midasthailand

I think the answer would be a two-tire system.

Those non-graduates with with TEFL ot its equivalent could be called 'speaking buddies' or 'teacher assistant'.

While the term 'teacher' should be reserved for at least graduates with academic degrees and TEFL.

Of course the assistant would be paid a bit less. In large schools the teachers could have responsibility for mentoring the assistants.

In the cases where the assistant worked well and showed potential he could be encouraged to further his studies.

Just to add.

I would think that there is already quite a few 'teachers' willing to work for 20,000 THB a month.

I think more would do so if they thought it could mean a chance to gain qualifications and eventually earn more.

I agree that many schools can't afford to pay more but why not reduce the pay of those unqualified on 30,000 to 20,000.

Give 5,000 extra to the teachers and use to other 5,000 to finance the further education of promising assistants.

I realize that these suggestions are controversial.

So what you are suggesting Garro is that a person with TEFL and say a BA with a major in basket weaving should earn more than myself with a TEFL and five tertiary qualifications (three in Electronics, one in leadership and management and one in applied Thai)?

I don't know if I'd be willing to cop that.

Having read this thread I feel there is hope for me yet. I have no formal teaching qualifications, am a native English speaker (well Australian anyway) and have completed the TEFL course. My feeling is that given a lesson plan I would be able to conduct the class as well as a fully qualified English teacher. Having to prepare my own lesson plan would require more effort on my part than a qualified teacher, but only until I became proficient at it.

I do not have the seniority in country that some of the previous posters have, but I have had some exposure to Thai nationals teaching English and can say without fear of contradiction that I would do a far better job than them.

The fact that I speak Thai would make things a little easier for me than the OP's subject but I can't help but agree with the OP that if this guy has a thick Northern English accent AND is dyslexic AND failed TEFL than he has no place teaching English to anyone.

I can't wait to get stuck into it, arriving this Wednesday 17th Oct. Bangkok here I come!!

Hi MidasThailand.

Can you give me some details of your TEFL course, such as course content, duration of course, price etc? I hold degrees in Physics and Masters in Solid-State Physics, and have been informally offered a position to teach either English or Physics at one of the local Colleges in Korat.

How easy/difficult is it to obtain a TEFL certification?

Thanks!

Hi there,

I did the course at TEFL International in Baan Phe, which is in Rayong province and the stepping off point for tourists going to Koh Samet. The cost of the course was US$1,500. Duration 4 weeks, with the first week looking at "the model" and the next three weeks preparing and teaching lesson plans to M1-M5 students at a local school.

I found the course fairly easy. The reason I did the course where I did was because it was being taught by Dave Hopkins, who is a bit of a legend in TEFL circles and is the author of several books on teaching /grammar etc..

TEFL International claim that they are the only TEFL school accredited with the MOE but I wasn't really fussed either way.

Good luck, by the way, I'm quite sure you could earn more money teaching either Physics or Maths than English.

I will be arriving in Thailand this week and thoght that a good place to network might be the various Chambers of Commerce. I know that there is an Australian / Thai Chamber of Commerce, ditto USA, but I do not know what are the pre-requisites for being allowed to join these organizations.

Could anybody point me in the right direction?

Having read this thread I feel there is hope for me yet. I have no formal teaching qualifications, am a native English speaker (well Australian anyway) and have completed the TEFL course. My feeling is that given a lesson plan I would be able to conduct the class as well as a fully qualified English teacher. Having to prepare my own lesson plan would require more effort on my part than a qualified teacher, but only until I became proficient at it.

I do not have the seniority in country that some of the previous posters have, but I have had some exposure to Thai nationals teaching English and can say without fear of contradiction that I would do a far better job than them.

The fact that I speak Thai would make things a little easier for me than the OP's subject but I can't help but agree with the OP that if this guy has a thick Northern English accent AND is dyslexic AND failed TEFL than he has no place teaching English to anyone.

I can't wait to get stuck into it, arriving this Wednesday 17th Oct. Bangkok here I come!!

I am in the process of getting a quote from a friend for a run of 10,000 neoprene stubby holders with artwork. Standby.

Dave

i used to live in the vp tower. when i lived there a thai woman jumped of the balcony and fell to her death. maybe it is now a trend at this apartment.

And there you have it. Mystery solved, it was the ghost of the Thai woman that pushed him.

Hi,

My fiance would like to improve her English skills, and seeing as I got such great advice from this forum on Thai schools, I thought I'd ask if anyone had any ideas?

She's so far been into see Wall Street, who were impressive but expensive, and was scared off by British Commission's "we reserve the right to cancel if less than 10 people show up" clause, that has caused her hassles at another school in the past.

Thanks!

I believe Callan is a very effective, fast and good value for money school, you are welcome to also have a free demo of the method, it is located in Times Square on the 3rd floor in front of the lifts. www.callan.co.th, the phone number is 022539371.

That response is rather like beating your own drum / blowing your own trumpet is it not? I seem to recall you coming to the defence of Callan in another thread. Having said that I agreed with you in the other thread anyway. The guy doing the complaining seemed to be in the minority.

Mac Walen

Sorry about that Mac, I'll try again.

That response is rather like beating your own drum / blowing your own trumpet is it not? I seem to recall you coming to the defence of Callan in another thread. Having said that I agreed with you in the other thread anyway. The guy doing the complaining seemed to be in the minority.

Dave

Hello guys and gals. TEFL International is fine. I am fine. Just some changes in lifestyle and taking advantage of a few other opportunities.

And the idiots at teflwatch (there were just 4 using lots of different names) may discover I have been busy in other activities as well.

No need for rumors and speculation. If you have a question, let me know.

And if you believe anything at teflwatch then i feel sorry for you....

Not true BV

Hey Bruce, this is just like TEFL watch - they always have to have the last word. Wait for it.....

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed (read heartbroken, devastated, crestfallen) that my team lost to England last night, but my hat is off to the poms courage and determination. Congratulations England, another long wait for the Wallabies.

Blow me down, the snail eaters beat the sheep shaggers as well. I expected the Kiwi's to win in a canter, not just the game against France, but the Cup itself. Sport sure is unpredictable!! Congratulations France, commisserations NZ, (at least you guys have the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations Cup in the trophy cabinet, all we've got is the Mandela Cup).

Donny, I'm pretty sure I have the right thread? That said, where will all the TV Rugby maniacs be watching the final on the 20th Oct? I will be arriving an 17th and would enjoy meeting a few of the people that enrich my life on TV. I hope the wife wont mind if I leave her at the hotel.

I for one will be @ Tuskers, where they have a sports lounge upstairs, where its comfy and beers are cold. The owner has delusional thoughts about Englands ability to retain the RWC, but otherwise he's a likeable chap. Im sure your wife wont mind you staying out, unless you get enlisted on one of McG and Crowboys tour of duty down some dark alley

Thanks Donnyboy,

Had I payed closer attention I would have realised you were in Chiang Mai, that is a bit far in a Tuk Tuk from Silom Rd, so I'll go to the Office and catch the game there. Good luck to your teams guys, It's going to be a great rugby weekend.

First hand here...

I had a fight with a tuk-tuk driver about 4 years ago in Patong, I was on my way home sitting in the passenger seat at about 5am after a pretty drunk night and realised that I didn't have my wallet anymore, either someone had taken it or I'd lost it somewhere. We are driving down the back of Nanai when I tell the driver this, in a drunk "I don't have my wallet" way.

Anyhow he immediately stops the tuk-tuk, comes round to the passenger side, opens the door drags me out in a rage like I've ever seen before and starts punching me, we exchange a few blows although I'm more surprised than anything else. Theres a bunch of Thais outside a minimart right next to where we were going at it, they pull us apart and basically tell him to go, patch me up a bit. Then one of them gave me a lift back home, I give him the Tuk Tuk fare (I have money at home).

So no, its not always gang up on the Farang, However I suspect that this occurs mainly for 2 reasons;

i. They see the whole situation, how the farang has acted, what he's said or done etc...

ii. Its home territory and all the guys standing around are friends.

The average Farang is much bigger than the average Thai, so a one on one fight isn't actually 'fair' either, really.

Lastly if it's Patong Tuk-Tuk drivers or Katoeys, they are pretty much the scum of the earth - avoid getting into any sorts of confrontations with these people, the littlest things can set them off.

A Tuk-Tuk with a door??

Hello all,

Myself, my husband are wanting to open up a business in Thailand, we have found it hard to get any concrete information so far. I'm hoping you can help or guide us in the right direction. So far we have received the following information, we have been unable to verify this information and have questions about it.

If you could clear some of the questions up or provide other guidance that would be much appreciated. We are unsure as to how our business venture would be classed as. Do you have any idea as what our business would be classed, or know where to find out?

My husband will be running an IT company 90% of the time, and maybe 4 or 6 times a year we want to take Australian travellers through Thailand and offer them a 10 day adventure trip, including boot camps (I'm a personal trainer myself), cycling, rafting, climbing etc. Does that class us as a Tour Operator?

And do we need to open two companies since its two different areas? If we need to be classed as a tour operator, would it be to our advantage being classed as one?

If we operate as a tour operator and have to appoint a Thai manager who manages finances and the staff, do we then lose control over the business (we've been told we have to appoint a Thai manager)? Once we operate a company, do we still need to leave the country on a regular basis? Thanking you in advance.

Kind regards

My understanding is that you and your husband cannot operate as tour guides, you can own the company, but must employ Thai nationals as the tour guides. I have spent several years trying to come up with a suitable model for the type of tour I want to operate in Thailand and have found that it can only be done if you have good contacts amongst Thai nationals. Having said that, I would encourage you to have a go, bearing in mind that the salaries you would be paying to Thai staff are not going to cut into your bottom line too much.

I would love to see a forum dedicated to "Small Business in Thailand, Import & Export." under the "Business in Thailand, Jobs in Thailand." heading on Thai Visa.

I think a large number of expats living in Thailand, who are allready running small business's, those that are currently in employment, however planning to move into business in the future & many people who are planning on moving to Thailand to "set-up shop" would be interested in seeing a more centralised area for this category of discussion.

For me it would help collect general discussion about doing small business, and every day news articles & political decisions that affect small business in Thailand, from several other sections of TV & keep all relevant information in a more easily accessable area.

Would any other TV members be interested in a forum dedicated to small business in Thailand?

Cheers and thanx for your support.

Soundman.

From my point of view it would seem like a sensible idea. I scroll through TV each day looking for threads about business and if there was a separate forum for small business in Thailand it would certainly save me some time. (Although I do enjoy scrolling through)

Studio and one bedroom for rent, fully Furnished with A/Cs, bedroom set, living room sets, kitchen corner, dining table, big balconies, bathtub and water heater, every bath has granite counter sink. Every room has phone, free HBO, Stars, Cinimax, ESPN and CNN. Upgrade with TV set, Refrid and microwave and get free hi-speed internet. The building is equiped with passenger elevator, laudry, key card, security guard, CCTV and parking. We are located less than 10 min from Seacon and Seri shopping malls, Central Bangna, Royal King Park, several internation schools and 20 min from New airport, BTS in nice and quiet neighborhood. We have daily rate, weekly rate or monthly rate. Rent for studio is B4500/m, 650/night. Please call 089 698-5240 or 086 744-5492 for info.

How about a picture of the most important room - the bedroom!

Donny, I'm pretty sure I have the right thread? That said, where will all the TV Rugby maniacs be watching the final on the 20th Oct? I will be arriving an 17th and would enjoy meeting a few of the people that enrich my life on TV. I hope the wife wont mind if I leave her at the hotel.

Thank you guys, I guess that pretty well answers the questions I had about the origins of TV. It certainly has grown exponentially in five years! I find it a very useful resource and will continue to visit on a regular basis.

Why be like a mushroom when you can join TV?

...I will write a book about it some day...

I see from the profile of Rinrada, member #13, who posted in this topic, that he signed up on November 29, 2002. This means that ThaiVisas's fifth anniversary will come up soon and while you may not write your book by then, hopefully some short story will be available. Would be nice, and appreciated by many members I'm sure.

--

Maestro

That's odd, member number 13 joined Thai Visa 10 days AFTER member number 128?

So far member number 169 has it! Do tell.

What about member number 13?

I may be wrong but I also recall the original Thai Visa site being effectively a visa service, and was around for some time before the creation of the Fora. Lurked for yonks, but only posted once last years visa stuff started to cause problems and I could provide relevant information. For my sins and lack of medication have continued to gibber ever since.

Regards

Nurse the screens....

Quite right, lucky I had a visit to the optometrist today!

I always had fun at Spassos under the Erawan Grande Hyatt, but don't bother going there until 11 at the earliest.

i wondered about that too , were there thugs hanging around there who pretended to be waiting staff in order to attack foriegners ?

but my understanding is that the waiters , possibly after being provoked , acted like thugs and attacked the foriegner ( who was drunk and probably unruly), as opposed to the other way round.

any other interpretations ??

You are correct, of course. I was just hoping for more poetry from the writer. "Thugs in waiter's clothing", like the proverbial wolf, would have been cool.

All in all the article is a pretty sad reflection of several things, the indifference of the police towards crimes committed against drunken foreigners, the fact that there are extremely young boys and girls selling flowers until all hours and the willingness of a bunch of Thais to assault a drunk foreigner.

Good to see that the concerned citizen got published though.

Is there some reason you are resurrecting a 10 month old thread fennielyn? Run into the guy while out some night or something?

Thanks sbk, I just read all through the thread without checking the dates and now realise that it is ancient history. Fennielyn, no more Jack for you!

What odds Australia V's Argentina in the final?

So far member number 169 has it! Do tell.

I am interested in the history of TV.

Who started it?

Who were the early posters?

What was it like?

Garro, I can't believe this, only last night I was about to ask the same question, but the Argentina/Ireland game started and I got distracted. I also am interested in the history of TV, when did it start? how? was it a bunch of expats sitting around over a beer? Who is responsible for developing all the excellent features?

I guess great minds think alike.

When I was learning Thai, we were discussing an old Thai lady who was hard of hearing and still being a novice and not knowing the Thai love of twisting words around I said "Hoo® mai(f) dii(m)". Needless to say, my teacher cracked up laughing and it took some time before he was able to explain to me that Thais would not say this, as it could be twisted to "Hii® Mai(f) Doo(m)", meaning don't look at the fajina. Of course since then I have always been careful in my word selection and ensured that my statements cannot be twisted to some impolite meaning.