Abstract This study examined online teaching through in-depth interviews with adult learners engaged in online courses in order to provide practical and detailed suggestions on effective teaching methods based on the learners’ experiences. The study categorized the findings into five domains of quality teaching, which include the provision of horizontal relationship, flexible and dynamic administration, authentic approach, presence and social support. It also found many commonalities among the principles of teaching adults and online teaching, regarding relational, authenticity-based and learner-centered aspects. Based on these commonalities and the expectations from the adults as being adult, suggestions are made concerning how to administer adult online courses with the necessary flexibility and affective interaction and how to make best use of multimedia for building a learning community.