Thailand To Hire 300 Native English-Speaking Teachers

[NanLaew]

He might be a bit confusing to get some documents from Kaosan Rd.,.. Are you tryin' to say that he can make authenticated fake documents from there to be eligible for the post?

It's the hub of genuine fake authentic official diploma's, ID's or whatever you want.

[ding]

not trying to be offensive but can you imagine when a Thai learns English from an Indian who learned from another Indian or a Filipino.

The effect is like a snowball.

Theres also the idea of speaking a language versus understanding a language. If you've ever outsourced to India you'll know what I mean.

I'm afraid that's too true to deny. The west coast of the USA has the most plain-spoken English, I'm told (by a Spanish prof )

[61guitarman61]

My god this is a hilarious thread - Which accent is better US / UK / Indian. It's not the accent that is the problem. Its the quality of the teacher and ultimatly that teacher quality is a reflection of the standards expressed in the syllabus that they teach. And therein lies the giant white elephant at the center of this whole issue.

Thai schools (in gerneral) if they have an national standardised English syllabus (which is very unlikely) are very bad at explaining the learning objectives and expectations to their hired foreign staff. Most of the English teachers i know, as well as the major agencies which supply english teachers, however well intentioned, make up the English syllabus they teach in the school. Sure they may have books, but standardised test, expectations, learning outcomes Nope.. The result is that the teaching of English is highly fragmented, disorganised and when one teacher leaves, the "syllabus" is completely reinterpreted by the next teacher and the students are left perplexed, unmotivated and completly confused.

If you are a supply teacher in the UK / US and you go into school for a day / week / month, you don't make it up as you go along, you follow the national syllabus / curricula. Do any English teachers here (Native speakers) do that. Can any native speakers tell me the objectives and standards they are required to meet. Other than 'make the students speak'

Throwing more money salaries might attract a better qualified teacher, but as the syllabus is so weak for English converstaion and English teaching in general, more money doesn't equal better results. As the old saying goes - you can't polish a turd. Which just about sums up the state of the national English Curricula in Thailand.

I have found that the 8, 10, and 14 year old students all have very good written English knowledge. The need is not to teach basic English but rather proper pronunciation and diction. That is where the problem lies with having so many different dialects of the language presented to these poor kids. And in the case of American vs. UK English, there you have two different languages altogether. So if these students have a UK teacher one year and an American the next, they will have to spend the first month unlearning what they learned the last year, not to mention the difference of hearing UK as opposed to American spoken language. I think it makes a HUGE difference where the "native English speaker" comes from. That is not spoken with a racist overtone, simply reality. If you listen to 5 Americans from different regions talk you would get confused on the meanings of some of what is being said. Now add to that the native accents of India, Philippines, UK, Australia, and the USA and what will these students ultimately take away from their time listening to all these different ways of saying what is already only gibberish to them?

[thailandadam]

Am I mistaken or is'nt the proposed salary at least 200% + greater than what English teachers here generally mak?

The going rate (at least from a year ago) was about 26K - 35K/month for teaching English (full-time), so 83K/month is rather significant. I was working part time teaching English in Chiang Mai for about 15-19K/month. From what I know, that's more than a lot of Thai doctors and more than is paid in an even higher-developing country like South Korea, which pays about 60-70K Baht/month.

If you ask me, something is off on their numbers for such an increase in salaries.

TBD in time...

[dighambara]

good.... and welcome ..to LOS

New folks

What a joke...

A great way to waste time and money hiring people from other countries when there are almost a million Native English speakers living here already...

These same people cannot work, because a long term Thai visa (retirement) does not allow them to work...

Many of those people would be happy to teach English, but cannot...

[yllorco]

IMO, this piece of news seems too good to be true:

1. There would only be about 4 (or 3.95) new teachers for each province, distributing 300 teachers to 76 provinces. This is so ridiculous to solve the shortage of teachers.

2. It is only a proposal by one official, which approval could be anything else.

3. It may cause problem with local teachers, whose salary would be 10.84% of the foreigners'.

4. It may also cause numerous unwanted problems to old foreign teachers without much raise. Even if some old foreign teachers are paid as high as 100K Baht/month, it is highly doubtful that the new 300 teachers will be given almost that much, while the rest have no significant increase.

4. The foreigners to be hired are teachers, meaning, qualified teachers, not anobody else. Recently the immigration has been so strict in granting visa and work permit to those who have the necessary documents (teaching license, which prerequisites are a certificate on Thai culture and Professional Ethics, BA degree, Diploma in Teaching/Education, or any equivalent teaching qualification). I have seen some old foreign teachers panic after being denied of visa for failing to comply a teacher's license, even though they have BA degree. Certification seems to be the number cause of shortage of foreign teachers, although it's a good move to certify all teachers.

The most likely implication appears that the piece of information is a hype to lure foreign teachers to teach in Thailand. Once they become informed on the real situation, they will become indignant on the fictitious promise.

Edited March 30, 2011 by yllorco

[blazes]

Indian and Phillapinos ? You ever noticed the heavy , over-riding accents these people have ? They are being considered to teach English , let the people pray it is understandable spoken English .

The Indian accent, as we all know, is almost the exact equivalent of the South Welsh. Imagine Thai children beginning to speak English with accents from London (9.30 = noyn fur-ee), or Geordie, or Yorks, or Lancs, or, worst of all, Belfast, where "Now" comes out as something like "noy" (which does in fact sound Thai).

Can't think of any accent that would deliver "standard English". But do we want the latter?

[tonititan]

A great way to waste time and money hiring people from other countries when there are almost a million Native English speakers living here already...

It says that they want to hire 300 native English speaking TEACHERS, not 300 native English speakers. How many of those million native English speakers do you think are actually TEACHERS?

Not everyone who speaks English can be an English TEACHER. Everyone knows how to walk....are they all able to work as physical therapists and teach others to walk? Everyone knows how to breathe.....does that make them a suitable respiratory therapist? I know these examples may seem extreme, but it just goes to show how ludicrous it is to believe that just because you are able to speak English means you are therefore qualified to be an English teacher!

A great way to waste money would be to hire unqualified foreigners, who are already hear, to act as TEACHERS when they are not trained to do so!

[dunkin2012]

A great way to waste time and money hiring people from other countries when there are almost a million Native English speakers living here already...

It says that they want to hire 300 native English speaking TEACHERS, not 300 native English speakers. How many of those million native English speakers do you think are actually TEACHERS?

Not everyone who speaks English can be an English TEACHER. Everyone knows how to walk....are they all able to work as physical therapists and teach others to walk? Everyone knows how to breathe.....does that make them a suitable respiratory therapist? I know these examples may seem extreme, but it just goes to show how ludicrous it is to believe that just because you are able to speak English means you are therefore qualified to be an English teacher!

A great way to waste money would be to hire unqualified foreigners, who are already hear, to act as TEACHERS when they are not trained to do so!

I can see your point of view .....

shall we suggest 'em to modify the retirement Visa's conditions to include long term stay + work permit?

and this will circulate the Thai currency only inside the country... Good idea.....dude.

hello there!.... a new English teacher..........

Edited March 30, 2011 by dunkin2012

[GuyL]

When I said 'the computer,' I should have been more specific (the Personal Computer). Sorry, I thought it would go without saying. And the PC is most definately an American invention (or maybe Apple might want some of the credit)...

Nope!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micral

"According to the Computer History Museum, the Micral N was the earliest commercial, non-kit personal computer based on a microprocessor, the Intel 8008. André Truong Trong Thi (EFREI degree, Paris), a French immigrant from Vietnam and François Gernelle developed the Micral N computer for the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), starting in June 1972."

[Kilgore Trout]

India and the Philippines?

Ha, the day I see a Thai school pay a Philipino or an Indian 83,000 baht for teaching is the day I eat my hat

[AgentSmith]

It's funny that it's the group of people that hardly ever learn another language who are debating language education most here. I'm talking about native English speakers of course.

An anecdote. Some guy, let's call him an ex colleague, once made the bold statement that the English language has the biggest vocabulary by far from all western languages. I was baffled by his boldness and decided to look deeper into this. Of course many google hits stated this was all nonsense. What struck me was one source saying it was probably a native English speaker having made this bold statement. After reading it I laughed long and hard.

The English speaking haven't got a clue what it means to learn another language. Yes, I do know some native speakers that actually mastered a second language but they remain exceptions to the rule.

I am Dutch and we learn English and other languages mostly in school, from Dutch teachers. Never have I felt this as a disadvantage. It sometimes even felt like an advantage because they knew about the difficulties learning the langue that they were teaching.

You're talking about accents. If there is one thing that is totally unimportant it's worrying about accents. An accent is the last thing you pick up when learning a new language. Getting rid of your own as a non native speaker is what takes up most of the time, if one ever succeeds at all.

It doesn't matter where the teacher is coming from and if he or she is a native speaker or not. It's all about his/her teaching skills especially when dealing with young kids. Hopefully the Thai acknowledge this and put their money to good use (for a change).

[Angelo99]

I have met Filipinos that I can understand easier than some Americans.

Obviously, no offence intended.

Unless you're referring to Americans who speak ebonics/ghetto slang or someone from the deep country, most non-native English speakers will tell you that it's easier to understand the American, Canadian or Aussie accent than say the British, Indian or Filipino accent.

It may come down to the fact that American English is the most widely spoken form of the language. Especially in movies and music where most non-native English speakers encounter the most English.

I do find that it's much, much, much easier to understand Filipinos than Indians on average. In fact, I employ two full time Filipino writers for my internet business for this very reason. Before I had my own business I worked with many Indians in the US who were educated computer programmers and had been in the US for many years. Despite their time in the US and college education, most of them were still quite difficult to understand.

84,000 baht is pretty dam_n good for teaching English. I wonder if that's just a high number that they are advertising to attract applicants. Most of the English teachers I know who work in Thailand are making between 20,000 and 40,000 a month. 84,000 seems quite high.

[LJW]

Where do I sign up?

[jonclark]

My god this is a hilarious thread - Which accent is better US / UK / Indian. It's not the accent that is the problem. Its the quality of the teacher and ultimatly that teacher quality is a reflection of the standards expressed in the syllabus that they teach. And therein lies the giant white elephant at the center of this whole issue.

Thai schools (in gerneral) if they have an national standardised English syllabus (which is very unlikely) are very bad at explaining the learning objectives and expectations to their hired foreign staff. Most of the English teachers i know, as well as the major agencies which supply english teachers, however well intentioned, make up the English syllabus they teach in the school. Sure they may have books, but standardised test, expectations, learning outcomes Nope.. The result is that the teaching of English is highly fragmented, disorganised and when one teacher leaves, the "syllabus" is completely reinterpreted by the next teacher and the students are left perplexed, unmotivated and completly confused.

If you are a supply teacher in the UK / US and you go into school for a day / week / month, you don't make it up as you go along, you follow the national syllabus / curricula. Do any English teachers here (Native speakers) do that. Can any native speakers tell me the objectives and standards they are required to meet. Other than 'make the students speak'

Throwing more money salaries might attract a better qualified teacher, but as the syllabus is so weak for English converstaion and English teaching in general, more money doesn't equal better results. As the old saying goes - you can't polish a turd. Which just about sums up the state of the national English Curricula in Thailand.

I have found that the 8, 10, and 14 year old students all have very good written English knowledge. The need is not to teach basic English but rather proper pronunciation and diction. That is where the problem lies with having so many different dialects of the language presented to these poor kids. And in the case of American vs. UK English, there you have two different languages altogether. So if these students have a UK teacher one year and an American the next, they will have to spend the first month unlearning what they learned the last year, not to mention the difference of hearing UK as opposed to American spoken language. I think it makes a HUGE difference where the "native English speaker" comes from. That is not spoken with a racist overtone, simply reality. If you listen to 5 Americans from different regions talk you would get confused on the meanings of some of what is being said. Now add to that the native accents of India, Philippines, UK, Australia, and the USA and what will these students ultimately take away from their time listening to all these different ways of saying what is already only gibberish to them?

I will assume you have or are a teacher. If so what is your syllabus re: English conversation?

The problem with centering the case around accents being easier to understand is that it is a very subjective case. Person A may find an Southern American accent easy to understand, whilst person B does not, but finds a NY accent much easier. this subjectivity is reflected in the teachers who invariably feel their accent is best as it is such a personal thing.

A national syllabus would include a section on correct pronunciation, so that the teachers understand the expectations for the MoE in terms of what they pass on to the students irrespective of their nationality. As opposed to the current jumble that exists with teachers making it up on the fly based on their own subjective accent.

[Pawpcorn]

good.... and welcome ..to LOS

New folks

It is good news but the quoted salary of 9000 baht per month for Thai teachers is not correct. A Thai teacher starts on 8000 baht usually at age 21 and then every year receives an annual increment as well as extra salary bonuses. My head of English in a Government school is Thai and is paid 33,000 baht where as most of the teachers earn more than 20,000 baht plus a guaranteed half salary pension on retirement. I am amazed that so many people believe the Thai teachers sob stories of a very low salary. I think they are overpaid for the actual quality of teaching that they do. Less than 10 per cent of Thais can speak English despite having up to 12 years of English lessons, an absolute disgrace by any teacher's standards.

I'd say 1% is a more accurate figure, from my experience.

Also, I taught in a government school Patum 3 to 6 for one year, and Patum 6 to Matium 3 for a second, before resigning, out of sheer physical and mental fatigue. The classrooms were NOT air-conditioned, students and teachers alike were so miserably hot, that learning was next to impossible. I actually carried an electric fan from class to class, yet my shirt would be soaked with sweat 15 minutes into the "lesson", regardless.

The total chaos in the environment was simply unbelievable. Students felt at ease getting up and leaving (or climbing out the windows(!) anytime they wanted! Other students from other classes would come in to visit with their friends and have loud conversations,k with the same disregard for any semblance of a learning or teaching environment.

The final straw was another intense day of complete chaos, where students turned off the breakers to the classrooms maybe a total of 10 times, killing the fan, but more importantly, killing my microphone (needed to overcome the constant din of totally disinterested students holding loud conversations throughout the room). I gave up, at that point, feeling like I was teaching in "The Blackboard Jungle"... pointless, stressful, and dangerous.

I will note that there was a Filipino teacher there that spoke unintelligible English, and couldn't manage to conjugate the verb "be" in a spoken sentence, who is still working there, enjoying the working environment, to the educational detriment of the Patum 3 to 5 students he teaches.

I have to "substitute" there, still, occasionally, and the last time, in Matium 3 (that's NINTH grade) had students who, when coming up to the board, could not recognize, read, or say, the word "was".

I have to say, a LOT of money being spent for shameful results.

[fxe1200]

.......".......hire 300 native English-speaking teachers for its primary and secondary schools.......

300 teachers for primary and secondary schools in a country with 66 million people ?

A drop in the ocean...

LaoPo

And if this: "300 native English-speaking teachers" is the only selection criterion, that is a bleak outlook for the Thai kids, as most foreign teachers in Thailand do not have an educational degree or are specialised in communication, motivation and teaching techniques, which are essential especially in Thailand.

[arrowsdawdle]

It really needs to be U.K. citezens only (Qualified...not KSR idiots)...any other nationality really dosnt have an extensive grasp of the language. Although its probably the greatest export we made to our many colonies, the colonials are 2nd rate to the real Mccoy.

LOL!! Do the words "...than to open it and remove all doubt" ring a bell?

[haverkamp]

The total chaos in the environment was simply unbelievable. Students felt at ease getting up and leaving (or climbing out the windows(!) anytime they wanted! Other students from other classes would come in to visit with their friends and have loud conversations,k with the same disregard for any semblance of a learning or teaching environment.

The final straw was another intense day of complete chaos, where students turned off the breakers to the classrooms maybe a total of 10 times, killing the fan, but more importantly, killing my microphone (needed to overcome the constant din of totally disinterested students holding loud conversations throughout the room). I gave up, at that point, feeling like I was teaching in "The Blackboard Jungle"... pointless, stressful, and dangerous.

And this is the reason why they need qualified teachers instead of just another "native" speaker.

A qualified teacher should have no problem at all to handle these kind of small problems.

[johnmtjames]

Posted Yesterday, 21:25

Why get native English teachers other than from England ? I am all for teachers speaking English if they actually teach English rather than a derivative of the English language . American English is different , so is Philippine and no doubt different again from Australia . Its all about the accent as well , pronunciation of words . I wish the Thai's luck in what they are trying to do but to start with they need someone to guide the education authority in Thailand, from the English education department in England, then maybe there is a good chance the standard will improve, if of course the students are willing to learn.

Have you heard English speakers from the north of England? Who can understand them? What about a broad Scots accent?

Give them a good old Aussie accent any day I say!

Aussie T.S.O.L Teacher Bang-na

[DP25]

I'm sure the Indian teachers will be able to do the needful

[egg]

When I said 'the computer,' I should have been more specific (the Personal Computer). Sorry, I thought it would go without saying. And the PC is most definately an American invention (or maybe Apple might want some of the credit)...

Nope!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micral

"According to the Computer History Museum, the Micral N was the earliest commercial, non-kit personal computer based on a microprocessor, the Intel 8008. André Truong Trong Thi (EFREI degree, Paris), a French immigrant from Vietnam and François Gernelle developed the Micral N computer for the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), starting in June 1972."

Jeeeezzzzz Phoenix ,,, your haveing a bad run here ,,,, but keep trying ,,, thats what made America great ,, l'm with you mate ,,,

[thunder30101]

Too funny, do any of you actually think the teachers will get that amount after all the admin and others take their cut ??? The gov currently subsidises foreign teachers and we dont get that amount now. Do you really think after many many years of highly qualified teachers (not all of them are bums) coming to thailand and trying to help improve their education system that the thais are going to change one dam_n thing ??? Get real !! education just like the police and politics here are so mired in corruption from top to bottom no amount of money they throw at it is going to change things. This is thailand.

[HerbalEd]

.......".......hire 300 native English-speaking teachers for its primary and secondary schools.......

300 teachers for primary and secondary schools in a country with 66 million people ?

A drop in the ocean...

LaoPo

Thanks Mr. Pessimism.

[007]

And of course the students do need to have the willingness to learn.!

I work at a private public school with an EP programme. My colleague, who is South African and an excellent teacher, recently confirmed my initial impression after just starting work at the school, that 'it seems to be fashionable among Thai teenagers not to learn English...'

Just to give you an example: at our school, where the classes are small, the students learn almost all subjects in English from Native English speakers and Thai teachers; that is from Nursery up to grade 12 (i.e. up to 16 years). Many students (especially older ones) are just not interested to learn any foreign language, neither English or Chinese, and the results of speaking skills and other skills in grades 11 or 12 are very poor. Can you really learn a foreign language if you don't want to?? Are English learners in Vietnam or Cambodia, where the English proficiency is much higher, smarter or just more eager to learn a foreign language?

Edited March 30, 2011 by 007

[TheGhostWithin]

My Filipino friends in Bangkok earn 16000 baht while the Americans and Briitish earn around 30-40k at the same school.

I dont believe for a second they will give the same salary to Filipinos, yes I know its discrimination, TIT.

Balo,

I hate to say it, but it is discriminatory due to the nature of the subject. English is not subjective, it is a focal subject used as a tool both for living abroad and doing business. By learning English from Americans, Brits, New Zealanders (thats me!), Filipinos and (god help us all) Indians, the Thais are looking to establish business and social relationships directly with these cultures. They are major importers/exporters of Thai products and potentially the Thai work force - this is more a case of building relationships than having an indiscriminate approach to teaching English as a subject.

I agree, Filipinos speak English very clearly, as do some Indians (particularly from the old colonies). The issue with their English is not necessarily the pronunciation, but the manner in which vocabulary is often over-zealously used and misused due to lack of understanding of the particular words, and the need to try to prove themselves intellectually superior to a native speaker. It is important to note that in most cases (except for wealthier families, of whom their children would not be in Thailand teaching English as a subject) English is taught in India and the Philippines in the classroom, hence they are not native speakers and do not understand the culture behind the language. That being said, being from any of the said countries should not qualify you as a teacher - though with shortages that have been ongoing since they tightened requirements years ago, it will remain that way for some time.

I do agree native speakers should be paid more and considered before those countries whose population do not speak fluent English above the 90% mark, but consideration needs to be made and exceptions should be considered.

p.s. I'm not an English teacher, I am a Train Controller living in New Zealand. I don't qualify to be an English teacher in Thailand (no degree), so I remain in NZ on the upper income bracket without my degree. Maybe someday...

[Kilgore Trout]

It's funny that it's the group of people that hardly ever learn another language who are debating language education most here. I'm talking about native English speakers of course.

An anecdote. Some guy, let's call him an ex colleague, once made the bold statement that the English language has the biggest vocabulary by far from all western languages. I was baffled by his boldness and decided to look deeper into this. Of course many google hits stated this was all nonsense. What struck me was one source saying it was probably a native English speaker having made this bold statement. After reading it I laughed long and hard.

The English speaking haven't got a clue what it means to learn another language. Yes, I do know some native speakers that actually mastered a second language but they remain exceptions to the rule.

I am Dutch and we learn English and other languages mostly in school, from Dutch teachers. Never have I felt this as a disadvantage. It sometimes even felt like an advantage because they knew about the difficulties learning the langue that they were teaching.

You're talking about accents. If there is one thing that is totally unimportant it's worrying about accents. An accent is the last thing you pick up when learning a new language. Getting rid of your own as a non native speaker is what takes up most of the time, if one ever succeeds at all.

It doesn't matter where the teacher is coming from and if he or she is a native speaker or not. It's all about his/her teaching skills especially when dealing with young kids. Hopefully the Thai acknowledge this and put their money to good use (for a change).

I agree about teaching skills, but I also believe training is very important. Natural ability is great, but you must also learn structures, strategies and theories as well. You must have a good understanding of how children acquire language as well as how developing children learn and acquire a second language, as well as how to prescribe activities for a whole class as well as how to differentiate the instruction for each child.

IMHO, the training the US, Australia, England etc. require teachers to go through as well as the rigorous coursework, observation (usually 200 hours) student teaching, evaluations etc. go far beyond what one would get in the Philippines or India.

[penguinchris]

I have a BS and an MS from good US universities. I have several years of teaching experience both in science and general topics (I don't hide that I don't have TEFL experience, but I do have experience teaching kids of all ages and am able to engage them so they're interested). I applied to and was offered a job teaching science and math at a private English immersion school in Bangkok a few weeks before the semester started last fall. While I was in the airport in Seoul in between flights (airfare coming out of my own pocket mind you), I got an email from the 25 year old American running the English department saying that he'd decided to give the job to his friend who happened to call up that morning looking for a job. He had no science or math background, but he had a degree, spoke English, and was the guy's friend, so I guess they chose the most qualified guy

So, I was in Bangkok with a 60 day visa. I decided based on what I hear about native English speakers in Thailand that it shouldn't be hard to just knock on a few doors and find a job. Even if it's not teaching science, I would be happy to get the experience.

You know, I truly enjoy teaching, and I like interacting with Thais. I have spent a lot of time with my girlfriend's young relatives and relatives of friends (she's from Chiang Mai) as well as a lot of students from Chiang Mai University (where I did some research for my MS in geology). Young Thai people seem to like me, especially kids. I'm young (24), smart, reasonably good looking, and I dress nicely (as we know these things can matter a lot in Thailand). I won't get into the accent argument, but I come from a region of the US with a very mild accent - most native English speakers don't recognize any accent at all (other than being obviously American rather than British - due to the lack of the British accent, not because of a strong American accent).

So if there's a shortage of teachers, why couldn't I find a job?

I gave up after a month (the semester started) of putting in applications and knocking on doors. I spent a few weeks with my girlfriend then went back to the US.

From what I can tell, even if you do one of the TEFL courses offered in Thailand, you're not guaranteed a job or anything - a couple places offer cut-rate TEFL courses and claim guaranteed job placement, but they don't seem very reputable.

As others have said already, there are obviously big problems with the system in place. That the infamously bad backpacker-type foreign teachers are able to get a job no problem, while people who take it seriously and have a good education and so on either can't find a job or don't want to go through all the hassle that's required, that's pretty bad.

And yes, I am still interested if anyone can help me with a job in Thailand!

Edited March 30, 2011 by penguinchris

[Kilgore Trout]

The total chaos in the environment was simply unbelievable. Students felt at ease getting up and leaving (or climbing out the windows(!) anytime they wanted! Other students from other classes would come in to visit with their friends and have loud conversations,k with the same disregard for any semblance of a learning or teaching environment.

The final straw was another intense day of complete chaos, where students turned off the breakers to the classrooms maybe a total of 10 times, killing the fan, but more importantly, killing my microphone (needed to overcome the constant din of totally disinterested students holding loud conversations throughout the room). I gave up, at that point, feeling like I was teaching in "The Blackboard Jungle"... pointless, stressful, and dangerous.

And this is the reason why they need qualified teachers instead of just another "native" speaker.

A qualified teacher should have no problem at all to handle these kind of small problems.

A qualified teacher would take one look at the class and walk out the door

I was an English teacher here before I got my degree and qualifications to teach (in my home country) and have seen classrooms like this, just ridiculous.

A school MUST have a culture conducive to learning, otherwise you could get the most experienced qualified teachers in the world and it wouldn't make a difference.

[SlyAnimal]

Ok couple of quick points:

These same people cannot work, because a long term Thai visa (retirement) does not allow them to work...

If you get a letter offering you a job teaching at a school, you can apply for a work visa instead (Then you won't have to show proof of income either, just ensure you don't get fired by your school else you have to leave).

The most likely implication appears that the piece of information is a hype to lure foreign teachers to teach in Thailand. Once they become informed on the real situation, they will become indignant on the fictitious promise.

Probably, as Thailand is currently one of the lower paying countries to teach in. After I completed my TESOL certificate the school gave us a booklet with estimated average salaries and requirements to legally teach in each country. Thailand definitely was one of the lowest salary wise, although of course it had a side note saying the cost of living is low here, most teachers who do want to travel and teach are instead lured to Japan instead because the money there's ment to be good (Although the cost of living is alot higher too). With the earthquake/tsunami there, it's probably a good idea to try and lure some teachers to Thailand via publicity of potentially more money etc, since I'd say there will be a lot of teachers who are changing their travel plans right now

And this is the reason why they need qualified teachers instead of just another "native" speaker.

A qualified teacher should have no problem at all to handle these kind of small problems.

There's a lot of posts knocking the TESOL teachers and lauding the "real" teachers as being significantly better teachers.

What a "real" teacher learns in university doesn't necessarily put them leagues ahead of a native speaker with a TESOL certificate + Bachelors in xyz subject for teaching English. In fact, if a BEdu teacher came to teach English straight out of university without having done a TESOL certificate or papers at University about teaching English as a foreign language, then the TESOL cert teacher might be better at teaching English. Although imo it'd mainly come down to who was the more charismatic of the teachers, since one of the main goals is to motivate students to want to learn and break down their shyness.

Since as a native speaker you've essentially been "learning" English since the day you were born, and so you're an expert on the subject, with your TESOL/CELTA then teaching you how to "teach".

"Real" teachers who come to Thailand, should goto international schools rather than government schools, because then they will actually utilise their training in teaching maths / science / english / social studies to native speakers, instead of teaching EFL. Also they get paid significantly more there anyway.