Teaching On Lingoda: What You Need To Know

With the plethora of online platforms 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 those who know best: the teachers themselves. 

In this series, we’ll talk to teachers currently teaching online in 2026 and ask them the important questions.

Meet Alison, a teacher on Lingoda

I began teaching in a school in Mexico in 2019 where I completed my TEFL Level 5 qualification with The TEFL Academy. At the same I taught local children and children from migrant communities. When the pandemic hit, everything changed. Along with many others, I pivoted to onlineteaching  and began working as a freelancer for Lingoda. 

In 2022 I studied the Distance Delta to increase my knowledge. I am now 37 years old and I work from both the UK and Mexico online. Throughout my teaching career I have taught all levels and age groups,including exam training. 

This is my honest teacher review of Lingoda.

Read more: EFL Exams Explained

Why did you choose Lingoda?

When I first started teaching online, I was completely freelance and worked with a handful of my own clients. As many teachers do, I wrote my own lessons but sourced a lot of content online. During my research, I often came across Lingoda’s PowerPoint materials. 

The quality of the materials was the sole reason that I decided to apply for a job with the company. 

How to become a tutor on Lingoda

The onboarding process is relatively straightforward. There is no overly rigid or uniform technical setup requirements beyond the standard expectations: 

• a stable internet connection, 
• headset, 
• webcam, 
• and a neutral background. 

Lingoda allows teachers to use a digital filter background if preferred, which adds flexibility for those without a permanent teaching space. More importantly, you don’t need to pay for a uniform as you do with some of the other companies. 

As part of the setup, you create your teaching profile, upload your qualifications, and provide your tax reference number, as teachers are contracted as independent contractors rather than employees.

Read more: 7 Steps To Being A Successful Independent Online English Teacher

Once accepted, you are typically required to select and teach your first lesson within two days of being offered the position. When I first started, they used Zoom to deliver the classes but they now have their own online platform.

It’s important to familiarise yourself with annotation tools prior to starting as students expect you to annotate on screen and add notes to the lesson PDFs. 

All lessons are loaded into the lesson in your calendar so everything you need is very easy to access. 

Does Lingoda allocate students to you?

Unlike platforms like Cambly, the students can’t choose the teacher. Students book lessons directly from the platform’s schedule. They choose a specific class time and see which teacher is scheduled to deliver it, but they can see your profile before joining the class. 

The only way a student can ‘choose your class’, which they often do, is if a student consistently books the same time slot that you regularly teach. Generally, you won’t see the same learner twice, but if you teach a lot of lessons you are likely to. 

This means that long–term student-teacher relationships are less common compared to other platforms. It’s forbidden to share your contact details with students. Lingoda records the chat so can see if you share your details. 

What are the students like on Lingoda?

Lingoda primarily attracts adult learners, many of whom are professionals improving their English for work – some use the platform for social time! 

Students come from a truly wide range of countries, which makes classes culturally diverse and often genuinely engaging. My core takeaway from Lingoda is how much I have learnt about different parts of the world such as the customs in remote continental Asian parts of Russia, political changes in Yugoslavia, customs in China, and the economy of  Mali, to name but a few. These exchanges often add an unexpected layer of world knowledge to the job and have given me stories I re-share and have always remembered.

One of the main and honestly most frustrating scenarios you can encounter is mixed-ability groups, such as higher-level students revisiting foundational grammar or lower-level learners struggling to keep up. This is because students can book lessons across levels and it can make classroom management very challenging. 

In one case, I said to a B2 student in an A1 class that they could leave as the class was too easy. In that circumstance, I believe it was because they were new to the platform and didn’t fully understand how to use it. 

Group classes can include up to five students, and participation often needs to be actively managed, as many learners prefer to be called on rather than volunteering spontaneously. It’s also common for some students to keep their cameras off, which can make building rapport more challenging. 

Read more: 5 Tips For Building Rapport In The Classroom

How does Lingoda work?

Lingoda lessons follow the CEFR framework from A1 through to C1 and are delivered using pre-prepared PDF materials. At A1 level, lessons are highly visual and vocabulary-focused, relying heavily on images to support comprehension. 

Although this works well for Beginners, the content can sometimes feel limited and boring, and I usually need to supplement with additional repetition or extra activities from other sources to comfortably fill the one-hour class time.

The B1 and B2 levels were updated around two years ago and are noticeably better, easy to teach, and more interesting. These lessons follow a discovery-based format. They include a balanced mix of controlled practice and freer production activities, allowing learners to apply language in discussion. 

Importantly, they also provide optional extension tasks, which are useful when a class progresses faster than expected. Since class completion time varies depending on group dynamics and you are obligated to fill the 1-hour lesson time, having extra material available helps avoid rushed endings or unnecessary filler.

At C1 level, the content becomes more academic and abstract, often resembling exam preparation material for IELTS or TOEFL-style assessments. Topics frequently focus on themes such as the impact of social media or artificial intelligence — in fact, there were multiple AI-related lessons even before the recent AI surge. While relevant, the format can sometimes feel repetitive or heavily theory-driven. 

I’ve occasionally experienced disengaged students during these sessions, and some have mentioned covering similar AI-focused lessons multiple times. There is also a C1 lesson focused on adverbial clauses that is particularly grammar-heavy and lacks strong contextualisation, making it one of the more challenging lessons to deliver in an engaging way. 

In cases like this, I’ve found it necessary to supplement with additional examples, real-world contexts, or discussion prompts to maintain student interest. Without that extra input, certain C1 lessons can feel quite dry compared to the more interesting B1/B2 content.

I would say that, In general, the lessons are structured and predictable, which reduces preparation time, but the teaching experience varies significantly depending on the level and group dynamic.

How does the student feedback system work on Lingoda?

Students can rate teachers out of five and leave a written review after each lesson.

Although reviews aren’t mandatory, I have noticed that they are often left when a lesson was either particularly good or disappointing in the student’s opinion, which can skew ratings. 

Your teacher ratings are averaged at the end of the month. If you are consistently falling below around 4.5  you may be invited to a review with the teacher team. There is the possibility for contract termination if there is no improvement. 

Ratings can fluctuate, sometimes due to factors outside the teacher’s control, such as technical issues. Students cannot ever see your teacher rating. 

Teachers are also required to provide structured feedback to students after each class by selecting three strengths from a dropdown menu (for example, speaking flow, grammatical accuracy, or varied lexis), choosing one development point, and writing a personalised comment. 

I usually include a positive observation about their participation and may add practical tips or language suggestions, such as encouraging the use of filler phrases like “the reason for this is…” during discussions to improve fluency. Because teachers rarely see the same students twice, maintaining energy, clarity, and strong classroom management is essential to securing positive feedback overall. 

How much do Lingoda teachers make?

In terms of a teacher’s salary on Lingoda, Lingoda pays €11 ($12.50) per hour for English classes

Teachers work as independent contractors rather than employees and work on zero-hours contracts. This means it is up to you to wait for lessons to appear in the calendar. If a student is a no-show, you receive 50% remuneration of the total class.  

At my peak, when lesson availability was higher and I was teaching consistently throughout the week, I earned approximately €1,500–€2,000 ($1,700 – $2,300) per month. 

Lesson volume has reduced significantly over the past few years, making it harder to maintain that level of income without closely monitoring the lesson calendar to grab classes. Lingoda previously offered bonus classes during peak demand periods — sometimes paying up to €20 ($23) per hour — but these are now rare. 

While the pay can be sustainable for those living in more affordable regions or combining it with other work, it may be challenging to rely on as a sole full-time income in higher cost-of-living countries.

Would you recommend Lingoda?

Yes, I would recommend Lingoda. 

Even though lesson availability has decreased compared to previous years, the platform remains easy to use and well-structured. 

But I wouldn’t say that you can depend on Lingoda as your sole source of income anymore as you used to be able to. I would say it could contribute to 50% if you are living outside of a higher-cost-of-living country. 

For me, one of its biggest advantages is that the lessons are fully prepared, clearly organised, and simple to access and are actually pretty interesting. The class format is consistent, so you generally know what to expect in terms of timing, materials, and interaction style. Lingoda still offers flexibility, fun,  and a reliable teaching framework. 

If you value structure and minimal preparation, and are looking for part-time or location-independent work, I would consider it a worthwhile platform.

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Edited by Kirsten Colquhoun

Our Guest Authors represent our TEFL Academy global community, sharing their real-world experiences from classrooms and institutions across the world. From diving into TEFL to chomping down on chow mein in China, to navigating your first-day nerves in Spain, our collective voice brings authentic stories, insights, and practical advice right from those living the adventure. Read Guest Author's story →