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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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 Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:05 am Post subject: |
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| PattyFlipper wrote: |
Dissent in the ranks? I'm delighted to hear it. It seems as if some of the farang in Thailand are finally shaking off the effects of Stockholm Syndrome and developing some backbone. MOD EDIT |
Not exactly.
These Aussies who heckled the German guy were all fired up because the new requirements for teachers in Thailand, the Culture Course and TCT tests, were going to make it impossible for unqualified non-natives to teach in Thailand. The native speakers thought they would finally have a monopoly on the ESL market in Thailand.
Or so they thought.
This happened almost a year ago and there are still loads of unqualified teachers, native and non-native, teaching in Thailand. The Culture Course is just one more hoop they have to jump through to teach in this country. |
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gusto102
Joined: 03 Oct 2007
Posts: 44
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| Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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I just finished a 2 day 20 hour Thai culture course last weekend which actually lasted about 16 hours. My school paid the 3,000 baht course fee so I didn't feel totally scammed. It really wasn't that bad. There were about 80 something teachers in attendance an overwhelming majority of whom were Filipinos. The course instructor was a Thai woman who had studied in the states and was pretty fluent in English.
I think the course is a good idea for new comers here in Thailand. I've been here awhile and it just confirmed what I had already observed about Thai culture. We had a Filipino instructor explain the new laws regarding foreign teachers in Thailand.
There is also some kind of 25 unit teaching certification course followed by four exams that the Thai government is trying to implement. It seems unlikely that this last requirement will be strictly enforced. From what I've heard the exams are impossible to pass even for those with masters degrees in education. |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 6:52 am Post subject: |
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| gusto102 wrote: |
| From what I've heard the exams are impossible to pass even for those with masters degrees in education. |
No kidding. I took the TCT exams last April and only passed one of five sections. I don't think anyone in our group (50 plus teachers) passed them all.
The reasons were: Poorly written questions, gramatically incorrect English and obscure references to Thai legislation and Thai idioms, just to name a few. I even remember one particular question about hotkeys in Microsoft Excel. 
Don't waste your money. Give the TCT tests a miss until they fix them. |
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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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| We had a Filipino instructor explain the new laws regarding foreign teachers in Thailand. |
Please tell us about these new laws. Could be good for a few laughs.  |
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RebelGirl26
Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Posts: 23
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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I've been teaching for 5 months at a language institute and no one at my school has said a word about me needing to take this course (knock on wood). I have my work permit & visa, so it's not like I'm working under the table or anything.
Is this only a requirement for public schools maybe? |
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skann
Joined: 08 Mar 2006
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:15 am Post subject: culture course |
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Hmm, I"ve never had to take this culture course, and no one at my school has ever mentioned it. Maybe it's because I work at an International School rather than a government school.
From what I've seen, anything is possible in Thailand. I knew two teachers in my city who were 18 years old, French, no University education, no teaching certificate, no teaching experience, on their gap year, and yet they were hired at a full salary (30000) to teach. It was with a (reputable) agency which sent them to big schools that it contracted with. From that, I realized that anything is possible in Thailand. They didn't have to take the culture course either. |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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| RebelGirl26 wrote: |
Is this only a requirement for public schools maybe? |
It's a requirement if you teach mathayom (middle school) or prathom (primary school) students. I don't think it makes any difference if you teach in a government or private school.
If you teach in a language center, then you don't have to do the course.  |
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Smeagol
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
Posts: 21
Location: In transit
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| Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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You miserable wretches who teach in primary and middle school not only have the unceasing attention defecit disorder that's commonly known as "childhood" to deal with on a daily basis, but now a course about the rugrats' culture, as if they have even been civilized to the point of having ANY culture at their age?  |
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junan70
Joined: 16 Apr 2008
Posts: 47
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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I've been thinking about returning to Thailand (which I loved travelling around) but as an experienced EFL and Primary School Teacher here in the UK, I'll be damned if I'm going to put myself through this crap.
I'll take a look at Japan again...  |
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NigerianWhisper
Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 176
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| Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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| junan70 wrote: |
I've been thinking about returning to Thailand (which I loved travelling around) but as an experienced EFL and Primary School Teacher here in the UK, I'll be damned if I'm going to put myself through this crap.
I'll take a look at Japan again... |
As an "experienced EFL and Primary School Teacher in the UK" surely you would be looking at NC International Schools here instead?
You know.....tax-free salaries on a par with the UK, free housing and benefits etc?? |
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junan70
Joined: 16 Apr 2008
Posts: 47
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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Been out of a classroom for several years and so need to get back into it. Besides, 'teaching international kids' isn't why I want to move to Thailand, I'd rather teach Thais.
I'm not TEFLing go for the money, that's for sure. |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA
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| Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Smeagol wrote: |
| You miserable wretches who teach in primary and middle school not only have the unceasing attention defecit disorder that's commonly known as "childhood" to deal with on a daily basis, but now a course about the rugrats' culture, as if they have even been civilized to the point of having ANY culture at their age? |
Actually, us farangs do end up teaching Thai kids about their own culture as well as our own.
My Polish girl friend teaches 'life experience' at a Thai primary school. She had to teach a whole lesson on Loy Krathong Day (in English of course). Of course, she first had to learn what a krathong was herself.
"miserable wretches"?! Jeeze, Smeagol. Ever since you found that damn gold ring you've been a real douchebag on the forums.
As for the culture course, I heard the Thai Ministry of Ed. granted another year of grace period before they enforce this requirement. There's no need to worry about donning gold fingernails, or 'the precious', at present. |
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PattyFlipper
Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 572
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| Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:01 am Post subject: |
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| Master Shake wrote: |
As for the culture course, I heard the Thai Ministry of Ed. granted another year of grace period before they enforce this requirement. There's no need to worry about donning gold fingernails, or 'the precious', at present. |
They recently reneged on the agreement with those foolish enough to buy into the much-vaunted Thai "Elite" card (at a million baht a pop), so they certainly wouldn't have any qualms about scamming a bunch of farang TEFLers out of a few thousand baht and then moving the goalposts yet again. The Thais are adept at shooting themselves in the foot, but they are also fairly consistent in their inconsistency. |
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