Schools I Would Recommend

[Ijustwannateach]

Ok, we've got the other thread going now and the sky isn't falling (yet). How about the flip side- you think you work at a great place, you've heard good things about it, etc., etc. You'd recommend it to a friend.

SAME RULES-

1. Only the name/location

2. No explanations, defenses, anecdotes, personal names, or other propaganda

3. No challenging the names others choose to post.

4. No claims of surprise, or that you knew someone who worked there and hated it, or that you hated it, or basically anything here except school names/locations.

Shall we give it a go?

[Ijustwannateach]

Bangkok University (English Language Program)

Bell-contract locations

[nokmdk]

WWA

Wattana Wittaya Academy (suk 19 at the end)

[paully]

Silpakorn University (Tha Phra Chan campus)

By the way, I thought you'd get a better and more constructive response on this site, Steven.

[jingjingna]

Assumption College Sriracha

[wangsuda]

BFITS

[Silvercharm]

BFITS!

[kenkannif]

Just so people know could one of you tell us what BFITS stands for (it's Bright Future something or other isn't it?)? Thanks!

[wangsuda]

Bright Futures International Training and Services

[Rensina]

Ok, we've got the other thread going now and the sky isn't falling (yet).  How about the flip side- you think you work at a great place, you've heard good things about it, etc., etc.  You'd recommend it to a friend.

SAME RULES-

1.  Only the name/location

2.  No explanations, defenses, anecdotes, personal names, or other propaganda

3.  No challenging the names others choose to post.

4.  No claims of surprise, or that you knew someone who worked there and hated it, or that you hated it, or basically anything here except school names/locations.

Shall we give it a go?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Rensina]

Yes...great idea..I am teaching in china and want to come to thailand around sept to teach english or maybe something else??.....a reccommendation is good for me.... thrown in the deep end here in china by "the Agent"....so a bit of advice before I go would be appreciated...Thanks from an aussie

[PeaceBlondie]

Bumping this thread to page one, for what it's worth.

[Ladphrao]

I don't want to break 'the rules" but I would recommend different places to work for different people. People have differing qualifications, preferences, and objectives in teaching. Having said that, I would recommend AUA for a newbie teacher.

[BambinA]

BIT - BambinA Institute of Technology

[Plus]

Where are your Corporate Headquarters? Is your Chief Headmistress position vacant?

Edited January 25, 2006 by Plus

[matthew78]

BFITS is alright with me

[Neeranam]

I don't want to break 'the rules" but I would recommend different places to work for different people. People have differing qualifications, preferences, and objectives in teaching. Having said that, I would recommend AUA for a newbie teacher.

Very true - I'd recommend Siam Computer for some new teachers.

[brewsterbudgen]

King's College Thailand (Emporium branch, although I'm sure the others are well run too).

[mbkudu]

Very true - I'd recommend Siam Computer for some new teachers.

One would have to live on Mama noodles and boiled eggs while working there until something better came along.

[Neeranam]

QUOTE(Neeranam @ 2006-01-28 22:32:54) *

Very true - I'd recommend Siam Computer for some new teachers.

One would have to live on Mama noodles and boiled eggs while working there until something better came along. blink.gif

I worked there once and was working a 3 day week - 20 hours getting 34,000 baht. I also worked for a school Inlingua on Saturdays, getting another 12,000 a month. 4 night a week doing corporate classes got an extra 20,000 a month. total - 66,000 a month!

Even on 30,000 a month - more than enough to live on a very healthy diet of much more than noodles.

[Florin]

Wow, yet another example of shameless wage-bargaining by SIAM...several people I knew there worked for 200-225/hour, how the hel_l did you manage to get 425??

[mbkudu]

Wow, yet another example of shameless wage-bargaining by SIAM...several people I knew there worked for 200-225/hour, how the hel_l did you manage to get 425??

I worked there several years ago, Saturdays doing an hour and half pronunciation class at 200 baht an hour. I took it as a quick fill in course when a contract I had for Saturdays ended at another school. I'm not even sure why I did it. I certainly wasn't desparate, but just trying to squeeze as much money in before I moved back to my home country. I have a friend who is a retiree and has worked at a language school for many years. He likes it because the work is steady and predictable however low the pay may be. So for some, these types of schools might be ok, but for a serious teacher who is making a life long career in Thailand, .

[Ladphrao]

"these types of schools might be ok, but for a serious teacher who is making a life long career in Thailand"

More or less the point I was trying to make.

If one is a well-published expert in one's field with a Ph.D., I recommend working at AIT (and being paid in US dollars) with a few part-time classes at Chula's or others graduate schools around BKK (around 3000 Baht an Hour).

If one has high-class teaching credentials for children, and isn’t currently in Thailand, ISB and NIST would be what I would recommend.

For someone just off the boat, never having taught before, having no special teaching credentials, some of these low-paying language schools might be a good first step. These schools usually have some forms of initial training, a "system" the teacher can follow until one gets one's sea legs, and western managers that act as a go-between for newbies and the Thai ownership. An experienced teacher needs none of these things, but they are comforts to a newbie.

I started out at AUA, it was fine for what it was and fine for me at the time in my life. For someone trying to support a family in Thailand for the long-term, no no no. For someone passing through, retirees, or newbies, yes yes yes. I suspect some of the other three-letter language schools fall into about the same category.

Today I get more than 7 times as much per hour teaching (not English) as I did at AUA, but now is a different time in my life and I have increased my credentials and experience considerably, but that doesn't mean I feel a need to diss the school I used as a stepping stone.

I would recommend any school that does what it says it will do. The pay at AUA was low, but I knew that before starting, and I was always paid on time. I was never told at AUA that I would be teaching in luxurious classrooms and would be allowed to teach whatever I wanted. I was told before beginning that I would be teaching in dingy old classrooms and had to follow the system. There were some real "characters" who worked there, but that was also evident before starting. I was required to take a week long teacher training course, but no one pretended that this week long course would make one a real teacher, but it was better than nothing.

I would recommend AUA for a newbie, the school is a long way from perfect, but as far as I know the school doesn't shaft its teachers, but it doesn’t pay them well either. But it is basically upfront about its pay and policies, it is up to the teacher to decide whether this is what one wants or not. At least one knows what to expect from the school, but if one has a better offer, go for it..

I don't expect to ever have to work at AUA or another three letter language school again (but it is nice to know they are there to fall back on if things go bad elsewhere), but for others, these places can be OK.

Sorry for not being concise, but the question, what schools would you recommend can not be realistically answered without some qualifying remarks. One has to think who the school is being recommended to.

[kenkannif]

^ Problem with places like AUA is they can vary from one branch to another.

Edited January 31, 2006 by kenkannif

[Ladphrao]

kenkannif,

I'm not sure this is really true. AUA's policies and pay are standard as far as I know, but the market conditions in each place are different. Some branches may be busier and have more options for teachers than the more remote branches. However, I have never heard of anyone going to work for AUA and being told the pay was 250 baht an hour but only getting 200 baht an hour when pay day rolls around. Of course the personalities of the bosses and administration will be different, but unless one likes to be involved in office politics (Which most farang teachers do, but I don't) it doesn't really matter the personality of the head honcho. When I was at AUA, I thought about switching away from the main branch, I was clearly told what hours to expect at what time at the new branch, I decided not to switch, but I felt the school laid out the facts as plain as to be expected and I was able to make an intelligent decision. I am not trying to sell AUA, or any place as a "good" place to work. I could easily list 10 good reasons to avoid the school, but AUA never promised me anything it didn't deliver (But then again, it never promised very much at all). For a newbie or someone who is not overly concerned about money (spouse has a good job or retired), I think the school is worth looking into, even though I have no intention of ever working there again. It was a "good" school for me many years ago, but would not be a "good" school for me now, Again, one needs to look at the needs and qualifications of the person one is recommending a school to. What someone would recommend to me would be very different than what someone would recommend to you or others, we are all different and are at different career stages. However, the not recommend thread is easier, if a school lies to the teachers and does not deliver on promises, it is not recommended for anyone.

[kenkannif]

True from what I can gather from people that work at the various different branches and that's about as good as you can get. More in regards to management than pay though.

[Ijustwannateach]

It's hiring season. Time to bump up the "serious" threads again.

[Jasmine]

Had good experiences at Bell Language Centre/contract

[scorecard]

Steven,

Admire your hand work to try to build 'wouldn't recommend' and 'would' recommend' lists.

Obviously the lists would never be complete (this comment not intended as a criticism).

So can I please ask for a specific comment from any forum members on one school - Amnuay Silpa Bilingual School on Sri Ayuthaya Road.

Thanks.

[kenkannif]

Might be worth looking here: http://www.teflwatch.com

[Later add by PB: if that doesn't work, try replacing .com with .org ]