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I am bored and I want to teach


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Wow, some of you guys are just being flat out mean......

Bottom line, I think your options are going to be limited. Most positions clearly state native speaker and that seems to be what most schools are interested in. The exceptions are the positions that usually pay about 50% of what a Westerner makes and are filled by Filipino teachers.

I think you could find something if you obtain a TEFL, but it will be tough. And as mentioned, your options will be limited. You should not expect a great salary or package either.

You might want to look into a position teaching computers, PE, drama, etc. Something where English proficiency might not be so important.

I hope this helps a bit.

Thanks for the reply, but.....

Why would my options be limited?

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Just what this country needs, another unqualified, bored teacher who is even unsure of his ability to teach his chosen subject. I thought our schools had an over supply of that type of teacher. Go for it, you should fit in really well, but why stop there? Aim higher, University lecturer for example, LOL.

Are you an English teacher too? I am asking because your English comprehension skills are severely lacking.

I thought our schools had an over supply of that type of teacher.

"Our schools"? Gotta be kidding, or you're Thai.

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Wow, some of you guys are just being flat out mean......

Bottom line, I think your options are going to be limited. Most positions clearly state native speaker and that seems to be what most schools are interested in. The exceptions are the positions that usually pay about 50% of what a Westerner makes and are filled by Filipino teachers.

I think you could find something if you obtain a TEFL, but it will be tough. And as mentioned, your options will be limited. You should not expect a great salary or package either.

You might want to look into a position teaching computers, PE, drama, etc. Something where English proficiency might not be so important.

I hope this helps a bit.

Thanks for the reply, but.....

Why would my options be limited?

Please read my post again.....I made it very, very clear........

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Please read my post again.....I made it very, very clear........

No, you did not.

Please answer these questions.

How does the school know I am not a native English speaker?

Why would my options be limited since I get spammed with job offers even in my Thai class. True, job offers are from agencies.

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Please read my post again.....I made it very, very clear........

No, you did not.

Please answer these questions.

How does the school know I am not a native English speaker?

Why would my options be limited since I get spammed with job offers even in my Thai class. True, job offers are from agencies.

Because schools want native English speakers. You are the one who stated that your English is not "up to par". That is probably how they are going to know. If you speak English well and you don't have an accent, then the school probably won't know and you don't need to tell them. But again, you are the one doubting your own English abilities.

Are these job offers you are spammed with or job postings? Big difference. If they are actual offers, why are you here asking for advice? Why not just accept whichever one looks good? Just because they are agency postings does not mean you just reply and say "I want the job".....especially if you don't have a degree or a TEFL. I am guessing they are job postings that you will need to interview for.

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You are correct in saying that you need refresher training in English before you teach it. Even the small amount that you've written in this thread is full of small errors that make it apparent to a native speaker that that you are not one (misuse or omission of the definite article, slight misuse of idiomatic phrases/phrasal verbs).

I'm not sure that any off-the-shelf course that is available to you is going to meet your needs. You might consider private conversation lessons with a native speaker with an emphasis on error correction - but it needs to be with an EFL teacher who can explain WHY your usage is incorrect (99% of untrained native speakers won't be able to explain the reason because their own language usage is just instinctive - they've never even thought about the 'rules').

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You are correct in saying that you need refresher training in English before you teach it. Even the small amount that you've written in this thread is full of small errors that make it apparent to a native speaker that that you are not one (misuse or omission of the definite article, slight misuse of idiomatic phrases/phrasal verbs).

I'm not sure that any off-the-shelf course that is available to you is going to meet your needs. You might consider private conversation lessons with a native speaker with an emphasis on error correction - but it needs to be with an EFL teacher who can explain WHY your usage is incorrect (99% of untrained native speakers won't be able to explain the reason because their own language usage is just instinctive - they've never even thought about the 'rules').

Point out the errors I made please.

I've been waiting half an hour now. Point them out.

Edited by theguyfromanotherforum
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I'm a non NES, teaching English, French, German in Thailand. It wasn't so easy for me to be accepted and mainly by NES agents of course. Sorry but my level in English is very good although not perfect. Only real Brits can detect my french origin. What is a real NES? A Brit whose grandmother was a Brit and not born in some suburbs of Edinburgh, born himself in England (not UK) and speaking a nice English. I only worked outside of France and spoke only English for my whole life. My mother was born in UK but I'm not interested in genealogy and any certificate anyway could be a fake.

So, you are already qualified to be a teacher teaching English because you have a Canadian Passport. (50%)

If you have a degree translated in English if it's in French, you pass again (40%)

With 9 on 10, you can get a job, only through a connection or a NES agent.

If your English is poor, do like your students, work and try to improve it.

I met many NES (native passports) whose English was just terrible.

You won't be the first one and maybe not the worst one.

As the British sovereigns have been saying for centuries:

"Honni soit qui mal y pense"

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Never been bored but wanted to be useful.

Two Degrees and a Diploma.

Registered in Australia for teaching in Primary, Secondary and Private Schools.

9 years teaching work experience.

Retiree in Thailand.

Do not need money (payment, salary etc.)

Any offers of help for free rejected (actually ignored) by both Private and Gov't Schools.

Thailand in its today shape has huge problems with English language.

Thai Gov't is not interested in remedying the situation.

Work Permit? No... And I couldn't be bothered with it... As said above - I do not need their money - so, why should I bother?

You rite mate F,,, them all,anyway if you don't speak Thai you can't teach English/Australian (you can't explain what you teach),,by the way Australian is a better lingo then the pommy stuff,, 555,, she be rite bud,,,

Edited by Doc46
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You are correct in saying that you need refresher training in English before you teach it. Even the small amount that you've written in this thread is full of small errors that make it apparent to a native speaker that that you are not one (misuse or omission of the definite article, slight misuse of idiomatic phrases/phrasal verbs).

I'm not sure that any off-the-shelf course that is available to you is going to meet your needs. You might consider private conversation lessons with a native speaker with an emphasis on error correction - but it needs to be with an EFL teacher who can explain WHY your usage is incorrect (99% of untrained native speakers won't be able to explain the reason because their own language usage is just instinctive - they've never even thought about the 'rules').

It's really unbelievable what nonsense some people are able to produce. (99.9 % buffalo excrement)

Edited by lostinisaan
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Are these job offers you are spammed with or job postings? Big difference. If they are actual offers, why are you here asking for advice? Why not just accept whichever one looks good?

Agencies. No work permit.

Absolutely not what I asked you. Is it a job posting? Or a job offer? Here is the difference......

Job Posting - This school needs an English teacher.....we are looking for blah blah with XYZ qualifications starting on this date. Responsibilities include.....etc. etc.

Job Offer - Thank you for interviewing with us. We really like you and think you would be great in this position. We would love to have you work for us.

Absolutely nothing to do with work permits. And by the way, many agencies in Bangkok do provide work permits to their employees.

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Are these job offers you are spammed with or job postings? Big difference. If they are actual offers, why are you here asking for advice? Why not just accept whichever one looks good?

Agencies. No work permit.

Absolutely not what I asked you. Is it a job posting? Or a job offer? Here is the difference......

Job Posting - This school needs an English teacher.....we are looking for blah blah with XYZ qualifications starting on this date. Responsibilities include.....etc. etc.

Job Offer - Thank you for interviewing with us. We really like you and think you would be great in this position. We would love to have you work for us.

Absolutely nothing to do with work permits. And by the way, many agencies in Bangkok do provide work permits to their employees.

Do you have problems understanding English?

You asked me... "why not just accept whichever one looks good?"

and I answered:

Agencies. No work permit.

To answer your other question, yes I have been offered a job by several recruiters.

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This OP is just being sarcastic. Well I hope he is. Teaching, despite how some people regard it in Thailand, is in fact a profession.

You must have at very least a degree and in most countries a qualification in teaching. Such as a diploma of education.

You suggest a reason to do this is that your bored. Better idea would be to undertake charity work or knitting.

Not so true. Most developing nations require a TEFL or similar. It's how the world learns conversational English.

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You're judging his English ability and grammar on an internet forum? He sounds every bit as good in the language of most posters. From his written word here he sounds close enough to proficient in the language.

We are not here for grammar, we are teaching conversational English, speaking and listening. Someone needs to be able to communicate first and in the meantime correct minor grammar misusage.

We can't judge OP's English until we've heard him.

Oh boy! Now I realize I should have said, "with the language not in the language" and I'm a native speaker!

Edited by Scott
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You are correct in saying that you need refresher training in English before you teach it. Even the small amount that you've written in this thread is full of small errors that make it apparent to a native speaker that that you are not one (misuse or omission of the definite article, slight misuse of idiomatic phrases/phrasal verbs).

I'm not sure that any off-the-shelf course that is available to you is going to meet your needs. You might consider private conversation lessons with a native speaker with an emphasis on error correction - but it needs to be with an EFL teacher who can explain WHY your usage is incorrect (99% of untrained native speakers won't be able to explain the reason because their own language usage is just instinctive - they've never even thought about the 'rules').

You're judging his English ability and grammar on an internet forum?

He is "judging" because his ego has been crushed. Let me explain.

He and other posters who feel like gods in Thailand are so b...hurt with the realization that even a monkey can do their job, so they have a need to attack anyone who is not up to their fake internet standards.

BTW, I was being honest in my original post.

I am really not a native speaker. I need to improve my English. I am a Canadian citizen with a degree from a recognized university (English, not French).

God forbid I disclose my Euro trash nationality.... can you imagine the blasting I would get?

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I'm a non NES, teaching English, French, German in Thailand. It wasn't so easy for me to be accepted and mainly by NES agents of course. Sorry but my level in English is very good although not perfect. Only real Brits can detect my french origin. What is a real NES? A Brit whose grandmother was a Brit and not born in some suburbs of Edinburgh, born himself in England (not UK) and speaking a nice English. I only worked outside of France and spoke only English for my whole life. My mother was born in UK but I'm not interested in genealogy and any certificate anyway could be a fake.

So, you are already qualified to be a teacher teaching English because you have a Canadian Passport. (50%)

If you have a degree translated in English if it's in French, you pass again (40%)

With 9 on 10, you can get a job, only through a connection or a NES agent.

If your English is poor, do like your students, work and try to improve it.

I met many NES (native passports) whose English was just terrible.

You won't be the first one and maybe not the worst one.

As the British sovereigns have been saying for centuries:

"Honni soit qui mal y pense"

You gotta be kidding. I'd tell you in a sec, where you come from. ( Native passports don't say anything, as it's got nothing to do with the language ability!)

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Are these job offers you are spammed with or job postings? Big difference. If they are actual offers, why are you here asking for advice? Why not just accept whichever one looks good?

Agencies. No work permit.

Absolutely not what I asked you. Is it a job posting? Or a job offer? Here is the difference......

Job Posting - This school needs an English teacher.....we are looking for blah blah with XYZ qualifications starting on this date. Responsibilities include.....etc. etc.

Job Offer - Thank you for interviewing with us. We really like you and think you would be great in this position. We would love to have you work for us.

Absolutely nothing to do with work permits. And by the way, many agencies in Bangkok do provide work permits to their employees.

Do you have problems understanding English?

You asked me... "why not just accept whichever one looks good?"

and I answered:

Agencies. No work permit.

To answer your other question, yes I have been offered a job by several recruiters.

Dude,,..aeeh mate..not a problem. Just tell them that you stopped eating frogs' legs....facepalm.gif

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Do you not have any empathy with your prospective victims?

Jesus Wept

...and so would your students' parents who might be hoping that their child's learning of English might help them to break out of the cycle of poverty or the manual labor force.

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Never been bored but wanted to be useful.

Two Degrees and a Diploma.

Registered in Australia for teaching in Primary, Secondary and Private Schools.

9 years teaching work experience.

Retiree in Thailand.

Do not need money (payment, salary etc.)

Any offers of help for free rejected (actually ignored) by both Private and Gov't Schools.

Thailand in its today shape has huge problems with English language.

Thai Gov't is not interested in remedying the situation.

Work Permit? No... And I couldn't be bothered with it... As said above - I do not need their money - so, why should I bother?

"Thailand in its today shape has huge problems with English language."

Obviously Thailand is not alone ... or were you trying to be ironic?

Seems that many foreigners teaching in Thailand are out of shape. Seems this topic should be closed by Gendarmerie soon.

Edited by lostinisaan
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Off topic posts and replies deleted.

This is the teaching forum and posters are expected to be respectful to teachers and to the profession. Please keep the discussion on topic and civil.

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Jesus Wept...and so would your students' parents who might be hoping that their child's learning of English might help them to break out of the cycle of poverty or the manual labor force.

Interesting observation.

Well.... not really.

You are basically saying that English teachers in Thailand are going above and beyond to help Thai children. So I am guessing many teacher posting here including yourself are working... wait....uh.... how to say..... something with U2 and Bono.

Your post reeks of hypocrisy and condescension.

I hope it "reeks" of reality.

In over a decade of teaching English here, I have worked with faux-teachers with the motivation of your ilk.

Their average stay was one semester, until they either quit due to the surprising workload, or were thrown out upon the demands of parents or fellow teachers.

Meanwhile, it was the students who suffered from the substandard education, when they could've had a trained, experienced, and capable native-speaker teacher.

Please take up golf.

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I hope it "reeks" of reality.

In over a decade of teaching English here, I have worked with faux-teachers with the motivation of your ilk.

I don't think you have to judge me and my "ilk" since you have been here over a decade. How much did you and your "ilk" improve the English of these Thai kids that you speak of? You did not improve it one iota. Maybe you are just a bore in the classroom and kids would rather play with their cell phones instead of showing respect for "teachers" like you who work in Thai schools under some illusion they are doing charity work.

You failed yet you judge me?

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I and my colleagues have produced graduates with majors in English who now are working at all levels of the Thai government, and for foreign governments. Some have become professors at other universities, and hundreds are teachers in high schools and elementary schools throughout the land. Two have broken into the Thai film industry by parlaying their English skills and "farang" appearance, and one is an author who writes in both languages. Currently, three of my students are studying in the UK to get their masters in linguistics.

None of these were taught for four years by a teacher whose main motivation was boredom.

I would request two iotas in recognition of the ilk of my colleagues at least.

Edited by Fookhaht
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I got bored same as you and taught English for two years in Thailand, very strange experience, not the teaching but working with the Thai’s. From my experience the cultural hang-up’s the Thai’s have are a problem for their overall advancement in the business environment, I don’t see the country ever becoming an economic powerhouse. But beyond that it will be fun for a while and you will learn a lot about the people, being from the west I found them are a curious group, very interesting, and the children are adorable but after a while the teaching gets boring too. I ended my service and went back to lying on the beach every day reading books.

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I got bored same as you and taught English.... but after a while the teaching gets boring too. I ended my service and went back to lying on the beach every day reading books.

An honest and very revealing post which says it better than anyone so far..

True teaching is all about passion.

Edited by Fookhaht
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