My Wife Wants To Open An English School

[thaifever2007]

My wife is 25 years old and is living in America. Her English is gettiing better and better everyday. In 2 years, she wants to move back to Rayong or Pattaya and open up an English school for young Thai children. I think this is a good business because it won't require a lot of money to start. Do you guys think this business will work? Any advice.

[wolf5370]

I guess its whether she has the qualifications to be allowed to open an Engliosh school is the first issue - assuming she wants to teach of course, rather than just own it. By young children does she mean pre-school (in LoS thats under 7) - this may be easier to set up. I used to know someone who owned such a place (though in Bangkok) - it was basically a compound with three lean-too type classrooms, and a coiple of outbuildings and an office. The owner/headmaster worked in tne office with a secretary and he had several girls on staff that had college degrees, but not teaching degrees. They taught English letters and basic stuff, like 'hello' etc and some English nursery rymes also Thai alphabet. He used to pay the girls about 5k Baht a month and had three classes of about 20-25 kids on the go all the time. He made a good living like this for a long while - so there is money in it if you can get around the red tape. He was an old head master from a good school though and had lots of good contavts, ex-students and parents, so that helped him too.

I also have a friend who is currently setting up a school in Udon (well he's doing the paperwork and stuff - nowhere near openning stage yet, not even a building yet). He is just the money guy. He has good contacts too, or rather his family does. His aunt is going in with him - she has been a long time head misterss and now quite senior in the local education authority (this is just what he told me - I know diddly about political make up of the education departments!). She know's what needs to be done, and he is just paying for it and signing the right paperwork, but its taken quite a while and is not close to being sorted yet and this is with great contacts and knowledge of the system from the inside. Having said this, he is openning a private (international) school for young kids through to college age. He certainly thinks there is money in it.

I don't mean to put a downer on it. I think, yes there is money in it, but it may take an awful lot to get it set up in the first place - and may cost to keep it going properly and legally too.

Good luck.

[Humphrey Bear]

In Rayomg (nearer Sattahip) there is already REPS and Garden International - both schools teaching to a curriculum containing a lot of English.

Basically Thai pupils with a good leavening of foreign kids.

I will be at REPS tomorrow to check it out for my kids.

Your wife would be better to get some qualifications in the US first, then she'll be on the ladder for getting Thai qualifications.

The pre-school idea mentioned above is very good, though. Catch the kids from 4-7 and give them a good conversational level with adequate reading skills in bpth Thai and English (well, even American English is better than nothing) and they'll have a head start at whatever school they attend later.

nd can return for private tuition after hours, I assume.

[Ground Engineer]

Theres big demand for a reasonably priced ENglish school. If shes got a good business plan then I can see being very successfull.

[Spalpeen]

I know a Thai woman, in her fifties, who teaches English to Thai schoolchildren and yet she can't put together a sentence in English, so there's certainly a need for a better standard of English teaching.

The bureaucracy would be a major hurdle but personal contacts, persistence and approproate donations can overcome that.

As a business, it should work. I know a Thai family - comfortably off middle class - who are sending their two children to a private school in India primarily to get a grounding in English which they feel is not available here. If you talk to Thai youngsters, or try to, you'll know that their lack of ability in what is in effect the world's common language is appalling.

[thaifever2007]

We don't have a business plan yet. I didn't think it would be so hard. I figured it would be easy just to lease out a room, do a little advertising, and let her teach the young children (and/or anybody else) some private lessons. I didn't realize there would be so many rules and regulations. The bureaucracy seems like it will be the biggest hurdle. My wife knows English pretty good now and she continues to go to English school 3 hours/day, 5/days a week. She has talent and it seems like she would be a great teacher. She loves being in front of the class and being around children. We have 2 years to figure it out. We don't need to make a lot of money, just enough to get by. BTW, my wife got her permanent resident card today. She now has the freedom to leave America and come back wheneve she wants.

[pattayamike]

We don't have a business plan yet. I didn't think it would be so hard. I figured it would be easy just to lease out a room, do a little advertising, and let her teach the young children (and/or anybody else) some private lessons. I didn't realize there would be so many rules and regulations. The bureaucracy seems like it will be the biggest hurdle. My wife knows English pretty good now and she continues to go to English school 3 hours/day, 5/days a week. She has talent and it seems like she would be a great teacher. She loves being in front of the class and being around children. We have 2 years to figure it out. We don't need to make a lot of money, just enough to get by. BTW, my wife got her permanent resident card today. She now has the freedom to leave America and come back wheneve she wants.

Something I did a few years ago from my home, small groups of 3 to 4 kids at B300 per hour each built up very nicely!

[chiangmaikelly]

There are 20 to 50 of these schools in Rayong, Ban Chang and Sattahip. I would suggest taking a look at them before starting. New ones are opening all the time. I have seen three in the past three months. Korean children pay the most money, 500 baht an hour and up. If you are willing to teach Bible English to Koreans even more. There are a lot of Koreans in Rayong and Ban Chang and they are really interested in learning English.

[kingwillly]

We don't have a business plan yet. I didn't think it would be so hard. I figured it would be easy just to lease out a room, do a little advertising, and let her teach the young children (and/or anybody else) some private lessons. I didn't realize there would be so many rules and regulations.

dreaming!

[basjke]

Can't imagine anyone would send his children to learn english from a non native english speaking teacher.Especially a thai national from which the majority even when they been to english school still talk about "Lotat" and "Loyen".

[wolf5370]

Can't imagine anyone would send his children to learn english from a non native english speaking teacher.Especially a thai national from which the majority even when they been to english school still talk about "Lotat" and "Loyen".

...and yet most do. In the UK, I learnt French from an Englishman and German from a Czek. My Italian cousinspeaks 11 languages and works for politicians all over Europe translating and interpreting between any combination of those languages - yet she only has two mother tongues (English and Italian).

MyThai aunt-in-law teaches English at high school level. She has a Masters degree in English. Yet, she can not understand me at all in English nor I her - and coming fom Kent and London in England, I do not have a strong accent at all. She was taught at Univesity by a non-native speaker, who was probably also taught by a non-native speaker.

So, I think she should be better placed than many of the so-called-qualified teachers of English in LoS!

If she aims at under 7's there will be a lot less paperwork and redtape I would suggest - as there is no set curriculum for a start. You could also offer adults and business people the service too - out of school hours perhaps - should be pretty profitable (expect to make some bungs though).

Good luck

[papatsorn]

Can't imagine anyone would send his children to learn english from a non native english speaking teacher.Especially a thai national from which the majority even when they been to english school still talk about "Lotat" and "Loyen".

...and yet most do. In the UK, I learnt French from an Englishman and German from a Czek. My Italian cousinspeaks 11 languages and works for politicians all over Europe translating and interpreting between any combination of those languages - yet she only has two mother tongues (English and Italian).

MyThai aunt-in-law teaches English at high school level. She has a Masters degree in English. Yet, she can not understand me at all in English nor I her - and coming fom Kent and London in England, I do not have a strong accent at all. She was taught at Univesity by a non-native speaker, who was probably also taught by a non-native speaker.

So, I think she should be better placed than many of the so-called-qualified teachers of English in LoS!

If she aims at under 7's there will be a lot less paperwork and redtape I would suggest - as there is no set curriculum for a start. You could also offer adults and business people the service too - out of school hours perhaps - should be pretty profitable (expect to make some bungs though).

Good luck

Yes, but i bet she can write better than you !. I can speak English quite well ( I think?) . but when it's come to writing these peoples who has University degree in English . is something elase. look in Bangkok post most of the writer are Thai !

[papatsorn]

We don't have a business plan yet. I didn't think it would be so hard. I figured it would be easy just to lease out a room, do a little advertising, and let her teach the young children (and/or anybody else) some private lessons. I didn't realize there would be so many rules and regulations. The bureaucracy seems like it will be the biggest hurdle. My wife knows English pretty good now and she continues to go to English school 3 hours/day, 5/days a week. She has talent and it seems like she would be a great teacher. She loves being in front of the class and being around children. We have 2 years to figure it out. We don't need to make a lot of money, just enough to get by. BTW, my wife got her permanent resident card today. She now has the freedom to leave America and come back wheneve she wants.

you would need at least 1 or 2 Ex-pat teachers A lots of these Ex-pat teacher that live in Pattaya and Rayong ,some are wroking and get pay as little as 30,000 baht/month. (cheap!)

[PattayaParent]

We don't have a business plan yet. I didn't think it would be so hard. I figured it would be easy just to lease out a room, do a little advertising, and let her teach the young children (and/or anybody else) some private lessons. I didn't realize there would be so many rules and regulations.

dreaming!

Actually once you get the paperwork done it is relatively easy. A mate set one up in his house and has made money from it, exceeding his expectations even.

The other alternative OP would be to buy an existing business. Permits etc. already in place, just a change of ownership.

[chiangmaikelly]

There are a lot of expats teaching and using an English speaking Thai wife as helper in the classroom. The wives speak very good English by local standards. The schools pay about 350 baht per hour for the Native English speaker with degree and his Thai wife as a team.