Stickman's Guide to Bangkok

Teaching English in Bangkok

All of the material on this page, including the text and the photos, is original.
It is all copyright (c) 2010.

---

This section last updated:  December 2009 - minor updates and added a few photos.

Foreword

This guide to teaching English in Bangkok has been put together to provide an overview of the English teaching industry in Thailand, particularly Bangkok, for those looking at working here.  Not only is the objective to provide information to prospective teachers about teaching in Thailand, but also to give the industry a bit of a rev up and maybe, just maybe, contribute to an improvement in the ethics and practices of schools, as well as an improvement in the work and contractual conditions that teachers work under.

As with other sections of the site, you will find a lot of no-nonsense, straight talking information and no apologies are made for the forthright tone.  It is hoped that this page will appeal to both people interested in working in Bangkok and those who have already chosen it as their workplace.  I will constantly remind you that many Westerners choose to teach in Thailand because it provides a work permit which in turn gets the holder a visa and means they are able to stay in the country.  Many are not here teaching as a career choice but simply teaching because there is a great demand for teachers and by teaching they have the ability to stay in the country.

The author of this page was employed as a teacher during his time in Bangkok but does not profess to being either an expert teacher or an expert on the industry in Bangkok.  The author has been kindly assisted by many people within the industry, from school owners and managers to teachers.  While every effort is made to ensure the validity of information, the fact that the industry changes rapidly means that things can become out of date very quickly.  If you know of any information that is factually wrong, please let me know so that it can be corrected.

This page contains a lot of information that reflect more than one teachers' experiences in Bangkok and thus there is a real mix of information covering the whole gamut from working in a language school to outside corporate work as well as working in a Thai high school and doing private tuition.

This article used to be split into two quite separate sections.  The first section was FAQ style and it asked and answers many of the questions that you may have about teaching English, specifically about jobs in Bangkok.  The second half of this page used to contain a school list and reviews of those particular places providing information about just what it was like to work there.  Due to the difficulties keeping the second section up to date, it was removed.  This site is neither a brochure nor an advertisement for the English language teaching industry in Bangkok but rather an honest opinion of the industry from a teacher's perspective.

Just a little bit about the main author to give you some sort of an idea of where this is all coming from.  I am a native English speaker and speak the British version of English.  Before teaching English in Thailand, I had been successful in my professional life.  I like to think that I am something of a purist, and am somebody who likes do things properly, but at the same time I also like to have fun and have very much adopted the Thai attitude of sanuk and that "if it isn't fun then it isn't worth doing!"

My experiences teaching in Thailand have been in various capacities, from working initially in a private language school before becoming disillusioned with that sector of the industry.  I then spent some time away from the industry before returning to as a teacher at a high school.  The high school had an international program and I taught in both the regular program and the international program.  In my time at the language school I also designed courses for corporate clients and went on to teach courses on the premises of various high profile companies, something that I enjoyed very much.

While teaching at the high school, I was one of two foreign teachers on the staff who volunteered to teach English outside the school, predominantly to kids from poor backgrounds and who had never had a chance to study with a native English speaker before.  I was disappointed that most of my colleagues refused to get involved and it was only myself and a friend who volunteered.  There are a lot of really selfish people teaching in Bangkok but I digress.  The point is that throughout my time as an English teacher in Thailand worked in many different areas of the industry in Bangkok.  The one type of institute I never taught at was a university.  I did a little private tuition when I first arrived in Bangkok, but frankly, that is not for me.

I spent a year away from the industry and of that year, I spent some time travelling and 7 months studying Thai full-time in a Thai language school.  This meant I was able to experience what it is really like to be on the other side, to be a student of a foreign language, something which helped me as a teacher immensely.  I was able to see just what a prospective teacher went through.

Like so many things in Asia, the English language teaching industry in Bangkok is forever changing, so some of the information on this page could go out of date very quickly.  I will do my best to maintain the site and keep it up to date as best I can.
 

A great choice of discount hotels in Japan: • Fukuoka Hotels • Kobe Hotels • Kyoto Hotels • Nagasaki Hotels • Nagoya Hotels • Osaka Hotels • Sapporo Hotels • Tokyo Hotels • Yokohama Hotels

Teaching English, A Profession

As Thailand becomes more and more popular with foreign tourists, and as the country continues to trade more and more in the international market place, so too has the ability to use English become even more important to Thai people and to Thailand.  In addition to the huge number of Thais working in positions within the tourism industry or other industries that require the use of English, a large number of Thai students are choosing to study internationally, predominantly in the USA and the UK, and to a lesser extent in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

With this continually increasing demand to learn English with native English speakers, English teaching has become the most popular choice of job for Westerners who want to stay in Thailand and there are many TEFL jobs.  And even for those people who choose Thailand as their new home, English teaching allows them a chance to get a foot in the door, so to speak.  Becoming a teacher of English is one of the few jobs that most Westerners can do and actually carry out legally in Thailand.

The English teaching industry in Thailand used to be dominated by language schools, but I would imagine that now it is regular Thai schools, both junior and secondary schools, where the largest numbers of Western teachers are employed.  Even in some of the farthest flung corners of the country, you find Westerners in the role of native speaking English teacher.

There are many, many language schools in Bangkok and the market is dominated by a few big chains.  In addition to the big chains, there are also many smaller private language schools.  Other places of work include international schools - that is schools which use the curriculum of a foreign country, usually England or America, universities and even some agencies which send foreign teachers into schools, and Thai companies.

In the past this site used to be most concerned with the private language schools as that is where my experiences were initially.  But as the industry has changed, and grown, there is now more and more here about what it is like to teach in a Thai school, that is a regular school like a high school.

The English language industry is in Thailand has developed a lot over the last two decades and while it hasn't reached saturation, it is probably almost as developed now as other countries in the region like Japan or Korea though it is growing fast.

In the past, folks new to Bangkok would head to the bigger language schools like AUA, ECC and Siam Computer And Language.  Big language schools had much greater staffing requirements but tended to pay a little less than some of the other schools.  They would usually hire just about anyone, whether they were qualified teachers or not, experienced or inexperienced.  This has changed somewhat.

The better schools, of which there are an increasing number, now require qualified teachers - with experience, often stipulated as experience specifically in Thailand, sometimes being a requirement.

There used to be a lot of people teaching in Bangkok who had no teaching background or any formal teacher training whatsoever.  Many think that because they can speak the language, they can teach it.  Some will go on to become good teachers but many won't.  It is important to understand that the ability to teach is far more important than the ability to simply speak the language well!

A lot of people come to Bangkok for the purpose of living here and enjoying the wonderful lifestyle.  It is a fact that in excess of 80% of native speaking English teachers in Bangkok are male.  Ironically, there are a lot more female students than males.

Most Westerners moving to Bangkok do so for the lifestyle.  It sure is a vibrant city with something for most people.  Teaching may just be a job to finance leisure activities - and nothing more and for some, they don't take it seriously at all.  If this is you, try and spare a thought for the students.  Many of them come to a language institute to learn English not only to be able to communicate more effectively with foreigners but very often to improve their vocational prospects.  Some want to improve their English before they go overseas to further their study.  You owe it to your students to do the best that you can - for their sake.  For a Thai language student, learning English is invariably expensive when studying with a native speaker.  The average Thai earns less than 10,000 baht a month and many save for a long time to study at a school with a native English speaker.  It is irresponsible to let such people down.  When teaching, don't think that because you are not receiving any complaints you are doing a good job.  Thais will seldom say anything negative about their teacher - quite simply, the culture doesn't condone criticism - especially of a teacher!  Teachers automatically get respect by right of the position - a teacher is almost revered in Thai society.  Please don't abuse this.

Thais are a playful bunch which makes them a lot of fun to teach but the flip side is that they can become bored very easily.  Lessons should include a lot of language based activities and if at all possible, some games.  Grammar based lessons, although necessary, can really put students to sleep.  Try and keep things snappy and moving along at a brisk pace to keep them interested.  Thais are also a very consensual bunch and if you give students a test, they will all be keen to see what each other got and that the grades are much the same.  They don't like anyone to fail!

The English language teaching industry is still developing and not nearly as mature as the industries in European countries.  Sadly, many schools, even some of the better ones, show little loyalty to their staff and this is reciprocated by the teachers' attitudes and loyalty, or lack of it, to the schools.  Schools tend to manipulate teachers and railroad them to suit the school's needs by giving teachers horrible schedules where they might have to teach a few hours in the morning and a few at night, with many hours free in the middle of the day.  Even at some of the more professional schools, this seems to be the case.  This all contributes towards significant staff turnover within the industry in Bangkok.  Contracts are frequently broken and there seems to be little recourse for either party, though this is changing a little these days.  There has been the odd case of employees taking their employer to court over alleged breaches of contract and winning!

Some schools have been known to shit on teachers.  I know a teacher with many years experience who once applied for a job at the best school in Siam Square.  She was told that she would be teaching high level adult learners at a pre-negotiated time of the day that was suitable for her.  A few days before she was due to start, she popped in to confirm her schedule.  She had been given hours at all times of the day with big gaps between classes which were predominantly lower level classes.  She told them where to stick their job.  They quickly changed the schedule to what it should have originally been but she had had enough and told them what to do with their job.  Stories like this abound at language schools in Bangkok.  Problems like this are common because many foreigners are desperate for work and will put up with conditions far worse than they would be prepared to accept in their own country.  There was a time when I was very, very cynical about the whole English language school industry in Bangkok but things are changing for the better.  At last!  I used to say to people who were serious about teaching, to go somewhere else.  There used to be just so much shit in the industry in this city that it made it difficult to do a good job.  However, as the industry has grown and grown and the demand for both more teachers and better teachers has increased, so too have the terms and conditions of contracts, and the general working conditions.  In the old days it seemed that if you absolutely wanted to be in Bangkok, then English teaching was the only real option.  Again, this is changing as there are many, many more jobs available to Westerners these days.  Though if you are considering working in Thailand - especially if you are applying for a job locally, remember, Thais will work for a hell of a lot less than us, speak their language fluently and are quite possibly better qualified.  And since the economic downturn post '97, Thai students are following the world-wide trend of spending more time in education.

The workplace culture in Thailand is quite different from that which us Westerners are used to.  A typical Thai worker will work all of the hours that God sends and will do everything possible to honour their boss.  If asked to stay late and work, a Thai more often than not will do so.  If asked to cover for someone on their own day off, the Thai likely will.  The better Thai managers realise that Thais and foreigners are very different and will not make certain requests or place unreasonable demands on their foreign teachers.  Sadly not all managers are like this.  Many Thai managers struggle with the way they manage their foreign contingent.  One should also be cautious of foreigners who have been in Thailand for many years and who have adopted some of the Thai management style practices.  It seems that many start to become "semi-Thai" and will unwittingly adopt some of these Thai practices.  As a teacher in Bangkok, especially if you are qualified, you are in demand.  Do not be afraid to say NO if unreasonable demands are placed on you.  Do not lose track of your vocational and workplace values.  Never let go of your convictions!

There are many things that you need to consider before taking on a job in Bangkok.  The rest of this lengthy page is in FAQ format, with commonly asked questions, and answers, which I hope will help you to better understand what it is like to be a teacher in Thailand.
 

What are the different types of schools where English teachers work and how are each of the different types of English teaching jobs different?

Private Language Institutes

I started off in a private language school and my first few years in Thailand were spent in that environment.  This was ideal as I had studied the RSA / CELTA course which prepared teacher trainees SPECIFICALLY for the language school environment.

This sector of the whole English teaching industry used to be the biggest in terms of the number of teachers employed but it would now be a distant second to regular Thai schools, by which I mean primary schools and high schools.  While there would be perhaps a few hundred private language institutes (and their branches) nationwide where native English speaking teachers are employed, there must be thousands of schools which employ foreign teachers.  Private language institutes can be found all over the country although obviously the highest concentration is found in Bangkok. 

There must be a couple of hundred language schools and their branches in the capital alone.  There are big chains like ECC, AUA, Inlingua and Siam Computer which have many branches both throughout Bangkok and around the country and there are a number of smaller schools which may have just a single branch.  Many come and go so if you are applying for work at a private institute ask them how long they have been in business!

Language schools offer various courses, from general English to test preparation courses like IELTS and TOEFL.  There might also be academic English courses offered and some other niche market courses like English for a specific purpose.

Language institutes are open throughout the year.  They will usually be closed for a few days over the Songkran holiday period (April 12 – 14) and they may close for a few days at Chinese New Year (February) and in the cases of smaller, single branch schools with Western owners, perhaps at Christmas and New Year too.  The rest of the year they tend to be open 7 days a week.

And for many, that is the big negative about working in a private language school.  As the school is open 7 days a week, teachers are required work weekends.  In fact weekends are usually the busiest period so most teachers will be required to work both Saturday and Sunday.

The hours of work at language institutes don’t necessarily facilitate a good social life, at least of the people you are socialising work a regular Monday to Friday, or as is often the case in Thailand, a Monday to Saturday week.  Language schools tend to run classes in the afternoons and evenings on weekdays, and all days at the weekend.  This means that you are teaching when most people have finished work.  Some language schools may also run courses in the morning on weekdays but such courses are less popular.  (During the school holiday periods of mid-March to mid-May as well as October, language institutes may run courses targeting school-aged kids.)

Contracts at language schools usually specify a maximum number of around 25 contact hours per week.  This is not always the maximum however and you may be encouraged to teach more hours – which are paid at higher, or overtime, rate.  Generally speaking you won’t be asked to teach more than 25 hours per week although for a very long time (and they still may have this) Siam Computer and Language used to specify a maximum of 36 contact hours per week which is way, way too much.

Contracts at the better language schools require teachers to work five days per week.  If they request a 6 day week, I would suggest they are not one of the better schools.  With the demand for teachers in Thailand being great, I simply would not accept a position where you are asked to teach 6 days per week.  It is too much.  Teaching can be quite draining and you “give a lot”.  Arriving home after a day in the classroom you can feel quite drained and as such, six days is just too much.  Don’t accept it.

Language schools typically offer a couple of weeks paid holiday a year on top of the holiday periods already mentioned.  This is paid holiday.  If you want to teach in Thailand for a year or two and have maximum time off to do some travelling and see the country and the region, then you’re probably better off in a Thai elementary or high school where there is much more time off provided although with that said, in those schools you are often required to do camp and extra work during the holiday periods.

In a language school your duties are fairly simple.  You have to prepare lessons and teach them.  That is usually about it.  There might be some extra duties such as interviewing prospective students and placing them in the various courses.  In some of the test preparation courses there might be some testing involved, doing a pre-course test and a post-course test to see what sort of improvement the students have made.  But generally speaking, your duties are fairly simple.  25 hours contact per week in a language school is doable, because when you’re not teaching there is no real pressure on you.

Unfortunately at some language schools the scheduling of classes results in teachers getting split shifts whereby you have a class in the morning or early afternoon and another class in the evening.  This is a real a pain and the person doing the scheduling should really do everything possible to eliminate this most undesirable situation.  A split shift makes for a long day!

The course fees charged by language schools are well beyond the means of many Thais.  Course costs vary greatly but generally run anywhere from 2,000 to 7,000 baht for a 30 hour course.

Students studying at private language schools can be grouped into several different categories, but perhaps the three most common categories would be:

1.  School students whose parents are sending them along for extra tuition to try and give them a head start on the rest, or perhaps to catch up if they have fallen behind, or are doing poorly at school.  As they are attending school during the day they tend to study at language schools at the weekend, Saturday morning classes being particularly common.  Some may be interested in studying, but many aren’t and essentially they are only there because there parents have told them to go!  Sometimes I feel that parents send their kids to language institutes as a sort of baby sitting service!

2.  Young adults / university students.  This group may be studying for the purpose of improving their English to help their chances of getting a job or a promotion.  A number are also cramming to prepare themselves for study in another country or in a small number of cases, may simply be studying English and biding time because they do not really know what they want to do with their life.

3.  Employed adults.  Already in employment, they may be studying so as to improve their language skills, to improve their chances of promotion or simply because they are interested in English.  A lot of folks in this group study in the evenings and many study Business English courses - which are sometimes paid for by their employer.  I used to really enjoy teaching this bunch, probably because they were often of a similar age and it was easy to relate to them.

Generally speaking, a decent private language school seeks to employ prospective teachers with a specific language teaching qualification like the CELTA or equivalent and most schools seek out candidates who have a degree because that is what the Ministry of Education requires before they will issue a teacher's licence.  There are some schools that will also take you on if you have sufficient experience without one of the aforementioned qualifications - they'll often ask for 2+ years teaching experience.  Beware of language schools which are happy to employ someone with no qualifications and no experience!  These tend to be unprofessional operations.

Classes in private language institutes usually last two, two and a half or even three hours.  There is usually a short break in the middle.  Teaching such long classes can be difficult as Thais like to have fun and generally don’t have a very long attention span.  I look back on my time in language schools when I used to dread three-hour long classes on a Saturday and cringe.  It really is a hell of a long time to keep a group of students interested, especially if you have a heavy or difficult grammar point to cover.  I later found that short classes are much easier with Thai students.  Weekend classes at many language schools can be three hours long and teachers working at language schools usually find they have a heavy schedule at the weekend.  In a worst-case scenario, a teacher may get 2 x three-hour classes on each of Saturday and Sunday – which could make for a very long and tiring weekend.

I used to teach 2 x three-hour classes on a Saturday and I personally found challenging.  It was especially difficult if I had a bunch of kids!  (And if you had been out for a few drinks the previous evening then it could quickly become six hours of hell.)  Weekday classes tend to be around the two hour mark which is far easier to manage, although obviously this all varies from class to class, school to school.

Private language schools usually have small classes with less than 16 students in a class and more often than not, less than 10.  I gather that AUA, a large chain of language schools nationwide, opens some classes with 20 students in a class which I personally believe is too many.  The students all want a chance to practice their English speaking with the teacher (they seldom want to speak with one another in English) and as such in larger classes they have less chance to speak and will ultimately get frustrated.

Thais are not known for their punctuality and students studying at private language schools are notorious for arriving late - operating on what is referred to locally as "Thai time".  At the time the class is supposed to commence you may only have a handful of students present, the rest drifting in within the next half hour or so.  This is horribly disruptive to a class.  Students may often cite the reason for them being late as bad traffic or bad weather.  How you manage this issue is up to you.  You cannot tell the students off for it is a language school and they are the paying customers – and besides, Thais HATE being told off or dressed down by foreigners – it causes them to lose face and this is something they struggle with.  It’s not an easy situation to manage and frankly, it doesn’t reflect positively on the culture. 

While private language schools have a schedule of courses that they offer, students may prefer to study "privately", that is one on one, just them and the teacher.  This provides the student with a chance for personalised attention and the teacher can concentrate on their specific learning needs.  One on one teaching can be quite demanding and there are many teachers who don't particularly like it – and / or aren’t particularly good at it.  To be effective as a one on one teacher you have to be able to identify the student’s specific weaknesses or needs and concentrate on them.  One on one study is expensive and the student will be conscious of whether they are getting fair value for money or nor.  Remember, they may be paying anywhere from 600 - 1,500 an hour to study with you so they will have very definite expectations!  I personally prefer teaching classes with a number of students as opposed to one on one teaching which I just don’t find invigorating.  It takes longer to prepare lessons for one on one teaching and to me it always felt that the lesson went more slowly.

The quality of premises and facilities in private language schools and therefore the work environment, tends to be pleasant.  Thais are awfully image conscious and often choose a language school based on the quality of the facilities!  Language schools almost always have air-conditioned classrooms and are generally a very pleasant environment to work and teach in.  There will be white boards with marker pens instead of the horrible blackboards that are still found in many Thai schools.

Remember that at the end of the day these private language schools are businesses.  They exist not only to educate but also to make money!  With this in mind, decisions are made from time to time that really make you wonder and often they are made with the viewpoint of what is best for the business, not what is best for the students, the teachers or in the best interests of quality education.  You have got to just get on with it because as much as you may disagree with what is happening or appeal for something to be changed, seldom will it be.

In the ‘good old days’, going back to the ‘90s, the better language schools tended to have real teachers – RSA qualified teachers meaning that there would be experienced teachers for new teachers to learn from.  Teaching, more so than any other profession, is one where it really is important to work with, and learn from, those more experienced than you.  Don't be shy to hunt out the qualified teachers and ask them for assistance and ideas.  I was very lucky in the first language school I worked at as there were a bunch of qualified, experienced and perhaps most important, helpful teachers for me to learn from.

It is my experience that private language schools tend to have the best resources of all the different types of schools and any decent school should have a range of different course books, lots of resource books and materials as well as easy access to the photocopier!

In some of the bigger chains of language schools there will be an administrator whose specific role it is to handle work permit and visa applications.  Generally the language schools handle this side of things better than Thai high schools.  As language schools have foreign teachers by nature, work permit and visa issues should not be something new to them.  However, the other side of this is that some language schools really do not care if their staff have work permits or not!  From time to time the immigration Department of the Ministry of Labour raid language institutes to check whether the teachers are working legally.  If there is a raid, the management and owners of the school will almost certainly get off Scot-free, whereas the foreign teachers without work permits may face issues.  But don't let this scare you.  The authorities only usually raid on a tip off and that is not very often at all.  And at the end of the day, the Thais are generally quite forgiving and they usually issue a small fine and simply insist that the illegals get legal immediately.

Things have changed a little though and it seems working without a work permit is a bit more serious now than it used to be.  In early 2007 there was a heavy handed crackdown by Immigration authorities on some language schools and I would urge all teachers to make sure you have a work permit.  You could get in big trouble if you are not legal.  Some people were sent to prison for working without a work permit!

One of the great things about working in a language school is that you are primarily a language instructor – you do not have the duties you may have a high school such as patrolling the school grounds, attending all sorts of silly meetings and ceremonies, parent / teacher meetings and so on.  At a language institute you simply go to work, prepare your lessons, teach, and then go home.  That is pretty much it.  Neither do language school teachers have the same paperwork requirements and various other (often silly) duties that teachers in other types of schools have.  Another major advantage is that if you don’t have a class you can often slip away, go shopping, take a long lunch break, read the newspaper and relax in a café or whatever.  You don’t have to be around to look after kids as you might be required to in a high school.

I used to think that I would always prefer to work in a language school as opposed to a high school...but that changed.  Like many teachers, the generous holidays offered in a high school – more than anything else – eventually won me over.  The anti-social hours that you often end up working in a language school meant that while I found myself working in a professional environment, I did not have the time to enjoy myself so much away from work.  I can’t help but feel that generally speaking, teachers at these language schools are overworked and underpaid.  And remember, people usually choose to work in Thailand just for a year or two and they want to enjoy themselves!

So what sort of money is offered to the teachers in language schools these days? In the late ‘90s, anything above 25,000 baht a month was considered quite good, over 30,000 baht was considered very good.  You know what? Salaries have not changed greatly.  In the last decade, many schools have barely adjusted the salaries they offer, yet the cost of living in Bangkok has soared.

Even today, in 2009, Bangkok language institutes have not adjusted their salaries with the times.  Personally, I think 35,000 baht is the MINIMUM you should accept to work in such a position, but I personally would want a fair bit more with Bangkok becoming increasingly expensive.  That said, these are businesses, and good luck getting any more out of them!

Pros:  The opportunity to working with (usually) good, qualified, professional and committed people, usually in nice premises which are often well resourced.  Genuine opportunity for professional development as you often find yourself working with professional teachers.  The better language schools feel more like a small business than a school.

Cons:  Hours can be a real nuisance with split shifts, obligatory weekend work and many of schools request that teachers work six days a week.  A few crap private language schools give the industry a bad name.  Can be quite stressful and tiring and you really do give your pound of flesh.

The Bottom Line:  A good bet if you want to do a professional job in a professional environment but if you are not a real teacher, you may not survive.  These positions tend to be underpaid vis-à-vis the amount of work that you do - especially when compared to positions within Thai high schools.

 

Thai High Schools

Students:  Good morning teacher!
Teacher:  How are you?
Students:  I'm fine thank you, and you?
Teacher:  Fine thank you.  Please sit down.

This silly little conversation is said at the start of just about every English class at every level in government run schools throughout Thailand.  If you are going to teach in a Thai high school, get used to it because you will hear it before every lesson!  You don't even get a chance to say anything else because just as you start to open your mouth, the whole class will all obediently stand up and go through this little routine like robots.  Failure to go along with it will feel the poor students a little lost, and perhaps even confused!

Thai high schools have been the big growth area of the English teaching industry since the late '90s with schools taking on native English speakers so as to expose their students to a native speaker so that they can practice speaking and listening skills with a foreigner as part of an effort to get their English up to a level that they quite possibly wouldn't be able to get to with a native Thai speaking teacher.  It does seem that finally, it has been acknowledged that the Thai school system was proficient at producing students that could read and write English to a reasonable level, but speaking and listening have always been weak.

Thai high schools are very big and many schools have around 5,000+ students.  This in itself is not so bad but when you consider that there is an average of 50, but sometimes as many as 60 students in a classroom at one time, then I start to think of this as more of a comedy show, or even as babysitting, than real teaching.  Really, there is very little that you can do with these numbers in the classroom.  Students at the back of the class will inevitably be chatting away to each other so discipline can become a real problem and with these sorts of numbers, you simply cannot give any one student any real attention.  At some schools that have "special" English classes, you may be blessed to have only 20 - 30 students in a class and then you can actually make some progress and see some genuine development - but this is most certainly not the norm.  And if we are being brutally honest about it, 20 - 30 really is too many for a language class but it is still a lot better than 50 - 60.

The working week is almost always the standard Monday - Friday meaning your weekends are free.  Yippee!  When comparing with private language schools where Saturday is often the busiest day, this is a bit of a bonus and will help your social life no end!  Many of these high schools insist that teachers must be there at 7:30 AM or thereabouts for the obligatory morning assembly and flag raising, a tradition that happens at every school in the country.  This is however offset by the fact that most schools finish relatively early and teachers can usually get away around 4:30 PM, often earlier.  With these relatively early start and finish times, it means that you can often avoid the worst of the traffic - but that is not to say that the traffic is good at any time in Bangkok!

Classes are usually around 45 minutes to an hour in duration but in actual fact, the time spent teaching can be considerably less.  The students coming in to your classroom may have to traipse from one side of the school to the other and Thais are not known for charging around at brisk pace.  With the sheer numbers in the class, there will always be a few stragglers so by the time everyone is there, you may be more than ten minutes into the period.  You need to consider this when planning lessons and it can become a real nuisance at times.

Generally, the classrooms are not nearly as nice as in a private language school and a lot of schools do NOT have air-conditioning in the classroom - something I personally could not deal with at all.  No air-con = no Stickman in the classroom; you'll likely adopt the same policy, especially at the hotter times of year.  Remember what the classrooms were like in your school - well Thailand is a lot poorer than your country so the facilities are not as nice - but most people find the classrooms adequate but often other facilities such as Asian style toilets may be less agreeable.  You may also find that a lot of schools still use blackboards and chalk - aaargh - I hate that too!  The quality of resources varies but generally, what they have tends to range from a little old to downright ancient.  Get used to seeing lots of old, dusty copies of "The Art of Proper English" written by Pompous Fellow back around the turn of the 20th century.  If you are working at the high school on a contract through a regular language school, the main branch of the school should provide you with all of the resources that you need - doesn't mean they will, but they should.  These schools have tight budgets so don't expect to be able to go crazy on the photocopier like you could in a private school.  In fact, if you can get within a few metres of the photocopier, you're doing fairly well!

The nature of schooling in Thailand is that the students are forever tested and graded to the point that seemingly every month or so, there is one test or another.  Now if you are the lazy type, you will love this as it means that you do not have to teach - just sit in the classroom and invigilate while the students do their silly, often pointless test.  BUT, you will more than likely have to mark it and tally up the marks and all of that and this can become terminal boredom.  Further, you may have to make up the test and this can be quite difficult as you have to design the course according with the material that you have covered.  Writing a decent test is NOT an easy task and should be left for a more experienced teacher to do.  With regards to testing, generally speaking there will be about four weeks a year, two mid-terms and two finals.

But remember, you can't fail the little darlings!  This is perhaps my biggest gripe about teaching in Thailand.  Yep, you cannot fail them!  Even if you ask them "how are you" and they look at you like you are a Martian, not understanding what the hell you are on about, you cannot fail them!  Hmmm!  I have tested students and they have scored 0 out of 25 and I have submitted this to the head of the English department as that student's score.  It has been given back to me and I have been told that such a mark is unsatisfactory and it needs to be "graded up".  (No wonder there are so many people that study for a long time but know diddly squat.)
 

One thing that I quite like about teaching in the Thai high schools is that you will often get to teach the same lesson a few times over.  You may have as an example 6 different classes and you see each class twice a week.  This means that you may well be repeating the same lesson six times and while it cuts down on your preparation time which is a nice thing, it also allows for personal development.  By doing the same lesson over and over again, you can find out what works and what doesn't work so after about three times teaching the same lesson, you should have it just about PERFECT!  There is a flip side to this however.  Some schools have a universal lesson plan.  There may be a number of teachers teaching the same material to different groups of students and the school wants to maintain some conformity so that what is being taught is the same across all classes, irrespective of who the teacher is.  In this situation, there may be a head teacher who does lesson plans and hands them out to all of the teachers or alternatively, lesson plans may get done on a rotational basis with one teacher doing them one week for everyone and then someone else doing them the next week etc.  This system really doesn't work too well because we all have different ways of approaching our teaching and what works for you, may not work for me.  In addition to this, some weeks you may have inexperienced teachers doing lesson plans for more experienced colleagues which is hardly ideal.  Sure, prepare the lesson plans as a team and then everyone use the same lesson plan but do NOT get one person to prepare lesson plans and hand them out to all and sundry to follow because it has every chance to fail - and it doesn't help one develop as a teacher in terms of planning - which is a very important, and often under-rates aspect of English teaching.

While some of the high schools will hire foreigners directly, what many schools do is sign contracts with private language schools or agencies which specialise in outsourcing teachers to schools.  This can be a bit of a have as outsourcing in the teaching industry in Thailand is unprofessional with no real value gained by the school who are paying a premium for so called expert management and quality teachers.  This particularly applies to some schools which send out unqualified teachers to schools who falsely believe that they are providing high quality tuition.  These schools get these contracts relatively easily and the schools truly believe that they are going to be getting genuine, qualified and experienced native teaching English teachers.  Some of the people working in such positions have NONE of these attributes!  The language schools are more than aware that the high schools simply are unable to discern who is a good teacher and who is not so as long as a relatively presentable white face shows up, the school believes it is getting a good deal.  It's disgusting really.

As a teacher employed by one of the language schools who outsource, you may never really know quite where you stand as there are often two separate lines of communication - one to your language school who is actually your employer and the other to the Thai school where you are actually on duty, performing your job.  You can get conflicting messages from each of these two parties which can be a bit confusing.  What this means is that you may find out about testing week, the day before, you turn up to class and find that your students are away for the day on a field trip or that that particular day is a half day or something like that.  Yep, the foreign teacher is the last person in the school to know about such things.

Further, there are a few obligations that the foreign teacher is expected to perform or at least be a part of.  In Thai schools, there is a flag raising ceremony at around 7:30 AM and the foreign teachers may be expected to be present for this - though this varies from school to school.  At any ceremonies or special occasions - which may or may not be held during regular school hours, the foreign teachers are expected to be there as their presence adds a certain amount of "face" to the schools reputation.  In some of the best schools, there may be parent / teacher meetings and these can be held on a Saturday morning but don't worry too much about any need to speak Thai as any parents coming to speak to you will be proficient in English.  Actually, if your contract does not specify that you are required to be there, I'd dig my heels in and refuse to go along - unless of course they are prepared to reward you financially.

One of the bonuses of working at Thai high schools is that the food at the cafeteria where the kids eat is also available to the teachers.  Food in the schools is always very cheap and like all Thai food, it's usually pretty good.  At one high school where I worked for a while, you could get a wonderful Penang chicken curry on rice with a fried egg all for the princely sum of 12 baht!  Some of these schools even provide lunch for the foreign teachers for free, and it's usually two or three courses too!  Another perk at these schools is internet usage as most Thai schools are now connected to the internet so you can spend lunch time or other quiet times catching up on your emails.  It pays not to abuse this though as the Thai teachers will also want to access the 'net.

I have found Thai teachers at these high schools to be a most pleasant bunch although their teaching methods are somewhat different from that of which us foreigners use - still, it's not our job to meddle and it really is best just to leave them to their devices and allow them to do as they please.  You will often find that the Thai English teachers will ask you questions about various things in English and some just like the opportunity to practice their English with a native speaker.  If at all possible, try and give them the time of day because they will really appreciate it and if you can help them, indirectly you are helping the students.  Still, don't be surprised if some of the Thai teachers spoken English is very, very poor and in some cases, what they are teaching the students is actually wrong!

Thais spend 12 years at school, or at least that is the potential number that they have to spend there with only the first six years being compulsory.  At present, the system is split into two lots of six years, Pratom 1 - 6 followed by Mattayom 1 - 6.  Really, us foreigners should only be teaching the higher level students, say from M 1 upwards but often foreigners will be teaching the youngsters too.  I think this is wrong because I am of the opinion that it is easier for the Thais to study up to at least an elementary level with a Thai teacher before progressing on to the foreign teacher.  You even get some foreign teachers teaching at kindergarten level - I'm not really too sure what anyone is trying to achieve here other than provide an expensive babysitting service.  On top of this, some of the younger ones can go crazy in the class and be a bit of a handful to manage.

In the classroom, there is a huge difference between boys and girls and the way that they study, behave and interact.  The girls are largely well behaved, will generally respond to you if asked a question and are generally quite keen to learn, especially English.  Further, the girls tend to sit towards the front of the class.  The boys on the other hand are the complete opposite!  Boys tend to chat away to themselves, may not respond when asked a question and quite often are not that interested in studying, especially English.  How this relates to other subjects in Thai schools, I really do not know.

Along with the worst private language schools, some of the Thai high schools have some really awful foreign teachers.  Frankly, the poor Thai staff simply don't seem to know if someone is a good teacher or otherwise...and there are obviously a lot of Westerners teaching in Thai high schools that must have lied on their CV to get in the door.  The work at Thai high schools is relatively stress free, but (in my opinion) not particularly rewarding either.  You battle bureaucracy and ancient methods but this is offset by some of the marvellous kids who you will warm to and hopefully will do your very best for.  From a personal point of view, I get so frustrated at not being able to give the kids the quality of tuition that they deserve, due to the number of students in the classroom at once - and I really wonder if there is a lot of benefit in teaching kids at this level...

The Thai high schools that do go to the trouble and expense of taking on foreign teachers tend to be the better schools and with this in mind, there is actually be a bit of prestige associated with being employed at such a school.  The less prestigious schools do not always have the budget to employ foreign teachers.  What makes me laugh though is that the teachers at these schools are not the cream of the crop as many of the Thais seem to believe, and this is of course due to the low salaries paid in Thailand, and the fact that a good number of the foreign teachers in Thailand are here for lifestyle reasons.  Teaching is very much second on their list.  Harsh, but true.

The best types of high schools are the Triam Udom and the demonstration schools (know as "Satit" in Thai) which are attached to universities.  Triam Udom schools are the best government high schools and are presided over by the Ministry of Education.  There are about 15 demonstration schools nationwide and they are connected to universities and called Demonstration schools in English.  While they follow the national curriculum, they have a little bit more flexibility.  There is prestige associated with working at one of these two types of schools, especially from Thais - most foreigners wouldn't have a clue about the different types of schools.
 

Students get entry to the Triam Udom schools by way of scoring well in an entrance exam.  The same applies at the demonstration schools but if a prospective student comes from a wealthy or influential family, that could also help with entry into a demonstration school.  Students in the demonstration schools are graded in the first three years (from Mattayom 1 - 3) but in the final three years (from Mattayom 4 -6), the students are not graded and you'll find some of the better students in the demonstration schools will then try and transfer to a Triam Udom school, where there is a feeling that at Mattayom levels 4 - 6, the standard of tuition is higher.

One of the big pluses about working with kids at high school age (or younger) is that they are young enough that as a teacher, you feel as though you can still make a difference and that a year of really well prepared and delivered lessons could really help the kids and push their English ability to a new level.  Too often at language schools when the students are in their 20s, one feels that we need to cover the basics again because they never really got them the first time around.

If there is only one thing I'll remember about my time at a somewhat prestigious Thai high school, it is standing up in front of assembly with the entire school in attendance on the first day of term, being introduced and then having thousands of students, sitting in perfectly formed lines, bending down and waiing (a prayer like gesture where the palms of the hands are held together in front of the body) me.  Surreal doesn't even come close to describing it.

For anyone coming from a background working in any professional role or in a company that operated in a professional manner, the level of professionalism (read lack of) in a Thai high school may be more than a minor shock to the system.  It seems that these schools are in a constant state of chaos, with continual power plays being made by the middle aged Thai women that make up 90% of the staff.  Information is power and the Thai managers know this, only ever telling you, the foreigner (the outsider), what you need to know, and nothing else.  No value is placed on letting anyone know what is going on if it is deemed that that information is not essential to that person.  It often seems and in fact probably is the case that the Thai teachers do not have the students' best interests in mind, but try and work the system for their OWN advantage.  This makes you feel like you are totally out of the loop, unwanted and contributes towards having a very de-motivating effect and lowering morale.

It's important to differentiate between the positions in Thai high schools where you are employed by a language school which has a contract to provide teachers and with a Thai high school that employs you directly.  If you are employed by the school and have a contract with them, you will be school staff and will be expected to be there from early in the morning, around 7:40 AM or thereabouts through to the end of the day, around 4:00 PM.  You may also be expected to get involved with activities outside of regular school time such as parent / teacher events, sports days, exhibitions and any inter school sports days or events.  You'll probably be seen more as part of the school than you would if you were a contractor, although the fact that you are earning more than almost all of the Thai staff will still be the source of some resentment, and ultimately some division.  If you are employed directly by the school itself and not through a language school, you will get around 12 weeks PAID holiday a year which is the mid-term break which is generally all of October and then you will get the Summer break, meaning from somewhere around the middle of March until the middle of May.  Every school has a different policy but generally, once you have marked all of your exams and handed in the marks, you are free.  Some schools will have a summer camp program around April or May and you may be expected to get involved with this.  These can be a bit hit and miss and are usually in resorts well away from Bangkok.  Fun enough during the day but if you are unlucky, there may be nothing to do at night!  For people employed directly through the school, the workload should be fairly light, say around 16 or so periods which could mean as little as 12 contact hours per week - assuming a 45 minute period.

Given all of these holidays, along with exam weeks, you will never teach more than about 36 weeks a year and adding on top of this all of the public holidays, sports days, special days etc, you figure that a high school teacher has a fairly light load.

If you are employed by a language school but teach offsite from the language school in one of the Thai high schools, you may only be required to be there to teach your classes and may not have to be there at any other time - and you will usually not have to be involved with all of the nonsense ceremonies and other crap that goes on.  This is a situation that most teachers prefer BUT it means that you will not get the benefits of the long holidays and people employed through language schools tend to work a much higher number of hours (say 20 - 25 hours in the classroom).

There is no clear reason for it but some high schools that directly hire teachers themselves rather than outsourcing through a language school seem to handle the whole work permit / visa process in a less than exemplary manner.  Teachers may find constant trips down to the Immigration Department for visa extensions frustrating and even be asked to contribute towards small "gifts" for the immigration officers such as cakes and pizzas that are used to grease their palms and expedite the process.  Notwithstanding this, don't be surprised if your work permit and visa are not sorted out until a few months into your contract and you suffer a few headaches along the way!

At the end of the day, most Thai high schools operate in much the same way and even the purportedly best or most prestigious schools are run with a level of bureaucracy that would more than excite a die hard communist.  Even when something is absolutely obviously dumb / will not work / is unworkable, it is virtually impossible to tell the Thai manager this.  They are obstinately stuck in their ways.

But as mentioned earlier, the workload is light, the pay reasonable and the actual stress from classroom teaching is low...  I have always felt that the high school jobs are best for the former blue collar workers who find themselves in a classroom in Thailand.  Please do not dismiss this as cynicism:  Anyone who works at a Thai high school with 50+ kids in a class and believes that their methods of teaching are effective is fooling themselves.

Pros:  Monday - Friday work week, relatively low stress in terms of teaching requirements and what is expected of you.  A lot of holidays and a lot of exams means numbers of hours spent teaching, if averaged out, is fairly low - even on a week by week basis, it is MUCH lower than in a language school.  There is a real opportunity to make a difference and really help the students while they are still young and relatively open minded.

Cons:  Early start, crazy numbers in the class (sometimes up to 60), inadequate communication in the school, possibility of two sets of "bosses".  Facilities not always of the highest quality and resources are often old - or simply not available.  There can be an obligation to perform duties unrelated to teaching.  Teachers who are genuinely professional may find their ability to operate effectively stifled by constant bureaucracy and incompetence in addition to numbers that are totally unsuitable for language learning.

The Bottom Line:  This type of work appeals to a certain type of person.  I'll stick my neck out and say that many of the people working in such schools WOULD NOT MAKE IT IN A PRIVATE LANGUAGE SCHOOL!  Due to the numbers in class, this is not real teaching, I'm afraid, more akin to edutainment.  It is however an easy gig, and teachers at name schools will get automatic respect from a lot of Thais.
 

Universities

University jobs vary depending upon the type of classes that you have which tends to be based on the faculty that you are in.  You may end up teaching a small number of students in a classroom in a similar manner as you would to at a private language school using the very same course books that they do in a private language school.  If this is the case, it would help if you were an RSA or equivalent qualified teacher as the books are put together with that style of teaching in mind.  However, in a lot of university positions, it seems to me that in some faculties, there is a lot of emphasis on lecturing about how the language works and really, this is not teaching but rather, as I said, lecturing.

Chulalongkorn University, considered the best university in Thailand.

Salaries at universities for foreign teachers are set at government level and have not changed, that is, increased, for many years.  The current salary per month is 17,850 baht plus 8,000 baht a month accommodation allowance meaning that at less than 26,000 baht per month, the salary is low for a job that carries a fair deal of prestige, especially if you are at one of the better places like Chula or Thammasat.  One of the reasons that universities are able to get away with paying such low salaries is that the prestige, along with the opportunity to do extra teaching work, both within the institution, and outside, is huge.

In university positions there are generally not a lot of contract hours to do, the maximum is usually between 10 and 12 contact hours with students a week, meaning that you have a lot of free time on your hands even if you have a lot of preparation and marking / grading to do.  However, overtime is offered and can be very favourable with rates varying from uni to uni but can be up to 1,500 baht per hour.  Therefore, with a few extra hours, a teacher could easily pull in 40,000 baht a month without having done nearly as many hours as those in say a private language school or a high school position.

Contracts used to be two year contracts which were renewable annually after satisfactory completion of the first two years - but I am not sure if this is still the case.

To get a job in a Thai university, you MUST have a degree.  The better institutions, that would be the likes of Chulalongkorn and Thammasat, will in all likelihood require that you have a Master's degree and some, even a doctorate!  Preference will be given to those with a degree in English or a related field.  Little value is placed on a CELTA or a specific teaching qualification in Thai universities.  Unlike language schools which hire year round, universities tend to hire just before the academic year starts, which is late May / early June, so it is a timing thing as much as anything as to whether you get a job in such an institution.

While I wouldn't know if they discriminate by age when selecting their teachers, the average age of a teacher in a university seems to be a lot higher than the average age of a teacher in a language school.  I can confirm that most university lecturers are shown the door at 60, though as with many things in Thailand, there are always exceptions!

A good number of the universities in Thailand - and all of the best ones with perhaps the exception of Chiang Mai University - are in Bangkok itself.  There are some large regional centres in Thailand where you will not find a university at all.

Pros:  Low number of contact hours, low stress, prestige of a job in a university.  Unlike high schools where teachers often have to hang around when they have no classes to teach, many universities allow their staff to only be present when they are required.

Cons:  Relatively low income, requirement of a degree over any actual teaching qualifications or experience.

The Bottom Line:  As you would expect, a bit of a haven for academics, and academic wannabes.  Such positions are considered by many to be a relatively cushy number, given the low number of contact hours.  TEFL courses are not what is needed to teach in a Thai university.
 

What is teaching like, as opposed to other jobs?

Teaching is a lot of fun but it can also be stressful at the same time.  The majority of English language teachers in Bangkok appear to have come from a background doing something completely unrelated so teaching is something completely new to them.  Many agree that teaching can be a particularly rewarding job but it is also demanding and I personally find that when I am teaching, it is seldom far from my mind.  Teaching is not for everyone!

As a teacher, one is always thinking about how they can introduce new ideas and language points more effectively and how activities can be done in a manner that is both fun and effective, in terms of the students learning or using the target language.  Whereas in some jobs you can hide behind a desk, avoid calls, disappear in the company car, go for a liquid lunch, these options don't exist when teaching.  You are there on the spot and must perform!  If you are prone to skiving off and know in your own mind that you are not that professional in your approach to work, then teaching may not be for you.

The actual teaching component is just one part of the job.  Teaching is not just about getting up in front of the class and performing.  At the absolute minimum, good teaching requires careful planning of every lesson, the marking of homework and obviously the presentation and delivery of lessons within the classroom.  The classroom aspect of the job requires a lot of energy and can be draining with the torturous three hour classes so popular at language schools on a Saturday making the most energetic of us feel fatigued.  When I first started teaching, I found that I was very tired from teaching and this lasted for a few months!  On Saturday afternoons when I got home after 3 x three-hour classes, I would just conk out and sleep, waking up the next day!

Depending on the type of environment you work in, there may also be other responsibilities.  Within a language school one might be asked to interview prospective students for the purposes of grading them and placing them in the right level class.  In any teaching environment one will be asked to assist the Thai staff with various things and perhaps even helping them with their English.  There may well be workshops from time to time and you may even be expected to run one.  Basically, there is more to do than just plain on old teaching - but I like this - nice variety.

Teachers are highly respected in Thailand and receive respect simply because they are a teacher.  As such, teachers - and this very much includes the foreigners amongst the ranks - are expected to be on their best behaviour all the time.  In 2006 and 2007 there were some high profile cases of paedophiles and others working as teachers in Thailand and this tarnished the image of foreigners teaching in Thailand.  You are expected to live a clean and wholesome life, or if you are up to no good, to be very discrete about it!  The truth is that if a lot of the senior Thai members of staff knew what some of their foreign staff got up to they would be truly horrified.  Like I said earlier in the article, many people choose to teach in Thailand because it allows them to stay here legally.  Just being in Thailand is much more important than the teaching part.
 

How difficult is it to get a job?

It is not difficult at all!  For as long as I have been in Thailand there has always been lot of work around.  You do not need to arrange anything before you arrive Thailand.  In fact you could argue that any school hiring you sight unseen is probably the type of school that you want to avoid - though schools using an international agent MAY be ok.  Just turn up in Bangkok and start hunting.  Anyone who makes a diligent effort will get a job within a week - anyone with a bit of nous / an RSA or equivalent / teaching experience will get a job the day they start applying - though it may take a bit longer to get a decent job, or the type of job that you really want.  The busiest time of the year for applications is March - May and the quietest time is December - February.  In the past the latter period was little bit tricky to get a job in as it coincides with the tourism high season when financially strapped backpackers may also be searching for temporary work to finance their travels but it seems they are not as well-received in the industry these days.  There are a number of teacher training courses offered in Bangkok and whenever any of these courses finishes, there will be a number of students going around all of the language schools looking for work and the better jobs will be more difficult to secure.

There has never been a shortage of teaching work in Thailand!  Getting a job in Bangkok under 30,000 baht a month is very easy.  Getting a job in the 30 - 40K baht a month range is a bit more competitive while anything over 40K a month is ultra-competitive with such jobs sometimes attracting as many as 100 applicants!

The best place to look for work used to be the Bangkok Post newspaper, but there aren't so many jobs listed there these days, certainly no more than in the past, when the industry was much smaller.  Now, the best places to search for teaching jobs in Thailand are online.  The best place with the most job listings is undoubtedly Ajarn.com.  Dave's EFL Cafe is also worth a look and the links for these sites can be found at the end of this page.  Please note that only some of the jobs advertised in the paper edition are listed on the internet version of the Bangkok Post.  Beware of schools who keep repeating the same job offered ad over and over again.  This is a sign that they are either growing at a spectacular rate (unlikely) or they have a high staff turnover.

When applying for a job, take care to read just what information is provided in the ad.  As far as teaching in Bangkok goes, the best ads I have seen were those from Austil (which sadly closed down a few years back even though they had high numbers of students coming through the doors).  Their ads stated exactly what they wanted (RSA + degree) and they explicitly stated the very reasonable salary.  (This position from the late '90s paid much more than most positions do today!)  They then also mentioned a few other conditions and so forth.  They gave the prospective applicant all of the necessary information and did not attempt to conceal anything.  The worst ads are those that state very little, and you cannot help but wonder just what they are hiding.  Hell, Id rather read an ad that said something pathetic like "join a winning team - no experience or qualifications required" - at least you know that they are happy to take on anyone and it is a school for unqualified, inexperienced teachers.

There used to be a lot of fly by night schools advertising and their ads were usually VERY brief - English teacher required, call so and so at XXXXXXX.  While a decent school MAY place such a brief ad, in my experience most of these ads were for jobs that were truly a waste of time - more often than not they wouldn't even be a school, but rather an agency way out in the suburbs, often above a shop with a rickety old sign etc.  This is slowly changing an especially with the advent of the internet, word about bad schools spreads very quickly indeed.

For many reasons, but primarily due to many schools offering a very average salary or less than wonderful terms and conditions of employment, English teachers don't always last that long in the profession in Bangkok.  Some schools have horrendous staff turnover with the average teacher lasting just a few months.  This means that there are always positions available.  Also, the industry continues to grow and grow and grow and there are heaps of jobs available year round.

Many people start off in Bangkok as a teacher as it is the easiest type of job to get but they are forever looking for another line of work or waiting for a new opportunity to come along.  This is changing a little and standards are improving a lot, both the working conditions and the salaries offered - which is good because really, they had to.  You would not believe how bad the salaries and conditions were just 10 years ago.

With the internet the big way to hunt for jobs these days, in all likelihood your application will be made by email.  So you need to have a good letter of application and a copy of your CV - most employers seem to prefer receiving it in Microsoft Word format than in the body of your email.  Thai firms like to know what you look like when they are scheduling interviews and the way you look WILL play a part in whether they decide to invite you for an interview or not.  The photo should be a head shot, just like a passport shot, and you MUST be wearing the type of clothes that you would expect to wear on the job, e.g. a tie for men.  If you are particularly hard on the eye, look scary (this is a big thing for Thais) or are knocking on death's doorstep, it might be best to omit the photo.  You should be clean shaven and your hair should be tidy, for men that means short.  So, you would need a scanned copy of this photo, but it would help to provide the school with a photo when you first apply too.  So yeah, that means both a physical photo AND a scanned copy of the photo for all applications sent by email.

You should also obviously have copies of your education qualifications and your teaching credentials, both the originals to show the prospective employer as well as photocopies for them to keep.  It is much better to turn up with a pile of photocopies for them than to get them to photocopy your originals.

If you are applying by post, sending copies of references from previous employers wouldn't hurt either.  Do NOT send your originals as you almost certainly will not get them back!

You can of course pursue employment in Bangkok from abroad and the internet is the tool.  *IF* you get recruited while still in your home country, some employers will actually pay for your ticket out here and some may even pay for the return ticket home upon contract completion, but to be honest, such employers are few and far between.  Funnily enough, these same schools may not offer the same benefits if you approach them while here in Bangkok.

You should note however that Thai companies, organisations and schools are notorious for failing to reply to emails.  The funny thing is that these schools are often desperate for staff but for whatever reason, often fail to reply - makes you wonder doesn't it!  The problem is that often the person who checks the email doesn't understand English well enough to know what to do with it so just hits the delete button which is much easier!

There are some agents internationally whose business is placing teachers at language schools internationally.  Some of the recruitment agents charge more than $US 1,000 (about 40,000 baht) per placement and guess what happens to that cost of recruitment - it often comes out of the employee's salary!  There are some Bangkok language schools that use these firms so if at all possible, try and avoid them as you could indirectly be paying for their service!

 

What's it like teaching Thai students (as opposed to other nationalities) and teaching in Thailand?

Thais are a fun loving bunch and Thai students enjoy lessons that are fun.  The flip side of this is that they can become bored quickly.  In Thai culture, the idea of sanuk (translated = fun) is very important and if something is not perceived to be fun, then the students will often be reluctant to do it.  You have to keep things moving and most importantly, FUN!  It has been said that to be a good teacher in Thailand, you need to be 1/3 teacher, 1/3 entertainer and 1/3 businessman.  If you are a stereotypical chalk'n'talk teacher who stands at the board and just talks away, the students will tire of you quickly - very quickly.  This will probably result in the number of students in your class dropping - which is a classic indicator that something is wrong.  You should try and include a lot of activities and language learning / practicing games and keep the lesson moving.  As Thais can be a particularly sensitive bunch, you need to have more than a passing awareness of Thai culture too.  This can make things a tad more difficult than if you were teaching say a bunch of Westerners.  There are certain topics which you shouldn't bring up, and certain things that they find dull.  As you gain experience, you will have a better idea of what works and what doesn't.

The whole idea of teaching English as a native speaker is ultimately to set up interactive activities that allow the students to practice some specific language.  As an example you may give half the class some dummy money and a shopping list and the other half of the class a few objects that just happen to be on the shopping lists.  Half the class are shoppers and half are vendors.  They then have to use the target language that you had pre taught them to buy the different goods.  Once you have done this activity once, you may swap the roles.  The problem with Thai students is that they are inherently shy and often reluctant to use the target language or even speak English!  In a situation like this, don't be surprised to see them complete the task as you had set it up, but using Thai!  While an activity may be a dream with one class, it may be a big flop with another.  It is a little frustrating that at times, some classes are not prepared to "give the teacher a little" and actually partake in the activities.  Sometimes they will just mill around grinning at each other and saying little.  It is usually a problem of confidence and most Thai students are scared of making a mistake, saying something wrong and thus they are scared of losing face.  This can be a little tricky to overcome but is usually overcome with a little gentle persuasion.  I believe it is not such a problem with students within certain other cultures, especially outside Asia where the face thing is not so big.

The problem mentioned in the previous paragraph is more prevalent, in my experience, at language schools with students who are young adults.  People in this age group, often university students or recent graduates make up the bulk of students at language schools.  At weekends, language schools will get a lot of children.  You may also have a few middle aged folk studying as amongst the upper echelons of Thai society, there is a certain status associated with being able to speak English well.  If you want to massage (and / or manipulate!) a wealthy Thai's ego, compliment them on their English ability!

Thai students often have totally unrealistic expectations about the courses offered and some truly believe that after a 30 hour course, they are going to be fluent and be able to understand and communicate about just about anything!  To make matters even worse, Thai students attending an English class often remind me of someone going to see a movie in a cinema.  They take their seat and sit there, often doing nothing.  You get the impression that they just want to sit there and it will all magically happen.  This is probably due to the way that they have been taught at school with the rote learning method where they listen, read, write and recite.  Frustratingly, many students don't realise that if they wish to make progress, they must actually make an effort!  And when they do not make the level of progress that they had hoped for, they may go and enroll at another school, study one course there and then again, find ANOTHER new school...

While education is valued in Thailand, and proficiency in English is acknowledged as being important in getting a good job / going into business, Thai students often turn up late for class and sometimes, do not even bother turning up at all!  In some cases this can be a symptom that the student is, rightly or wrongly, not happy with the teacher but in other circumstances, it may simply be that the student is lazy or maybe even that the student was enrolled in a course by his / her parents that he / she did not want to do in the first place!

Teachers are highly respected in Thai society and Thai students are loathe to openly criticize a teacher - so even if you are doing a poor job, you may not be criticised like you would expect to be in a job at home.  This all gets taken way too far and even the 19 year old, fresh off the boat native English speaking teacher gets crazy levels of respect, despite the fact that after each day at the school he may return to his apartment to indulge in goodness only know what.  He might not even give a toss about his students or the lessons.  However, this doesn't necessarily mean that the students will study diligently.  While they may respect you, they may still gossip in class, use Thai instead of English and fail to do homework.  It's other people in Thai society that will be more impressed, particularly Thai adults who will tell you how wonderful it is that you are a teacher.

At school, students will call the teacher one of two words, ajarn or kru.  Ajarn is rarely used correctly as the actual translation of it would be professor, someone lecturing in a university - and there aren't too many people doing that.  The fact that Thais use this word shows their respect for the teacher and although incorrectly used, it is used remarkably often.  Kru is a better word for the students to use and means teacher, though frankly, some of the English teachers working in Bangkok really don't deserve to be called a kru either.

The symptoms of an unpopular teacher are more likely to be students dropping out of the class and not signing up for more courses than, say, criticism.  These stupid surveys that some language schools hand out to students are largely a croc - or at least the ones that I have seen are.  Asking a Thai student if the teacher was any good is like asking what colour the sky is - there is only one answer!  There is no reason why surveys can't be used as an effective tool but the questions need to be formed very carefully to get useful, worthwhile responses.

On the whole, the average Thai does not speak English particularly well, especially when compared with some other South-East Asian countries like Malaysia or Singapore.  There are many reasons for this including a) L1 interference, b) a questionable education system and, c) many very poor English teachers in Thailand (both the Thai teachers within the education system and foreigners at language schools).  The Thai language is in no way related to English (as say German is) - Thai does not come from the same "family" of languages as English so students really are very much starting from scratch.  The Thai language is very basic in structure with little grammar including little in the way of verb tenses, verb forms etc.  Thai also has a relatively small vocabulary which results in the language having a general lack of expression.  If you compare sentences in Thai with the English equivalent, the English version is far more complex.  The Thai script is totally different from the Roman script meaning that the Thai student must learn a new alphabet.  (Many foreigners complain about written Thai being incomprehensible - well the Thais are forced to learn our script.)  The one major complexity with Thai is the tones in spoken Thai.  When spoken well, Thai can be very pleasant on the ears.  Thai students invariably have difficulties with the pronunciation of English.

At most language schools offering General English courses, most students seem to study at either Elementary or Pre-Intermediate level.  Some schools will have students studying at Intermediate level.  Whereas in European language schools there are many higher level classes, in Thailand, Upper Intermediate is rare and genuine Advanced level classes are  virtually unheard of.

Thai students are petrified of tests and exams and this goes back to the school system in Thailand.  Thai students get tested frequently and they have to pass a test to go on to the next level.  Failure to do so means that they have to re-sit the test (which can be many times) or in worst case scenarios, they may have to study the whole syllabus again.  Whenever you test your students, you will find them very nervous and scared and you need to manage this carefully.  Further, you need to ask yourself carefully *why* are you testing them.  Too many teachers just give students a test because it kills a lesson but the students may not necessarily get a lot out of it e.g. the students do the test which the teacher then marks and gives back to them with little if any feedback and review.  A good teacher would go over any areas where several students made the same errors and if necessary teach that language point again.  In general English taught at many language schools, I question the wisdom of a lot of the testing that gets done.  It can be a useful tool but too often seems to be the old "this will kill two hours" and that is bad news.

Although I do not have a background in education and am therefore admittedly not the best qualified to pass comment on it, I believe that the Thai education system is weak - at best.  Basically, students are not taught to think for themselves - an absolute crime.  A lot of this probably goes back to Thai culture and this idea of the communal society.  At school, students study English for years and when they leave school, they are lucky if they can put together more than one or two grammatically correct sentences.  Too much time is spent on reading, writing and grammar and not enough time on speaking and actually using the language.  I had one student who studied English for eleven years at school, four years at University and had had three months intensive study at a language school in Singapore and another three months at a language school in England.  She came to the school I am working at as a student studying at Elementary level.  On top of all of this, I have taught in two prestigious high schools and can quite safely say that in terms of quality of education, these schools would not be considered anything special in the West.

You could do a lot worse than try to learn Thai, if only for the purpose of seeing the challenges that face the Thai student who is trying to learn English.  Bear in mind that learning a language is a very difficult long term challenge and you need to be patient with your students.  Fortunately, most Thais are particularly amiable and are not that demanding of results.  However, as a responsible teacher, you should still strive for them to get the maximum benefit out of the course.

One of the big drawbacks of teaching in Thailand is that there are not a great deal of quality, experienced teachers meaning that there may not be a great amount of development in your role.  Although building up time in the classroom is important, it is equally important to have experienced teachers to bounce ideas off, to run lesson plans by and to generally help you out while you are still inexperienced.  Many DOSs and head teachers at schools in Thailand would only be considered mediocre teachers in other countries with a more developed industry.  This can all result in teachers working a year or two and thinking that they know it all and are fully competent but are actually not nearly as good as they think they are.  In fact, there are some teachers who have been here for a few years who are bloody awful.  I have yet to meet an unqualified teacher with a couple of years experience who didn't rate their ability in the classroom very highly.  Beware that in the west, the person we report to, our manager, supervisor, trainer, whatever usually has a lot more experience than us and is usually in that position for the very reason that they are better at that than we are.  We listen to them when they provide feedback on our work and will often take on any suggestions that they may make.  Some of the DOSs in Thailand are shockers and some of what they come up with is terrible.  Be VERY judicious when dealing with these people and just because they are your superior doesn't always mean that they are right.

The other side of all of this is that while there are not a great deal of quality teachers, there are also relatively low expectations.  Those with white skin with a tidy appearance, who are punctual and smile a lot will be considered good teachers at some schools irrespective of what happens in the classroom.  There is not a great amount of stress from your boss in a Thai language school - you will probably get more stress and anxiety from students who are keen to learn.

Bangkok attracts all sorts and you will meet some characters, some weirdoes, some creeps, - seldom will you meet anyone whom you could truly classify as boring.

Do I want to do a training course before I actually start teaching?  What teacher training courses are available in Thailand?

Many of the teachers teaching in Bangkok both have no formal teaching experience (before coming here) nor a teaching qualification.  I chat with many people who want to teach here and they often start the conversation like this, "I can speak English very well so I don't think I'll have any problems being a teacher".  Sorry my friend, that simply is not how it works!  I know a couple of teachers who don't even speak the language that well themselves but they are damned good teachers.  Why?  Because they know how to teach!  The trick is being able to build a rapport with students, having a good knowledge of how the language works, explaining this to students and most importantly doing interactive activities that allow the students to practice the language.  Being able to speak English well is only a small part of it, a very small part.

If you are going to be teaching for any length of time, I strongly recommend that you do an English teachers training course before coming to Bangkok.  The most recognised course internationally is the Cambridge University CELTA course that is offered at about 100 or so language schools world-wide.  The cost of the course varies from country to country with some example prices from the late '90s were:  United States $US 2700 (VERY expensive!), New Zealand $NZ 2750, Australia $A 2500, England UK pounds 1100+, Thailand $US 1400, Egypt $US 1040 (cheapest place in the world to do the course).  The Trinity College course is very, very similar and is also offered by language schools world-wide.  These one month full time courses are in my opinion, the best single way to prepare yourself to be a teacher BUT these courses alone will not make you a good teacher.  It takes a lot of teaching practice and experience before you get to the level where you can genuinely claim to be a good teacher.  In an ideal world, one would have a degree in education, an MA in linguistics and an RSA.  In reality, and especially so in Thailand, this just doesn't happen!

It should be noted that there are many different teacher's training courses available and different schools and different people will put a different value on each of them.  Generally speaking the English / Aussies / Kiwis / South Africans prefer the English courses and the Americans / Canadians prefer the American courses.  The English courses involve a lot of hands on practice teaching and prepare you for ACTUALLY TEACHING with lots of real teaching practice.  The American courses tend to be more theory and academic based and seem to be more a study in how the language works and general linguistics than anything else.  I personally put little value on the American courses from the point of view that they do little to actually make you a good teacher.  There is also an emerging market of "internet based teacher's training courses".  Sorry folks but I am extremely cynical of such things - but then some training is better than no training.

There is no harm in teaching for a few months before you do the CELTA.  It would definitely make the RSA a lot easier!  Most trainees find it a gruelling course and believe that they would have done better if they had attacked it after a few months teaching experience.  Although it is recognised world-wide as THE course, it is a little stiff.

* About the CELTA

The RSA is a four week intensive course that prepares you for the job of English teacher.  It should be stated that although about 90% of the people that complete the course pass it, it is by no means easy.  There is a pre-course selection test and interview that aims to filter out those who may struggle.  The pre-test includes various grammar based questions that require the use of a grammar book or the assistance of a friend who is either a teacher or has a very good knowledge of grammar.  The interviewer who interviewed me was very clever and other than asking about my general background etc., he also asked a lot of probing questions about my ideas regarding staff training, teaching methodology etc.  I believe he was trying to see if I had many pre-conceived ideas about such things.  (I'd done my homework at that stage, reading a couple of books and gleaming numerous amounts of info from the 'net so he couldn't quite out smart me....hehehe!)

If you have never taught before, you will need as much time as possible to dedicate to the course to ensure that you pass it.  Many of the concepts can be quite foreign!  The course includes six hours practical teaching to REAL students, teaching techniques, preparing lesson plans, scheduling, grammar lessons, observation of CELTA qualified teachers teaching real classes and a hell of a lot more.  There are six written assignments to complete on the course and this, along with your "TP" (teaching practice), form the basis of your assessment.

The course moves at a very brisk pace and if one was to fall behind, it would be very difficult to catch up.  The course outlines state that you must be free of any other distractions like part-time work or other study and need to dedicate all of your time to the course.  In reality this is not the case.  I was busy with a stack of distractions when I did the course and about half of the people on my course were working part-time.  However, do expect to be up late at night preparing lessons for the following day.  You can't just bluff your way through this course.  You will get stressed!  If you are not on course to pass the course, the instructors will have a quiet word with you and advise you that you need to pull your socks up!

One does need to take the course seriously and prepare as much as possible before hand - it would be a good idea to buy a good grammar book and study as much about English grammar as you can - this was the area where I was weak and had I made a more diligent effort to familiarize myself with the material before the course, I may have found it easier.  Certainly when I was at school, we never studied grammar at all so when I was asked to teach something that I didn't understand entirely myself, the pressure really came on!

There are four grades - pass, pass b, pass a and fail.  About 80% of people receive a standard pass.  Pass "A" and Pass "B" require real dedication and tend to be awarded to those who have had previous teaching experience.  Before you receive your final certificate - which in my case came about six weeks later, you get a "written report" from the school which should be kept with your CELTA.  If you successfully complete the RSA and want to study further, after you have a couple of years post RSA experience under your belt, you can enroll for the CELTA Diploma.  I've never done this (nor will I ever do it!) but gather that it is supposed to be really good.  However, it is not scheduled that often and is also very expensive.

The Trinity College of London course is considered to be the only equivalent to the RSA.  It is no longer offered in Thailand.  It used to be offered by TEFL International but they chose to offer their own course instead when Trinity increased their affiliation fees by 75% in 1999.

The CELTA is offered in Thailand by ECC at their main branch in Siam Square, central Bangkok and, from March 2005, at their second teacher training centre in Phuket.  The current cost is $US 1,400 (about 54,000 - 58,000 baht).  If you were to do the CELTA at ECC, be sure to have accommodation very close to Siam Square.  You have enough to worry about on the course without having to worry about without battling Bangkok's notorious transport getting to and from your accommodation.  ECC offers a list of various accommodation in the area that is available at reasonable prices.  They have been running the CELTA down in Phuket since March 2005.

In Thailand, a very good alternative to the RSA is run by TEFL International who run a four week intensive TEFL certificate course on the beach near Ban Pe - less than three hours by road southeast of Bangkok.  The picture of the boats here was taken just across the bay on Ko Samet.  Imagine being able to escape the rigours of a course to a beautiful island just a 30 minute boat ride away - that is just one of many reasons why TEFL Internationals teacher training course is the most popular in Thailand.

TEFL International prides itself in offering an affordable, humane course of the highest quality with excellent job placement assistance.  The course fee is about 60,000 baht and that includes a private, air-conditioned room as well as all course materials.  They don't subscribe to the "boot camp" mentality of many RSA and Trinity courses.  In fact they are proud of the fact that no one has failed their course (although a few trainees have dropped out voluntarily over the years).  And because they are unaffiliated with a language school they can actively work with trainees to help them find jobs at any school in Thailand or abroad.  It is not uncommon for them to sit down with trainees and make phone calls for them to arrange job interviews and even secure jobs!

They were, until 31 December 1999, one of the largest and best Trinity certificate course providers in the world.  While they are now affiliated with the Association of TESOL Qualifying Organizations, the course content and main personnel are the same as their days with Trinity.

TEFL International also seems to have a very enthusiastic and supportive group of alumni - they seem to be always posting comments (almost always positive) on sites like Dave's ESL Cafe.  This is probably the way to go if you are planning on doing a training course here in Thailand.  I rate this course as being better than the RSA offered in Bangkok and if asked for recommendations as to the best teacher's training course in Thailand, this is the one that I believe in - I wish I could have studied there!

Certificate courses offered through TEFL International are now eligible for university credit at many universities.  Several US universities are now offering their students credit for taking this course.  In fact many university students will now be able to take a TEFL International TESOL certificate course and complete a four week internship and receive 12 university credits.  By reaching the twelve credit plateau, these students will be considered full-time students and eligible for financial aide!  They will be able to pay for their term abroad using student loans and grants.

TEFL International offers courses in Thailand as well as many other countries, about 15 at the last count.  For more information visit their web site at: TeflLife.com.  There are courses held in TEFL locations all around the world!

The British Council used to advertise teacher training courses from time to time.  I'm not sure exactly what courses are offered but I imagine that the quality of the courses would no doubt be pretty good.  I seem to remember them offering a "pre-RSA preparation" course a while ago.

Text'n'Talk, now a major player in the locally based teacher training market, offers a teacher training course.  They make many bold claims in their literature about their course including the following points - better than the RSA, it's more suitable for Thai students than the RSA, it's recognised worldwide etc.  Some of these claims are moot points.  There are two courses offered, one is 120 hours and costs around 40,000 baht (if you are farang - cheaper if you are Thai) and runs 5 hours a day, 4 days a week for 6 weeks plus a minimum of 6 hours observed teaching practice, so 126 hours overall.  They also offer the same course with less teaching practice on Sundays 10:00 - 16:30 for 18 weeks for 25,000 baht.

Perhaps worst of all - and certainly a pet hate of mine, is that this school employs a dual pricing system in that Thais can get a special discount.  I avoid and recommend to all others that any business (of any nature) that offers such a discount, read DUAL PRICING, be avoided.  (Or when you apply, say you are Thai and see what discount you get - then tell them you are farang and that you want that discount!)  Sure, Thai teachers do earn a lot less than farangs do, and using this as an argument has some validity, but overall, if they can offer the course at one price to one nationality, why not the same to all?  And if you are going to take this argument through to is natural conclusion, should Americans not pay twice the price as say Kiwis and Aussies whose respective currencies are much weaker?

The TEFL1 course started in early 2001 and is held every second month.  The course is held on four days being four Saturdays and is described as an intensive course.  I am sceptical about these short courses but I will reserve judgement as I have not had a really good look at what they are offering but it does appear from their brochure that they are cramming a lot into four days.  The cost for the four day course was $US 450 when it started but what it costs now, I just do not know.  Despite reservations about them cramming a lot in, sometimes the full month courses offer more than some people really want (i.e.  some people just want to teach for a year) and they are also very expensive.  This course provides a good value alternative.

Via Lingua offers one month courses for around $US 1,500 in Phuket.  Not much is known about them other than that they got going in Thailand around mid 2001.  It should be noted that the course is offered in Phuket Town which is on the opposite side of the island to all of the popular beaches.

Not to be confused with TEFL International, TEFL Teacher Training International started in October 2001, a breakaway school started by two of Text'n'Talk's former teacher trainers.  Little is known about them.

You could always consider TEFL courses online.  There are many to choose from and while I personally believe attending a proper training course in person is better, an online course is better than nothing at all.

How long am I going to do this for?

The answer to this question also affects the question above.  If you just want to piss about and have a bit of fun in Thailand then it probably doesn't matter where you teach or whether you are qualified or not.  At a guess, teachers here for a short period of time probably make up 50%+ of the teachers in Bangkok.  (But please, try and make an effort for your students - some of them are so keen to learn and many really look forward to it.  Further, financially, it is often not cheap for them at all.)

You can also muck companies around and skive off when you want - some companies are so desperate for staff that they won't actually dismiss you until you have proven to be absolutely, totally unreliable.  Sadly there is little loyalty shown by companies to their staff and vice versa in this industry in Thailand.  If you want to stay here for more than a year, then it pays to be selective about who you choose to work for.

Remember, the longer you are away from your home country or chosen industry, the harder it will be to get back into regular employment in your home country.  Living and working in Bangkok is a wonderful experience but if you do it for more than a couple of years it might not contribute towards your future employability.  Many people only plan on one - two years in Thailand but they find that they really enjoy the Thai lifestyle and never leave!

One of the sad things about teaching is that you can do it for a long, long time without really doing a lot for your future prospects, be it improving your skills, gaining experience or even saving money.  In most professions, the more time you spend doing that type of work, the better your chances are of getting a better job, usually directly related to what you are doing or within either that particular company or industry.  If the job itself is a bit of a dead end job, you will usually be able to work your way up through the company's ranks - even if you start in the mailroom.

Teaching in Thailand isn't like this and the industry in Bangkok is a classic example of an industry where experience is not rewarded financially - or only a little.  The salary band for teachers at many schools is often pretty narrow and as an example at one school I know, the total salary band for foreign teachers, irrespective of how long they have been there, is 33,000 - 36,000.  As a completely inexperienced teacher, you may start on 33,000.  A teacher with 15 years experience may get 36,000, the top of the band, only 3,000 baht per month more.  At state run universities, the salary is a bit over 25,000 baht per month, irrespective of experience!  OK, so this is an extreme example but it does represent the point well.  Experience doesn't necessarily correlate to a big increase in remuneration.  Compare this with managerial jobs in the west where say an entry level supervisor may get as little as $25,000 PA but up to 10 times that figure or more may be offered for senior management - experience IS rewarded there.

Teachers can go on to be head teachers, DOSs, managers or maybe even to own and run their own school but at the end of the day, if you want to stay teaching as such, there isn't really a lot of incentive financially to continue to do it.  There really is nothing in the way of a career path.  If you're young, you really do need to keep this in mind.  For older guys, those guys who have perhaps decided that they wish to see out their work life in Thailand, then it is not such a big deal.  So, if you are financially driven, you may want to consider this.  Obviously, there is always Korea, Taiwan or Japan if you want to pursue the big bucks in teaching BUT you don't need experience to go there either...!
 

How much money does teaching pay in Bangkok?  Am I able to save money while I'm teaching?  How much money do I need to survive?  (All figures here refer to Bangkok - outside of Bangkok you can expect to both earn and get by on less.)

While English teaching is the easiest work to get as a foreigner in Bangkok, it is also the lowest paying type of work farangs do.  As a rule, anything less than 25,000 baht will only be enough to survive on - and many people would really struggle to survive on this, and a good number simply feel that such a figure allows a standard of living that just ain't fun!  Certainly, forget any luxuries and you'll have to go native in many aspects.

About 30,000 baht should be enough to live on but without any luxuries or much in the way of Western treats.  (Remember, the more Western comforts you desire, the more money you need to spend!)  If you want to have some fun or have a few Western comforts, you'll probably need to be earning at least 35,000.  If you are earning over 40,000 you should actually be able to have an ok lifestyle.  Earn over 50K a month and you should be able to have a few weekends away, buy some reasonable clothes and a few other bits and pieces, perhaps even save a bit.  Obviously it all depends on your personal spending habits.  I personally would find it very difficult to live in Bangkok on less than 40,000 baht per month and would simply refuse to work for much less than this, at least as a full time employee.  To me, I would rather be back in the West because 40,000 baht just isn't a lot of money in Bangkok any more.  When I first came here in the late '90s, 40K a month was considered a very good salary but costs have gone up a lot since then.  Just a coffee at Starbucks can run over 100 baht, and there is so much more to see, and do.  Frankly, one reason one could happily exist on 25K baht a month in the past was because there was so much less to do in Bangkok, than compared with now.  Hell, even bus fares have DOUBLED over the last seven years!

I feel that these figures and estimations on salary would be relevant to most career English teachers, and people with a similar mindset to the average teacher.  There are plenty of people who find that the salaries offered in Bangkok are simply not sufficient for them to live on - and they often end up in Taiwan, Korea or Japan - or even go back home to their own corner of Farangland.

The cost of your apartment will probably be your biggest expense so if you can save money on this, you will have more money for other things.  (Drinkers take note:  If you drink a lot, this could easily cost you more than your apartment rental.)  There are unlimited entertainment options in Bangkok and few people spend many nights in their apartment.  (Incidentally, there are some expats in Bangkok earning 500,000+ per month and still managing to spend a good chunk of it!  The point here being that just about any other job employing foreigners pays more than teaching....)  For what it's worth, I spend around 45,000 baht per month and for this, I consider that I have a very nice lifestyle - smallish, centrally located apartment, Western comforts whenever I want them and more than enough money for eating out and entertainment.  This would NOT cover my expensive hobbies though, like photography, for which I need extra income.

Truth be told, I used to be happy on 35,000 baht a month, back when I was earning it.  I had a pleasant life, not special, but pleasant, and I didn't look too far into the future.  A few years on and I am much more concerned about the future.  That is one reason I just could not go back to a standard job again.  Sometimes you just have to make the hard decision and say that earning 30 - 35K baht a month is ok for the first two years, but beyond that, you really need to look at breaking into a higher paying gig, supplementing your teaching somehow, or getting into a whole new profession.  Teachers are not well paid in Thailand and don't let people saying "well the average Thai only gets 10,000 baht per month" lead you into a false sense of security.  30 - 35K baht jobs are a treadmill to nowhere.  You can do better, farang!  NEVER FORGET THAT!

Salaries are usually paid monthly, on the last day of the month, although some firms pay twice a month.  While most schools will pay you via direct credit into your bank account, there are some schools that will pay you via cheque which could be a pain because service in Thai banks can be slow!

At some schools, part-time may staff get paid in arrears, as late as the 12th of the month following the month in which they worked.  Bit of a raw deal this.  Full time positions tend to be salary based with part-time positions paying an hourly rate.  Thailand is not the country to choose if you want to get rich.  (In Asia consider Japan, Taiwan or Korea if money is your motivation.)  However, the lifestyle in Bangkok can be good if you are earning 50,000+ baht per month.

Remuneration varies wildly.  I have heard stories of some people earning over 200,000 baht a month at international Schools (never met someone earning this much myself though) while others starting out at some of the chain language schools might earn less than 25,000 baht a month after they have paid tax.  It should be noted that these high paying jobs at international schools don't usually involve English teaching but rather other subjects such as science or maths and the average salary at such schools is probably a bit under 100K a month as opposed to the aforementioned 200K.  Further, recruitment is usually from overseas, and is often dependent on the curriculum used by that school so if the school uses the British curriculum they'll recruit from England, American curriculum they'll recruit from the USA etc.  The highest salaries that I have heard of for those teaching strictly English only is a bit over 100,000 baht per month.  Still, I know a few people whop earn 60K+ a month teaching English and then make it up to over 100K with private tuition or weekend work.

If you are an unqualified teacher with little or no experience earning 25K+ a month then you're doing ok.  Please, please, please do NOT accept anything less than 25,000 baht  month.  That really is too little!  As an experienced and qualified teacher, you should be earning over 35,000 baht a month - if you're offered anything less, go elsewhere.  The highest confirmed salaries that I am aware of are in high schools, international schools and within language schools, at The British Council.

In my experience, observations of and conversations with other teachers in Thailand, I believe that you need minimum 30,000 baht a month to be comfortable, AFTER you have paid your rent and associated accommodation expenses.  People earning less than this don't seem to survive that long and / or complain about never having enough money.  You can EASILY live on much less than this - there was one month when I only spent 6,000 baht in the entire month aside from my rent - but you have to make a LOT of compromises!  This 30,000 is the magic figure most people find they need when they first come to Bangkok.  Personal interests, miscellaneous spending habits, financial commitments back home, health problems, vices and the biggy, unexpected expenses, may or may not increase this figure.  It has to be said that while Thailand, even Bangkok, used to be very cheap, there is so much to do and so much to spend your money on that you go through it fairly fast.  I mean, you can pay close to 150 baht for a fancy coffee in some places - and I am not talking about a venue with they mix alcohol into your drink - you could easily double the 150 baht for an Irish coffee!

Some schools have the audacity to deduct an amount from your pay packet each month for the first few months as "security money".  Once you have stayed for the specified period of time (often until the end of your contract), the money will be paid to you.  The idea is that by withholding this money from you, you are less likely to do a runner and leave them in the lurch without a teacher.  If you are a qualified teacher or if the school appears to be desperate, simply refuse to allow them to take this security money.  Some schools will bow to your demands if they really need you.

Tax is a very cloudy issue in Thailand.  While schools should tax you according to the tax regulations, more than a few in fact do not.  It seems that most schools have a bit of a fiddle going so that both you and the school benefit.  Basically, they do not declare exactly how much they are making and how much they are paying which reduces both their and your tax burden.  This whole situation is complicated by the fact that there are so many teachers working illegally that they have to cover all of this up too!  I'm not 100% clear on all of this but at the end of the day, I do not know of anyone who has personally been adversely affected by their school diddling tax.  If you are not paying the correct amount of tax, you are paying less than you need to - makes a pleasant change eh?  You can get a tax number from the Tax Department by going along and filling out a form which is all in Thai with no English - so you will probably need some assistance.  You need a passport and your work permit if you have one, though on the form it says that this is not actually necessarily.  While it is nice to think that one is paying less tax than they should be, you never know when this may come back to haunt you.  In this case, it is probably in your best interests to put pressure on the school to make sure everything with your pay is above board.

A pet hate of mine is the term overtime as used at some schools.  Most schools will pay you overtime for hours worked over and above your contracted number of hours.  The problem is that many of the schools only pay the same hourly rate as your standard pay or in a few extreme cases, even have the audacity to pay less!  While I am certainly not left wing, I do believe that people deserve to be remunerated for their work and in my opinion, the overtime rate should be a fair bit higher than the standard hourly rate but unfortunately in Bangkok, this is usually not the case.

There is a lot of bullshit floating around about what people earn.  The salaries listed on the table below were CONFIRMED either by the schools themselves or the teachers working there in 2001.  These salaries apply to Bangkok branches of the schools.  The upcountry branches of AUA, Siam Computer and ECC pay less than in Bangkok - usually a couple of thousand less per month.  Note, that these salaries do change frequently so if you are at one of these schools or have been offered a job at one of these schools and the figures are wrong, please advise and I'll change it immediately.  Please also note that some of the figures apply for in-house work and other figures for external contracts.  As an example, Inlingua's hourly rates listed at 200 - 500 baht include the lowest in house figure of 200 up to the outside / external contract hourly rate of 500 baht.  Also, these figures are for teachers' positions, not for head teachers or other positions.  But then, things can get a little complicated and all is not plain sailing with these figures.  Stories abound of folks who apply for a position and are told that there are different rates of pay ranging for instance from 250 - 750 baht an hour.  The thought of 750 baht per hour entices the candidate who accepts the position.  But what these poor folk may later find is that the head teacher does all of the 750 an hour contracts himself (you politically correct folks can go and jump - I've yet to meet a female head teacher so "himself" it is for now!) and farms out the shitty work to the rest of the teachers.  Oh, believe me, this situation is all too common in Bangkok!

Remuneration for outside contracts should be a lot higher than for inside contracts and in my opinion anything less than 500 baht is unacceptable.  You should also negotiate for a transport allowance if they don't give it to you.  Given that many schools charge anywhere from 800 to 3,000 baht or so per hour to the company, there is no reason why you shouldn't get a bigger chunk of this!  For outside contracts, the companies themselves have high expectations and this is one of the reasons that they are prepared to pay a pretty penny.

There has been a definite upward movement in salaries in Bangkok over the past few years though sadly, it seems that the spread of wages is just like the chedi in the picture on the left - very little at the top and lots at the bottom.  I can remember when schools like Siam Computer were starting teachers on a mere 20,000 a month, which wasn't really negotiable, but this particular school has advertised contracts paying up to 30,000 a month.  Positions paying more than 30,000 baht a month in private language schools used to be rare but now there are more and more.  There seems to be two different sets of forces influencing salaries at the moment.  The first is the new, largely inexperienced / unqualified teacher who comes to Bangkok and is happy just to secure a job.  This person will usually take whatever is offered and this person has the undesirable effect of keeping the salaries low.  Basically, they just want to get a job and that is it - they will worry about finding a better position a little later once they have settled.  The second is the experienced / qualified teacher who has been in Bangkok a while.  This type of person is actually not that common here (though this group is growing).  They usually work at one of the better schools and after a couple of years they may start to get a little agitated that the inexperienced, unqualified teacher is earning almost the same as them.  Noises are made and they may get a pay increase or they will move on to a better school.  Well, a lot of these folks are now in good schools, earning 30K upwards and I both notice and hear that more and more of the private language schools are prepared to pay to this sort of money to keep their experienced staff.  The better private language schools in Bangkok often have a hell of a time recruiting teachers because quite simply, there is a shortage of decent teachers here.  In the late '90s I predicted that the divide in salaries between the decent and not so decent schools would widen - and that is exactly what has happened.  Now, in 2007, you can find a full-time teaching position in Bangkok earning 25,000 baht a month, and other positions, with similar working conditions, offering three times that.

How negotiable is a contract rate or an hourly wage in Bangkok?  Well, it really depends on the individual but I would suggest that it is VERY negotiable *if* you are qualified, experienced, young and perhaps most importantly, well presented.  At the end of the day, some of the language schools are doing very well and they will move if you push hard enough - but it really helps if you have the four magic ingredients mentioned.  Timing also comes into it.  The negotiation process in Thailand is a little different to that in the West so don't push too hard or you will get no way - joke, have fun and you might just get what you want - figure on getting 10 - 25% more than you are initially offered *if* you fulfil the above criteria AND you are interviewed by a Thai.  Foreign bosses, in my experience, tend to be far more difficult to negotiate with - and at times seem to almost take the negotiation personally.  As a new recruit to Thailand or as an inexperienced or unqualified teacher, forget it.  Also, some of the bigger, better schools offer contracts which are less negotiable but that isn't such a problem as their rates of pay are usually fair to begin with.  In my experience, external contracts are the most negotiable of the lot.

If you work your way up the chain, you may well end up in a head teacher or DOS position.  The responsibilities of these positions vary from organisation to organisation as does the pay.  I have heard of head teachers at one crappy school getting less than 30,000 baht a month - what a joke!  Then again, I have heard of one other fellow getting 70K a month.  I won't stick my head out and say that 30 - 70K is the range, but it's probably not too far away.  If you are a genuine DOS and not just a glorified head teacher, you'd really want to be pulling in at least 50K to make it worth your while.

Some schools offer different salaries / packages for local hires and those hired from abroad.  The teachers recruited from abroad may get a better salary and in many cases they will get their return airfare paid for.  This is more predominant in the international schools than in any other sector of the industry.

* Just FYI, Thai teachers get paid much less than Westerners.  At Union Language School, a Thai language school for foreigners wanting to learn Thai, the teachers get about 12,000 baht a month for less than 80 hours contact (= 150 baht an hour).  I know of some Thai teachers working at a Catholic school earning 10,000 baht a month for about 50 teaching hours a month (= 200 baht an hour for hours taught but they have all sorts of other nonsense duties that they have to perform).  At a branch of a major chain of language schools, there was a Thai national whose job it was to teach grammar only using Thai as the medium of instruction and she was earning 200 baht an hour.  At a high school, Thai teachers start on around 6,500 baht a month and when they are at retirement age, their salary has reached about 30,000 baht per month.  The one benefit from working in a high school all their life is that they will retire on a government pension which is about 80% of what they were earning before retirement, and which is adjusted for inflation.

A bit of a reality check about wages with some examples cited.  These are all the actual rates of pay paid at real schools in Bangkok right now!

School #1 pays teachers 33,000 baht per month and requires teachers to teach 88 hours per month which equals an hourly rate for hours taught of 375 baht per hour.  However, teachers are required to be at school for 5 days a week, 8 hours a day equals about 170 hours per month.  With this in mind, the actual hourly rate for work at this school equals 194 baht which is less than $US 5 per hour - and that is before tax!  Honestly, who wants to work for $US 5 per hour?  Robbery, in my mind.

School # 2 pays teachers around 25,000 baht per month, some more and others less but this is about the average and the mean.  For this, teachers are expected to teach 36 hours per week contact which equals about 150 per month.  This works out at about 166 baht per hour BUT you are required to be there for 48 hours per week, equals about 200 hours per month, meaning an hourly rate of about 125 baht per hour equals a little over $US 3 per hour.  Who are they kidding?  If the previous example was robbery, God only knows what this is?

School # 3 is a school that mainly does outside work.  They seem to pay most teachers a good hourly rate of about 600 baht per hour.  There is no requirement to be on the premises except for when you are teaching, which is actually outside on the client's premises.  Classes average about two hours per class and as different material is used for each course, prep time is relatively high - estimated by me at one hour of prep for every two hours taught.  Then, there is transportation time, which, being particularly optimistic is at least half an hour in each direction.  That means that for a two hour class paying a total of 1200 baht, four hours of time are expended.  This means a return of 300 baht, or $US 7.50 per hour, better than the other schools, but still not great - in fact, it's still too low!

Now one could argue that $US are not relevant in Thailand as the currency of the country is the baht and you'd be right - that is a valid point.  However, what this does do is prove how low the remuneration offered by schools in Bangkok is, even the better schools!  I must make the following comments, however:

Why do schools in Cambodia and Vietnam, neighbouring countries for the geographically challenged, regularly offer hourly rates of $US 12+, sometimes up to $US 20 per hour?  These two countries are far poorer than Thailand but yet offer teachers a wage that is commensurate with the position.  I have never seen a job advertised in either of these countries offering less than $US 10 per hour.  I will not make comparisons with Japan, Taiwan or Korea as these countries are all sufficiently richer than Thailand so as to make comparisons invalid, suffice to say that wages are WAY higher in those countries.

Some of us paid a lot for our education back home and we *need* a reasonable salary to help us pay off our student loans and frankly some of the above mentioned rates just don't cut it.  Further, I don't know about you but when I leave Thailand, I don't want to end up in another country penniless - I want to have had the opportunity to put away some money.  This is something we all have to consider, not becoming someone who gets stuck in Thailand because a return to the West would simply be too expensive.

One also needs to think of their future in Thailand.  Many teachers make the decision at some point to stay on in Thailand indefinitely, and why not, there are a lot of advantages to life in Thailand compared to the West.  But as cheap as many things are in Thailand, a teaching salary will only go so far.  If you think of the life of someone in say their mid '30s in the West, odds are they drive a reasonable car, live in their own place and long since left the rent game, and have it full with all of the latest mod cons.  That is pretty much life in the West, is it not?  Sure, the bank might be the real owner of the house, and there might be a few payments left on the car but that is where moist people find themselves in their mid '30s.  Trying to have this sort of lifestyle in Thailand on a teacher's salary would not be the easiest thing to do.  Let's say an average salary of around 34,000 baht a month which after tax would be a lot closer to 30,000 baht.  It is hard to see someone buying an ok place of abode, a car, filling the house with reasonable furniture and appliances and then having enough left over for a pleasant lifestyle.  This would be a big ask, it is doable but corners would have to be cut.

As you will find out when you get here, too many language schools in Thailand are run like a business, make as much money as possible and not worry too much about the service that is offered.  As qualified, skilled professionals, we can offer a lot to whatever jobs we undertake and am sure that most people reading this are the same.  I quite simply refuse to work for less than $US 10 per hour.  If you want teachers, pay a reasonable rate, otherwise pay peanuts and you will get monkeys.

Finally, it must be said that in Bangkok there is little correlation between the ability of a teacher and the amount of money that they earn.  This is obviously a major disincentive though is not a Thailand only problem. 
 

What is the dress code for teachers?

You can spot teachers in your travels around Bangkok - usually what I pick them on is either a dreadful necktie (Pratunam market 80 baht job!) or shoes that really do not go with a shirt and tie.  Un-ironed shirts are always a big give away too.  Of course this is generalising but I guarantee that after you have been working in Bangkok for a while that you will know in your travels, who is a teacher and who isn't!  Funnily enough, and I know it sounds daft, there seems to be a correlation between the presentation of teachers and the quality of the schools that they work in - the best dressed guys really do seem to get the better positions.

Standards of dress vary from school to school but for men, it usually means trousers, a shirt and tie - I don't know of any schools where male teachers can get away without wearing a tie.  For females, the standards seem to be a bit more flexible though anything too revealing is obviously discouraged and there seems to be a bit of a thing for "closed toe" footwear.  Thais are fussy about presentation to the point of being pedantic and a poorly presented teacher is a problem.  One excellent teacher that I know occasionally came in to work wearing his father's less than fashionable shoes and they clashed with his otherwise immaculate presentation.  This was not lost on the students who pointed it out to him!  A teacher with poor presentation will not win the students' respect quickly.  Even a badly ironed shirt or a minor mark on one's clothes looks bad to Thai students who seem to put presentation ahead of just about everything else.
 

Do I want / need an end of contract bonus?

Stupid Question!  Of course I want a damned bonus!  It can be difficult to save money in Bangkok and not just because the salaries aren't that high.  Even if you are earning a decent income, there are so many entertainment opportunities available, so many places to go shopping and so many places to visit that many people tend to live month to month while others can even struggle to make ends meet.  You can look at an end of contract bonus as a compulsory savings scheme as it may give you enough to get you a plane ticket home or enough for a short holiday in the region at the end of your contract.

The problem with bonuses at Bangkok language schools is that they are not really a bonus.  Too many of the schools pay a meagre salary and have the gall to term this end of contract pay out a bonus.  I believe a bonus is when you earn a fair salary and then get something over and a above that at the end of the contract.  "Bonuses" tend to be paid by some of the lower end schools.  Decent schools just pay a decent salary right away and shirk the practice of BS'ing you about this so called bonus.

It is not uncommon for teachers to make that call home to their parents requesting some money to bail them out.  Those with money may find themselves making regular withdrawals from their funds at home.  Needless to say, you should try and avoid either of these situations if you can.

It would be fair to say that fewer and fewer schools offer bonuses these days.

What are the legalities of working in Thailand?

To work legally you need a work permit.  Strictly speaking, you are supposed to have the work permit before you commence work but I have never ever heard of this happening.  Technically by working before the work permit is issued you are breaking the law but again, I have never heard of this being a problem for anyone.

My best guess is that perhaps only half of the English teachers teaching Thailand have a work permit.  In Bangkok the percentage would likely be higher.  Working without a work permit is a pain, for many reasons.  First of all, what you are doing is technically illegal, and while it is not likely, there is always a chance that you might get caught and charged with working illegally.  In a worst-case scenario you would be fined, and deported from Thailand.  It seldom happens, but it has happened.  It should be noted that this sort of thing seems to happen to those who have enemies or who have fallen out with someone, so whatever you do, do not let people know that you are teaching without a work permit.

The work permit allows you to get a longer visa / visa extension.  So, if the school that you are working for gets you a work permit then the work permit will allow you to get your visa extended, usually to the last day of your work permit, which is usually a year.  So, you get a one year visa.  If you stay with the same school and renew your work permit every year then your visa will also be extended every year.

If you are employed by a school, it is only them who can get the work permit for you.  You cannot organise it yourself when you are working for a school as various documents are needed.  The work permit is valid ONLY for the school whose name and address is clearly stipulated in the blue work permit book.  The work permit book looks like a passport and is about the same size, with the same number of pages.

Strictly speaking to work legally (meaning to qualify for a work permit), one is supposed be a qualified teacher and hold a bachelor's degree or better in a related field or in education.
 

Can I get a job and a work permit without a degree?

The question of whether a Westerner can work in Thailand as an English teacher without a degree is a difficult one - and one I need to answer in a bit more detail on the site.

Up until around 2004 or 2005, the absence of a degree was generally not a big problem. The Ministry of Labour - which is responsible for issuing work permits - did not require a degree specifically to issue a work permit to a foreigner wishing to teach in Thailand. Their "unofficial" requirement was that the teacher needed EITHER a degree OR a specific teaching qualification such as an CELTA or a one-month TEFL certificate. If you had either, this was considered adequate evidence that you were a real teacher and a work permit would be issued.

However things changed and the Ministry of Labour then seemed to remove a teaching qualification from the list of accepted documents when issuing a work permit. For those who were already in the system i.e. had been working in Thailand for a period and had a valid work permit, they were grandfathered through, but for new teachers entering the system applying for a work permit for the first time then a degree was required. For those teachers who did not have a degree, the school had to write a letter of support basically vouching for that teacher, saying that they were perhaps either an experienced teacher or they were exactly what the school wanted and the school was convinced that the absence of a degree would not post a problem. The Ministry Of Labour would accept this and issue a work permit in the absence of a degree.

The problem is that there are so many people applying for teaching jobs in Thailand and 90% do have a bachelor's degree or higher so for those who do not, it can be quite difficult to convince a school that you are as good as a person who has a degree. In Thailand there is much prestige placed on education (notwithstanding that the quality is not great) and so a Thai school would be a little surprised if a Westerner applying for a teaching position did not have a degree.

The exceptions to all of this are schools in smaller towns or rural areas, basically schools in areas that might be considered less desirable to live and teach in. These schools may struggle to get teachers and might be happy with any white face that walked in the door. There's also the complication that every Ministry of Labour office around the country interprets the rules differently.

The bottom line is that you can get employment without a degree, but the best schools / employers offering the prime jobs almost certainly will not take you on.

Many people working in Bangkok have no formal qualifications and some even submit false paperwork to the Labour Department.  Hey, this is Thailand and sometimes, dodgy copies are accepted!  Personally I would never get involved in this sort of thing.  Submitting a fake copy of a degree, notwithstanding that they are readily available in Khao Sarn Road, is MUCH WORSE than working without a work permit.  There are large signs outside the work permit office in the Labour Department stating that credentials submitted with work permit applications are verified and if fake copies are received then not only will the application be declined but legal action will be taken and anyone found guilty will be not only deported from Thailand, but blacklisted from ever returning!

It is all rather amusing because fake degrees and RSA certificates can be bought at 2,000 - 3,000 baht at Khao San Road, the backpackers haven - and the only reason these are there is to help some people to get a work permit.  The quality of the copied degrees ranges from poor to amazingly good.  The copies of the RSAs are OK, though if you compare a copy with the genuine item, it is obvious which one is fake.  Basically, if you get a copied degree, you may be able to get away with it because let's face it, so many people have got degrees and many of these people don't come across as being particularly bright - and in fact some AREN'T bright.  The odds of a school checking up with your university back home is remote, to say the least.

So, the bottom line is that if you want to work here, in most cases you can, but you should be aware of the potential consequences for purporting false documents as your own.

IMPORTANT UPDATE JANUARY 2007.  There has been a genuine crackdown on people using fake degrees or other credentials in the application of a work permit in Thailand.  This has been high profile and covered in the local press.  Those caught are being prosecuted and deported from the country.  Many schools have been raided and people with questionable credentials are finding themselves in very deep pooh pooh.  The word more than ever is that you absolutely should not use any bogus documentation, and you should be honest in your job application.

There is absolutely no requirement for the school to at any time take possession of any of your original documentation which will be needed for the work permit process.  There is no need to ever submit your passport to your employer and leave it with them!  DON'T!  They have no legitimate reason to hold it and in fact, under Thai law, as foreigners we are supposed to have our passport with us at all times, just as Thai citizens must have their ID card with them.  In actual fact, few foreigners have their passport with them, but it is worth knowing about this requirement nonetheless.

On the subject of copied things, some schools supply students with copied text books though I hear rumours of a crackdown regarding this.  Many of the schools listed in the schools summary below supply copied books because they claim that the originals are too expensive...quite simply a case of this is Thailand.

Most companies will provide a work permit.  Strictly speaking, they shouldn't employ - in fact they shouldn't even allow you to do any work, you unless a work permit has been provided but this is Thailand and as you will discover, not everything is done by the book.  Having a work permit gives you protection should anything unexpected happen such as an accident, an immigration check (they occur from time to time at apartment buildings in dodgy areas and occasionally even at schools and you would NOT want to get caught out!)  It also removes the requirement and costs of doing a "visa run" every three months, or perhaps even more often.  Visa runs can be fun at first because they give you a few days off work and a chance to visit a neighbouring country.  However, they result in lost income, time away when you possibly don't want to have to go away and the cost of travel, accommodation and visas all adds up.

Getting a work permit can become a somewhat protracted affair, though more often than not it is slow because your school is slow in applying, not because the Ministry Of Labour is slow in processing it.  Remember, this is Thailand and bureaucracy gets in the way of many things.  I am not an expert on the work permit process but the following should give you an idea of what is involved.

The first thing you need is a non-immigrant B visa.  To get a non-immigrant B, you must apply at a Thai embassy or consulate OUTSIDE of Thailand.  To get the visa, you need a copy of a letter from your prospective employer clearly stating that you have been offered a job.  Some embassies and consulates require your employer to supply some documents - I believe it is their school registration papers but as it is in really fancy Thai, I have never quite worked it out.  You also need two passport sized photos.  Embassies usually process the visa overnight though I have heard stories of it taking longer.  A couple of hints: Remember the visa section of many embassies and consulates is only open in the morning so go early.  Also, wear some decent clothes as Thais and embassies in general can be a bit picky about personal presentation.  Note: you CANNOT get the visa when you enter Thailand - it MUST be issued at an overseas embassy or consulate.  You CANNOT get the visa either at Don Muang airport or inside Thailand.  Once you have got the non-immigrant B and are in country, you must give your passport to your company and fill out a stack of forms, supply a myriad of passport photos and let your company do the rest.  A trip to the Labour Department is necessary to collect the work permit.  You have to sign for it before they will seal it in the clear plastic inside the main cover.  It is not really a hassle to get the work permit, more that it can take a bit of time and often a bit of running around, especially of your documents aren't 100% in order (missing photocopies, photographs not the right size etc) but it is far less hassle than having to exit the country every three months to do a visa run.  There is also the trip to the Immigration Department where you will get the visa in your passport extended for 12 months from the day that you entered the country on your non-immigrant B visa.  You will also need to go to the tax department to get a tax card, a little yellow laminated card with all of the details in Thai, except for your name which will be in English.  This card will have your tax number on it at the top and you should keep it and NOT surrender it to the school.  You will need it if you change jobs - and some schools get shitty when you change job and play childish games like withholding your documents and other nonsense like that.  Strictly speaking, you are supposed to have your work permit either on you or left at the workplace.  If an inspector comes around and it isn't there, you could potentially be up for a fine of 1000 baht - but I have never heard of this happening.

Once in country, you are supposed to get a teacher's licence and this requires a few photos, a copy of your qualifications and a copy of your passport.  In reality, some people with a work permit do not have the teacher's licence and this is a bit of a grey area.  To get the work permit and teachers licence, previously you needed either a bachelors degree or greater OR a CELTA or equivalent.  Strong rumours came through in April 2000 that the Immigration Department is no longer accepting the RSA or equivalent and you MUST have a degree.  I'm still a little in the dark over the situation but I know of at least one person WITH a CELTA and WITHOUT a degree who was declined a work permit, purportedly on those grounds...  I cannot confirm the policy of the Immigration Department which seems to change from time to time.  On top of this, different schools seem to have different experiences - those schools with good connections have no hassles and those without may have a few problems.  Some schools are told that they must supply the original degrees when submitting applications whereas others are told that originals are not accepted in case they are lost.  Yep, figure it out for yourself!  If at all possible, do not submit your original certificates to either your school or Immigration as plenty of people have lost their originals, and in the case of the RSA, a replacement will NOT be issued!

You also may need to get a medical certificate.  This is a farcical affair whereby you go to any hospital or corner clinic and tell them that you need a medical certificate for a work permit.  In any of the better hospitals they will likely give you a decent check up - and charge you accordingly, anything from a couple of hundred to over a thousand baht.  If you go to a corner clinic the doc may shine a light in your eyes, listen to your heartbeat or as in my case, tell you to bend over and touch your toes, before pronouncing you healthy.  This examination is supposed to show that you do not have TB, leprosy or a host of other nasties.  Damned geniuses these Thai doctors, able to determine that you are a specimen of health and happiness with such a cursory check up!

Update April 2001:  It seems that as with many aspects to life in Thailand, the relationship that your school and its staff have with the Immigration Department has a lot to do with whether work permits are issued or not.  A staff member going in with a small gift, perhaps a bowl of fruit or offering to take a couple of influential staff members out to lunch can do wonders.  Further, some of the larger schools have staff members whose sole role it is to ensure that all staff get the appropriate work permit.  One school is even known to submit a standard degree (A Masters degree in religious studies - why?!) for every new staff member even if that staff member has their own degree...  They just change the name on it with each new submission!

Update June 2001:  I can confirm that a bachelor's degree is NOT required to get a work permit in Thailand.  There is no specific piece of legislation that requires this but the folks at the Labour Department who are responsible for issuing work permits had been enforcing this self made regulation themselves.

Page 10 of the Work Permit Application Guidelines booklet that is distributed by the Department of Labour lists the following as the documents required for you to obtain a work permit:

1.  Passport. 
2.  Letter of employment with all of the associated nonsense about the school / company. 
3.  Evidence of educational qualifications and employment record. 
4.  Medical certificate not more than 6 months old. 
5.  3 photographs 5x6 cm size not more than 6 months old, taken in business attire with the candidate not smiling.

The pertinent point here is that a degree is NOT explicitly mentioned.

Back in 1998, it was very difficult to get a non-immigrant B visa from the Thai embassy in Vientiane, Laos.  The embassy had a list of "approved" schools to whom they will issue a non-immigrant B.  No-one was quite too sure what is going on.  Penang in Malaysia and Singapore still seem to be the best places to get a non-immigrant B visa in this region.

An article appeared in the Phuket Gazette in November 2000 saying that the Thai consulate in Penang, Malaysia now requires a whole heap of documents before they will issue a non-immigrant B visa - a screed of information that indicates that they are sick and tired of folks applying for non-immigrant B visas and not using that visa for its intended work / business purpose.  They must have had a few people in that particular consulate whose sole job it was to process these visas.

The most important thing to understand, as much of a nuisance as it is, is that while all of the embassies and consulates outside of Thailand are supposed to operate by the same set of rules and procedures, in fact they do not.  Some embassies and consulates are a piece of cake to get the right visa, while others are a nuisance.  The rule of thumb is that the embassy or consulate in your own country is always the best.

A visa run can be looked at in different ways.  If you want a few days off work and the chance to see a new country, then hey, it's great!  Your school will not usually be too happy about you taking visa runs but they will always let you go - they have to because they do not want to be employing illegal aliens!

The two most popular places to go for a visa run are Penang in Malaysia or Vientiane in Laos.  Vientiane is a 250+ baht / 10+ hour bus trip.  Penang is a 600+ baht / 18+ hour bus trip but is still the most popular place to go for a visa run.  Trains go to both locations and prices vary according to class.  Obviously you can go by plane but the cost is a lot more expensive and don't forget that there is a departure tax payable of 500 baht for international flights.  Other popular places for visa runs are Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.  Cambodia is becoming increasingly popular for visa runs.  (Check out the Lonely Planet Thailand "thorn tree" for latest unverified info and reports on this.)  Rumours abound that you can get a Cambodian visa at the border near Aranya Prathet.  If this is true, at only five hours by bus from Bangkok, it is much closer and cheaper to get to than either Vientiane or Penang BUT there is no Thai consulate there!  Basically as long as you LEGALLY exit the country, you can go anywhere.

Most Western country passport holders get a 30 day tourist visa at immigration upon entering the country.  Therefore, you must go to the embassy and apply for a two month tourist visa.  This will be issued and after two months, you will need to go to Immigration in Bangkok and get a one month extension after which time you can actually get more extensions - 15 days and then a week - but by this time it would probably be easier to commence your next visa run.

If you overstay your visa, you are liable for a fine of 200 baht per day for every day you overstay up to the maximum of 20,000 baht.  Don't think that if you have no money, you will be able to just go to the airport and say you've got no money and slip out.  No sir!  It is quite possible that you'll be on the next bus to the Immigration prison which is reportedly not the nicest place in the world!  Strictly speaking, you "can" overstay up to 180 days, pay the fine and slip out without a great deal of commotion.  More than 180 days and you're in the can buddy - get used to eating cockroaches, rats and if you're really unlucky, GET USED TO BENDING OVER!  If you do overstay your visa, be a good boy while the visa is umm, err, dodgy because if you do something naughty, the boys in brown pick you up and they find out that your visa has expired, they might just get a little nasty with you and the immigration prison is supposed to be bloody awful.

If you have difficulty getting a visa, DO NOT USE ONE OF THE VISA AGENTS that used to be popular in the past.  In days gone by, more than a few dodgy geezers calling themselves "visa agents" would help you.  What these people essentially did was send your passport out of the country to get the appropriate visa at a Thai embassy abroad.  From there it goes to another bordering country, usually Malaysia, crosses back into Thailand and back to Bangkok where one collect it with all of the official visas effected already.

The visa agents could (possibly still can?) get you just about what ever visa you require including a non-immigrant B visa - all without you having to leave Thailand.  However, the cost is not too cheap at about 7,000 baht for a new non-immigrant B visa.  Once you have such a visa, you can send your passport out of the country every three months to update it at a cost of around 3,000 baht per time.

The biggest visa agent in the past was Thai Visa who were located in Sukhumvit Soi 23 but there were some serious problems there and the Swedish owner was deported after running his business for more than ten years.  In the past they had an excellent reputation and I knew MANY people used their services with complete satisfaction.  In 2003 a number of these firms got busted and so did some of the people who sent their passports out.  Basically, the message here is that one needs to be careful when dealing with such firms - there is a risk involved and your passport might go walkies, never to be seen again.  Are you prepared to deal with that?  I am not.  Do visa runs yourself.

It should be noted that if you leave one school and go to another, you need to cancel your work permit at one school and have a small window of time within which this must be done.  You will be given a receipt and you need to keep this if you are going to work for another school.  Failure to do so will result in a 1,000 baht fine.  Further, you need to get a tax form from your previous employer as without this, it can be very difficult to get a new work permit.  Basically, if you are employed and have a work permit but decide to leave, don't just do a runner as it will come back to haunt you when you go to a new job.  If you are working somewhere without a work permit, then it doesn't really matter.  Since 2003 the cost of a work permit rose to 3,000 baht for a work permit of 12 months duration, 1,500 baht for 6 months and 750 baht for 3 months.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  No matter what anyone says, DO NOT GIVE YOUR ORIGINAL QUALIFICATIONS TO YOUR LANGUAGE SCHOOL!  Allow them to take a photocopy of them and you should sign the copies.  If they insist that the Ministry Of Labour needs to view the documents (which they may, from time to time), then make sure you go along with the originals - and don't let them out of your sight!  Thailand seems to be one big vacuum for original diplomas, certificates and degrees and too many people have lost their original because the person at their school whose responsibility it is to acquire the work permit is so disorganised that the qualifications may have ended up in Timbuktu.

Perhaps just as importantly as whether the school is prepared to provide a work permit is whether or not they will provide assistance in getting it for you.  It can be a real pain in the ass to get a work permit and the one year visa - and that is even if you can speak Thai.  For inexperienced teachers especially, but really for all teachers, the school should provide every assistance in getting all of your documents complete.  If they are not prepared to provide total assistance, you want to question immediately whether you want to work for this school or not...

Important Update September 2006: There has been a crackdown on teachers working without a work permit and some schools in the capital have been visited by Immigration officials who have examined teachers' documents.  Those without a work permit have been warned to get their documents quickly - or stop teaching.  There has also been a major crackdown on visa abuse, particularly the issue of people teaching long term in Thailand on a tourist visa.  More than ever before, anyone considering teaching in Thailand should make sure that the job comes with a work permit.  If it doesn't, you could have a few hassles.

Update December 2009:  It seems that what has to be done nowadays is that the school, be it a government school, a private school, a language institute or whatever, must write a letter to the Teachers Council outlining how wonderful you are as a teacher and how terrible it would be without you there and request a waiver certificate / letter.  Once this has been received - turn around is said to be less than 2 weeks - then you use this letter / certificate when you submit all of your documents for a work permit at the Ministry of Labour and assuming there are no other problems the work permit will be granted.
 

Am I prepared to work six days a week?

The six day working week is the bane of English teaching in Bangkok.  A lot of the jobs in Bangkok require you to work a six day week.  Personally, I think it is the worst thing about the teaching industry in Thailand and I would say to think very carefully before taking on a job that requires six days a week.  Many schools specify in their contract that full time teachers must work six days per week.  Tell them where to go!  Unless you really love your job, working six days a week will get to you after a while and will wear you down and subsequently piss you off - it'll quite simply prevent you from having much of a social life!  And with the jobs not paying you enough to forego a social life, hmmm, why bother working?

If you are like most people, you are coming to Thailand for the lifestyle - not because you specifically want to work here, and certainly not for the money.  Working six hours a day can be a real downer.  Also, be wary of split shifts where you may have a morning class and then another class later afternoon or early evening - another good way to ruin your day.  Unfortunately, the nature of private language schools is that this is often the case.  However, with a little careful planning by sitting down with the DOS and other teachers, split shifts can often be eliminated.  It's well worth asking about the requirement  to do split shifts at the initial interview.  Personally, I refused to do them and lucky me, I never got stuck with them.  Whenever the DOS asked me if I'd do a night class on a day when I already had a morning class, I simply said no.  End of story!  With Bangkok transport being as bad as it is, this could mean that you are stuck at or around work most of the day!  Stand up for yourself in Bangkok - it goes a long way! 
 

What courses am I happy and / or able to teach?

Different schools offer different courses.  The bigger language school chains such as ECC, Siam Computer and AUA tend to offer general English courses whereas some of the better, smaller language schools offer both general English courses along with test preparation courses such as TOEFL, IELTS etc.  There are many, many different series of English language course books and it seems that every series of course book is offered by a school, somewhere in Bangkok.  My personal favourite is International Express by Oxford University Press which is sort of a cross between a general English and a business English course.  The course books are fantastic with lots of really good stuff!  Further, the teachers book isn't too bad either.  Another good series, or at least one that I enjoy, is Reward, as used by several schools and True To Life which is becoming more popular.  Some schools have developed their own courses too.  The important thing with course books more than anything is that the course book is suitable for the students and their needs so that as an example, students who want to (and are at the right level) to study business English study a course using such a course book.  Using a book designed for general English will develop other skills, but not necessarily cover the all important lexical sets of Business English vocabulary.

Teaching English isn't just a case of teaching general, everyday English skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking.  Schools often offer a wide range of courses such as General English, Academic English, English for Special Purposes, TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC, GMAT, GRE, Business English etc.  Some of these courses require a completely different approach to that used when teaching general English.  Some of these courses are grammar based, others are largely exam preparation and some may require specialist knowledge.  If you are an unqualified and / or inexperienced teacher, some of these courses would be difficult to teach effectively.  If you can't teach it well, you probably won't enjoy it and besides, you owe it to your students to do a good job.  A quick note about different courses:  Even if you have a CELTA or equivalent, many of these teachers training courses really only prepare you for teaching general English to adults.  If you want to teach any other courses, such as TOEFL, IELTS or GMAT, or teach children, you may find that you need to sit down with an experienced teacher and discuss some ideas and strategies.

Students taking IELTS, TOEFL, GMAT, GRE or TOEIC courses should be doing so because they need to achieve a certain score to gain entry into an educational institute overseas.  These students tend to be more motivated and therefore more demanding.  Failure to achieve a certain score could prevent them from gaining entry into the institute of their course.  To teach such a course, you need to be on your toes and VERY familiar with the material.  Such courses tend to be offered at the better language schools.

Always attempt to find out at the interview, or even earlier, what courses the school offers, what course books are used and what courses you would be expected to teach.  This really is important!  I.e.  if you have an RSA, you are prepared for and presumably want to teach adults - but more jobs than not in Bangkok are for babysitting, oops, I mean teaching kids which is not what you want!

What are these external contracts that many companies advertise?

As companies and organisations in Thailand look at ways of improving their staff's English, they often outsource training to a language school that provides teachers who do corporate work.  The language school is contracted to provide a teacher, a course, and full materials, usually on-site at the offices of the company itself, but sometimes in a classroom on the premises of the language school.  This was a big growth area in the English language teaching industry in Bangkok in the late '90s but this sector of the industry was badly damaged by cowboy schools sending mediocre teachers along who were inadequately prepared or who did not have a course tailored to the company's needs.  These days, the training manager at many large Thai companies dreads the phone call from the marketing people at a language school who want to sell him a course - because he has been told by all of his friends about the bad job that a cowboy did at their company.

Most of the big language schools, the likes of ECC, Siam Computer and Language etc, are happy to provide teachers for get outside contracts and there are also some schools who only do this type of work, and work much the same as an agency in that they do not have their own teaching premises as such, but place teachers in courses taught on the customer's premises.

Basically, what a school providing such courses *should* do is go into the company where they are going to bid for the contract and spend some time finding out about the specific English language needs of the staff in that company.  A tailored course should then be designed for that company which addresses their specific needs.  There is no need to teach the staff material that is of no use to them, apart from perhaps a basic refresher course, or basic English lessons for those whose English is poor.  However, too many companies just go on in and offer a course at a ridiculously low price and then get any old person to teach the course using some everyday course book.  This is obviously totally unsatisfactory and schools and agencies taking this approach damaged the industry to the point that a lot of companies have been burned and now won't give any language school the time of day.

If you get involved in this type of external work, you may find yourself teaching on the premises of some really, big, successful company and you ABSOLUTELY NEED to be well presented!  Remember, teachers are respected in Thai society and judgment is often made about the way a person looks - good presentation is very important in Thai society.  You should not only meet the requirements of a short and tie (assuming you're a guy), but they should be new, fashionable and frankly, you should look the part.  You should have a confident demeanour and dressing the part, as well as being well groomed, is a big part of this.  I have always felt that people with business experience who have gotten into teaching tend to be the best people for this type of work.

External contracts usually offer a superior rate of pay to in-house work and I would question any teacher  taking on such a contract for anything less than 800 baht an hour.  Really, that should be the absolute minimum.  (Personally, I'd push for more like 1,000 - 1,200 baht an hour.)  Remember, Bangkok is Gridlock City so you need to carefully consider where you will actually be teaching and how long the travelling will take.  Not every company's premises are right next to the skytrain or the underground!  You might also find yourself with a number of contracts of this type, meaning you have to travel around the city from the premises of one company to the next.  If you have to go to more than one company in a day, travel could become very time consuming.

Language schools and institutes specialising in "outside courses" sell courses to companies at anywhere between 800 - 3,000 baht per hour of tuition so there is plenty of fat built in to the price.  In addition to a fat hourly rate, I would ask for a minimum of 200 baht per day transport allowance.  If you have to travel to more than one location, I would insist on 200 baht per location.  The better schools will pay this if you are a good teacher.

This type of work can be very much hit and miss but I personally found it to be very rewarding.  So much depends on the course that you are teaching and the appropriateness and suitability of the course and the course material to the students and their needs.  Also, generally speaking, the students can be a lot of fun - they've got time off work to study so they want to enjoy it!  And the fact that they are learning English for free is also appreciated because they can actually see the tangible benefits in it for them.

If at all possible, try and get this type of work scheduled in the morning.  Students are fresh and the brain is working better.  Courses run towards the end of the business day or worse still, in the evening, can be a bit of a nightmare as student after student is continually looking at their watch, their mind already at home, but their body stuck in your classroom.

One thing with this type of contract that you want to be very clear on is the lines of responsibility.  Are you required to report to your boss back at the language school / institute / agency or do you report to someone within the organisation where you are teaching?  If things go bad or the students are not happy about something, everything can get kind of messy.  Before accepting such a contract, find out exactly what is required of you.  Many teachers complained in the past that their employer told them one thing but told another thing to the client who then had certain expectations of the teacher that were never fulfilled.  You often find that the company / organisation wants a test at the end of the course and sometimes they even want a written report on each student's progress, things which I would question as surely the whole idea of the course is training and language improvement?

In my experience, these types of contracts can go bad when inexperienced teachers are put into a company where the students often know more about English than the damned teacher!  So, if you are doing this type of work, you absolutely must know your stuff! 
 

What about getting a position teaching inside a Thai company?

Some Thai companies, particularly the locally based branches of multinational companies and hotels, may take on an in-house English teacher whose role it is to design course material and conduct courses specifically for the people in that organisation.  This type of position usually requires a teacher with a lot of experience as it is typically a self-charge position.  You are the only teacher there and you do not have anyone else to turn to.  Often, there will be few or even no resources available to you although any decent organisation will provide you with a small budget to put together the necessary resources.

This type of role can be very much hit and miss.  You can end up being isolated within the company as you are a one man department with no-one else there doing anything even remotely similar to you!  Also, the role may change with you asked to do some editing and proof-reading of outward correspondence, checking company literature in English, including brochures, sales material, and even documents as important as the annual report!  Ideal candidates for a position like this will be something of an all rounder.  Salaries seem to be a bit hit and miss and the salary range for this type of position ranges from a paltry 30,000 up to a very reasonable 90,000 baht per month, the highest figure I have heard for this type of work.

Some companies that have permanent in-house English teachers include many of the big hotels and others involved in the tourism industry like Thai Airways.  These types of positions do not seem to be advertised that often and when they are, an avalanche of applications is received.  I remember when Thai Airways advertised back in late 1999 and they reportedly received 500+ applications for the position!  Experience in the industry of the company seeking to employ would be a big advantage.  Remember that the person interviewing you for this type of position will not necessarily be an expert at teaching so don't harp on about your teaching qualification too much as it quite possibly means diddly squat to them!
 

I just want a very temporary assignment to finance my travels - is that possible??

There has been a big increase in the number of temporary and short term positions offered in the teaching industry in Thailand recently.  The two biggest growth areas seem to be teaching in the corporate sector, within the offices of Thai businesses and summer camps.  However, this has been somewhat offset by the number of companies that now insist on their teachers being employed legally, with the proper work permit and documentation required.

Summer camps usually run from mid March through to mid May, the school summer holiday period, and run for around a week or so.  These are ideally suited for people who want a little bit of money to sustain their travels.  Sometimes a school will run a handful of week long summer camps back to back and you will repeat the camp each week.  Some schools may run camps up to three weeks long.  If you like kids and do not object to a dawn to dusk schedule, then these can be a lot of fun.  However, if you believe that you should be remunerated for every hour worked and shouldn't be teaching any more than  25 hours per week, then you would quickly get fed up quickly.  This type of thing is best suited for really outgoing folk who love kids.  Often there is not a lot of classroom style teaching but rather a schedule of activities with English as the medium of instruction.  I question the merits of this type of thing to improve one's language ability, but imagine it would be a lot of fun.  Plenty of language schools are getting into these as it provides good income.  Further, with this type of contract, age is fairly open so even someone who has just turned 20 would not find their relatively young age a barrier.

Corporate sector contracts may also be very short term and suitable for teachers wanting to finance a holiday.  However, most language schools are picky with regard to presentation of the folks that they send on such contracts as quality presentation is demanded by their customers.  Further, extremely young applicants may not be suitable for this type of work as the customer may question their experience and therefore suitability for the job.

Lastly, a little bit of luck comes into it.  Some language school may be short a teacher or two at a busy time and may be happy to take you on as a filler for a month or two while they search to recruit someone more permanent.  All in all, short term contracts are available.

Just remember that with positions like this, work permits are generally not included as part of the package.  Odds are one would not have a problem working without a work permit but it could mean visa runs are necessary. 
 

How many holidays do I get per year?

There are huge variances in the number of holidays offered by different schools.  As far as language schools go, the best I have heard of is ELT who at one time (perhaps still do) offer a very reasonable four weeks holiday per year in addition to the 15 or so Thai national holidays.  But the average language school will offer you 10 - 15 days off per year, in addition to the Thai holidays.  The Thai staff will get 6 - 10 days per year, in addition to the statutory days.

If you find yourself at a Thai high school and are directly employed by them, and not through a language school which has been contracted to supply teachers, you may get as many as fourteen weeks off per year fully paid!  This is obviously a dream situation.  The 14 weeks would comprise about ten weeks over the holiday period from early March until mid May, and then another four weeks in October.  Such contracts seem to be getting rarer and rarer as many schools are now offering 11 or even 10 month contracts so that they do not have to pay the foreign teachers for the long period of time off.

University teachers / lecturers usually also get many weeks holiday per year.

Some schools will not give you any time off until you have completed one year of service with them while others will.  Many people come to Thailand to base themselves here because they want to travel around the region.  If this is the case, you may want to try and seek employment at a school that offers a decent amount of holidays.  Some schools do offer you holidays but you must take them when the school closes down for brief periods such as New Year and Songkran (April).

A good percentage of the foreign teachers in Thailand are teaching because they want to live in Thailand, and NOT because they choose this location as the place where they want to work.  Many of these teachers are only here for so long and want to see as much of the country as possible.  With frequent visa runs and the wealth of places to visit, explore and relax at, the reality is that many teachers just take holidays when they please often giving their boss little notice.  Further, it seems that just about every teacher in Thailand has friends visiting from broad at some time and that usually warrants even more time off!  Some of the things that some teachers get away with here with regard to holidays is unbelievable and you would be down the road real fast if you did this in the west.  However, this is Thailand so if you want time off for whatever reason, you can usually get it.  (Thai staff are notorious for taking time off as they please - the usual reason being that they or a member of their family is ill, which may or may not be true, is seldom questioned.)

AUA has a six weeks on, one week off system which would suit some people who want a good amount of time off - but don't mind every 7th week being without pay. 
 

Are there any fringe benefits as an English teacher?

There are some mighty good fringe benefits associated with being an English teacher in Thailand.  First of all, in Thai society, teachers are looked up to and in most cases when introduced to someone as an English teacher, you will get INSTANT admiration and respect.  The level of respect depends on a huge number of factors ranging from the way you are presented and the way that you carry yourself to the school that you work at.  Someone working at a prestigious university such as Chulalongkorn or Thammasat will get even more respect and an ID badge from such a school carries real weight and if you were to say get pulled over by the police for example, showing them such a badge would in the case of anything minor see you on your way without any further problems.

The majority of English teachers are men, the majority of English language students at universities and language schools are girls.  1+1 most definitely equals 2 here.  Relationships do blossom between teachers and students and while as a teacher one must manage this very carefully, romantic liaisons do occur.  One needs to be aware that many schools most definitely disapprove of this and it could result in you getting your marching orders.  In language institutes, I guess this is semi ok but in a high school situation, one must remove any silly ideas of entering into a relationship with what is likely an impressionably young lady.

Some schools take training seriously and may even organise training sessions and seminars in resorts, with everything paid for.  At least one major language institute used to send all of their teachers down to Pattaya for training sessions, put them up in a decent hotel and provide damned good food too!  It would be funny wandering around Pattaya in the evening (Thailand's sex and sand capital if you didn't know!) and watching the teachers to see who wandered out of the regular gogo bars with a new friend and who wandered out of the gay bars...

In Thailand, whenever a company or school has a change of name or opens a new branch, there is usually a big party and Thai companies excel in this area.  Often it will be held at one of the big hotels and at last the poorly paid English teacher will get the opportunity to have a decent meal, instead of the cheap street food that most farang teachers tend to live on.

While I do not want to talk about prostitution here, the following piece is important nonetheless.  A lot of people end up in Thailand as English teachers, not because they want to be a teacher, but because they want to live in Thailand.  And then amongst these numbers, there are a lot of people who are in Thailand because of the girls - read the prostitutes.  Now the silly thing here is that teachers are looked up to in Thai society and for a nice Thai girl, snaring a teacher may well be quite something.  So, note that as a teacher, you do NOT have to mess around with the working girls at all.  There are many other options and it is a real benefit of being a teacher that many girls will be instantly impressed.  Just writing your email address on the board when you meet a new class will likely get you invitations to go out with your students - and great opportunities to meet their friends.  In the interests of professionalism, try and avoid dating your students. 
 

Do I want to work part-time or full-time?

There are numerous advantages to working either part-time or full-time and you obviously need to decide which suits your lifestyle best.  If you are full-time, you will most likely have a guaranteed salary each month - whether you work the specified number of contact hours or not, you will receive X baht.  You will most likely get a work permit and there may be other benefits such as medical insurance.  You will also get paid for public holidays when the school is closed!  The disadvantages are that you may be required to go into work each day whether or not you are scheduled to teach and you will get less choice when it comes to courses that you are required to teach.  As a contracted teacher, you MUST teach the courses that you are told to teach - you can try and work things out with your boss but ultimately, you cannot refuse.

As a part-timer, the major advantages are that you can choose when you want to work and what courses you want to teach* e.g. you may select not to teach children.  You aren't required to go into the school if you are not teaching on any particular day.  The major disadvantages are that you have no guaranteed income - and this may be a biggy.  Schools may make all sorts of promises about the number of hours they will give you but don't expect what they say to always correspond with what happens!  You will not get paid for public holidays and there are a stack of them!  Basically, if you want/need to earn a certain amount of money each month, then working part-time isn't really appropriate.  However, if you want a flexible schedule and / or have money / another source of income and teaching isn't your first priority, then part-time is probably best for you.  While as a part-timer, it is true that you ultimately decide whether you want to teach a course or not, don't muck your employer around too much.  If you do get too choosy, they might simply overlook you and gradually phase you out.  There has got to be a bit of give and take.

If you do decide to be part-time, try and strike up some sort of gentleman's agreement between you and your boss so that you have a minimum number of hours each month.  If the number dips below this, have a word with your boss.  If they subsequently increase your hours then everything is ok.  However, if they don't, politely but firmly let them know that that is not what was agreed to and that if they expect your loyalty, you also expect theirs. 
 

How many contact teaching hours can I endure each week?

Different schools have different schedules and different contracts stipulating the maximum number of contact hours per week, or the point at which the number of hours taught will become overtime.

Some schools may require to teach up to 36 contact hours a week while others may only require 10 hours a week - yes, the difference can be that great!  It is generally accepted that any more than 25 contact hours a week is too much.  Remember that in addition to teaching, you have to prepare lessons.  This means going over the material you are going to teach to make sure you are familiar with it - and going over anything which you may not be familiar with - something that can happen after even years of teaching when you are required to teach something you have never covered before.  You need to prepare resources to use, such as worksheets, or other items which you may use in the classroom.  You may have to write reports about the students, or check homework and then there might be ceremonial obligations and other outside the classroom aspects to the job.  25 contact hours might not sounds much, but that really should be the maximum!

From time to time I have heard of teachers who worked as many hours as they could to maximize their income, with some doing in excess of 40 contact hours per week, something I almost cannot comprehend.  This truly is madness and few people can cope with this sort of workload.  No DOS or manager in their right mind would allow a teacher to work so many hours.  There would be a huge drop in quality in that teacher's lessons!

In my first teaching gig in Bangkok I was given 36 contact hours a week.  I knew it was too much but I stupidly accepted it.  As crazy as it sounds, I burned out in 7 weeks and walked out of the job.  I just could not cope.  It wasn't until I left that I realised that staff attrition at that particular language school was a huge problem.  In some was it was a shame as the Thai staff were really nice, as were the students, but no-one could cope with that sort of schedule and every time I hear about that place, there is a new teacher there!

Teaching can be stressful and draining so don't think that 25 hours is a small number if you have come from a job working long work weeks.  25 contact hours can quickly turn into 50+ hours at work a week.

When you first start teaching, you will probably find yourself spending more time preparing for lessons than actually teaching them!  This is a good sign because you are probably doing what is required to actually deliver a good lesson.  As you become more familiar with teaching, grammar and the different courses and resource books, your time needed to prepare lessons will decrease.  If you are not spending a lot of time preparing lesson plans when you first start teaching, you're probably not doing enough to deliver a good, effective and enjoyable lesson.

In language schools it is all about the teaching, but in high schools and to a lesser extent, in universities, teachers do have a lot of other outside the classroom type duties, which increase your workload.
 

Do I want to teach children, adults or both?

To teach, children, adults or both?  Some people have a definite preference as to the age group they want to teach.  Try and identify which age groups you would prefer to teach and apply for jobs accordingly.  If you are genuinely happy teaching either, a job which has a mixture of lessons to kids and lessons to adults will give you a nice variety.  Generally speaking, you should not have a class with both kids and adults in the same classroom as the teaching approach and techniques used are quite different for each.  Lessons for kids should be shorter and have more activities than for adults, and the books used should be different.

The CELTA certificate, which in my opinion is a VERY useful step on the way to becoming a good teacher, does NOT specifically prepare you for teaching children.  Although much of it can be applied to kids, this course primarily prepares you for teaching adults.  Teaching kids requires a slightly different approach and lessons need to be quite snappy as Thai kids seem to have an even shorter attention span than Western kids.  Some of the teacher training courses in Thailand train you and prepare you for teaching children, something which is very useful because a lot of the teaching positions offered in Thailand now are for kids.

Unfortunately, many Bangkok language schools insist on having kids in three hour classes at the weekend (too long in my opinion) or even putting kids in 3 hour classes with adults and using an adult's book - even worse!  If you strike these sorts of problems at your school, don't be shy to have a word with the DOS about the placement of students.  That said, don't expect them to do much about it because such decisions are generally financially driven and if there is come thing I would say about language schools - profitability is way more important than providing quality education.  Such problems are quite frankly a nightmare and will make your job as a teacher unreasonably difficult.  I once had a cracker of a lesson (True To Life Elementary) where the topic of a unit was based around the workplace and equipment in an office and a businessperson's diary.  The lesson turned out to be  bit of an abortion because a couple of the kids in an otherwise adult class just couldn't relate to it.

If you are teaching kids, anything more than a 1 1/2 hour lesson can be a bit much for the kids - and draining for you.  Language schools that schedule three hour lessons for young kids are downright irresponsible in my opinion, though the sad fact of the matter is that most schools seem to do this.  It is easy money and most language schools are full of kids doing 3 hour lessons on Saturdays and Sundays.  I could not imagine that - what a  nightmare!

If hired to work in a language school, you should ask if there is any one-to-one tuition required in your job.  Some teachers enjoy one-to-one while others don't.  It can be draining as it tends to be more teacher-centred meaning that there is a lot more involvement on the part of the teacher.  Thai students typically do not try hard so while you may be there, trying to get them to talk or use the language, they might just sit there and grin, as is so often the case.  Other students may be more demanding - and they should - as a premium is charged for one-to-one and the student rightly wants to see results quickly.  (Language schools charge anywhere from 500 - 1,500 an hour for private one on one tuition with a native speaking teacher.)  This type of teaching can be very rewarding if you see the student making progress.  In one-on-one teaching, you do tend to "wing" it to an extent so comprehensive lesson plans aren't as rigid - you should concentrate on, and address the student's weaknesses and needs. 
 

How far am I prepared to travel in the Bangkok traffic to and from work each day?

As with any job in Bangkok, you should get a job first and then find a place to live that is not too far away from where you work - it's just crazy to do it the other way around.  While traffic in Bangkok is as bad as you have heard, there are ways around it by using some of the faster modes of transport such as the skytrain, the underground train, the canal boats and possibly even the motorbike taxis.  However, a teacher earning 30,000 baht a month will likely not want to use the more expensive forms of transport too often as it could end up costing quite a chunk of their salary.  e.g. A 20 baht motorcycle ride to the nearest skytrain followed by a 30 baht skytrain fare to and from work each day would be 2,000 baht a month (assuming 20 days worked) and that is a chunk from one's salary.  It really is best to have accommodation as close to work as possible.

There are a number of language schools in the Siam Square area though accommodation in the immediate area is sparse, and relatively expensive.  Living anywhere within walking distance of the skytrain or the underground will give you options although this is not as easy as it used to be.  Bangkok apartment vacancy rates have fallen from 35% in the late '90s to less than 5% in 2007, and EVERYONE wants to find a clean, modern, affordable place close to the skytrain or the underground!

For full details about accommodation in Bangkok, check out Living and Working in Bangkok. 
 

Do I want to work in a big school or a small school / branch?

This is really a personal decision - like so many things there is no right or wrong answer.  Some people like the idea of working in a small school / branch where they are the only farang and they are a bit of a novelty.  Others like a bigger school where there are greater opportunities to socialise and make new friends.  If you want to work at a big school that has lots of teachers and opportunities to meet new people and make new friends, AUA's main branch on Rajadamri Road would be hard to beat (although AUA doesn't pay much).  Also, ECC's Siam Square branch is pretty big too with a lot of teachers there as well.  These would be great places for someone new to Thailand as you would have a great pool of people to meet.

From my experience, teacher's staff rooms tend to be a bit gossipy and there tends to be a lot of back stabbing going on - they're not always the nicest, friendliest places in the world.  You've got people of different ages from different backgrounds and different countries, career teachers and those masquerading as teachers with false credentials.  It is a recipe for conflict!  And with so many people chatting away, I simply find it hard to get on with my preparation and at one job in the past I found that I had to disappear to a quiet classroom so I could get on with things, undisturbed.

From a social point of view, obviously the more people you work with the better, especially if you are new to the city.  If one is working in a Thai high school, the Thai staff are usually very pleasant and helpful, if a little stand-offish, so having a few farang colleagues to hang out with, chat with and generally bounce ideas off is nice.  Do note though that it is unusual for Thai members of staff to socialise regularly with farang members of staff.  Part of this is because most farang teachers are male, most of the Thai staff are female, and the office staff might find themselves getting an unwanted reputation if they socialise with the farangs, even if it is totally innocent.  While a lot of farangs want to meet and make friends with the locals, you might find it a little difficult at first.  The Thais will almost certainly be polite and generally very nice in the workplace, but they might be particularly standoffish outside, at least until they know you a little better.

A quit word here about dating Thai female staff at schools.  Dating is a big deal in Thailand and a woman's reputation is VERY important to her.  If a local woman starts to become known as a slag, the old walking mattress so to speak, then she will be very upset and will almost certainly have to leave the company and the gossip will be too much.  So, if you want to get involved with a Thai member of staff, be conscious of just how it will affect her.  If you split up with her, she is virtually forced to resign.  It doesn't matter if she is a teacher, a receptionist or whatever, it will be a big deal.  My recommendation is that you simply do not get involved with the Thai female staff at work.

If you work for a really prestigious or respected school, there can be other benefits.  The first is that once the locals know you are an instructor at "Highly Prestigious Location", they will all want to study with you - and they will be prepared to pay big money for the privilege.  A friend of mine who worked at a somewhat prestigious school was able to charge 1,000 baht an hour for one on one tuition and 1,500 baht an hour for groups, all on the back of the name of the school where he was employed.  Truth be told, he was a decent teacher too.  In addition to this, once you are entrenched at such a prestigious establishment you will have the opportunity to make some VERY useful contacts.  Thailand is a country where who you know really is very important.  You will have the chance to meet some influential and powerful people, people who could help you to perhaps get a new position, help you in various aspects of your life (find a new apartment, get things done) or in an extreme situation, help you if you ever get yourself in a spot of bother.

Another friend of mine tells an amusing story of how he went through a red light and was pulled over by a cop.  The cop started ripping into him and asked to see some ID.  My friend just pulled out his ID card as issued by the prestigious school and the cop saluted him and told him to be on his way!

The bottom line is that if you are going to stay on in Thailand long term and teaching is your game, there are REAL benefits in working at a place respected by Thais.  Such places tend to be the best two universities (Chulalongkorn and Thammasat) and the most prestigious high schools.
 

Do schools / companies provide medical insurance?

Some companies do, some companies don't.  It really depends from school to school.  The two most common medical insurance policies with English teachers seem to be those from either Blue Cross or AIA.  If you are a hypochondriac, get some international medical coverage before you leave home - though it can be hideously expensive.  Medical care is very good in Bangkok - at the private hospitals where you must pay.  Generally speaking, public hospitals are not quire up to the same standards and Westerners might want to avoid them as you might have to wait a long time for treatment!  Bumrungrad Hospital in Sukhumvit Soi 4 is generally regarded as the best hospital in Bangkok but there are many other good ones.  My preferred hospital is BNH on Soi Convent.

There are several different medical insurance policies offered.  I have seen policies with maximum coverage ranging from 15,000 baht per claim up to 600,000 baht.  15,000 baht won't actually go very far if you are admitted into hospital overnight.  600,000 is more than ample for a long stay.  Somewhere in between would be adequate.  Looking at the Blue Cross policies, the cost of the policies they offer ranges from something like 3,000 to over 40,000 baht per year, which if you compare it with the West is very cheap - but then comparing things in Bangkok with the West is never really a good idea. 
 

Do I want to teach rich or poor students?

During my time in Bangkok I have been lucky to have worked at some of the better language schools in Bangkok, though it was at times less satisfying than other schools, including one of the bigger, factory-style schools.  The students at the better school tended to be from wealthy Thai families with stacks of money who have had everything in life handed to them on a plate.  They often just want to come into the class, sit there, do next to nothing and leave being able to speak English fluently!  Some of these students took absolutely no responsibility for their own learning.  At my previous school, the students were highly motivated from lower-middle class backgrounds and were far more active and participative in the class room.  This made the whole teaching experience far more enjoyable and satisfying.

The better (usually more expensive) language schools will tend to attract the richer Thais, unfortunately.  One can also get the impression that some language schools, especially Saturday classes, are a baby sitting service.  The parents will drop off little Lek or Noi or Daeng at 8:30 and then go off, get some food and do some shopping and be back to pick up their little darling at 12:00.

I have had quite a few wealthy students approach me and ask me to do private tuition with them as it would be cheaper for them to arrange to study with the teacher directly rather than arrange it through the school itself.  You should always turn down such offers.  By accepting them you would be stealing one of the school's customers and this could result in dismissal!  If you are really unlucky, your name may get around as someone who doesn't honour contracts and who steals school's students and other schools may be reluctant to hire you - or you might end up on the list below!

What happens if you're a bad teacher?

It has been said that there is a blacklist doing the rounds of certain schools and on this list are the names of many teachers who have taught in Bangkok and conducted themselves in an unprofessional manner.  I am vehemently opposed to this list as it does not seem to be maintained with any sort of standards, allowing bias or revenge to be the basis of the inclusion of some people's names.  Indeed, some of the comments on the list by one person ask the question of just WHY a few people are on there as that person found them to be satisfactory employees.  Further, the people on the list do not have any idea that they are there and have no avenue of appeal.  With the number of unprofessional people in management / head teacher / DOS positions in this industry in Bangkok, I am worried that this list may become a way to seek revenge on teachers who had one minor indiscretion or worst of all, teachers who did nothing wrong but the DOS didn't like.

The other side of this is the website ThaiSchoolWatch.com which is essentially a black list of schools and bad employers in Thailand.  Via a discussion forum, users are able to write reports about schools which they feel have done the dirty on their foreign staff, or simply make bad employers.  There are both good and bad reasons for the existence of this site and I will not go into them as they are obvious, but being the conservative that I am, I feel that it is very much open to abuse.

I am not young - what are my chances of getting a job?

Age is generally no barrier to getting a job in Thailand although there does seem to be a minor preference for teachers aged in their '30s.  There seems to be a perception that people at this age still look young, but are old enough to know what they are doing - as they must have had a number of years experience teaching already.

Obviously if you are 94 years old and on death's doorstep it may count against you but unlike in the West where once you hit 40, things become a lot tougher, age is not a real barrier in Thailand.  Older folks get respect in Thai culture simply because they are older and presumably wiser and with this in mind, age may be in your favour.  But on the other hand, some schools simply prefer younger teachers who may be perceived to be more enthusiastic and with more modern ideas.  (I heard of one school who received complaints about a teacher being too old when in fact he was only 33 - might have actually been another problem with him that they didn't mention in the usual "Thai tell it the long way round manner".)  It really depends on each individual school as some consider personal presentation and energy to be more important.  The Thai Labour Department does not discriminate by age when issuing work permits.  Bangkok Phil told me that he knew of a work permit issued for someone who is 67, which is well beyond the retirement age.

At the other end of the scale, there doesn't appear to be any minimum age imposed upon teachers.  I have met a couple of teachers aged 18 and 19 who had jobs, though admittedly with crappy schools and with all due respect, neither seemed to really know what the hell they were doing.  Basically, if you are young, say 21 or less, and want to teach, you can get a job but really, the better schools would prefer someone who had at least completed their tertiary studies.  Remember, a lot of your students could be in their mid 20s - maybe even a lot older!

Within the different sectors of the industry, you will find teachers of varying ages.  In the Thai high school contracts, you tend to find a younger bunch where the average age of teachers would probably be somewhere in their 20s.  Language schools are a little all over the place with a mix of both young and old.  Corporate contracts tend to have older teachers as you can hardly have a 21 year old going in to a company's offices and teaching them all of the high powered business vocabulary that you need for negotiating a big deal!

The Thai Government has no access whatsoever to your criminal record or any other such information from your country of birth.  Basically, what they don't know, won't hurt them.  In life, I have found it best to keep one's trap shut about such things so don't go telling all of your buddies that you are a convicted paedophile because eventually, word will get out.

I have always thought that the best age for teachers is the same as the best age for picking up women - in your '30s.  At this point in your life, you still have your looks, but you are also obviously not just straight out of university and still a bit fresh off the boat, so to speak. 
 

You've made quite a few references to personal presentation in many of the previous questions - is it really that important?

In some ways, Thailand could be considered a superficial land where presentation and appearance counts for much more than substance ever does!  Thais make split second judgments on people and with farangs, this is based primarily on their appearance (for other Thais, various other aspects come into it like their accent, jewellery, the way they use the language, the colour of their skin etc.)  Therefore, a student who saw a teacher, a revered member of society, resplendent in their hiking clothes or their dirty old rugby clothes, would quite possibly be horrified!

At your initial job interview, you really need to put on your very best threads - and I mean your best.  This is even more important if the interviewer is Thai but a farang interviewer with a good understanding of life in Thailand should also be looking closely at your presentation.

Unfortunately, this can carry on into other situations outside of the classroom and this is where things get a little out of hand.  I used to believe that so long as you do everything at work in a professional manner, then what you do outside is irrelevant.  This is not the case in Thailand.  If you ever join students for an outing, away from the school, it is fairly important that you dress well - not necessarily your Sunday best, but still neat and tidy.  (Forget your favourite 10 year old rugby jersey and those hiking boots!)

On at least a couple of occasions early on in my teaching career, things were said when I went into the office in what can best be described as "scruffy casual".  One of these times was to collect my pay packet and the other was to do some preparation for lessons the next day.

All of this is somewhat exacerbated if you are a teacher in a smaller town where you are known as the local English teacher.  If you are seen cruising around the town in rags, the parents will simply not send their kids to study with you! 
 

I'm not a native English speaker but would still like to work in Thailand - is it possible for me to get a job?

Rightly or wrongly there are a lot of non-native speaking English teachers teaching in Bangkok.  I personally have met Dutch, Swedish, Russian, German, Philippino, Swiss, Norwegian and Danish nationals all teaching English so yes, you can get a job.  BUT, the better schools would most likely not offer a position to someone who is not a native speaker - but that isn't to say you can't get a good job.

If you are not a native English speaker, it goes without saying that your English needs to be pretty damned good.  From a practical view, you may find that you are better suited to teaching the lower level classes as when you get into higher level classes and / or younger students, it might get  bit more difficult to explain the nuances of the language, particularly higher level vocabulary.  Remember, the key to teaching is being able to get the message across clearly and effectively and to do this, your English does not necessarily need to be perfect.

In late 2001, it was mooted that work permits for English teachers would not be issued to non-native English speakers.  The articles in the Bangkok Post clearly stated that only New Zealand, Australian, Canadian, British and American nationals could be issued with a work permit.  South Africans were notably missing.  Whether or not this policy eventuates or not, who knows - and it must be said that such articles appear often enough, but nothing ever comes about.  Note in 2004: This never eventuated. 
 

My school is asking me to do all sorts of odd things.  I know things in Thailand are different to the west but where should I draw the line?

One of the sad things about the industry here in Thailand is that there are a lot of inexperienced folk in head teacher / DOS / managerial positions.  Some of these people have got no idea about management and may ask you to do all sorts of odd things, often tasks that they should be doing themselves but are too lazy to do.  Further, they may make decisions that impact upon you or fail to resolve problems like your pay arriving late.  Deep down, we all know what is acceptable and what is unacceptable in the workplace.  I am of the opinion that what is acceptable in the West is also acceptable in Thailand and vice versa.  If your boss or company does or says anything that you would not accept back in your home country, don't accept it here.  If you do there is every chance that in the future they'll just walk all over you.

The problem here is that far too often, good teachers are recruited to be the manager / DOS / whatever.  Now, a good teacher doesn't necessarily make a good manager but these bloody language schools can't see that.  They'd actually be better off hiring someone who was good at managing  - even if they had no experience teaching.

One thing to be very aware of is that some contracts have VERY ambiguous clauses such as "the employee will follow his / her manager's instructions and carry out all instructions as they are required".  TOTALLY ambiguous.  Do not be afraid to raise the issue of such clauses at your interview but good luck getting them stricken out!  However, at the end of the day, whether or not you think something is reasonable or not, failure to do it for any reason will fail to endear you with your employer and may spell the beginning of the end.

It is important however to understand that there are additional duties in your job over and above teaching.  Schools - and here I mean the sort of schools where children go to study as opposed to language institutes - will have all sorts of ceremonies throughout the year and the foreign staff are expected to attend.  These will often be after hours, before hours or at the weekend - and there will be no extra pay for it, but you are still expected to attend!  Just the fact that you are white brings prestige to the school and so they like to put their foreign teachers on display at every possible opportunity! 

I know of teachers who were great in the classroom but were reluctant to do the extra stuff and thus lost their jobs.  Don't think that just because your contract says you are expected to work from 7:30ish to 4:30ish that you do not need to attend these ceremonies and functions.  You do!  To the Thai staff these are VERY important and your attendance is expected.  If you don't go, not only will the school have missed out on an opportunity to gain face, but this will cause resentment and potentially confrontation with the Thai staff and tat I exactly the sort of situation you should try and avoid!
 

What are these English camps that I hear / read about?

If you work at a government school, the school closes down a couple of times a year, and one of these closures goes on for quite a long period over the Summer break.  You may find that you are told (not asked) to do a summer camp in some remote location away from Bangkok.  The school's idea being that you are on a one year contract and they want to maximise their investment in you and have you earning money for them the whole time that you are being paid.  In addition to this, as language schools find the competition increasing, many are now offering summer camps.

These can be fun but they can also be a bit of a nightmare.  You may be hundreds of km away from Bangkok in the middle of nowhere and you will suddenly find that it is not so much teaching kids for 20 odd hours a week but babysitting them for 168 hours of the week!  You may also find that you are holed up in accommodation that is inferior to what you are used to in Bangkok and that you are being fed Thai food day in and day out which is fine if you have adjusted to the Thai ways but if you haven't, it could be murder.

A friend has been sent on a few of these camps.  The worst one was a few hours drive from Bangkok where the camp literally took over a resort in the middle of nowhere.  The kids studied with him for about 20 hours a week and the rest of the time he had to conduct activities such as playing soccer, going on bush walks etc.  He had to chat in English with the kids but also play the role of guardian and be there when the kids had any problems or issues.  He seldom had time to himself and when he did, the resort was stuck in the middle of nowhere and there was little to do.  To really rub salt into the wound, he had to share a room with a Christian woman who had very strong views on religion and he had to listen to her going on and on.

If you are not particularly fond of kids, this could be a nightmare - but it could also be a lot of fun and it really depends on what type of person you are, your relationship with the other teachers and the kids and the location of the camp.  Basically, you need to think carefully and decide if it is you or not.
 

How do Thais and Westerners get on together in the school workplace?

At most schools, the Westerners do their thing and the Thais do theirs.  While there is a need for everyone to work together, at the end of the day the cultural differences are so great that the Thais end up frustrating the Westerners and vice versa.  Secretly, I truly believe that each group is not fond of the actual work they have to do together, but socially the two ethnic groups seem to get on just fine.

I have often found that the Thais (and remember, it is most likely your boss / the bog boss / school owner) treats their staff fairly well, in terms of being pleasant to them, buying them gifts at certain times of the year, bringing in small amounts of food and what not.  The social side of working in Thailand is very pleasant indeed, but sadly, the same cannot be said about the locals in terms of their willingness to be objective driven.  As foreigners, we have specific objectives in the workplace, and in a school, that usually means providing the highest quality education that we can deliver, through a mixture of quality teaching, resources and a supportive environment that fosters learning.  I often feel the locals are more interested in making sure the locals are happy - and that does not necessarily mean that they are learning, more that they feel it is fun, and they have not been upset in any way.

Many Thai managers and administrators cringe when Westerners complain about things - and there is no shortage of things to complain about!  Basically, a whole book could be written about this.  Let's just say that they way that each party approaches their work is quite different!  It is always pleasant and civil, it is just that not everyone always sees eye to eye!
 

I'm a black native English speaker.  Will that effect my employment chances?

Thailand is an incredibly xenophobic country and it is a real shame that folks of African ancestry are sometimes discriminated against.  Unfortunately, blacks (and others) are discriminated against in this country and many Thais are actually scared of blacks, fearing that they are "bad people" or criminals.  At the end of the day, white skin is revered in Thailand.

If you are black, you may have some problems getting recruited in Thailand.  Given the number of absolutely hopeless teachers, many of who are sex tourists, this is a very sad state indeed.  Most schools that recruit candidates from abroad will ask for a photo and if you are black, quite simply forget it.  The racism here is twofold.  Most recruiters are Thai and they usually will not even consider a black, let alone hire one.  Some students have said to me that they wouldn't study with a teacher who was black so this just exacerbates the situation.

If you are black, you still can get employment but the fact of the matter is that it will not be as easy as if you were white.  My advice would be this.  Come to Thailand and search for work whilst you are here - not from abroad.  Try and approach schools and arrange interviews with expats in managerial positions here - as opposed to Thais.  Your fellow Westerners are much less likely to be colour blind than Thais.  Once you are here and you can sell your personality, skills, credentials and experience to them and you'll be in with a far better chance.  Good luck! 
 

Do Thai schools have an Internet connection?

If you are reading this, you obviously have an Internet connection and the Internet really is the tool of the modern person (hey, ain't I politically correct - I DIDN'T say modern man!)  Internet access used to be expensive in Bangkok and combined with local call charges, apartment phone limits and dodgy phone lines, the cost of an Internet connection added up quickly.  When I first arrived in Bangkok, 20 hours internet a month in your apartment would cost around 1000 baht (for the connection to the ISP and the phone cost combined) and that is money one would surely rather spend elsewhere.  Internet cafes varied in cost but were NEVER cheaper than 100 baht an hour.

Now things are quite different and you can get high speed broadband internet in your apartment for under 600 baht a month and you can easily find internet cafes from as little as 10 baht per hour.  In the old days if the school had an Internet connection, this was worth quite a bit of money to you but those days have gone.  Almost every school and language institute has internet access and it is a great way to wile away some of the spare time you get in most teaching jobs.

Most schools have high speed internet, though with the kids setting up computers to download huge files all day long and with a great number of users, this can slow things right down.  Still, the net is usually quick enough for you to be able to check your email and browse news from home as well as the local discussion forums.  I have found that the internet in schools can be erratic and can be prone to slowing down, so be careful if you plan lessons around internet based activities.

In the better schools, all teachers will have a computer on their own desk with internet access - meaning you can access the internet all day long, use it for lesson preparation etc.  In language schools there are often a bunch of shared computer in the teachers' room or a computer resource room so people have to share them.  In the better schools and the odd institute, there may even be wi-fi transmission meaning students (and teachers) can use their own laptop.

The internet is also a great place for teaching resources and there is all sorts of material that you can use to supplement or add to your lessons.  Further, you may not want to have a computer in Bangkok and a connection at school can be a blessing and is something worth considering.  Just think, if you do get any of those awful split shifts, a free internet connection can help you get through the day.

Personally, if a school did not have an internet connection, I would not want to work there.

Of course, schools in rural areas are much less likely to have an internet connection.  While high-speed internet is available nationwide, even in small villages, schools in rural areas may not have the money for new computers and high speed internet - and dial up if used for a period of time can actually cost even more than high speed 'net!

From a language teacher's point of view, how do Thai students rate?

Thai students tend to be able to read and write English to a reasonable level but their listening skills are not usually that strong and their spoken English is often very poor, though low levels of confidence are partly to blame.  The reason for poorly spoken English is often because they have studied just reading and writing for many years and have never actually had to speak!  They may have heard their teacher utter a few phrases of English here and there but they themselves have possibly never actually used it outside a few phrases in the classroom.  In terms of comprehension of written material, they are usually ok, but when it comes to producing written material, their writing is very disorganised and lacks structure.  This is a classic case of L1 interference as anyone who is able to read and write written Thai will attest.  Thai teachers may teach grammar ok, but when it comes to organisation of ideas and so forth, Thai language teachers are sadly lacking.  On top of this, there are always errors in their use of verb tenses (Thai really doesn't have tenses as such) and using things like the passive voice provide problems, not so much in constructing it, BUT KNOWING WHEN TO USE IT!

Now, all of this is complicated by the Thai students' desire that everything in life should be fun.  Give them a lesson where grammar is the focus and they literally fall asleep.  Even with a fun activity as your freer practice, Thai students do not like grammar and many teachers find that when they teach grammar, the lesson goes badly.  What ultimately happens is that some teachers stop teaching grammar which is a huge mistake as while using the language perfectly is not absolutely necessary, it is still important.  Yep, teachers just jump that lesson in the book - shocking!  Thai students can get a little negative at the thought of grammar so you have to play your cards very carefully in this respect, but remember, skipping sections in a book without a valid reason is the sign of a bad teacher!  The important thing here to remember is that you have to stick to your guns, and while you should adapt materials to make them more suitable and appropriate for Thai learners, there are certain language points that you shouldn't avoid teaching.  A few things to avoid are anything that is too Euro-centric - as you find in a lot of textbooks which are produced in England for a predominantly continental European market, anything to do with history (bores Thais to tears), anything that may cause cultural embarrassment such as lessons dealing with the feet etc.  In fact it is well worth while, maybe even fairly important to make yourself aware of some of the cultural faux pas as you only have to make one serious mistake and that is it.  Any discussion about the Thai royal family should be avoided, unless you are heaping praise upon them.  Discussing some of the social problems in Thailand is not a good idea unless you know the class well enough and feel that they would be willing to partake - Thais do not like to hear about problems within their country.  Also, as many of your students will be from well-to-do backgrounds, one needs to be careful on any references to peasants or those from a farming background as upper class Thais tend to look down on such folks.  (If by any chance, you have previously been employed in this sector, it is best not mentioned!)  As your time in a classroom with Thai students increases, you'll get a better feel for what works and what doesn't work.
 

What teaching opportunities exist outside of Bangkok?

There are numerous language schools in Bangkok and the bigger chains such as ECC, Siam and AUA also have branches in many centres around the country.  The money offered by these chains tends to be less in the provinces than what is offered in Bangkok but this is more than offset by the cheaper cost of living in those areas.  Basically, if you want the big (well, better at least) money, you really to need to stay in Bangkok.  Some provincial schools will recruit locally while others such as ECC recruit from their head office / main branch in Bangkok for all other branches nationwide.  ECC is a good bet for those wanting to teach outside of Bangkok.  Just call into the head office at Siam Square for an interview and tell them that you want to work outside of Bangkok - they're bound to have an opportunity or two available somewhere in the Kingdom.

Many foreigners want to teach in Chiang Mai but finding a job there isn't that easy.  There are more foreigners living in Chiang Mai per capita than in Bangkok and this can make it quite competitive.  There also aren't that many language schools - comparatively at least.  Therefore, the language schools that are based there can afford to be a little more choosey about who they recruit.  If you have an RSA, you should be fine but it really comes down to timing - being there and ready to work when positions become available.

While the lifestyle in a smaller town outside of Bangkok is obviously going to be quite different, the actual job itself will be quite different too.  You may find you are the only English teacher in the school so there is no opportunity to bounce ideas off others.  With this in mind, such a position is best suited to someone with a bit of experience.  Further, the level of English in some the provinces is much lower than Bangkok and you might find that you are forever teaching low level classes - some will like this, others will not.

Bangkok is far more westernised than many people realise.  Take the time to go into some of the smaller towns around the country and you will find out what real Thailand is all about.  It appeals to some but not to others.  An excerpt from an email that I received demonstrates the potential problems one could have living in the provinces. 

I taught in a little town called Nakhon Sawan.  Not only was I working six days a week, I was limited as to where I could go on my 1 day off.  You might add in your article on teaching in Bangkok that unless one is VERY independent and does not need to speak to other native speakers every so often, don't even think of taking a job but in the larger cities.  I don't think most people understand what lonely is until you have spent some time in a small Thai town.

OK, this is my first job as an English teacher, what should I look for and be aware of?

I'm a big believer that you need to go to a school where the atmosphere "feels" right and makes you feel comfortable.  This will vary from person to person where some people may want to work in a school with other teachers of their own nationality, some may want a modern building, others one with a lot of greenery / plants about etc.  You really should aim for a school that has a commitment to spending time with and supporting the new employee.  Working at a small branch may therefore not be ideal as there probably won't be a decent support network in place.  When you first start teaching, even if you have an RSA, it is all bloody foreign and can be difficult and quite stressful and you therefore absolutely *need* experienced, qualified teachers to bounce ideas off and to generally help you along the way.  For what it's worth, the worst teachers I have met are teachers who have NOT had experienced colleagues to assist them when they first started.  This meant that as their teaching progressed, they developed certain teaching techniques, some of which are questionable.   AUA is very good in this respect and allocate an experienced teacher as a buddy to all new employees.

With teaching being somewhat of a foreign concept when you first start, it is therefore nice to get a job where your schedule is not too heavy.  In an ideal world, we would all start in a position where we weren't required to teach any more than 20 hours contact per week.  This would give you the opportunity to spend an hour preparing for every hour you need to teach and still have an opportunity to run lesson plans past more experienced colleagues.

It is therefore important that you ask as many questions as you can at that interview to find out about all of these things.  Let me state quite clearly that language schools don't tend to be too choosy and they pretty much take on anyone - obviously this varies from school to school but I would suggest that if you even get an interview, then the chances of getting the job are pretty damned high!  You have to be aware of the 30 second brigade.  These folks will have made the decision as to whether you will be offered the job the moment you walk in the door - usually based on your presentation more than anything else!  They will go on to tell you a bit about the school, very little about the job and then simply offer you the job without giving you a chance to even ask any questions!  Be assertive and steer the interview in the direction that you want it to go!  Ask lots of questions and don't be afraid to go on with a list of 10-20 questions.  If they offer you anything that sounds unacceptable, tell them that that is the case and that if they want your services, they will have to amend this or that.  You'd be amazed what you can negotiate.

Don't be afraid of being observed by another teacher.  Observations are both worthwhile and important in your personal development as a teacher but sadly there aren't enough of them in Thailand.  Many people get all nervous but you shouldn't worry too much about it - after all, back in your own country if someone watched you doing a job, did you get all worked up and anxious about it?  No, of course you didn't - harden up!  However, I firmly believe that observations should not start right away with a new employee.  That person needs time to settle into their new role and actually get a feel for the culture of the school, the students and importantly the courses, course books and materials that they are using.  With this in mind, I do not think that observations should take place until the teacher has been there for about a month or so.  They should only be carried out by experienced, qualified teachers - no exceptions.  If someone wants to observe you on your first day when you are perhaps teaching a course or using course books that you are not yet familiar with, politely refer them to this section of this site and tell them to wake up!  I will be straight here and say that unfortunately there are a few clowns out there doing observations and providing some bloody whacky advice.  It does seem that there simply are not enough observations carried out here in Thailand and it is a big regret of mine that I didn't invite my more experienced colleagues to come and observe me teach and provide me with some feedback.

Although it is pretty difficult to achieve, try and have a chat with an existing teacher at the school that has offered you a job before you accept the position.  Yep, this can be tricky.  Alternatively, try and speak with someone who has worked there recently and see what they have to say.  Don't be afraid to ask very forward questions.  If you find out the school is a sweatshop or simply not suitable for you, walking out once your first pay cheque comes through isn't good for anyone.

On a completely different note, the first 12 months or so in Bangkok really make for your formative years in the "big Thai experience".  It can be invaluable to work with a bunch of quality people who can help you learn the ropes and point you in the right direction from the start. 
 

Do you really want to teach and be a good teacher?  Are you genuinely interested in helping others to learn English and further themselves?

While this site provides information to prospective English teachers coming to Bangkok, it also tells you that if you want to teach here just so that you can live in Bangkok, then you are able to do so.  It is a sad fact that many of the teachers in Bangkok don't have a genuine interest in helping their students.  All they seem to care about is their pay check at the end of the month.  Teaching, like some other jobs such as those in the medical field is about putting other's interests AHEAD of those of your own and doing what is right for them, even if it means imposing upon your own time and resources.  It is a sad fact that many of the native speaking English teachers in Bangkok either do not realise this or don't care.

The standard of English teachers in this city is pretty low and what we really need is keen, enthusiastic, qualified teachers who have a genuine interest in doing what is right for their students.  If you really don't care if the students make progress or not, then please, consider a different line of work because you are quite simply not suited to teaching.

It makes me chuckle that every single non-qualified teacher that I have ever met strongly believes that they have sound teaching technique - funny that... 
 

Are there opportunities to teach subjects other than English, such as computing, business studies, geography etc?

The focus of this page is English teaching in Thailand.  However, opportunities do exist for teachers of other subjects, but there are a lot harder to come by.  Some of the big chains of language schools such as ECC and Siam Computer also have departments teaching computers but this is almost always done in Thai by Thai nationals.

The international schools, schools where everything (except Buddhism and Thai studies) is in English and where the students follow the American or British school syllabus, have openings for suitably qualified teachers.  These schools pay extremely well but they are usually fairly picky about who they take on.

Some schools, particularly some of the best Thai high schools have some special programmes in English.  Opportunities exist at these schools to teach other subjects and the money can be quite good too - 60,000 - 100,000 baht per month.  While you would think that these schools may also attract very good teachers, it is not always the case.  These are plum jobs and are therefore not so easy to come by.

OK, I've got the job - yippee!  How much money do I need to get myself set up in Thailand?

It really depends on what type of person you are, what your required level of comforts are and whether you have any vices at all.  But, bear in mind that in Thailand, most people are paid on the last day of the month and given that you will likely arrive a week or so before the job starts, you may be in country several weeks before you get your first pay packer.  You need to do a rough estimation of how much money you think you'll spend during this time.

On top of this, you have to think about accommodation.  You should try to find an apartment as soon as possible as other types of accommodation will quite simply be more expensive.  Once you have found an apartment, you will have to pay one month's rent in advance, and probably a deposit equal to one, or as seems more and more common, two months rent.  Then you need to think about fitting out and decorating your apartment, buying some basic furniture, perhaps a TV, bedding, towels, all the usual crap.  Fortunately, the essentials for an apartment are very cheap in Thailand and the usual things like pictures and plants to make it look nice are REALLY cheap!  You will no doubt have a few initial set up costs too like a fan, maybe a kettle, towels, bed linen etc.

It is worth keeping an amount in reserve just in case.  And if you are coming to Thailand to look for work i.e.  you don't yet have a job to go to, then it is necessary to have a bit more.  Also, if you need to buy clothes for teaching, do it in Thailand and NOT in your home country as clothes are much cheaper here than most other places.

It doesn't happen often, but I know of at least three people, who have been hit by the old "we don't have enough money so your salary will be late this month" trick.  In each case, they were paid their salary, but between 7 and 10 days late.  Obviously this can cause untold problems and I couldn't imagine being one of these teachers who gets towards the end of the month with very little cash in their pocket and nothing in reserve.

I know people who have arrived in Bangkok with next to nothing and got a job and off they went, no problems.  But for me, I have a certain point at which the alarm bells would start going off.  I would strongly recommend that just in case worse comes to worse, you have at least 50,000 baht at your disposal.  This would cover an air ticket to anywhere in the world, a hospital bill, as well as other contingencies which may arise. 
 

I've heard that due to the demand for English teachers, a language school will never fire a teacher - is this true?

This may have been true at some institutions once upon a time but is definitely no longer the case now.  In the past, the demand for teachers was high, the supply of teachers low and while the Thais knew that some of the folks purporting to be teachers were little more than a bunch of hippies with backpacks masquerading as teachers, they let them get on with it because at the end of the day, they were still native English speakers - and they were the best they could get.

It must be said that at some schools, you can just about get away with murder before they will fire you but any decent school will give you the boot if you prove to be unreliable.  It seems that teachers get fired for being unreliable, culturally insensitive or for poor presentation more than anything else.  It is seldom that one gets his or her marching orders if they are simply not up to scratch in the classroom - many reasons for this but often the manager (who may or may not have been a teacher himself) simply doesn't recognise that the staff member is not up to scratch in the classroom.  On top of this, even if the students don't like the teacher, that teacher would have to be pretty bad before they complained.

Unfortunately, some Thai managers in less well-run schools may take a callous attitude towards the employment of staff and in some odd cases, they may decide to fire a member of staff for something that they deemed to be unfit, but for which the teacher was completely oblivious that they had even done anything wrong.  In the odd case, they can get quite nasty and I have heard of threats made to teachers that because they upset whoever at the school so much, that person is going to take it upon themselves to make it difficult for the teacher to get another job anywhere.  Note that if you do get fired from a position, and your work permit and visa are cancelled, you must leave the country (or get a new job) within 7 days.  Failure to properly cancel a work permit can also result in fines.
 

How many English teachers are there in Bangkok?  Will I be one of a kind or will I have lots of friends doing similar things?

The exact number of English teachers in Thailand is unknown, but in 2006 a little under 7,000 foreigners applied for work permits to be a teacher in Thailand.  That's nationwide.  My best guess, and it is just that, a guess, is that there are perhaps twice this number teaching in Thailand, with a good percentage of those with no work permit most likely working part-time.

English teachers can be found all over Thailand and in all of the major centres.  In Bangkok you will likely find a foreign English teacher (or a bunch of them) in most condo and apartment buildings - at least those buildings where the average condo is not the exclusive domain of the wealthy.  I used to spend quite a lot of time in Korat and even up there, there would have to be more than 100 foreigners teaching English.  English teachers have are everywhere in Thailand.
 

What about if I decide to pursue English teaching as a career.  What are the career options available to me?

English teaching is a lot of fun, but for most people teaching English in Thailand, it is a somewhat temporary type of work.  The majority of folks do it for 1-3 years and then get out of the industry - there are many reasons for this.  If you decide that English teaching is what you want to be doing long term, then you'll be pleased to know that there are quite a few different career opportunities that you can pursue.

The most obvious is getting into a senior position within the school such as DOS (Director of Studies) / Head Teacher / Academic Director type positions.  These jobs may involve some teaching and some management or organisational type duties.  Others may strictly be course development or just management alone, a buffer between the foreign teachers and the Thai management.  It varies from school to school but largely depends on the size of the school as to what this person's duties will be.

Teacher training is another area where one might get into but this really is only an option for the better teachers.  Teacher trainers have a lot of responsibility and frankly, to be a good teacher trainer you really needed to have been a very good teacher.  There are not a lot of openings for this sort of thing.  If you think that this type of work might be you, you might want to think about running some teacher workshops as our school and see how they go.

For those who like sales, there are always opportunities to get into sales roles.  The first and most common position is a salesperson who works for a school and sells courses to different corporations.  This type of work is often done by Thai nationals in Thailand due to the complexities of the culture and the way that business is done in Thailand, though some schools get the farangs to do it.  The other type of sales work in the industry is working for one of the publishers who supply the different series of course books such as Cambridge University Press, Heinemann, Longman etc.

Lastly, there is the opportunity to become a certified examiner such as a certified IELTS examiner.  These people tend to still be teaching but do a bit of work in the side - and the money can be very good.  There is a course to do to become certified.

The one thing I will say here is that it is very easy to fall into a rut teaching in Thailand.  You continue on at the same place and get a small pay rise each year, perhaps 10% or so, but you never really get too far ahead.  Once you have a few years of experience under your belt, you may want to start pushing hard to move ahead, or possibly to change workplace and move into a better position.  It is very easy to do the same thing over and over again and then suddenly find yourself with  number of years under your belt, bored, but really not in a great position as far as your career prospects are concerned.  Schools in Thailand are much less concerned about your personal development than they are about you doing an adequate job in the classroom.  Your boss in all likelihood will not conduct frequent reviews of your progress and it is not that likely that there will be workshops held that often.  The bottom line being that you have to take responsibility for your own personal and professional development.  This may suit some, an d not others.  Of course, if you are someone older, or someone just doing it for the lifestyle, then you may be less inclined to move up the ladder or seek out a higher salary, but really, if you are aged under 50, you want to make sure that you're moving ahead.
 

There are so many language institutes, schools and other employers offering work.  Which should I choose?

Not so many years ago, a number of the language schools had very bad reputations.  Some paid poorly, some asked staff to work all the hours that God sent, some paid late, the communication was invariably bad, there were strong students placed with weak students, almost anyone was hired, lies were common (from both schools to teachers AND teachers to schools) and there was quite frankly, a whole host of other problems.

Fortunately, a lot of these problems are in the past.  No, not every school is perfect now but most are fair and generally one knows what they are getting into.  There is so much information online and that makes it very easy to get feedback from teachers who are currently working at or have worked for, certain schools.  Unfortunately, a lot of the schools that have been around for a while, especially some of the chains, have a bad reputation with certain folks.  It is hard to know who to believe when people talk about the various schools so always try and get up to date information.  What happened a few years ago most likely is not happening now.

As far as the big chains go, the AUA branch at Rajadamri Road doesn't really pay that well, but with so many teachers there it is supposed to be a fun place to work.  It would be ideal if you had money or other income already.  The main ECC branch really must owe me a commission because I have sent to many Thai language students there to study.  As they run the RSA course there, this keeps up the standards and they are pretty good too - but again, the salaries really are not that high.  Siam Computer and Language are another of the big schools.  They used to ask teachers to work long, long hours, at least for those teachers who actually taught within one of the branches.  Again, they are a fun place to work.  Ay of these schools are great places to get started.  Other decent schools are Inlingua which I have heard is very good these days.  Two other chains that little is known about at present are Berlitz and British American.

While some of the chain schools may have had a mixed reputation, one also needs to consider that some branches will be better than others.  Don't be afraid to ask existing teachers what it is really like.  If you have any concerns, raise them.  At an interview, I am always a proponent of asking a lot of questions!

One school that can definitely be recommended is the British Council, generally regarded as both the best place to work as a teacher and the best place to study for students.  The unusually named Bangkok School of Management is also an excellent institute that maintains high standards.
 

I have heard that most foreign English teachers in Thailand are either sex tourists there for the girls (or the boys) or backpackers who just want to prolong their holiday and consume as many drugs as they can?  Are these stereotypes valid?

The backpacker part is laughable.  There are very few backpackers who actually stay on and teach English in Thailand.  This was apparently what happened quite some time ago, perhaps up until the mid '90s, although I personally cannot confirm this as I was not here at the time.  But these days, there really are very, very few backpackers teaching English.

As far as people who are in Thailand for the sex, it is true that there are a of people masquerading as teachers who are in Thailand for what could be termed questionable reasons.  In all fairness to a lot of these people, they may have come here for that, or they may have simply fallen into the trap of the bars after they had already arrived here.  Few people remain interested in the commercial sex industry for a long time as it really does get very boring after a while.

The whole sex tourist and paedophile in the classroom issue got a lot of press in 2006 and 2007 when John Mark Carr was arrested in 2006 and deported from Thailand and then in 2007, Christopher Paul Neil was arrested on suspicion of going about his wicked ways with seriously young boys across South East Asia.  This is all clearly at the disgusting end of the spectrum.

One of the issues schools in Thailand face is that despite salaries paid to native English speaking teachers increasing significantly over the pats 5 years, the salaries are still fairly low by international standards and thus Thailand does not attract the highest quality teachers who may prefer to teach in countries that pay better, such as Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East.  This means that there are always openings for anyone who wants to stay in Thailand long term.

Thailand is quite possibly unique in this respect.  I would suggest that of all of the foreign teachers I know well or have worked with over the years, 90% would have spent time in the city's naughty bars and well in excess of 50% would have actually been a naughty boy.

If you are extremely sensitive to the idea that a number of your male colleagues may be indulging with women of the night, then you might have to find a way to deal with it.  Some language schools have been known to have their staff meetings located close to major bar areas so that afterwards everyone could go and party hard.  If it really bothers you, then Thailand may not be for you.  Even at the very best schools - and I mean the top tier international schools, the teachers may not quite be the wholesome clean living individuals that the kids' parents hope they are...  I could tell some stories that would shock...but that is not necessary.  You get the idea.

In summary, let me say that there are more qualified, experienced and generally professional teachers in Thailand these days, both in numbers and as a percentage, than there were in the past.  Things have improved.
 

The truth is that I am looking for a job in Thailand and I have considered teaching English as it seems the easiest type of thing to do, but you know what, I am not sure if it is really for me.  What other employment options exist?

It is true that securing a job in Thailand as an English teacher is the easiest type of work to come by for a Western native English speaker.  It is also true that teaching is not for a lot of people.

Securing a job outside of teaching can be a lot more difficult.  The first thing to consider is something in the field where you currently work, or the field where you are qualified to work.  Depending on the type of position it is, there may be employment opportunities in Thailand, or there may not.  Take computer professional positions.  There are a number of Westerners employed in the IT industry in Thailand and some of them are doing very well, with whopping great salaries, the highest I have personally heard of was one guy on a day rate of, get this, $US750!  Wow!  To secure a job like that takes a lot of luck, but all power to you if you can manage it.  Don't let me get your hopes up too high though, because most Westerners I know who are involved in IT positions in Thailand earn somewhere between 60,000 - 100,000 baht per month.

As far as administrative positions or management type roles go, that requires even more luck.  Odds are that people in such positions are recruited from, possibly interviewed in and actually appointed from the West, often in an in-company transfer, or foreign secondment position.  These types of jobs can be difficult to come by, and actually are very tricky for someone who has not had a lot of time in Thailand because managing Thais is quite different to managing Westerners, and a good deal of knowledge of Thai culture and the culture of the workplace in Thailand is needed to make the best of a position like this.

There are always people who fancy the idea of working in a bar.  Truth be told, there are not that many positions available and the foreign bar owners I know all work very hard, for not a great deal of reward.  They lead a really unhealthy lifestyle too, so unless this really sounds like you, it is something I would be a little wary of.

You could always try and do something online.  It could be something as diverse as selling Thai textiles or handicrafts online, or start up a website and try to generate income from it.  A few Westerners in Thailand do ok from websites, but they tend to be the guys bold enough to run a site with a distinctly naughty theme.  Thus site generates little pocket change.

Perhaps the best option is to either start up a business or better still, buy an existing business.  Running a business in Thailand is challenging and there are many things one needs to consider that simply would not be relevant in the West, but most guys who have gone from teaching to business ownership would never go back.

The bottom line is that if you want to do something other than teaching, there are other options.

I do recommend though that if you are planning on moving to Thailand, as opposed to just teaching for a year or two, then English teaching may be a good way for you to get your foot in the door and get a feel for the place.

A good number of teachers do not want to be teaching and are forever looking for something different.  It is not always easy to find something away from teaching.  Remember, if a Thai company wants to hire someone they will want someone who speaks Thai, and who understands the Thai way of doing things and that industry in Thailand.  Not many farangs satisfy these requirements.  And when farangs find out the sort of money on offer for a lot of jobs in Thailand, they get rapidly but off.

But it is possible to secure most types of work here, it just takes time, patience, and no small amount of luck.  If you want to get a computer job, you can - and the salary could be very attractive too - but there are a lot of farangs searching for such work locally.  If you want to get a job in project management, then such positions exist, but again, luck will be involved.

How can I find my dream job in Thailand?

I'm sorry to say that finding your dream job in Thailand likely will not happen.  If you secure a good job at a good school, have nice, professional colleagues and end up teaching nice kids, you can have a very good time.  But there always seem to be things at schools and language institutes in Thailand that seem to upset Westerners, and I have yet to hear anyone proclaim that they have found their dream job in Thailand.  There are always problems of one sort or another, ranging from questionable things happening in the running of the school, to bad communication, to a whole range of other issues and problems.

The bottom line, and I really do not want to be negative here, is that teachers are not always happy in their work in Thailand.  They may be happy in the interim period, but they aren't shy at looking around at what else is available.  Even the better managed schools seem to have problems of one sort of another.  The cultural differences are great and the best way to manage it is to try and do things the Thai way.  Learning Thai is a very good way to understand the locals better - there is a method and reason to the way they do things!

Why should I, and why do others, choose Thailand as the place to teach English?

If you are a qualified English teacher and are looking for somewhere to teach, gain some valuable experience with a view to teaching being your career, then think very hard about moving to Thailand.  There are a few schools that can accommodate you, that you can learn from and genuinely develop as a teacher but unfortunately, there are far more that will abuse you, wear you down and eventually break you - possibly to the point that you consider giving teaching away altogether.  Yep, some of the schools here will do some bloody horrible things to you.

With this in mind, what sort of people come to teach English in Thailand?  The vast majority of "English teachers" (need to use this term liberally...) here are teaching English because they want to be here in Thailand and not because this is their chosen profession.  Some of these folks do a fine job but others are less proficient.  I would go as far to say that a good percentage (75% ?) of people teaching English would actually rather be doing something else but quite simply, there is no other work available to them here in Bangkok and they really don't want to leave...  Now, some people want to be here for the rich culture, some want to be here for the travel opportunities that Bangkok affords being in the heart of SE Asia, and another group, quite a sizeable group, want to be here to have sex with young Thais....and to spend every weekend down at Pattaya, pictured below (but the beach is the least of their interests in Pattaya).  Yes, my friend, these folks will be your peers, your colleagues, your friends and your confidantes.  Is this what you want?  If it is, great!  But, if it isn't, then you may well find yourself somewhat lost, let down and unfulfilled professionally.

With this in mind, ask yourself this question, "Do I really want to teach English or is it that I really want to live in Bangkok and teaching English is the vehicle that allows me to do that"?  If it turns out that you actually want to be living in Bangkok as opposed to teaching, do your level best to investigate other employment opportunities because ultimately, I think you'll be happier in them....and your students deserve better than that.  Failing that, try and get a high paying job at home and save hard so that you can bring a decent amount of money to Thailand with you.  So long as the Thai baht remains weak - and it shows no real signs of breaking away from around 40:1 to the $US, bringing say $10,000 with you would be the equivalent to about a year's teaching salary here.

One thing that is great about teaching English in Thailand is that it is easy to get a job in the first place.  Job advertisements in the West seem to ask everyone for a couple of years experience so if you are unable to secure that initial position in the West, Thailand may be worth trying, if only to get that initial experience and then return to your homeland with some international experience under your belt.  In addition to this, if you are in a university or teaching high school kids, it is largely a cruisey number with not a lot of stress - "real" language schools are a little different in this respect.  In most jobs, if you stuff up, you probably won't get fired and if you do get fired, getting another job isn't too difficult.  Basically, it's all pretty relaxed which is nice, but also means that there aren't a lot of long term benefits for you though...

The following post was taken from the Lonely Planet "Thorn Tree" discussion board in March, 2000.  It summarises the point nicely.

...you're qualified.  Kids in Asia get enough scummy backpackers coming over here teaching them English.  These scum don't care about the kids, only the wages and when they can piss off to the beach and screw the local tarts.  They also know fuck-all about teaching English.  Basically, it's not fair on the kids.  If you care about other people than yourself, then don't teach unless you're qualified.  Having said that, you can still work your way through Asia - bars and guesthouses will give you jobs.  The wages aren't great but at least they allow you to stay in one place for a while without costing you much.

This site used to include a summary of some of the more popular English language institutes with opinions on it whether it was or wasn't, as the case may be, a good place to work.  However, it was just to difficult to keep that up to date, and to keep on top of it so regrettably it had to be removed.  Further, it seems that a few schools didn't like what was said about them.  In the interests of being fair, that section was removed.

Private Tuition

Most teachers take on some private tuition at one time or another.  Private tuition can be financially lucrative and if you can get one or two regular privates then you can supplement your regular income very nicely.  What you charge is entirely up to you but remember that the average monthly income in Thailand is only 7,000 baht so unless you are teaching the high society types, you will not be able to charge a fortune.  The average that most teachers I know charge is around 500 baht an hour - some charge a lot more.  One fellow I know charges 800 baht an hour for one on one tuition and 1,200 baht an hour to teach a group - and he has students lining up!  If you charge this sort of money, you will likely be getting rich, demanding students who will want to make progress and see results quickly.  One point to consider is that there seems to be a belief in Thailand that the more you pay, the better the service you get.  So don't charge peanuts otherwise you may be considered to be a monkey.

If you are a good teacher and can meet the student's expectations then you should be able to teach them for a good period of time and do quite well financially out of it.  When I taught privates, I used to charge a lot less but I taught in my apartment building and there was no travel involved.  I'm not actually a great fan of one on one teaching and now turn down all requests from locals to teach them privately.  Private students are notorious for cancelling so do not rely on private lessons as primary income - it should only ever be looked at as supplementary.  Don't be afraid to cancel on your private students if you have other plans or get a better offer.  Notwithstanding this, there are at least a couple of fellows that I know of who make a very good living just doing private tuition in people's homes or at people's place of work.  To succeed at this you not only need to be an effective teacher but you need to be well presented and very well organised so that you can schedule your student's lessons to fit in with your respective timetables.

In my experience, the best place to get private students is to get students you are already teaching.  No, I do not mean poaching students from the language school where you are teaching already.  That is a good way to get yourself sacked.  If you find yourself teaching at a high school, you will very likely be approached by students who want to study after hours or at the weekend and they will likely be willing to pay decent money.  You have to manage this situation very carefully because while some schools allow you to do this, others will prohibit it.  Personally, I think it is questionable, but many of my colleagues over the years have done this.

The obvious ideas of erecting advertisements on notice boards at places like universities and in apartment buildings do not seem to reap rewards in Thailand.  Thais who study privately one on one tend to prefer to approach a teacher who they know already, or who has been recommended to them.

A final note about private tuition.  Any private lessons that you do are NOT covered by your work permit.  Your work permit allows you to teach at your primary place of employment only, the place that is very clearly specified in your work permit.  Even if you were to perform work for the company whose name is specified in the work permit off the company premises, or at least the address specified in the work permit, it is technically illegal.  But that said, at the end of the day, you will be unlikely to have any problem at all, but just be careful.  It pays to keep private lessons hush hush as some people can get jealous if you are pulling in a decent income from your jobs on the side.  Also, a lot of employers don't like you teaching away from your main place of employment so keep it quiet! 
 

Another Opinion / Reality Check

The following posting appeared on a newsgroup in the '90s discussing teaching English in Thailand.  The author makes some very good, relevant points and I would suggest that most teachers have felt like this at some time in Thailand.  There are times when I really agree with this viewpoint. 

I taught there before the economy got bad so I don't know about the job market now but then it was very easy to get work then.  If you're serious about teaching English in Bangkok you're in for a rough ride.  The pay is very low and the living conditions of Bangkok are bad, the pollution alone drove me away.  You don't need any knowledge of Thai to teach English.  I don't know what you expect of the teaching experience but I can say from extensive experience in a number of schools and situations that basically it's a waste of time.  The students would like to know English better but very few will make the individual effort necessary to attain any level of mastery.  Your job as a "teacher" is basically to entertain, you can forget any notions of actually teaching anything.  Most students are too afraid of failing to attempt to say much so you're left holding the bag i.e.  presenting more of monologue, even in so called conversation classes.  I taught at a teachers college in one of the provinces and even 4th year English majors would be hard pressed to string two grammatically sentences together.  Initially I was frustrated but grew to accept the situation and do what I could the best I could.  Quite frankly, I don't think anyone's English was improved as a result of my exertions.  The bottom line is the students have almost no desire to improve their abilities but expect to be magically transformed by interacting with a foreign teacher, clown, entertainer-take your pick; obviously nothing can come of this.

My view is completely negative, but I feel realistic and true to my experience.  I'm sure you can find positive feedback as well.  I don't know your motives, if it's just to be in Thailand then it may be the place for you.  If it's to make money then Japan, Korea or Taiwan are better choices.  Just remember that if your goal is to teach I think you will be frustrated no matter where you go and I've been to all the above except Japan.  I just had a hard time respecting myself charading as a teacher.  In Thailand people will ask you what you do and you will respond that you are a kru (teacher) and this will impress them invariably.  But every time this happened I couldn't help but thinking "if only you knew".  I've blabbered on enough, good luck.

I personally did the CELTA at a language school which was professional in all aspects and one couldn't help but be thoroughly impressed with the whole operation.  All of the teachers were fully qualified with a CELTA - NO exceptions - and a number of them had a CELTA Diploma too.  More than half of the teachers had also taught English in another country.  Systems were in place to ensure that students were placed correctly e.g. elementary level students into an elementary level class etc and this was reviewed as courses progressed.  There was a full support structure in place for the students including counsellors who spoke the native language of the students, be it Japanese, Korean etc.  There were stacks of resources available for both the students and the teachers.  Not withstanding that the whole operation is obviously a business with the requirement to make money, the goal of the school seemed to be to provide a supportive environment to allow the students to learn English effectively.  From what I saw, it was extremely successful.  Discussions with fellow teachers confirm that the industry in New Zealand, Australia and England is far more developed than the industry in Thailand and very professional.

Sadly, as mentioned earlier, Bangkok is a different story, though things are improving.  There are not that many qualified English teachers here - by qualified, I mean with a CELTA / Trinity / TEFL / equivalent qualification.  A guess would be that about 15 - 20% are qualified.  OK, so business is business and every business operates for one reason - to make money, but so many language schools in Thailand will just take on any Tom, Dick or Harry - a white face, put them in front of a bunch of eager students and forget about it.  So many schools don't give a shit about the product that they offer and the teachers ARE the product.  I really feel sorry for Thai students who want to learn English because it isn't easy to find a decent school and even harder to get a good teacher.  It is TOO EASY to get a job as an English teacher in Thailand.

One of the big problems at private language schools especially, is that the person in the role of DOS or head teacher often doesn't have the required management skills.  There seems to be a way of thinking in Bangkok that the best person for such a person is the best or most experienced teacher but sadly, when this happens, often the person appointed proves to be unsuccessful.  A person in such a person should primarily be a good manager with sound people skills and teaching skills and knowledge of the industry should be secondary.  The role of this person in a language school is critical as they are more often than not the liaison between the foreign teachers and the Thai management.  What all of this leads to is some particularly insincere, power happy people in positions of influence.  The DOS / head teacher often goes on to hire people that they like, do little to help develop the teachers and add to the value of the business and generally make decisions with *their own* agenda in mind.  Too many DOSs / Academic Directors / Branch Managers or basically people in senior positions have fortuitously fallen into such a position and they very quickly realise that financially they are on to a good number that could not be replicated as a teacher.  As soon as this is realised and it dawns on them that they can often get away with doing a mediocre amount of work so long as they do not question their boss and / or the Thai management, they will do anything to keep the position, frequently making errant decisions that impact very negatively upon the teachers at the school.

For these reasons, English teachers do not have a particularly good reputation amongst the expat population in Bangkok.  Other than the people who sit on a telephone all day trying to sell those bogus share issues to potential investors in other countries, many foreign expats see English teachers as just about the bottom of the barrel amongst Bangkok expat society.  The words I'm an English teacher are not always spoken with a great deal of pride in Bangkok because any English teacher will truly know that many of their farang peers are a bunch of sex tourists, beach bums, misfits or no hopers.  Getting a job as an English teacher is as easy as getting into a taxi.  Sad, but true.  Fortunately, Thai society does view teachers in a quite different light.

The whole point that I'm trying to get across here is that although teaching can be a great job, the whole industry in Bangkok lacks professionalism.  As an Australian colleague recently said "Private language schools in Bangkok are all clip joints".  Most schools have good motives but at the end of the day, they take on unqualified teachers, they mis-place students in the wrong course and are happy to make zillions of other questionable decisions if it means that they will get more revenue - and with the Thai student mentality of seldom ever complaining, the school simply doesn't receive the negative feedback that it ought to.  Other than perhaps the best schools like British Council, IDP and the now defunct Austil, it seems that many language school in Bangkok suffers from these problems to some extent - some worse than others.

In quite a few language schools, there can be a bit of friendly rivalry between the British and the American teachers.  While I tend to prefer most things British including British movies, television and culture, I do feel that the Brits in Bangkok schools do incite a few problems here.  Constant criticisms of American English and the way that Americans do things only contributes to disrupting the harmony of the workplace.  Further, there are a fair few Brits do seem to have rather high opinions of themselves as teachers especially when comparing themselves to the Americans.  Funnily enough, the Aussies and Kiwis just seem to get on with things and not get caught up in a lot of this nonsense.

As weird as this may sound, I would not recommend anyone to stay in the Bangkok English teaching industry for a long time.  Many of the folks that I have met and / or know that have been teaching for a long time have become very jaded and there seem to be a lot of reasons for this.  In some cases, they seem to have resigned themselves to the fact that there is a lot of crap going on and they are unable to do anything to counter this.  Many of the folks who stay in teaching a long time are slowly withering down their options if they choose to return to their homeland.  Teaching for a year or two in another country is fine on a resume but for a long time, it is not the best piece on your resume and you may find yourself trying to unsuccessfully downplay it.  In Bangkok, teachers tend to socialise with teachers and I see this as a socio-economic thing as much as anything else.  Few expats in Bangkok earn as little as teachers and teachers will be very envious at what their fellow expats in other industries earn.  Finally, a lot of teachers simply do not have the skills to do anything else and they are doing teaching by default, and that is sad.

So, I've done my bit to put you off teaching in Thailand...which wasn't my intention, just wanting to be honest about it.  You've read all of the information with enthusiasm and anticipation, only to get to the Reality Check bit where Sticky slags it all off!  Like a change of job back in your homeland, you have to think things through very carefully.  However, what we are talking about here is more than a change of job, it is a whole change of lifestyle.  If you are a career teacher, you may find the English language teaching industry in Bangkok to be somewhat unprofessional compared to what you are used to but you have already made the decision to come to Bangkok, so come on over.  For many reasons, you'll be in a better position to deal with it all than someone who is new to teaching.

For people contemplating teaching as a way to stay in Bangkok / Thailand, you need to think really hard about what you are doing.  The lure of Bangkok can be very strong, so strong in fact that you will consider doing whatever possible within the law, to move there, to live in this exotic, charming land.  By teaching English, you should be able to get by comfortably enough but it is very important to realise the following:

- unless you get very lucky and get an international school job, you will never get rich.  Figure a salary of around 25,000 - 40,000 baht per month.  This is enough for Bangkok, but should you decide to move back to Farangland, no matter how much you have saved in baht, it won't go too far.  If money is important to you - do NOT come to Thailand!

- the way schools are run in Thailand is that you are there to do a job, and that is it.  Most schools really do not do too much in the way of professional development so you might not even get the chance to learn better teaching techniques and tricks, let alone anything else.

- the schools that you learn as a teacher will bring you confidence and should contribute towards developing your own awareness of the language, and this making you a little more articulate.  However, apart from this, you will not gain a lot of other marketable skills.

- what point are you at in your life?  If you are  financially set or retired, then teaching is probably a good way to go as it will give you some income and also keep you busy.  However, if you are a young guy who has yet to carve out a career, I would question the wisdom of a term in Thailand for anything over a couple of years.  A two year jaunt on a CV can be explained away, much more is hard to talk around and you may find yourself suddenly out of the loop.

My story

I came to Bangkok with no teaching experience as such, apart from several hours observed teaching on the CELTA course I completed before leaving my homeland.  I came to Thailand with the idea of teaching because it was one job I thought I could do legally.  I only thought I'd live in Thailand for a year or two but that notwithstanding, I felt it important to prepares as best I could.  Working in education is a job you MUST take seriously.

Back in those days, a good chunk of the teaching work was in language schools and institutes, like ECC, AUA, the British Council etc.  Outside corporate work was taking off and the demand from high schools to place foreign teachers as full-time teachers on their premises was gaining momentum.

My first job was in the main branch of one of the larger chains of English schools.  Thy initially hired me to do an outside contract but there was some confusion there, me thinking that I had been hired for the main branch.  When I realised I was to be placed out in the 'burbs, well away from the apartment I had just signed up to in the centre of town that very same day, they did a bit of juggling and placed me as the main in-house teacher at the main branch, which was awfully nice of them.  Back then there seemed to be far fewer clean cut, presentable teachers who were young, keen AND had some sort of teaching qualification.  (I didn't realise it at the time but I was in REAL demand back then.)

In my first job in Thailand, the staff were nice and the students even nicer.  I loved my time the classroom.  It was GREAT!  I met a few people and made a couple of friends, although the people I knew back then all seem to be doing much the same thing.  This school was not known as on of the better employers and they tended to hire anyone.  I should have realised that when I was hired without being asked a question.  But that aside, let me say that the people there were truly wonderful and even now, I know I left a really pleasant workplace.

The problem was that my workload was totally over the top.  I was working 6 days a week and was doing 6 contact hours a day.  That is 36 contacts a week, or over a month, in excess of 150 contact hours!  After a week I was knackered and didn't go in one day, thinking I would just walk away from it.  I am ashamed to say that I was weak and went in the next day.  It was sort of weird because they weren't angry at me.  I just made up some nonsense about how I had been sick and tried to call and they didn't answer the phone.  Notwithstanding that this sort of thing would have caused a massive headache for them, no-one batted an eyelid!  (I was later to find out that this sort of thing happens all the time...)

There were other problems at the school which I couldn't help but notice, even if they didn't direct affect me.  One day in the classroom next to me was a sex tourist masquerading as a teacher.  Some poor girl's parents were paying a pretty sum for her to study privately - one on one with a foreign "teacher".  Very sad.

I battled on for another month or more, enjoying the teaching and in many ways enjoying the environment.  The classes were small and the students were just a few years younger than me.  I was 28 at the time and most of the students were in their early '20s.  They seemed to respect me because I had a few years on them, but they also seemed to enjoy my company because the age gap was not great.  Even though I only worked there for 7 weeks, I made friends with a number of students and went out with entire classes of students to Chatuchak and to dinner a couple of times.  It was a great time, but the long days were killing me.

On top of the long days was the fact that I was only earning 19,000 baht a month, and paying up 12,000 baht a month in rent - and that wasn't including electricity, phone etc.  The economics of it weren't working, so when I got a phone call from someone I had met a couple of months earlier, the decision to move wasn't difficult at all.

Back in the good old days, long before the likes of Ajarn.com, one of the most popular ways of finding work was to go to one of the English teaching job fairs.  A number of employers set up small booths in one of the conference rooms at a large hotel.  Prospective teachers would go along and meet the employers and with a bit of luck, a match would be found.

I happened to meet an Englishman who had been living and working in Thailand for 8 years and who had recently set up a new, high quality language school located in a very central location.  He was extremely helpful and we immediately hit it off.  I gave him my number and he called me for an interview shortly after.  Actually, it was not a structured interview as such but more a discussion about life over lunch.  He liked me, but as I was still very new to Thailand, he was concerned that my lack of familiarity with al things Thai combined with my lack of experience made me a bit too high risk to hire at this stage.  He hired another fellow who had had a couple of years experience in Thailand, a fellow who was to become a very good pal of mine....  This all happened the week I got my first job, he one with 36 contact hours a week.

Anyway, as business at this particular language school picked up, the Englishman gave me a call and invited me in for a chat.  He explained that things had picked up and he would like to take a chance on me.  He could not offer me a contract or a work permit, but he could offer me 300 baht an hour, which was effectively more than twice what I was earning already.  He also said that there'd be no more than 5 days work a week, and h anticipated that initially he would be able to find me about 20 hours work a week.  I jumped at the chance.  I left the previous school, leaving a "I'm sorry, but..." letter.  I never did get paid for the first 3 weeks of that month.  Never mind, I had to leave if I wanted the new position.  I wasn't proud to walk out on a company like that, but the terms of the contract were so horribly oppressive that I could not bear it any longer.

The new language school was a GREAT environment for a new teacher.  It was, and indeed still is, a small operation, but the staff were all excellent and I leant a huge amount from the other Westerners on the staff, both about teaching, and about life in Thailand.  One could not have asked for a better place to "start" one's teaching career.   The difference of working with and being surrounded by qualified, quality teachers is just so phenomenally different to hanging around with a bunch of has-beens who are there for all of the wrong reasons.

The physical environment of the school was nice and as this was pre-skytrain days, it was a real bonus that it was only a 20 minute walk or 5 minute bus ride from my apartment.  The school was very well resourced with a huge range of resource materials.  I was now teaching not just general English but also IELTS, academic English, TOEFL and business English as well.  There was also some one on one instruction.  Truth b told, the Thai staff, while nice, were not as nice as they were at the previous place of employment and the students were not nearly as nice either, but hey, in terms of personal development, that place could not be beat.

But things weren't perfect.  No sir, they weren't.  On my first day at this new school, I was scheduled to teach a 12 year old private student.  I asked the DOS for a few hints as I had only had 7 weeks experience and had never taught one on one, nor a youngster before - nor had we covered either kids or private one on one tuition when I had done the CELTA.  He says to me, "I don't really care what you do - get her to teach you Thai if you want - that's what the last teacher did"!  Well, I did my best, but really, such an inexperienced teacher should never have been asked to do this.  I later found out that every other teacher had refused to teach this particular student and hence it ended up with me!

For the next year or so I experienced a fairly steep learning curve as I became more familiar with the language itself, and also started to get more of a feel for various course books and resource materials.  I started to discover which courses I liked teaching the most and became more aware of my students' needs.

Management of the school seemed to like me and I received two pay rises in fairly quick succession, first to 350 baht an hour, and then to 400 baht.  This might not sound like much now, but back in 1998, 400 baht an hour was good money.  I was offered a contract and turned it down as everything was going well and I liked the idea of doing full-time hours, but essentially being part-time.  Without a contract, it meant I did not have to do one Monday a month, the school's day off.

One of the things I really struggled with when teaching at this particular language institute were the long classes.  The typical length of one class was two and a half hours.  We'd give the students a quick 5 minute break, which often became ten, but still, that is a long time to teach for.  I used to think that perhaps it was my own lack of staying power but looking back on it, I think that more than anything, it was the Thais' lack of willingness to accept that not every lesson will be sanuk.  So many students seemed to turn off after about three quarters of an hour which was not much more than a quarter of the lesson.  It was even worse on the Saturday classes when I had to do a three hour class.  Really, I think Thai students are suited to much shorter classes.  Absolute maximum length should be two hours with a 10 minute break in the middle.

But I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't noticed cracks in the wall by then.  There were problems and I began to realise back then what I now know to be true - that the English teaching game is one big, dirty industry.  One day, the DOS approached me late in the afternoon and asked me if I would like to start teaching an academic English course the next day.  Sure I reply.  I'm then told that I need to design a whole new course as this is a special course for a bunch of very intelligent 16 year old girls from one of the best high schools.  It seemed that every other teacher that had been approached to teach the course had turned down the request to do it - because of the need to design a whole new course suitable to their needs - and so it ended up with me.  I was always happy to help out so despite the problems, I took it on.  Design a course overnight?  A bit of a big ask really.  I did manage to amend an existing course and use that, but it was hardly ideal.  Fortunately, it was a success but it was a lot of unnecessary pressure that I could have done without and it really was a bit cheeky to the students to do things like that.

But it was not all bad.  The best time I had teaching was a 3 month outside contract while at that particular language school.  They secured a half million baht contract to place two English teachers, myself and a colleague, in a large Thai business for 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, for three months.  This contract was handled EXACTLY how it should have been and frankly was a model for how an outside contract should be done.  There were almost 200 students and they were all tested and interviewed and graded.  They were then separated into 12 classes.  We saw each class twice a week.  Before the course was put together, the other teacher and myself spent two days with the company in their workplace, booking at what they did, analysing their particular language needs.  We also met with many high ranking managers and talked with them about the aspects of the language that were required.  We then spent the best part of a week designing a course for them and producing 30 different lesson plans, each one with a freer practice activity.  Without wanting to blow our trumpets, we did a fantastic job and so when the time came to teach it, it went wonderfully well.  We struck up an excellent rapport with all of the students and when the time came to leave, it really was very sad.  This was without a doubt the most enjoyable and rewarding time I have had as a teacher.  I liked it so much that I thought about approaching that company to see if there was a requirement for a full-time English teacher.  In retrospect, perhaps I should have?

As is often the case in Bangkok, all of the teachers were males and most of us relatively young - predominantly a late 20's / early 30's crowd.  On a Saturday afternoon, the last day of the working week, occasionally teachers' Thai girlfriends would come into the school to meet them and from there they could go out.  The DOS at my school mentioned to me that my girlfriend should not come in to the school because she had dark-ish skin and the students may not approve of their teacher having a girlfriend with dark skin.  This particular school was almost totally attended by rich upper class WHITE-skinned Thais who look down on darker skinned Thais.  I got quite upset about this at the time, but later understood that he was doing it to protect the school's interests.

Unfortunately things started to get worse and worse.  Good staff members left and they weren't always replaced by people who were as good.  High staff turnover is to be expected in this industry given that not that many people in the English teaching game really look that long term.

As the staffing problem got worse, the DOS approached me saying that he was desperate for teachers for a new outside contract he has secured and asked me if I knew anyone looking for work?  "Yes", I do".  "Is the teacher a good teacher" he asks.  "No, he's shit" I respond.  "Oh, we don't care about that, is he popular with students".  "Yes, very popular", I replied, which was true.  "OK, what's his name, we'll take him!"  Things like this do get to you after a while.  This DOS had pressure on him to fill up the positions for the new outside contracts and he had to take on some teachers that weren't really up to it.  This is common at most schools in Thailand and is one of the reasons that it is so easy to get a job.  But for a purist, or even just for people who try to do a good job, it is demoralising.

The bad decisions seemed to continue.  A fellow teacher was A1 - qualified, experienced and great in the classroom - both effective and popular with the students.  He had a very sound knowledge of the language but perhaps more importantly, a fabulous teaching manner that the students responded well to.  Unfortunately, there were some misunderstandings with regards to his contractual obligations and his responsibilities to the school.  He was offered several classes to teach and turned them down - as he believed he could.  However, this put pressure on the DOS to find someone else to teach those courses.  One day he finishes his class at midday on a Saturday and thinks he has the weekend to look forward to.  The manager calls him from home and tells him that the management has decided that he is no longer required and today is his last day at that branch.  He is to be relocated to a branch on the outskirts of the city where he doesn't want to teach, and this with a very small number of hours.  He was effectively managed out of his position.  I started getting more and more frustrated and disappointed with the way things were going.  As I had other income, I made the tough decision after almost two years teaching English in Bangkok that I had finally had enough and decided it was time to call it a day.

The next few paragraphs which are indented and italicized are what I wrote on this site at that time, in April 2000.  At the time of writing I vowed never to get back into teaching again, but little did I know.....

In all of my professional life I have always enjoyed giving whatever I'm doing my best shot, and doing things as well as I could.  I have been lucky in the past in that I have worked in an environment where this was possible, but I found that with teaching in Bangkok, there was always something stifling me, inhibiting my ability to do a quality job.  And at times, I felt that some of those around me were operating in such an unprofessional manner that I felt down.  I got fed up and instead of waiting for the inevitable day when I was going to explode, tell someone what I really thought of them and generally do a whole lot that I knew that I would later regret, I decided to resign.

During the relatively short time that I taught in Bangkok I have both met and observed some utterly dreadful teachers.  The worst thing about some of these folks is that they seem to believe that after teaching for a year, they are now God's gift to the world.  Utter the magic words "lesson observation" or "preparation" and they run a mile or come up with all sorts of ridiculous excuses as to why they are not a good idea...they're scared and they know that they would fail even the most unscrupulous of observations.  Why is it that once these unqualified folks have taught for a year, they think that they are the composite professional?  Makes you wonder doesn't it...  If they were to do a decent teacher's training course then perhaps they would find out just how much they do NOT know.

I get very frustrated at the insistence on the part of some institutions that candidates have a bachelors degree as the pre-requisite for applying for a position.  A bachelors degree doesn't prove diddly squat!  All it says is that you have successfully completed a tertiary education.  It in absolutely no way makes you a good teacher unless it is specifically related to education, TEFL or something directly within this field.  Many schools plus all of the universities require a bachelors degree but do not seem to care if you have a specific teaching qualification or otherwise.  They place so much importance on the perceived prestige to their institute of the teacher having a degree and seemingly do not care whether the teacher is effective in their role or otherwise.  This all goes back to the standard of education in Thailand which sadly, is not too high - and that's being BLOODY polite.

Stories of schools employing non-native speakers and purporting to students that they "speak a little funny" because they come from the north of England is just abysmal!  Will this ever change?  I would like to think so but I really don't know...  Native speaking and purportedly qualified teachers telling me how they do a wonderful job with 65 students in their class...yeah, good on ya buddy.

OK, so those who know me well know that I like to misbehave and have a bit of fun and yes, I am not adverse to drinking and chasing women.  Hey, I think I'm a fairly typical guy in this respect.  But, when it comes to work, I like to consider myself professional - if I'm going to do it, I'll give it 100%.  Much of the English language teaching industry in Bangkok is like a circus, it really is.  The point I want to get across is this:  If you want to sample an exotic country and enjoy a comfortable standard of living then teaching English in Bangkok is an ideal vehicle to allow you to do this.  However, if you want to work in a professional organisation and take a pride in your work while at the same time having the opportunity to develop as a professional and perhaps even develop a new career, then Bangkok may not be the place for you.  I am of the opinion that there are only a handful of schools that allow you to do this.

What seems to happen in Bangkok is that the teachers who are qualified and really care about their students eventually get worn down by all of the bullshit bureaucracy, inefficiency and nonsense regulations as well as some of the appalling decisions that are made and are contrary to anyone's idea of quality education.  The people who really do care seem to last a year or two and then they just disappear, perhaps off to another country or perhaps into another industry in Thailand.  Funnily enough, the teachers who really don't give a shit about the quality of their tuition seem to stay on the teaching circuit in Bangkok for too long.  They put up with all of the nonsense because for whatever reason, they do not want to leave Thailand - or perhaps they are avoiding going back to their homeland.  As someone who puts quality first, this can all become very demoralising.

At the end of the day, there is just so much crap here.  It just became too much for me and I had to get out.  Maybe I'll return to teaching but for now, it is nice to take a bit of time off and gather my thoughts.  Further, as I plan to spend some time studying the Thai language, that experience should contribute towards me better understanding what it's like to be a student learning a foreign language.  Who knows what the future holds?  For someone who really likes Thailand and the Thai people, and who is committed to trying to give the Thai people something back for the hospitality they show us foreigners, I felt very sad that the Thais were getting a raw deal from so many English schools and teachers of English.

After resigning from that school, I took the next 13 months off work completely.  I studied Thai full-time for 7 months and thoroughly enjoyed it, learning good Thai by day, and bad Thai by night.  Within a few months of leaving teaching I vowed never to return again as I had a new income source.  However, that all went very bad and in mid 2000 I found myself without income.  It was at that time that I really started to develop this website and try and derive an income from it although that was largely unsuccessful.

I later returned to the workforce and was employed as an English teacher at a high school in Bangkok, a job I got through a friend who had already been there for a year.

This was something new for me, working in a high school, teaching kids much younger than I had taught before - and something which, truth be told, I didn't really fancy taking on, at least initially.  But I needed to get some structure back in my life and more than a year without any real work meant that things were becoming a bit loose - and I didn't like the way my life was going.

It was a good contract and very competitive for the period.  The real beauty of it was that we got generous holidays, something which makes it all very worthwhile.  3 months off a year means you can do pretty much anything you want.  A month in October and two months from mid March through to mid May.

But with 50 students in many classes, it was always a challenge to maintain control of such a large class while teaching effectively.  It can be difficult to make real progress with 50 students in a class so you have to be something of an entertainer and keep your lessons lively.  I remember when I trained to be a language teacher many moons ago and they said that the absolute maximum number of students you should have in a class is 16, though less than that would be ideal.  50 was a real challenge!  It took a bit of time to adjust and in time I began to enjoy it more and more, and fortunately the students warmed to my teaching style.

One of the things I liked most was teaching lessons of less than an hour duration.  That meant you could go into the class, present a language point, practice it, and that was your lesson.  With relatively short periods (compared to a language school where classes are 2 - 3 hours in length), I felt it was just the right length of time to maintain the kids' interest - and that is so important - you have to keep the kids interested!  Still, if one's class happened to fall towards the end of the day, the students are never shy to tell you how tired they are or openly put their head down on the desk and try and get a little sleep!

If I thought some weird things happened at the language school where I used to work at, then I was in for a major shock.  The first was that there are four lots of exams through the school year.  The year is divided up into two semesters and there are mid-semester exams as well as final exams.  While the students can fail exams they are given chance after chance to re-test.  You can fail them alright, but you have to re-test them until they pass.  What this results in is a system whereby every student knows that at the end of the day they will pass.  Things can get dumbed down so as to allow every student to pass.  If any students fail over and over again, then you, as the teacher may be looked at.  Sure, it may well have been you who was at fault and it may be that your instruction methods were not up to scratch, but it may also be the students who were at fault, often through laziness, failing to do the work, or possibly not even coming to class!

I was informed that when making up an exam for the students, you should have a final section called "writing" where you get the students to do a writing task based on something, anything, that you have covered with them.  You give this writing a very high waiting, for instance, 30% or more of the entire exam paper's mark.  This way if the student bombs the rest of the paper, you just give them maximum marks in this section which will usually (though not always!) give them enough marks to pass the exam.  Failing students and getting them to do a re-test is a pain for everyone and is best avoided at all costs, even if it means you are forced to do some things which seriously compromise your integrity!  I prefer to make sure my students are thoroughly prepared for the exams and actually run extra classes for them to make sure they can pass.  I refuse to dumb things down because at the end of the day, I really do want the best for the kids.

I always struggled with the way that image plays a big part in education in Thailand.  It is important that the teacher can answer every question but I will be the first to admit there are things I do not know.  Occasionally a student may ask a high level grammar question and if it was something I was not familiar with I would tell them that I would get back to them.

It may seem crazy that you may be working with teachers who have taught English for 20 or more years and struggle to put together a grammatically correct sentence.  But that doesn't mean they cannot teach.  You might wonder how someone in the English department doesn't speak good English, but most still teach it well.

The first year was quite tough as it was a whole new environment and a whole new way of doing things, but subsequent years have been much easier because once you get used to the way things are done and you adapt to it.  This is Thailand and you have to adapt - you cannot expect everything to be done the Western way.

Teaching 20 odd one hour (or less) periods per week sounds like it is quite a lark, but at times it can be quite the opposite.  There are always things to do in a high school that wouldn't occur in a language school.  There is always paperwork to attend to!  Disappointingly, this sort of thing can take a long time to produce and can end up filed away and never looked at again.

And then there are the school duties.  Morning assembly and being there for the national anthem and morning prayer.  There might be building monitoring to do, looking out for kids playing where they shouldn't be etc.  There are always extra projects to do and the number of weekends when you are called in for parent / teacher meetings, school meetings, special project meetings, school anniversary or one of many other types of function soon add up.  What initially seemed like a light workload can soon mount up.

I enjoy teaching in the high school environment.  I have always had an excellent relationship with the Thai staff and a very good relationship with the students too, and I really enjoy seeing the progress that students at younger ages make.  It is so much easier to see progress in younger students, especially if you teach them a few times a week.  There is real satisfaction in providing quality education and contributing positively to someone's life.

Teaching in a high school is more than a job, it is a privilege.  You have the chance to make a really positive impact on someone's life and you should take that very, very seriously.  If you are not serious about it, please leave the job to someone else.  but if you are serious about it, what a wonderfully rewarding job it can be!

Good luck!

Looking For Work

Without a doubt, the best place to look for a teaching position in Thailand is online at Ajarn.com.  This website, which was set up in 1999 by Ian McNamara but is now run by Bangkok Phil, has revolutionised the way recruitment takes place in the teaching industry in Thailand.  Huge numbers of jobs appear on the site every week and the site has contributed to a rise in salaries offered in the industry nationwide.  In addition to jobs offered at the site, there is a lot of information about teaching in Thailand.

Door knocking!  Yes, it used to be the best way to look for a job!  Just turn up at a language institute or a school and request an interview.  Make sure you are wearing your best threads as presentation is all important in Thailand.  Also remember to take along a copy of your CV (resume in American English...), with a photo attached plus copies of your teaching certificate, degree etc.  ECC at Siam Square, Siam Computer at Victory Monument and AUA on Rajadamri Road (all the main / head office branches) are three big schools with many branches that are usually happy to receive walk-in applicants.

The Bangkok Post  newspaper has vacancies advertised everyday and is the best newspaper to look at for teaching jobs, that is if you are actually in Bangkok.

Eslcafe.com  has jobs advertised online and you can advertise in the job wanted section.  There is also an excellent job discussion forum which is well worth reading and a small submission of posts on Thailand, some good but others a little wacky.

Ajarn.com  The most comprehensive Thailand English teaching website; far and away the most job listings for Thailand teaching positions.

The English version of the Bangkok Yellow Pages has an extensive listing of all of the language schools.

"Teaching English Abroad", by Susan Griffith, gives a good overview of teaching around the world.  The Thailand section is OK but the remuneration details and school listings are pretty old and some details are really need to be updated.  Frankly, to know about actually teaching in Thailand, especially current school details, stick to the internet.

There is an excellent selection of English language course books and resource materials available in Bangkok.  The best place seems to be DK Books who stock a great range of course books, resource materials and general teaching books.  The best branch for these types of resources is the store on a soi off Ratchaprarop Road, just up from the Indra Regent Hotel.  Thailand is one of the cheapest places in the world to buy course books - they are priced according to the comparatively low amount of discretionary spending money that Thais have.

Return to Stickman main index page

---

All feedback is welcome - please send email to: stickmanbangkok@gmail.com

---