How To Keep A Tefl Job

[PeaceBlondie]

the director thinks he can get some agency in Bangkok to send a dozen just as good as me, to come way out to the province, with a phone call.

Bring in the crowns.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He'll end up getting a mini-van full of Romanian backpackers on extended holidays....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Something like that happened last year, at my first school. I did everything I knew to do (following advice from other foreign teachers, etc.), for 1.5 semesters, and did it better than the last 59 backpackers had done there, apparently. They cut our contracts short by a month, and replaced us with agency kids from Australia, 21 years old. But one of them didn't show, and the first kid got his buddy to come over. They left at the end of the semester, which is a lot longer tenure than average. The rest of the English faculty was furious, but that's how the Director and Dept. Chair do it.

Now I'm waiting to see if there will be a repeat of these shenanigans at school #2. If I had not followed the advice such as this thread contains, on how to KEEP a job in Thailand, I would not deserve to be rehired. But you never know if you've aggravated VIP teacher #21, who goes to lunch with VIP teacher #2. You don't know what gaffe or sin you've committed, because you're totally out of the information/rumour mill and they'd never tell you.

Maybe school #3....#4....

[Rhys]

NOT for everyone.. but.. .do spend a year teaching in the villages at lower that the Thai teacher's wage.. ALL else.. just does not seem to ......

[PeaceBlondie]

Well, I guess I didn't keep that job, after all. But, since I had the unmitigated gall to say I was switching from full time to half time, they hired two other full timers, apparently. Fine; I doubt it would have worked out, anyway. I have no reason to think the new folks are half as good as I was - hardly anybody is willing to work there - but I wish them all well.

The funny thing was (except possibly for the statements I made that are posted on #18 on this thread), I followed all of Steven's rules in the original post. You just don't know.

Edited May 5, 2005 by PeaceBlondie

[Sunderland]

Some of the earlier postings in this thread make interesting reading. I have also observed plenty of examples of faults within the Thai education system in the past 7 years.

Unlike some of the earlier contributors, some of us don't give up and accept "This is Thailand". Nothing is impossible. Fact.

If you haven't learned enough from your teaching experiences to see the way to make a difference, then you may be the one who needs teaching ...

[Khutan]

Very good Steven;

Just one I would like to add - ever time you come to work in a school hungover or smelling like booze, you lose credability, that you will never regain.

So... If you like the sauce, have a very long hot shower before you go to work, and use lots of deoderant.

[Ijustwannateach]

bumped again for the benefit of job hunters.

[welshtony]

bumped again for the benefit of job hunters.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi guys. Im brand new to all this and am interested in teaching in Thailand. Im finding most of these posts both amusing and alarming. Upon landing yourself an English teaching post in Thailand, am I to believe that you are not to follow a scheme of work, national syllabus or have any of your lessons observed at all? Also if this is the case then are there masses of non-teaching staff doing the job just thinking up lessons off the top of their heads without even having textbooks?

I can see that if this is the case then you may have a wide scope for creativity and originality but I think I would have to begin donwnloading National Curriculum standards from the U.K. to ensure I wasnt wasting both the students and my own time. Would that be a good idea or would it not be applicable over here? If I have used any bad grammar, punctuation, spelling etc... please dont tear me to bits Im a science teacher with PE teacher literary skills!

[Welshman]

I start work on Tuesday at an International college. I went there today to get the sylabuses, etc and found that, for some modules, they had no more any idea what I was supposed to teach than I did!

Hairy moment, but realised that management knew less than me about what was to be taught.

OK, I'll go along along with it and design the course as I go along. Most of the big Unis etc have strict guidlines about what you teach but, in many, you're on your own.

The only consolation is that you probably know more about the subect that they do (even if you know f**ck about it).

You have to be flexible here and be prepared to cut and run if you think the organisaton is taking the piss.

Sorry to sound negative, but will come back to you with my experiences ( after I have experienced them myself!).

bumped again for the benefit of job hunters.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi guys. Im brand new to all this and am interested in teaching in Thailand. Im finding most of these posts both amusing and alarming. Upon landing yourself an English teaching post in Thailand, am I to believe that you are not to follow a scheme of work, national syllabus or have any of your lessons observed at all? Also if this is the case then are there masses of non-teaching staff doing the job just thinking up lessons off the top of their heads without even having textbooks?

I can see that if this is the case then you may have a wide scope for creativity and originality but I think I would have to begin donwnloading National Curriculum standards from the U.K. to ensure I wasnt wasting both the students and my own time. Would that be a good idea or would it not be applicable over here? If I have used any bad grammar, punctuation, spelling etc... please dont tear me to bits Im a science teacher with PE teacher literary skills!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Edited October 21, 2005 by Welshman

[welshtony]

Cheers for the advice Welshman! Ive had to improvise where modules or sometimes schemes have been missing before, but that was in my own subject. What concerns me more is probably my own subject knowledge and the levels that I would be expected to teach in Thailand!

I start work on Tuesday at an International college. I went there today to get the sylabuses, etc and found that, for some modules, they had no more any idea what I was supposed to teach than I did!

Hairy moment, but realised that management knew less than me about what was to be taught.

OK, I'll go along along with it and design the course as I go along. Most of the big Unis etc have strict guidlines about what you teach but, in many, you're on your own.

The only consolation is that you probably know more about the subect that they do (even if you know f**ck about it).

You have to be flexible here and be prepared to cut and run if you think the organisaton is taking the piss.

Sorry to sound negative, but will come back to you with my experiences ( after I have experienced them myself!).

bumped again for the benefit of job hunters.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi guys. Im brand new to all this and am interested in teaching in Thailand. Im finding most of these posts both amusing and alarming. Upon landing yourself an English teaching post in Thailand, am I to believe that you are not to follow a scheme of work, national syllabus or have any of your lessons observed at all? Also if this is the case then are there masses of non-teaching staff doing the job just thinking up lessons off the top of their heads without even having textbooks?

I can see that if this is the case then you may have a wide scope for creativity and originality but I think I would have to begin donwnloading National Curriculum standards from the U.K. to ensure I wasnt wasting both the students and my own time. Would that be a good idea or would it not be applicable over here? If I have used any bad grammar, punctuation, spelling etc... please dont tear me to bits Im a science teacher with PE teacher literary skills!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[PeaceBlondie]

Sometimes, when you're the only native English speaker within a stone's throw of the campus, you're pretty much on your own. Perhaps no syllabus, no observation of your classroom teaching, no feedback, no info on where the resources are. In those cases, it's possible that they're not serious about your work, so they're trusting you to do whatever it is you're supposed to do. Needless to say, that backfires at times.

The last class I taught was about 14 July, and I hardly miss teaching. I can forsee teaching intermittently as a substitute/supply, or corporate classes in tourism. I don't miss the 7:45 am to 4:30 pm Monday-Friday grind.

[robitusson]

bumped again for the benefit of job hunters.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi guys. Im brand new to all this and am interested in teaching in Thailand. Im finding most of these posts both amusing and alarming. Upon landing yourself an English teaching post in Thailand, am I to believe that you are not to follow a scheme of work, national syllabus or have any of your lessons observed at all? Also if this is the case then are there masses of non-teaching staff doing the job just thinking up lessons off the top of their heads without even having textbooks?

I can see that if this is the case then you may have a wide scope for creativity and originality but I think I would have to begin donwnloading National Curriculum standards from the U.K. to ensure I wasnt wasting both the students and my own time. Would that be a good idea or would it not be applicable over here? If I have used any bad grammar, punctuation, spelling etc... please dont tear me to bits Im a science teacher with PE teacher literary skills!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Keeping up appearances is your number one priority as a teacher in Thailand. The results, students grades and what the students learn are secondary. It's more important to be seen to be doing everything appropraite than actually teaching something. I think you left out a full sop and apostrophe in your last two lines by the way. (:

[welshtony]

bumped again for the benefit of job hunters.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi guys. Im brand new to all this and am interested in teaching in Thailand. Im finding most of these posts both amusing and alarming. Upon landing yourself an English teaching post in Thailand, am I to believe that you are not to follow a scheme of work, national syllabus or have any of your lessons observed at all? Also if this is the case then are there masses of non-teaching staff doing the job just thinking up lessons off the top of their heads without even having textbooks?

I can see that if this is the case then you may have a wide scope for creativity and originality but I think I would have to begin donwnloading National Curriculum standards from the U.K. to ensure I wasnt wasting both the students and my own time. Would that be a good idea or would it not be applicable over here? If I have used any bad grammar, punctuation, spelling etc... please dont tear me to bits Im a science teacher with PE teacher literary skills!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Keeping up appearances is your number one priority as a teacher in Thailand. The results, students grades and what the students learn are secondary. It's more important to be seen to be doing everything appropraite than actually teaching something. I think you left out a full sop and apostrophe in your last two lines by the way. (:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cheers Robitusson, Ill get my red pen out! So, do the schools provide activity based textbooks or are all the activities generally thought up by yourself?

[Rumpole]

.......no observation of your classroom teaching, no feedback......

Observation and feedback from a Thai ajarn would be of little value anyway, since I've yet to meet one that could teach his/her way out of a paper bag.

[PeaceBlondie]

.......no observation of your classroom teaching, no feedback......

Observation and feedback from a Thai ajarn would be of little value anyway, since I've yet to meet one that could teach his/her way out of a paper bag.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I understand what you're saying, Rumpole - although I met one or two Thai EFL teachers who were half good, half the time.

No, all I'm asking for is some kind of feedback that might be relevant to the staff, management, students, and me. Such as, do I talk too fast, too much, too loud? Bad accent? Body odor or bad breath? Do I give too much homework, or too little? Have I made a sin of omission or commission which they can subtly address so that I can correct it? Are my tests or grading too harsh or too easy?

The alternative, which held true at all three schools, is that I have no idea if I'm doing right or wrong, other than my own, biased intuition.

[Storekeeper]

IJWT,

Liked your OP. After what I've been doing the last couple of decades...I'll be able to follow your advice with a total smile. If they want me to pass a cheating little goober then no problem. I can control if I do my best, but I can't control if another doesn't do their best.

[Ijustwannateach]

heh heh... trust a man who's been there... unless you're lucky and qualified enough to be working in one of the maybe 5-6 "real" schools in Thailand, what I say on this thread applies, more or less.

[Ladphrao]

Can't say I am an expert on this subject, but I sure got my opinions. I think the secrets to holding on to and advancing in jobs in Thai organizations are pretty much the same whether it is a teaching job or not. I have done my share of stuff here, teaching, English and other uni subjects, and other management jobs. I have never been fired (although I probably left one job just ahead of the ax, but that was as a manager in a farang owned and managed firm, personally, I much prefer to work for Thais than fellow farangs). At my current job (it ain't an ESL/TEFL one), I just got word my contract will be renewed, I wasn't really worried but this being a foreign country for me I can never be really sure I am picking up all of the little hints or not, so I'm feeling a little cocky and maybe I can contribute to the discussion.

Rule one

Remember you are in Thailand. The school/company/organization is not going to become just like a British/Australian/America/Canadian school/company/organization just because you have signed on. You are the foreigner and it is up to you to adjust to your surrounding, trying to do otherwise is as effective as banging one's head against a brick wall.

Rule two

Remember you are in Thailand. Thailand is not a foreign colony and you are not here to take up the white man's burden. Having a white face does not give you the right to tell everyone with a darker complexion (although these days it seems most Thais have whiter complexions than most farangs) how to run the school/company/organization.

Rule three

Remember you are in Thailand. One mistake many people make is to assume that the way we do it "back home" is normal and the way things are done here is due to Thai culture. In fact, our ways of doing things back home are just as culturally based as the ways things are done here, but since it is our own culture we don’t recognize the cultural influences. The way things are done here are no more abnormal than the way they are done in Farangland.

Rule four

Remember you are in Thailand. Learn something about the country and make an attempt to learn the language. Can you imagine a French teacher in the UK expecting all the staff and administration to know French, and all meetings to be held in French, so the French teacher can communicate with everyone in his or her native language? I have been trying to learn the language for years and I'm still far from fluent, but I keep trying and I can follow general conversations for a short time but get lost where anything in depth or technical comes up. Try to learn a little about the history (it is quite interesting in my book) and geography of the country, that sort of thing. No one expects a foreigner to be Thai and be a master of all things Thai, but making an attempt to learn the language, culture, history and geography shows respect for the locals (which is always appreciated) and helps in understanding one's environment.

Rule five

Remember you are in Thailand. Confusion, disorganization, misunderstandings, and changes are natural parts of one's daily life here whether one is Thai or foreigner. Thais are generally not uncomfortable with ambiguity, but farangs culture generally seeks to reduce ambiguity through the use of rules, regulation, planning, more rules and more regulations. In my experience, in Thailand, contracts, rules and regulations are thought of as more of general guidelines than chiseled in stone/unalterable agreements. Stay flexible, give a little here and there will usually (But not always) allow one to take a little once and a while. Don't expect to know what is going on all the time, if you think you know what is going on in a Thai school or company you are obviosuly misinformed becasue no one really knows what is going on, but it goes on anyway.

Rule six

Remember you are in Thailand. Stay out of office politics and worry about what you are doing and not what others are doing. Unless you are hired as a manager, don’t try to manage. Your efforts will not be appreciated.

Rule seven

Remember you are in Thailand but don’t forget everything you already know. While there are many differences between working here in Thailand and working in farangland, many of the things about success on the job are universal. Show up for the job when you are supposed to, be friendly, smile and say hello to everyone, try to do your job well, don’t make enemies, dress appropriately, act professionally, do more than the minimum that is asked of one, etc…

Of course, these things are easier said than done, I haven't always followed my own rules but I have usually paid a price for not doing so.

Cheers

[johnnyk]

Good solid advice.

Well said.

[mbkudu]

Good solid advice.

Well said.

Yes, indeed. Maybe a newbie in this joint, but obviously Ladphrao isn't a newbie in

Thailand.

[Ijustwannateach]

Bumped for hiring season.

[Ijustwannateach]

And bumped again for hiring season.