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Work permit and the TESOL

 
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suzieQ



Joined: 21 Jul 2003
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2003 4:23 pm    Post subject: Work permit and the TESOL Reply with quote

I recently signed a contract to begin teaching in BKK in September. Now, the school has informed me that my Commerce degree alone will not get me a work permit. I guess I need a TESOL as well. What is the deal with this? Should I be worried that the school waited until after I had signed the contract to tell me this additional, very important, information?

Is the TESOL easy to obtain in Thailand? How much does it cost? How long will it take to get certified? I don't have a lot of extra cash on hand, so I was counting on earning money ASAP.

HELP!!!
Confused
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hagakuri



Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Posts: 84
Location: Nishi-Shinjuku JAPAN

PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2003 3:47 pm    Post subject: Answers Reply with quote

Hello,

Stipulations related to the issuance of work permits for educators (ie teachers) are undergoing some changes in Thailand. For the last year and a half, the ability to obtain a work permit has become increasingly more difficult. Now, the government is requiring that a teacher have a certain amont of educational English credit.

Sadly enough, a linguistics degree counts for nothing. There has to be express reference to English in the transcript. For example, having Syntax 308, an upper division linguistics course, is not recognized.

So, those people that are coming in on degrees such as business, or yourself in commerce, will have to take a TESOL course. Good news for the TESOL companies! Taking this course, replaces the needed credit in the eyes of the Thai government.

You should not be shocked in the late notice. All of this has come about in the last couple of weeks. Again, there has been talk about it for a long time, but the government has just started enforcing it within the past week.

The TESOL is easy to obtain in Thailand if you have the money. You should field your detailed questions about the TESOL to the individual companies, as they are subjective answers.

Hope this helps.
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Ajarn Miguk



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 227
Location: TDY As Assigned

PostPosted: Wed Aug 27, 2003 11:05 pm    Post subject: Re: Answers Reply with quote

hagakuri wrote:

"Now, the government is requiring that a teacher have a certain amont of educational English credit."


Is it only English? I've heard your degree/satisfactory number of credits can be in Education - not necessarily, English? I've also heard the requirement can sometimes be waived given the ESL/EFL teaching experience of the applicant.

Does anyone know if any of this is true?
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michelle yu



Joined: 25 Jul 2003
Posts: 10
Location: Asia - China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan

PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2003 3:23 pm    Post subject: Good or Bad Day Reply with quote

I cannot say that I have heard of the requirements being waived based on teaching experience alone.

I can say that the English or education credit issue is subjective to the personnel. Some will grant based on general education credits. Others will grant the permit only with dedicated English credits.

There are many loopholes in the Thai system. For example, if you go with someone that knows one of the officers, then you will get a work permit no problem. Little things like that go a long way in Thailand.

But for the most part, they attempt to play by the book.
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murman



Joined: 22 Oct 2003
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Sat Nov 01, 2003 7:59 pm    Post subject: about work permits - new regulations Reply with quote

Hi,

I've read the previous messages on this thread. I have a Trinity TESOL Certificate (Grade A). I also have a decent education, to HND standard (Recognised in many establishments as a pass at degree level). I also have two years post TESOL experience.


Under the new regulations, where would I stand in terms of obtaining a degree?

Thank you in advance for any advice.
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murman



Joined: 22 Oct 2003
Posts: 18

PostPosted: Sat Nov 01, 2003 8:05 pm    Post subject: Sorry for misprint Reply with quote

Hi again,

I wrote 'obtaining a degree', in my previous message. It should of course have read, 'obtaining a work permit'. Sorry.
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hagakuri



Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Posts: 84
Location: Nishi-Shinjuku JAPAN

PostPosted: Sun Nov 02, 2003 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello,

Firstly, you will have to clarify a few things. What is the meaning of HND, and could you put it into a comparison context? Secondly, it is slightly ambigious if you have an actual degree or not?

Here are some conjectures:

You should have no problem obtaining a work permit if you do have your TESOL and a degree.

If you have have education equivalent to a degree is meaningless with regard to obtaining a work permit. You need to have an actual degree.

Having a TESOL alone, with your post experience, and having an education (no degree) will get you a job at many places but not a work permit.

There are a few other combinations here. Please remember to read the above thread about `knowing` people. If you school has the contacts and some money everything said here would be moot.

Hope this helps.
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Leigh



Joined: 12 May 2003
Posts: 12
Location: Bangkok

PostPosted: Wed Nov 05, 2003 6:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A lot of it depends on what type of school you're working at. Private language schools are okay with a non-related degree and a TEFL, but for international and bilingual programs they may well want you to have educational credits within your degree.

HND is a Higher National Diploma (right?) so it may swing things for you, I've known people obtain a work permit on a qualification comparable to a degree (so the info you've been given before about the 100% need to have a BA is incorrect!) in fact I know people that only hold a TEFL certificate that have managed to obtain a work permit (it depends who you work for, what you're teaching, which location you're based in etc.).

Yes, knowing the right people can help, but as I've said above there are a lot of other factors involved. If you're determined to obtain a work permit even without a degree it's possible (albeit not easy!).

It hasn't really got any harder over the last year or so, the changes are only just starting to take effect!
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