News Forum - Top tips for effectively teaching English to Thai students

[Thaiger]

Teaching English in Thailand is a one-of-a-kind and rewarding experience. However, it’s essential to remember that the process is not merely about exchanging one set of alphabets for another. It’s about imparting a whole new way of expressing thoughts, ideas, and feelings, as well as bridging cultural gaps. You need to make sure that your … …

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[cowslip]

THere is a problem amongst the general public that they think because they went to school, they must be "experts" on education

(I really dislike the word "expert" as it usually means those using it know sod-all.)

 

The follow-on problem from that is that many people teaching English in Thailand are sadly lacking in knowledge of education. They basically  are content with "getting by" and mistake their years of teaching as "experience" when in reality it is just accumulating bad habits...

 

[TheDirtyDurian]

3 hours ago, cowslip said:

THere is a problem amongst the general public that they think because they went to school, they must be "experts" on education

(I really dislike the word "expert" as it usually means those using it know sod-all.)

The follow-on problem from that is that many people teaching English in Thailand are sadly lacking in knowledge of education. They basically  are content with "getting by" and mistake their years of teaching as "experience" when in reality it is just accumulating bad habits...

Many people teaching English in Thailand are not qualified to teach in schools in their home countries, many of them well intentioned I'm sure, but nevertheless unqualified.

But the fact remains that salaries are generally so low in the ESL world in Thailand, that any proper teacher will be in a proper job in a proper school.

[cowslip]

18 minutes ago, TheDirtyDurian said:

Many people teaching English in Thailand are not qualified to teach in schools in their home countries, many of them well intentioned I'm sure, but nevertheless unqualified.

But the fact remains that salaries are generally so low in the ESL world in Thailand, that any proper teacher will be in a proper job in a proper school.

I think you need to be specific on what you mean as "qualified"

You are assuming that all teachers work in schools teaching kids.

You also are assuming that teaching qualifications from the home country are the only way to "learn" how to teach. THese vary form country to country.

Actually in QTS in UK doesn't require much at all and isn't universally required.

To teach in Universities the requirement on paper can be even less.

THe job is a lot more than that - it really requires a knowledge of education.

 

[Ivo_Shandor]

Tip #9: don't bang them:

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/american-tiktoker-and-teacher-arrested-for-sexually-assaulting-young-thai-girl

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/tiktok-teacher-luke-rockwell-arrested-after-sex-with-16-year-old/

https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/easy/2641118/english-teacher-arrested-for-sex-abuse-of-minor

etc...

[cowslip]

1 hour ago, Ivo_Shandor said:

Tip #9: don't bang them:

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/american-tiktoker-and-teacher-arrested-for-sexually-assaulting-young-thai-girl

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/tiktok-teacher-luke-rockwell-arrested-after-sex-with-16-year-old/

https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/easy/2641118/english-teacher-arrested-for-sex-abuse-of-minor

etc...

I think posting that tells us more about you than the OP

[foreigner12345]

9 hours ago, cowslip said:

I think you need to be specific on what you mean as "qualified"

You are assuming that all teachers work in schools teaching kids.

You also are assuming that teaching qualifications from the home country are the only way to "learn" how to teach. THese vary form country to country.

Actually in QTS in UK doesn't require much at all and isn't universally required.

To teach in Universities the requirement on paper can be even less.

THe job is a lot more than that - it really requires a knowledge of education.

You are so wrong.. First, most schools in Thailand do not want a real teacher. They seek an entertainer to keep the kids smiling with a white face to use for advertising to get more money.

Second, most schools do not care if the kids learn English as long as the kids are happy and their parents as well.

Third, scores are adjusted in most schools by the teachers after being told to do so by the admin office. They do not reflect the seriously poor levels of English being taught.

Fourth, the foreigner teaching is replaceable in an instant if there is a complaint about them, even if he/she is a great teacher and cares their students learn.

Fifth, most schools overwork the foreigner teacher leaving them very little time to prepare or create a good lesson that would ensure learning.

Sixth, most foreigners and students are given books with mistakes in them yet told to teach verbatim from those books.

Seventh, most testing done is at a reduced level to what the students should know at their grade level. To ensure higher passing rates among the classes. 

Last but not least, students in schools in Thailand usually only have one or two 45 minute classes which is not enough time to teach any topic well enough to be understood and used adequately. Their book work is done to the fullest while most of the kids understood 20% of the work they did and usually were given the answers to put in the books by other kids or their teachers because that is also part of their grade. 

Knowledge of the subject and of being a teacher is a great big problem in Thailand because there are so many schools that will hire a teacher never knowing if they are a good teacher. A one time demonstration class to pass their criteria to hire with the decisions to hire that foreigner made by Thais who are not qualified enough in English to make a good decision. But more so it is the school and students attitude towards their foreigner teachers that cause the limited levels of English. The school has no care, consideration, or loyalty to a foreigner teacher the way they do their Thai teachers. A foreigner teacher is nothing in a school. 

As for the other comments about foreigners having sex with students. That rarely happens in Thailand. I could easily show you 3 times more links to articles about the Thai teachers having sex with students or beating them and giving abuse. 

In a Thai school the things done by Thai teachers are swept under the rug and hidden. If a foreigner did the same as a Thai he would be arrested and deported and never allowed to teach again. But is acceptable and even secretly condoned if the same things are done by a Thai. 

 

 

[Pinetree]

11 hours ago, cowslip said:

Actually in QTS in UK doesn't require much at all and isn't universally required.

Rubbish.  The UK PGCE is a Worldwide recognized, Post Graduate teaching  qualification,  that takes knowledge and application. As usual, you don't know what you are writing about, so no change there 

[Ivo_Shandor]

5 hours ago, cowslip said:

I think posting that tells us more about you than the OP

Sorry, I do not teach English and I do not engage with underage persons. Perhaps you should substantiate better your allegations or refrain from posting trivialities.

[rkhguy]

13 minutes ago, Ivo_Shandor said:

Sorry, I do not teach English and I do not engage with underage persons. Perhaps you should substantiate better your allegations or refrain from posting trivialities.

"refrain from posting trivialities"

You might take your own advice.

Especially since you state: "I do not teach English and I do not engage with underage persons"; so why post trivialities in this thread?

[23RD]

Just reading this topic and I 've got to say Falang English Teachers  in Thailand are at the bottom of the Falang Expat food chain. 

It's a low paid job that many I've seen over the years just about exist on.

If Teaching English in Thailand  is anyone's aim of achieving a life in Thailand they probably want to reevaluate their situation. 

And one more point has anyone else noticed about 90% of the Falang English Teachers in Thailand have a problem with their personal appearance and hygiene?.

[Ivo_Shandor]

25 minutes ago, rkhguy said:

"refrain from posting trivialities"

You might take your own advice.

Especially since you state: "I do not teach English and I do not engage with underage persons"; so why post trivialities in this thread?

First of all, funny replies are common in this website; if you want to phase out all the thousands of BS in this website, good luck. Second of all, my input was equally light-hearted and serious, as to indicate an avoidance of behaviours that are incoherent with a teaching role (regardless of the discipline taught), which can end up in situation as the one I linked (by the way, referring to an English teacher, thus I think triviality does not come from my side). Hence, the point stands. If you missed it, it is not my problem. Cheers.

[TheDirtyDurian]

13 hours ago, cowslip said:

I think you need to be specific on what you mean as "qualified"

You are assuming that all teachers work in schools teaching kids.

You also are assuming that teaching qualifications from the home country are the only way to "learn" how to teach. THese vary form country to country.

Actually in QTS in UK doesn't require much at all and isn't universally required.

To teach in Universities the requirement on paper can be even less.

THe job is a lot more than that - it really requires a knowledge of education.

Whatever you are assuming that I am assuming. The point still stands, the vast majority of teachers in Thailand would not be able to get a job teaching in a school in their home countries because they're not qualified. 

Many of these same teachers then constantly deride the standard of Thai schools...555.

Why is if that top international schools in Thailand don't just take Mr. Weekend TEFLer? 

Because they want a properly qualified teacher, and they're willing to pay for it.

[Augratin]

I've just gotta say that the hate against teachers in this discussion is something else.  Kids will pick up the language just by being exposed to it. 

When I was a round 6-12 years old, I went to a babysitter after school for a few hours because my mother got home about 3 hours later than I did.  The babysitter was an older Vietnamese woman and most of the other kids she took care of were also Vietnamese.  You can probably see where this is going: I somehow picked up the language reasonably well (for a ten year-old) and even acquired enough of the accent to sound like a native speaker.  Yet somehow (you might want to sit down for this) neither the babysitter nor any of the other kids in her care were college-educated language teachers - Gasp!  

Even today there are many tutoring programs where "big brother" volunteers are paired up with fatherless children. They act as role models, helping them with all aspects of growing up - even learning how to read.  Imagine that!   You guys act like it's impossible to learn basic life skills from somebody without a master's degree in education. 

When we get up into high school, where students need to learn complex grammar and composition, then I might agree that the skill set of the teacher is important.  But not in elementary school.  Just get reasonably articulate native speakers in the classroom and the kids will learn the language.

[cowslip]

5 hours ago, foreigner12345 said:

First, most schools in Thailand do not want a real teacher.

Tripe! there is an English language progrm that all schools take part in - it is of cour=se subject to corruption and incompete=nce. - but your premise is just typical of the bigotry that some teachers suffer from in Thailand

[cowslip]

1 hour ago, TheDirtyDurian said:

The point still stands, the vast majority of teachers in Thailand would not be able to get a job teaching in a school in their home countries because they're not qualified. 

Firstly - we are talking about teachers of English as a foreign language not Nat. syllabus teachers

You also totally ignore what EL teaching is about in Thailand - government schools are only part of the picture.

I also don't think you know what qualifications are required in other countries and it also depends on what and who they teach.

[Khunmark]

1 hour ago, Augratin said:

I've just gotta say that the hate against teachers in this discussion is something else.  Kids will pick up the language just by being exposed to it. 

When I was a round 6-12 years old, I went to a babysitter after school for a few hours because my mother got home about 3 hours later than I did.  The babysitter was an older Vietnamese woman and most of the other kids she took care of were also Vietnamese.  You can probably see where this is going: I somehow picked up the language reasonably well (for a ten year-old) and even acquired enough of the accent to sound like a native speaker.  Yet somehow (you might want to sit down for this) neither the babysitter nor any of the other kids in her care were college-educated language teachers - Gasp!  

Even today there are many tutoring programs where "big brother" volunteers are paired up with fatherless children. They act as role models, helping them with all aspects of growing up - even learning how to read.  Imagine that!   You guys act like it's impossible to learn basic life skills from somebody without a master's degree in education. 

When we get up into high school, where students need to learn complex grammar and composition, then I might agree that the skill set of the teacher is important.  But not in elementary school.  Just get reasonably articulate native speakers in the classroom and the kids will learn the language.

This is a commentary typical of someone who can’t distinguish between acquired knowledge and learnt knowledge. Anyway, we’ve had this discussion before in another thread, so I’ll leave it at that.

[cowslip]

41 minutes ago, Khunmark said:

acquired knowledge and learnt knowledge.

what is the difference?

"Acquired knowledge which is implicit is the result of a subconscious process, acquisition. The acquired knowledge is used for communication. Learned knowledge is explicit and is the result of a conscious process, learning. The learned knowledge is of use only when the learner has time to monitor the output - a bit of a false differentiation.

 

Really it is "taught" that makes the differentiation - however TEFL teaching relies on th concept of "acquiring" language so in many ways it is just a type of teaching and not "teaching" in the same way as Math, History etc - even English literature - which is why it's a good idea to have a native speaker - if you learn in a normal "school" way, you don'r need a native speaker.

Most of the comments on this thread don't seem to understand the concept of "TEFL" itself and cond=fuse it with mainstream teaching.

 

It has to be said also that when it comes to degrees of "flakiness" - TEFL is right up there with solicitors and second-hand car dealers

[Khunmark]

1 minute ago, cowslip said:

what is the difference?

Acquired knowledge occurs through the process of osmosis. Learnt knowledge occurs through the process of a structured educational program.

[cowslip]

27 minutes ago, Khunmark said:

Acquired knowledge occurs through the process of osmosis. Learnt knowledge occurs through the process of a structured educational program.

In fact the principle of TEFL is based on your definition of acquire knowledge - in actual fact it's all a process of learning as any teacher will be able to use as tools

[Rookiescot]

7 hours ago, 23RD said:

Just reading this topic and I 've got to say Falang English Teachers  in Thailand are at the bottom of the Falang Expat food chain. 

It's a low paid job that many I've seen over the years just about exist on.

If Teaching English in Thailand  is anyone's aim of achieving a life in Thailand they probably want to reevaluate their situation. 

And one more point has anyone else noticed about 90% of the Falang English Teachers in Thailand have a problem with their personal appearance and hygiene?.

Maybe if you had paid attention to your English teacher you would have learned that random capitalization is a bad thing. 

[cowslip]

44 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

Maybe if you had paid attention to your English teacher you would have learned that random capitalization is a bad thing. 

A comment from someone who doesn't understand English linguistics?

 

[cowslip]

  Overall there seem to be a lot of comments from people who "just don't like teachers" - who think that any issue can be summed up in wild inaccurate stereotyping and generalisations

They know nothing about the job or what they do or the qualifications they may or may not have they evidently have no idea about who they teach or what teaching English as a foreign language entails.

They have no idea what the government policy is regarding schools or what the real market for EL is both nationally and internationally - yet like most people would never be able to teach they feel they are able to propound upon it.

Comments like "Falang English Teachers in Thailand are at the bottom of the Falang Expat food chain." - just show that that imagined status should be reserved for fat, self-opinionated ex-military expats who couldn't even be bothered to learn Thai and are desperately trying to justify their wasted own lives - if they see the world like that they never will, of course.

On the other side there are a considerable number of English Language teachers in Thailand who just can't teach and don't understand wat it takes to be a teacher - of any king - there must also be a big question mark over the motivation of some teachers and the employment policies as implemented by some schools.

Thailand has a very archaic school system but as I said before, teaching in schools is a relatively minor part of TEFL in Thailand.

 

[23RD]

22 minutes ago, cowslip said:

  Overall there seem to be a lot of comments from people who "just don't like teachers" - who think that any issue can be summed up in wild inaccurate stereotyping and generalisations

They know nothing about the job or what they do or the qualifications they may or may not have they evidently have no idea about who they teach or what teaching English as a foreign language entails.

They have no idea what the government policy is regarding schools or what the real market for EL is both nationally and internationally - yet like most people would never be able to teach they feel they are able to propound upon it.

Comments like "Falang English Teachers in Thailand are at the bottom of the Falang Expat food chain." - just show that that imagined status should be reserved for fat, self-opinionated ex-military expats who couldn't even be bothered to learn Thai and are desperately trying to justify their wasted own lives - if they see the world like that they never will, of course.

On the other side there are a considerable number of English Language teachers in Thailand who just can't teach and don't understand wat it takes to be a teacher - of any king - there must also be a big question mark over the motivation of some teachers and the employment policies as implemented by some schools.

Thailand has a very archaic school system but as I said before, teaching in schools is a relatively minor part of TEFL in Thailand.

Good post Cowslip straight from the heart. 

[cowslip]

13 hours ago, Pinetree said:

Rubbish.  The UK PGCE is a Worldwide recognized, Post Graduate teaching  qualification,  that takes knowledge and application. As usual, you don't know what you are writing about, so no change there 

You are so unaware of how uninformed you are - I say QTS and you immediately go on about PGCE - you don't seem to know what qualifications are required of teachers in UK - and you also need to look back to the 1970s/and 80s where the system was different again