I've Been Asked To Teach High School English

[xerostar]

Hi All

Four Thai school teachers came to visit this evening.

They want me to teach English at the local high school.

They admitted that their own English was poor and only one

could (barely) comprehend my Oz English - (no jokes please!)

After talking to them for a while (With my wife interpreting),

I found out:

They have never had a native English-speaking teacher before.

The students ages range from 12 through to 17.

Class size 30 students, sessions one hour each.

They want me for 3 mornings a week ..

Evidently the students are not interested in English

it's not a popular subject.

The skill levels will vary from "no" English at all,

through to very basic reading and writing.

Evidently nobody has the confidence to speak English

and very few can comprehend spoken English.

I see it as a huge challenge, although that's maybe an understatement ..

Can you give me some basic knowledge on where to start ..!!

.. and how to motivate them ?

While you're at it, can you explain The Theory of Relativity

in a sentence for me ?..

Can you point me to any material (available on the net) that I can use in the classroom.

Evidently they have a video projector and a computer that I can use.

I will be making use of those!

Any help much appreciated.

John

Edited June 5, 2009 by xerostar

[Ski_Goong]

Will they provide you with a work permit? Even if you don't want to get paid, you will still require a work permit to teach. I wish the Thai government would allow volunteer teachers just so that the kids can have some interactions with native speakers.

Ski....

[xerostar]

Yes

Providing the orientation/trial period was a success.

They said that they would obtain a work permit for me and even pay me.

So that's an incentive!

[guig]

Well you certainly have a challenge on your hands but that is sometimes the best way as you will soon realize whether you enjoy the challenge of teaching English as a second language. I found myself in a similar position last month as a volunteer in a Thai Charity when they asked me to teach English to the poor and underprivelged kids in the school holidays. Although I am a Sports Teacher I was very surprised as to how difficult it can be to teach English. Having said that my advice in order of importance would be:

1. Have a Thai teacher with you at all times for translation and crowd control. Some of the boys have a very short concentration span....

2. Resources and lesson preparation will be vital to your success, sanity and overall benefit to the children. Prepare too much because sometimes things dont work and you need a backup.

3. Try and use as many flashcards with pics and words on them as possible. Have crosswords, word games, play games, sing songs etc all can be found on the internet. Start with Shelley Vernon, she has some cool stuff.

4. Smile, laugh and use the kids names and never get angry. Try and do group activities rather then one or one excerises.

5, Take them outside and play some ball games or ask them to paint the sun and solar systme using some yellow paint. It all works and they enjoy the difference.

After my 2 days a week for 4 weeks i realised how much i enjoyed the experienced but next time I would give them a more grounded base like teaching the alphabet, and doing more writing exercises. As they become more confident they will speak more.

Don't forget the stickers for good work and some food rewards like sweets. Good luck and have fun.

[allane]

You don't mention the total number of students that you are being asked to teach. You may wish to limit it by grade, or number of rooms, so that you are not teaching too many rooms per week during any one period. You can always agree to expand your workload once you have some experience.

[PeaceBlondie]

You'll be the best English teacher the village ever had.

[jbaldwin]

Yes

Providing the orientation/trial period was a success.

They said that they would obtain a work permit for me and even pay me.

So that's an incentive!

So you are intented to work illegally for a trail period?

[garro]

Yes

Providing the orientation/trial period was a success.

They said that they would obtain a work permit for me and even pay me.

So that's an incentive!

So you are intented to work illegally for a trail period?

This is an accepted practice in Thailand. It almost always takes a few weeks to get paper sorted out for a new teacher. Unless you work for Thai immigration I can't really see why this should concern you?

To the OP. I perviously worked in a very rural area as the only native English speaker for 40 km. It can be very pleasurable as well as challenging. If you are their first native speaker then getting a work permit might be a difficult process. Most Thai teachers haven't a clue about the regulations in regards to foreign workers; why should they? They also might have less pull if your qualifications mean that you don't meet the current regulations.

Good luck to you.

[Artisi]

If you are asked to teach by your local school staff it would normally be with the approval of the education area office (or should be) it would also be reasonable to expect the area office to know or to have the right contact to sort out the necessary paper work etc for you to apply for a work permit, saying that you also need the right visa as the 2 go hand in hand.

[bails]

Hi All

Four Thai school teachers came to visit this evening.

They want me to teach English at the local high school.

They admitted that their own English was poor and only one

could (barely) comprehend my Oz English - (no jokes please!)

After talking to them for a while (With my wife interpreting),

I found out:

They have never had a native English-speaking teacher before.

The students ages range from 12 through to 17.

Class size 30 students, sessions one hour each.

They want me for 3 mornings a week ..

Evidently the students are not interested in English

it's not a popular subject.

The skill levels will vary from "no" English at all,

through to very basic reading and writing.

Evidently nobody has the confidence to speak English

and very few can comprehend spoken English.

I see it as a huge challenge, although that's maybe an understatement ..

Can you give me some basic knowledge on where to start ..!!

.. and how to motivate them ?

While you're at it, can you explain The Theory of Relativity

in a sentence for me ?..

Can you point me to any material (available on the net) that I can use in the classroom.

Evidently they have a video projector and a computer that I can use.

I will be making use of those!

Any help much appreciated.

John

Hi John,

The same thing happened to me-give it a go,i am sure you will enjoy and your standing in the village will be well regarded. Try englishclub.com for stacks of free material

[xerostar]

Thankyou all for your advice!

It appears you were right - the headmaster has no idea how to apply for a work permit.

I don't think he was even aware of the regulations.

I emphasised that any work beforehand will be "illegal" so he is to call me "an observer" until

the permit and visa are in order.

I will get him to contact the education area office this week.

Thanks for the tips on material too!

My wife did an ESL Tafe course in Perth 2 years ago so I have her learning manuals etc.

I'll keep you informed on my teaching effort ..

[Beacher]

If you have a fast internet connection at home, there is lots of ELT/ESL books etc. available in the world of bit torrents. Search a site like Mininova. I once downloaded a picture dictionary for a friend who wanted his child to learn more - they both loved it.

[xerostar]

An update:

The first session (2 hours) went very well.

I have a quiet speaking voice - not suitable for a teacher really, so

they supplied me with a wireless microphone which helped me a

great deal and gave me a lot more confidence.

I also had a laptop computer connected with a video projector and sound.

So I was able to make a lot of use of the multimedia environment.

The students seemed to enjoy the colourful "pictionary" PowerPoint illustrations.

I think the head teacher decided to give me a gentle intoduction

because there were only 15 students aged from 12 to 18.

He said that if the "trial period" was successful. he'd want me to teach

3 mornings a week.

I had a white board which I used a lot but then I realised later, I could have remained

seated and kept an MS Word window open where I could type the words/sentences

much quicker and obviously more clearly than slowly scribbling illegible letters on the whiteboard.

It would also enable to keep my eye on the students without getting up and turning around

every time I wanted to write a new word.

The toughest job was getting them to speak. I eventually got them to stand up one by one

and say "my name is xx and I am xx years old" Then I got everyone to clap as they sat down.

In hindsight I think that wasn't entirely correct because it made each one a bit self concsious

and perhaps scared about the "next time".

I found them more responsive to a group session of correct pronunciation. They were

willing to try out a new word in unison - so I will do that more often or perhaps

keep them in small groups instead of exposing their weaknesses to the whole class

which can be embarrassing for shy kids.

I tried to be funny as often as possible and the kids seemed to appreciate that and we

had a few laughs.

All in all I enjoyed the new experience and look forward to the next session.

Thanks to you all for those valuable leads on how to get started.

I showed some nice pictures of Thai Airways staff (stewards, Hostesses, Pilots) (Google Images)

and exlained that these people had qualified for the job because of their English skills.

The perks of these jobs were explained as well e.g. nice uniforms to wear, travel, salary etc.

I am excited by the possibility of introducing a theme and then expanding that to the Nth

degree. e.g. I could play video of ABBA, then explain that these were people who only learned to speak

English at school - a very nice example of success because they could sing in English.

Both boys and girls could relate to the band members, certainly role models that could inspire them!

Then we could learn the words to a song e.g. "Thank you for the music". We could look at their origins

in Sweden and use the Wikipedia description as a basis for questions and answers. They would be

encouraged to research another song or group and write an essay based on that.

I remember learning German in Switzerland. The incentive to read came when I started a hobby

in electronics. The only magazines available were in German. I read them avidly without realising

I was improving my German. I found the lessons in the books were really boring.

"Wer ist der Bahnhof?" "Der Bahnhof ist gegenueber von der Restaurant .. ZZZZ"

If I can get the students to read about things they like, rather than making them read boring

stuff, then I might be able to get them enthusiastic about English!

I think music may be the key!

Please let me know your thoughts and add any helpful advice you can offer.

e.g. any more role models who have succeeded because they learned English at school?

Er... "I'll be Back" springs to mind ..

[Scott]

Congratulations and that for the update.

[a99az]

Couple of tips, don't point at the kids and never tell them off in front of the class. Best of luck.

[rychrde]

Is there some government money suddenly appearing to employ native English speakers in state schools?

I've just been asked to do a similar thing in my local primary school - kids 7 to 12 years old.

Problem is, I've had no interview, don't know when they might want me to start, and they want me to tell them how much money I want!! The Thai head of English doesn't speak very good English either! he knows nothing about the regulations about employing a falang in a state school. I went to have a look at the school and he said I'd be following his lesson plans although what I saw was all in Thai!

I have a degree and a TEFL, so the paperwork shouldn't be a problem. I'm just concerned about how they are going about this.

My job would be for six hours a week - a full Monday of conversation English. I imagine as a temp I'd get no holiday pay so not sure what to ask for... 1,000-1,500 baht?

[Frenske]

I had exactly the same experience, guess they're in high need of Farang to do the job. I told them about workpermits, pssible change of visa, culture awareness course, etc. but all they said was, NO PROBLEM!!!! This gives me a bad taste and I think I'll skip this one.

[Ski_Goong]

Is there some government money suddenly appearing to employ native English speakers in state schools?

Yes. Since the government is providing free education, the schools are now able to charge students extra fees so they can hire farangs. A local school here charged students 300 baht each (about 2000 students) and with that money has hired 3 young farangs from Media Kids agency.

One farang is already in trouble for exchanging phone numbers and contacting some of the high-school girls. Yes. These young kids are already trying to land a farang

Ski......

[Jungian]

E = mc2, energy and mass are equivalent and transmutable.