Job Discussion Forums

[marquezmf]

My boyfriend and I are interested in moving to Thailand to teach English. We are both North American University graduates, but our citizenships are niether American nor Canadian. I am Venezuelan (with 10+ years of education in the British and American systems) and he is Bahamian.

We plan to take the CELTA or TEFL course and we'd like to know if there are any recommendations on which course to take? (ECC, International House, TEFL International, etc)

Also, is it possible to enter Thailand with a one-way ticket?

Thank you for your help!

[tedkarma]

A good place to start is How to Select a TEFL School at:

http://phuketdelight.com/TEFL.htm

Generally speaking, very few people ever have trouble entering with a one-way ticket - and it is more likely the airline company that will give you trouble. However, since you are planning on taking a course - get a 60-day Tourist Visa, which you can extend for 30 more days and you'll have no trouble at all.

The 90 days total you'll end up with will give you plenty of time to arrive, get situated, get trained, travel a little bit, look for a job - and then get your employment visa/permit/etc sorted out.

[7969]

the trainers at ECC bangkok are ok, but none of them have any idea what the real world of teaching is like, at least with respect to asia. most of the trainers that were there in 2003 when i was there had tuaght english in oman, spain or some other place. none of them had ever taught in china, or japan where class sizes can be huge, students poorly motivated, and where celta training becomes really worthless.

coming into thailand is no problem on one way ticket. your problem, if you have one, will be at the point of departure. you may need to buy an onward ticket from thailand before they'll let you board the plane. depends on where you leave from however. some places dont care.

[tedkarma]

7969 makes a good, and rarely discussed point - that almost all CELTA/TEFL schools train you to teach in small EFL-school settings.

It is a very rare course that actually has you teach in a real public school with huge classes, sometimes no A/C in hot sweaty classrooms with 50-60+ bored hyper kids or hostile teenagers.

It ain't always a pretty picture.

I have, luckily, been able to be quite selective about my teaching circumstances - though I have taught at a few wing-dinger schools at one time or another - usually for a very SHORT amount of time . . .

I once taught a reading course in Taiwan with 100+ students in the room - not sure if anyone learned anything. I learned to stand near the A/C.

[marquezmf]

Thanks for the replies! All the information is really helpful.

[tedkarma]

I guess that the point is - if you need a cert for a job - get one.

And I'd say get one anyway - just so you have a good idea of what the basic points of teaching method are and you can then - later - adapt them to the REAL world.

[Old_Liz]

I know that Celta is highly prescriptive, but I've just begun a p/t Celta here in Australia and have already been told that there are two sessions (not part of the Celta syllabus, but sessions nevertheless) aimed at giving an introduction to some of the problems and (partial) solutions inherent in the large class sizes common in Asia.

Perhaps it's because many Celta students in Australia and New Zealand plan to teach in Asia rather than elsewhere?

Although I'm planning to teach in Europe, I shall go along to the sessions as it's all more information, and who knows when it might come in useful?

[Gautsch]