Teacher Licensing, Culture Testing, TCT

[BruceMangosteen]

That must be Chiang Mai.

In Bangkok there were about 60 test takers.

So how many teachers without a license do you figure there are in Chaing Mai and Bangkok? I thought these were the two largest cities and of course test takers would come from the surrounding area as well. Thanks.

[BruceMangosteen]

To Bruce, well, if I am no longer able to get a teaching job in LOS that pays less than 1/10 of what I have previously earnt outside of Thailand, then I guess I would have to suck it up and leave this place... though I dread the thought of who would fill my shoes ;-)

Caring about your students doesn't seem to do you much good here in Thailand. No one who makes these rules notices, other Thai teachers are often offended by it for some reason, adminstration is out of touch, in short no one gives a darn except you and the students. You (I assume) are a farang and don't understand Thai culture. Perhaps you should enroll in the Culture Course every year if you haven't done so yet. Make that every six months and at your own expense. They will litterly whip in into your fanny.

[Scott]

I have added a poll about the number of teachers who are licensed, not licensed, but working toward licensure and those who are doing nothing. Vote here:

The poll might give some insight into the current situation.

[jackbox]

I don't think you have to prove to immigration you took, signed up for, and/or passed these tests. That proof or some part thereof, according to posts and sources, has to be sent to the M.of Ed. and they decide to issue or not issue an additional waiver letter which authorizes you to continue teaching in Thailand without a liscense, maybe at just the school which sponsored or sent the request(this unclear). Perhaps your colleague had this letter and didn't know? Or perhaps the officer didn't care....

I think the next tests are in January, not Feb and you need to sign up by tomorrow or Monday.

Cheers. There will always be plenty of non native speakers with Education degrees to fill your spot if you are refused. The future is written on the wall, take notice and govern yourself accordingly.

In Bangkok the people who want proof is the Ministry of Labour. The last time I renewed my work permit they wanted proof that I was working towards taking the exams. Because I had taken the culture course a year earlier and they already saw that, they wanted proof I had taken the test. This was before I had taken it, but luckily, I signed up for the March testing even though my employer said I didn't have to take it until the next cycle (cycles 5 and 6, respectively). At first they said they would not renew the work permit. But after seeing the paid receipt that I signed up for the test and assurances I would actually take the test, they finally agreed to renew the work permit for another year. Since then I have passed all four tests (nine modules) and have submitted my license application. Now, I have to figure out how to meet the renewal requirements in five years.

[a99az]

News we have here is the following.

Work permits will be tied to a teaching licence.

To obtain a teaching licence you must fullfil one of the following criterea.

1 Be a qualified teacher or have a degree in education.

2 Have a degree and have been on a work permit from before 2003.

3 have a degree and pass a ministry of education exam in English and Thai culture. The exams will be taken in Bangkok and regional centres after a seminar.

All the schools here in Nakhon have been in communication with the min. of ed. and they have assured the schools this will be going ahead.

Going to cause ructions and a teacher shortage if it does

I have just been told by my school up here in Phayao that they want me to get my "Teaching Licence" they want me to stay with the school. I have a W/P and a TEFL as well as a degree. I was under the impreshion I would only need to do my Thai culture. Can you give me any advice on where to get the licence?

[Scott]

I believe you will have to sign up for the exams. Your school can apply for waiver on your behalf and it should be good for 2 years.

Anyone else have any different information?

[whalers7]

What kind of degree do you need to be exempt from the tests? I have read that a B.ED is required. I will soon earn a degree Bachelor of Science in Educational Studies with a concentration in Educational Psychology from an American University. Will a degree like this exempt me from the tests? If it doesn’t Oh well, I least I will be able to answer most of the questions regarding learning and teaching theory, like the question regarding constructivism?

[Scott]

In theory you should be able to get a license, although someone posted sometime ago that they did not get one. I don't remember the circumstances, however. If you get a TL in the States that would go a long way toward your compliance.

They look at your transcript, as I understand it, to see if you qualify.

You would be heads and tails ahead of most people taking the tests, should you have to.

[Xangsamhua]

Sick of trying to get in to the Teachers' Council website, which doesn't load up properly in English or Thai.

I'm trying to find out where and at what time the TCT tests in Bangkok are being held on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of January. Teachers have only a bank receipt and nothing from the TCT, and they are asking about details so they can organise after-school class replacement, etc.

Does anyone know the details for sure?

Edited January 10, 2011 by Xangsamhua

[dave1108]

Sick of trying to get in to the Teachers' Council website, which doesn't load up properly in English or Thai.

I'm trying to find out where and at what time the TCT tests in Bangkok are being held on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd of January. Teachers have only a bank receipt and nothing from the TCT, and they are asking about details so they can organise after-school class replacement, etc.

Does anyone know the details for sure?

Like you, I've have the same problems, I'm taking the test next week in Khon Kaen. There is no info on the ksp website, they do not answer the phone or reply to e-mails. All I want to know is the location.

For me, I assume it's in KKU, but that's a big place. Typical Thai planning and organisation, ie - non existent.

Anyone know anything about the locations?

[naiharn]

I'm not a teacher in Thailand (Thank God, judging by such issues as the Thai Professional Teacher Test), but over a number of months I've read much discussion about the trials and tribulations that you poor teachers face, and my heart goes out to many of you.

In particular I've spent much time reading about the Thai Professional Teacher test.

Occasionally someone posts sample questions (either exact or regurgitated) from these tests, and the ones in the area of Computer Science (my own profession) are of particular interest to me.

So it was that last night I read of a typical question (and confident answer) from a poster named 'jackbox':

Q:What is the average pixel size of a typical website page?

A:The answer is 75 dpi.

Firstly the size should be stated as 1/75th of an inch, but there are bigger problems with his answer.

A webpage is a collection of text, images and links, stored on a server, which, when delivered across the Internet to a browser running in a user's (client) computer, is displayed (rendered) on user's screen as an array of pixels. The size of these pixels has absolutely nothing to do with the webpage. It is totally dependent

on the resolution (or pitch) of the user's screen. That may vary greatly from my 42" LCD TV (used as display on my PC) which might have about 30 pixels per inch, down to a modern Iphone which, because of its small size but crisp display packs a lot of pixels in a very small area, and therefore has a very small pixel size; albeit the total number of pixels displayed is smaller than on my TV. Furthermore, if you go into the display settings of a PC, you will soon see that the same display can operate at different resolutions, so even on one display there is no single pixel size.

So the answer of '75 dpi' for a 'web site page' is wrong wrong wrong. Fail, come back and retry test and pay fee again please.

In other words, the question itself is wrong wrong wrong - a webpage does not have 'an average pixel size'. It all depends on the screen/display on which it is ultimately displayed. To say a webpage has 'an average pixel size' is like saying a Thai policeman has 'an average baud rate'. (Teamoney threshold, yes, baudrate no.)

It seems to me, judging by various questions that have appeared on this forum that many of the computer questions in Thai Teacher test are of this ilk, written by

people who have only a little (hence dangerous amount) of knowledge about computers, and think that they are hence qualified to judge others.

I'd be interested to see more questions from the Computing section of the Test, to see whether any of the questions are sensible and useful, but also for entertainment value.

------------------------

jackbox also provided another question:

"Which chapter of the National Education Act of B.E. 2442 is information technology written about?

The answer is Chapter 9."

followed by the intriguing comment:

"It is actually not that ridiculous and if you take the time to study the tests are passable."

Now I am not a teacher, let alone an expert on the intricacies of the Thai Education Parliamentary acts, but is jackbox seriously suggesting that this sort of question has the faintest relevance to teaching Thai children?

------------------------

Best wishes to all you teachers!

[bhoydy]

I need a second waiver. There is a culture test coming up in my province but it'll be after i have to go for my WP and visa renewal. Are second waivers a problem and what are the current required documents for this? It's very difficult to get any information from the kurusapa phone line or website.

[otherstuff1957]

Well, TIT and previous experiences may not a guide for future events, but.... I took the culture course last year and was given a second two-year extension, as were several other teachers at my school.

[Hollywood13]

After reading the last 4 to 5 pages of this thread, I think the best thing to do in regards to obtaining a Teaching License is to obtain something/anything that allows you to get the TL without having to take the test.

Can someone please tell me what that something/anything may be? Would a bachelor's degree in TEFL cut it? Would a master's degree in TEFL? Is there a written standard for such a thing, or is it going to be left up to the person reviewing the paperwork?

[Scott]

What they want is a B.Ed. I don't know if a Bachelor's in TEFL qualifies as a B.Ed. If you have or can get a Teacher's License in your own country, then you are a good way toward getting approved here.

[aidenai]

8^th Teaching Profession Knowledge Test for Foreign Teachers

7 and 8 May 2011

Application: 14 - 31 March 2011

http://www.ksp.or.th...up.php?newid=21

[YouYouYou]

Just looking around for results of tests and came across some figures for tests 5 and 6 from last year ....figures below are a combination of the 2 sessions:

Test Part 1: 243 took the test and 212 passed.

Test Part 2: 241 took the test and 21 passed.

Test Part 3: 164 took the test and 15 passed.

Test Part 4: 173 took the test and 21 passed.

Mmm, so from this (given that the figures are correct) Farangs are either dumb or tests 2,3,4 are poorly written/irrelevant. C'mon, parts 2 and 3, less than 10% pass and part 4 barely over that. The only 'easy' test seems to be Part 1.

Also it strikes me that the number of teachers asked/required to do these tests is quite low IMO ...I don't know the figures of the amount of teachers in Thailand that are deemed 'not to be qualified' according to the criteria that the Teacher's council has set forth, but are there not 'thousands' of farang teachers working in Thailand? (can anyone enlighten on this?)

C'mon Teacher's Council of Thailand, please be fair on two counts: If you ask one unqualified farang to do these tests then ask all of them to do it, and maybe re-write tests 2, 3 and 4 eh so that more farangs are able to pass. That is based upon my assumption that farangs are not dumb ....you may have the opposite assumption

Oh, yup ...I am one of those farangs embarking upon this wonderful journey of wasting my time and money to hopefully be one of the 10%. Thx MOE that if I am not, what do I say to my family when I'm finally booted out of the country after 10 or more years? errr ..Mai Bpen Rai ???

[Mario2008]

1 reply to a post from 2006 deleted as off topic.

[aidenai]

Just looking around for results of tests and came across some figures for tests 5 and 6 from last year ....figures below are a combination of the 2 sessions:

Test Part 1: 243 took the test and 212 passed.

Test Part 2: 241 took the test and 21 passed.

Test Part 3: 164 took the test and 15 passed.

Test Part 4: 173 took the test and 21 passed.

The results of test 7 don't look any better.

http://www.thaivisa....sults-compiled/

[bhoydy]

So, i am now on a tourist visa during the summer holidays as i was unable to get my work permit extended, due to not being able to get a waiver. I will have my 2 month tourist visa, then i'll go for my Non-B again which gives me about 5 months to do a Culture Course somewhere. My question is, how do we find out when and where the courses are? The Teacher's Council who are supposed to set them up don't answer their phone and when i made the lengthy journey to Bangkok the unhelpful lady there told me all the information is on their website which it's not. I'd imagine there will be a few more people in my situation in the coming month or so, i'd be interesting to hear how other people get on with their renewals.

Edited March 21, 2011 by bhoydy

[aidenai]

So, i am now on a tourist visa during the summer holidays as i was unable to get my work permit extended, due to not being able to get a waiver. I will have my 2 month tourist visa, then i'll go for my Non-B again which gives me about 5 months to do a Culture Course somewhere.

Why are you not going to sit the TCT Professional Knowledge Tests on the 7th and 8th May 2011? Do only one or two of them.

[bhoydy]

So, i am now on a tourist visa during the summer holidays as i was unable to get my work permit extended, due to not being able to get a waiver. I will have my 2 month tourist visa, then i'll go for my Non-B again which gives me about 5 months to do a Culture Course somewhere.

Why are you not going to sit the TCT Professional Knowledge Tests on the 7th and 8th May 2011? Do only one or two of them.

As per my PM, the lady at the Teacher's Council will not give me a waiver unless i have done the Culture Course. Does this test exempt me from needing the waiver? Also with a 10% pass rate is it really worth my while?

[Scott]

The Culture Course is generally considered to be the first step in getting licensed. I believe there are threads that discuss the Culture Course, and, if I recall correctly, they have temporarily quit offering the course, pending a revamp.

Not long after they went ahead with the licensing regulations, it appears that most teachers were able to get a 2 year waiver based on the Culture Course. After that waiver, the situation got a little harder to understand with some people being required to take the professional exams to get an additional waiver. Some teachers managed to get a 2nd waiver without the professional exams. Thus, there is some confusion about who has to do what to get a waiver.

The Culture Course was a 24 hour short course (often less time). I don't think anyone failed it. It was more like a seminar and if you went and participated, you got a certificate.

The exams are much different and require that you pass. As noted in other threads, the pass rate is not very high, so they require some knowledge and work. You do not have to pass an exam to get a waiver; simply take the exam.

Does anyone know if the Culture Course is being offered at this time?

[bhoydy]

The Culture Course is generally considered to be the first step in getting licensed. I believe there are threads that discuss the Culture Course, and, if I recall correctly, they have temporarily quit offering the course, pending a revamp.

Not long after they went ahead with the licensing regulations, it appears that most teachers were able to get a 2 year waiver based on the Culture Course. After that waiver, the situation got a little harder to understand with some people being required to take the professional exams to get an additional waiver. Some teachers managed to get a 2nd waiver without the professional exams. Thus, there is some confusion about who has to do what to get a waiver.

The Culture Course was a 24 hour short course (often less time). I don't think anyone failed it. It was more like a seminar and if you went and participated, you got a certificate.

The exams are much different and require that you pass. As noted in other threads, the pass rate is not very high, so they require some knowledge and work. You do not have to pass an exam to get a waiver; simply take the exam.

Does anyone know if the Culture Course is being offered at this time?

Thanks for the info.

I have now applied for the next round of tests and it says that one of the requirements to take along with me on the day of the tests is a work permit or proof of residence in Thailand. I couldn't renew my work permit because of these shenanigans, so what can i use as proof of my residence?

As for the Culture Test, i have received 2nd hand information that this has been suspended for two months.

Edited March 23, 2011 by bhoydy

[Scott]

As much as I try, questions about exams and the culture course seem to get into the main thread, but I thought I better post this information here as well. The Thai Culture and Language Course was to be offered April 9-11, 2011, but it now looks like it will be in May.

If you are one of the people who need this, check the link:

www.nklsthailand.com /(http://www.nklsthail...pplication.html) (phone Nikky: 081-207-4271)

This course is in Supanburi.

And a poster posted this in the main thread:

Hi Scott,rang this girl Nikkky and she couldn't have been more helpful.She thinks the course will run May 20th to 22nd but it dosent seem to be set in stone.So anyone interested can look at website..Thank you again..Bill

[jcartermad]

I wold favour the school break options in March / April & Oct. Living in Roi-Et it would be difficult to travel on the night bus Friday & come back Sunday. Not impossible but tough. I bit of distance learning would go down well. If the course was to start in Oct 2011 and end in March / April 2012 I would sign up today!

Regards - John.

IIS is the international program of Ramkhamhaeng University, located on the main campus in Huamark, Bangkapi. We are currently putting the elements for a Graduate Diploma in Teaching Profession together and ask for support of those to who it's offered. The program starts from November this year. Please find the details at (deleted).

The Graduate Diploma is a 24 semester-credit program for holders of any recognized Bachelor degree. Graduates are eligible to receive the Licence for Practicing Teaching at Thai Schools.

Due to IIS' modular system, the program can be studied full-time four months (four class days per week, 9 am to 4 pm) or part-time 8 months (Saturday and Sunday). Another idea is a sandwich model with 4 courses in March and April, followed by two evening classes per week and the rest in October. In all cases, tuition fee is about 52,000 Baht and includes the full program, all textbooks and handouts.

Which program (or all three) in fact will be offered in November depends much on the number of students registering for it (it needs at least 20 students).

To make it simpler and to come closer to our target group, I would like to ask you to take part in the integrated poll - if you are a potential candidate for this Graduate Diploma, wich schedule would you prefer?

Many thanks for your cooperation! For any questions, suggestions, or critics, please e-mail me!

Best regards,

Ulrich Werner

[aidenai]

I wold favour the school break options in March / April & Oct. Living in Roi-Et it would be difficult to travel on the night bus Friday & come back Sunday. Not impossible but tough. I bit of distance learning would go down well. If the course was to start in Oct 2011 and end in March / April 2012 I would sign up today!

Regards - John.

IIS is the international program of Ramkhamhaeng University, located on the main campus in Huamark, Bangkapi. We are currently putting the elements for a Graduate Diploma in Teaching Profession together and ask for support of those to who it's offered. The program starts from November this year. Please find the details at (deleted).

The Graduate Diploma is a 24 semester-credit program for holders of any recognized Bachelor degree. Graduates are eligible to receive the Licence for Practicing Teaching at Thai Schools.

Due to IIS' modular system, the program can be studied full-time four months (four class days per week, 9 am to 4 pm) or part-time 8 months (Saturday and Sunday). Another idea is a sandwich model with 4 courses in March and April, followed by two evening classes per week and the rest in October. In all cases, tuition fee is about 52,000 Baht and includes the full program, all textbooks and handouts.

Which program (or all three) in fact will be offered in November depends much on the number of students registering for it (it needs at least 20 students).

To make it simpler and to come closer to our target group, I would like to ask you to take part in the integrated poll - if you are a potential candidate for this Graduate Diploma, wich schedule would you prefer?

Many thanks for your cooperation! For any questions, suggestions, or critics, please e-mail me!

Best regards,

Ulrich Werner

This course has been discontinued.

[SgtPepper]

The Culture Course is generally considered to be the first step in getting licensed. I believe there are threads that discuss the Culture Course, and, if I recall correctly, they have temporarily quit offering the course, pending a revamp.

Not long after they went ahead with the licensing regulations, it appears that most teachers were able to get a 2 year waiver based on the Culture Course. After that waiver, the situation got a little harder to understand with some people being required to take the professional exams to get an additional waiver. Some teachers managed to get a 2nd waiver without the professional exams. Thus, there is some confusion about who has to do what to get a waiver.

The Culture Course was a 24 hour short course (often less time). I don't think anyone failed it. It was more like a seminar and if you went and participated, you got a certificate.

The exams are much different and require that you pass. As noted in other threads, the pass rate is not very high, so they require some knowledge and work. You do not have to pass an exam to get a waiver; simply take the exam.

Does anyone know if the Culture Course is being offered at this time?

Thanks for the info.

I have now applied for the next round of tests and it says that one of the requirements to take along with me on the day of the tests is a work permit or proof of residence in Thailand. I couldn't renew my work permit because of these shenanigans, so what can i use as proof of my residence?

As for the Culture Test, i have received 2nd hand information that this has been suspended for two months.

I also misread those instructions when I went to sit the tests last year. You will only need the photos, work permit when you actually pass the tests and they are granting you your license.

[skybluestu]

Just had my visa extended today, my waiver letter was issued in May 2009 so about to expire but my boss didn't fancy a trip to Bkk to get another one so asked me to try with the old one. Guess they didn't check the date though as extension granted with no questions asked, no proof of culture cour$e submitted or asked for either.

[aitch52]

I have just been told that we have to do the teachers licence course this year, there is a review handbook available from the Siam Knowledge Transfer Centre tel 02-3797239 or 02-3797344. The cost of the book is 250 Baht + 100 Baht P&P. When you phone you have to order by fax and transfer money to an account number given over the phone.