To provide professional and business advice for pre-service and in-service English teachers aspiring to become Online English Teacherpreneurs (OET) and promote sustainable innovation in the English Language Teaching (ELT) industry, this study seeks to investigate the professional identity of Online English Teacherpreneurs residing in different continents. Drawing on theoretical understandings of the relationship between teacher and entrepreneurial identity, a qualitative study using in-depth interview methodology was undertaken among OET from five continents (Africa, Europe, South America, Asia, and North America). The results showed that their professional roles as OET in EFL contexts cut across both instructional (English language teaching, coaching, and mentoring) and non-instructional roles (instructional development, English translation, and interpretation). Inaddition, the component of professional contexts helps determine different types of OET practitioners, their choice of professional tool, and roles. Other significant findings include identifying precarious employment and teacher burnout as motivational factors causing many teachers to engage in this private practice. The implications of these findings for the educational policymakers and future research directions were also presented.

为了向有志成为在线英语教师企业家(OET)的职前和在职英语教师提供专业和商业建议，并促进英语语言教学(ELT)行业的可持续创新，本研究旨在调查在线英语的专业身份居住在不同大陆的教师企业家。借鉴对教师与企业家身份之间关系的理论理解，在五大洲（非洲、欧洲、南美、亚洲和北美）的OET中进行了一项使用深度访谈方法的定性研究。结果表明，他们在英语环境中作为OET的专业角色跨越了教学（英语语言教学、辅导和指导）和非教学角色（教学发展、英语翻译和口译）。此外，专业背景的组成部分有助于确定不同类型的OET从业者、他们选择的专业工具和角色。其他重要发现包括将不稳定的就业和教师倦怠确定为导致许多教师从事这种私人执业的动机因素。 还介绍了这些发现对教育政策制定者和未来研究方向的影响。