Negativity About English Teachers In Thailand On Here?

[SteeleJoe]

Choose 3 words of each tone you are familiar with and repeat them over and over.

Really helps to nail em in....

And LISTEN. All the time. Concentrate on listening to Thai all the time (not just in a class) and even when you don't have any idea what's being said. The more listening you do the better your pronunciation has a chance of (eventually) getting to be. (According to my theory anyway -- and it worked for me).

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[NeverSure]

Choose 3 words of each tone you are familiar with and repeat them over and over.

Really helps to nail em in....

And LISTEN. All the time. Concentrate on listening to Thai all the time (not just in a class) and even when you don't have any idea what's being said. The more listening you do the better your pronunciation has a chance of (eventually) getting to be. (According to my theory anyway -- and it worked for me).

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Who can listen when this is on the screen, LOL. No, I agree.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RludIfEtw0&feature=related

[Trembly]

Choose 3 words of each tone you are familiar with and repeat them over and over.

Really helps to nail em in....

And LISTEN. All the time. Concentrate on listening to Thai all the time (not just in a class) and even when you don't have any idea what's being said. The more listening you do the better your pronunciation has a chance of (eventually) getting to be. (According to my theory anyway -- and it worked for me).

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Best tip so far.

Farangs have difficulties with tones for the same reason that Thais have difficulties with terminal sounds (consonants at the end of the word), distinguishing between Ns and Ls that come before consonants and CH / SH; their ears aren't trained to hear the differences because they're not crucial features of their language.

It can be acquired, it's just a matter of training.

Edited November 9, 2012 by Trembly

[poanoi]

Only thing i can recommend is a competent teacher,

and recognize the rhythm of the language

[SteeleJoe]

Only thing i can recommend is a competent teacher,

and recognize the rhythm of the language

Speaking of which; not criticizing your transliteration (I think those arguments are usually stupid and full of pretentiousness) or getting into a pissing contest about Thai language skills ( equally stupid -- especially online) but I have a reason to ask:

Can you tell me what this means:

'kroo baan, lah len'

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Edited November 9, 2012 by SteeleJoe

[poanoi]

Short for kroo pra djam moo baan, lah len,

or in english, village teacher, joking

[SteeleJoe]

Short for kroo pra djam moo baan, lah len,

or in english, village teacher, joking

I see. Thanks.

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[HeavyDrinker]

So for all the persiflage about teaching methods etc are we any clearer as to why teachers are treated with such contempt?

[poanoi]

They aren't treated with contempt by me on a personal level,

i've seen older folks bitching as soon they see young people having fun tho,

scolding 'f_ckin europeans' etc

Edited November 9, 2012 by poanoi

[HeavyDrinker]

They aren't treated with contempt by me on a personal level,

i've seen older folks bitching as soon they see young people having fun tho,

scolding 'f_ckin europeans' etc

That flack is nowt compared to the ire from the young ones when they see us older folks having a good time....

[BigJohnnyBKK]

To summarize:

Some people are snobby simply on socio-economic grounds.

Some have a greatly inflated expectation of the qualifications that Thailand can afford to import.

Some teachers that are truly bad and/or don't care give the rest a bad name.

Everyone over-generalizes.

[sgunn65]

As an ex TEFL teacher who has been negative about teachers in the past I would like to give my view. When I came here I opened a business and did well for three years, earnt and spent alot of money, then sold half my business and everything went wrong. I was burnt out and didn't care about the business. I went on a bender of spectacular proportions and sold the other half of the business for 5 times what I had invested. I spent most of the money on a seriously nice beachfront condo and took a year off. During My working period I was making a lot of money and used to be quite negative about people coming here and working for 30K a month and living in small rooms eating mama noodles. I can remember saying to a friend that i would never do that!

After about nine months of doing nothing two things happened. The money started running out and I was supremely bored. Also there was no market for selling my condo to relase the 10 mill or so I invested in it. So I did a TEFL. The course was intensive but I really enjoyed it. Bob was a fantastic teacher and I came away with an A+. I immediately got work teaching at a small German company once a week and after that did not look back. I had become one of those people I had been judgemental about. I ended up teaching, mainly business English, to small and large companies for 9 months. I spent alot of time preparing lessons and felt qualified to do the job with what I had learnt (it helped that I had taught presentation skills in the UK). I loved the job. I made around 40K a month. Given I had no mortgage or debts and I was living in a great condo, it was enough to live reasonably comfortably but without saving anything.

I never tried to work in a school although i was approached to do so several times. I had heard too many horror stories. My biggest problem and, I think, why some teachers are seen in a bad light was almost always the Thai owners and staff of language schools who would send me to a company with the wrong information and the wrong materials. They were more interested in taking money than assessing the needs of their students so i would turn up at a lesson for the first time having been told the students were beginners to find intermediate students who did not want to learn to say hello but rather the difference between manager and management!! They would also use books that were Eurocentric or American and totally unsuitable for a Thai audience. To get around this I had to re-write lessons to make them Thai centric.

I also saw at first hand the inadequacies of Thai teachers who were teaching English. I had previously met 2 Thai teachers of English who could not hold a simple conversation in English with me but put this down to a fluke. However when I was teaching at a very well known Pattaya school (they advertise themselves as PRO's!) I watched as a Thai teacher wrote on the board, "I no go shop BigC". Is it any wonder that a nation who do not actually have a teaching qualification, and who hold teachers in high esteem to the point where you cannot question them have such a poor command of the English language?

I met quite a few teachers who did the TEFL course who were just doing it to continue to fund their bar life, I also met some teachers who really cared about what they were doing. The problem here is that the employers treat them like dirt then wonder why they leave quickly. My last employer ripped me off for 1,400 baht!!! The amount was minimal but the principle was not so I told them I would not continue to work unless they paid me. Of course they didn't pay me so I left.

The German company, who were my first clients, offered me a great job with a basic of nearly 4 times what I made as a teacher and so I am now fully employed with a valid work permit and a western wage working 9-5 Monday to Friday. I get to travel around Asia and work for a company that actually cares about its employees. Bottom line: Teaching was very good to me.

As with many posts on this forum Teachers are lumped together to be ridiculed. If you are a teacher and you enjoy doing it and can survive on the money then good luck to you and long may you continue. If you are a teacher who doesn't care further than the next bar fine then shame on you. The Thai's who come to you for help are spending their hard earnt money to better themselves; the least you can do is make an effort.

[Neeranam]

Short for kroo pra djam moo baan, lah len,

or in english, village teacher, joking

You'd better go find a Thai teacher dude.

[Neeranam]

no interest in learning thai, none whatsoever.

Me neither, but it was none the less rewarding & entertaining for as long as i had a competent teacher, nearly 2 years, and i would have kept studying IF i still had a competent teacher.

but alas, she was replaced with teachers that couldn't explain in a language i could understand, so it became pointless

I love your posts, I really do

So, let's get this straight - you have no interest in learning Thai but you paid for a teacher for 2 years to teach you Thai. A competent one? But you still can't speak it after that long!

[SteeleJoe]

Short for kroo pra djam moo baan, lah len,

or in english, village teacher, joking

You'd better go find a Thai teacher dude.

I was waiting for someone to notice...that's why I asked.

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[turboturtle]

Because many people(NOT ALL) on this forum are very unhappy with their lives. They live here for any of several reasons. They didn't plan for the future and in a small village in Thailand is the only place they can afford to live. 2) They couldn't find a woman in their own country, so they come here and use their money to get and keep a woman and she and her family are a constant drain on his finances. 3) Some people are just hateful and bitter and criticize anything and everything they can. And there are some people on this forum that can only feel good about themselves if they are belittling someone else.

Most westerners i meet in thailand are always trying to drag me down into their dungeon of doom and gloom. I can't stand the negativity around them so I'd rather befriend a thai or just stay with the women in the country who find the positives of life. It would be nice to have an intellectual conversation at times but I can't stand these snobbish westerners who always get into a cock pissing contest when they get a few drinks down the gulley!

[Neeranam]

I've met dozens of TEFL wannabe teachers and enjoy their presence a lot more than old farts.

I still won't pay a single baht for a monolingual teacher if i want to learn a language tho.

That's maybe reason you still need to learn. Im content with my fluency in Thai and have never paid a single baht. Being immersed in the language was my motivation to learn.

Exactly !

If you need a teacher, you need someone capable of explaining in a language you comprehend,

if you don't need explanation, why waste a single baht on a teacher ?

but, 'content with my fluency in thai' dont really say much,

i've met dozens of falangs that are content with their ability to say 'top salop salai' + 'pet mak mak'

Do you know what fluency means?

[Trembly]

As an ex TEFL teacher who has been negative about teachers in the past I would like to give my view. When I came here I opened a business and did well for three years, earnt and spent alot of money, then sold half my business and everything went wrong. I was burnt out and didn't care about the business. I went on a bender of spectacular proportions and sold the other half of the business for 5 times what I had invested. I spent most of the money on a seriously nice beachfront condo and took a year off. During My working period I was making a lot of money and used to be quite negative about people coming here and working for 30K a month and living in small rooms eating mama noodles. I can remember saying to a friend that i would never do that!

After about nine months of doing nothing two things happened. The money started running out and I was supremely bored. Also there was no market for selling my condo to relase the 10 mill or so I invested in it. So I did a TEFL. The course was intensive but I really enjoyed it. Bob was a fantastic teacher and I came away with an A+. I immediately got work teaching at a small German company once a week and after that did not look back. I had become one of those people I had been judgemental about. I ended up teaching, mainly business English, to small and large companies for 9 months. I spent alot of time preparing lessons and felt qualified to do the job with what I had learnt (it helped that I had taught presentation skills in the UK). I loved the job. I made around 40K a month. Given I had no mortgage or debts and I was living in a great condo, it was enough to live reasonably comfortably but without saving anything.

I never tried to work in a school although i was approached to do so several times. I had heard too many horror stories. My biggest problem and, I think, why some teachers are seen in a bad light was almost always the Thai owners and staff of language schools who would send me to a company with the wrong information and the wrong materials. They were more interested in taking money than assessing the needs of their students so i would turn up at a lesson for the first time having been told the students were beginners to find intermediate students who did not want to learn to say hello but rather the difference between manager and management!! They would also use books that were Eurocentric or American and totally unsuitable for a Thai audience. To get around this I had to re-write lessons to make them Thai centric.

I also saw at first hand the inadequacies of Thai teachers who were teaching English. I had previously met 2 Thai teachers of English who could not hold a simple conversation in English with me but put this down to a fluke. However when I was teaching at a very well known Pattaya school (they advertise themselves as PRO's!) I watched as a Thai teacher wrote on the board, "I no go shop BigC". Is it any wonder that a nation who do not actually have a teaching qualification, and who hold teachers in high esteem to the point where you cannot question them have such a poor command of the English language?

I met quite a few teachers who did the TEFL course who were just doing it to continue to fund their bar life, I also met some teachers who really cared about what they were doing. The problem here is that the employers treat them like dirt then wonder why they leave quickly. My last employer ripped me off for 1,400 baht!!! The amount was minimal but the principle was not so I told them I would not continue to work unless they paid me. Of course they didn't pay me so I left.

The German company, who were my first clients, offered me a great job with a basic of nearly 4 times what I made as a teacher and so I am now fully employed with a valid work permit and a western wage working 9-5 Monday to Friday. I get to travel around Asia and work for a company that actually cares about its employees. Bottom line: Teaching was very good to me.

As with many posts on this forum Teachers are lumped together to be ridiculed. If you are a teacher and you enjoy doing it and can survive on the money then good luck to you and long may you continue. If you are a teacher who doesn't care further than the next bar fine then shame on you. The Thai's who come to you for help are spending their hard earnt money to better themselves; the least you can do is make an effort.

Well said!

[poanoi]

no interest in learning thai, none whatsoever.

Me neither, but it was none the less rewarding & entertaining for as long as i had a competent teacher, nearly 2 years, and i would have kept studying IF i still had a competent teacher.

but alas, she was replaced with teachers that couldn't explain in a language i could understand, so it became pointless

I love your posts, I really do

So, let's get this straight - you have no interest in learning Thai but you paid for a teacher for 2 years to teach you Thai. A competent one? But you still can't speak it after that long!

I paid for ED visa, didnt plan to study but was captured.

Now it's a couple of years since i used thai at all, and have forgotten everything

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I paid for ED visa, didnt plan to study but was captured.

Now it's a couple of years since i used thai at all, and have forgotten everything

So perhaps you shouldn't make categorical posts on language teaching methodologies as if you were an authority?

[Neeranam]

no interest in learning thai, none whatsoever.

Me neither, but it was none the less rewarding & entertaining for as long as i had a competent teacher, nearly 2 years, and i would have kept studying IF i still had a competent teacher.

but alas, she was replaced with teachers that couldn't explain in a language i could understand, so it became pointless

I love your posts, I really do

So, let's get this straight - you have no interest in learning Thai but you paid for a teacher for 2 years to teach you Thai. A competent one? But you still can't speak it after that long!

I paid for ED visa, didnt plan to study but was captured.

Now it's a couple of years since i used thai at all, and have forgotten everything

LOL - just when I thought it couldn't get any better. Why did you pay for an ED visa? Who captured you?

Where do you live now that you never use Thai?

[poanoi]

You mean calling a spade a spade ?

i have study 19 years of my life, i can tell the difference and see the oxymoron in a monolingual language teacher,

tried both mono & bilingual teachers already, and no merchandize will change my conclusion.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

You mean calling a spade a spade ?

i have study 19 years of my life, i can tell the difference and see the oxymoron in a monolingual language teacher,

tried both mono & bilingual teachers already, and no merchandize will change my conclusion.

What is your native language?

[Neeranam]

You mean calling a spade a spade ?

i have study 19 years of my life, i can tell the difference and see the oxymoron in a monolingual language teacher,

tried both mono & bilingual teachers already, and no merchandize will change my conclusion.

Not sure what you mean calling a spade a spade? Just would love to know who captured you - doesn't matter if it is painful to remember.

Why not do some research into the value(or rather lack of) of using English in a Thai language class.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=using+L1+in+classroom

[transam]

You mean calling a spade a spade ?

i have study 19 years of my life, i can tell the difference and see the oxymoron in a monolingual language teacher,

tried both mono & bilingual teachers already, and no merchandize will change my conclusion.

Not sure what you mean calling a spade a spade? Just would love to know who captured you - doesn't matter if it is painful to remember.

Why not do some research into the value(or rather lack of) of using English in a Thai language class.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q...L1 in classroom

A spade is not a shovel.

[tingtongtourist]

To talk about OPs original topic i do think this negativity come from the farang who live here and do nothing, they will make fun of a person who need to work and earn money in Thailand, laugh and call him poor pretend english teacher who have to live on 20k baht per month.

On the other side i must say i do find funny,everytime talking to farang and he go on and on on about how much thai people respect teacher in society

YES but this respect for thai teacher ONLY, definately not for farang as many grow up with learning falang are stupid, and no good

Really the average Thai student respect farang teacher about as much as the soi dog turd he have to walk over on street

[Vinny1967]

I was out in Ang Thong last week and a cousin of my girlfriend is a teacher there.She said she had talked to her bosses and wanted to know if I'd be interested in teaching kids english in the school.I told her I didn't have any qualifications for teaching but she said it wouldn't be a problem.Just sit in a classroom for 4 hours a day and get paid 30,000 bhat a month.Surely things can't be that messed up over here,that any old joe soap can teach english in a Thai school ?.

[maxme]

To talk about OPs original topic i do think this negativity come from the farang who live here and do nothing, they will make fun of a person who need to work and earn money in Thailand, laugh and call him poor pretend english teacher who have to live on 20k baht per month.

On the other side i must say i do find funny,everytime talking to farang and he go on and on on about how much thai people respect teacher in society

YES but this respect for thai teacher ONLY, definately not for farang as many grow up with learning falang are stupid, and no good

Really the average Thai student respect farang teacher about as much as the soi dog turd he have to walk over on street

I wonder... their opinion or yours?

[Neeranam]

To talk about OPs original topic i do think this negativity come from the farang who live here and do nothing, they will make fun of a person who need to work and earn money in Thailand, laugh and call him poor pretend english teacher who have to live on 20k baht per month.

On the other side i must say i do find funny,everytime talking to farang and he go on and on on about how much thai people respect teacher in society

YES but this respect for thai teacher ONLY, definately not for farang as many grow up with learning falang are stupid, and no good

Really the average Thai student respect farang teacher about as much as the soi dog turd he have to walk over on street

What do you do for a living here? You seem to know a lot about Thai students!

[hookedondhamma]

To talk about OPs original topic i do think this negativity come from the farang who live here and do nothing, they will make fun of a person who need to work and earn money in Thailand, laugh and call him poor pretend english teacher who have to live on 20k baht per month.

On the other side i must say i do find funny,everytime talking to farang and he go on and on on about how much thai people respect teacher in society

YES but this respect for thai teacher ONLY, definately not for farang as many grow up with learning falang are stupid, and no good

Really the average Thai student respect farang teacher about as much as the soi dog turd he have to walk over on street

tingtongtourist, or tingtongthai??