Wanting To Better Myself

[Canada]

I have been teaching in remote Thailand now only for a couple of months. I am a native speaker, however I am not legal, nor qualified as a teacher. I have come to understand that I am still teaching here only because ; I stick to vocabulary, pronunciation, and definition; my girlfriends uncle is the sub-director at the school; there are six Thai english teachers at the school and I am "supplemetary"; it is a challenge.

Allthough what I thought would be easy is turning out to be quite difficult, I do like it. I want to better myself so that I am more qualified.

I am embarrassed to say, but I only have grade 10 from Canada. I am not stupid, I had a difficult time growing up. I know my abilities and lack of as well.

My question is this; how could/should I go about educating myself from Thailand?

My goals are:

A) To teach better

To know more

C) To one day, be legal here

Again, I am embarrassed to write about this on this forum. If I thought I was doing the students a disservice I would stop teaching them. If I thought that someone qualified would teach here, I would gladly step aside. They have been looking for a falang native speaker here for years. I have been honest with the staff and directors at the school about my lack of qualifications and formal education since we started negotiations about the job. I like getting paid, but I don't really need the money that they give me for the hours that I work and the conditions I work under.....28 classes a week M1/1-M6/4, about 40 students per class, each class once a week.

Any thoughts on my question would be appreciated. Thanks.

[PeaceBlondie]

Canada, don't feel guilty. I recall when you posted, months ago, and some of us warned you that it was risky and might be difficult. 28 hours per week is exhausting; most of us couldn't or wouldn't teach that much.

How to improve yourself, you ask? Well, if you have access to the internet, you can enroll in an online TEFL course. If money is not a big problem, you could enroll in a TEFL course in Chiang Mai, BKK, Phuket, etc., for the October school vacation.

[Canada]

Canada, don't feel guilty. I recall when you posted, months ago, and some of us warned you that it was risky and might be difficult. 28 hours per week is exhausting; most of us couldn't or wouldn't teach that much.

How to improve yourself, you ask? Well, if you have access to the internet, you can enroll in an online TEFL course. If money is not a big problem, you could enroll in a TEFL course in Chiang Mai, BKK, Phuket, etc., for the October school vacation.

Thanks. Exhausting...yes, that's it. Really, I have thought of the Tefl/ Oct break thing. I should make that decision soon. I do have internet in my home. Anybody out there with experience regarding the online Tefl that they would like to share?

[Rhys]

AKE....Self Study.. There are many excellent references on Teaching English...Check out the titles in the book stores..And of course your determination.. Best wishes..

Edited September 2, 2007 by Rhys

[ratchabuild]

I have been teaching in remote Thailand now only for a couple of months. I am a native speaker, however I am not legal, nor qualified as a teacher. I have come to understand that I am still teaching here only because ; I stick to vocabulary, pronunciation, and definition; my girlfriends uncle is the sub-director at the school; there are six Thai english teachers at the school and I am "supplemetary"; it is a challenge.

Allthough what I thought would be easy is turning out to be quite difficult, I do like it. I want to better myself so that I am more qualified.

I am embarrassed to say, but I only have grade 10 from Canada. I am not stupid, I had a difficult time growing up. I know my abilities and lack of as well.

My question is this; how could/should I go about educating myself from Thailand?

My goals are:

A) To teach better

To know more

C) To one day, be legal here

Again, I am embarrassed to write about this on this forum. If I thought I was doing the students a disservice I would stop teaching them. If I thought that someone qualified would teach here, I would gladly step aside. They have been looking for a falang native speaker here for years. I have been honest with the staff and directors at the school about my lack of qualifications and formal education since we started negotiations about the job. I like getting paid, but I don't really need the money that they give me for the hours that I work and the conditions I work under.....28 classes a week M1/1-M6/4, about 40 students per class, each class once a week.

Any thoughts on my question would be appreciated. Thanks.

Many teachers are dead beat time servers happy to exploit thais. You are none of those things. Hope you get what you wish and make the changes to your life. Its never to late for self improvement, dont forget the ones who completed a conventional education are often burnt out before they are adults. You can learn the whole of your life and have more potential than them plus you bring adulthood and experience to the table. There are lots of courses if you look and you have had some good advice already. Best Wishes and good luck.