Teaching On Wall Street English: 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’s 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 2025 and ask them the important questions.

Meet Anina, a tutor on Wall Street English

Anina has been teaching online for seven months. Before teaching, she worked as a researcher in the consulting corporate environment – for 30 years! In 2023 she left to pursue a new career – teaching! 

I had been thinking of entering the teaching and/or coaching environment for a long time, and made the change when I completed my TEFL Level 5 certification in 2024! I am in my mid-fifties and live in Johannesburg – South Africa. 

Currently I teach English online on a part-time basis through The Really Great Teacher Company (TRGTC) as an EFL English teacher at Wall Street English (WSE). I teach adult learners using a blended learning method that combines digital self-study with online classes. 

Why did you choose this teaching platform?

After qualifying with my TEFL certificate, I started to look for teaching opportunities. I felt a bit lost initially.  I applied to a number of remote teaching companies, with limited success. 

As a newly qualified ESL teacher it’s challenging to build your own teaching pipeline and opportunities without the support of being part of a company. At the same time, a lot of companies don’t provide enough teacher support or compensation.

I kept coming across The Really Great Teacher Company (TRGTC) – and since they originally started as a South African company, it gave me a sense of familiarity. I applied and felt welcomed and supported from the word go! 

At TRGTC I not only developed my teaching techniques, but also my confidence and adaptability. It’s a platform that truly encourages you to evolve as an educator.

TRGTC is a ‘teacher broker’ company that provides qualified ESL teachers to other companies. And that is how I started teaching on the Wall Street English (WSE) platform.

How long have you been teaching on Wall Street English (WSE)  and what’s your experience so far?

 I’ve been teaching on WSE for almost seven months. I’ve grown my confidence as a teacher in so many ways! 

The platform is amazingly well-developed and intuitive. As a teacher you have a well-planned lesson outline and access to tools to make your teaching role effective and successful. 

I teach only adult students on the platform. 

Read more: How Do Adults Learn Foreign Languages: How To Teach English To Adults

The teacher’s main role is to facilitate the practical application of the language through small, group classes and one-on-one coaching, focusing on speaking, listening, and real-life communication skills. 

They guide students through a structured curriculum aligned with CEFR levels, provide personalised feedback, monitor progress, and create an engaging, supportive environment that encourages confidence and fluency in English.

How easy was it to start teaching?

The application process

TRGTC have a very effective and fast application process. After filling out the online application form and submitting an introduction video, I was asked for a few online interviews. Almost overnight I was offered a position as a online teacher for their Wall Street English (WSE) team. 

Training and onboarding

WSE offer an intensive two-week onboarding and training process to help you get started and familiarised with their platform. The second week of the training involves some teaching shadowing and initial live classes! 

The training is very immersive, with lots of teaching simulation, interaction and feedback, which I found very helpful in building my confidence as a teacher.

Initial bookings & growth

I joined WSE as a teacher on their weekend Latin America schedule. 

I teach only on a Saturday and Sunday from 00:00 – 12:00 noon. I teach six classes in one shift with regular breaks in-between. 

These classes are scheduled for you by your team leader. As you become more familiar with the teaching schedules and materials, you can take on other available classes on any other day of the week.

Building student relationships

As you teach students from all over the world, and the students book a session according to their level and availability – you only have the once-off interaction in the actual session, and rarely see the same student again for another session.

Does the platform allocate students to you or do the students have to choose the teacher?

On WSE, the platform assigns students to you for your scheduled sessions. 

As soon as a student completes their self-study for that specific unit, they can book an online encounter with an ESL teacher, then practice what they learned in a small group or one-to-one session. 

The students get evaluated to be able to proceed to the next unit.

What is the pay structure?

WSE through TRGTC pays $6 USD per 55-minute class. That’s the standard rate for the small four-person group classes, one-to-one classes and the larger eight-person classes. 

Their pay rate is an average in the industry, and as a newly-certified ESL teacher their pay rate is acceptable. But it might be low for an experienced ESL teacher – in my opinion.

Other ways to boost your income include:

• Taking on additional classes, but you cannot take on more than 6 classes in a 12-hour shift
• Referral bonuses for bringing new teachers onto the TRGTC platform
• Full pay if a student is a no-show for a scheduled class
• Paid workshops and compulsory training, offered occasionally

It’s important to note that tasks like lesson planning, writing feedback and ongoing self-development are part of your teaching responsibilities but not compensated separately.

Payments are made mid-month and are deposited directly into a Payoneer account, and then you can transfer that to your own bank account. 

Read more: How To Maximise Your Earnings As An Online English Teacher

What does a typical day look like for you?

As a teacher that only has scheduled teaching time on the weekend, I can take on other available classes in the week – which I do on occasion on weekday afternoons or evenings. 

I have another part-time job as a digital content creator for a small online bespoke furniture company.

On the WSE platform I teach 12 hours a week – guaranteed. And then I can sign up to do additional classes as my schedule permits or if there is a need for an available teacher. 

WSE, being a global platform, has available classes every hour and half-hour of any given 24 hours – thus a 24/7 platform!

Because I’m working on the weekend Latin America shift, my classes can be scheduled between midnight and 12:00. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be awake and in front of your laptop the entire time – classes are scheduled a week in advance so that you can plan your day. 

The classes are scheduled to be close to each other, which means that you could typically teach 3 or 4 classes back-to-back, then have 1 to 2 hours break, and then the rest of your classes. If the demand is high a teacher can take on a seventh class – but that is not the norm.

One stand-out feature of the platform is that all the class content is already developed and outlined with teacher notes – which really helps preparation time. 

Before the lesson, students have already completed an online workbook and multimedia lesson plan for the unit. These lessons follow a sitcom structure, where students watch short videos followed by interactive voice recognition assessments.

This teaching approach emphasises conversation and interaction rather than traditional grammar-heavy instruction.

During the class, teachers are required to make notes of corrections which are then given in a practical feedback session, as well as use the automated scoring mechanism. At the end of the class these individual scores are made available to the students, plus verbal feedback is given to each student. 

After each class teachers are required to complete the feedback process to write personalised feedback to each student to let them know what they did well, and highlight any areas for improvement.

Overall, the workload is very manageable if you’re organised, and the support and structure WSE provides make it a great option for teachers who value both flexibility and consistency.

What are your students like?

I enjoy teaching English online to adults because I’m inherently curious about people – their stories, backgrounds, and goals. 

It’s deeply fulfilling to help others learn a new skill like English, especially when I can support them in building their confidence to speak fluently and with clear pronunciation. Seeing someone grow in their ability and self-assurance is incredibly rewarding. And all of that is possible in a 55-minute session!

At WSE the students are very keen and open to learn and grow in their abilities to speak English – which make my job as a teacher easy and rewarding. 

WSE is a global platform with students from all over the world, which is very interesting as a teacher to become comfortable with the different accents! 

Read more: How Do Adults Learn Foreign Languages: How To Teach English To Adults

How does the student feedback system work?

Students can leave feedback on the system, but it isn’t required,. The teacher is monitored – as all classes are recorded so WSE staff can monitor the class quality. 

On a quarterly basis, teachers have a lesson observation by a team leader to then provide active feedback to the teacher for continuous improvement and development.

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

On the whole, WSE can be a sustainable platform as full-time employment. If you are on a full-week shift, meaning that you work continuously for 3 to 5 days, with other off days in-between – this adds up to about 30 hours per week. 

But the weekend shift of only 12 hours of paid work per week is not sustainable as a full-time income. 

I supplement this teaching with other part-time work between my family responsibilities of managing two teenage children and their needs.

If you want to supplement your teaching work from WSE with other platforms, you are allowed to do so – as you are seen as an independent contractor. Your obligation is to keep your work on different platforms separate and keep workplace confidentiality standards and agreements. 

Read more: Why TEFL Is A Great Side Hustle

Have you experienced any technical issues?

TRGTC and WSE have permanent IT teams to monitor and be available to resolve technology issues as quickly as possible. In addition to this, you have access to receive support via the chat group on WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams, where experienced teachers are on hand to offer guidance and advice. 

The platform is very reliable, but like any online system, glitches and errors do sometimes occur – on the student’s end, your end, or on the platform itself. It’s a good idea to take screenshots of any problems that arise, so that you can report them to the WSE and TRGTC support team. 

Living in South Africa means that technical disruptions can occur regularly due to electricity and network outages. But that makes it a necessity to be resourceful and plan ahead for any potential issues. 

I invested in back-up network access with a mobile data dongle and back-up power supply to ensure I can switch easily to ensure I have  stable power and internet access. 

Does the platform offer support to teachers? 

The WSE team at TRGTC is very supportive and understanding. 

Once you have completed your on-boarding and initial training, you join the supportive teaching community and their channel on Microsoft Teams. 

This is such a great feature because you can connect with other teachers from all around the world, and there are always a few team leaders on duty to assist you should you need help. 

I found the community to be very helpful and welcoming, and if you are stuck with lesson preparation, student questions or practical issues, there is always someone to give advice! 

TRGTC also have various interest groups to help teachers feel part of a community and not so isolated. There is also a training website for WSE and TRGTC, where they offer self-paced training modules to help you on your teaching journey and self-development. 

Would you recommend this teaching platform? 

My time with TRGTC and WSE has been nothing short of delightful, a real whirlwind entry into the world of English teaching! It’s been a launchpad that’s flung open doors I didn’t even know existed. From day one, I’ve been learning just as much as my students (possibly more), and watching them grow is in equal parts impressive and heartwarming.

The flexibility of the platform is great, and the class format hits that sweet spot between structure and spontaneity. The WSE community? Pure sunshine. 

Everyone’s got this can-do energy that makes you feel like you’re part of something vibrant and supportive. Sure, there’ve been a few technical hiccups and the occasional “oops, that lesson didn’t go as planned” moment (mostly on me, let’s be honest), but nothing earth-shattering.

While I might not be a WSE lifer, my long-term goal is to build my own coaching practice focused on helping adults boost their Business English fluency. I’m genuinely grateful for the ride so far.

 I’d absolutely recommend WSE to teachers seeking a fun, flexible, and fulfilling place to do what they love – teach English!