- Title: Philippines' online English tutors in demand as coronavirus shuts schools
- Date: 22nd March 2020
- Summary: MANILA, PHILIPPINES (MARCH 20, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ONLINE ENGLISH TEACHER, RAVEN DE LEON TEACHING VIA WEBCAM RAVEN HOLDING PUPPET WHILE TEACHING SIGN READING (English): "51TALK" (SOUNDBITE) (English) 51TALK COUNTRY HEAD, JENNIFER QUE, SAYING: "Because of the outbreak no one can leave their homes, they have to stay at home, so our teachers normally would have maybe 6 lessons in a day, now it can be up to 24, so it's a lot of lessons for them. Our teachers are also earning much more than they expected in this quarter." FRAMED NEWS ARTICLE OF 51TALK COMPANY VARIOUS OF ONLINE TEACHERS CONDUCTING LESSONS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ONLINE ENGLISH TEACHER, RAVEN DE LEON, SAYING: "As a teacher I'm also as I have said I'm very happy. It's a great opportunity for me to earn a lot, but then I'm also thinking of the welfare of my students here. As much as possible I'm optimistic that everything will be alright soon, that these negative situation will soon end." VARIOUS EMPLOYEES AND ONLINE TEACHERS WORKING
- Embargoed: 5th April 2020 02:59
- Keywords: COVID-19 Philippines coronavirus education health outbreak teacher
- Location: MANILA, PHILIPPINES
- City: MANILA, PHILIPPINES
- Country: Philippines
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001C64TD8N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:As schools close and offices shut down around the world, tens of thousands of Philippine teachers buckle down in their homes to teach English - conversational, travel and business-level to a growing grade schooler clients and professionals in major economies countries like China and Japan.
At the comfort of her bedroom, Raven Kate De Leon spends up to 10 hours a day in front of a desktop computer wearing cat headbands and stuff toys teaching English in high-pitched animated voice to displaced students in coronavirus-hit China.
De Leon, an online teacher for 51Talk, beefed up her workload, which involves 25-minute tutorials per session since last month to help boost her earnings and savings. An online tutor for more than a year, De Leon works at home from 8 am to 11 pm, including one-hour breaks per day, all week long.
Online learning platforms like 51Talk have seen demand and users surge since last month, bucking a global downturn brought by the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 274,800 and killed at least 11,389 people worldwide.
Whether or not school and work shutdowns will last longer, online learning institutions are ready to make good business as they tap an underserved market.
(Production: Adrian Portugal, Jerome Morales, Jiraporn Kuhakan) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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