An American Who Cannot Find A Teaching Job

[paulfr]

I suggest you find a very good school near you and go there. Ask who the best teachers are there and hire one to be your mentor/consultant.

They can fill you in on what you need to know and what the challenges are. Do not be cheap. Pay them 1000B/hr or more.

It will be worth it and much cheaper than the TEFL course.

oh come on, has nobody had the same thought about this??? dont bother getting a recognised qualification, pay an existing teacher 1000b an hour to give you gossip???

possibly the worst piece of advice i have ever seen since the find a good girl to be your wife down at nana plaza thread.

(joking about the good place to find a girl friend)

BTW IJWT, good to see you are still around.

Hey there Bluffer ........... are you bluffing or just a troll ?

I believe everyone here can distinguish gossip from good information about what a job is like

and what one needs to know that is not obvious.

I stand by my recommendation. Your time is better spent with a sincere dedicated teacher

describing what the reality is like and how to be successful.

Lots of people have become millionaires with this strategy in business.

You aren't by any chance that Math teacher we fired because he wanted to sit around

in between classes and watch youtube videos, are you ?

[PeaceBlondie]

Bluffer had a point. There aren't many good schools where you easily find good teachers. Etc. Further insults will be dealt with.

[Loaded]

Sometimes bad advice is better than no advice.

The poster can probably observe classes for free, but the school might wonder what he's doing wandering around there.

If he's wandering around during lessons, the school will probably just think he's one of the farang teaching staff.

Edited December 27, 2009 by Loaded

[Ijustwannateach]

Ha ha, everyone. Can we get back to the topic before this thread has to be closed?

Hey, Bluffer, long time no see.

Paulf, you could be right if the person in question were able to recognise and find a good, experienced teacher at a local school to be a mentor. Otherwise, Bluffer's probably right that it's a chancy idea and getting a real starting qualification of some sort is a better idea.

[paulfr]

Ha ha, everyone. Can we get back to the topic before this thread has to be closed?

Hey, Bluffer, long time no see.

Paulf, you could be right if the person in question were able to recognise and find a good, experienced teacher at a local school to be a mentor.

Otherwise, Bluffer's probably right that it's a chancy idea and getting a real starting qualification of some sort is a better idea.

Well Bluffer needs some work on his interpersonal skills.

He did not say it was "chancey" or "difficult".

He said it was the dumbest idea he had ever heard of.

Given this absurd hyperbole, one gets a good idea of what his opinion is worth.

That aside, I agree that the method of finding an excellent teacher would be critical.

You can not just, for example, ask some students. They will likely mention the

popular teachers who are pushovers and give high grades. If you ask the Head Admin

you will get the politically astute teacher who is skilled at brown nose tactics.

If you ask for those teachers who have been there a long time you may get the same,

or the really good professional who you are looking for. It could go either way.

I did not say this was easy but I think it is a good way to learn what you need to know

along side the subject matter you will teach.

Interviewing people who "have been there" is a time tested method of succeeding

at many things in life. Why would it not work here ? And if a person was not willing

to do the work to get quality opinions, they are not likely to be successful anyway.

Perhaps my personal experience is clouding my opinion here.

I took the TESOL course at AUA Language Center and it was a near complete waste of time.

No mention of classroom management. No mention of Thailand realities.

More an esoteric combination of things interesting to the instructors.

They only really positive part was the practice teaching sessions.

BTW, I did not say "DO NOT take the courses". I just said that it was not necessary.

Few schools will hire on a TEFL degree alone. Considering the time, effort and money involved,

it is worth knowing that and considering other options. Appearance and first impressions are far

more important in Thailand than a 4 week TEFL course.

JMHO

Edited December 27, 2009 by paulfr

[Martian]

Since I had no teaching experience (>20 years as a corporate manager), my current employer required me to complete a TEFL class as part of the teaching contract. Anyone who tells you that it isn't worth the money or doesn't really apply to teaching either took the wrong course or has a chip on their shoulder about teaching and/or TEFL courses. I found mine to be very informative and it DID prepare me for the classroom.

I attended one in Chiang Mai, which was very affordable and is one of the sponsors of this forum. I highly recommend them to anyone.

Edited December 27, 2009 by Martian

[Scott]

Thanks Martian. I've met very few, if any, teachers who weren't happy they took a TEFL. The exceptions are qualified, experienced teachers and many of them have also taken a TEFL.

It may not be practical if you don't live near a larger city in Thailand and will be working in a rural area, At least not at the time someone starts working.

In the case of the OP, he should have the time to do one. It will make the transition into the classroom so much easier and can spell the difference between a job and a career.

[PeaceBlondie]

350Z - single opening post, no more.

[Scott]

Well, with all this expert advice, there's probably very little he can say!

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

You probably are more suited for and would prefer either corporate English teaching or exam prep courses. A CELTA might help, but you could also hook up with a language center or agency that perhaps pays lower wages. There are lots of opportunities out there, especially now that we're getting close to January. You might want to pick up a few books like Market Leader, English 365 or an IELTS and TOEIC prep book. Once you have experience as a business English teacher or an exam prep tutor, you should have no problem finding a job. I recommend you go through the ads and start contacting all the agencies and language centers. You might only start at 300-400 baht/hour, but you really need to get experience before you are marketable as a teacher in these areas. You also need to be in Bangkok, and available to start work immediately.

Edited December 28, 2009 by zaphodbeeblebrox

[nonghoidave]

Since I had no teaching experience (>20 years as a corporate manager), my current employer required me to complete a TEFL class as part of the teaching contract. Anyone who tells you that it isn't worth the money or doesn't really apply to teaching either took the wrong course or has a chip on their shoulder about teaching and/or TEFL courses. I found mine to be very informative and it DID prepare me for the classroom.

I attended one in Chiang Mai, which was very affordable and is one of the sponsors of this forum. I highly recommend them to anyone.

I agree. You took John's class, yes? Very professional, very much prepares you for classroom, especially if you have never taught before. Prepares you for Thai culture quirks, assists in job placement. I too highly recommend a TEFL course.

Having a Business degree, and being able to teach a class are two different worlds.

In fact, I taught in a high school, on temporary credential, in California based on my work experience, and nothing they taught me (which, come to think of it WAS nothing before I went into classroom, just an interview, a basic competency test, "you're hired!) prepared me like the TEFL course for classroom aptitude, especially in a foreign land.

Numero uno: You gotta like kids, and teaching them, and watching the light go off when you connect.

If you see it as just a job...you probably won't enjoy it.

Good luck, hope you find place you enjoy.

[PeaceBlondie]

Numero uno: You gotta like kids, and teaching them, and watching the light go off when you connect.

Amen.

[orchidlady]

With a business degree and managerial experience in a fortune 500 company, I would try submitting your resume to Universities with International programs.

You may be much happier teaching business classes than English classes. That being said, this is a bad time (middle of the term), but if you put out your resume to all of these universities, you may be able to get a couple of classes for the term starting in May.

Its been a while since I have spoken with anyone doing this, but a couple of years ago, I was told by a professor that Mahidol Univeristy was paying 1000thb per hour and Chula was a little bit more. Not sure about Thammasat...

You need a Master's from a real not on-line school to work at Thammasat and most likely Chula. Mahidol may have raised their standards too. Possibly the Rajabhat schools outside Bangkok would take someone with a bachelor's degree.

Edited December 30, 2009 by orchidlady

[Ijustwannateach]

Just to clarify, OL, many master's programmes from real universities *are* on-line- and as far as I've been able to tell, they are accepted by the very universities you mention.

[cseika]

I run a language school here in LOS. You are not getting any calls because your resume is the same as everyone else! Just because your are more qualified doesn't mean you will find employment. When we look for candidates for teachers, we generally avoid the ones with "Lots of corporate training experience... or who are over qualified.

From what we can see.. training employees is quite different from actually teaching "Conversational English" and generally most teachers we hire with that kind of background generally doesn't work out for various reasons.

My suggestion is this, why don't you Email and call some of the potential employer. If asked to send resume, send pictures of relevant previous work (Make sure to keep your file small, I personally hate downloading a 5mb email which i don't even care about!). Follow up with phone calls, and if asked for interview, most important of all, be on time. You have FIND opportunities, opportunities will not find you!

GOOD LUCK!

[Scott]

Thanks cseika, and welcome to the forum.