how to assign homework on preply

My experience of Teaching on Preply

My experience of teaching as a preply tutor.

Picture the scene: you’re sitting on a bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap. You’ve just spent the best part of a month island hopping in the Andaman Sea and you already know there’s no way you can go home, back to the 9–5. Well, that was me a year or so ago.

Hollie and I were at a crossroads in our lives. We knew what we wanted (the digital nomad lifestyle), but we had no idea how to get it. That’s where Preply came in. Somewhere along that bus journey, as the Thai and Cambodian countryside rolled past the window, a thought occurred to me: I could teach English!

Fast-forward 18 months and plenty of ups and downs. I’ve now been a Preply tutor for over a year, having amassed more than 1,000 hours of lessons on the platform. I’m writing this today in the hope that someone else out there who can’t bring themselves to give up the backpack reads this and realises that it is possible to break into the digital nomad life without prior experience.

What Is Preply?

Preply is an online language education platform that pairs students with tutors via an online chat. In other words, it’s somewhere to either learn or improve your language skills or, like me, become a language tutor.

The platform offers a large range of languages to teach or study and works by giving students the option to select a potential tutor from a list, where they can view tutor statistics such as price per hour, availability and rating, as well as a short video where tutors can vocalise some of their interests or describe their teaching experience.

Tutors can set their own hourly rates and availability which really allows you to be your own boss, and while there are certainly downsides to working as a Preply tutor (more on that later), all in all it’s been a positive experience that I am happy to share.

Why Did I Become A Preply Tutor?

As long-time readers or followers of WMJG will know, Hollie and I fell in love with travel. That’s really the main reason I chose to teach English online.

Somewhere along our six-month trip (cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic), we both realised that there was no way we could go back to our old lives and corporate jobs. We quickly set about trying to work out how we could sustainably make money whilst travelling or living abroad and, for me, teaching English was the answer.

For a little context, I had no prior experience of actual teaching. I studied biochemistry at university and I had worked in chemical sales prior to travelling, but I felt that while my remote working options were limited, teaching English was something I could feasibly do.

Not only did English tutoring offer the flexibility I desired, but it also didn’t require me to undergo any further training and I could start earning money right away.

Critically, I think I also understood the dedication and commitment required to become a teacher, having watched several family members enjoy successful careers in the field, and I just hoped my own English skills and knowledge were up to the task!

Why I Chose Preply

Like most things in life, convenience and necessity played a big role in Preply becoming my teaching platform of choice.

Preply was one of the few platforms that didn’t require any teaching qualifications. In fact, the only prerequisites were a degree and a verification process of my profile to ensure that I was, in fact, a native English speaker.

This was perfect for me because, although I considered myself a competent and confident English speaker, I had no prior experience or qualifications in teaching. The application process was very straightforward and I was working within a matter of days!

There were other options, of course. Other websites and platforms that I looked into. This, I hope to discuss in a future article to help out any other would-be teaching freelancers. However, Preply had such a fast response time in accepting me as one of their tutors that I was left with little option but to forget about the other platforms and crack on with Preply!

Starting Up As A Preply Tutor And Finding Students

Getting started on Preply is a relatively easy affair, the application process is straightforward, with the only major hurdle being the making of a video for students to view as they search for tutors.

Once you’ve got that out of the way and you’re accepted as a Preply tutor, you need to set up your profile. This mainly involves setting your hourly rate and your weekly availability, making your profile look attractive to students and preparing yourself for your new job!

Setting Your Rate

A Preply Tutor can set their own hourly rate and, unbeknownst to me, I had accidentally set my price to $5 per hour. This is an incredibly low rate and a completely unsustainable way of working in online tutoring, but boy is it an effective way of finding students. I had wall-to-wall lessons on my first day!

However, for the more sensible of you out there looking to get into Preply tutoring, I would urge you to keep your prices (and your dignity) a little higher.

You can adjust your prices in the future but existing students will remain at their original price unless they confirm that change with you, which can lead to some awkward conversations! Do some market research on active tutors on the site and see what they are charging before setting your own rate.

Attracting new students

Once your rate is set you are at the mercy of Preply’s algorithm. This ranks tutors on a variety of factors so that when potential students search for a tutor of their desired language, the best available tutors show up on the results page.

A good profile score goes a long way to looking attractive to both students and Preply. It is bolstered by things such as favourable reviews and a good attendance record. But the other key variable to boosting your way up the tutor list is to have good availability. An open calendar with plenty of empty slots means you’ll shoot up the list and have plenty of students getting in contact with you.

If you do these things right you won’t struggle to attract students!

Finding students yourself

There is, in fact another way to gain students, although one I have not had a huge amount of luck in. There is a ‘Find Students’ button on the Preply dashboard, which takes you to a page not dissimilar to Hollie’s Upwork page , where students can post listings and tutors can apply and submit a proposal for the job.

These postings are fairly infrequent, however, and seem to be snatched upon by every tutor under the sun. The vast majority of times I have tried to apply I’ve been unable to as the job had already reached the limit of applicants.

Preply’s Commission Structure

One thing every potential Preply tutor needs to be aware of is the commission structure. This is a common bug-bear for tutors on online forums about the platform.

The basic principle is simple: the more you teach, the less you pay in commission.

When you first start tutoring on Preply you pay a rate of 33% commission, once you’ve taught 20 hours of lessons, this rate drops to 28%. This percentage continues to fall as you continue to rack up tutoring hours until you hit 400 hours of teaching and the rate remains flat at 18% commission.

And therein lies the problem. Although 400 hours sounds like a far-off achievement, you’d be surprised how quickly you’ll reach that milestone. I personally have now taught over 1,000 hours on Preply and am still paying 18% commission on every lesson.

I understand the need for Preply to make money and, in fairness, they do re-invest that money into the business, constantly churning out new features and teaching materials, but 18% is still a higher rate than most of their competitors.

That said, the 18% commission cap is not the worst thing about the commission system…

Preply offers something to students called ‘trial lessons’. This is where a student can book a lesson with a potential Preply tutor to see if they are a good fit. This is a one off lesson with no commitment for future lesson bookings. Sounds good so far. The problem is that every trial lesson is set at 100% commission, meaning the student has to pay for their lesson and the tutor receives nothing in return for an hour’s work.

This inevitably leads to tutors having to charge more per hour in order to make a sustainable living through Preply.

Things I Like About Preply

Preply has very swift and efficient tech support. I have rarely had trouble getting in contact with anyone and they always seem willing to help. You really get the sense that they are on the tutors’ side for a lot of issues.
With my personal teaching style I don’t tend to lean on Preply’s teaching materials a lot, but they are an excellent crutch when I find the conversation just isn’t flowing. There is a constantly updated bank of conversation starters and exercises which some students absolutely love. It is nice to see the commission fees properly invested!

Things I Don’t Like About Preply

I mentioned earlier in the ‘Starting Up’ section that availability plays a big role in your tutor ranking. This can be somewhat unfair as it means I’m never quite able to fill my calendar out. I can be 2 or 3 regular students off a perfect roster and then suddenly I have no new student enquiries unless I massively extend my working hours.
Preply’s own video platform can be a little temperamental which can be a pain when dealing with new students. Luckily Preply is happy for you to move the lesson over to Skype or Zoom so it is not too much of an issue.
The commission system and the unpaid lessons (see above before I start ranting again).

My Experience As A Preply Tutor: Summing Up

So what is it like teaching as a Preply tutor?

In short, it’s great. It’s easy and straightforward, it’s amazing being my own boss and controlling my own rate and hours. However, as with any job or career, there are little quirks and nuances that are worth knowing about if you’re considering teaching on Preply.

Hopefully I’ve been able to shine a light on some of the pitfalls as well as guide would-be tutors through the early stages of becoming a tutor on Preply.

Hollie and I are passionate about working online and working remotely, and I know a lot of other people out there are too. Teaching English was definitely the right decision for me and it might be for you. If you have any questions about teaching online, please feel free to send me a message in the comments below or on Instagram @wemightjustgo .

18 thoughts on “ My experience of teaching as a Preply tutor ”

Hello Nick and Hollie

Thanks for this article. I desire to work as a Preply English Tutor. Do I send the video first before completing my profile of 10 pages?

Thank you for sharing your experience working with Preply. I am curious to find out whether this platform offers a lesson teaching material. If not, what type of curriculum do you prepare for your students and how much time does it require? Thank you in advance.

Thanks so much for your sharing your experience with Preply. I really found it insightful. I am a newbie on preply and I have struggled to have even a student so far. Having read through your experience here, I think I should be able to navigate my way. However, I feel like an undoing from my end is the aspect where I selected C2 as my English competence level. Probably I am wrong, what do you say to that?

Hi Nick, hey thanks for this! I started on Preply 2021 because I was stuck in a foreign country with no income. I started at $7 and after several months I had to find a way to raise that, at which point I found out it was up to me to give myself a raise the entire time! Anyways, I quickly went higher and higher. I quit for a year or so and just started up again and it is going well. I guess I started my rate too high and so I took a couple of bucks off and now the students come. I am also a voice coach and I make good money doing that but it is so slow since the pandemic, so I started to teach English again on Preply, even though it is so much less money than I make as a voice coach, I really love meeting people from around the world! I make up my own lessons and have never used anything inside the site except for the calendar and the video camera. Once again it is kind of saving me, so I can travel and live wherever I want and as I am also an artist, it gives me the freedom to paint. All the best, dolli

Hi, I found your review of Preppy really interesting as I am just about to start tutoring on there! I just had one question…you said you started while travelling – did you mostly do conversation based classes, then, or did you somehow find lots of teaching materials online? Best wishes!

Hi Jack, it was all mostly conversation based. But I did manage to find one or two teaching materials online and shared my screen while we worked through worksheets and exercises. With enough googling you can usually find anything you need!

Hi, Nick. Thank you for the awesome post. 3 questions: 1) what is your current rate 2) how long is a lesson 3) what ages do you mostly teach? Any kids 4-12?

Hello Nick, i have a couple of questions. Before i ask, i would like to say that i appreciate your review of Preply, and it has intrigued my interest in pursuing the occupation of becoming an online English teacher. I am curious of how the payment process work, and how it gets deposited? I too am a fellow traveler of the world, and my current location is also outside of my home country. I am willing to start at 30-40hours per week, do you have any recommendations on how i should start? Thank you for your attention to my reply, i look foward on hearing back. As always, safe travels sir!

Thanks for this review. I am having some problems with my current teaching platform and I’m looking for options. So this is very helpful. What happens if you have a full day of just trial classes? Do you work an entire day without pay?

Hi I want to start teaching English online ,but I have no experience. I’m a banker by profession. I live in South Africa and I am an English native speaker. I do not have a TEFL certificate. I have been looking at Preply as a place to start my career as an English tutor. What advice do you have for me? How does the salary/payment rate work?

Hi Nick thanks for your very interesting review of preply. I would be interested in your thoughts on how students would respond if you, as a tutor of the English language, come from a nation (such as Srilanka or Bhutan) where the citizens are non native speakers of the English language. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on whether payments could really be processed to tutors from these nations.

Hi I had always wanted to teach online but I have no prior experience. I want to teach online at preply to earn extra money for myself but I don’t know I to start. I would want to know your thoughts on this. Thanks!

Good afternoon, I absolutely loved your down-to-earth review. I am starting my full-time tutoring journey this year and battling to get started on the online platforms. May I ask how you go about adding extra subjects to Preply? I see that once I’ve added English, there are no ways to add my multiple subjects. Thanks for the assistance and wonderful help you are providing. Jacqui

Hey! I found your review super helpful! I am wanting to go abroad to study Spanish (beginner) and I want to teach English online to earn some money in the meantime, however despite working in a Special needs school, I have no experience teaching English! My question to you is, how can I feel prepared, will that still be okay to apply to teach?

Hi Nick, I’m just about to start teaching English with Preply Tutors and I found the content of your write up on Preply Tutors so insightful & encouraging. I hope to reach get in touch with you as I climb up the ladder with Preply Tutors. Thanks.

This is such a RIPP OFF!!!! Go to Italki! I love teaching there! The do NOT take 100% commission with a trial lesson but 0%! You make them a bit cheaper, but do NOT HAVE TO offer them at all but when you do and they are a bit cheaper, it’s fair to not take commission. They are fair and nice!

I am condsidering online teaching. I just want to know if any kind of computer would be suffice? Is the curriculum easy to follow and to teach? I am a qualified foundation phase teacher and totally new to online teaching!

Many Thanks Tanya

I’m curious what would you say is a good benchmark to aim for with conversion from trial lessons to bookings on Preply?

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We’re two travel-obsessed twenty-somethings from the UK who gave up our old 9 to 5 lifestyle for something much better. In early 2020 (yep, right at the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic), right off the back of a six-month backpacking trip, we decided to become location-independent and set up our own businesses. The digital nomad lifestyle was calling to us! We travel slowly, working as we go and really getting to know the places we live. So if you’re looking for location guides that are authentic, insightful and unique, you’ve come to the right place. On our site, you’ll find lovingly curated destination guides, travel and backpacking advice, lifestyle articles and tips on becoming a digital nomad. Let us inspire you to embark on the journey of a lifetime or just live life a little differently. Enjoy! Nick and Hollie

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Preply review: teach or learn a language online.

Virtual classrooms have become an increasingly convenient, effective, and popular tool for teachers and students alike. If you’re interested in immersing yourself in a new language from the comfort of home or if you’re looking to earn some extra cash by sharing your expert language skills, Preply may be the perfect platform for you.

What follows is a comprehensive Preply review and guide. The below categories explore the pros and cons of joining Preply, whether you’re interested in signing up as a tutor or as a student.

What is Preply?

Preply is a one-on-one language learning platform that matches students with certified tutors from across the globe. With over 49,000 online tutors sharing expert knowledge in over 50 languages, Preply’s virtual classroom makes it easy for students to immerse themselves in their chosen language on their own time. Although the platform specializes in languages, students can find tutors offering classes in a wide variety of subject matter ranging from philosophy to app development. With Preply, tutors have the freedom to set their own schedule and availability. This makes it a great opportunity for anyone interested in a flexible remote job, including travelers looking to earn some money while on the road.

How Does Preply Work for Tutors?

1. What are the Requirements for Preply Tutors?

If you’re interested in signing up to be a Preply tutor, you’ll need to meet a fairly basic set of requirements. Although you do not need to be a native speaker in the language you wish to teach, you must be able to demonstrate a high level of fluency. You will also need access to a reliable high-speed internet connection and a device with a webcam and a microphone. Upon signing up, you will be asked to verify your identity by providing a valid form of government-issued ID. Since tutors are not required to possess any teaching experience or certifications, Preply is a great platform for beginners and advanced tutors alike.

2. How to Sign Up as a Tutor

The minimal requirements and easy application process are some of the greatest benefits of tutoring through Preply. To sign up, tutors will need to create a profile on the website with some basic personal information and a bio that lists qualifications and experience. The length of your bio and list of qualifications is completely up to you and can range from a few sentences to several paragraphs.

You’ll also need to upload a photo with your ID to verify your identity and a short introductory video that demonstrates your advertised language ability. Preply offers helpful tips and examples throughout the process, and a member of the Preply team will let you know within five business days if your profile is approved. Once approved, your profile will immediately become visible for students to start booking lessons.

3. How Much Money Can I Earn as a Preply Tutor?

When you create your profile, you will also be prompted to set your hourly rate. The average hourly rate for a Preply tutor is about $18, but tutors can choose their own rates based on their experience level. Since you can increase or decrease your rates whenever you wish, Preply recommends that you start off with a lower rate and increase it once you acquire your first few clients.

One downside to tutoring with Preply is their relatively high commission structure. The commission for the first lesson you have with every new student is 100%. After the first lesson, Preply will take a smaller commission of your earnings, starting at 33% and gradually decreasing to as low as 18% once you’ve completed over 400 hours of tutoring.

After each session, students will be prompted to confirm and evaluate the lesson. Once confirmed, payment will be disbursed to the tutor’s internal account. Conveniently, tutors have the option to withdraw their earnings at any time.

4. How to Acquire Students

Since tutors cannot reach out to prospective students, it is extremely important to craft a clear and compelling profile. Students can search for tutors by filtering through a variety of criteria, including subject matter, price range, and lesson time.

After each lesson, students have the ability to rate and review their tutor, an important tool for tutors to book more sessions. Preply’s algorithm automatically places tutors with the best ratings and the most reviews at the top of students’ search results. According to Preply statistics, more than half of the platform’s bookings are with tutors on the first three pages of the search results.

Your first tutoring session with a new client is known as a trial lesson. Trial lessons are automatically booked for one hour. After the first session, students have the option to book a package of either 6, 12, 0r 20 hours.

5. Resources for Preply Tutors

Preply offers regular live training webinars and self-study courses for tutors free of charge; these resources provide tips and tricks on everything from creating a compelling profile to conducting a successful first lesson. They also offer a free pack of materials known as the Curriculum. The Curriculum is available for English language tutors and comes with lesson plans, audio and video files, homework, tests, and answer keys.

How Does Preply Work for Students?

1. How to Sign Up as a Student

Signing up for Preply as a student is quick, easy, and completely free. Students can sign up through their Facebook, Google account, or email address. To register, you’ll need to provide your name, email, password, and phone number, and your account will be created in a matter of seconds. Once your account is created, you can choose your time zone under settings. This will ensure that tutor availability automatically appears in your own time zone.

2. How to Find a Tutor on Preply

You can search for tutors quickly and easily before you even set up an account. Find your perfect tutor by filtering your search according to the language or subject you’re interested in, the price you are willing to pay, the tutor’s country, and the times you are available. If you want to get more specific, you can choose to show search results for native speakers only and select any additional languages you would like your tutor to speak. There is even an option to search for tutors by specialty, name, or keyword.

When you view a tutor’s profile, you will be able to see their headshot, native language, language proficiencies, rate, and schedule. You will also be able to determine how many active students they have and how many lessons they have completed. Check out their bio and introductory video to get a feel for their background and teaching style or take a look at their ratings and reviews to see if they would be a good fit for your tutoring needs.

3. How to Book Lessons With a Tutor

When you choose a tutor, you will first be prompted to create a Preply account if you haven’t done so already. Afterwards, you can simply choose a time slot from the tutor’s availability. The first lesson is known as a trial lesson and is automatically booked for one hour. Students can pay securely by credit card or through PayPal.

After the first lesson with your tutor, you will no longer have the option to book single sessions. Preply will prompt you to purchase a package of 6, 12, or 20 hours with increasing discounts for larger packages. Although this booking system is helpful for tutors, it can also be a drawback for some students who may not want to commit to several hours of tutoring.

4. How Much Does Preply Tutoring Cost?

Tutors are able to set their own hourly rates depending on their experience level, and students can search for tutors by price range. The average hourly rate for a Preply tutor is $18, but rates can start as low as $5 and go as high as $75 for lessons with best-in-class experts. In addition to offering discounts on larger packages, Preply offers up to 15% off for college students.

If you’re interested in hiring a tutor with a long resume of teaching experience and a ton of great reviews, you should be ready to pay an above average rate. However, lower rates do not necessarily mean lower quality. Preply offers a vast selection of fantastic and qualified tutors with affordable hourly rates. Tutors who are new to the platform are encouraged to start off with lower rates, even if they offer impressive outside experience.

Conveniently, Preply offers students a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are unsatisfied with a paid session, you are entitled to a maximum of one full refund and two free requests to switch tutors. Students also have the option to cancel an upcoming session for free, up to four hours before the scheduled time. If you cancel a session less than four hours in advance, you will be required to pay the full cost of the lesson.

5. Additional Features

Preply’s virtual classroom is a secure and user-friendly space that makes communication between the tutor and the student a breeze. Upcoming lessons will appear in the My Lessons tab of Preply. Launch the lesson at your scheduled time, and you will automatically have access to your tutor’s lesson summary and a sidebar chat. All lessons are conducted over video chat, and tutors can share their screen and even assign homework after each session.

Students will also have access to the Preply Questions page, where you can ask questions related to your subject for free. There are over 8,000 tutors active on the page, and Preply advertises that 80% of questions are answered in under 30 minutes. If you feel you have a common question, you can also explore the page’s frequently asked questions and top answers from expert tutors.

That concludes our Preply review guide. Overall, Preply is a convenient and accessible tutoring platform for those looking to learn a new language or share existing skills.

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Honest Preply Review – Read Before Applying! (2022)

Published by dr daniel spence on 12/14/2021 12/14/2021, table of contents, preply review summary.

Preply is a teacher marketplace delivering c.100 subjects online to adult and child students 1v1 or in groups. No specific qualifications are required, and the average pay range is $10-38.90 an hour. However, trial lessons are unpaid, commission rates start at 33%, and it takes effort to acquire students.

Pay (per hour):	$10-$38.90*
Native / Non-Native Speakers accepted?	Both
TEFL / TESOL / CELTA required?	No
Degree / diploma required?	No
Adult / child students?	Both
Class size:	1-6
Minimum hours (per week):	0

Preply Pros and Cons

Short application process, with no interview or teaching demo
Can withdraw earnings quickly whenever you want
Teachers may cancel lessons with 4 hours’ notice
A wide range of subjects can be taught (some earning more than others)
Can teach through a mobile phone or tablet
Teaching materials provided but flexible to use your own
Lots of competition for students
Preply’s commission rate starts at 33% and does not go under 18%
Teachers are not paid for each hour-long trial lesson, leading to a lot of unpaid time
Pressure on teachers to sell Preply packages
More adult students than children
Russia-based tutors have been blocked from the platform

What Is Preply and Is Preply Legit?

Preply is a legitimate EdTech company and teacher marketplace that delivers over 300,000 lessons a month on 1,5000+ topics for around 100 subjects, including languages (e.g. ESL) and hobbies. Preply online teaching is served by more than 140,000 tutors from 203 countries, including 27,513 Preply English tutors, and the company has a Trustpilot score of 4.3 out of 5.

Where Is Preply Based?

Preply has company offices in Kyiv (Ukraine), Barcelona (Spain), and Brighton (Massachusetts, USA), while tutors with Preply are recruited globally.

When Did Preply Start?

Preply was founded in 2012 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn, and Serge Lukyanov.

Where Are Preply Students From?

There are over 1 million Preply students from around 185 countries, with another 100,000+ users joining each month.

How Much Can You Earn On Preply?

Preply tutor pay can amount to US$550 a week (or $2,200 a month) for the most popular teachers on the platform, depending on topic, hourly rate, number of classes and student retention. More commonly, tutors working 0-10 hours a week might expect $117 a month, while those teaching 40-50 hours a week earn approximately $1,416 a month on average.

How Much Does Preply Pay Per Hour?

Teachers choose their own Preply hourly rate , which generally ranges between $10-38.90 depending on the subject and can surge to $55 an hour during exam periods or for high-demand topics such as calculus. The average pay rate across all subjects is $18.30, while for a Preply English tutor it is US$19.37. New tutors will likely have to price themselves lower, at least in the beginning, to attract students.

Here is a table showing the Preply average hourly rate for the top 20 highest-paying subjects on the platform:


Sales	38.90
Corporate Finance	34.00
Hebrew	32.17
Latin	30.72
Danish	30.33
Business	29.13
Law	29.08
Acting	27.75
Norwegian	27.00
Artificial Intelligence	26.83
Sign language	25.11
Python	25.02
Music	24.97
Public Speaking	24.96
Javascript	24.90
Statistics	24.73
Dutch	24.72
Finnish	24.53
German	24.48
Arts	24.03

How Much Does Preply Take?

There is a Preply commission rate on all lessons taught with their students. These Preply fees start at 33% and decrease to 18% the more hours that you teach, though you will not make any money from trial lessons which carry a 100% commission.

Below is a table showing the percentage that Preply takes for each number of teaching hours:


Trial	100%
0-20	33%
21-50	28%
51-200	25%
201-400	22%
400+	18%

Do You Get Paid for a Trial Lesson on Preply?

Tutors do not get paid for teaching a Preply trial lesson, as the company charges a 100% commission on these.

How Does Preply Pay?

Teachers can select their Preply payment method from either Paypal , Payoneer , Skrill or Wise . Withdrawals to the first 3 options are processed in US dollars, while Wise gives the option of receiving your Preply salary in a local currency. There is a $3 charge if you try to withdraw an amount less than $100 with Payoneer .

When Does Preply Pay?

Teachers can get paid whenever they like by clicking on their earnings and selecting ‘Withdraw money’. This should then be transferred within 1 hour. If using Payoneer , you may want to wait until you have accrued at least $100, as withdrawing a lesser amount via this service carries a $3 charge with it.

Preply Hours

As there are Preply students across the globe, hours are available 24/7.

There is no minimum hours commitment.

After taking a Preply free trial lesson, a student may book a package of 6, 12 or 20 classes should they wish to continue being taught by you. These can be booked ‘one-by-one’ or as regular Preply weekly lessons.

How Long Are Preply Lessons?

Preply trial lessons for individual students are 1 hour long. The length of subsequent one-on-one classes is flexible and is agreed upon between the tutor and the student (e.g. they could alternatively be for 30 or 90 minutes).

Preply group lessons (typically with 4-6 students) last 55 minutes.

How do you rank up on Preply?

More than 50% of all booking requests go to teachers appearing on the first three pages of student search results. Your ranking and the number of hours you receive are determined by the following criteria:

Availability – how active are you on the platform?
Conversion rate – how successful are you at converting trial lessons into paying students?
Contact rate – how often are you contacted by your students?
Student attendance rate – are your students attending 100% of sessions?
Student reviews – do you receive consistently high ratings?

Preply Cancellation Policy

Teachers are allowed to cancel a lesson at least 4 hours in advance. Shorter notice than this can result in a teacher’s rating being decreased and their Preply tutor profile being blocked. If you are unable to reply to student messages within 24 hours (such as during a holiday), then you should hide your Preply profile through the dashboard to avoid it being deactivated.

Preply students may similarly cancel their class for free at least 4 hours before the start time. If they give less notice than this or are a no show than the tutor may charge the student or reschedule the lesson (at their discretion).

Preply Requirements

There are very few Preply tutor requirements ; you just need to:

Enjoy sharing knowledge and making a difference in students’ lives
Have outstanding communication skills
Be willing to provide a personalized learning experience to international students
Have access to a laptop or a desktop computer, a stable internet connection, webcam and microphone
Download a compatible internet browser – either Chrome , Firefox , Opera or Safari
Be 18 years or older to meet the Preply age requirement

Preply hires both Non-Native and Native Speakers, and no specific qualifications, such as a degree or teaching certificate, are required.

Please note that since that country’s invasion of Ukraine, teachers based in Russia, regardless of nationality, are not currently allowed to teach on Preply.

Is Preply Hiring?

You can check here to see if the Preply application process is open to become a tutor. There are usually Preply vacancies for most subjects.

There is also a list of specific Preply jobs posted by students that can be applied for directly (though you must sign up first).

How To Become a Tutor on Preply

The Preply hiring process can take as little as 5 days from submitting your Preply tutor application , to having your profile approved and being able to tutor with Preply.

You can apply to Preply here and sign up as a tutor with either your email address or your Google / Facebook account. Then submit your responses to these Preply Questions :

Country of Origin
Languages spoken and Level
Subject taught
Hourly rate ($)
Describe your teaching experience
Describe your current situation
Phone number (optional)
Confirm you are over 18 years of age
Profile picture (Upload/drag and drop, JPG or PNG format, 5 MB maximum size)
Certificate
Description
Years of study
Upload certificate to receive a ‘verified’ badge and increase profile credibility
Degree type
Specialization
Upload diploma to receive a ‘verified’ badge and increase profile credibility
Headline (in English)
Introduce yourself and share briefly about your interests
Describe your teaching experience, certification and methodology
Motivate students to book a trial lesson with you
Test recording
Record your video or paste a link to your video on Youtube or Vimeo
Choose your timezone
Set your availability, Monday to Sunday

Here is a video walkthrough of the Preply teacher application process:

It takes 5 business days for the company to review your Preply job application and send you a status update via email. Follow the instructions, describe your strengths as a tutor, and avoid mentioning contact details and lesson prices in the description or video, and your profile should be approved ready to begin teaching.

*If you are looking for Preply Profile Description Examples , to help write your own, just look through those of existing teachers by selecting one and clicking on ‘View full schedule’. You will then be able to read their full ‘About’ section. Preply also provides a video with advise on ‘How to write the perfect profile description’:

**These are the instructions you have to follow when recording your Preply introduction video :

Keep your video between 30 seconds and 2 minutes long
Record in a horizontal mode
Position the camera at eye level
Use neutral lighting and background
Ensure your face and eyes are fully visible (except for religious reasons)
No logos, links or contact details
No slideshows or presentations
Greet your students warmly
Highlight any teaching certifications
Present your tutoring experience
Invite students to book a trial lesson

The company also provides this advice on ‘How to make the perfect video for your Preply profile’:

Teaching on Preply

Preply tutoring can be delivered for over 100 subjects, including languages, school and university courses, hobbies and art. Preply teaching can be delivered one-on-one or through Preply group classes of around 4-6 students. While both children and adults use the platform, the majority of students are older, so it will help your chance of bookings if you are comfortable teaching adults.

A Preply Curriculum is provided, including Preply lesson plans, audio and video exercises, homework, tests and answer keys. Its use is optional, however. A Preply placement test can also be used for assessing the level of language students studying English, German, French or Spanish.

What Platform Does Preply Use? Does Preply Use Skype? Can I Use Zoom on Preply?

Classes are primarily taught via the in-house Preply classroom , with students connecting via the Preply app , though third-party platforms such as Skype or Zoom can be used (with student agreement) and provide a useful back-up in case of technical problems. The Preply classroom is mobile-compatible, allowing tutors the flexibility to teach through their phone or tablet.

Are Preply Lessons Recorded?

As part of the terms of service, Preply teachers must agree that the company may record their lessons ‘from time to time… for the purpose of ensuring the quality of Preply Services’.

How To Get Students On Preply?

Preply provides the following suggestions on how to find students through the platform:

What’s the first thing you notice in a tutor profile?
What would make you choose one tutor over another?
Who seems like they’d be the best teacher for you, and why?
What makes for a great video introduction?
Check out support for tutors at the Preply Tutor Academy
Write your description in multiple languages
Start with as much availability as possible
students are not asking “what is special about this tutor?” They are asking: “what can this tutor do for me?”
Link with your external profiles
Share your video introduction through YouTube
Make the most of social media
Join forums and Q&A platforms
Start a personal blog
Use Preply’s Ask a tutor section

Here is a webinar run by Preply on how to gain and retain students using their methodology:

Teaching with Preply Reviews

The Preply Indeed page gives the company an average score of 3.3 out of 5. Those Preply teacher reviews that mention a more positive experience with Preply, cite their flexibility in designing classes and setting one’s own schedule and pay rate, the ‘free’ advertising provided by the platform, and the opportunities it offers for meeting students from all over the world.

In contrast, the problems with Preply which are listed include: the unpaid trial lesson, high commission rate, difficulties acquiring students, glitchy platform, and poor support.

Here are a balanced sample of recent Preply tutor reviews :

The reviews of Preply on Glassdoor are less useful in this instance, as none of them seem to be written by tutors (which is surprising).

Conclusion – Is Preply Worth It?

Teacher marketplaces are never attractive due to the commissions they deduct from teachers’ earnings, and Preply’s are among the higher rates at the start. Hour-long trial lessons with each new student will also result in a lot of unpaid time, on top of the extra effort it takes to promote and market your teacher profile. Beyond this, there are no horror stories to rule Preply out completely, and the quick and easy application process and low barrier to entry means it might be worth having them as a fallback option, especially if you can offer a unique angle to one of the higher-paying, in-demand subjects.

You can sign up to Preply here .

A full list of other online teaching companies can be found here .

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Dr Daniel Spence

Daniel Spence is the founder of Online Teaching Review. He has been an international teacher since 2008, an award-winning academic, author of two books, and holds a PhD, MA, BA (Hons), and TESOL.

Language/ESL Teaching

Antischool review and guide – honest teacher’s perspective.

AntiSchool is a Ukraine-based ESL company teaching adults and children 1v1 and in groups of up to 12. No mandatory qualifications or experience are required to apply if you possess a 'high level' of English, though the pay is low ($10/hr max), you must commit to 20 hours a week, and the longest classes last 90 minutes.

Topica Native X Review – Honest Teacher’s Perspective

NativeX is a Vietnamese online ESL platform for adult professionals. They pay advanced English speakers $10-15/hr to teach 15-45 minute classes of 1-6 students. 1 year of experience and a diploma/associate degree is sufficient, with no TEFL required if you majored in English teaching, but you must be available for 7 slots a week or 13 a fortnight.

Helen Doron Review – Honest Teacher’s Perspective

Helen Doron Connect hires Fluent English speakers on £8-£14/hr to teach children 1v1 (25min classes) or in groups (45mins). You must have EITHER a degree OR teaching certificate, and be able to offer 10 teaching slots a week (mostly European/Middle Eastern times), though teacher experiences of the company are mixed.

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How to assign homework for online lessons

Off2class has added functionality to allow teachers to assign homework for online lessons., at the end of an online class, you have the option to assign homework to your students and take up their answers, with the answer key, at your next online lesson.

You’re winding up your online lesson with a student who asks, ‘What can I do before our next lesson?’ Homework. Post-lesson activity. Self-study. Whatever you call it, the request for further study materials to complete before the next lesson can be problematic for online teachers. It can be a challenge to assign homework for online lessons. Some of the reasons are relevant to all tutors and teachers, while some are particular to those of us who teach in a virtual classroom. I am not going to debate here whether homework is valid for students. I believe that a post-lesson activity is valid when:

the teacher sets relevant materials
the student makes the effort to complete the homework, and most importantly
the teacher and student review the homework together in a timely manner, and in a way that allows the student to auto-correct though guided discovery (rather than just receiving a grade)

My online students (and their parents) want homework… As an online English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, my students and my students’ parents (of my younger learners) are enthusiastic about homework. However, assigning a relevant activity that can be submitted and reviewed online has always been a bit of a tiresome chore. Not long ago my business partners and I started to load our ESL lesson content onto our site . The site provides step-by-step lesson plans aimed primarily at online ESL tutors, though our user base includes a large proportion of educators teaching students in person. Recently, we decided to complement each of our ESL lessons with homework. The homework can be assigned to students immediately after completing the lesson. We’ve also built a student management module in our site to mimic the steps that a teacher would take in a physical classroom:

A teacher enrolls a student into the classroom on our site and teaches the lesson
At the end of the lesson, a prompt requests if the teacher wishes to assign homework to the student
An email form is automatically populated with the student’s (or parent’s) email address and the teacher can decide when the homework is due
The student logs in to the site and completes the homework online (no download, no printer and no chance that the dog will eat the homework)
The student can save and return later to complete the activity, and submit the work once completed

The ability to deliver and receive relevant homework online has solved a major pain point for me as an online ESL teacher. I can send the email notification with one click, advise a parent if necessary, ensure the homework is relevant, receive the student’s answers and use the completed homework as my next lesson.

Please feel free to leave any comments or questions we especially love feedback from online esl teachers., 16 comments.

Casey Courtney says:

February 11, 2015 at 12:50 am

James Heywood (Off2Class) says:

February 11, 2015 at 7:44 am

Thanks Courtney!

Rob Hyde says:

February 14, 2015 at 4:24 pm

Homework is very helpful. I have several students who have been doing Off2Class homework where previously they weren’t following through. The review function is also very good. One point – in Conditionals 1.2 Section D – calls for student’s own language, but then the program marks all as incorrect. Can those sections not mark in red, or perhaps a third color to indicate need for discussion with tutor? The only question I have is whether you considered having a way to email the corrected work back to the student for further review. My hat is off to Off2Class 🙂 Keep up the good work.

February 15, 2015 at 8:54 am

Hi Rob, Thanks for your feedback. We’re glad that you are enjoying the homework. As to your questions: You are correct. Whenever a student answers open-ended questions, the text will always appears in the submitted work as orange. The reason we did this is that we feel any answer that requires input from the teacher should be marked in a single color. I am not a huge believer in marking answers as right or wrong. Sometimes students may provide an answer that is not the one that a question asked for, yet the answer itself may not be wrong in the sense that it allows the teachers to understand better the students’ abilities and understanding of English. About the corrected homework… give us some time on this. My understanding is that the learning opportunity for the student happens when the teacher looks at the submitted work together with the student. The student is in a position to analyse his or her own work with guidance from the teacher. I always felt that this was enough. I guess my question is, When you return a corrected worksheet to a student, does a student ever return to look at the correct homework again? We appreciate hearing from our users, and we’ll certainly consider both points you mentioned for future changes to the Homework section. Best wishes, James

Paul Lanciaux says:

March 4, 2015 at 5:50 pm

Hi…new to OFF2CLASS, and just had the first session with my student. I’m impressed with both the quality and the quantity of exercises available. Since my ESL student is eight years old and a very beginner, the presentation and graphics for the Alphabet and Conversation sections kept her attention for the full half hour lesson. Also, the responses to my emails for initial support from Off2Class have been very timely and much appreciated. Good job, guys!

March 4, 2015 at 10:08 pm

Hi Paul, Thank you for your feedback. We really believe that bright, clear graphics and stimulating images sustain motivation for students of all ages, but it is particularly great to hear that your Young Learner found it a beneficial experience. I primarily teach Young Learners online so it is great to hear from other teachers who are using Off2Class lessons to do the same. We’re here whenever you need our support and thanks again for your comments. Best wishes, James

March 7, 2015 at 5:59 pm

Quite informative. I’m not an online ESL teacher – yet, but I find the idea of homework online quite sensible. Keep up the good work.

March 7, 2015 at 8:15 pm

Hi Jon, Thanks for your comment. Some users on our site aren’t yet using the online homework activities that come with each of the lessons, though those who convert to the system are sending positive feedback. The current generation of students is generally very comfortable completing and submitting homework online, and I’m happy that it might just reduce the amount of paper flying around classrooms! We are going to more functionality soon to allow more flexibility to the students around delivering feedback on the student’s homework too. Best wishes, James

Dolores says:

February 21, 2017 at 1:27 pm

Hi James Totally agree with your points in your comment on 15 Feb above, open-ended questions in orange and especially your point about the teacher going through the homework with the student at the next lesson. It serves as revision and clears up any loose ends. Great app, especially the recent launch of interactive one-on-one for in-class lessons. I only teach individual students face-to-face. Dolores

February 21, 2017 at 4:43 pm

Thank you Delores for stopping by and providing useful feedback. I’m pleased that you are enjoying Off2Class! James

Cathryn says:

May 12, 2017 at 12:48 am

Wow, these are some great ideas. I’ll try and use them in my ESL lesson. Keep up the good work!

Kris Jagasia says:

May 13, 2017 at 1:11 pm

Cheers Cathryn, they are a huge time saver! Kind Regards, Kris

November 9, 2017 at 10:55 am

Hi The homework function is great and much appreciated by my students. However I have a question about marking the homework. At the moment. I am using the drag and drop function with the green tick and red cross but this is really very time consuming and takes much more time than if I was doing it on paper (particularly as they seem to have to aim for a very precise spot and so often bounce back). Am I missing something? Thanks for your help Nell

November 9, 2017 at 11:13 am

Hi Nell! So nice to hear from you. For questions, other than free text questions (which don’t have a ‘right/wrong’ notation, when you mark the homework as reviewed, we place the orange/green text color onto the student’s answers. You might still want to add your comments, annotations and personal feedback though. You can watch our demo video here where we go over this: https://www.off2class.com/video-resources/ Happy Teaching!

humss courses says:

September 21, 2021 at 1:19 am

Thank you very much for sharing your fantastic ideas with the community.

Chris says:

September 21, 2021 at 1:51 pm

Glad you enjoyed the post!

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The Complete Guide to Teaching Online with Preply

January 12, 2020

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Teaching online is a great way to get out of the 9-5 and start working from home. However, many online tutors find that working for the larger online teaching companies limits their pay potential and doesn’t properly utilize their skills and experience.

In this guide, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at Preply ⁠ — an online teaching platform that helps tutors and students connect online. Preply differs greatly from online teaching companies like VIPKid and DaDa and could be the right choice for dedicated and experienced teachers.

About Preply

Preply is described as an online education platform with the goal of pairing students and tutors together for online lessons. The company doesn’t take responsibility for arranging lessons and managing students’ curriculum. Instead, it uses an algorithm to help students connect with teachers that meet their requirements.

For teachers, Preply is a place to advertise their services and make contact with students from all over the world. Preply helps teachers to market their services and even allows them to create personalized websites to advertise to students outside of the Preply platform.

When teaching with Preply, teachers have control of just about everything. They can set their own rates of pay , teach their own lesson plans and use their own strategies to contact and secure students.

Now that you have an idea of what kind of platform Preply is, let’s take a look at some of the finer details, like Preply’s teacher requirements and pay.

What are the requirements to teach for Preply?

One of the best things about Preply is that it is very open when it comes to the type of teachers they accept. Unlike a lot of popular online teaching companies, you don’t have to be a native English speaker and you aren’t required to have any sort of qualifications or a degree.

However, as you will need to market yourself to students on this platform, and there are a lot of other teachers to compete with, and you may find that having some relevant qualifications or experience will help you to find more students.

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There are lots of teachers on Preply that have college degrees, years of ESL experience and TEFL certificates , so the more qualifications and experience you have, the better. Having more teaching experience and qualifications will also mean that you can set your hourly rate higher than less experienced teachers.

What does Preply pay?

When it comes to pay rates, it’s hard to say exactly how much teachers will earn as the company allows teachers to set their own rates. However, when you teach with Preply, a percentage of your chosen hourly rate will be paid in commission to the company.

Teachers are at liberty to set their rates as high or as low as they want, but after taking a look at the platform, it seems that most teachers’ rates are around the $20 mark. Some teachers with a lot of experience or specific qualifications do set their rates higher, but you may find it hard to appeal to new students if your rates are too high.

When setting your rate, it’s important to keep in mind the fees that Preply take. For the first lesson you teach with a student, Preply takes a 100% commission. This basically means that you won’t get paid for the first lesson you teach to any new student. If you convert the student successfully and they want to book more lessons, they will then be prompted to purchase lessons in bulk, and they will receive discounts if they book more lessons at one time.

If the student books more lessons with you, the commission rates will then be lowered. Preply will then deducts anywhere between 18% and 33% of the total price. So, if you charge $25 per hour and Preply charges 33% commission, you’ll actually only receive $16.75.

Because Preply only helps teachers connect with students there is no guarantee of bookings – it’s all up to the teacher to market themselves in order to secure students. However, building relationships with students takes time, so it’s worth factoring this in when choosing your hourly rate.

What is the interview process for Preply?

The interview process for Preply is quite simple, but it could take some time to get a response depending on the number of applications the company currently has.

Basically, all you need to do is sign up and begin creating a tutor profile on the Preply website. You’ll be asked to fill in details about your qualifications, teaching experience, and previous work experience. Once the details of the profile are complete, you can submit it to be reviewed by the Preply team.

If your application is successful, you’ll be notified by email and you can then go back into your profile and add more details such as your availability and an introduction video. After this is completed, you’ll be able to start connecting with students. Students may book lessons with you if they discover your profile, or you can send personal messages to students that are searching for a tutor.

Once you’ve successfully connected with a student, you can start teaching and continue to search for more students to fill your schedule.

What it’s like teaching for Preply

Ok, so now you know exactly what to expect in terms of pay, let’s talk a little about what working for Preply is actually like. In this section, I’ll go into detail about important details like the Preply schedule, using the platform and the type of students you can expect to teach.

Preply Schedule

With Preply, you can basically work whenever you want. As long as you and your student are in agreement, you can book a lesson at any time. The times you choose to work will often depend on the location of the students that you are working with. Preply is an international platform so if you end up teaching a student on the other side of the world, you may have to amend your schedule to work out a time that suits both of you.

You can list your availability on the Preply calendar so that students can see when you are available, and as soon as a lesson is booked, it will be shown in your calendar. If you arrange a lesson with a student over email you can also add the lesson time into your schedule manually.

Preply Platform and Lesson Planning

Preply has a dedicated platform for delivering online lessons, but unlike most teaching companies, they do not provide comprehensive lesson plans or curriculum. It’s up to the teachers to plan and organize lessons based on the needs of their students. However, there are some basic materials available on the platform for teachers to use.

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Although lesson planning can sometimes be a lot of work, some teachers much prefer this as it means that they can have control over what they teach, and deliver lessons that will help their students to progress quickly.

Preply Students

Preply students are mostly adults, so if you’re interested in delivering more advanced lessons to older students, this could be the right platform for you. Although most of the students on Preply are adults wishing to learn languages, there are some children and university students using the platform, too. Since it’s up to you which students you teach, you have control over the age of students that you choose to work with.

Preply Reviews

When it comes to reviews for Preply, it really is a mixed bag. On Glassdoor, Preply gets a score of 3.7 out of 5 .

When I first started looking into reviews of Preply, I expected to see some negativity due to the high commission rates the company charges. A lot of teachers agree that the 100% commission on the first lesson can be unfair for teachers.

One reviewer wrote: “Some students do the trial lesson, but they were never planning to do another lesson with the teacher”.

This means that some tutors work quite a lot of hours without pay.

However, despite this issue, it seems that a lot of people are still quite happy with the flexibility and control that this platform allows teachers.

In regards to the commission structure, one teacher suggested: “Charge the price you wish and add 33% more to that since Preply takes a percentage. It’s not a bad gig and I’m sure there are people who work more than I do. I Enjoy having adult students to teach since that keeps me on my toes!”

It seems to me that teachers that perform well in trial lessons and are willing to put in extra effort to build relationships with students have an overwhelmingly positive experience working on Preply, but the structure may be unfair to new or less experienced teachers.

Resources & FAQs

If you’re interested in learning more about Preply, their website has a pretty extensive Tutor FAQ section that might help you to find the answers you’re looking for. If not, leave a comment and we might be able to help you out.

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions about Preply:

Can you teach without a degree?

Yes, you can teach without a degree on Preply. However, having lots of qualifications can help you to land students and earn higher rates.

Do you have to be a native speaker?

No. Although English is one of the subjects that is available on Preply, you can teach a number of different languages and other academic subjects, so being a native English speaker is not a requirement

Do you need a TEFL?

No. Preply teachers are not required to hold a TEFL certificate, but it can be a good way of setting yourself apart from other teachers on the platform

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Does the time table underneath the video of the tutor correspond with the time zone of the tutor or the time zone of the student?

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How can I teach more than one subject on preply? I have expertise, experience and qualification in English and Spanish as a foreign language.

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Lesson Plans and Ideas

Group lessons on Preply

Preply is an online teaching platform that I’ve been using for the last three months. It’s mostly known for its 1:1 lessons, but recently I received a notification saying that I’d be an ideal candidate for their group lessons. After some thinking, I decided to give it a go and see if this option is as good for me as they claim.

On 28th April, Preply notified me about the possibility of teaching groups via Zoom. This email coincided with another Preply milestone – teaching over 60 hours on the platform, which isn’t quite common (only 50% of tutors reaches this far). The message initially freaked me out, but I decided to take it easy and firstly applied for their internal Teach group lessons on the Preply course.

The idea is straightforward and seems a bit too good to be true. You choose the level and the topic you want to teach. Then you decide on a day and time and you’re set. Preply provides you with lesson plans and presentations, and that’s pretty much it. You can sign up for as many or as few lessons as you want. The idea is to provide students with cheaper lessons which they can take whenever they want. It offers flexibility, exposes them to English speakers from all over the world and gives them the possibility to be surrounded by a variety of accents. Sounds too good to be true? I needed to check it for myself.

Firstly, I needed to register as a group tutor. Since all the classes are on Zoom, Preply provides teachers with the full software version. Before you give them your email, they warn you about all the lessons being recorded, which can’t be switched off, so you should create a new email that you don’t currently use on Zoom. Otherwise, you may have an issue with your private Zoom lessons and personal videocalls. I got the access to group lessons and a full version of Zoom in less than 24 hours after registering.

Immediately after receiving the confirmation, I started scrolling through possible lessons. There are a lot of options from A1 to C1 levels. You have the ability to go over the notes before you commit, so you can teach something that you enjoy and feel comfortable with. Initially, I signed up for one class and got nervous. After some thinking, I decided to fill my mornings with group lessons. In my first week of trying group lessons, I joined six group lessons. The advantage of choosing classes is that you can teach the same class over and over again, which reduces preparation time.

As I was waiting impatiently for my first lesson, something unexpected happened – it got cancelled. I realised that the majority of classes get cancelled. At the moment of writing this post, the Preply group lesson policy was that if no one signed up for the lesson 24 hours before, it got cancelled, and you got paid 50% of your hourly rate after commission. From May 2022, this has changed. Now you are informed about group lesson cancellation an hour before. Whether the class happens or not, you get paid your full hourly rate.

When I was writing this post, I registered for 12 group lessons, and only four of them weren’t cancelled. I must admit that this Preply feature is quite beneficial for me and provides me with income that requires minimal effort. EDIT: As of June 2022, the number of group lessons available got reduced, and it is much more difficult to find a free teaching spot.

However, four out of these 12 lessons happened, so let’s focus on them instead. Once the lesson is confirmed, you can check its status on your profile under Group lessons – Your lessons . After the cancellation, the lesson disappears from there. If you’re waiting for confirmation, you can check when you have this class and what the topic is. It also shows the number of available spots for this lesson. The class size ranges from 1-to 6 students. 15 minutes before the lesson starts, you get an email with a notification reminding you about the class and information about the number of students who signed up for this class. In two of my group lessons, I had two students who registered and in both, only one of them showed up. In the other two, only one student booked the class. One of the ‘group’ students told me that in the 13 lessons that he attended, he had a partner in only one of them.

The idea of these group lessons is for students to follow a 30-hour course with 30 different tutors. Therefore, you aren’t allowed to bring any new material to class. You can personalise and modify it, depending on your teaching style. I decided to follow the material. If the students were a little bit less chatty, I managed to do more vocabulary revision before the main part of the lesson. The lessons are 55 minutes long, and Preply offers more than enough materials to fill that time. You are also expected to finish the class with error corrections and help students find their homework and pre-lesson task for the next lesson. Yes, students are expected to complete a pre-lesson task, so they should come in ready and aware of the topic. Here is an example lesson plan I followed during my first group lesson on Preply.


5 mins	1. Welcome the students and introduce yourself. 2. Get to know each other: 3. Topic related questions: 4. Present the lesson objectives. 5. Present the lesson structure.
5 mins	1. Warm-up: – Describe the picture (a family waiting at an airport). – Answer the questions:
5 mins	1. Pre-teach / Revise vocabulary: read an airport announcement and fill in the gaps with the missing words . 2. Explain any new vocabulary. 3. Elicit the difference between and .
4 mins	1. Set the listening: A woman waiting at the gate when she hears an announcement. 2. Give some time to read and understand the questions. 3. Listen to the recording and answer the questions. 4. Check and discuss the answers.
4 mins	1. Pronunciation: Elicit the difference between the word stress and in numbers. 2. Model and drill pronunciation.
5 mins	1. Set the listening: The woman’s flight was cancelled. 2. Give some time to read and understand the questions. 3. Listen to the recording and write the answers to the questions. 4. Check and discuss the answers.
5 mins	1. Teach – grammar: cause and effect. – When do we use – How is different from ? – – 2. Grammar practice: fill in the gaps with .
7 mins	1. Review the use of . 2. Controlled practice: Ask and answer questions about flying using new grammar. 3. Model the activity: write a question starting with and ask the student to give you the answer. 4. The student writes in the chat three questions starting with . Discuss the answers.
7 mins	1. Set the roleplay: Student A works for an airline. Student B is a passenger. A flight was cancelled. Talk on the phone and discuss the reason why the flight was cancelled, reschedule the flight and ask about any vouchers. 2. Swap roles.
8 mins	1. Error correction. 2. Reflect on your class experience – ask for a rating (1-5). 3. Discuss what needs to be done next (repeat the class, sign up for the next lesson, do the post-lesson task).

This lesson plan is very different from what I offer to my 1:1 students, but I stick to the rules and follow the materials as necessary. I noticed that the material provided by Preply is more than enough to have a successful 55 minutes long lesson. In the case of finishing a bit too early, at the end of each presentation, there are 3 or 4 more slides with extra activities, so there is no need to panic.

Once the lesson ends, you get an email with autoconfirmation of the class and get paid right away. After each class, you can leave feedback about each student, comment on their attendance and suggest their level. I believe that students have to do something very similar after each class and rate their tutor. My first “group” student told me that he would put me in the top 3 of all the Preply tutors he had up to this point, so I believe that so far I’m doing well!

Group lessons are a great way of making extra cash in your free time. I’ll definitely continue signing up for them while I’m waiting for new students. As Preply works on commissions, you still need to have private students to increase teaching hours and decrease the commission rate (group lessons don’t count, unfortunately). Another benefit is frequent cancellations and, of course, ready-to-go lesson plans. You can also keep signing up for the same lessons over and over again, which will decrease your preparation time to a bare minimum. The main disadvantage is that there are more tutors than lessons available, so you need to be quick to book your spot!

Do you teach on Preply? What do you think about the group lessons?

Published by joannaesl

A CELTA certified ESL teacher based in Altea, Spain. I share my experience regarding teaching in Spain, getting into ESL from scratch, but I also like to prepare lesson plans and classroom content. View all posts by joannaesl

6 thoughts on “Group lessons on Preply”

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So tutors get paid their hourly rate, and there’s no pay incentive to attract more students? What’s the point if i may ask, might as well just teach 1 on 1. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Hello! Thank you for your comment😊

This format of group lessons isn’t active anymore. Most of the group lessons were cancelled and tutors were getting paid full hourly rate for essentially nothing. They asked me to teach group lessons when they were still figuring out how these classes were supposed to work, so many of my lessons were cancelled, and life was good. Back then it made sense to be a group teacher.

In October, Preply introduced a new group format in which tutors prepare their own courses and set their own rates. This time they are paid per student, not per hour. This means that if you charge $5 per person and you have 6 students in your group you get paid $30. However, Preply charges all tutors 33% commissions which means that at that rate you would receive $19.8.

I stopped teaching groups in the new format as there are a lot of tutors who charge $3 per student per hour and obviously they are the ones chosen by the students. I managed to book only one group at $10 per hour per person. When I offer my group lessons now, almost nobody signs up and unfortunately I waste my teaching spot and don’t get paid.

So to answer your question, if you have a good hourly rate, it is much better to teach 1:1. You’re not missing out, really.🤷🏽‍♀️