DadaABC Review and Pay [Honest 2021 Update]

Read the updated review, salary and requirements for DadaABC. Everything you need to know in 2020.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my disclaimer.

Overview:

Dada (formerly known as DadaABC) in an online teaching company founded in 2013. It connects Chinese students aged 4-16 years with English speakers around the globe. Dada is one of the leading online English platforms in China, offering one-on-one tuition to students.

Sign up to Dada and contact us at hello@tprteaching.com; if you have any concerns with your application, we would be glad to assist you.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree and TEFL/TESOL/CELTA/TESL Certificate
• Neutral English accent
• Native and non-native English speakers
• Laptop, webcam and headset with microphone
• Stable internet connection (2 Mbps upload and 10 Mbs download speed)
• Supporting documents of non-criminal check

Dada requires teachers to have a Bachelor’s degree in any subject.

You are also required to hold a teaching certificate. Please check the review of The TEFL Academy if you are looking for a teaching certificate, or learn about the basics of the various teaching certificates here to help you get started.

As an online teacher to young children, you are expected to show that you have some props at the interview stage. Props help keep the students engaged and learning.

You can print out pictures from the internet or purchase a few of the basics. Check out our recommended props for kids. If you really want, skip the props and download manycam, as webcam software application that is helpful to online teachers.

Salary – How Much does Dada Pay?

• 15.00 USD base pay rate
• Cancellation subsidy: if students cancel without giving 24 hours notice, receive 30% to 50% of base pay for that class
• Step-by-step bonus system: additional hourly bonus.
• The more hours you work per month, the more you get paid.

Current Bonus System

• +$1 bonus per hour (the first 20 hours of lessons in the month)
• +$3 bonus per hour (for the next 20-40 hours of lessons)
• +$4 bonus per hour (40-60 hours of lesson time)
• +$6 bonus per hour (+60 hours of lesson time)

Other Pay Bonuses

• +$7 trial class conversion: if a student signs up, you receive a bonus
• Stability Factor: number of regular students. A higher stability factor will give you extra income

Reviews – What do Teachers Think of Dada?

Below are some of the common opinions and concerns expressed by teachers at DadaABC.

Pros of Dada

People enjoy the work from home lifestyle and regular students. They also like having one-on-one classes with regular students. Timing is also not an issue. They do not have to rush through the material but teach at the students’ own pace.

Students become confident English speakers under their guidance and they could have the same students for a long time. This allows teachers to build a relationship with their students.

Dada also offers 25-minute classes with a break in between each class, which helps improve the quality of the learning experience for both teachers and students.

Cons of Dada

The negative reviews often refer to DadaABC penalties. You will also receive penalties if you are more than 2 minutes late for class or miss a class. This can be very demoralizing for teachers and cause them to leave poor reviews.

However, if teachers have a good attendance record, they should be able to get penalties removed if they send an email with an explanation of what happened and photo/video evidence if possible.

The courseware is also considered poor quality in places. However, you don’t have to work strictly on the courseware. teachers have the freedom to create games and you can take as long as the student needs to complete it.

Please see a further detailed review by clicking here.

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Sign up to Dada and contact us at hello@tprteaching.com; if you have any concerns with your application, we would be glad to assist you.

Application Process:

The application process can be a quick process, depending on how long it takes you to complete the following steps:

1. Submit job application
2. Screening of Application
3. 30-minute Interview
4. Submit documentation and background checks
5. Sign Contract

1. Submit Job Application

Sign up on the Dada teachers website. You must enter your email address and a confirmation email will be send to your inbox.

2. Fill in Your Personal Details

Fill in your personal information. You will need to provide the following details:

• Basic information, such as your name and nationality
• Educational background
• Teaching experience and teaching certificate
• Resume
• Self-introduction video
• Expected hours per month
• Your monthly financial targets
• When can you begin teaching

3. Mock Class Evaluation:

If you pass the basic information stage, you will have time to prepare and attend for an interview with a trainer. You are given the demo materials ahead of time to help you prepare.

Set up your teacher classroom. Ideally, you should have your name in the background and the Dada logo. You should also wear a blue shirt.

Most likely you will have to prepare for a lesson such as “On The Farm,” teaching the target animal vocabulary an the sentence structure “It is a…”

The interview takes 30-minutes and will include a mock class. The trainer pretends to be a student. You have to teach the trainer the material in a short lesson.

They will Evaluate:

• Warm-up and Context
• Appropriate language use
• Student engagement
• Eliciting/Checking students understanding
• Challenging the learner
• Error correction and feedback
• Class management and timing

For further information on the application process, click here.

Please Note!

TPR (Total Physical Response) is body language applied to online ESL classes. The teacher uses TPR to explain English concepts or instruct the ESL learner. It is necessary to incorporate TPR to help young learners understand the lesson.

4. Submit Your Documentation

You can submit documents, such as:

• Teaching Certificate
• Criminal Background Check
• Bachelor’s Degree Certificate

Fill some information on your profile and download the Dada app.

5. Sign Contract

Congratulations! You are ready to teach! Add your availability and begin to receive students.

Teaching Students: Tips

The children are a true joy to teach — as you spend more time with them you will be able to learn more about their personalities and how to keep them engaged.

Don’t be afraid to mix up the lessons with some jokes, songs or games. While Chinese parents want their children to have a quality learning experience, you can still include some other activities to help them learn, outside of the teaching material.

For example, you could read the dialogue in a funny voice or draw a picture and the students have to guess what you are drawing. For further ideas, read this list of games and activities you can incorporate into the classroom, completely for free.

Lessons:

• One-on-one student tuition.
• Lesson material provided.
• Regular students, 25-minute classes.
• Trial classes, 15-25 minute classes.

The best thing about Dada is that you receive regular students. In a new initiative, they are now requiring each student to complete at least 24 classes with you per 12-week semester.

If the students cancel a class, they will have to rearrange at a new time slot within the same semester. This allows for more predictability in scheduling as teachers can see their schedule for the upcoming months.

Schedule:

• You can set your schedule on the Dada Teacher app
• Schedule is fixed for 60 days because you have regular students
• You can also add extra time-slots and cancel them each week

The 60-day teaching schedule may be set to change if Dada begins to work by the 12-week semester system. There are formal time slots wtih regular students which are fixed and will require you to request time off.

You can also add extra timeslots each week which can be scheduled and canceled weekly. These are paid at the same rate and are usually filled with trial students.

Peak Hours: (BJT)

• Every day- 5:30pm-9:00pm (UTC+8)
• Saturday and Sunday hours- 9am-12:00pm, 2pm-5pm, 6pm-9pm (UTC +8)
• You can check the hours for your timezone by clicking here

The students are based in China, so you will be referring to Beijing Time (BJT) in your schedule. The peaking booking hours are therefore evenings and weekends.

Leave

• You can take 2 days off each month, the equivalent of 8 hours of leave
• Apply for the short-term leaves 24-hour in advance
• Apply for the long-term leaves 15 days in advance
• Sick days require proof, like a doctor note

Teachers are allowed to take time off each month but should be quite selective with their time slots to ensure that they don’t have to cancel too many classes.

Cancelling classes with regular students is discouraged by Dada which is why teachers are only allowed to take off 2 days per month. If teachers need to take off more time, penalties will incur.

Payments

• You will be paid on the 15th of every month in USD
• Receive payments via bank transfer or an online money transfer account

Teachers are paid once per month in USD. If you do not use USD, I highly recommend setting up a Transferwise account, which is an online multi-currency account, providing you with the best rates and the most transparent fees.

Alternatively, you can set up a Payoneer account but the fees are higher for online teachers. If you want to learn more about exchange rates and receiving money from abroad read our article about the differences between a Payoneer and Transferwise account.

Taxes

Teachers are responsible for their own taxes as independent contractors.

Recommendation:

Yes and no.

While I recommended Dada when I first wrote this blog post, Dada’s conditions have deteriorated, and there was a pay cut. Coupled with poor customer service, working at Dada is not the same as it once was.

Dada seem to be trying to make amendments by getting students to complete a set number of hours with their regular teachers so teachers can receive more predictable hours.

When you apply today, we will put you in contact with a Dada Teacher Representative. They will help you with the onboarding process. We also have a set of downloadable classroom props to use when teaching English online.

If you have any further questions about Dada, please contact us or use the comments section below. We have direct communication with company.

Useful Links:

• How much can I earn with Qkids?
• How much can I earn with Palfish?
• How much can I earn with SayABC?
• How much can I earn with Magic Ears?
• How much can I earn with Gogokid?

Caitriona Maria

Education writer at TPR Teaching | https://www.tprteaching.com

Caitriona Maria is an education writer and founder of TPR Teaching, crafting inspiring pieces that promote the importance of developing new skills. For 7 years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.