Stamford College, Hat Yai

[sybille]

Good Evening, I am considering doing a TEFL course at Stamford College, Hat Yai. I would appreciate any information good-bad-indifferent as long as it is based on first hand knowledge (or very close to it)

Thank you, Sybille

[kenkannif]

I've not heard tons about it, but what I have heard has been good!

[LinglekJim]

I got good feedback from a few posters on the ajarn board, though nobody who actually attended this course. When are you thinking of attending? Unless a good job and/or unbelievable babe fall into my lap soon, I will be attending the 17 Jan 05 course.

[sybille]

Hi Jim,

I am thinking of doing the 07 March course.

Good Luck, cheers Sybille

[LinglekJim]

Thanks,

Best of luck to you.

Jim

[omlagus]

Stamford(TEFL) is a good course and the Tutor, Alan is very experienced and well known in Asia. The course starts of nice and slow and then gains pace after the first week. Unlike some courses they give you some info on resources which i've found to be very useful. For the course you need to buy 3 books and preferably read them before your course starts, but if you can't find them, then it is/was possible to buy a photocopy of them from Alan. They are 'How to teach English' by Jeremy Harmer, 'To teach English as a Second Language' by David Riddel and 'Techniques for classroom Interaction' by David Byrne?

You need to do 2 book reviews, 1 written and 1 oral and participate in a workshop to help give you some ideas. Teaching practice Mon-fri with the occasional Saturday, maybe. Hat Yai is the cheapest place outside of Bangkok to buy goods. On the corners of 1, 2, 3 street are your main areas for shopping and drinking where you'll meet other farangs who are travelling.

Enjoy your courses and don't get to stressed................

[daveh]

I got my TEFL at Stamford in Hat Yai last year. Since I've only done one TEFL course, I can't give you a comparative analysis, but I will tell you my opinion on the course there.

The course is held over four weeks. For me, each week consisted of five days of class, each day split into two parts. The first half was with Alan teaching us, and the second half was us teaching some students. The number of TEFL teachers are limited to six, and the number of students we had ranged from six to nine. The 90 minute class for the practice students was divide among the teachers. At first, each of us was limited to 30 minutes and only three would teach, then the class was divided into two 45 parts where only two would teach, and then finally, the class was divided into two again, but this time one teacher would teach 60 minutes, while the other would teach only 30 minutes.

During two of the three weekends you are there, you will also have to do some observation and teaching. In my case, it was for "Young learners".

It is really hard to say what the course covers, as there was no syllabus and it appeared that Alan was "winging it" at times. This seemed kind of odd as he was really pounding the importance of having a lessone plan into our brains.

I think the most important thing you can take away from this course is the practice teaching.

Another thing is that Alan highly recommends that you buy all the books before you arrive in Thailand. I'm personally not sure that all these books are really worth it. Rarely would we have to read a chapter or two from the many books. They were more for the purpose of reference. And many times, you could simply copy the important chapters as a fraction of the cost of buying them abroad.

One thing you shoould know is that Hat Yai is not a popular destination for Westerners. It was not uncommon for me to be walking down the street near where I lived and hear some child shout, "farang! farang!", not calling me, rather calling to their friend to see the farang. Also, entertainment in Hat Yai is not what it is in Bangkok. For example, in Bangkok, you can see whatever movie you like in English. In Hat Yai, usually on the latest and most popular movie will be shown with "soundtrack", all others are dubbed in Thai. But I think I preferred the scene in Hat Yai more than Bangkok. Hat Yai is much smaller and very easy to get around. There is still lots of things to do, and alot less stressful than Bangkok.

Despite all the apparent negative things I have to say about it, I can recommend it. Overall it was a good experience, I just want you to know what to expect when you get there. You can really tell Alan loves to teach and has a lot of knowledge to pass on. They also used to put you up in a dirty apartment, but I put an end to that. I found a MUCH nicer guest house that offerred rooms at a better rate and sent a letter to the director of the school. Now, they use this guest house.

[sybille]

Dave, thank's a lot for your input, it was very helpful. Once you finished the course, did you find a teaching position and if so, was it easy to find something? I suppose what I am asking is, are you teaching now?

regards from Cairns, Sybille

[daveh]

Dave, thank's a lot for your input, it was very helpful. Once you finished the course, did you find a teaching position and if so, was it easy to find something? I suppose what I am asking is, are you teaching now?

regards from Cairns, Sybille

After I finished the course, Stamford offered to place me in a position. None of the positions they offered appealed to me, so I decided to go to Ao Nang and relax on the beach for a few months. Once the rainy season started to approach, I moved up to Bangkok. When I decided to find a job, I went on one interview and accepted the offer. I worked at AUA, which is a very reputable school. Everything is strictly above board there. They require an original copy of your degree or college transcript, as well as your TEFL certificate.

The job was pretty good, and the students were great. I mostly taught university students, 18-24 years old. But I've had students as young as 15 and as old as 65.

I'm not living in Thailand now. So, I don't have that job any more. Overall, it was a good experience, but I didn't care for the schedule too much.

[igotworms]

I've lived in Hatyai for a year and i'm glad to be rid of it. It must be the smelliest city in Thailand. Open drains, random garbage dumps and yard fires plague the city. The bar scene is decent, though I was sick of it quickly. Farang girls are hastled beyond belief, especially in said bars...so, either carry a large stick or avoid Hatyai altogether. The actual director/owner of Stamford College is a dodgy dude and avoid working for him or the various affiliate schools.

The nearest beach is 45 minutes away in Songkhla but is nothing to write home about.

Hatyai also has a high crime rate and a very seedy side to it, though I never encountered any scary situations. However, the local people are for the most part extremely friendly and curious. What they say about Southern hospitality is defintely true. I met some amazing people.

But, if you had an option to take the course outside of Hatyai, I would jump on that immediately.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I've lived in Hatyai for a year and i'm glad to be rid of it. It must be the smelliest city in Thailand. Open drains, random garbage dumps and yard fires plague the city. The bar scene is decent, though I was sick of it quickly. Farang girls are hastled beyond belief, especially in said bars...so, either carry a large stick or avoid Hatyai altogether. The actual director/owner of Stamford College is a dodgy dude and avoid working for him or the various affiliate schools.

The nearest beach is 45 minutes away in Songkhla but is nothing to write home about.

Hatyai also has a high crime rate and a very seedy side to it, though I never encountered any scary situations. However, the local people are for the most part extremely friendly and curious. What they say about Southern hospitality is defintely true. I met some amazing people.

But, if you had an option to take the course outside of Hatyai, I would jump on that immediately.

Is this Stamford related to the one at Hua Hin ?

[kenkannif]

I don't think they have a course in Hua Hin, or do you mean just a school? I'll have a search (do you have a URL?).

Maybe a partner school?: http://www.englishtime.netfirms.com/

[dr_Pat_Pong]

www.stamford.edu

[dr_Pat_Pong]

The HuaHin Stamford must be a totally seperate institution ( now with university status )

[igotworms]

The HuaHin Stamford must be a totally seperate institution ( now with university status )

I know they just opened a Stamford in Phuket under the same ownership as the one in Hatyai. So, I would assume the one in Hua Hin would be affiliated.

[kenkannif]

I worked at AUA, which is a very reputable school. Everything is strictly above board there.

Well.....ish

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I worked at AUA, which is a very reputable school. Everything is strictly above board there.

Well.....ish

well ... ish ... is the nicest thing I heard about AUA in the last 5 years.

[kenkannif]

^ Yeah I was worried I might get told off for that! I know Phil's a massive fan of theirs (where's the sarccy emoticon?).

[Jeremiahnewton]

Does anyone have a definite answer on Stamford College? Yeh or Nay is Hat Yai safe enough for my 20 year old wife and I? Or should we just go to either Text and Talk Academy or Tefl Institute?

Ahhh so confusing and yes I have googled, searched the forum, and looked on Ajarn.com.

Thanks for the help

If the Stamford is on the up and up seems like a good option price is really nice.

[mbkudu]

If I were you, I'd just do the CELTA and not bother with mediocrity. Mine is just another opinion though.

[PeaceBlondie]

Does anyone have a definite answer on Stamford College? Yeh or Nay is Hat Yai safe enough for my 20 year old wife and I? Or should we just go to either Text and Talk Academy or Tefl Institute?

Ahhh so confusing and yes I have googled, searched the forum, and looked on Ajarn.com.

Thanks for the help

If the Stamford is on the up and up seems like a good option price is really nice.

Almost everybody who's taken TextnTalk were quite happy with the results, and found it fully qualifying. Including the guys who went back to Korea to teach! But if you want to pay top dollar just in case the educational authorities in Mongolia or Vanatu or Belize or Peru will value it much higher, take the CELTA, and if you're going to teach children, take their Early Learners Course, as well.

Like the man said, it's just an opinion.

[Jeremiahnewton]

Thank you

The one reason I was looking at Stamford is most people seemed to give it the ok. The other reason was for me and my wife to take the course with accommodations would cost the same as taking one course in BKK. I guess we shall sit in on the TNT course and see if it will be worth the extra outlay of funds.

[mbkudu]

Probably most of them are fine as long as you get the actual teaching practice. Just really don't bother with anything online.

[kenkannif]

Yep as long as (generally) you get the 100 plus hours class time, and at least 6 plus hours OTP....you should be okay!!!

[Jeremiahnewton]

Thank you guys for your replies. It is really making the transition of moving to Thailand easier.

Hope to get to meet some of the TV members in person here soon.