Teaching English is the go-to job for foreigners who wish to earn money while living in Thailand. But it’s not that easy. I think that many prospective teachers, myself included, simply don’t know what they’re getting after accepting a position at a Thai school. Before you think it’ll be a breeze to become a teacher in Thailand, there are a few things worth considering. They are especially true if you’ve never taught before.
I get it – teaching abroad sounds like a dream. For some people, the only thing separating them from becoming a teacher in Thailand is a one-way ticket abroad. They’ve already doubled checked Thailand’s basic teaching requirements and they’ve already earned a TEFL certification (recommended for first-timers).
As many times as I’ve heard that teaching is among the hardest, least appreciated, and most underpaid jobs out there, these truths still apply in Thailand. Yes, it will continue to be a physically and an emotionally demanding job. After all, teaching doesn’t become easier just by crossing a few countries’ borders.
And so, I wanted to put a few things into perspective. For those who are considering taking their teaching career abroad or for those who simply want a reason to stay in Thailand and think teaching is easy money, you may be in for a rude awakening.
Simply put, you may not want to become a teacher in Thailand if…
You Can’t Tolerate Deliberate Ignorance or Failure
Aside from a few exceptions, the Thai education system has a no fail policy. So whether or not a student participates in class, puts effort into a task, or understands the material, they pass.
Many foreign teachers accept this system for what it is and grade on a curve without question. I envied those teachers who can teach with enthusiasm even though they have students in their class who couldn’t be bothered to learn.
For me, this was a source of a lot of heartache. I had a hard time accepting that it was ok for students to not participate, put forth effort, or understand the material in class but were still rewarded with passing grades. I couldn’t wrap my brain around the concept of giving a passing grade that had not been earned. In fact, just writing this nearly makes my head explode.
If grades don’t matter, then why make teachers (like myself) give and record grades at all? I wish I could take those precious hours wasted on grading and put them towards something that matter to me – whether researching better teaching techniques, finding better classroom material, or hell, napping.
To make a long story short, it was a personal struggle whenever I had a student turn in a project or worksheet on which they merely doodled, knowing that the lowest grade they could get was a 60%.
And it gets worse: I couldn’t sit down and have a heart-to-heart conversation with these students, hoping to motivate or inspire them, because they wouldn’t have understood me! Those who handed in blank worksheets were the same students who had been allowed to pass, year after year, even though they couldn’t understand English.
I have since read dozens of articles about Thailand’s education culture (i.e., losing face over poor grades, cheating is considered helping a struggling friend) as well as Western topics on education and how a child shouldn’t be judged by their grades. Still, I shake my head.
You Think You Don’t Need to Speak Thai
A common question, and one that I was personally curious about before becoming a teacher, is:
Can you teach English without speaking Thai? Well, yes. (At least that’s what I kept reading on various blogs and forums.)
Will your students really understand you? Probably not.
Ok, to be fair, this depends a lot on whether you are teaching introductory or advanced level English. Knowing how to speak and write Thai is invaluable if you are teaching beginners.
I taught students from five years old to eleven years old (phratom 1 through 6). I could not communicate at all with my first and second year students because they were beginners. Lord help me if a student misplaced their pencil, felt sick, or worse – did not understand the directions for a worksheet or game. I relied so heavily on my Thai assistant teacher to translate directions and to keep my youngest students focused on their task that on my best days I felt challenged and on my worst days I felt worthless.
As for my students in fifth and sixth grades, their English speaking and writing abilities varied so greatly that my top students translated for the ones who didn’t understand. At least I was able to connect with the students who spoke English and I was grateful for that, as much as they were grateful for me attempting to communicate in Thai.
I did notice that speaking basic Thai to my students got their attention and they respected me a helluva lot more when I finally learned how to say “Listen to the teacher,” “Sit down,” “Line up,” and “Talk quietly” in Thai.
I also noticed a drastic improvement in the class’s performance and understanding when I included the Thai vocabulary word alongside a new English word. This was actually done against the direct orders of my school’s principle, who had instructed all English teachers to never use Thai. I shrugged it off
By far the most successful and well-liked English teachers at my school spoke Thai. They were able to casually communicate with the students, give directions and any followup clarifications, and even understood a student when he or she had a problem. The students loved them.
| TIP: Keep an ear out for the commands that your fellow Thai teachers use. Listen to what and how they say it rather than using the literal translation from, say, Google. |
You Need to Be “In the Know”
I’m not sure why this happened, but the foreign English teachers at my school never knew the schedule of school events. This included events that we were required to attend, to actually participate in, or even to organize and lead. Rarely were we given more than 24 hours notice to prepare.
And this wasn’t just at my school. There was a general consensus among friends of mine who taught elsewhere who had the same experience.
One time I was told to participate in ta teacher soccer competition for Sports Day and at the last second was told to wear a green shirt because it was my team color. I had to spend my time and money buying a solid Crayola green shirt because it was very important that I play soccer while wearing my team colors.
Other times the English teachers found out the hard way that the supply shop was closed for the day. Or that we needed to have submitted our worksheets to the copy room yesterday because the photocopy machine was now being repaired. That’s because none of the Thai staff told us!
A language barrier? Culture difference in priorities? Simple forgetfulness? To this day I haven’t found out why there was little to no planning in advance.
You Don’t Like Children
I hate to state the obvious but if you don’t like children you won’t like being a teacher.
I will be the first to say Thai children are ah-DOR-ruh-bul. And they love having fun and are playful as much as any other child.
But they are still children.
Even the super cute Thai students cry and yell and ask many many questions (to which you give answers many many times), and they have a hard time understanding simple directions or using their gross motor skills. Heck, sometimes they just can’t be convinced to listen and learn and do the task they are supposed to be doing.
With the older students, it’s all of this plus attitude.
And then everything is exacerbated because of the language barrier!
Perhaps you don’t yet know if you like or dislike children. If that is the case, teaching will certainly help you figure that out.
You Don’t Want to Bring Work Home
Unless you are conveniently provided with lesson plans, student workbooks, tests, and classroom materials by your school or hiring agency, you will have a lot of after-hours work.
You know that dreamy image of yourself kicking back and relaxing on a tropical beach after an easy day’s work teaching English? Nope. Scratch it. It won’t happen nearly as often as you’d like, if at all.
There’s a good chance that grading and creating lesson plans will roll over in your personal time no matter how hard you try to take care of everything during your planning periods at school. And don’t forget about designing worksheets or shopping for materials if those aren’t readily provided to you.
If you are lucky and find a good online teaching resource, you won’t be creating your worksheets from scratch like I did. Unfortunately, it still takes time to find the right teaching material online and often the good stuff doesn’t come free.
I say this about Thailand but I think it’s safe to say that teachers everywhere spend their own time and money to take care of school-related tasks.
You Don’t Have the Energy
Teachers walk a lot, and I say that as an eight year veteran of the restaurant industry. A typical teaching day had me standing between five or six hours every day out of my eight hour shift. This was split between writing on the board for the first part of the class and then walking around answering questions and assisting students for most of the remaining time.
How some teachers manage to sit down most of the day blows my mind.
Something I hadn’t realized before I became a teacher in Thailand is that speaking for 5+ hours a day is exhausting. My ears and voice box were worn out at the end of most days so I talked much less in my off time.
You know the phrase “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”? Before my teaching days, I’d drink a cup of coffee for breakfast and then eat my first meal a few hours later. But when I was a teacher, I found myself completely wiped out if I didn’t properly fuel my body in the morning. Word to the wise: do not skip breakfast!
Now, combine all of these and throw the following wrench into the mix: try teaching in a tropical country with no air conditioning. Air conditioning isn’t a standard amenity in schools, so some teachers settle for cross-breezes and fans. I think my classroom hovered around 27 C (80 F) and I was always feeling sluggish.
Should you become a teacher in Thailand?
Teaching isn’t an easy job, but every job has its ups and downs, right? Hopefully this gives a more realistic perspective into the world of teaching in Thailand rather than the more romanticized versions out there.
I encourage people to teach in Thailand for the sake of making a difference in a child’s life or to be part of a community that shapes young minds. I don’t encourage it so much if it’s because you want some quick cash or are looking for a way out of a current career or lifestyle. Weigh your options, and if you choose to become a teacher in Thailand, I wish you luck on your adventure.
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I love this article, you’ve put into words exactly what I’m going through teaching at a Thai public high school almost 10 years later. I was put into the semester without a syllabus, textbook for the students, with the students having a very limited English vocabulary and told “It’s up to you.” Meaning up to me to make the curriculum for my classes, all the lesson plans, pay for and supply all the classroom materials, all the textbooks and other teaching materials needed. Also teaching most of the day (4 to 5 classes per day – not complaining cause I like teaching) in 30+’C weather. Also all the running around in the school, I have to teach in 3 buildings in the school and multiple classrooms, so I have to constantly switch and set up everything again for my next lesson, and carry all my students workbooks if I’m grading them, or all the classroom materials needed for that lesson. If it was all in one classroom, like each Thai teacher has their own homeroom classroom, and the students came to our classroom, then it would be a lot easier for everybody, including the Thai teachers and students. But they don’t do this cause it’s too much work to reorganize everyone’s schedules, like folks just please give them to me and let me organize it all for you. I’m German, that’s what I’m best at!! I’m also Scottish South African and been speaking English at home, academically and in business my whole life, yet I have to take a TOEIC exam to prove I’m an English speaker. I’ve also attended and graduated from a US university with a 4 year Bachelor’s degree Yet folks from the US, UK, AUS, NZ and CAN are treated differently and are automatically exempt from taking this TOEIC exam in Thailand. At least play by the same rules for everyone here Thailand! Treat me as fairly as everyone else, treat me how you would want to be treated, because you will be treated the same way one day! I’m sorry Thailand but that’s a red flag for me!!!!!!!!!!
Also up to me to organize and pay for housing, VISA and travel expenses. Again I’m here teaching on a tourist VISA, when they could’ve very easily organized the nonB VISA for me before coming over this time. Flight tickets and bus tickets aren’t cheap these days, and I wish this would be something you could help your foreign teachers with in Thailand. I wouldn’t even bother making an effort if it weren’t for the fact that I genuinely love my students and think they are some of the most fun students in the world to teach. I can genuinely see an enthusiasm to learn in some of them, while some just don’t care at all cause they know they can’t be failed in this subject at school. I have a lot of students bunking my classes and not even showing up to the lesson (had 1 kid there last week in my one M4 lesson).I don’t mind as long as I’m reaching that one kid who needs and wants to learn from me, but wow you claim to respect teachers in Thailand yet treat me a guest teacher in your country like I’m not really a teacher. Sometimes I don’t even know why I’m here, like why can’t the Thai teachers just teach conversational English if they’re already teaching grammar, reading and writing. Why even have foreign teachers here then Thailand??
I believe the problem lies with the administration and with communication between the administration and the staff (including us falang teachers). The administrators job is to provide a curriculum, textbooks, teaching resources and even lesson plans for their teaching staff. At least that’s what they did for me in China. I was given the lesson plans to teach for the year and told I could alter the classes a bit if I’d like. I was given the textbooks and resources needed to conduct the lessons with my students. Also the students genuinely wanted to be there (all of them except the very young ones). Also in most other countries that I’ve been to I was given quite a few additional benefits, such as a housing stipend or free housing, free flights, free VISA and an airport pickup even.
If you want me to do these things this time, like create an entire syllabus for my lessons, then please just tell me what you want me to teach and how many points I’m meant to give for my classes. Or even a lesson plan example from one of the Thai teachers so I can see how I’m meant to structure a class for Thai high school. The one I was supplied with was for teaching kindergartners.
I’ve never even taught older high schoolers before. I’ve taught M1 & 2 students in China, Myanmar, South Africa and the US, but I’ve never taught the older grades – M3 to M6. I have a lot of good ideas for teaching them, but they don’t really understand me yet, so I can’t actually teach them the more advanced subjects I would like to discuss with them (like philosophy, literature, music or contempary culture). I would love to teach them how to create, run and scale their own businesses, as I have direct first hand experience with this myself. I could even teach them some basic computer programming, but I don’t think they have a computer lab in the school (at least I haven’t seen one), but that shouldn’t stop us cause almost every student and teacher in the school has their own smartphone, laptop or touchpad. It’s amazing to me how they can afford these, yet can’t afford desks and chairs in some of their classrooms. Don’t mind to be honest, having no chairs, as it actually makes games easier sometimes :)
I just wish you folks in Thailand would realize that you get what you pay for. If you don’t provide benefits or a competitive salary with the rest of the world, then you’re going to get subpar teachers as you’re not competing with those other countries, and the really amazing teachers will go there rather. If you gave the same type of benefits as China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Iraq, or the UAE, you would get far better, more qualified teachers. Thailand I’m only saying these things cause I genuinely love you! <3<3<3 You’ve given me a home in the world when I had none, and I will be forever grateful to you for this!!
If a student is not passing, then do not manipulate the grade. Some foreign teachers told their boss that for them to manipulate the grade would be like a Thai losing face. It would not be a good idea and that they would feel shameful about it. So, a Thai teacher had to change the grade.
OMG! I can relate to what you’ve all said and I totally agree with it. I thought it’s just me or only a few of us that felt it, it seems that most of us do. It’s my second year teaching here in Thailand and it’s fun but sometimes hell for me especially when dealing with students who can’t really understand or even speak English. I’m working on learning Thai language to aid my lessons because I do see that there are few students who are really eager to learn and master English and I had to incorporate their language to make them fully understand and that’s my way of teaching them. I really liked this article and I hope that it will all be well for me this school year.
I teach in Chiang Kham, Phayao near the Laos border. Thank you for your insights. I have just sent your article to a new teacher I hired three weeks ago. The two items I appreciate the most in your article are number 1 about deliberate ignorance and don’t teach if you don’t love children. In my very small school we have two freeloaders, but they are not behavior problems and their parents pay the tuition. Secondly, I love your admonition that though the Thai childrens are “a – Dor-a ble” (and they are) they are still children. They squeal, cry, make messes (sometime big), break things (sometimes big, expensive) which makes them just like children everywhere. Children are messy little creatures and that’s why the need teachers. Robots will never teach young children because even the best robot would go crazy in a primary classroom. Thanks again for a great article.
Now that there are international yet affordable online schools, why is Thailand paying such high fees to regular schools?
Teaching should be a deliberate career choice, rather than a fall-back gig. Making worksheets from scratch can be fun! Older students (18+) prefer to do group projects, rather than listen to a teacher talk, and the women (and gay male) students will flirt with you a lot. Being a teacher has been by far the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. Start by volunteering to make sure you like it before diving into a full time job!! Be mature and smart, but also friendly and funny!! We need more positive articles like the ones on this website! Thank you.
I have not officially taught in Thailand, but I volunteered for three months, which included teaching. I agree there are low standards including students reaching advanced levels of English education with very little actual ability, although I met quite a few students who were getting fluent in English, so I think the opportunities are there for those who latch onto them. About schools giving you last minute warning to prepare for anything and everything… it really is just the culture. You’ve got to be “sabai” and just roll with whatever they throw at you. At first, I found this very difficult, but after three months, I relaxed into it and kind of enjoyed never knowing what each day would bring.
Very good article. Very authentic. I can tell this was written by someone in the know. Thanks for putting the information out!
I appreciate your comment, Sterling. Thanks! Yeah, I realized that teaching standards are sooo low too after I got a job with another company. Three words: Total Physical Response!!!
I just finished teaching two semesters in Central Thailand and I swear I agree with everything that you have said!! It’s exactly how my year went, even though I have been teaching for the past 5 years! Thank you for the post though!
Glad you took a little break from teaching and can nod your head in agreement. Ulgh!
Well, was not really aware of the thing about bringing work home or the necessity about speaking Thai. This post is really good with a lot of truly helpful information as it gives a clear picture of a teaching job in Thai.
You’re welcome!
I’ve heard before that it’s common in Thailand to pass people who should fail. You might think that this only happens in Thailand, but it actually happens a lot in the United States. When I was in graduate school in TESOL at a well-respected university in the U.S., I had some classmates who failed an assignment. The professor who was new failed them. They complained. A professor of higher rank made the teacher who failed the students change their grades and pass them. The university never gave grades lower than a C to students.
That seems like a special case. All Thai teachers (new and seasoned) pass students in government and public schools even if the students don’t complain about their grade or don’t do their work at all.
I like your article, and agree with all but one thing you mentioned, passing everyone.
I worked for three years at a Catholic primary school in NE Thailand. I was lucky enough to teach mostly English Programme Students, but we still had a few kids that couldn’t get 60%. I was urged to pass them by the head of the English Department, but I simply refused to do so. I posted my results and told the head of English to change them herself if she wanted to cheat her students to save face, and that I would deal with parents if required.
I had a few embarrassed parents who came in to chat at the end of Term 1. I encouraged them to push their kids to join in more by restricting their video game time etc. and I focused on the kids’ good attributes. I also went out of my way to include all students in classes, even if that meant them doing simpler tasks than their peers (In my experience, Thai teachers ignore difficult students). By the end of Term 2, all but one student was passing their exams (without a Thai teacher reading the questions to them). The parents of the one child who failed moved him to another school.
The first year was hard, but eventually the director appreciated my persistence, and the next two years went very well. She would proudly announce to new students’ parents that their English teacher did exams ‘Farang style’, meaning that they actually have to pass to pass.
Forget grading curves, just create exams that allow students to pass if they know the core vocabulary and grammar, but still push the more motivated kids to strive to achieve 90% or more.
I agree that speaking Thai helps, but you should avoid it in the classroom as much as possible. Keep it for parents and serious situations. If you have to translate to Thai in a class, then the material is probably too difficult for the kids. Thai written translations are great, as you said, but avoid transliteration as it encourages Tinglish pronunciations.
Last but not least, modern technology is great (i used it a lot), but you should include old school teaching methods such as dictation (and lines for the whole class when naughty students cause disruption – Think ‘Full Metal Jacket’).
Peer to peer teaching, projects and skit creation also went down very well.
Thanks for sharing this, Marek. Sounds like you’re good-hearted by nature and really put in the extra effort to help students pass. I agree about avoiding the Thai written transliterations because it encourages Tinglish pronunciations. That’s the worst!
Thanks Marek,
I taught in Thailand for 10 years and I have seen many teachers come and go. Your attitude toward passing out Thai students is noble but it is counterproductive for you as an employee. Failing students will turn Thai teachers against you, also the students and their parents. Even workmates wont appreciate you stirring things up. When in Rome…
But you know what?
I love my students…and the Thai teachers…they are good people and they respect foreigners…we just gotta play by the rules…take it easy…you wanna teach like at Oxford University?
You are at the wrong place…
Example: classes have been cancelled …I can’t even remember how many times…and nobody has told me about it…so what? No big deal…
BUT ON SATURDAYS OR SUNDAYS I TEACH FOR FREE…THE FEW ONES WHO REALLY WANNA STUDY…and believe me…I got 10 students only…1000 students at school…10 studying on Sat or Sun for free…
Get the picture?
I am a high school teacher in Thailand…
I speak fluently Thai…makes life easy…if you wanna be a good teacher or if you wanna teach like a professional…you are waisting your time…with 50 students in 1 classroom I don’t even bother to try…I play games with them…they can use their mobiles in class as long as they play games or listen to music in English or play American songs on their guitar…but I don’t really teach…anyhow nobody is gonna fail…
And M6 is even worse…they know they gonna graduate no matter what…
Today they had to submit an assignment…nobody did…2 students attented class…the Thai teacher didn’t seem to care…so why should we?
M6 students and M1 students…same level=1 lesson plan…a good one since I used to teach in universities…nobody has ever asked for it…
Last year I taught French for 1 day(I am half Belgian half American)…nobody noticed the difference…
So if you add up management skills…IQ…diligence and productivity and all this was a sickness…80% of the academic staff would end up in a hospital
In universities the situation is much better …
. If you have to translate to Thai in a class, then the material is probably too difficult for the kids.
I’m sorry, but I cannot agree with this.
If you only teach them things that doesnt require explanation, then it is never something that pushes their limits. It is like i go to the gym and do the same weight always. No improvement. If we only teach them things they know or we try just teach them things without explanation then they will learn sg by heart, while having no clue why they did that.
What Im trying to say is, it is inevitable to avoid things that require explanation when you teach kids a language. Surely there are things too difficult. But also things that suit their level and eventhough they dont understand it at the moment, it is an extremely useful constituent for the knowledge, therefore going around those will slow down or cause a gap in their progress.
Hi Chris and Angela,
I have no teaching experience or any qualifications higher than GCSEs. I’m English and I’m 45 years old. I have travelled Thailand a few times and simply fell in love with the country. I have always felt I would love to teach but have mainly worked in admin. Is there any hope for me? I would so appreciate your thoughts.
No, not unless you apply at lesser desirable schools. Without a higher education degree, you are not legally eligible for a Work Permit, although that doesn’t mean you can’t earn money (just under the table) like many other expats before you. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Perhaps you could look to volunteer work to fullfill your passion.
May I just offer an opposing positive opinion?
I taught in a Thai High school in the north of Bangkok for about 11 years. It was nothing short of a life-changing experience, a total joy to go to school each day. My students treated me with the greatest respect at all times and with memorable and lasting friendship. There were lazy students, of course, but I have encountered lazy people in most of my jobs. The preparation for lesson plans and writing exams was done in free time at school, though I did take exam papers home to grade at the weekends. I never gave a passing grade unless the work deserved it, and the students had to resit exams until they truthfully passed. The Thai teachers were very welcoming and helpful, only a few avoided contact due to their lack of English or, as I was told, some disliked the fact that we were paid 5 times their salary. My ability in speaking Thai was limited to giving directions to taxi drivers and ordering in a restaurant. I tried not to speak Thai in class because I felt that success in the job was in getting the students to like English, to listen to English and to want to speak English.
I left the post 4 years ago to return to my family here in Australia yet still today, I’m receiving emails from grateful students who have now moved on to university degrees, most with messages of love and thanks, others with requests to help with job applications or Statements of Purpose for a Master Degree. I love receiving those emails, I love doing the editing work as I feel I’m still helping them.
Maybe I was lucky, or maybe I accepted that I was a guest in Thailand and respected their cultural ways, and didn’t expect them to ‘be western’ in their own country for me.
I will never forget those 11 years in a dream job in a dream country.
Thai people are wonderful.
If you get the chance to enter the teaching fraternity in Thailand for a reasonable length of time, and are not in Thailand for temporary or sex-tourist reasons, embrace the task and embrace the environment.
It will return an abundance of joyful experiences, and ever-lasting memories.
Loved your story. Now THATs what teaching should be like. Thanks for sharing :)
You were unquestionably the exception. So much so that i doubt the accuracy of your statement. Thai students virtually never email. They all use Facebook or LINE.
This may be a bit too late, but Id suggest avoiding the hiring agencies. Most that Im aware of take a significant chunk of your paycheck, and there are numerous stories of many agencies not bothering with the proper paperwork for their clients at all.
Yes, definitely do your research because bad hiring agencies can be more trouble than they are worth. However, they are helpful for first-time TEFL teachers who have no experience applying for jobs (which sadly, is not as easy as just applying online or going to a school and dropping off a CV). There will always be “bad guys” who take a chunk of your salary without actually doing their job! Boo
Another pointer to add this, which is a no brainer but its surprisingly the amount of teachers who stay despite it;-
You simply don’t like Thailand.
Its amazing the number of foreign teachers I encounted who were long term residents (5+ years) that simply hated Thailand. In the staffroom, they would be there, complaining about everything from the people, the weather, the system, the food and the culture to no avail.
I understand its normal to gripe about things and that Thailand isn’t for everyone. Its normal to encounter culture shock and dislike things about a place. Heck, Thailand definitely wasn’t for me which is why after 3 years of trying to make it work for me, I packed my bags and came to teach in Italy. I knew if I stayed any longer than that it would affect my wellbeing as well as that of those around me.
But if you hate a place so much, I don’t understand why stay? When you aren’t happy somewhere, it affects all aspects of your life including your job.
(Sadly for a lot of these long term serial gripers I encountered, they simply stay for the women, cheap booze, because they couldn’t/didn’t know how to get their Thai family members to their country or because they are were washed up to be considered as teachers in a western country)
Very true words. I heard the bad talk from time to time (both from teachers and generally dissatisfied expats). I agree – if you are unhappy and find yourself complaining all the time, it is time to move on. We wrote another post about grumpy expats awhile back hitting some of the points you make. It’s an eye opener, to say the least. Thanks for commenting!
VERY nicely written. I appreciate the information you passed on in this article. It is direct and to the point.
I started teaching in Sakon Nakhon (North-East Thailand) only 5 months ago. I teach Mattayom 1 to 6 (age 13 to 18). I am a retired software developer for Honda America company.
I quickly leaned and adapted to the points you mentioned in this article. But I was not sure if I was doing the right things or making mistakes. I feel a lot better and more confident after reading this article.
1. passing all students.
2. Do not get upset if students do not want to learn English.
3. Create lesson plans on your personal time.
4. Enjoy the children. be patient with them.
THANK YOU for sharing. Your insight will help many farangs think before becoming a teacher. Or be a better teacher.
My (Angela’s) dad works for Honda :) We love those cars – and have a Forza in Thailand! Thanks or sharing your experience, too. It sounds very like my own (teaching several different grades, only mine was P.1-P.6) Yes – always become better, always try to grow and learn and be a role model, especially when teaching!
Hello,
please could you kindly help me out with some details?
My husband has been asked by one of the Thai government universities how much he would accept as a an expatriate lecturer please do have an idea of such,also what other benefit one can get as expatriate.l my self study education so l have certificate in education will l be able to get a teaching job . what the cheapest international school fees for age 6 – 11, how much can a family of 5 live with on monthly basis. hope to hear from you soon
I am not familiar with what university lectures. International school teachers can earn 55,000 to 60,000 baht per month (lower end). To be comfortable with a blend of Thai and Western living style, we like to aim for 1,000 USD per adult and 500 USD per child per month.
Also l have a certificate in education l study primary education with the certificate can l get a job over there too?
If the certificate is a four year university degree, then yes.
Hi, I just love your blog. you sound as though you are living the dream (as hard as it must be of course) Well i am ready to test this dream out for myself. I am a ballet teacher and have been teaching Ballet over in Australia.
Thank you for all the information that you provide in your Blog. I am sure everyone who reads your blog takes so many things away from it. I see that you inspire a lot of people to make the move from Tieland to Thailand.
Kind Regards
Katie
Thanks! We pride ourselves in providing solid advice to others looking to live and travel in Thailand :)
Hi Chris and Angela
Looks like the amount farang teachers will be diminishing soon with the changes to the tourist visas and replacing foreign teachers in government schools. I’ve tried teaching in Thailand a couple of times, it was ok, but I think it’s not the job role for me! Although I might try an online teaching app 555
We heard about the news too :/ It will be very interesting to see how many teachers end up leaving because of these rules and it’s sad how many schools will be affected. Maybe it’s time to simply move on for some…
Your blog has seriously been incredibly helpful as I look for teaching positions in Thailand. I am currently teaching visual arts in Indonesia at a private Christian school where housing, living, and salary are included in my contract (pretty amazing!). My fiance and I want to live abroad after we get married this summer and finding jobs in Indonesia is extremely difficult. I am looking for advice regarding my fiance and mines pursuit towards finding a job in Thailand.
He would like to teach, but has a Bachelor’s degree in biology. Fortunately, I have found art teacher openings in a few different schools! As far as finding my fiance a job, we are looking into getting TEFL certified in order for him to become a teacher.
Would you recommend that I apply for the art positions first and then he applies for positions once he has his TEFL and be a dependent in the mean time? Should we be expecting to raise our own funds while teaching in Thailand or do most schools pay you? Would it be easier to work with a hiring agency?
Glad to be of help! That’s good news you’re in contact with schools that will specifically hire you as an art teacher. Sometimes positions other than teaching English can be hard to find.
Yes, we would recommend that you apply for your art position first while he is getting a TEFL certificate. Once you two are married and you are hired as an art teacher, your now-fiance/future-husband will be eligible for a Non Immigrant O Visa (dependent) while you are on the Non Immigrant B Visa.
As for your second question… the school pays you (we aren’t sure what you are asking).
If you are a first time teacher in Thailand, working for a hiring agency takes away the stress of dealing with visa paperwork and communicating with the school about policies and curriculum (it’s difficult with non-English speaking staff). However, seasoned teachers know what to expect and don’t necessarily need the help of a hiring agency.
OK, let me be so bold as to guess that the no-fail policy applies ONLY to English classes. And I believe this relates to it’s low importance on the scale – as in, virtually not important, and the kids are in on the game from day 1. Mmm, so much for the relentless push of ASEAN with English being nominated as the common business language. How will Thailand really prepare itself?
I am one of the fortunate ones that love my teaching job in Bangkok. I am also fortunate that my school will fail students if they do not do the work. I questioned this recently and was amazed to discover several Mathayom 1 students have to repeat the whole year.. This has restored some of my lost confidence in the Thai education system.
You give us all hope :)
Great article but do disagree with you on one point.Speaking to your students in Thai.I have been a teacher here for 5 years and would not and will not speak to my students in Thai.I teach all my classes using simple English,teach everything in context and use a lot of repetitive commands.They eventually get it,some first time,others a bit longer but they do eventually get it.I find that if you speak to your students in Thai they will talk to you in Thai.If they ask a question in Thai,translate it into English and get them to repeat it.That works for me and have been doing that for years.I must add that I work at a bilingual school so the level of English is probably better than that of a government school.Teaching is not for everyone but for me the best experience of my life so far.
I’m impressed you’ve been able to teach without using Thai at all! I appreciate a teacher willing to be repetitive – I learn best after hearing and saying a Thai word about 20 times before I remember it, but I also like to make a quick connection with vocabulary instead of playing guessing games. I know a big part of it was that I didn’t like hearing myself talk so much – I could say “Write you name” (on the top of a worksheet, for the youngest kids) four or five times or I could say “เขียนชื่อ, write your name” and get my point across immediately. I think you have more patience than me :) Keep up the great work!
I actually considered teaching as a way to fight boredom when I go there, but working my tale off for $800 a month doesn’t seem like a great idea any longer. They do the same things here in the US too with those ‘social promotions as well as everything else to some degree. When I was a kid, I was very athletic and got a few trophies for having the highest batting average at my school for baseball, and winning 1st place in one of the track and field events. I had 4 altogether after playing sports for most of my youth through high school. But my kids had a wall of trophies for just showing up–participation trophies they call them. What a joke, anyways thanks for the teaching info- and where’s that new VLOG? Ok ok, I’ll give it a rest :)
Those “participation” sports trophies drive us bonkers, too. What ever happened to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophies? As kids, if we didn’t win them, we knew exactly why: because other people were better than us so we had to train harder next season. End of story. As kids we’d probably would have been confused and embarrassed to get a trophy for not winning!
We’ll start making vlogs again – got side tracked with another big project and had to take care of logistics for our upcoming three-week trip :) Details coming soon!
Great article :-)
Thanks!
This post is spot on. I’ve read so many misleading posts from recruiters online.
I’ve been teaching in Esaan for three years and being able to speak Thai has become an invaluable survival tool. I also had an assistant in my current school but I found she’d often be daydreaming during classtime which would often ruin the flow of the lesson (constantly waited for her to translate and doing it badly.) Grading is still a ‘bang your head on the desk’ experience so I try to reward class participation and behavioural/general improvement during class whilst keeping the grading issue in the background :)
That’s what I have a problem with – being mislead. I much rather my information source (whether it be a forum or recruiters) give me the perks and the challenges and allow me to make an educated decision for myself instead of having a romanticized picture painted for which I am ill prepared and then crash and burn. That’s my inspiration behind posts like this.
It’s good you’ve figured out a way that works well for you. Keep it up!
Hey… Your post was really realistic and thought provoking to every one; especially to those wishing to become English teacher…
My job here is done :)
Excellent article! I came across it on Twitter and really enjoyed reading it, even though I have no plans for teaching English in Thailand. Very insightful.
Thanks! Glad you liked it :)
I taught for a public school and I wouldn’t really want to go back. I eventually lucked out, teaching corporate classes and in a private language center that was really fulfilling. I got to teach some interesting people, including the son of a Thai Army Commander, on location at their house on the Army base in Ari, and the son of the former governor of Bangkok. I also got to teach post-graduate students and students going for their PhDs at Harvard. That was a ton of fun and very rewarding.
It’s good to hear that your teaching experiences outside of public schools were all worth it. You’re the second commenter who mentioned corporate teaching being very rewarding. I’ll keep that in mind and would be open to teaching in that setting if the opportunity ever crosses my path. And it’s pretty cool to hear of the people you meet and learn about their backgrounds!
Excellent write up. I teach English in Thailand but fortunately I’ve managed to stay out of the school system. I teach corporate in and around Bangkok. And aside from having to know Thai (which should be on any long-termers list), I’ve managed to avoid all the other items on your list. I talk to friends who work at schools and most of them don’t like it because of the politics on the back end.
I wouldn’t trade teaching corporate for any other teaching job here. The students are adults, you can joke with them, and they just want to have a good time. I show up and do my job. I keep HR happy. I keep the people who find me these jobs happy. And other than that I’m on my own, and happy.
Glad to hear about your good news story! I think what you’re doing would be a better position for me since I have some experience training adults and I think I connect with them better than kids. Yeah, I’d be much more open to teaching corporate and sounds like you have a healthier working relationship with everyone, too. Thanks for sharing!
If you cannot handle need-to-know basis style of administration and Thailand’s version of No Child Left Behind (wink wink), then no, you shouldn’t teach here. But any teacher who’s on their feet for “5-6 hours a day” (25-30 contact hours) is getting taken advantage of–either that, our they’re exaggerating their supposed plight. Contact hours should be around 18-22, maxing out at 24 if short staffed.
Besides, anyone who gets into teaching for an easy job is kidding themselves. I know more teachers who enjoy working hard and playing hard than I can count. They seem to be enjoying teaching in Thailand just fine.
Meh, being in the know (or the lack thereof) is probably not the number one deciding factor for most people looking to teach. I wouldn’t go so far as making that an ultimatum for not teaching. Heck, you just learn to shrug it off Thai style, right? Mai pben raaiiiiii.
Sure, one could argue I was taken advantage of, especially since I was a first-time teacher and didn’t know what to look out for. All of the teachers at my school had 24 classes per week schedule so I had no reason to question the work load until months later when I met teachers from other schools who worked 16 to 18 hrs. So yeah, I was on my feet five to six hours a day. Believe me, I wish it wasn’t so.
I agree – people shouldn’t assume teaching will be an easy job. You’re preaching to the choir!
Sadly the same everywhere in Thailand! I shared your article and posted it with a link back to your website.
Thanks,
Romain
Thanks, no problem!
I’m always interested to learn about the education systems in Asia. The more I learn, the more saddened I get about what’s really going on in certain countries. After living in Indonesia for a year I was really surprised by their education system. For example, one huge problem is getting teachers to actually show up for class! But I can’t believe there is a “no fail” policy in Thailand. I had no idea, but I’m not sure that’s something I would be comfortable with…
Oh my, teachers just don’t show up and Indonesia schools allow this? Yikes! Although I’m sure the students are happy about not having class :)
Yeah, the no fail policy really bugged me. I couldn’t do much to get students to participate in class if they didn’t want to because there was no consequence. However, the worse offenders did get spend their recess (also my lunch and break time, grrr) making a half-hearted attempt at completing an assignment. Meh.
Jeeze, what school were you working at? Sounds terrible. It definitely isn’t as easy as most people think it is but it also isn’t that bad. You do need a Thai assistant (or 2) for sure if you don’t speak Thai. As for the no fail policy, that isn’t universally true in every school. I failed two students last semester who are now repeating Pratom 1 this year. It really depends on what school you are working for. You need to know what you are doing and shop around before hand. There are worse jobs that are unreasonably demanding and there are better jobs too. But your first job you will probably be thrown into it and not have much choice.
There were good things about my school (not all bad, I swear!), but I wish I had spoken to some of the teachers before deciding to work there. I felt a bit pressured to take the first job offered to me by my hiring agency, but that’s my own fault. I agree with you – shop around. But even if you pick the best gig, your first year will be a challenge as you learn the ropes. Thanks for commenting!
The “no fail” concept is something I just learned about in the last week and I was shocked. Very depressing. I’m probably going to end up doing some teaching at some point and it’s good to get a more realistic view. At least I can read and write Thai. How a school can ban using Thai to help communicate with students is harsh. Can’t change things, just have to be ready for it! Very helpful article!
Crazy, isn’t it? That’s very helpful that you can read and write Thai that’s great! I used to write the vocabulary on the board in Thai and basic sentences to help with grammar structure (which, in turn, helped my Thai :)) I couldn’t not do it after I realized how helpful it was to students, so I had to bite the bullet and use it even though the school said not to. Glad to help!
Wow! You said that so well. I had a funny feeling that after completing my TEFL course that teaching English in a foreign country, be it Thailand or Costa Rica, would be a great way to make some extra money. But for the amount of effort you have to go through, I have come to realize that it’s a lot harder than I’d like it to be. All these teaching courses out there telling you how great teaching English can be, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a lot tougher in reality. I think I’ll stick to travel writing and selling products on and off line. Many thanks for putting this in perspective.
My experience was that it was a lot tougher than it was made out to be. :/ BUT I also now know I worked more hours than normal (24h rs vs 16 or 18 hrs) and was provided zero resources, which is probably not the norm. If teachers learn from my mistakes, then they should have a smoother ride. Let’s just say I am not unhappy for not teaching anymore :)
I taught for 42 years in Canada; grades 5 to 12, and post-secondary. Outside of minimal language issues, all the other problems you enumerate were ubiquitous in all of my classrooms. Only in a post-secondary milieu, would the slackards get their just desserts. I did enjoy my career. However, I have zero interest in teaching again. In fact, W*O*R*K is a bad 4-letter word in my estimation! I do admire the dedicated teachers who struggle on in spite of the problems.
Haha, “work” is a four letter word… I think some people will agree on that! I also admire teachers who overcome obstacles. There are many things going against them but they keep their heads held high. I have an entirely new respect for them!
As much as I enjoy living in Thailand, the longer I stay here the more I notice. Now you have given me an understanding of their education system, no wonder I think it is a country going nowhere quickly. I sometimes wonder how anything actually gets done in this place, then they amaze me with something they have done really well. Hard to wrap your head around how they think sometimes, but that’s half the fun living here. But still a little shocked on what you state with regards to them all getting a pass mark…
Some things are abominable here and then, yet, some things are done really well! It certainly keeps us on our toes trying to think like a Thai :)
Chris and Angela,
We are about to retire, and seriously considering a move to Thailand. I have a MBA and have done years of substitute teaching in a number of states all grades and subjects. Is it necessary to complete a program in order to teach there? Anything else you can tell me would help. I notice most of the pictures and information is from/for much younger people. I’ve spent the last 20 years as Director of Safety and security for airlines. I’m sure that doesn’t help but one never knows.
Thanks for any help you can share.
Charlie
If you have your MBA (minimum is a BA or BS) and have years of teaching experience, you are eligible to teach. As far as programs go, we like to think a TEFL is a qualifier and good for first time teachers or people who have never taught English as a second language before. Thailand is discriminatory (age, sex, nationality, hair/eye color) during the hiring process, but don’t let this discourage you from applying. Thai schools are always in need of teachers and you definitely qualify. Good luck!