It is quite tricky to identify what a qualified instructor in language teaching is, however. There are teachers who have strings of teaching experience and a TEFL certificate, yet fail the expectations of the dumbest person around. For technicality's sake, however, let me point out the qualifications usually "required" by language schools in Thailand.
a. Bachelor's Degree : A bachelor's degree in any field is the most basic qualification of a teacher as stipulated by the Ministry of Education in Thailand. However, some teachers are still employed by language schools even though they do not have a degree (Some go to the extent of forging documents which used to be easily available in the streets of Kaosarn road, but which has been recently raided/shut down by Thai authorities).
b. Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate : To get a TEFL certificate requires no more than a month of classes. You go through no less than one month of practice teaching while learning theories of teaching English and basic grammar rules (You have no idea how stuck-up Thais are with grammar). It can be stressful and rather intimidating to many but it is all worth it. If you want to make your life as hassle-free as possible, you definitely would want to have the tools needed before going into the battlefield.
c. Teaching Experience - As much as a bachelor's degree would suffice, experience is highly valued by many schools. The Thais are fairly fun to teach but they also have very high expectations from their teachers who are highly revered. It is certainly to your advantage if you have got experience.
d. Capacity to have fun: A teacher is undoubtedly not an entertainer, but if you're stiff as a dead tree, you might just have a difficult time dealing with your Thai students. Many Thais operate on the whole concept of "Sanook" meaning fun. Anything serious is boring and is bound to cause headache. You don't have to be a clown. A little joke can make all the difference (make sure they understand it though, Thai and Western humor have a clearly distinct gap).
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