jabenna

Hi there - I just saw this post when searching for something else..

There were some good posts here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/776463-doing-a-celta-in-thailand-what-do-i-need-to-expect/

Hi Great White. I did my CELTA at IH Bangkok (near Sala Daeng BTS station) about 3.5 years ago. It was one of the best 4 weeks of my life! But also incredibly stressful.

What hours in the class per day?!

We were in there from 8:30-5 Mon-Fri. However when you've got the essays to do, you'll probably want to get in early to use the reference books at the school, or you'll be working late at home each night.

How many hours would I prob have to do at night?!

During the CELTA, as I'd had no previous teaching experience, I was (as were other new teachers) taking hours to plan one, 40-minute lesson. So I'd say one or two hours a night.

Any books etc, I should/could buy beforehand, or will need to get?!

My school recommended the Michael Swan grammar book. Try and get hold of it second-hand because since my actual CELTA I think I've only used it once or twice. If you're already in Bangkok there's a few second-hand book shops you could try.

Will my weekends be busy studying?!

Mine weren't. Maybe an hour or two finishing essays and doing lesson prep but it really wasn't necessary for it to take over my life, like some people on my course said it did. I'm not sure if some of it was just put on though. I managed to get a Pass B too. The grades go: Pass, Pass B, and Pass A is the best grade.

Any general info would be appreciated.

The best thing about CELTA for me, as a teacher with zero previous experience, was the actual lesson time. When people do an 80-hour online TEFL, they're never actually showing they can teach, if they haven't before. Our students were so, so lovely and made my time there unforgettable. However, be prepared to have a really wide-variety of fellow CELTA-takers. Some will be professor-level, seasoned professionals who know-it-all and challenge the course leaders at any possible moment. Others will be turning up late, and/or drunk, meaning course leaders have to waste time disciplining them. One student on our course decided to plan a lesson around 'Was Osama Bin Laden a sinner or a saint', and proceeded to split the class into one half being Islamic students, and the other half non-Islamic. He was thrown off the course.

Before doing the CELTA I had next-to-zero grammar knowledge. During the course the tutors introduce grammar points, by means of showing you how to teach them - but I would try and brush up on basic grammar terminology before you do the course if you are like I was pre-CELTA.

Upon completion do I need to wait for any official documents to arrive, or could I begin work immediately?

The CELTA certificate took quite a while to get to me - about 2 months I think. Most schools need the certificate to process your work permit - but I guess you can just talk to the school then. Try and get an additional character reference from your course tutor too.

Once I find work, should I be prepared to struggle on lower wages for a while, or will I get a decent wage (20-30k baht/month)?

It's rare to find a job in BKK (if that's where you are) for less than 30k a month - especially if you have a CELTA and the necessary degree needed for a work permit. Most jobs I saw were about 33-40k, and had bonuses for if you turned up to all lessons, your students all passed the course etc. If you're wanting to work in a private language school, you'll be working Saturdays and Sundays. If you're working in Government schools, be prepared to need to be in there early, maybe 7:30am, 8am - and be prepared to have to do gate duty.

Good luck with it! Like I say, the CELTA was one of the best things I've ever done. JB.

Hi ProThaiExpat. Ahhh thanks for clarification. I thought there was a glimmer of hope... but no.

Thanks though :-)

Hello. My partner has a non-imm B visa and work permit. Previously, I know that we were unable to get a dependant visa for me, even though we are married in our home country.

However, in the latest police commission document, just released on the main forum, I was reading:

Balo and Mario - thanks again for the information. I'll grab a letter from the school for when I re-enter, then hopefully I won't have to cancel.

Have a great weekend!

Hi Balo - thanks for the advice too. What document should I bring? The receipt from when I paid for my course? My 90-day reporting cards? I'll try and get the letter Mario mentioned too?

Hi Mario, thanks for your reply. Thanks for info regarding only 7 days to stay.

I'm studying at a language school. I can speak and read Thai well though. I'll ask my school if they can issue that letter. That'd be great.

If they can't though, can the cancelling only be done at immigration? Could I just ask them at the airport?

Hello, I currently have a 1-year ED visa (I don't need to visit Dor Mor every 90 days) and a multiple re-entry permit. I need to go back to my home country for a month, maybe 2. Therefore I won't be attending my Thai school anymore. When I do return to Thailand, perhaps in October, I don't want to use the ED-visa as I won't have been at school for 2 months - and couldn't justify this to the immigration official.

My question: How can I actually go about cancelling my visa? A school I've spoken with, who I may study with when I return in October, has said I need: to obtain a "cancellation" letter from my current school saying I have left them, to then take this to Immigration with my passport. They said Dor Mor will cancel my current ED visa and give me a VOA to tide me over until I leave Thailand to return to my home country.

It's going to be difficult for me to get the letter from my current school and then get to Dor Mor in time before I leave Thailand. Is it not just possible that when I leave Thailand at the airport, to ask them to cancel my visa? Or is it possible for me to go to a Thai embassy in my home country and ask them to cancel it? If I did get a new ED-visa, ready to return to Thailand in October, would the new visa not just cancel out the old?

Sorry to go round the houses with this one, but I couldn't think of a simpler way to explain it. Many thanks, JB.

Hi Lopburi - sorry for the delay in replying. I didn't get the email alert there'd been a reply.

I've always done by extension of stay at least 25 days before visa expires just incase of any trouble or illness - so I hope the paperwork would be ready. I'm going to ask at school tomorrow.

Wow I never knew you could get re-entry at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang. Do you know roughly what the opening times are? I leave at 1am through Suvarnabhumi for the first exit and then 6am through Don Mueang for the 2nd exit - will it be open? Does this happen: a) between check-in and immigration; at the immigration desk itself; c) after immigration but before security scanners?

May I just ask, you said: "you can get the other during last exit"... so in theory I could:

Get a re-entry permit on Friday 23rd August as I leave Thailand?

Then

Get a re-entry permit on 21st September as I leave again?

By the way is there any way I can donate to you for all the help you give or any charity or anything you support? This is like the 3rd time you've helped me and I am forever grateful.

Thank you.

Hello,

I've tried calling the 1111 hotline for help, but got no answer - so I'd love some help (again).

I have an extension of stay based on Non-Imm ED visa. My current extension of stay expires on 22nd September 2013. Here are my travel plans:

Leave Thailand Friday 23rd August.

Return to Thailand 19th September.

and then

Leave Thailand 21st September.

Return to Thailand 28th September.

I'm not able to attend Immigration on 19th/20th September when I'm briefly back in BKK. So, I wanted to go to immigration on 22nd August, before my first trip - this would be a month and a day before my extension expires. When I was last at Chaeng Wattana, the lady said she "wasn't sure" if I could extend on 22nd August if my extension expired on 22nd September - that maybe I'd have to wait until 23rd August (which isn't possible as I've left TH already). I asked further and she said 'just come and we will see'.

Can anyone confirm if it will be OK to go on 22nd August?

Also, I understand there's single and multiple re-entry permits. I'm only leaving TH twice, so I'd like to get 2 singles. Is it possible to get 2 single re-entry permits at the same time? Or is this going to force me to get multiple re-entry?

Thanks for your time in reading and any help.

Hi thonglorjimmy...

When you get inside the main immigration hall/room, where the staff press on the touch-screen for a ticket... they'll give you a ticket for the N2 queue. I'm not sure where you go for retirement extensions, but the N2 desk is right next to the N1 desk which is the place for education visa extensions - it's down the side or the N1 section near the room for monks and VIPs.

The N2 desk is also where visa agents take their stacks of passports, so if you get stuck behind a visa agent, it can take a loooong time - such as was my last visit.

Thanks Lopburi. The N2 queue took me 2.5hrs of waiting last time only to be told I'd wasted my time, so am working my way up to going back again.

Does anyone have an idea of how long I can wait between getting my letter from the Embassy and going to Immigration to swap over the stamps? Or as long as I've got the letter is it OK?

Hi thonglorjimmy,

I was just about to post the same. The UK Embassy said on the phone (before I went to Dor.Mor) that no letter was needed. I went to Dor.Mor and they couldn't transfer stamps without a letter. So I went back to the UK Embassy and they issued me with the free (actually self-written) letter.

My question is - how soon do I now need to travel back to Dor.Mor and get my stamps transferred? Is there any time limit? My letter from the embassy is dated 29/5/13, but I don't really have the time to go back to Dor.Mor until I go to do my 90-day reporting in early July.

Sorry to hijack your question with my additions, but thought saves another new post

No problem - thank you for being concerned enough to send PM. I tried in my very best Thai to understand and ask about the stamp, but I wasn't too clear on the answer. We'll see - thanks again lopburi.

Aaaaahhh good thinking. My extension of stay stamp is dated 24th June - and it looks like a regular extension of stay stamp.

What I believe is the tm47 says: The alien permitted to stay longer in the kingdom must notify your place of residence to the immigration office every 90 days. In case of application for an extension of temporary stay in the Kingdom by TN7 you have notified your place of residence at the first time...

I know I have to visit my school within 2-3 days of getting my latest extension so they can confirm paperwork. Will go out to my school now to confirm. If anyone else seeing this, Pro Language are really good at helping and organising paperwork - apart from this bizarre date thing, everything else really was taken care of. Good start to my time there I hope...

First extension of stay counts as a 90 day report so just do as they said - you can report 15 days early until 7 days late so you just do both the new TM.7 extension and TM.47 address with one visit to immigration.

Should have read further - yes your travel will reset your 90 day reporting clock and that will now be due 90 days from date of return (which will be day 1).

As for the 23 April date does it equate to 90 days from your last entry perhaps? At any rate you travel will reset that.

Brilliant thanks for confirming it. I was in and out of Chanengwattana in 2hrs 45m today which made it even better. Thanks as usual for your help lopburi.

and p.s. no the 23rd April wasn't 90 days last entry - that was today. Bizarre, huh? But like you said no need to fret now anyway.

Hello,

I had a Multi-Entry, 1 year ED visa issued in the UK and I have been attending a Thai language school during this time. My first year finishes this week and I decided I wanted to change schools due to the old school's syllabus and materials not being very engaging or useful.

Paperwork was all completed by my new school - all very easy. I went to Chaengwattana today to change schools and they issued me with an Extension of Stay stamp and a date set for 3 months time. I understand, that now I've finished my 1st year's ED-visa, I have to do this extension every 3 months now - whereas last year I never did it as I always left Thailand every 3 months for vacation - and didn't need a re-entry stamp as I was on multi-entry.

However when I finished at this first desk getting the extension of stay, they gave me a small piece of paper, what I believe is a TM47 - saying I needed to report on 23rd April - 28 days time from today. This is where my confusion came - my last entry stamp was on 27th December - so today I was all set to do the 90-day reporting as well as my extension of stay. When I asked why not do the 90-day report today, they said no need - any ideas why? And why such a random date?

Next question - I'll leave Thailand for a vacation on 10th April for a few days so I also got a single re-entry permit today. When I re-enter Thailand on 16th April, I just want to confirm, that I will no longer need to report on the TM47's date of 23rd April, and I will in fact have to do my next 90day report, 90 days from 16th April - am I right?

Thanks for any help in advance.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Going to give the EoP a try and see how it goes. Found a wireless repeater, but I assume you have to connect the repeater and the original *wired* router together via ethernet, no? I'm probably wrong haha...

Hi, thanks for your help. I have a Billion 4 port and an Apply Time Capsule (which has 5mHz). But in the main bedroom of our condo, for some bizarre reason, the signal drops when on the bed. Move off the bed, to the side, in front, no problem. Can't move bed as impractical. The extension phone sockets (in the middle of condo so would give more even signal distribution) don't work and True/condo management won't fix them.

So someone on the Apple forums mentioned using EoP. Connect the billion to the EoP socket where the bband signal does come in. Then attach the Time Capsule to another EoP in the middle of the condo - hopefully giving a better signal. Good idea or not?

P.s. any idea how I'd find out if I'm on a 3-way power setup as mentioned above? Not sure even if I asked in juristic office they'd know :-/

Hello,

I've recently been given a solution to a wireless router range issue: buy EOP Adaptors to help extend my network. I'd never even heard of these before and was amazed when I learnt it sends the broadband signal down the power wires!

I have had a quick look in the electrical departments in Paragon and Central World while there at the weekend and they didn't have any. Dies anyone know 1) if EOP can be used in Thailand; 2) where to get them... In guessing Fortune Mall or Pantip. Mainly want to know though about anyone's experiences.

Thanks.

Thank you so much for all the replies and I realise I'm a little early - I'm a pyscho organiser haha.

I think the Tha Phae gate does look good, and I agree I think we'd rather be out there in the masses, than cooped up in a restaurant or hotel for the whole night. Also think it'd be something totally different.

Semper, we came for Songkran this April just gone actually, was really good fun, spent entire weekend drenched but having lots of fun :-)

Thank you all again for your advice, appreciate your time.

Hello,

I live in Bangkok and have family coming over for New Year. We're going up to CM for a few days over New Year and just wondering what usually happens? I know there's street stalls and bars around the Tha Phae Gate and I've seen videos on You Tube.

Anyone know of good places to go for New Years Eve meal? Any places that do an exceptional buffet for example? We've normally been in the UK for countdown for have never experienced a Thai NYE before, so any ideas greatly appreciated.

One friend mentioned a big lake, maybe 30 minutes away, where there's music and fireworks... no more info than that I'm sorry. Anyone know where it could be?

Thank you in advance for any help :-)

Thanks Negreanu. Been reading more about it and not sure Time Capsule cut out for use as a regular external hard drive, what do you think? Seems it only really works for Time Machine auto backups? Any experience of using those Wireless Media Hub machines I've seen in Panthip/Fortune Mall? Thanks again.

On one review site I read the one download can be installed on up to 5 machines. If downloading from the App store on my MBA, how can I then install Mountain Lion on my MBP without paying again? The MBP is my partner's so has different AppleID. Sign it with it, download Mountain Lion for free as it'll know that ID had paid already, then re-sign in using partner's? Any help appreciated.