GoGoKid is an online ESL company that lets you teach English online to children in China, South Korea, and Japan. In this GoGoKid review, we’ll look at how to get hired, how much you can make, and the pros and cons of GoGoKid for aspiring online teachers.
I can’t wait to help you decide if GoGoKid is the right teaching English online company for you!
UPDATE: As of August 2021, GoGoKid is no longer offering classes due to new regulations in the online teaching industry. Please visit this post to learn about alternative online ESL teaching platforms.
What Is GoGoKid?
GoGoKid is a Chinese-based online English company that is growing rapidly! Lessons are 25 minutes long and all lesson plans are provided. Classes are 1:1 with children between the ages of 4 and 12.
Teachers get to make their own schedules and there are no minimum or maximum teaching hours. You can work from home or anywhere in the world since the job is fully remote.
One of the best things about GoGoKid is that the company recently revamped their hiring process. Now, it’s much faster and easier to become a GoGoKid teacher than ever before!
GoGoKid Requirements
The GoGoKid requirements to get hired are pretty straightforward. Below, we’ll look at what qualifications you’ll need to become a teacher, as well as the technical requirements.
GoGoKid Teacher Requirements
In order to become a GoGoKid English teacher, you must meet the following GoGoKid teacher requirements.
- Bachelor’s degree or above
- Able to work in the USA or Canada
- Native English Speaker
- TEFL Certification (see best TEFL courses here!)
- 2 years of teaching experience
According to their website, this teaching experience can include things like traditional classroom teaching, tutoring, assistant teaching, mentoring, online teaching, substitute teaching, and roles in alternative education.
You can read more about the GoGoKid Requirements in this post.
GoGoKid Technology Requirements
The GoGoKid technology requirements are as follows:
- Teaching Device: You can teach from a desktop, laptop, or Mac
- Browser: Google Chrome
- Headset: You must use a headset with a microphone (See this post for my headset recommendations!)
- Camera: HD webcam built into your computer or HD External camera
- GoGoKid Teacher Portal: Teachers must download the GoGoKid Teacher Portal desktop app for teaching, you can no longer teach through your browser.
The GoGoKid Hiring Process
As of October 2020, the GoGoKid hiring process has been shortened and simplified. You no longer need to do a GoGoKid Mock Class, which means you can get hired and start teaching faster!
The GoGoKid application process follows these 6 basic steps:
- Sign-up and Complete Basic Information
- GoGoKid Interview / Recorded Demo
- Orientation Quiz
- Submit Paperwork
- Sign the Agreement
- Start Teaching!
Check out this post for more information about the GoGoKid Hiring Process!
GoGoKid Interview Tips
The GoGoKid interview process is where you provide your teaching sample. You’ll record yourself teaching a demo lesson and this will be used to evaluate your application.
During the demo teaching sample, you’ll be provided with the slides and materials for a short lesson. You’ll record yourself teaching this lesson to an imaginary student and submit it for review.
When doing your GoGoKid Demo, make sure you review the slides in advance and practice teaching them. You should use at least 2 props and a reward system to keep your imaginary student engaged.
GoGoKid will be looking to see that your classroom space is already set up during this stage. While you don’t need to go overboard, you should ensure that you are teaching in a quiet area with the door closed.
Good lighting goes a long way. You can check out my lighting solutions for teaching online here!
How Long Does The GoGoKid Application Process Take?
In the past, teachers reported that the whole application process took about 2 weeks. With the new shorter application process, it’s likely to go even faster now.
GoGoKid Hours And Scheduling
With GoGoKid, teachers can choose their own hours and set their own schedules. There are no minimum or maximum teaching hours, which makes this a super-flexible online job opportunity!
All you have to do is open the days and times you want to teach in your GoGoKid teachers portal, and parents can book your time slots for their students.
Below are the peak hours for GoGoKid. Peak hours are times that are most likely to get booked by parents. When making your GoGoKid schedule, consider opening as many peak hours as possible to get more bookings.
- Mon-Sun: 7:00pm-8:30pm Beijing Time
- Sat-Sun: 2:00pm-3:30pm Beijing Time
If you’re in the East Coast time zone, these times correlate with early in the morning every day and overnight on Friday and Saturday night.
Can I Make My Own GoGoKid Schedule?
Yes, you can open as many or as few time slots as you want. There is no minimum requirement each week.
However, opening up more time slots will increase your pay rate per class. The more you teach, the more money you’ll earn teaching English online with GoGoKid.
Do I Have To Teach The Same Hours Each Week?
Nope! You don’t need to open the same amount of GoGoKid time slots each week. However, it is encouraged to keep a consistent schedule in order to increase your chances of getting regular students.
Parents are often looking for that consistency in your schedule when they book, so choosing regular hours for yourself could mean more GoGokid bookings.
When Can I Open GoGoKid Classes?
You can open time slots for four weeks at a time, so that’s for the current week as well as for three weeks into the future.
Students can only book time slots with their teachers for two weeks in advance.
If you want to teach classes on short notice, GoGoKid does have a 24-hour booking function. Time slots can be booked up to an hour before class IF marked as “Available to book within 24 hours.”
Tips For Getting GoGoKid Bookings
To get more GoGoKid bookings, there are a few things you can do. Sunday night is the GoGoKid booking frenzy when most parents book classes for their students.
It’s best to open slots for 1 or 2 weeks in advance before this happens.
Sometimes your time slots can be booked further in advance if GoGoKid is running special classes, like Phonics, during school breaks.
Another way to get more GoGoKid bookings is to create a stand-out teacher profile. When you go through the GoGoKid application process, you’ll get tips for how to make your teacher profile as strong as possible.
Finally, you can attract last-minute students by making classes available for booking within 24 hours.
GoGoKid Pay And Salary
For each lesson taught, GoGoKid pays its teachers a service fee rate + an additional incentive. The GoGoKid service fee is your base pay rate and it can be anywhere from $7 – $10 USD per 25 mins class.
Your base payment depends on your educational background, teaching experience, and interview performance.
GoGoKid Pay incentives are added to this base rate. The incentive can go up to 2.50 USD per class depending on how many classes you’ve taught on the platform and parent feedback.
GoGoKid Base Pay + Pay Incentives = Total Pay Per Class
This brings the GoGoKid hourly rate to $14-$25 USD.
How Long Is The GoGoKid contract?
GoGoKid contracts are 6 months long and are renewable depending on the teacher’s performance. Your contract can be renewed in the GoGoKid teacher portal.
How Often Does GoGoKid Pay Teachers?
GoGoKid teachers are paid bi-weekly. At this time, teachers do not have the option to change their payment frequency.
How Does GoGoKid Pay Teachers?
GoGoKid teachers are paid via PayPal or through a direct transfer to your bank account. All payments are made in USD.
Payment is sent by the 15th of each month. Usually, teachers receive their pay between the 11th and 15th.
GoGoKid Classroom Setup
Your GoGoKid classroom setup should be non-distracting and kid-friendly. In order to ensure the best experience for your students, consider having the following elements in your online classroom
- Portable lighting (see my lighting suggestions here!)
- Extra lamps to increase room brightness
- Ethernet cable to increase the stability of your internet (WiFi is also sufficient but an ethernet cord is nice if you have it)
- Noise-canceling headset with microphone attachment (see best headsets here)
- Coffee (hehe)
GoGoKid Rewards
Props and Rewards can be a great way to keep your students motivated during online ESL lessons!
GoGoKid strongly encourages teachers to use a secondary reward in addition to the built-in reward system. Currently, the built-in GoGoKid reward system allows you to give students gemstones.
You can read more about Teaching English online reward systems in this post!
GoGoKid Props
Props are also an important element of your GoGoKid classroom setup. These are some go-to props for GoGoKid teachers:
- Dry Erase Board + markers (I like this one because it’s portable!)
- Flashcards: Alphabet, numbers, animals, etc. (Grab my flashcards here!)
- Games or activities for older students
- Food-related rewards (Shop food printables here)
- A pretend microphone (You can make one with toilet paper rolls covered in black duct tape + aluminum foil)
GoGoKid Background Ideas And Decorations
GoGoKid strongly encourages you to have an educational background while teaching. Some teachers hang maps or fabric on the wall behind them.
If they don’t have access to a blank wall, a trifold poster board can also make a great GoGoKid background.
GoGoKid recommends including the following things on your online teaching background:
- Your teacher name
- A way to display your reward system (Shop online teaching rewards here!)
- Optional: a sign to remind parents to leave feedback
Read more online teaching background ideas here!
GoGoKid Review: Pros And Cons
While the GoGoKid reviews are generally quite good, no company is perfect. In this section, we’ll look at the GoGoKid pros and cons.
GoGoKid Pros
Perhaps the biggest GoGoKid pro is that they offer one of the highest pay rates in the industry. With the credit score incentive system, it’s possible to make up to $25 USD per hour after you’ve been with the platform for a while.
Another GoGoKid pro is that there are no minimum class requirements per month. This means that you can teach as much or as little as you want with no penalties.
GoGoKid is constantly updating their curriculum and lessons to make them more engaging for students. They are planning to add new interactive features to the younger levels, which makes for a better classroom experience.
Finally, teachers can earn a bonus for referring other teachers to sign up. This can be a significant source of extra income for teachers with large social networks, but it’s not required. You can still make good money as a GoGoKid teacher without doing any referring.
GoGoKid Cons
The GoGoKid teaching requirements are a bit more strict than some other online ESL jobs out there. They require both a TEFL certification and some teaching experience, which can be tricky for newer teachers.
The GoGoKid credit system can also be a downside. It’s complicated and it seems to benefit teachers who are able to teach lots of time slots.
It’s also a fluid system, which means teachers might earn a different amount for each class depending on the day.
Teachers who can’t teach a lot of GoGoKid peak hours and time slots will not earn as many incentives under the credit system, but having a more dynamic payment system seems to be the industry trend. (You can read my post about the new VIPKID pay system here)
At this time, teachers cannot choose how often they receive their GoGoKid payment. Everyone is paid out bi-weekly and there are no opportunities for raises outside of the credit score system.
GoGoKid vs VIPKID
GoGoKid and VIPKID are very similar platforms. With both, you can teach English online to children in China and other countries around Asia.
Both feature 25-minute lessons that are 1:1 and lesson plans are provided. Neither platform has a minimum or maximum teaching requirement so both are equally flexible.
But there are a few key differences between GoGoKid and VIPKID.
Before we dig into them, I think it’s a great idea to apply to multiple teaching ESL online companies when you’re first starting out.
If you’re on the fence between VIPKID and GoGoKid, it might be worth it to apply to both and try them out for a while. If you prefer one platform over the other, you can always scale back your hours since there are no minimums or maximums.
The GoGoKid Online Teaching Platform
GoGoKid is a newer platform with a smaller pool of teachers. Some teachers report that they had an easier time getting bookings with GoGoKid than they did with VIPKID.
With the credit score system, it’s possible for teachers to earn more per class with GoGoKid than they would with VIPKID. With both platforms, your pay rate is fluid and depends on how many classes you teach, but the GoGoKid salary tends to skew a little bit higher.
GoGoKid also provides plenty of training workshops and they do frequent giveaways and incentives. Under their new application process, teachers will likely be able to get hired and start teaching faster.
Some GoGoKid teaching reviews note that the lessons are more conversational, which can be a fun way to connect with your kiddos. They are in the process of adding new interactive features to their lessons.
The VIPKID Online Teaching Platform
VIPKID is an older platform that has a larger student and teacher base. They have a large support team and since the platform has been around for a while, technical issues are rare.
Like GoGoKid, VIPKID provides tons of training resources, free workshops, and webinars for teachers. There is also a close teacher community that holds frequent meet-ups and social gatherings, including an annual conference.
VIPKID teachers can choose if they get paid weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. VIPKID has also integrated interactive lessons throughout most of the levels, which are easier to teach and more fun for students.
Finally, VIPKID does not require that teachers have a TEFL certification to apply. They even offer an in-house TEFL training course to all uncertified teachers. If you’re not TEFL certified, going with VIPKID could save you time and money while helping you get valuable teaching experience.
Their hiring requirements are less strict than GoGoKid’s since you can apply without being TEFL certified and they accept a wider variety of teaching-related experiences.
Final Thoughts And GoGoKid Reviews
If you’re a native English speaker from the USA or Canada, have a BA degree, a TEFL certification, and some experience with teaching, GoGoKid might be an awesome online ESL company for you!
Even though they are a relatively new company in the online English teaching industry, they offer competitive pay rates and fun, engaging lessons for students. In general, GoGoKid teacher reviews tend to view the company positively.
More About GoGoKid!
If you enjoyed this GoGoKid review, you might also like these related posts!
- GoGoKid Hiring Process: How to get hired quickly!
- GoGoKid Teacher Requirements: Exactly what you need to have before signing up
