Language Master

2 Comments

• 

  Marie

  April 16, 2023 at 2:36 pm Reply

  Hello! I wanted to add a company to this list. It is called Language Master and it is a Chinese app which offers conversational, business, and IELTS classes to Chinese adults. I worked there for about a year and would like to share my experience with other teachers, since there is not very much information about it online.
  GENERAL SETUP: There are two types of classes on LM, both of which are 1:1:
  1. Freetalk classes: No materials are necessary. The teacher holds a conversation with the student and gives corrections. These classes are audio only.
  2. Official Course classes: These classes use materials provided by LM. They are video calls. There are three types of Official Course classes: conversational, business, and IELTS. In order to qualify to teach business and IELTS classes you need to have prior experience teaching those subjects.
  These classes are held in two ways:
  1. Booked classes: You open up time slots on your schedule, and students book classes.
  2. Free calls: You set your status on the app to available, and students call you at random.
  QUALIFICATIONS: A Bachelor’s Degree, certification, and experience are preferred, but I do not believe that they are necessary. I believe that you need to be a native speaker to apply.
  APPLICATION PROCESS: First, you download the Language Master app and make an account. Then, you fill out an application form on the app. After that, you have an audio interview with a recruiter via WeChat. Once your application has been approved, you create a profile. This profile includes a brief introduction video, a photo, and some basic information about you.
  PROS:
  1. Pay: Language Master pays a starting rate of around $11 USD/hour. While this may sound low by US standards, it is on the higher end compared to similar platforms. You can apply for a pay increase at any time by messaging the platform assistant. A member of LM’s team will evaluate one of your classes based on a rubric. If your score is high enough, the pay increase will be granted. If not, someone will contact you and explain what you did wrong. Once you fix your mistakes you can ask to be reevaluated. I applied for a pay increase after working for 3 months and it was granted after my second evaluation. Pay increases are in increments of $2-3 USD/hour. Your salary can theoretically go up to $20+/hour, but I am not sure whether this is possible in practice.
  2. Support: The platform assistants responded quickly and thoroughly to all of my questions. They sometimes checked in to ask if I needed anything.
  3. Materials: LM provides all of the materials that you need to teach.
  4. Flexibility: While you will be more successful if you are available during peak hours (BJT evening hours), you can technically work whenever you want. You can take vacations at any time and you can cancel classes up to 5 hours before the scheduled time. The only real requirement is that you teach at least 4 hours per month.
  5. Students: The students are all adults and they are very professional and motivated.
  6. Fairness: LM does not penalize you for technical issues. They do not fire employees at random. Payments were sent regularly and were only delayed when payday coincided with a Chinese holiday.
  CONS:
  1. Bookings: LM does not assign you students. You need to advertise yourself. In practice, this means that you need to regularly create and publish educational videos on the platform. Making these videos is quite time consuming and does not necessarily guarantee that you will attract students. You cannot realistically expect to teach more than 4 hours/day. Additionally, if you are granted a pay increase your classes will cost more. Since the platform is already quite expensive, this will make attracting new students somewhat difficult.
  2. Materials: The materials provided by LM are appropriate for intermediate to advanced students. They are too difficult for lower-level students. Some of them contain mistakes. Not all of the exercises are well-designed, which can make students feel confused and frustrated.
  3. Setup: The Language Master app only works on phones and tablets.

  I hope this information was helpful!

  • 

    sj

    May 21, 2023 at 4:32 pm Reply

    Thanks for your detailed description of this company
    One thing. I can’t find Language Master. Is it possible to share secrets
    on how to find their app? Thanks in advance.