Teaching in Thailand - A Primer

Top 2. Jul 27, 2001 10:52 AM

» carter_smith - Teaching in Thailand - Up to date

Some of the information on the site you have just visited is not up to date. Particularly visa requirements and 'visa Runs' :
If you are considering coming to Thailand to teach English, or if you are already here and browsing the web to find out more about it, do not hesitate to ask me anything you would like to know for brand new UP TO DATE information.

It is very difficult to get genuine first hand information about the situation here and there are many pitfalls which candidates for this employment should be aware of.

Although it is possible to make a very rewarding career here, in terms of both remuneration and job satisfaction, many firms (most of the jobs are offered by placement agencies posing as stand-alone language institutes) lure people into contracts which turn out to be a nightmare. They pray on the naivity of people recruited from abroad without any real knowledge of Thailand or Asian nature, or of the formalities once they arrive here.

True, they do offer remuneration packages which seem to be excellent in comparison with local Thai salaries, but the small print......

There are some honest franchise branches of language institutes, but DO be particularly aware of those which appear to provide the most serious employment or who have a very smart corporate image.

The standard promise of a 25 hour week at a monthly salary of about 30,000 Baht (work it out in your own currency then multiply by five to see how far it goes here - it makes you quite rich) often turns out to be a nightmare of jumping on and off busses and spending anything up to an additional 40 (forty) hours per week travelling to and from the places of work, or wasting hours waiting around between lessons.

Forget the promises of teaching corporate students in luxury air conditioned classrooms in a modern skyscraper in the city centre. All too often it turns out to be surviving through up to six hours non-stop teaching to classes of 60 ill-disciplined adolescents in a sweltering concrete bunker of a high school either in an inner-city slum, or lost out in the country a two-hour bus ride from town and a 7 - day week.

I do not intend to publish a black-list over the Web, but if you would like some REAL information about the agencies, the schools, the universities, the visa and work-permit requirements, climate and living conditions, please do not hesitate to contact me direct. I will even tell you some of the GOOD things about it.

The information is of course free and I can answer your questions in perfect English, French, and German.

After having gone through the 'mill' I am now a lecturer for languages and communication in one of the country's most prestigeous universities - I found that I liked the country intensely and decided to make a "retirement" career here.

So wether you are either a professional teacher or a backpacker looking for a job to be able to extend your stay in Asia, drop me a line.

Chris Carter-Smith PhD
Bangkok, July 2001
CS2541@aol.com
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-- posted by carter_smith

Top 3. Nov 25, 2001 1:49 AM

» neal34 - Re: Teaching in Thailand - Up to date

In response to message posted by carter_smith:

Hello carter_smith,

I am from Australia, thinking (planning) to teach English in Thailand. I have no professional teaching experience, but I do have a degree in computer science/electronics (I'm currently employed as a computer programmer) and have enjoyed informally teaching people how to use their computers. I don’t have a TESOL or RSA etc. certificate.

I have some questions. I hope you can help me with answers.

Thanks in advance,
Neal

1.
Do you think there is any likelihood of me being able to get an English teaching job in Bangkok with no professional teaching experience – and be able to live off my resultant Thai salary? (I’m not looking for a particularly affluent lifestyle or anything)

2.
I thought maybe if aim for a job teaching young learners (3-6 or whatever), then there would be less requirement of me to create the structured, professional lesson plans that an experienced teacher might make for older students. I could instead focus on learning through games, music and fun activities (I play guitar and sing). What do you think about this? or am I way off? I’m just a bit unclear on what I will be expected to deliver.

3.
I'm trying to get a job lined up from here (Australia) before I go. Do you think that's a good idea, or should I go first, and then look for the job? (The only problem there is that I'm worried that I won't find a job very quickly and will run out of money whilst I'm not earning anything)

-- posted by neal34

Top 4. Feb 11, 2002 3:30 AM

» hullsa - Re: Teaching in Thailand - Up to date

dear chris
i am a high school teacher qualified to teach art and geography and social science. my partner is also a teacher and has taught at university level. my partner and i (and 2 children) are interested in teaching in thailand in 2002. at present we are just doing the leg work to find out some information we need to make some decisions about where and when we should go. the following are some questions we would like answered as we know very little about where to begin.
- when does the school year begin over there?
- what is a reasonable salary?
- what are the chances of finding work?
- what is schooling like for ex-pat's kids?

Thanks for your time
sam

-- posted by hullsa