Teaching English online to a six-year-old is a completely different job from teaching online to an adult. The skills overlap less than you'd expect — the people who teach young learners well don't just simplify their adult lessons, they design a fundamentally different kind of session. Here's what that looks like.
On this page
By age: what changes
Ages 4–6 (preschool/early primary)
- Attention span: ~3 minutes per activity, 20–25 minutes max per lesson.
- Reading: assume none. Everything visual and audio.
- Goal: exposure, comfort with English sound, basic vocab (50–100 words).
- Parent presence: often essential. Don't fight it.
Ages 7–9 (primary)
- Attention span: 5–7 minutes per activity, 30–40 minutes max.
- Reading: emerging — can decode simple words.
- Goal: basic sentence patterns, present simple, daily routines, ~300 active vocabulary.
- Personality: still eager to please, fewer ego issues than older kids.
Ages 10–12 (upper primary)
- Attention span: 8–12 minutes per activity, 45–50 minutes max.
- Reading: functional. Can use texts as input.
- Goal: past tenses, future forms, beginning to read for meaning, 500–800 active vocabulary.
- Personality: early signs of teen self-consciousness. Praise privately, push gently.
Lesson structure that works
Think of a kids' lesson as 8–10 short activities, not 3 long ones. Here's a 30-minute template for ages 7–9:
| Time | Activity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Hello routine | Hello song / "How are you today?" with emotion cards |
| 2–6 | Vocabulary review | Last lesson's flashcards, fast |
| 6–10 | New vocabulary | 4–6 new flashcards with TPR (act it out) |
| 10–14 | Listen and respond | "Point to the dog. Point to the cat. Show me the elephant!" |
| 14–18 | Movement break | Action game using vocabulary — "Stand up if you see a fish!" |
| 18–22 | Sentence pattern | "I like ___" or "I can ___" with target vocabulary |
| 22–26 | Game | Memory game, drag-and-drop on Google Slides |
| 26–29 | Production | Tell me 2 sentences about your favourite animal |
| 29–30 | Goodbye + sticker | Visible reward, next-lesson tease |
Activities at each age
Ages 4–6
- Hello/goodbye songs (same ones each lesson).
- Flashcards with TPR — show "jump" card, jump.
- Puppet asks the student questions in funny voices.
- Drawing while you describe ("Draw a big red apple. Now draw a small green apple.").
- "Find something blue in your room and show me." Movement + vocabulary.
- Story-time with simple books, audio + pictures.
Ages 7–9
- Pictionary on shared whiteboard.
- "I spy" with kid choosing object.
- Simon Says (target vocabulary verbs).
- Roll-a-story (Google die roll + sentence prompts).
- Memory match games (drag-and-drop on Slides).
- Acting out short skits with you as the other character.
- "True or false" about yourself.
Ages 10–12
- 20 Questions.
- Mystery word — they ask yes/no questions to guess your word.
- Mini-presentations on something they love (their pet, video game, favourite YouTuber).
- Reading short, age-appropriate texts together with prediction tasks.
- Kahoot for review.
- Writing a 4-sentence story about a picture you show them.
- Role-plays — ordering in a restaurant, asking directions, shopping.
Your setup matters more
- Energy. Your face on camera fills their screen. Smile bigger than feels natural. Move your hands. Use vocal variety.
- Visual props. Real objects nearby that you can grab and show ("Look! I have a banana!"). Beats a flashcard every time.
- A clear background. Bright, simple, kid-friendly. A small wall display you change occasionally creates a "classroom" feeling.
- Reward chart on screen. Star or sticker every correct answer or good effort. Share screen to show progress.
- Sound check before every lesson. Kids won't tell you they can't hear well; they'll just disengage.
Working with parents
For kids under 9, the parent often books, pays, sits nearby and reviews progress. They're your real customer. Treat them as such.
- Send a 2-line update after each lesson. "Today we learned 6 animal words and practised 'I can...'. Homework: 3 sentences about your pet." Parents who get these renew.
- Don't blame the child. "Maria seemed tired today" is fine. "Maria didn't focus today" implies the lesson was a failure.
- Frame progress in terms the parent can see. "She used a full sentence today without prompting — first time."
- Address the elephant: parents on camera. If a parent is helping too much, ask politely after the lesson: "It would help her speak more if she has to try first — could we try the next 5 minutes without prompts?"
Common problems and fixes
- Kid won't speak. Lower the bar: "Can you say it just for me, quietly?" Try chat-typing. Try having them tell their toy, not you. Patience over weeks beats pressure in one lesson.
- Kid is tired. Drop your lesson plan. Do a song, a movement game, end 5 minutes early. A bad lesson costs you more than a short one.
- Kid is too active. Channel it — TPR activities, "show me three things in your room that are red, GO". Don't fight the energy; redirect it.
- Kid resists English. Often a sign the lessons are too hard. Drop the level. Make them feel competent.
- Parent corrects every error. Usually means they're anxious. Send a reassuring message: "She's doing well for her age — making mistakes is how she's learning."
Best platforms for kids
- Outschool — North American market, group classes, $40–80/hour potential.
- Cambly Kids — fixed pay, simple onboarding, drop-in style.
- Independent (your own clients) — best long-term, but harder to start; usually via word-of-mouth in expat parent networks.
- NovaKid, AmazingTalker, Ringle — varying requirements and pay structures; check current policies before applying.
Most large Chinese-market kids' platforms (VIPKid, GoGoKid, DaDa) restructured significantly in 2021–2022 after Chinese regulatory changes and are no longer the income paths they once were.