Teaching English

[firstknight]

I am going to start a english course of TESOL in Khon Kean.

I believe I need a working permit as I am under a company. Do I need to learn to read thai and write before I am able to teach the course and getting the work permit?

Do I actually need to get a teaching license? Which mean I have to send application form to BKK?

[Ijustwannateach]

Oh, boy. You need to learn a lot of things, and we can't give you the whole story in this thread. First, read the whole Questions About Qualifications thread and the threads it links to on page 12-14 or so (you might find the Red Tape For Teachers thread particularly useful). Then read all the threads on the first 3 pages of the teacher's forum. There's no substitute for doing your homework, and we can't do it for you.

The short answers are no, you don't need Thai to teach English or get the paperwork for doing so, and yes, you need the license if you want to be legal, and you need a whole lot more than an application form to get legal, involving 3 different gov. ministries (Labour, Immigration, and Education) (how about a school which is legally entitled to employ you, for starters? I don't think there are many self-employed foreign teachers here).

"S"

[firstknight]

well... we are setting a english centre teaching english so I wonder will it be the same?

[PeaceBlondie]

well... we are setting a english centre teaching english so I wonder will it be the same?

Good grief, then you need to have a legal business as doing that sort of thing, maybe a licensed THAI teacher (M.Ed. or Ph.D. or Ed.D.) to be your director, maybe a special permit from the Ministry of Special Silly Regulations, maybe inspectors from 3 agencies, ....some have said it took over a year to get started.

Your initial post uses ambiguous terminology, as if you're going to instruct novice teachers to teach EFL or ESOL. Now I guess you're just going to start a language center. Good luck. Let us know how many agencies it takes to get legal.

[Ijustwannateach]

If by "we," you mean seven total stock owners, a Thai manager-principal who has a Ph.D in education, a number of classrooms and Thai employees which suffices to justify the number of work permits you are requesting to have (you need one for each qualified foreign worker), and all kinds of other boiler-plate that you will need to learn pretty darn soon- then yes, from the teacher's point of view the qualifications, visa issues, and work permit problems are pretty much the same.

[torito]

I believe I need a working permit as I am under a company.

This statement alone is quite ..how can I say....contradictory, confusing, ambiguous...all at the same time....

I really think that you need to provide more details as with this information it appears to me that it is impossible to provide you with some advise (I can only help in the business aspect side).

[Ijustwannateach]

^And do you have experience with schools, specifically? The rules for education-related businesses are stricter than for companies in general.

[torito]

Is this for me?....

No, but I have expert advise (Thai) in company creation and legal requirements...so I thought I as able to make some queries about it...

...no need to put in doubt, in advance, my possible contribution...

[aussiestyle1983]

OMFG, here we go again.................

I thought the OP's question was an easy question to understand, but, i'm sorry to say that I can not answer it in full. I do know he will need a WP, but I don't know what he will need to do or show before getting the WP.

On the other hand, I hope he will not be one of the ones teaching, simply because i'm sure many students will find it difficult to understand him if he uses English like the way he does in this thread.

[IJustKnowItAll]

well... we are setting a english centre teaching english so I wonder will it be the same?

Good grief, then you need to have a legal business as doing that sort of thing, maybe a licensed THAI teacher (M.Ed. or Ph.D. or Ed.D.) to be your director, maybe a special permit from the Ministry of Special Silly Regulations, maybe inspectors from 3 agencies, ....some have said it took over a year to get started.

That really was a misleading post.

Also the one from IJWT who says you need a Thai with a Ph.D. A Masters will suffice. Unless you have been through the process how can you both comment on it? It's very clear you both havent so why post confusing information on the forum?

Setting up a school isnt that difficult at all. Two months is a realistic time frame. Yes there are a lot of visits to various agencies but if you follow their instructions it is pretty painless if you have a Thai partner.

As for firstknight teaching, I agree with aussie, better to employ your teachers than for you to set foot in the classroom.

Good luck

[Ijustwannateach]

Thanks for the various additional details. My post above was not intended to be an exhaustive list, but rather a sample of what is awaiting anyone who wants to go down the awful road of starting a school- I've had friends try to do it; I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole- but good luck to those who do. Perhaps the poster previous to me will give us the full details, as he is so well-informed

[PeaceBlondie]

IJustKnowItAll, if you do just know it all, why not answer the OP's questions?

Maybe none of us know because the OP hasn't made it clear.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

well... we are setting a english centre teaching english so I wonder will it be the same?

I think you should get some legal advice.

Setting up a school is not a small thing...

Perhaps you should contact Sunbelt Asia - they are an organisation that sponsor the forum.

[colino]

could you keep me posted on how you get on please firstknight

i agree with the dan sai kid

Edited April 26, 2007 by colino

[Ijustwannateach]

If Mr. KnowItAll should happen to make an actually informative post, we can be sure that it will appear in the fullness of time.

[FranklyNoMore]

I'm a newbie to the forum but have been reading it now for a while. I read last night or least I thought I read a good post about someone knowing how to open a school and offering advice about how to go about it. I cant find it now. Was I dreaming or was it on another topic? I was thinking about buying a franchise. EnglishPlus is available for 250,000 baht. anybody have any experience with them?

[Loaded]

Setting up a school isnt that difficult at all. Two months is a realistic time frame. Yes there are a lot of visits to various agencies but if you follow their instructions it is pretty painless if you have a Thai partner.

You can open a school today if you want. However, to obtain the school licence and be 'legal' the process is very long and problematic. It can take as long as 2 years. Saying this though the MoE will allow you to operate if the licence is in process. And without the licence it's very difficult to obtain wps for teachers.

The licence application includes an engineer's building report and all curriculums have to be inspected and presented in the correct format. Eventually the MoE inspect the school. Bob's your uncle fanny's your aunt and now you have a licence.

Someone mentioned you need a Thai teacher with a certain qualification. My experience was it was the Civil Service grade of the teacher that was important.

If you buy a franchise, the school licence application will probably be a lot smoother.

[Ijustwannateach]

Thanks, Loaded- your viewpoint of the situation matches mine; it's not a simple process.

[a2396]

Setting up a school isnt that difficult at all. Two months is a realistic time frame. Yes there are a lot of visits to various agencies but if you follow their instructions it is pretty painless if you have a Thai partner.

You can open a school today if you want. However, to obtain the school licence and be 'legal' the process is very long and problematic. It can take as long as 2 years. Saying this though the MoE will allow you to operate if the licence is in process. And without the licence it's very difficult to obtain wps for teachers.

The licence application includes an engineer's building report and all curriculums have to be inspected and presented in the correct format. Eventually the MoE inspect the school. Bob's your uncle fanny's your aunt and now you have a licence.

Someone mentioned you need a Thai teacher with a certain qualification. My experience was it was the Civil Service grade of the teacher that was important.

If you buy a franchise, the school licence application will probably be a lot smoother.

I really don't know who would want to go through all these hassles. I hope the money he thinks he will make will be worth it. It is bad enough to do all the paperwork necessary to be "worker bee" employee at a government school. Not surprising the English standards are so low here.