Should I wait to get to Thailand before signing up for TEFL/CELTA?

[travelingteacher76]

Hi all... I'm heading to Thailand in July, and was wondering if I should wait until I get there to sign up to get certified, or can I just show up and look around first before deciding which course to take? Any recommendations? I have both a master's and bachelor's degree from top tier universities in the States. Thanks!

Brent

[Loaded]

If you take a course in Thailand, you will benefit from your training school's local knowledge and connections. This will help you if you plan to work in a popular city or area.

[aidenai]

If you take a course in Thailand, you will benefit from your training school's local knowledge and connections. This will help you if you plan to work in a popular city or area.

Further more, TEFL/ TESOL and TESOL courses in Thailand might be more tailored to teaching in Thailand and in the Thai classroom.

[travelingteacher76]

Hiya, thanks for replying. What I was really trying to get across was, should I sign up with a school before I leave, or wait until I'm actually in Thailand, to find a CELTA/TEFL/etc etc program? I know that IH fills up months in advance, and offers a CELTA, which is ideally what I'm looking to get. I'm just wondering if there are any other recommended CELTA programs that I can sign up with, after having traveled around Thailand a bit first? I might like chiang mai better than bangkok, or pattaya instead of phuket.....I'm not in a rush to get back to work, and would like to travel around a bit for a while at my own pace, rather than having to worry about being in a particular place at a particular date. Thanks again for replying

B

[Scott]

I would suggest signing up for a course that you think is good for your needs first. Since you plan on traveling around, you can get a better feel for where you want to live after having done the course.

[guig]

Brent,

I waited until I came to Bangkok and then visited IH to get a feel for the place and the experience of the teachers. In the end I paid for the 120 hour CELTA course and it was the best thing I have ever done. I was lucky to have tremendous trainers who really cared. Look at their website which gives you the dates of all courses in different places and costs etc.......and contact them via email if you have any questions. They also provide accommodation close to Silom in Bangkok if you require. I chose to stay further out as I am not a fan of the area. Best of luck!

[sandrabbit]

There is a TEFL school in Ban Phe, Rayong and you can get accommodation at reasonable prices while living on the Gulf Coast plus a major bonus is that it's the driest part of Thailand and only 2hours by taxi from the airport. We regularly see each course out partying although Ban Phe itself is quite quiet but the resort island of Koh Samet is 20 mins away by ferry.

[USNret]

I took a 4-week TESOL course in BKK and signed up before I got there. I'm glad I did cuz they filled up early. It would be best to check with schools now to see if they will be full & whether or not you should sign up in advance. The big thing is read recommendations from real users since I imagine any payment you make would be nonrefundable.

[gerrythepoet]

I think you actually answered it yourself. You pointed out that you would like to travel around a bit before deciding. With that in mind I would do the travelling then make sure you really want to do the courses available. As Aidenai stated the courses are geared to teach in Thailand. I have no idea about IH but poster guig has experience of that company. I did the TESOL in Ban Pe and started teaching straight after that did not get the chance to travel around. Check out www.ajarn.com it is the main site for teachers here in Thailand. Poster Loaded made a point of the location and the contacts, very true for you could study in Phuket or Koh Samui and the schools are well established with where you could teach after their course. Welcome to Thailand in July and all the best.

[thaicbr]

How long do you intend teaching in Thailand for?

At what level do you want to teach?

Because if your degrees are not EDUCATION degrees you will need to get a teaching licence waiver and if staying take four 150 question tests to upgrade.

[travelingteacher76]

I can't begin to thank all of you for such great advice and information! It's apparent to me already what a tight knit community the teachers in thailand have. To answer the most recent posting, my bachelor's degree is in political science from California state university, northridge, and my master's degree is in psychology from Pepperdine university. I did do some substitute teaching at my old high school a few years back, but I don't remember offhand what credential I had to obtain in order to be a substitute teacher. I do know that I had to have a background check conducted by the FBI, and incidentally, I've never been arrested or charged with any crime, ever.

The place that I've read the most about, and heard the most positive all around experience has been in, has been chiang mai. So I'm fairly certain that in the ideal scenario, I'd be able to backpack around the southern gulf for a month, scuba diving and exploring the national parks, and then spend two weeks getting accustomed to chiang mai before starting the certification course. Thoughts?

[travelingteacher76]

Darn, forgot to answer a couple questions.

I'd like to teach in thailand for at least a year and half, if not longer. If I time it right, I'd like to be teaching for the second semester starting in November, then sign a year contract for the 2014-2015 school year.

As far as what age I'd like to teach? I'm open to pretty much anything above age 10 or so. Ideally, I'd like to teach college, but I have a feeling that's just wishful thinking

[thaicbr]

Darn, forgot to answer a couple questions.

I'd like to teach in thailand for at least a year and half, if not longer. If I time it right, I'd like to be teaching for the second semester starting in November, then sign a year contract for the 2014-2015 school year.

As far as what age I'd like to teach? I'm open to pretty much anything above age 10 or so. Ideally, I'd like to teach college, but I have a feeling that's just wishful thinking

with your credentials University could be achievable. But funny enough the pay tends to be less than Private schools. The schools that get the most holidays are catholic schools... all the Buddha holidays...Christmas and the school holidays. But they also tend to be a bit of a money mill

[monkeyboots]

Re- courses being geared to teach in Thailand

The CELTA courses available in BKK, CM and Phuket by IH and ECC provide certificates which are recognised around the world. So, although you will build up an awareness of Thai learners and their strengths and weaknesses in the language as well as aspects of Thai culture, they are not specifically designed just for teaching in Thailand. Compare this with other courses on offer which are more geared to teaching in Thailand and sometimes offer placements in state schools on completion. There is a difference between teaching in private language schools and in the state system. Do a bit of research and decide what suits you. Good luck.

[travelingteacher76]

@thaicbr

I'd just like to live comfortably, not ostentatiously. I'd like to breakdown my salary into three parts: savings, rent/utilities/basic dietary needs met, and the rest for fun. Fun could mean paying a few baht to wander around a national park, a night on the town once every couple weeks, joining a sports team for weekly games, things like that. That being said, I'm shooting for the 50k mark p/m. Achieveable?

[stoli]

@thaicbr

I'd just like to live comfortably, not ostentatiously. I'd like to breakdown my salary into three parts: savings, rent/utilities/basic dietary needs met, and the rest for fun. Fun could mean paying a few baht to wander around a national park, a night on the town once every couple weeks, joining a sports team for weekly games, things like that. That being said, I'm shooting for the 50k mark p/m. Achieveable?

I ran into 4 girls from the US a couple months ago. They were all teaching after going through the TEFL course. They were each earning 30,000 baht a month. Two went through a different TEFL, and were given free housing. One did not get that. Hope this little bit helps.

[thaicbr]

50k is the high end of Thai private schools. 60-70k is the low end of international schools.

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[monkeyboots]

Good to bear in mind that TEFL just means Teaching English as a Foreign Language and is not a company, product or course in itself. It is used as shorthand to refer to English teacher training courses of all shapes and sizes, both good and bad. Some companies use it in the name of their courses, but there is no one specific TEFL course.

Cheers.

[darren84310]

Hiya, thanks for replying. What I was really trying to get across was, should I sign up with a school before I leave, or wait until I'm actually in Thailand, to find a CELTA/TEFL/etc etc program? I know that IH fills up months in advance, and offers a CELTA, which is ideally what I'm looking to get. I'm just wondering if there are any other recommended CELTA programs that I can sign up with, after having traveled around Thailand a bit first? I might like chiang mai better than bangkok, or pattaya instead of phuket.....I'm not in a rush to get back to work, and would like to travel around a bit for a while at my own pace, rather than having to worry about being in a particular place at a particular date. Thanks again for replying

B

I would recommend ECC's CELTA course, and if you sign up in advance, you can get a 10% discount. I did mine in Phuket, my friend did his in Chiang Mai, they also run a course in Bangkok.

Take a look at their website:

Good luck.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Scott
Link edited out

[jsflynn603]

Definately decide which school you want to go to and pay a deposit. It's axiomatic that the best schools are apt to be full quite a bit prior to the start.

I'm preferential to SIT (School for International Training) which "had" a great location in Chiang Mai and still does. Unfortunetly Stephen Tate ran it and last I knew (2 years ago) he left and the SIT class closed. It was a great class in a great location. SIT has other sites, one in Bkk, Sadly I arrived in CM to take it only to find it had ceased to exist. I have heard good things about the Bkk location. The location is still open but the SIT classes, last I knew, were not.

Your degrees might be of help, or might not. If they are English related you can then teach at a University level. Though in reality for a TESOL a high school graduate with a passion might be a far better teacher than someone who has a slew of degrees. Teaching English is a science but it is also quite an art in my opinion.

Realize that if you teach in Thailand that you'll have to change your mores quite a bit. For instance you cannot fail the rude fellow in the back who won't really bother leaning anything and who utters not a sound other than that of farting--particularly you must not fail that child/fellow/young lady, else you might find yourself without a job. Remember your job there (I'm speaking in Thailand) is more to entertain than to teach, of course, a good entertainer might well impart a budding seed of interest, has he a passion for teaching. Thailand can be a difficult place to teach English, or not, depending on so many factors.

If you have high standards consider Japan--really. You will be paid respect, courtesy and make ok money too.

Beware of China, you will be hired, but maybe never paid. Seriously...

As far as where you learn it--it does not matter and frankly you will not (again in my opinion) learn to teach English to Thais simply by taking a class here. SIT does have a very good location (good for me means cheap) in the Ukraine. Ironically SIT's home location is Brattleboro, Vermont, USA about 1/2 hour from where I live--though they stopped teaching the class there. There is one about an hour away but it is cheaper to fly to Thailand and pay room and lodging for the duration than go to the class in America an hour away from my home.

As far as which class--I suggest that you start hanging around TESOL/Celta sort of sites, there are many if you look. Find seasoned teachers and ask many questions--they have been there and they know the answer.

Chiang Mai (University?) does have a TESOL class and I thought about taking it but changed my mind hearing quite a bit of mixed reviews. It may have gotten more stable in the past year or two and is worth checking out. Chiang Mai is a darling of a place as long as you don't try to cross the street as a pedestrian.

Edited June 12, 2013 by jsflynn603

[diggledunc]

I haven't read all the posts so hope I don't duplicate. If you are thinking of teaching in Thailand only I would suggest doing TEFL here. TEFL learning providers vary from what I understand enormously in quality. I went to Text and Talk, Khon Kaen and they were very good at giving an insight into teaching Thais, their difficulties and many tips from their teaching experience.

When you are here and doing the TEFL you can meet people who can give you an insight into where jobs are, how to get them, what to watch out for. Could be very helpful.

[EricTh]

I haven't read all the posts so hope I don't duplicate. If you are thinking of teaching in Thailand only I would suggest doing TEFL here. TEFL learning providers vary from what I understand enormously in quality. I went to Text and Talk, Khon Kaen and they were very good at giving an insight into teaching Thais, their difficulties and many tips from their teaching experience.

When you are here and doing the TEFL you can meet people who can give you an insight into where jobs are, how to get them, what to watch out for. Could be very helpful.

Can you tell me about your experience at Text and Talk in my other thread ?

[SteveReilly]

If you have a Masters degree in Psychology and if you have an interest in working with children, why not specialize as a counselor/child psychologist? The opportunities and pay are much better. Thailand is great for traveling and its cheap social life but further advancement beyond teaching seems limited compared to the US. So a few years here for someone younger with a thirst for adventure and travel are ok but dont stay too long as the missed economic opportunities will come back to haunt you. Yes I speak from experience

[recom273]

If you haven't already you might want to check the jobs on ajarn.com

You will see, which courses are recognized by the employers. I am in no doubt these places are "sponsored" ad placement, but it gives a rough idea.

We recognize all major full-time TESOL/TEFL courses including:

Chiang Mai University TEFL

Chichester College TESOL (TEFL/TESL)

Entrust TEFL

SEE TEFL

UniTEFL (TEFL International certificate)

You can also get an idea of the pay rates in different parts of the country.

Edited June 13, 2013 by recom273

[kirstymelb101]

I completed my TEFL at T&T in Bangkok three years ago. I'm good friends with the head directors daughter. We still keep in touch from time-2-time. Although, I'm not sure whether or not they'll continue to run the program in Bangkok.

The course itself is fairly straight forward. You cover 5 course modules and must do 6 TP (teaching practice) which is evalutated by either ur trainer or an employed teacher. 5 days a week from 10am - 5pm for one month. Everything you learn is covered in class and do little. homework. Each week you get 2hrs to complete your course module test, and 4 hrs for your final examination. All my trainers were very helpful and supportive.

[diggledunc]

I haven't read all the posts so hope I don't duplicate. If you are thinking of teaching in Thailand only I would suggest doing TEFL here. TEFL learning providers vary from what I understand enormously in quality. I went to Text and Talk, Khon Kaen and they were very good at giving an insight into teaching Thais, their difficulties and many tips from their teaching experience.

When you are here and doing the TEFL you can meet people who can give you an insight into where jobs are, how to get them, what to watch out for. Could be very helpful.

Can you tell me about your experience at Text and Talk in my other thread ?

Hi. Would be pleased to but where's your other thread.

[Slip]

No-one seems to have pointed out that tefl is an unnecessary qualification in Thailand, all you actually need to get a teaching job is have a degree. Of course that's not the end of it but I'm pretty sure that TEFL doesn't help in your progress to get the vital teacher's licence. (Not necessary anyway if you are not staying for quite a while- your present qualification level should get you the required waivers, at this stage at least). My experience of (non-BKK) bilingual programmes is that you can expect to start on 30-40k a month, and you have plenty of qualifications to satisfy such an organisation already.

Not that I'm trying to dissuade you. It's just you might think you HAVE to do it and that is not the case.

[aidenai]

No-one seems to have pointed out that tefl is an unnecessary qualification in Thailand, all you actually need to get a teaching job is have a degree. Of course that's not the end of it but I'm pretty sure that TEFL doesn't help in your progress to get the vital teacher's licence. (Not necessary anyway if you are not staying for quite a while- your present qualification level should get you the required waivers, at this stage at least). My experience of (non-BKK) bilingual programmes is that you can expect to start on 30-40k a month, and you have plenty of qualifications to satisfy such an organisation already.

Not that I'm trying to dissuade you. It's just you might think you HAVE to do it and that is not the case.

OP didn't ask whether holding a TEFL/ TESOL or CELTA certificate is a requirement to teach in Thailand.

If OP had this question, my answer would have been, there is no requirement from the side of Immigration, Labour or The Teachers' Council of Thailand that foreign teachers to Thailand should have such a certificate. However, when you're new to the teaching profession in Thailand, TEFL/ TESOL or CELTA education would help you a lot getting familiar with the job.

[Slip]

I see your point aidenai, but the op was pretty short on detail except that he is new to Thailand and has a post-grad degree. It's quite possible that he thinks that he needs a TEFl certificate to get a job here. (He would hardly be the first). Equally he may have decided on this TEFL certification route as a professional development measure long ago. Again, it's not clear from the OP. As I said I wasn't trying to be negative.

In terms of getting familiar with the job, I actually think a man of the OP's academic background could do a lot worse than go and study the theory of TEFL privately. As old as the book is Penny Ur's would be a good start. There will be plenty of time in the classroom to gain his experience.

Anyway my aim was not to be provocative- I did kind of feel as I read the thread that I had somehow missed the main point.

[travelingteacher76]

Slip, my original post didn't get too detailed, so let me clear up something. My academic achievements notwithstanding, I don't have any experience in lesson planning or anything even remotely resembling the qualifications to be an educator. While I was a bartender for 13 years during under and post grad, entertainment was always my strength. I have no doubt that I can keep people entertained with my antics, but I wanted to have some measure of formal training for a classroom setting. Whether or not a TEFL or TESOL or CELTA certificate is required is beside the point; I need training, plain and simple. Though I've been considering only a CELTA ( as it appears that this certification is the highest one can achieve, and/or is the most respected ), the more I've been reading, the more a simple TEFL course seems to be enough to get me trained and out into the teaching world.

The plan as it stands now, is to teach outside the States for three to five years, at least. I feel more at home out in the world (having studied abroad, then living abroad after college), than I do here in California. While I feel I would make an excellent teacher, and certainly be enthusiastic and motivated enough to do it to the best of my ability, the main goal is just to see more of the world. I'm still young enough ( mid thirties ) to be adventurous and not ready to settle down, but wise/experienced enough to know that being prepared and thorough is always better than flying by the seat of my pants. I was able to do that when I was younger and carefree, seemingly without consequence, but I've realized that at my age, I'm on my own and liable for reckless behavior.