Having to teach English to Thai teachers at no extra pay

[BradinAsia]

Hi guys,

Having slept on it and read your responses I'm now feeling a lot more positive about it today. I hardly know any of the Thai teachers as we farangs are in a seperate office so I think this will be a good thing.

Right then, I'm off to work

Carlos, being new at the job your concerns are understandable. I used to teach English in a large private university in Bkk. I wasn't required to teach my Thai colleagues English in formal classes, but I often did help them with English problems.

Also, spent a lot of time editing exams so that my students didn't have to correct the bad English in exam questions before they could hope to answer the question.

To me it seems a bit ridiculous to have the farang teachers and Thai teachers in separate offices. In my experience at the university, being in the same office with the Thai teachers was a very positive experience for all of us.

The best part of my two years teaching there (after retirement) was my Thai colleagues -- always very nice and polite and so positive in their attitudes -- made the work environment the most pleasant and enjoyable of my life.

Carlos, not all work benefits are monetary. Any interaction with your Thai colleagues will likely reap big rewards for you.

[GOLDBUGGY]

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The Thai teachers might teach you something in return. Or help you in a pinch.

That in nonsense!

What you are really doing is teaching yourself out of a future job. I think, besides the no extra pay, you know this and are concerned about it. As the Man says, if it is not extra hours here then there is really not much you can do about it. Either teach or quit!

If you want the truth this is "Normal" for Overseas Work". For me a large part of my job is to train the Nationals to take it over one day. However that usually takes years and most times longer then I want to stay. I just wonder why it has taken so long in Thailand to do this with English Teachers also. They did this exact same thing in Poland years ago and now Poland doesn't require any Expat English Teachers anymore.

[Scott]

I haven't run into too many Thai teachers whose English is so advanced that there is any chance of us working our way out of a job. At not least in the near future.

I've also not run into too many Foreign teachers that are so good they could teach the language to a foreigner that they would be out a job, at least not in the short term.

[rbkk]

It was my understanding that there is a government budget available to schools for the teaching of their teachers, It would seem this money is not making it's way to the correct educators!

[dao16]

I would say suck it up and do it, but keep your eyes open down the road. If they do start abusing you, you will have to figure out how to duck out. So, in short, I sort of pick my fights (and if you know how Thais are, you can sort of tell which events are more important to them). Good luck.

[star kicker]

how many contact hours are you contracted to teach?

if they expect you to teach extra hours i would speak to the school principle and tell him/her how much you will charge for the extra hours.

if you are expected to teach more hours than contracted - work for free - then i'd leave.

i was teaching in mongolia and my boss asked me to run a workshop for local english teachers and do some promotional work in schools i agreed on the basis my teaching hours were reduced. negotiate calmly, clearly and assertively.

[zeichen]

I don't understand all of the "I would walk" attitudes. You do realize that you are a contracted salary employee and not an at will hourly.

Would you also argue that it would be ok for the school to pay you less if your hours fell below your contract?

Do your job, give more of an effort than you would at a hourly 7/11 type job.

Professional teachers should be that... professional.

[smotherb]

"There are 15 farang staff that work at my school and I'm pretty certain that there will be others that feel the same as me."

Please learn to use 'who' vs. 'that' when referring to people. Doing so will make your English teaching abilities more believable.

Otherwise, an old standard in job descriptions says, "Others duties as assigned." It appears you have been assigned other duties. Be happy if that is all the extra work they expect you to do.

[puukao]

10 hours worrying > 3 hours teaching

1. I would teach them "inner-city slang". or, in thai, it's "ting" or something. dialect.

2. If you have a passion for teaching, this would be a non-issue at 3 hours a wee

3. Remember, they are paying you 1000000000x less than you are worth!!!! rebel and strike!!!

ok, #3 was after some good espresso

[canarysun]

Dear viewers ( and teachers..)

I have had quite a bit of experience here in Thailand and been in quite a few schools as " a fly on the wall " watching how they teach.( i am not a teacher although i do have some experience in teaching ) I have spent most of my life working in Spain as a tour guide and on the radio.( my voice is very " Radio 2 " )

The biggest problem with the way the Thais teach is that they all seem to " Teach from a book " ????? Where a good teacher should teach with his/her personality,yes we need books of course! but many teachers cannot even " raise a smile " its all to serious and no fun.

I met a farang a while back ( an older gentleman ) who used to hire and train teachers in Europe.He told me that the best way to interview and see if people had the making to be a good teacher was to invite them one by one into a room and he would ask them " I would like you to stand over there,tell me a story and make me laugh " just entertain me ! " Most were unable and meant that they didn't have the most important thing to be able to teach ( " a personality " )

I respect that i am in Thailand and they teach in a different way,but this " reserved and shy " attitude in the classroom just doesn't work.Most people ( including myself ) will just fall asleep.................................

farang jaidee

[kinmaew]

point that out to them if they persist then either leave or just don't turn up to those extra lessons, that's what a Thai would do for sure (i.e. not turning up)

[Kf6vci]

How many contact hours do you have in your contract? If you have 25 and are teaching 21, there is not a lot you can say.

That might be the case. But it's still extremely rude, JMHO.

Why not have an informal meeting, share expectations and ask?

Even if one has no other option but to be a "Yes man", it does make a difference...

Just had a lengthy meeting yesterday. It took hours and was 100% conducted in Thai. Why are foreign teachers who don't speak Thai compelled to attend these long-winded meetings?!?

Hope the OP can turn this into something mutually enjoyable. Why not watch and discuss TV series or "Magnum P.I." episodes?