Opportunities For A Non-native Speaker To Teach English

[ActiveZeus]

I am an Indian citizen residing in the USA, working as a software engineer. For a part of my career I taught computer software to students of compter science. Wanting to change careers, I am interested in working in Thailand as an English teacher for at least a couple of years. I was tutored in english in school and college and can speak, read and write as well as any average native english speaker.

I researched the internet and found the CELTA certification to be the highest regarded qualification for a person starting a career as a TESOL. I realise it is a tough course but I am willing to give it a try.

If I do complete this certification, what are the prospects for me? How would my application compare against a native speaker with a lesser qualification? Also, what other certification/course can I complete to prove my qualification and capabilities?

Thanks!

[Florin]

So you have a college degree? That should be enough for teaching at least basic English in an university here, though the salary will likely be quite low.

Private schools / language centers pay better, but they are quite openly racist.

I think you could go to a university and split your time between teaching English and some Computer Science course (though they would usually want a master's degree for the latter)

[Ijustwannateach]

As has been frequently pointed out, Thais are not equal opportunity employers. If you do not appear to be a "Caucasian" English-speaking foreigner or some facsimile thereof, you will have fewer and less rewarding choices here. At the moment, considering the uncertainties regarding qualifications and other problems in Thailand, PB and I don't recommend that anyone comes here to teach, but it's up to you. Even if you had the best qualifications and didn't face any discriminatory practices, it would take you a few years to get to a relatively good position here- you can't start at the top here; dues paying is necessary. Unless you don't really need money, I'd strongly recommend you *not* come here "just for a few years" unless the only purpose is the experience of living here.

"S"

[stevemiddie]

ActiveZeus.

PM me and I will give you a list of schools in Bangkok and Pattaya that I KNOW employ Blacks, Indians, Pakistani,s and others.

[ActiveZeus]

Thanks for the responses. I was apprehensive about the 'equal opportunity' employment part.

My ultimate goal is to live and work in Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai. I am 34 years old now. I have some savings and could tide over the costs of the move and a lower initial salary. If I do move, it will be at the end of one year after getting qualified and taking care of personal stuff - selling the house, taking care of investments etc.

I do have a college degree, a three year one from India and PG diploma in computer systems management. If teaching English is not a viable option, I could also teach software or even work for a software firm. What would be good resources to explore these options?

Steve - I will PM you.

[DragonQuest]

I had a bangladesh friend working with me at a private language school, he was indian of course, and spoke quite well, he didnt last long though and moved on to Malaysia to teach, I wonder how he's doing now, o and by the way my employer told me straight up if you are of dark skin color he will NOT higher you, I couldnt believe he told me this, but in any case I saw a few black teachers here, I think Asia in general has a shortage of teachers Im sure you could land a job in thailand if you show your stuff but if earning less than 1000 dollars floats your boat then by all means go for it!^^ good luck.

[Scott]

Our school usually pays in the same pay scale for Indians. Do you have an Indian or US passport? Our director goes by the passport as far as nationality is concerned. If I can be of help you can PM me (where I work is in Bangkok, though).

[PeaceBlondie]

As usual in the teaching forum, we delete posts which are simply criticizing easy mistakes by posters.

Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are usually considered extremely low paying places. Like 20 or 25 K per month for white skinned native speakers, and 18K for a Filipino with a math degree in Chiang Mai to teach math. I thought CMai had risen to 30K regular starting, but apparently not.

As the other moderator has said, we don't encourage non-native speakers to give it a go unless they're heavily bankrolled. And, you will start at the bottom and may find yourself at the bottom five years later.

[mbkudu]

Most non-native speakers get teaching jobs short term until something better comes along. Wait, that's what native speakers do too.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I had a bangladesh friend working with me at a private language school, he was indian of course, and spoke quite well, he didnt last long though and moved on to Malaysia to teach, I wonder how he's doing now, o and by the way my employer told me straight up if you are of dark skin color he will NOT higher you, I couldnt believe he told me this, but in any case I saw a few black teachers here, I think Asia in general has a shortage of teachers Im sure you could land a job in thailand if you show your stuff but if earning less than 1000 dollars floats your boat then by all means go for it!^^ good luck.

A bloody teacher no less. " ....he will NOT higher you.... " ( Might you mean HIRE you ? )

[DragonQuest]

ya well I type fast, I better start getting use to typing correctly now since I Like posting on these forums. Yes I am a teacher still lol, but hey you cant blame me, maby I was drunk when I posted hahahahahaha, but Ya I'll think before I type LOL. Life is stressful these days and time passes by fast, its the little things that count in this world though that make a difference, and back to the topic , Its up to the Thai's to hire not us.

and Dr Patong maby we should roll together^^ hey that reminds me your name seems familiar I remember you now, you helped me like a looooooooooooooooong time ago on some of my very first posts on this forum lol cheers mate^^

[sanchobkk]

As I said in another topic, i have been hired by a gouvernment school ifor about one year now in the south area, without any experience, and being a non native speaker , they might think as I 'm white and from Europe, I must speak english... Well, they gave me a chance to get experienced though, and I may have to thank them, since they pay me 30000 , give a 5000 baht more to my agent in bangkok, arranged all the administration stuff visas and WP (althought they didn't pay for that) and I only teach 15 periods / week. Even I know i could hardly hope for a "better" teaching job, as I remain a non native speaker...

[kushal]

ActiveZeus.

PM me and I will give you a list of schools in Bangkok and Pattaya that I KNOW employ Blacks, Indians, Pakistani,s and others.

Hi

I am an Indian having just completed two certificate courses in TESOL & Teaching Business English from TITC(International TEFL Teacher Training). I have a Bachelor's Degree in Science. Can you guide me? It would be nice if you could provide me the list of schools in Thailand which employ Indians.

[aga]

Hello,

I'm a Polish national; my BA is in English and I completed a year exchange at a British University. For the past 2 years I have been working for a big university in the UK and in may I have passed my TESOL certificate. (and yes, i am blonde with blue eyes)

I basically wanted to know if I have any chances getting a job in Thailand.I know that so many countries require teachers to be native speakers ( and I don't blame them for it!) but I wanted to know if anyone had any experience as an non-native teacher of English in SE Asia.

Many thanks for your help!

[SEETEFL]

Hello,

I'm a Polish national; my BA is in English and I completed a year exchange at a British University. For the past 2 years I have been working for a big university in the UK and in may I have passed my TESOL certificate. (and yes, i am blonde with blue eyes)

I basically wanted to know if I have any chances getting a job in Thailand.I know that so many countries require teachers to be native speakers ( and I don't blame them for it!) but I wanted to know if anyone had any experience as an non-native teacher of English in SE Asia.

Many thanks for your help!

We had a Polish national complete our training programme around a year ago and he found a full-time job just outside Chiang Mai within a week. He managed to obtain a work permit within just a few weeks of starting work. He did not have a degree.

John

SEE TEFL

Edited June 26, 2009 by SEETEFL

[Scott]

Non-native English speakers have little trouble getting work in Thailand. This is especially true if you are European (or blond & blue eyed). Even some of the 'stricter' schools will hire you. Where I work, we use native speakers for teaching English (with a few exceptions), and non-native teachers are subject teachers.

What you will need are:

Copy of your passport,

Copy of your degree & transcrips

Police clearance

Evidence of passing an English Language proficiency test

The above will get you the non-immigrant B visa and original documents will be required when you get your work permit. You will hear that you don't need this or you don't need that, but if you have the above (along with offer of employment).

Best of luck to you.

[Firelily]

Aga, my background is similar to yours. The authorities seem to be taking teaching degrees more and more seriously, so, many schools now welcome non-native speakers who are qualified and experienced teachers. Just a couple of years ago, hundreds of applications were submitted to every job opening; these days, some schools are literally chasing after teachers.

You'll need to show proof of IELTS band score above 6 or the TOEFL equivalent (no idea what score that would be). You can take both these exams in Bangkok - cheaper than in Europe.

The school year starts in May, second term starts in October: these are the best times to look for a job. But of course schools are also desperate to find a replacement quickly if a teacher drops out sometime during the year.

good luck

[aga]

Aga, my background is similar to yours. The authorities seem to be taking teaching degrees more and more seriously, so, many schools now welcome non-native speakers who are qualified and experienced teachers. Just a couple of years ago, hundreds of applications were submitted to every job opening; these days, some schools are literally chasing after teachers.

You'll need to show proof of IELTS band score above 6 or the TOEFL equivalent (no idea what score that would be). You can take both these exams in Bangkok - cheaper than in Europe.

The school year starts in May, second term starts in October: these are the best times to look for a job. But of course schools are also desperate to find a replacement quickly if a teacher drops out sometime during the year.

good luck

Many thanks for your help everyone! It busted my confidence to be honest because after reading thousands of job descriptions on the web I was giving up hope I'd find anything!

Firelily- I don't think I'll need to provide IELTS since I have a TESOL ( a British certificate in teaching English to foreigners). Btw- are you working as a teacher in SE Asia, Firelily?

[Loaded]

Firelily- I don't think I'll need to provide IELTS since I have a TESOL ( a British certificate in teaching English to foreigners). Btw- are you working as a teacher in SE Asia, Firelily?

An IELTS score may be a requirement for an individual school but I've never heard of it being a requirement of the ministries of immigration or labor for a visa, visa extension or work permit.

[Firelily]

I was told IELTS is a requirement for my work permit or for the local education authority - something official. Maybe they lied to me and they just wanted me to take a test and check my score. Maybe I should ask after all these years, now that they know me well.

If it is indeed an official requirement, my guess is that they would insist on the acronyms they have on their list - TOEFL, IELTS, whatever else. No Thai official around here knows what TESOL or TEFL or CELTA stands for - sometimes school principals have no idea.

I have been working as a teacher in Thailand for 4 years.

[lopasif]

Our school usually pays in the same pay scale for Indians. Do you have an Indian or US passport? Our director goes by the passport as far as nationality is concerned. If I can be of help you can PM me (where I work is in Bangkok, though).

hi...i m looking for teaching job in bangkok.I m from Bangladesh and fluency in english.I m expert in art and paint.finished my graduation in BA english major.i want to be a teacher for Kindergarten level.can u pls help me out.i have no need workpermit cos i m living with my husband and he has workpermit.actually i m looking for a school where i can enroll my younger son also so both of we will be in same place. can u please help me out.if u give me ur school name i can contact with u.n whats ur name.

[Scott]

At our school we don't currently have any openings, but if you want to PM me I will be glad to give you the web site for you to consider. We do take non-Thai children as students and have a number of them in our bilingual program.

[aussiebebe]

I met a couple of Jordanian and Iranian teachers at a party recently who said they taught English at universities in Bangkok - would they be classed as non-native English speakers? presumably - if so that's one area to look at - I don't know about the salaries on offer - does anyone else have any ideas? any information might help the poster, iopasif, who wrote that he's looking for work.

[BlackArtemis]

I met a Hawaiian who was 100% polynesian. He would get the job via phone and when he arrived he would either be told there was a mistake or be pushed into not taking this. All because he wasn't white, he wasn't what was expected on a native English speaker from America. I believe he ended up at Wichai or Varee.

Give al your info w/o a picture and contact over phone first.

I know some non natives who started out at around 18k/month, higher than Filipinos. However, they were all white.

Good luck, hopefully you will meet a school that has a philosophy that students should be exposed to all dialects of English.

[Scott]

I suggest you send whatever information is necessary. If they ask for a picture, send it. For example, I ask for a copy of the passport (first page). A lot of people have unflattering pictures in their passport and often send a better one. Sometimes it's hard to believe it's the same person--one picture looks like a mug-shot at the police station and the other like a Hollywood air-brushed, glamor shot!

The point is, a lot of schools will hire you on your merits and they will be less concerned about your ethnic background (concerned, but less concerned). You probably don't want to work at a school that wants a white face unless that's what you have. Life can get difficult.

[Firelily]

I started with the same salary as all the other English teachers at my school. (I am not a native speaker, just a qualified teacher.)

[lovenim]

Regarding that IELTS test, I am pretty sure plenty of native speakers wwith mediocre minds and language ability would score lower than the best of the non-natives . . .