onlycw

Hi

please stop worrying - as a NEW with a degree, you will be a valued applicant. Forget that TEFL piece of paper. (Disclaimer - I haven't got it and cannot comment on whether such a TEFL would have real world value and lead to getting higher pay).

90,000 B is more than most folks have. OTOH, CNX is likely the toughest market in all of Thailand.

Q: would you move to some village school up North?

Go for it!

At my government school, there is an Asian with a masters degree. Very professional guy. He's earning 20,000 B while a, how shall I put this?, guy with a fake degree from an African country makes 25,000 B. One test lesson would have sorted this out - but there hadn't been any.

TBH, the pressure is on, also on Western teachers. Schools have replaced NES with you guys, you are aware of that, aren't you?

30 k is good, but 20 k is even better. The cost pressure is on and a lot of qualified NES teachers are very unhappy about this development.

But hey, as long as the TCT accepts the silly TOEIC score of 600 as passing grade for a teacher's position, Thailand is on its way to hell in a hand basket!

Well, yours truly got severance. Mixed in with the 80,000 B agreed on as full and final settlement.

but things have been so murky that I wouldn't want to have that settlement made public.

My own take on severance is that it applies after the probationary period and in the absence of gross misconduct like theft.

Oh, that explains the dozen of workers, re-planting flowers etc. Must mean my school will be evaluated soon.

All your answers are much appreciated. We (hopefully) will learn from unpleasant situations. And I hear you regarding having a back-up plan and being better prepared etc.

This requires much more work than having just ONE lesson plan for all the M6s etc.

Cheers,

Hi Guys

what's up? I'm feeling low. It was a long day - 5 periods teaching and it started 2 hours earlier when I wrote the handouts for this week).

To my horror, the HoD showed up in my last class, a M6/5. The students were tired, too and my plan was bad. I wanted them to fill out a form with questions for a "job application".

Lack of vocabulary

Couldn't be arsed

Speaking Thai and while I tried to explain the questions, many a student ignored my efforts and carried on loud personal conversations...

On days like this I ask myself what am I doing here?!?

How do you feel about TEFLing in Thailand at government schools?

I might be paranoid, but by choosing the last period on a day where I have 5 period to teach and then a weak class is a bad combination of factors. wish the HoD would come to the M6/2, M6/1 or M3/1 classes ;-)

Well, I never had an engagement ceremony - but this sounds a bit like an actual wedding. How many monks were present?

In addition, I never heard of sin sod (a dowry) being payable before the actual wedding. Mmh. OTOH, you agreed to 100,000 B. And you are together now, aren't you?

People differ and who am I, a keyboard jocky with time on his hands! But these days, girls usually have had some experience before they go out to post on dating websites. Just saying...

A girl may worry about your intentions, too. Are you a "butterfly" guy?

When you care for her and be happy together, focus on the good things and don't let 100,000 B spoil everything for you. That's water under the bridge.

Well, look at my condo's management and weep.

• 1 elevator has been shut off for over a year now
• the other one had been out of order for many weeks. (Whatever the issue, 100,000 should have been all to get it repaired. With over 300 units, that would mean less than 400 Baht per unit...)
• Security had been a joke - and now the security company resigned.
• Watch out for unfinished projects - it speaks volumes when a company gets it so wrong and then throws away all the 70% already spent rather than going to complete the project and sell it at half the cost. (Yes, the developer is listed on the SET).
• There has been a string of financial irregularities and stuff like one employee embezzling all the monies paid for electricity etc.
• Then there is the unwillingness or incompetence to get those to pay HOA fees who won't. (Many are >500,000 Baht).
• Decent folks pay for these deadbeat owners!!!

This will be a nice new development. Hope they will find a way to deposit the cash daily and ascertain the bills get paid.

You cannot make this up!

Be afraid, be very afraid!

Hi,

I never owned a Harley. But friends do - and a few of them have had their bikes for decades. Their machines are still worth a lot. IMHO, those 120 B will be soon "forgotten" when you try to sell either bike a few years later. Wonna bet? Yamaha Bolt? 200 k? Harley? 380 k and > 280 k for the next decade if you keep her in pristine condition...

Well, you could ask at the Cafe about 50 meters before the street where the Thai embassy is. Small store front, on the left walking towards the embassy. 80 m before the Pizza Company restaurant. They have a car taking you all the way from the embassy to the border and on to Udon. and I reckon the guy would do it for 900 B to the airport. Don't mess about - I went there 10 days ago. And barely reached the 17:30 bus to Pitsanulok.

Thanks, will call next week!

Recommendations, please!

Cheers and a better New Year to All

Well, I would agree to all you assume, except that you won't need anything from the TCT for the B-Visa and the WP. But you will need a waiver or XY for the change at immigration.

Often, there will be some requirement for another waiver. A TOEIC test for non NES, a Thai Culture Course, or ...

Well, SlyAnimal has put it well and I would like to second him.

At a new high school, I teach M3, M5 and M6 classes. TBH, there are only 3 really good classes. In all others, I have been quite unsuccessful in getting them to speak English to each other. Me doing most of the talking and having one-on-one conversation doesn't cut it. So I'll keep pushing for them to speak to each other and do group work etc.

Anger and annoyance with admin is a big thing. Take the way they add a 5-digit amount payable by us and days being off on some Visa runs and you get the picture. Can't say they care! Some schools have been laying off their foreign teachers, then not hired replacements. Why's that, you think?

Last week in Vientiane, I met many a teacher who couldn't get his B-Visa due to some small errors by their schools' administrators. The wrong month, addressing the ambassador incorrectly, whatever.

Being middle aged, I enjoy interacting with students and try hard to be friendly, approachable and to motivate them to speak. (Many still literally run away when a foreigner says "good morning"). During gate duty, I try to engage many students in small talk, sensing that those who respond feel a real sense of success when they say what they had for breakfast!

^^^

The usual once a week lesson doesn't cut it. But then, a teacher named Steve Forrester's interview with Ajarn.com shows how admin feels about foreigners being at the schools. TBH, I'm fairly certain Thais would rather have none of us there!

Our existence here is precarious and uncertain. Many are on their 2nd waiver. Those with kids to support might find greener pastures elsewhere (one teacher shared how he earned > 50 k Baht in China, teaching just 11 lessons per week). Then there are contracts like mine, ending in February. Students really need to trust a foreign teacher to open up and interact in English. Staying some years at a school would be nice. Alas, this seems to run contrary to what directors want, for whatever reasons.

Actually those teachers who has a fake diploma couldn't get a 5 years license because the Khurusapa will check the school it takes 2 to 3 months before they will issue the license and the Ministry of Labor also check the documents before they will approve the WP.

You wish!!

Take FAMCARE Ministries' "Bible Study degree". I know a guy who sailed through it all, including TCT and Immigration. A Google search for a few minutes would have revealed what kind of a "degree" this is. Moreover, I have met some Cameroonians and if they have degrees, I'll eat a roll of toilet paper.

The crazy thing is that there are accredited NES (from NZ and Texas, qualified teachers back home) who have had trouble with Krungsrapa for years, while the Cameroonians I know get the green light. Add to that the silly passing TOEIC score. It 600 is good enough to be a teacher, that would explain a lot!!

I'm on 30 k but much worse off than anyone taking the OP's 25 k offer in the now closed thread. Why? No pay during the hols, which will start in March. That will be 2.5 months without income.

Add the cost of Visa runs. I just returned from Vientiane (man, it's cold in Udon Thani to hang out at the train station for hours, waiting for the #77 train to Nong Khai to come). I offered to give the school a signed resignation letter in exchange for a contract till February 2015. These silly Visa runs will cost more than 10 grand from now till May 2014.

I'm likely to be one of the horde who would need a 3rd waiver. But the TCT seems to be having some kind of a cynical "master-plan" in place. Maybe all those who assume they really want all students' English to improve are mistaken?

A Filipino told me how they were treated abominably by some Tessaban up North. They left finally - being owed no less than 70,000 Baht each. Apparently, the previous teachers were not paid either (I gather that they got a few thousand a month to pay for accommodation and food). AFAIK, they all took it and have not sued for their back wages. They all got new jobs and some are afraid of repercussions if they take action against some corrupt local government up North.

It's bizarre - to ask teachers not to co-mingle. But then, communication is often misunderstood. I had been told once by some frigid old lady "do not speak to the students!" Yeah, it would be nice to be able to read during one's lessons

How has the OP's drama played out? I'll read the whole thread later.

Welcome, AV!

With that high a score you should get work. At my school, a guy with a 640 score still commands 25,000 B and he is charcoal black.

Good luck - just try applying to jobs on Ajarn.com and Ajarnjobspace.com - you might get hired directly.

It was the school's office. There appears to have been many a scandal...

Heard this at the office. We have one teacher from Cameroon who hasn't had his paperwork approved in months.

Does anyone know more about this?

Cheers!

Scott said it well: the maximum probationary period is 4 months (3 plus 1 extra if the employer gives written notice).

You may find out that schools like to do as they please - the notice period is for employees, not them.

Forget the MoL, if you have such an issue, head to Labour Court or - if you are at a government school - Administrative Court.

What's wrong with a Honda Wave 125 with EFI, a bullet proof engine and great resale value / low depreciation? Take care of it and you will get half a few years later. And selling it will be easy...

50 grand is too much to throw away.

Well, I saw the driver of a coach count his money while driving in the Loei mountains. Likewise, a song taew driver counting his coins, hogging 2 lanes in bangkok. (can't use some capital letters, sorry).

What really upsets me are the ghost drivers who do it on interstate roads where cars usually go faster than 100 km/h.

As a biker, I often have to break or swerve as ignorant folks pull into my lane without even looking!

more than one - and 2 manned currency exchange counters. (Just don't bother when you want to buy Dollars - Krung Thai bank at central has even small denominations (useful for your Lao visa fee).

Sorry, the computer is playing up, not letting me put in some capital letters.

Hi

• have you been there?

• could you share your experience?

• Do they have translators or does the staff speak English?

• Can you recommend an English speaking lawyer with reasonable rates / flat rate preferred

Thanks a lot!