2020 was…weird. To say the least. And with Zoom Fatigue becoming worthy of a Wikipedia page and academic articles, you may be wondering if you can start teaching online in a post-2020 world. You can. Read on for plenty of ways to teach languages online that don’t rely on 1:1 live video calls.

I’ve been teaching languages online since 2014. Back then it felt less valuable than real-life face-to-face lessons, the options were limited, and I’d spend half my time at weddings explaining to someone what I did for work.

Thankfully, things have changed and we’re all now pretty accustomed to the concept of learning and teaching online. But when it comes to how to start teaching online right now? Can you do it when we’re all itching to get back outside and touch each other’s faces in pixel-free 3D? Absolutely. Here’s how.

Online Courses

No surprises here! Although online courses have been around and growing in popularity for many years now, it’s still worth mentioning as a starting point here. Why? Because you get to decide what your online course looks like and you may decide some of the options below fit in quite nicely with your online course idea.

How do I start?

You’ll need somewhere to host your online course. I use Teachable and love how easy to use it is. There’s plenty of other options out there like Kajabi, Thinkific or Podia.

My advice here is not to overthink it. Pick one that does what you want, fits your budget, and gives you the options you’ll need as your course grows.

Hybrid Program

Zoom calls (other live video call platforms are available…but likely not as good) have their place. There’s lots of breakthroughs that can happen on a live video call, and when we’re teaching online, it’s the closest thing to “human” real-time interaction.

So you don’t have to go completely cold turkey on them. Instead, consider a hybrid program, combining curriculum self-study content with live video calls.

I do this with Language Life and even the Online Teaching Starter Kit.

There’s no overload of Zoom calls, which means the ones we do have are golden. Hooray!

A word of advice though – don’t just think “I’ll throw in some Zoom calls with my online course and be done with it!” Instead, consider how everything works well together like cogs in a machine to get the results you and your students want. Sometimes less is more.

How do I start?

You’ll need Zoom and a place to host your main content – probably one of the platforms mentioned above.

Start by considering the outcomes of your hybrid program – where will students be by the end? What will they have achieved, be able to do, how will they feel?

Then begin to compile your content and live elements in a way that’ll get people there.

Related: How to Use Zoom to Teach Languages Online

Audio Only

Thanks to companies like HelloAudio, you can now easily create private podcast feeds to allow your students to listen and learn on the go. No screen required.

This is a great option on its own. I mean, you could literally pioneer a new audio course! But it would also work well as an addition to your online course or hybrid program to give people easy access to choose how they learn.

How do I start?

You could pick a platform like HelloAudio to host your audio as a private podcast feed so students can listen where and how they normally would listen to other podcasts.

Alternatively, if that’s out of budget right now, there’s no reason why you couldn’t start by creating a ZIP file of the audio that you can share (probably via email) when students enroll.

Interactive Workshops

Ok, I’ve never done this (yet!) but I LOVE this idea!

Live video calls, much like language learning, doesn’t have to involve sitting obediently at a computer desk.

Try mixing things up with interactive workshops. Perhaps you teach a traditional dance. Maybe it’s a cooking class of your mother’s recipe for that national dish. Perhaps it’s a super sweaty exercise class or a drawing lesson.

Whatever you choose, it happens in the language you teach.

How do I start?

What are you good at? What do you know that would be interesting to your students?

If you’re not sure, you could always invite guest presenters in to share their skills with your students. This option would work really well as a regular membership.

Related: 3 Big Creative Reading Ideas for Teaching Languages Online

Virtual Retreat

Dying to get travelling and go somewhere? Yeah, me too.

Bring the travel to your students with a virtual retreat! Think of this as an expanded version of the previous idea.

So you could combine interactive workshops with language lessons, community elements and more – get creative!

Perhaps you even send out something in the mail to each student in advance to bring in some real-life-ness. I’m thinking the super local secret ingredient for that recipe you’ll cook together, some handmade gifts from the region you’re exploring, a hand-written postcard from you…again, get creative.

How do I start?

There’s a bit more planning involved with this one but it’ll be worth it for such a unique experience.

Start by dreaming big including everything you want to happen at the virtual retreat. Then figure out your costs before establishing a price to ensure you’re not running at a loss.

Printables

This could easily be divided up into multiple options: journals, prompts, workbooks, planners…there’s lots that you can create and offer as printables.

The benefit here is that it takes things completely offline for the student, so a great option of you’ve heard whispers of Zoom fatigue amongst your students.

You could run this as one-off purchases, or a membership/subscription where you regularly share new printables. The latter would work well for journaling, prompts or workbooks and exercises focused on different topics each time.

This can act as a really great first product, both for you and your students. Perhaps this is what introduces people to you, and if they like what they see, they might want to learn more with you down the line.

How do I start?

This might be the easiest to deliver! Make the thing, set up the PDF or ZIP file ready to be shared when a student pays, start telling people about it.

As for the creation, if design and the likes of Adobe have you running a mile, try Canva for easy (and good-looking) design. Alternatively, you could hire a designer to make your printable a reality.

Related: How to Use a Language Planner

How will you start teaching online?

Which of the ideas sounds right for you? Are there any other ways to start teaching online post-2020 that you’ve tried or would like to? Share with me in a DM on Instagram!