How the online language learning sector is growing – and how it’s COVID-proof!

If you plan on becoming an online English tutor (or are already working an online TEFL job), TeacherTee has got the perfect news for you today! The online language teaching sector is not only changing, but it’s growing – rapidly! Let’s have a look at some of the numbers (and don’t worry, we are not going to bore you with statistics!): 

The industry of online learning is growing rapidly

The worldwide e-learning market is estimated to be worth $325 billion in 2025, whilst the mobile e-learning market could reach up to $80.1 billion by 2027. And although the worldwide online language learning market is just not as big, an approximated total of $21.2 billion by 2027 and an estimated annual growth of 18.7% from 2021 to 2027 still sound absolutely impressive! (In case you want to read it up yourself, this and this is where we got the numbers from.) In 2021, English held the largest share of the online language learning market, with about 1.4 billion learners of English worldwide. 

How come the industry of online English teaching is changing so rapidly? Well, this goes down to a number of reasons. With the globalisation of the economy comes a rising internet user base, an increasing acceptance of digital technologies (we’re living in a digital age, after all), as well as a preference for multilingual employees. In addition, schools, universities and even companies are looking for cost-efficient and effective ways to educate students as well as employees, and this is where online learning comes into play. Not only does it save everyone involved time and money, but it also comes with a great amount of flexibility for learners, who can revisit lectures (dramatically increasing their learning retention rates), learn at their own pace, choose when and where to learn, retake tests if they fail the first time,… just to name a few aspects. And did you know that e-learning courses consume 90% less energy and produce 85% fewer CO2 emissions than actual face-to-face learning? In addition, a couple of universities have already implemented international degree programs online, proving that lecturers do consider online learning to be effective.

And not only learners can benefit from learning online, also we as teachers experience a lot of advantages: working from wherever you want, no office politics, a flexible pay rate… As you probably already know, we at TeacherTee are convinced of the many benefits online English tutoring can have. And if you’re new to our site, maybe you would like to consider reading our blogs on the 5 unbeatable benefits to teaching English online and on becoming a digital nomad.

Another important factor in the development of the online language learning industry is COVID-19. Let’s take a look into that one right now!

Teaching English online – COVID-proof!

With COVID-19, we have seen a worldwide rise in online learning and distance learning enrollments. Schools and universities all over the world have been shut down, with students turning to online resources for learning and improving their grades. In addition, a lot of employees had and still have to work from home, turning to digital technologies as well. A lot of professionals are willing to spend their additional free time improving their English skills. 

Remember the 2 billion learners of English we mentioned above – this is where you come in! Teaching English online to both students and professionals is not only COVID-proof, but the perfect solution catering to both the needs of students and professionals alike. And with 1.4 billion learners looking for teachers, it probably won’t take you that long to build up a client base.

If you are looking for a COVID-proof side-hustle or full-time job, teaching ESL might be just your thing! So, how about spending your additional free time attending one of our online TEFL courses, getting a TEFL CV, finding the perfect ESL job on our Job Board, and acing your job interview with TeacherTee’s tips and tricks? Or maybe you want to start your own business and go freelance?

The best time to get started is right now!

Let’s wrap this up a little, shall we? The online language learning market is growing rapidly, with online English teaching offering a lot of benefits for both teachers and students, while at the same time being perfectly COVID-proof. Plus, you know that we at TeacherTee have got your back, providing you with all the necessary information and helpful tips and tricks on our Instagram and Facebook.  So if you haven’t already started, the best time to do so is right now!