Current situation re. TEFL

[3stan]

Hi,

 

I’ve been out of the teaching “game” for 7 years now and currently looking into getting back into it. I am mostly looking into teaching young adults (university level), and have several years of experience doing so (mainly teaching at a couple rajabhats). What is the current situation regarding Thai cultural course and police background check for such positions? Thanks!

[brewsterbudgen]

The Thai cultural course is not required for teaching adults or for teaching in language schools. If you're happy to be in Bangkok, there is loads of work, especially corporate teaching and exam prep (IELTS, TOEIC, IGSCE, TOEFL etc).  A police check may required for the visa.

[Hanuman2547]

At least you know what you will be getting yourself into!  Unfortunately the pay rates have definitely not kept up with inflation over the years.  

[quandow]

6 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

At least you know what you will be getting yourself into!  Unfortunately the pay rates have definitely not kept up with inflation over the years.  

I started teaching 2006, and the pay has stayed the same since. Stagnant in every form of the word.

[BobbyL]

Any half decent place should really require you to provide a police check of some kind. 

[Isaanbiker]

On 5/23/2019 at 9:56 AM, quandow said:

I started teaching 2006, and the pay has stayed the same since. Stagnant in every form of the word.

Okay, I know that life sometimes suc_s and making the wrong decision can change lives in a very negative way. I've started teaching in 2005, and I'm on 2,000 baht less/month now. But I can only blame myself for it. It's like a domino effect. 

 

    The whole shi_e had started when I thought it would be good to make more money working for an agency and quit my job. Then I resigned another great position to make a few baht more and started at a little shit_y primary school where I had to set up an EP. Writing a whole curriculum and teaching science and math as well, plus various other endless responsibilities that were a nightmare I called my life.  I had to suffer and there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Nil. 

 

Neither the Thai social security was part of the package, ( the director preferred to pocket some more money until some employees from the main labor office showed up and made him understand that the had to follow the laws), nor was there anything else that foreigners would somehow appreciate. It was the living hell, day by day, hour by hour. 

 

The " two or three "native English speaking teachers" were never hired, and I had to stop working there when we had grade three set up. My incredible workload and the noise from the kids all day long were so insane that I started to develop serious problems. Thinking about suicide came into my mind, and my days at school became horror trips. Daily meetings in Thai that went on for hours, of course after school, rounded it up. 

 

I figured out that I had developed some serious issues when I had to switch my most favorite music off when driving back home after work. There's no place where I had no noisy kids around me who even helped me to eat the lunch my wife had prepared for me — a nightmare that never seemed to end. 

 

   Would I've stayed at my first school, I'd have a superb salary and I'd get paid through the summer break, not just for 9.5 months. Or less. 

 

Even my teacher's license doesn't seem to be very helpful for me right now. Getting older is another nail in the coffin and of course never in favor of a foreign teacher.

 

I wish all the teaching folks out there only the best. Kind regards. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

   

 

  

 

  

[Rhys]

Teaching at the uni level...as you know different requirements... what is different now is the students lack of respect, and cannot live without my cell phone...in class.