News Forum - How to get a teaching licence Thailand

[Thaiger]

So, you’ve seen the ornate temples, tasted delectable street food, basked in the sunshine on glistening beaches and navigated through bustling markets? You’ve fallen head over heels for Thailand, haven’t you? And who can blame you? Now, you’re contemplating how you can make a more permanent pit stop in the Land of Smiles without exhausting … …

The story How to get a teaching licence Thailand  as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Pinetree]

After that holiday; then go home and get a real job. 

[Karolyn]

Those who can, can. Those who can't, teach 

But how hard is it, really, to teach English if you are a native speaker? 

[Marc26]

41 minutes ago, Karolyn said:

Those who can, can. Those who can't, teach 

But how hard is it, really, to teach English if you are a native speaker? 

I would absolutely love to teach once retired and we living in Thailand

 

But I would only want to do it on a part time, sporadic basis.................which probably isn't possible.

 

But during the time we are living in the village(probably 7-8 months/yr) I would happily tutor kids in English if they wanted help(and math, which I would be delighted to tutor!)

[Karolyn]

6 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I would absolutely love to teach once retired and we living in Thailand

But I would only want to do it on a part time, sporadic basis.................which probably isn't possible.

But during the time we are living in the village(probably 7-8 months/yr) I would happily tutor kids in English if they wanted help(and math, which I would be delighted to tutor!)

1. Do it online, or by word of mouth

2. Do it in neighbouring Cambodia, and visit Bangkok with a US $20 bus ticket from Siem Reap/Angkor

[Marc26]

2 hours ago, Karolyn said:

1. Do it online, or by word of mouth

2. Do it in neighbouring Cambodia, and visit Bangkok with a US $20 bus ticket from Siem Reap/Angkor

I've already helped kids in the village with English here and there, almost all extended family 

 

But I'd imagine living there for a bulk of the year and letting it known I'm willing to help, there would not be a shortage of kids that would want help

[Khunmark]

10 hours ago, Karolyn said:

Those who can, can. Those who can't, teach 

But how hard is it, really, to teach English if you are a native speaker? 

Harder than you think.

[HolyCowCm]

10 hours ago, Karolyn said:

Those who can, can. Those who can't, teach 

But how hard is it, really, to teach English if you are a native speaker? 

You would be amazed at how much goes in to it and the energy you have to put out. It is also not easy to be a naturally good teacher. Even if you have a degree and license doesn't mean you have the aptitude to be good at it or should do it.

Now there are 2 different things, English as in grammar and such and then a listening and speaking. I would gather most native english speakers do not know there  their way around a grammar book and shouldn't be teaching it. They speak and write naturally (the best they can) and even that is probably seriously flawed.

Good teachers are hard to come by, and some classes can tear a foreing teacher to shreds in daily classrooms. Language schools might be the best for most who want to try and stay here. Like Marc26 said, he wouldn't mind trying when he retires. Try it and then the person will know if that is something they can or cannot do. Over the years my kids have had some real losers and that has been tons of foreingers and many upon many of Thai teachers. There is a Thai saying for this as it sort of breaks down to something like this: Teaching without a clue.

[Marc26]

24 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

You would be amazed at how much goes in to it and the energy you have to put out. It is also not easy to be a naturally good teacher. Even if you have a degree and license doesn't mean you have the aptitude to be good at it or should do it.

Now there are 2 different things, English as in grammar and such and then a listening and speaking. I would gather most native english speakers do not know there  their way around a grammar book and shouldn't be teaching it. They speak and write naturally (the best they can) and even that is probably seriously flawed.

Good teachers are hard to come by, and some classes can tear a foreing teacher to shreds in daily classrooms. Language schools might be the best for most who want to try and stay here. Like Marc26 said, he wouldn't mind trying when he retires. Try it and then the person will know if that is something they can or cannot do. Over the years my kids have had some real losers and that has been tons of foreingers and many upon many of Thai teachers. There is a Thai saying for this as it sort of breaks down to something like this: Teaching without a clue.

My stepson went to a fairly good high school 

 

When we were on our big trip 2 summers ago he was posted all the pics on his Instagram 

 

He told me his former head teacher messaged him

 

"He said your Dad looks smart, does he want to teach at our school"

 

I just laughed it off

 

The next day my stepson came back and asked "So my teacher want to know?"

 

Huh? He was seriously offering me a job from a picture?

 

I politely declined

 

And PS.

I don't look remotely smart!   5555

[HolyCowCm]

48 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

My stepson went to a fairly good high school 

When we were on our big trip 2 summers ago he was posted all the pics on his Instagram 

He told me his former head teacher messaged him

"He said your Dad looks smart, does he want to teach at our school"

I just laughed it off

The next day my stepson came back and asked "So my teacher want to know?"

Huh? He was seriously offering me a job from a picture?

I politely declined

And PS.

I don't look remotely smart!   5555

Doesn't suprise me. I take it that this school is out in the country area where recruiting might be a bit hard and your son also does speak highly of his step dad, which is undertandable how you have taken care of him. My kids went to pretty good high schools in CM and that did not really matter. One private and then my daughter changed from this one my son was at to a really sought after to get into school not fully private. Even the best schools will have some not so good teachers Thai and foreingers. just how it is. A few catholic high schoos here in my opinion are actually quite very okm but the nagain the old rule falls back again as not all teachers foreing and Thai should be teaching. You either have it or you don't.

[ThaiFoodGuy]

18 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I would absolutely love to teach once retired and we living in Thailand

A friend of mine lived in Thailand for nearly 2 years doing English "coffee chats" so he could curtail any laws and visa requirements of being legally employed or working. He would simply advertise online that he would meet up for coffee or drinks and just chat with people to help with their English and they could pay him whatever they thought was fair. It's effectively tutoring.

He met quite a number of very beautiful women too, coincidentally...

[Marc26]

7 hours ago, HolyCowCm said:

Doesn't suprise me. I take it that this school is out in the country area where recruiting might be a bit hard and your son also does speak highly of his step dad, which is undertandable how you have taken care of him. My kids went to pretty good high schools in CM and that did not really matter. One private and then my daughter changed from this one my son was at to a really sought after to get into school not fully private. Even the best schools will have some not so good teachers Thai and foreingers. just how it is. A few catholic high schoos here in my opinion are actually quite very okm but the nagain the old rule falls back again as not all teachers foreing and Thai should be teaching. You either have it or you don't.

It was in Bangkok, my stepson has never lived in the village

 

And one of the top rated public high schools in Thailand, but as you say, doesn't seem to matter

 

And yes, I am sure my stepson letting him know my career plays a factor(not that means anything)

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, ThaiFoodGuy said:

A friend of mine lived in Thailand for nearly 2 years doing English "coffee chats" so he could curtail any laws and visa requirements of being legally employed or working. He would simply advertise online that he would meet up for coffee or drinks and just chat with people to help with their English and they could pay him whatever they thought was fair. It's effectively tutoring.

He met quite a number of very beautiful women too, coincidentally...

I would be doing it for free

 

But yes a very good way to meet girls!(if single)

There is an English tutor who seemingly works out of the coffee shop in my Building in Vancouver and always has cute Asian students with him

[ThaiFoodGuy]

1 hour ago, Marc26 said:

There is an English tutor who seemingly works out of the coffee shop in my Building in Vancouver and always has cute Asian students with him

Funny, he lives in Vancouver now 

[Marc26]

10 minutes ago, ThaiFoodGuy said:

Funny, he lives in Vancouver now 

I tell my stepson he's the luckiest bastard in the world

Coming to live in Vancouver and go to English school with all the Korean, Japanese and Brazilian girls!!

[cowslip]

Sadly many people decide to teach in Thailand because they think it is a great way to "stay on holiday"

To a man / woman they completely ignore the main thing about teaching -  THE STUDENTS.

Licence or not the faults lie on the other side as well - Thailand fails to offer teachers a proper professional package - second-rate salaries, healthcare etc encourage poor teachers who leave after a short time.

Coming ideas like licences is all very good, but if you want good, professional teachers remunerate them properly.

 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by cowslip

[Marc26]

18 minutes ago, cowslip said:

Sadly many people decide to teach in Thailand because they think it is a great way to "stay on holiday"

To a man / woman they completely ignore the main thing about teaching -  THE STUDENTS.

Licence or not the faults lie on the other side as well - Thailand fails to offer teachers a proper professional package - second-rate salaries, healthcare etc encourage poor teachers who leave after a short time.

Coming ideas like licences is all very good, but if you want good, professional teachers remunerate them properly.

Now I am no expert in this field but I have seen if you are a qualified teacher, there are plenty of jobs out there that pay decent, vs average salaries in the country

 

 

[cowslip]

17 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Now I am no expert in this field but I have seen if you are a qualified teacher, there are plenty of jobs out there that pay decent, vs average salaries in the country

 Not an expert? - So, what jobs are these and what is the salary? ...and of course healthcare etc....

 

...and what do you mean by a "qualified" teacher?

Edited July 28, 2023 by cowslip

[Marc26]

4 minutes ago, cowslip said:

 Not an expert? - So, what jobs are these and what is the salary? ...and of course healthcare etc....

Jobs on here in the 70k + range

Given the average salaries in the country, that is not bad

 

Of course, you need actual qualifications and experience

 

 

 

 

https://www.ajarn.com/recruitment/jobs

[cowslip]

22 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Jobs on here in the 70k + range

Given the average salaries in the country, that is not bad

Of course, you need actual qualifications and experience

https://www.ajarn.com/recruitment/jobs

These are the sort of salaries that SHOULD be offered but apart from a small minority, they aren't - The jobs you suggest are the norm are in fact jobs in a tiny minority - you are cherry-picking to support a fallacious premise......the jobs you mention "on here" Wherever that is,  usually at private UK Nat curriculum or US or Baccalaureate schools - the government schools who employ most foreign teachers pay 30 to 40k. Thailand wants their school to teach English not just the schools reserved for the elite. A lot of the higher salaries at these schools are for teachers of other subjects - e.g. science and they are often taught in English

THere are other forms of language training as well e.g. in industry and commerce, or universities - pound adults and adults as they have to pay for this is also limits the salaries

Edited July 28, 2023 by cowslip

[Marc26]

10 minutes ago, cowslip said:

These are the sort of salaries that SHOULD be offered but apart from a small minority, they aren't - The jobs you suggest are the norm are in fact jobs in a tiny minority - you are cherry-picking to support a fallacious premise......the jobs you mention "on here" Wherever that is,  usually at private UK Nat curriculum or US or Baccalaureate schools - the government schools who employ most foreign teachers pay 30 to 40k. Thailand wants their school to teach English not just the schools reserved for the elite. A lot of the higher salaries at these schools are for teachers of other subjects - e.g. science and they are often taught in English

THere are other forms of language training as well e.g. in industry and commerce, or universities - pound adults and adults as they have to pay for this is also limits the salaries

A couple points, I am not disagreeing that more money should be spent on education, especially teachers.

We did a charity drive for my wife's old elementary school in February and they get almost no govt funding.

 

We just paid to have our niece go to a school in the city because her school in village basically has only 1 teacher and it was a glorified babysitting service

 

 

That being said

I was looking at it from the subject of foreign teachers. You can call those schools elite but shouldn't anyone strive to qualify at the highest level in their careers?

 

[cowslip]

39 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

A couple points, I am not disagreeing that more money should be spent on education, especially teachers.

We did a charity drive for my wife's old elementary school in February and they get almost no govt funding.

We just paid to have our niece go to a school in the city because her school in village basically has only 1 teacher and it was a glorified babysitting service

That being said

I was looking at it from the subject of foreign teachers. You can call those schools elite but shouldn't anyone strive to qualify at the highest level in their careers?

"strive to qualify at the highest level in their careers?" what do you mean by that?

 

[Marc26]

2 hours ago, cowslip said:

"strive to qualify at the highest level in their careers?" what do you mean by that?

I was just commenting on jobs for foreigners

 

Sure, they are the top jobs but work to qualify for a top job

 

I guess that would be my opinion if a foreigner was complaining they couldn't find a decent paying teaching job in Thailand 

 

They are out, but you need to be qualified 

 

 

Apologies I kind of replied to not what you were actually saying though 

 

I realize that.  

And agree with you that more money should be invested in Education 

[Augratin]

22 hours ago, Khunmark said:

Harder than you think.

 

Somehow I was able to learn English at an early age, before I even started my schooling.  Shockingly, my mother was not a licensed teacher, but a single mom & waitress.  In other words, she was unqualified according to the TCT.  

All the kids here need is more exposure. They'd learn the basics of listening & speaking just by being around people who've been using the language it all their lives.  But the TCT would rather give a license to a 25 year-old fresh out of college, with no experience, than a 50 year-old with no degree but who has 20 years of work experience under their belt.  This is called throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Perhaps if Thailand were a premier destination for the world's top teaching talent, then the country could afford to be more picky. But the sad reality is that Thailand often must resort to scraping the bottom of the barrel in the search for degree-holders, under the mistaken notion that being a degree-holder makes a candidate qualified, and that not being a degree holder makes a candidate unqualified.

Thailand would do well to consider all candidates who can demonstrate that they are skills-qualified even if they might not possess a piece of paper stating that they attended a 4-year post-secondary beer party.  Maybe even set up a teacher training program where talented people are given the additional skills needed to become teachers.

Come on, Thailand, think outside the musty old box.

[Khunmark]

6 hours ago, Augratin said:

Somehow I was able to learn English at an early age, before I even started my schooling.  Shockingly, my mother was not a licensed teacher, but a single mom & waitress.  In other words, she was unqualified according to the TCT.  

All the kids here need is more exposure. They'd learn the basics of listening & speaking just by being around people who've been using the language it all their lives.  But the TCT would rather give a license to a 25 year-old fresh out of college, with no experience, than a 50 year-old with no degree but who has 20 years of work experience under their belt.  This is called throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Perhaps if Thailand were a premier destination for the world's top teaching talent, then the country could afford to be more picky. But the sad reality is that Thailand often must resort to scraping the bottom of the barrel in the search for degree-holders, under the mistaken notion that being a degree-holder makes a candidate qualified, and that not being a degree holder makes a candidate unqualified.

Thailand would do well to consider all candidates who can demonstrate that they are skills-qualified even if they might not possess a piece of paper stating that they attended a 4-year post-secondary beer party.  Maybe even set up a teacher training program where talented people are given the additional skills needed to become teachers.

Come on, Thailand, think outside the musty old box.

By the info you’ve provided I’m assuming your mother is not a native English speaker? Non native speakers of English make good teachers. The reason for this is because they learn the rules of grammar prior to teaching (if they have learnt in an education setting ). Conversely, native English language speakers acquire the language. 
If you don’t know the basic structures of the language, including grammar and syntax (which is taught at University)  you shouldn’t be teaching the language in an educational setting.

The age at which you mastered English, suggests you acquired it, rather than learnt it.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Khunmark