Can Any One Do It? Is It Hard

[james_goku]

i was just wondering if teaching english is hard in thailand. i mean how hard is in once you get in class and start teaching and how do you prepare???

what is a normal day like in teaching english in thailand.

any help about this would help. thank you

[paulfr]

If you have no experience teaching English to non English speaking students, you need to take a TEFL Course first for sure.

Or find an English teacher who will show you the ropes and what books to know about.

But the TEFL Course is the best formal way to get started.

[Scott]

Teaching is relatively hard work. Physically, it often means a lot of standing and walking around and mentally it means keeping really close track of your students and at the same time what you are doing and saying and how you are saying it.

That said, it can be challenging and fun. It's rather important, if your not experienced, that you find a good, well-experienced teacher and observe them for a time.

Best of luck.

[PeaceBlondie]

Most people cannot do it, even in their home country. Maybe you can do it if you really want to, and prepare yourself for it.

For some of us who may be 'natural' teachers or just personallly suited to doing it, our first try at teaching EFL in Thailand was quite difficult. For those who aren't good at it, they quit very soon. Take a course. Be sure you're suited to it, such as being an outgoing person, patient, well organized, etc.

[paully]

Yes, it can certainly be tiring and apparently unrewarding at times (at least financially) and at other times it can be great. As all the above have wisely said, take a TEFL course. It will give you an indication as to whether this teaching English lark is likely to be for you - and of course some indication of what to do once you step into the classroom.

What is a 'normal' day is hard to say, it depends on the school, your timetable, whether it's your 'challenging' class in period 2, etc

[Hadrian1]

If you are reasonably intelligent and like and are interested in people and of course, willing to put in the effort for preparation then you should be ok. Of course, it helps if you are not too introverted. Like all skills, it's something which can be learnt and you get better at with time. Some take to it more easily than others. But, like the above posters say, you should take a course beforehand and go from there.

[Berty]

Teaching English is like being on the dole, if all else fails then you can teach, they may be a bit strciter these days, but it's pretty easy to find a low paid job and work your way up to better paid gigs.

It can be real dull teaching Thais though, real dull!!!!

[paully]

^ That's true, mate!

[Ijustwannateach]

I beg to differ, Berty- not everyone can teach, and it's not everyone's last choice of profession.

"Steven"

[Berty]

Each to their own mate. It's an honourable profession at the end of the day!!

[Ijustwannateach]

[mijan24]

It can be real dull teaching Thais though, real dull!!!!

Berty would have to disagree with your 1st post but second your follow up.

Dull is as Dull will be.

[PeaceBlondie]

To each his own, but as to whether teaching (EFL) in Thailand is dull, I never thought so. Sitting in the staffroom between classes, yes. But when the bell rings and you are on center stage, with 50 faces in front of you, it's not dull at all. Unpredictable, challenging - you're trying not to talk too much, and to elicit responses from those faces - PongPang is bored because he's bright, Wattana is bored because he's lazy, Tak is bored because he doesn't understand English, TingTong is just mischievious, and Tik on the back row is trying to hear - no, it's not boring.

[Loaded]

Teaching was very stressful for me at the beginning as I took the work seriously. Despite 'graduating' from a good TEFL course I had to learn many of the structures as I taught and with the pressure of having little time to prepare, classes changed and the hot weather I really felt it at the start. Now it's a breeze.

[the swagman]

The best way to find out is to do it. Take one of those TEFL courses and get a taste for it. If you don't loke the taste then you know, no doubts.

Teaching dull? Not for me. I enjoy my work. I like my students and I learn from them as well. In one of my previous reincarnations I taught the same course 3 times a week for about five years. The teaching wasn't dull, because they were new students every 16 weeks, I had to come up with the variety in the presentation, not for my students but for me.

Agree with PB, waiting in the office for class is dull.

[otherstuff1957]

There are lots of different kinds of teaching: Government schools with 50 students in non-airconditioned classrooms, private schools with all the amenities and 15 - 40 students per class and Language Center classes with 1 to 8 adults.

They all have different challanges and rewards. So, you should be asking yourself, not only is teaching right for me, but what kind of teaching would I be best at?

[Munted]

Yeah, I agree there are different kinds of teaching. I find I can be a 'real' teacher with my M6 Government school students (< 30). My M1 (> 50) students I tend to entertain and babysit. It depends on class size what the various challenges are. These students are all within the same school, so it is possible to get a variety of challenges within the same workplace.

[Boatabike]

I do not find it dull at all, frustrating at times but not dull. You’re an educator, a helper, a clown, a zookeeper, a friend, a strict taskmaster and many other roles all in the same day, sometimes the same class.

I don't mind the bits between lessons either as I just leave the noisy staff room with the TV. blaring, and the 4000 staff from other departments all gossiping at high volume, and wander about forcing students to talk to me in English, as I find they do much better at it outside the constrictions of the classroom.

To answer the op. i would say anyone can try to teach, not everyone will succeed. The classrooms dynamics depend on your personality being able to hold the kids attention and getting them to want to learn, only then if your personality is right will the art of teaching take place (grasshopper).

Having a head full of facts and knowledge is no good if the little darlings don't want to listen to you, and you will not make them do so if they do not want to. So i say personality and people skills is the starting point, only if you can master that part will you be able to even find out if you can in fact teach.

"You can take a headbanger to water, but you can't make him wash"

Good luck.

[paulfr]

My experience teaching here in LOS is that even those teachers who have jobs do not like it very much. My collegues are well paid compared to others and yet they avoid the teacher room and complain a great deal [not that there are no valid things to try one's patience]

of the time.

So I would say yes it is hard unless you have the desire and characteristics needed to teach well.

As others have said, the type of teaching makes a big difference; adults, vs uni students vs high school [Mathayom] vs elemetary [Prathom]. All are different and you need to find where you belong to have the best chance at success.

Good luck to you.

[johnnyk]

It can ber VERY demanding, you are the ringmaster/zookeeper/emcee/maitre d' etc.

You are the one who makes it go.

I prefer corporates because they are small classes of generally motivated middle managers.

A friend in Taiwan described teaching large classes of kids thusly:

"First we play 'sit down and be quiet' for an hour!"

[WapiJohn]

Teaching English is like being on the dole, if all else fails then you can teach, they may be a bit strciter these days, but it's pretty easy to find a low paid job and work your way up to better paid gigs.

It can be real dull teaching Thais though, real dull!!!!

The students are as dull as the teacher makes them !!

Dull boring teacher ! Dull boring students !

Edited November 17, 2006 by WapiJohn

[WapiJohn]

Yeah, I agree there are different kinds of teaching. I find I can be a 'real' teacher with my M6 Government school students (< 30). My M1 (> 50) students I tend to entertain and babysit. It depends on class size what the various challenges are. These students are all within the same school, so it is possible to get a variety of challenges within the same workplace.

I too teach M1 all levels and M4 all levels, my classes are around 55 students.

I teach because I enjoy it, not because I need some beer money.

My students come first not my wallet ! I am not in it for the money, which is the main reason I do not want to work in Bangkok, where most of the money obsessed teachers (?) end up.

[WapiJohn]

i was just wondering if teaching english is hard in thailand. i mean how hard is in once you get in class and start teaching and how do you prepare???

what is a normal day like in teaching english in thailand.

any help about this would help. thank you

The best way to learn to teach in Thailand, is to go on a good, and I mean GOOD TEFL training course. ( There are a lot of " on the bandwagon " courses out there ! )

I would recommend TEFL International at Ban Phe. Apart from the training, you get to teach at least 8 hours in real Thai classrooms to real Thai students ( supervised ). No online course can offer you this !

At the end of the course you will know if you can handle a class of Thai students.

You will also know if you have the makings of a good teacher or not, Also having or not having a Degree or a TEFL certificate doesn't make you a teacher, they only prepare you for it.

I know many GOOD teachers who do not have a Degree or TEFL.

[bradthai]

just read through this thread.

have to agree with you'll only find out by trying it line of thinking.

and what you teac is important also. just speaking and listening, or grammar related topics. if grammar related, some study, not only a tefl course, self study that is, would be beneficial.

nothing worse than being in an environment where you can't answer the questions; oyher than that's what we say type answers.

good luck