasmika’s review of iTutorGroup here.

If you’re a teacher or graduate looking to teach online, this review will give you a grounded, realistic perspective of what working for Novakid is like.

Why did you choose Novakid?

I came across Novakid while looking for a more child-centred, curriculum-rich platform with more flexibility and better pay than some of the larger, corporate ESL providers. 

Novakid stood out because:

• It focuses on kids aged 4 to 12, which suited my interest in Early Childhood Education. 

• The curriculum is provided and aligned with the CEFR framework. 

• It offers structured lessons and gamified learning. 

• There’s no need to source your own students.

• It has good reviews around teacher support, timely payments, and communication.

How long have you been teaching on Novakid, and what’s your experience so far?

I’ve been teaching with Novakid for six months. Overall, my experience has been very positive, especially compared to other ESL companies I’ve worked with. 

The lesson materials are colourful, fun, and well-structured for teaching Young Learners, and the platform uses interactive features that help keep students engaged.

The pay is competitive and there is consistent communication from staff and management. 

Novakid is very supportive, and there are learning and growth opportunities for teachers.

Bookings weren’t always consistent at first. Since peak demand is during European and Russian time zones, South African teachers may need to work late afternoons into the evening. 

Of course, the convenience or inconvenience of time zones depends where you are teaching from!

How easy was it to start teaching?

The application process is thorough. To qualify, you need:

• a Bachelor’s degree (any field),

• a TEFL certificate or PGCE,

• one year of teaching experience (online or offline),

• a minimum availability of 20 hours per week (including weekends),

• a clean background check,

• a demo video, and 

• a short interview.

Once accepted, you get access to Novakid’s platform, lesson content, and training modules. The platform is user-friendly, and training is paid. 

I began receiving bookings within one to two weeks of setting my schedule. 

Novakid encourages trial lessons, which help teachers get regular students quickly.

Does Novakid allocate students, or do students choose the teacher?

Initially, students are auto-assigned based on your availability, performance, and feedback scores. Once you’ve had a few successful trial lessons, you will start building up regular students who request you directly. 

Novakid allows for 1-on-1 lessons only with repeat bookings being common if your rating stays high. 

Read more: How Do 1-on-1 And Group Classes Compare In Online Teaching? 

I’ve completed about six 25-minute trial lessons. This really helped build my student bookings ‒ many of my students are regulars. 

Novakid encourages building long-term teacher-student relationships, which helps with schedule stability.

What is the pay structure?

Novakid offers better pay than many Asia-based ESL platforms, though it’s still modest for South Africans or other nationalities dealing with high living costs. 

 Pay depends on experience and performance.

Standard pay for teachers is between $7–$12 for a 25-minute lesson, or $14 – $24 an hour.

Bonuses are given for:

• high attendance and reliability,

• taking on trial lessons,

• positive student feedback, and

• working during peak hours.

On average, I earn between $335 to $555 (R6,000 to R10,000) a month, teaching around three to four hours daily. 

Payments are made twice a month via Payoneer and are always on time.

From further research online, we have found that NovaKid offers rates as low as $4 but as high as $12.50 a lesson (that’s up to $25 an hour), so it seems to vary quite a bit depending on your nationality, qualifications, experience and performance.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I schedule lessons from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm on weekdays during peak hours and the occasional Saturday mornings. 

Lessons are 25 minutes long. This means you can teach multiple classes in a short time, with a 5-minute break between lessons. 

Lesson planning is minimal since content is pre-made and includes guidance notes. All you need is a quick review of the slides before each class. 

There is an after-class report to monitor student progress, which takes less than two minutes to complete. 

What are your students like?

Novakid’s learners are typically 4 to 12 years old, mainly from Europe, Turkey, Russia, and Latin America. Most are eager to learn and have basic to intermediate English skills. 

🌍 An international student base means being sensitive to cultural differences. This can show up in different ways, like how chatty or formal they are, to how involved their parents are. 

Some students are shy, but engaging visual lessons keep them engaged. This is helpful for Young Learners, too. 

Motivation is crucial. There is a parent feedback system, so their input matters in terms of getting rebooked. High teacher energy is vital to ensure long-term success. 

Repeat students often bring better engagement and less prep time, which helps build momentum.

How does the student feedback system work?

After every lesson, parents or students leave written feedback and a rating out of 5 stars. 

These ratings affect your:

• booking rate,

• bonus eligibility, and

• eligibility for special roles, like mentor or trial teacher.

Read more: Top Tips To Be A Successful Online English Teacher

Feedback is usually fair, but if you ever get an unfair review, you can appeal it through their support team. 

Novakid is way more transparent and easier to work with than other platforms in such cases. They’re very reasonable and approachable when it comes to teacher concerns.

Is teaching on this platform sustainable as a full-time job?

If you live in South Africa, Novakid can work as a reliable part-time job or a decent full-time role if you teach peak hours consistently. 

If you don’t live in South Africa, you’ll have to do the maths to see if it’ll work for you as a full-time job.

However, demand dips seasonally during the European summer holidays, so it’s wise to have a second platform as a backup. 

European summer holidays are from late June to late September.

The evening-focused schedule allows for morning flexibility, making it ideal for those with other commitments or teaching jobs. 

Read more: Online Teaching Platforms You Need To Know

Have you experienced any technical issues?

The platform is very stable and responsive, but loadshedding [electricity blackouts] can create problems. 

A UPS or inverter and a stable internet connection are a must. 

Novakid lets you give notice if you need to cancel a session because of power issues. But if it happens a lot, it affects your reliability score. 

Their support team is quick to respond and is understanding as long as you provide valid proof.

Does the platform offer support to teachers?

Yes, they do. 

Novakid offers:

• a responsive teacher support team via email and chat,

• ongoing training modules and certifications,

• access to a community hub for teachers,

• recognition programmes for top performers.

There’s an internal feedback system where lessons are reviewed and teachers are given suggestions to improve. While some communication can feel automated, the overall culture emphasises teacher support. 

Would you recommend this teaching platform?

Yes, I would recommend Novakid for teachers who:

• enjoy working with children,

• want structured materials,

• want consistent pay, and 

• want a reliable student base.

It’s a good fit for teachers transitioning online, stay-at-home parents, or those looking to diversify their teaching income.

While the income may not match a full-time salary for everyone, it offers a better balance of pay, support, and work-life fit than many other platforms I’ve tried. 

Remember, if you want to teach English online, the first step is to sign up for a TEFL course!