Farang English Teachers In Thailand

[unhappyfarang]

Of course, remarks from a few Caustic personalities on an internet forum doesn't give a balanced view. I have no intention of becoming an English Teacher myself, but I'm just curious as to why, after reading several posts on this forum, English Teachers are looked down upon, by some?

Surely anybody who goes to a 3rd world Country to teach children how to speak English is pursuing a noble cause, and is deserving of respect for contributing to Thai Society by helping the young learn the world's 1st language?

Obviously I'm refering to the people that are genuinely giving something back to Thailand.

Or is the profession abused by some just as a means to an end so that they can stay in Thailand, and these people give the genuine Teachers a bad impression?

Just curious, that's all. Gentleman please enlighten me................................................

[garro]

My previous profession was as a Nurse in the UK so I am familiar with westerners saying bad things about my profession. I suppose the only good thing is at least in teaching they don't try and bite me, beat me up, or verbally assault me when I try and help. Luckily the students respect their Western Kru and Ajahn so the views of a few guys sitting in bars probably isn't that important.

[mrtoad]

Of course, remarks from a few Caustic personalities on an internet forum doesn't give a balanced view. I have no intention of becoming an English Teacher myself, but I'm just curious as to why, after reading several posts on this forum, English Teachers are looked down upon, by some?

Surely anybody who goes to a 3rd world Country to teach children how to speak English is pursuing a noble cause, and is deserving of respect for contributing to Thai Society by helping the young learn the world's 1st language?

Obviously I'm refering to the people that are genuinely giving something back to Thailand.

Or is the profession abused by some just as a means to an end so that they can stay in Thailand, and these people give the genuine Teachers a bad impression?

Just curious, that's all. Gentleman please enlighten me................................................

It's no different than any other line of work. There are good, bad, O.K and downright rotten individuals. My own feeling is that it gets viewed the way it does because of the number of negative press stories that have come to light. The thing is, it's highly likely that there will be more incidents with teachers, as they probably make up the largest sector of English speaking foreign workers.

It's an easy target for those who want to feel good about themselves, but I can certainly say that there are plenty of genuine, honest and hard working English teachers here in Thailand. It's just you only get to read or hear about the <deleted> ones.

I will also agree with what Garro has said about Nursing as that is also my profession.

Sadly, I think this thread will not last too long as it will attract the trolls.

Edited June 12, 2008 by mrtoad

[Ijustwannateach]

I think there were trolls involved from the incept.

"S"

[Pushit]

Grrrrrr!

[SweatySock]

I'm a "volunteer" teacher at a local government school way up here out in the sticks. I'm not a qualified English teacher and make no bones about it. I do have qualifications but in my own field of Telecommunications.

My school invited me to attend some 5 years ago and I've been there ever since. I spend as much time helping the Thai teachers with the language as I do with the students.

Why do I do it? Well it's not for money nor visa but it has helped me to integrate with the local community although I realise I will always remain a "farang" in the local communities eyes.

But it has broken down a lot of barriers, the students are not scared to communicate with me and the local population also are no longer terrified to speak with a "farang".

It has also given some of the poorer students an opportunity to hear English from a native speaker as my school can not afford to employ a professional and the students can not afford to attend a fee paying International school.

My tuppenceworth for what it's worth.

[Ulysses G.]

There are two reasons that they are looked down on in my opinion.

Number one is that hardly anybody teaching here is actually qualified for the job, including people with "degrees" in all kinds of subjects that have nothing to do with teaching English. Even with a good TEFL certificate it takes a few years to get good at teaching what you have learned, but few teachers take a decent course and even fewer last that long.

Number two is because a good number of child molesters have been caught teaching in Thailand.

By the way, I was a teacher (with an RSA/Cambridge Certificate for Teaching English) for a long time, so I am not bashing teachers. I am just explaining why I think they have this reputation.

Edited June 12, 2008 by Ulysses G.

[rixalex]

My previous profession was as a Nurse in the UK so I am familiar with westerners saying bad things about my profession.

If the jibes are anything like as relentless as in "Meet The Parents", you certainly have all my sympathies!

[Ijustwannateach]

^^And number 3, the repetitious public bashing of them on internet forums by trolls with no lives...

[garro]

I'm a "volunteer" teacher at a local government school way up here out in the sticks. I'm not a qualified English teacher and make no bones about it. I do have qualifications but in my own field of Telecommunications.

My school invited me to attend some 5 years ago and I've been there ever since. I spend as much time helping the Thai teachers with the language as I do with the students.

Why do I do it? Well it's not for money nor visa but it has helped me to integrate with the local community although I realise I will always remain a "farang" in the local communities eyes.

But it has broken down a lot of barriers, the students are not scared to communicate with me and the local population also are no longer terrified to speak with a "farang".

It has also given some of the poorer students an opportunity to hear English from a native speaker as my school can not afford to employ a professional and the students can not afford to attend a fee paying International school.

My tuppenceworth for what it's worth.

I'm sure you are a great benefit to the students. I did the same in a village school for five years while I completed further education courses to ensure that I could teach legally in Thailand. I know almost have my Post Graduate Certificate in Education as well as my degree.

The comment that the teaching is the easiest occupation for a westerner to get here is misinformed. It is getting harder by the day. It was six years before I could get legal here and it was far from easy. There are some charlatans, but they mostly get caught quickly.

Teaching is not an easy way to make money. Teaching would be a hellish job if your heart wasn't in it. Children can spot this a mile away and anyone who has tried to educate a group of kids will tell you this.

I always hate negative posts about western teachers. The majority care for the young or not so young people they teach and would go that extra mile to help them. Some people do fall into teaching, but this doesn't take away from the good job they do.

[Ijustwannateach]

You rock, Garro!

[Strap]

There are good and bad in every profession,

my own experiences have not been as positive as I would have liked, but that does not mean most or all are bad , just the people i have met and in the areas i have met them.

The areas I hang-out and have fun in are not considered by most as the best.I hang around in bars/go-gos/clubs and after hours places when im out, I have met some real characters ( male and female ) that were in fact English teachers at local bangkok / international schools.

I dont want to paint others with the same brush, I would meet better teachers ( maybe ) if I was in better places.

lets hope these are not the rule but the exception.

Cheers

[garro]

There are two reasons that they are looked down on in my opinion.

Number one is that hardly anybody teaching here is actually qualified for the job, including people with "degrees" in all kinds of subjects that have nothing to do with teaching English. Even with a good TEFL certificate it takes a few years to get good at teaching what you have learned, but few teachers take a decent course and even fewer last that long.

Number two is because a good number of child molesters have been caught teaching in Thailand.

Your reasons are false. Out of the foreign teachers in my school I am the least qualified, and I have a PGCE which is the legal requirement for countries like the UK, all the rest of the Western teachers have at least a masters. I had many interviews in the early part of the year and I saw the same thing elsewhere. My degree is in Nursing Studies, but as I teach health studies it is very appropriate.

There are teachers with less qualifications, but they remain in teaching because their schools believe that they are great at their job. Their lack of paper is made up for by their practical ability.

As for your comment about child molesters. Weren't you recently bleating about how its occurrence was exaggerated? Funny how you are prepared to jump on the bandwagon when it is against teachers though.

Edited June 12, 2008 by garro

[HS Mauberley]

Out of the foreign teachers in my school I am the least qualified, and I have a PGCE which is the legal requirement for countries like the UK, all the rest of the Western teachers have at least a masters

I have to admit that it was a couple of years ago (four, to be exact) that I was working as a teacher in Thailand so I am a bit out of touch but that does seem exceptional.

[unhappyfarang]

Please, I'm the original poster. I sincerely have no intention to inflame, or cause conflict with anybody. I live in the UK, have been to Thailand 5 times but have never crossed paths with an English Teacher. So as an expat, which I am not, I don't have any negative views at all about people teaching English in Thailand - Couldn't even say I've heard of any negative things in the press, again as I don't live in Thailand and don't follow her press.

If anyone asked me to imagine what a person teaching English in Thailand would be like, I'd say, bookish, soft, intelligent - middleclass, genuinely wanting to contribute to Thailand in their own way.

I used to work in a Callcentre in the UK and the young graduates who used to temp there(fitting my discription), who went off to Third world countries to teach English seemed like, ordinary, pleasant, decent kids -seeking adventure/change.

I was just suprised when I came across this forum and some of the negative comments made by posters when, say prehaps somebody voices an interest in coming to Thailand to teach and they get a whole lot of negative replies, usually tainted with sarcasim. ( "What ever you do, don't come to Thailand to teach English" etc etc etc)

I just was interested to know why there is this blanket negativity about English Teachers on this forum. I don't have this negative perception. I am not a troll and I apologise if my post gave that impression. As I mentioned in my O/P, to my mindm Teaching English In the third world is a noble cause, deserving of respect.

As

[garro]

Out of the foreign teachers in my school I am the least qualified, and I have a PGCE which is the legal requirement for countries like the UK, all the rest of the Western teachers have at least a masters

I have to admit that it was a couple of years ago (four, to be exact) that I was working as a teacher in Thailand so I am a bit out of touch but that does seem exceptional.

Things have toughened up here a lot recently. It was in the wind four years ago, but it is only recently that it seems to be kicking in. It would be off-topic to go into all the details here, but if you are interested there are more than a few threads about it in the Teaching forum.

[Ulysses G.]

There are two reasons that they are looked down on in my opinion.

Number one is that hardly anybody teaching here is actually qualified for the job, including people with "degrees" in all kinds of subjects that have nothing to do with teaching English. Even with a good TEFL certificate it takes a few years to get good at teaching what you have learned, but few teachers take a decent course and even fewer last that long.

Number two is because a good number of child molesters have been caught teaching in Thailand.

Your reasons are false. Out of the foreign teachers in my school I am the least qualified, and I have a PGCE which is the legal requirement for countries like the UK, all the rest of the Western teachers have at least a masters. I had many interviews in the early part of the year and I saw the same thing elsewhere. My degree is in Nursing Studies, but as I teach health studies it is very appropriate.

There are teachers with less qualifications, but they remain in teaching because their schools believe that they are great at their job. Their lack of paper is made up for by their practical ability.

As for your comment about child molesters. Weren't you recently bleating about how its occurrence was exaggerated? Funny how you are prepared to jump on the bandwagon when it is against teachers though.

Down Fido!

This is a great example of how people totally misunderstand someone else's post on the internet and fly into a rage.

I was a teacher, so I have a pretty good idea of typical teacher's qualifications in Chiang Mai, if not in Bangkok and I would say that, in general, you are wrong. However, I have nothing against teachers anyway as I know how difficult it is and that the pay is usually terrible. I am talking about what the general public thinks.

I am not "against" teachers, and I think that, at most - a handful are child molesters, but the ones who have been caught have been all over the TV. We are talking about what society thinks.

Edited June 12, 2008 by Ulysses G.

[way2muchcoffee]

their bad reputation is caused somewhat by them being cheap. for instance, when i was a thailand novice i remember traveling through Thailand and having those experiences where i find out a guy has been sitting at a bus station waiting for 5 hours so he can save 99 baht on a cheaper ticket, or the time my girl friend and i shared a taxi and he insisted the bill be split 3 ways and not half - i just paid the entire 60 baht and he had this look of great appreciation on his face like he won the lottery.

many of them have a very weird aura and the Thai people are very paranoid of them.

Perhaps he was earning only 30,000 bt/month, trying to save a bit for a trip home to see the family, and just getting by on the fumes from his meager paycheck.

I don't know what you're on about with the 'aura' comment though.

[garro]

There are two reasons that they are looked down on in my opinion.

Number one is that hardly anybody teaching here is actually qualified for the job, including people with "degrees" in all kinds of subjects that have nothing to do with teaching English. Even with a good TEFL certificate it takes a few years to get good at teaching what you have learned, but few teachers take a decent course and even fewer last that long.

Number two is because a good number of child molesters have been caught teaching in Thailand.

Your reasons are false. Out of the foreign teachers in my school I am the least qualified, and I have a PGCE which is the legal requirement for countries like the UK, all the rest of the Western teachers have at least a masters. I had many interviews in the early part of the year and I saw the same thing elsewhere. My degree is in Nursing Studies, but as I teach health studies it is very appropriate.

There are teachers with less qualifications, but they remain in teaching because their schools believe that they are great at their job. Their lack of paper is made up for by their practical ability.

As for your comment about child molesters. Weren't you recently bleating about how its occurrence was exaggerated? Funny how you are prepared to jump on the bandwagon when it is against teachers though.

Down Fido!

This is a great example of how people totally misunderstand someone else's post on the internet and fly into a rage.

I was a teacher, so I have a pretty idea of typical teacher's qualifications in Chiang Mai, if not in Bangkok and I would say that, in general, you are wrong. However, I have nothing against teachers anyway as I know how difficult it is and that the pay is usually terrible. I am talking about what the general public thinks.

I am not "against" teachers, and I think that – at most - a handful are child molesters. We are talking about what society thinks.

Who is flying into a rage and why do you have a pretty idea?????

[mijan24]

Please, I'm the original poster. I sincerely have no intention to inflame, or cause conflict with anybody. I live in the UK, have been to Thailand 5 times but have never crossed paths with an English Teacher. So as an expat, which I am not, I don't have any negative views at all about people teaching English in Thailand - Couldn't even say I've heard of any negative things in the press, again as I don't live in Thailand and don't follow her press.

If anyone asked me to imagine what a person teaching English in Thailand would be like, I'd say, bookish, soft, intelligent - middleclass, genuinely wanting to contribute to Thailand in their own way.

I used to work in a Callcentre in the UK and the young graduates who used to temp there(fitting my discription), who went off to Third world countries to teach English seemed like, ordinary, pleasant, decent kids -seeking adventure/change.

I was just suprised when I came across this forum and some of the negative comments made by posters when, say prehaps somebody voices an interest in coming to Thailand to teach and they get a whole lot of negative replies, usually tainted with sarcasim. ( "What ever you do, don't come to Thailand to teach English" etc etc etc)

I just was interested to know why there is this blanket negativity about English Teachers on this forum. I don't have this negative perception. I am not a troll and I apologise if my post gave that impression. As I mentioned in my O/P, to my mindm Teaching English In the third world is a noble cause, deserving of respect.

As

unhappy farang well done your OP explained quite well your position and reasons YET some posters took it upon themselves to introduce the Grrr & Troll thought which in my opinion was very negative on their behalf, quite often it is this "negativity" that colours (colors) ones perception of people engaged in the TEFL fields.

[Ulysses G.]

unhappy farang well done your OP explained quite well your position and reasons YET some posters took it upon themselves to introduce the Grrr & Troll thought which in my opinion was very negative on their behalf, quite often it is this "negativity" that colours (colors) ones perception of people engaged in the TEFL fields.

He asked a question and some of us answered it as honestly as possible. I still don't see how that is supposed to be "trolling".

[garro]

unhappy farang well done your OP explained quite well your position and reasons YET some posters took it upon themselves to introduce the Grrr & Troll thought which in my opinion was very negative on their behalf, quite often it is this "negativity" that colours (colors) ones perception of people engaged in the TEFL fields.

He asked a question and some of us answered it as honestly as possible. I still don't see how that is supposed to be "trolling".

Don't you have a bookshelf to tidy or something?

[Ulysses G.]

Shouldn't you be giving someone an enema about now?

[mizzi39]

OK here is my 2 baht! Obviously there are many reasons why farangs choose to teach in Thailand, but it does not take a brain surgeon to figure out the obvious. Many of us come from different backgrounds as well as different professions and almost all of us are living in the LOS by choice, because we have chosen to make a life change. Girro worked as a nurse for years in the UK, I worked as a Mental Health counselor for almost ten years in the U.S. before making the great leap to the LOS. Apparently there is not much need for an English speaking Mental health counselor any more than an English speaking nurse in LOS, however there is a huge need for Native speaking English teachers since Thailand is way below International standards, yet Thailand is a huge International player so for a Thai, learning English is an economic necessity. I happen to have a Thai wife and child on the way. My wife has no interest in moving to the U.S., and frankly I have no interest in moving back to the U.S. so it is a means to stay here. I have heard every opinion imaginable, especially from those "adolescent whiners" who dominate Ajarns forum on how the priority should be "teaching the poor poo ying and poo chai English and not to teach for self serving reasons." Well I am definitely not teaching for the money, that would be a laugh! I am trying to provide for my family, so that is my first priority plain and simple. Is teaching hard? Most definitely. Does it take an "academic" to teach English in Thailand? Definitely not. Knowing how to deal with people and understanding human nature is the main requirement. I have a B/A in Counseling which is of very little use to me here since it has nothing to do with teaching, but it keeps me legal so I guess it is good for something. If Thailand set their criteria so high as to only hire "qualified" teachers then Thailand's English Programs would be non existent. Fortunately I am blessed to be working for a great school ,director, and colleagues so no complaints!

Edited June 12, 2008 by mizzi39

[garro]

Shouldn't you be giving someone an enema about now?

Luckily my job now involves putting information in and not just taking shit out.

[toptuan]

I'm a "volunteer" teacher at a local government school way up here out in the sticks. I'm not a qualified English teacher and make no bones about it. I do have qualifications but in my own field of Telecommunications.

My school invited me to attend some 5 years ago and I've been there ever since. I spend as much time helping the Thai teachers with the language as I do with the students.

Why do I do it? Well it's not for money nor visa but it has helped me to integrate with the local community although I realise I will always remain a "farang" in the local communities eyes.

But it has broken down a lot of barriers, the students are not scared to communicate with me and the local population also are no longer terrified to speak with a "farang".

It has also given some of the poorer students an opportunity to hear English from a native speaker as my school can not afford to employ a professional and the students can not afford to attend a fee paying International school.

My tuppenceworth for what it's worth.

Kudos. You are a credit to the image of farangs throughout LOS. We need more like you. Serious.

[midasthailand]

Shouldn't you be giving someone an enema about now?

Luckily my job now involves putting information in and not just taking shit out.

30-15.......ROFLMFAO

[toptuan]

I'm sure you are a great benefit to the students. I did the same in a village school for five years while I completed further education courses to ensure that I could teach legally in Thailand. I know almost have my Post Graduate Certificate in Education as well as my degree.

The comment that the teaching is the easiest occupation for a westerner to get here is misinformed. It is getting harder by the day. It was six years before I could get legal here and it was far from easy. There are some charlatans, but they mostly get caught quickly.

Teaching is not an easy way to make money. Teaching would be a hellish job if your heart wasn't in it. Children can spot this a mile away and anyone who has tried to educate a group of kids will tell you this.

I always hate negative posts about western teachers. The majority care for the young or not so young people they teach and would go that extra mile to help them. Some people do fall into teaching, but this doesn't take away from the good job they do.

[Nettime]

I think that there's a perception among some professional Thais that Teaching English is a low paid job and therefore Teachers are poor.

Low money = Low status

( I don't agree with this myself but its a view I have seen some professional Thais display)

[rixalex]

Girro worked as a nurse for years in the UK

There's a nurse Girro?! What are the odds of that Garro? Bet if we search hard enough we can find a nurse Gorro too.