English teaching in Thailand as a non-native

[Juraj]

Hello everyone,

I would like to hear from you, folks, what kind of options there are for me and what I should be aware of when it comes to teaching English in Thailand. I am not a native speaker but I have a university degree in English and German (translation, interpretation); in addition, I speak Russian and Spanish and have 7 years of experience teaching foreign languages.

I myself would prefer teaching adults who already speak English and whom I could teach more advanced things about the language.

Is there anything particular you could recommend me or anything I ought to be careful about in this regard?

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

What country is your degree from?

[Juraj]

Slovakia, Comenius University in Bratislava.

[lostinisaan]

As a non native English speaker you'll have to have your degree translated into Thai and verified.

In addition you'll have to pass a TOEIC test, which can be done in Bangkok in only two days, but also in other areas of Thailand.

Please see: http://cpathailand.co.th/#1

Once you've done the test, you can pick the result up the next day. It's around 1,500 baht.

It's actually a very good time to look for a job, as all the schools are closed. You could easily find a job working for an agency, but their goal is to make money.

Create a very good looking resume, better make a few sets and go from school to school in your preferred area where you'd like to stay for longer.

Not many people are at schools now,but you might be lucky and find a job within one day.

Please check www.ajarn.com you can filter the provinces and start your search.

If you don't have experience in Asia you might have a starting salary of 25 K/month. Isaan is a great place to look for a job and when you find a good high school and they like you, you could make 30 +/month.

There's no sea in Isaan, but people seem to be much better, considering the rest of Thailand.

The new school year starts in middle of May. Don't wait until May, start your search now.

P.S. Please be very careful. Some agencies hire foreigners and pay only 30 K/month for only nine, or ten months. Many agencies don't really want you to have a work permit and they can shift you around from school to school. You're not a human being for them, only a number.

Much better is to seek direct employment working for a government school with a 12 months contract. Let the agents find others, it's really not worth to waste your time for them. I was there, done that. never again.

Best of luck.-

Edited April 8, 2016 by lostinisaan

[Juraj]

Lostinisaan, thank you for your useful pieces of advice!

So, the way I see it, the best for me would be to have my degree certificate translated and then go straight away to Thailand where I would pass the TOEIC test and look for a vacancy right on the spot, right?

Someone told me namely that it is almost impossible for a non-native to have a job secured via the Internet from another country.

If my idea would be to teach and live somewhere where there is an access to the seaside, beautiful nature plus possibilities for young people to hang out, what would be my best joice here?

Furthermore, my overall plan is to move to Thailand at the beginning of next year (Jan 2017) because right now I still need to attend to some things in my homeland. What would then be the best time for me to really start organizing my journey and preparing for it from the administrative point of view?

[tomwct]

You'll be hired at a salary of 50% less or about 15,000 THB P/month! Many Indians and Filipino's working in Isan! Good Luck!

[Juraj]

Tomwct, my level of knowledge of English is that of a native speaker. I have perfect British pronunciation and I used to correct native speakers when they asked me to do so.

I strongly hope these facts are taken into consideration in Thailand when it comes to salary - what are your opinions, guys?

[aidenai]

I strongly hope these facts are taken into consideration in Thailand when it comes to salary - what are your opinions, guys?[/quote)
I'm sorry. They aren't taken in consideration.

[doremifasol]

Juraj, totally disregard the above post from aidenai,

and listen to the advice from lostinisaan. They're all good.

The only thing I would like to rectify is that it takes a couple

of hours to take a TOIC test, not two days.

Good luck with your search, I wish you success.

[lostinisaan]

Tomwct, my level of knowledge of English is that of a native speaker. I have perfect British pronunciation and I used to correct native speakers when they asked me to do so.

I strongly hope these facts are taken into consideration in Thailand when it comes to salary - what are your opinions, guys?

I haven't met too many Brits who wanted their pronunciation corrected by me. I doubt that anybody was asking you to correct him/her.

I would love to have a chat with you in German just to find out how professional you really are.

Thai head teachers usually don't even understand the difference between Jamaican and Filipino English.

BTW, what's the perfect British pronunciation for you? Queen's English, or more South Londoner accent?

[Jblood]

I'm not a native speaker, I used to teach one of the government ministries here in downtown Bangkok at around 750 baht per hour, but that was 10 years ago, I did a few other gigs at Thai Banks and Corporations. I used to teach Corporate English without a Degree, without Tefl/Tesol, and I'm not a native speaker, lol, you just gotta market yourself well, everything else is nonsense. Maybe the situation is a lot stricter now, but I doubt it. I think you can get whatever salary you want. Don't listen to any other Farangs about salary and such, a lot of of them are sad losers with self esteem problems who don't know anything about life. They are very competitive and jealous and don't like it when non native speakers try to infringe on the turf(teaching English) which they would like to see as exclusively theirs due to them being native speakers and just the general entitlement issues of various kinds which they bring with themselves from their home countries... Your job is to figure out the Thais - if you can do that, you can get as high salary as you like, other Farangs babble a lot and are usually very opinionated about everything - but they don't actually decide anything at all in this country - the whole English teaching hierarchy is just an illusion they like to create for themselves. You can get any salary you want - you just have to ask for it, don't sell yourself cheap... Just try not to get a salary higher than the degreed native speakers cause you may have a riot on your hands.

Fortunately I spent the last 10 years working in other industries like the High-tech and such so I can tell you, for the most part with a few notable exceptions the people that I met teaching English in Thailand were absolutely the worst losers among the expat communities than I ever met anywhere else - like in Southern Europe for example, so don't worry too much about it and don't listen to them too much. Like for example I've never heard of the 15,000 baht salaries even 10 years ago, lol. A non-native speaker could easily get 40,000 baht without even a tefl or a degree. A lot depends on your looks - if you look like James Bond type with blue eyes - your salary goes up significantly, but if you are short, with dark hair and dark eyes - and even if you are a native speaker, the Thais may offer you less money, because of your looks, a lot of them would feel like they are being robbed if you don't look like a proper Farang as they imagine them to be.

Personally I wouldn't teach English in Thailand even if I was offered 200,000 baht per month, it's actually a very demanding job and not worth the money that they pay you for it around here. I'm permanently done with teaching English since a very long time ago...

[Juraj]

Muzmurray:
Yes, really. It was a mere typo resulting from quite quick writing and doing other things simultaneously. You know, there is a saying "to err is human"... ;-)

Lostinisaan:

No, no natives have asked me to correct their pronunciation. The questions were related to grammar and some lexical stuff.

Perfect, we can have a chat in German via Skype then!

My pronunciation is the RP accent. However, to be honest, even though I have already managed to persuade real Brits that I was a native from the UK, they still had their doubts and considered my pronunciation to be quite "academic", not containing some typical local dialect features that natives from this or that region usually possess. One way or another, they themselves have still termed it fully "British".

JBlood:

Thank you for summing it up so poignantly. Sounds pretty much like real life, hehe... I have my reasons for choosing Thailand and I really love teaching as such but I would not like to do it full time for the rest of my life either.

As for my previous post, could any one of you possibly answer these questions please? Thanks a lot!

If my idea would be to teach and live somewhere where there is an access to the seaside, beautiful nature plus possibilities for young people to hang out, what would be my best choice here?

Furthermore, my overall plan is to move to Thailand at the beginning of next year (Jan 2017) because right now I still need to attend to some things in my homeland. What would then be the best time for me to really start organizing my journey and preparing for it from the administrative point of view?

Edited April 11, 2016 by Juraj

[Fookhaht]

If you want to teach at the university level or a private corporation, very little, if any of LostIIsaan's advice applies.

Just come and start networking or start your search on the Internet.

[Scott]

Off-topic, inflammatory posts and replies removed.

[Rayk]

I'm not a native speaker, I used to teach one of the government ministries here in downtown Bangkok at around 750 baht per hour, but that was 10 years ago, I did a few other gigs at Thai Banks and Corporations. I used to teach Corporate English without a Degree, without Tefl/Tesol, and I'm not a native speaker, lol, you just gotta market yourself well, everything else is nonsense. Maybe the situation is a lot stricter now, but I doubt it. I think you can get whatever salary you want. Don't listen to any other Farangs about salary and such, a lot of of them are sad losers with self esteem problems who don't know anything about life. They are very competitive and jealous and don't like it when non native speakers try to infringe on the turf(teaching English) which they would like to see as exclusively theirs due to them being native speakers and just the general entitlement issues of various kinds which they bring with themselves from their home countries... Your job is to figure out the Thais - if you can do that, you can get as high salary as you like, other Farangs babble a lot and are usually very opinionated about everything - but they don't actually decide anything at all in this country - the whole English teaching hierarchy is just an illusion they like to create for themselves. You can get any salary you want - you just have to ask for it, don't sell yourself cheap... Just try not to get a salary higher than the degreed native speakers cause you may have a riot on your hands.

Fortunately I spent the last 10 years working in other industries like the High-tech and such so I can tell you, for the most part with a few notable exceptions the people that I met teaching English in Thailand were absolutely the worst losers among the expat communities than I ever met anywhere else - like in Southern Europe for example, so don't worry too much about it and don't listen to them too much. Like for example I've never heard of the 15,000 baht salaries even 10 years ago, lol. A non-native speaker could easily get 40,000 baht without even a tefl or a degree. A lot depends on your looks - if you look like James Bond type with blue eyes - your salary goes up significantly, but if you are short, with dark hair and dark eyes - and even if you are a native speaker, the Thais may offer you less money, because of your looks, a lot of them would feel like they are being robbed if you don't look like a proper Farang as they imagine them to be.

Personally I wouldn't teach English in Thailand even if I was offered 200,000 baht per month, it's actually a very demanding job and not worth the money that they pay you for it around here. I'm permanently done with teaching English since a very long time ago...

"other Farangs babble a lot and are usually very opinionated about everything"

You seem to be doing quite an exceptional job of that yourself.

You taught in Thailand 10 years ago and for some unbeknownst reason think that things are still the same. You're either very naive or totally out of touch with reality.

And for the record, I am not, nor have I ever been a teacher.

I have met many great people that are teaching in schools in Thailand and also many not so much.

I have also met many great people working in other industries as well as the Hi-tech industry and also many low lifes.

Your post is certainly doing one thing and one thing only and that's putting a false sense of hope in the OP.

I would love to see the OP walk into any international school in Bangkok these days and see if he could get a 100,000b-200,000b a month job.

Would never happen.

Your post is riddled with pure speculation and total bs.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Rayk

[Rob13]

And for the record, I am not, nor have I ever been a teacher.

In other words; you have no idea what you're talking about.

[gerryBScot]

OP you might find Hua Hin an ideal sort of place; you're right on the sea with decent beaches and a 45 minute ride takes you to the wonders of Kaeng Krachan Natural Park and Palau-u waterfalls and many other beautiful parts. However you might find it very expensive in terms of transportation and entrance costs, 400 THB for foreigners for the latter; you can get a van to Kaeng Krachan village but to get out and explore you'll need your own wheels; the last time I hired a driver and 4 WD it was 2,000 THB a day and I rather suspect they'll be looking for 3,000THB these days if not more.

[Scott]

Please keep it civil.

I've been here 20 years and actually, not a lot has changed.

We do have more audio visual equipment, but it's more technical and once broken it is seldom repaired.

The KG classes all have televisions, which are used almost exclusively for watching Thai cartoons.

20 years ago, the students didn't fail; and they still don't.

20 years ago, the text books still said Pluto was a planet; and they still do.

20 years ago, the gov't was spending a lot on education; and they still are.

20 years ago, the Thai English teachers couldn't speak English; most still can't.

20 years ago, they were getting very little bang for their baht; they still are.

20 years ago they were revising the curriculum, they still are.

Etc., etc., etc.

[Rayk]

And for the record, I am not, nor have I ever been a teacher.

In other words; you have no idea what you're talking about.

Just because I haven't worked at a specific career doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about.

I tend to like to be informed on what occurs and what changed occur in the country I live.

Have you ever designed or built a car? Highly unlikely. But I bet you still know how to drive.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Rayk

[Rob13]

And for the record, I am not, nor have I ever been a teacher.

In other words; you have no idea what you're talking about.

Just because I haven't worked at a specific career doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about.

I tend to like to be informed on what occurs and what changed occur in the country I live.

Have you ever designed or built a car? Highly unlikely. But I bet you still know how to drive.

You have no knowledge of teaching. I drive a car and don't make any claim to have knowledge of the UAW or anything remotely associated with car building even though I have a cousin who's a retired auto worker.

[Rayk]

And for the record, I am not, nor have I ever been a teacher.

In other words; you have no idea what you're talking about.

Just because I haven't worked at a specific career doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about.

I tend to like to be informed on what occurs and what changed occur in the country I live.

Have you ever designed or built a car? Highly unlikely. But I bet you still know how to drive.

You have no knowledge of teaching. I drive a car and don't make any claim to have knowledge of the UAW or anything remotely associated with car building even though I have a cousin who's a retired auto worker.

Actually, I have extensive knowledge in teaching, just not in the field of English, my knowledge of teaching is in both the fields of Electrical Engineering and Music.

Like I said in the previous post, I like to keep myself informed on changes in the country i reside and probably know more about teaching than you will ever know.

[Rob13]

Actually, I have extensive knowledge in teaching, just not in the field of English, my knowledge of teaching is in both the fields of Electrical Engineering and Music.

Like I said in the previous post, I like to keep myself informed on changes in the country i reside and probably know more about teaching than you will ever know.

You're on a thread about getting hired to teach ESL in Thailand as a non-native speaker. Clearly you have no experience or relevant knowledge of the subject yet you continue to try to gain some kind of credibility when you clearly have none. If you really want to post advice on this thread, I suggest you go get an ESL job first. Till then all you are doing is embarrassing yourself.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Rob13

[HooHaa]

Tomwct, my level of knowledge of English is that of a native speaker. I have perfect British pronunciation and I used to correct native speakers when they asked me to do so.

I strongly hope these facts are taken into consideration in Thailand when it comes to salary - what are your opinions, guys?

then dont bill yourself as non- native. simples.

network properly with universities during the summer break you should find something.

it is important to establish whether you are teaching, or teaching ESL.

teaching is a great profession, and i know many international school teachers who de very well and manage to see the world.

ESL can be an admirable vocation, however it is also one of the lowest common denominator jobs you can find here.

until the thai education system equates proper wages with quality employees, you will always be working with dodgy folk.

I know of 2 kinds of ESL teachers in the kingdom from my stint at a university 20 years ago.

those that used ESL as a networking tool and introduction to Thailand who end up with better positions.

and those who are still scraping by for wages that have not risen in 20 years.

Edited April 14, 2016 by HooHaa

[Rob13]

Get my point..

i got it with your first post.

I don't teach these days. Taught for 4 years with a uni degree and a WP. Since. I've moved on to greener fields of work. TBH, Thai education system gets the quality of ESL teachers it pays for. Business is like that.

[Scott]

An inflammatory post has been removed. Please stick to the topic and refrain from making personal comments about other members.

[Jblood]

I have met guys from Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Ireland, Belgium and even Poland, and one guy from Africa who spent some time living in England. I'm not sure about the Polish and the African - I didn't ask them. But all the other guys from Western Europe were getting the same wages as the Native Speakers. It may be a bit different today... but back then it was pretty open discrimination against the Philipinos, and maybe against Eastern Europeans - there's just not so many East Europeans to start with, so my guess is they may or may not have a separate classification for their "eligibility" to be considered "native speakers" for the purposes of teaching ESL in this country - like it's not a problem, with being either Dutch, Danish, French, Belgian, Swiss or German to be considered a Native English Speaker, but it's always a problem if you are an African or a Philipino. My guess is you may have some problems with the English, Scottish and some Americans and Aussies who could constantly raise questions and harass you about your eligibility if you're from Eastern Europe - it's your problem to figure out how to handle those guys. The Thai admins may or may not take advantage of this situation by trying to offer you a lower wage - they could say something like hey The English guy told us that the Danish guy is a Native Speaker but you are not, so what do you want to do about it... lol. It should be a fun social experiment for you, don't worry too much about it. In the end each person decides what they want to get paid. I think the English guys may be the least accepting given how many Eastern Europeans move to London for the sole purpose of cleaning toilets over there, they could actively demonstrate their discontent if you were getting the same salaries as they are. It may not even influence your eventual salary, just something to be aware of - it's something that all non-native speakers have to deal with, sometimes it's a job on top of the one you already signed up for, except you are not getting paid for that extra part of it.

Later maybe you can come back and report on your findings - what salary you are getting and about your whole experience of teaching English as a non native.

[lostinisaan]

Please keep it civil.

I've been here 20 years and actually, not a lot has changed.

We do have more audio visual equipment, but it's more technical and once broken it is seldom repaired.

The KG classes all have televisions, which are used almost exclusively for watching Thai cartoons.

20 years ago, the students didn't fail; and they still don't.

20 years ago, the text books still said Pluto was a planet; and they still do.

20 years ago, the gov't was spending a lot on education; and they still are.

20 years ago, the Thai English teachers couldn't speak English; most still can't.

20 years ago, they were getting very little bang for their baht; they still are.

20 years ago they were revising the curriculum, they still are.

Etc., etc., etc.

20 years ago they thought Phuut Passa Tang Prateet would be English and most of them still do.

Etc.etc.etc..

[muzmurray]

Please keep it civil.

I've been here 20 years and actually, not a lot has changed.

We do have more audio visual equipment, but it's more technical and once broken it is seldom repaired.

The KG classes all have televisions, which are used almost exclusively for watching Thai cartoons.

20 years ago, the students didn't fail; and they still don't.

20 years ago, the text books still said Pluto was a planet; and they still do.

20 years ago, the gov't was spending a lot on education; and they still are.

20 years ago, the Thai English teachers couldn't speak English; most still can't.

20 years ago, they were getting very little bang for their baht; they still are.

20 years ago they were revising the curriculum, they still are.

Etc., etc., etc.

20 years ago, Pluto was a planet.

"First discovered and classified as planet in 1930, Pluto was relegated to "dwarf-planet" status by the International Astronomical Unionin 2006"

[Juraj]

JBlood, sounds quite good then, thanks!

gerryBScot, thank you for your recommendation. I just do not wish to be stuck somewhere in a bustling polluted urban howl (no offence meant) but rather witness at least the minor beauties of what Thai nature and landscape have to offer, even on an everyday basis.

My final question for the time being would be: when is it ideal time to start communicating with schools and institutions about getting an ESL job there? You mentioned the summer break. Is that so or is there any other preferred period?

[OumarhindaOunsingha]

JBlood, sounds quite good then, thanks!

gerryBScot, thank you for your recommendation. I just do not wish to be stuck somewhere in a bustling polluted urban howl (no offence meant) but rather witness at least the minor beauties of what Thai nature and landscape have to offer, even on an everyday basis.

My final question for the time being would be: when is it ideal time to start communicating with schools and institutions about getting an ESL job there? You mentioned the summer break. Is that so or is there any other preferred period?

March 2017.