Are unlicensed teachers the key to solving Thailand's teacher shortage?

[thai3]

Oh go on give us a laugh

[Rhys]

OK..who did not make the cut here..

[HauptmannUK]

If you are a white NES graduate in a STEM subject then the world is your oyster. Why on Earth would you work in Thailand? You could likely secure a good job in your own country, as well as virtually any other country in the world.

If you wish to live in Thailand then do so, but take a job elsewhere in Asia and fly in/out. It is easily possible to get a job teaching a techical subject in a Chinese university (in English of course) for about 50000THB/week. That's for 20 hours of lectures, so quite demanding work. They will also pay return air fare and reasonable hotel accommodation plus meals.

[Rhys]

If you are a white NES graduate in a STEM subject then the world is your oyster. Why on Earth would you work in Thailand? You could likely secure a good job in your own country, as well as virtually any other country in the world.

If you wish to live in Thailand then do so, but take a job elsewhere in Asia and fly in/out. It is easily possible to get a job teaching a techical subject in a Chinese university (in English of course) for about 50000THB/week. That's for 20 hours of lectures, so quite demanding work. They will also pay return air fare and reasonable hotel accommodation plus meals.

the work week is 6 days?

[HauptmannUK]

No. 5 days. Typically 4-5 hours of teaching each day. A mix of lectures, tutorials and lab classes, as required by the particular subject being delivered.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

thai 3..some teachers love the kids too much.

I wondered how long it would take some know nothing idiot to post that kind statement.You've obviously never been in a school class room.If you had,you would know how much job satisfaction there can be in being a Teacher.

We aint all kiddy fiddlers.Why would you think that? Unless.........

[Nigeone]

It takes a lot more than having a degree to stand in front of a room full of students.You have to a personality as well.Also you need to smell nice and have the ability to get the kids interested in the subject.You also have to realise that these kids do not want an hour a day solid teaching.Sometimes they want to play a game,or just have a lesson where they can ask you questions,about anything and everything.If you don't get the kids on your side on your side,you might as well say goodbye to your job.Thai kids can be the best behaved students,but bore them and you are out on your arse.And of course all Thai teachers have got a degree,they bought them.Teaching in this country is nothing like Europe.The kids want you to be a friend as well as a teacher.(which is a relationship frowned upon in the UK.)

It is said here, that once you are a students teacher you are their teacher forever.I regularly got the odd bottle of Vodka from my Russian kids parents at Christmas.And whenever i was in the shopping centres,many of my students would come over and introduce me to their parents,even the ones in classes i didn't teach.

Its a vocation,not just a job.And of course you have to love kids.

I agree with this totally and have had a little experience of teaching English in Lamphun unofficially of course and found the comments as mentioned here to be correct.. Great response from the kids as long as you kept it varied and interesting and most important gauged the mood so as to keep them interested.. Took my few students to Big C and around all the items on sale including food and household goods etc and taught them the English names.. Really really enjoyed it but sadly had to stop as was risking being fined. Had a school wanting me to go and teach , as in the sticks they never have had a English teacher and would have loved to but without qualifications I wouldn't be able. I might add that I'm well used to teaching and keeping young people's attention as taught and coached sport all my life and it's only the subject that changes the approach and delivery is the same. Yes it wouldn't be ideal but better than nothing for them. Pity as I could have given them so much.. Also can teach Brass instruments too as have in the UK but again without qualifications. Edited March 14, 2016 by Nigeone

[eldragon]

"Teachers in the STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and – are particularly thin on the ground."

Am I the only one who saw the oops here? This staff writer must be a quality graduate of the fine Thai educational system.

Per usual, it's not very well written, and not especially sophisticated. Also, I'm not sure how the issue of backpacker turned teacher relates to STEM subjects in Thailand, unless we're talking about English programs, international schools, and other schools that teach in English.

[thequietman]

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/focus-stem-narrowing-pupils-world-view-warns-former-global-teaching

[rkidlad]

What makes a good teacher?

Well, you're not just a good teacher from day one. You're not just a good teacher because you have a degree or even a degree in education.

The best teachers I've met have had common sense, half a brain and integrity. You go to work everyday, you learn as you go along and you actually try to make a difference.

If schools wanna pay 35k etc, they can't expect much. When you find someone as mentioned above who will do it for 35k, you try to keep them. You reward them and don't treat them the same as everyone else. But this is all moot anyway.

Most schools don't care about giving proper educations. Foreigners are in the school because that's what the parents want and they'll pay for it. It's always about the bottom line.

Bad teachers don't employ themselves. The schools do. There wouldn't be half as many bad teachers in schools if the schools themselves weren't bad.

[nausea]

The Thai's problem is learning basic English. The problem stem's from the absolutely awful standard of Thai English teachers, followed by their propensity to bring in the cheapest non-native speakers they can find, who are usually Filipinos. I'm pretty there's some kind of rake off going on here. What else is there to say? Until they get serious about learning English it will always be a joke in the classroom, and serious native teachers will be driven away. I have a Law Degree and an MBA, can you imagine how much knowledge I could've imparted to these kids. Stupid, absolutely stupid

[Scott]

The key to learning a language is actually using the language and they don't use English much.

I took a fair amount of Latin, but if someone asked me for directions to the school in Latin, I wouldn't have a clue what they were asking and I certainly couldn't answer them.

Whether we have licensed or unlicensed teachers is not a key issue in Thailand. It should be, but it's not. The country simply hasn't progressed to that point. They have a tendency to focus on grammar and not much on pronunciation, reading or practical usage of English.

Until/unless there is a consistent and progressive curriculum which includes reading, writing, speaking, and listening, they will continue to plug along learning English in Thai and knowing a lot about grammar.

A licensed teacher is a better bet in the classroom than one who isn't, but at this point, I think they have other problems that need to be addressed first. I do look forward to the day when a licensed teacher is really the operative difference in learning English.

[chowny77]

Thai schools will never be full of licensed NES teachers while the pay is so low compared to other South Asian countries. I have been here since 2005 and all I see is a decline in salary but an increase in living costs, NES teachers can not live on these wages anymore unless they have a nest egg or work doing private classes. Thailand either needs to start paying a decent salary in government schools or they will lose all the NES teachers, it's that simple, regardless if they have a degree or not.

[OumarhindaOunsingha]

I can't tell if you are joking, but:

1. Yes, here in Denmark, a lot of the teaching in elementary school is done by people with just a high school diploma.

2. We are mainly talking teching Thai children English. I do not see why a very advanced degree, a university degree, should be necessary in order to teach Thai children basic English.

3. You talk about Thai teachers with degrees. But what is the value of their degrees? What if their degrees are equivalent to a western high school (or even lower)? What exactly constitutes a degree?

I have a very advanced degree from one of the highest rated universities in the world. And what I was dealing with as a student there is absolutely useless in the context of teaching English to Thai children. It would be like teaching quantum physics to children that even didn't know how to multiply.

This degree thing is hysterical. I do not understand why you, and the Thai legislators, make that a requirement for teaching English to school pupils. Maybe it is about status, I don't know. But that is the only reason I can think of...