Job Discussion Forums

[guruengerish]

I read in the Oz press this week that Thai English teachers have done very poorly in a recent test.

There was a general comment that they cannot get enough trained and/or qualified foriegn teachers to come and teach in Thailand.

Would this be a fair comment? I raise the matter as I normally haunt the Indonesian forum, and there seems to be an increasing demand for teachers there too

However the big difference I note is that in Indonesia, teachers are expected to stay 12 months, and air fares are reimbursed during and at the completion of the contract.

Is this non-payment of air fares in Thailand a fair comment? I see some schools are constantly advertising for teachers, with the usual low pay levels, but no mention of assistance with fares, medical insurance etc.

[sigmoid]

[tedkarma]

While I love Thailand and have chosen to retire here, it is one of the more difficult places for newbie EFL teachers to get a start IMO/IME.

As Sigmoid mentions, the wages - compared to the requirements for the job - just don't compete with other Asian countries.

Thailand now requires a degree (unless you want to teach illegally - without a work permit - and many people do), many schools ALSO want a TEFL certification. No problem really, but with the same qualifications you could be saving US$1000 or more per month in Korea or Taiwan, and almost that in Japan.

Some jobs will want you to teach on the weekend as well as attend silly school functions during your "off" time (translation: you won't get paid for these time-consuming things).

Another common irritation in Thailand is the "Demo Lesson" where you are supposed to come in and teach a class of students (or bored peers) who are often unhappy to be there and uncharacteristic of the people you will really teach. You are then judged on this "one-off" experience and a decision about hiring you is based on this rather unnatural experience. These kinds of demo lessons are somewhat unusual in Korea, Japan and Taiwan - Thailand's competitors for teaching talent - where they tend to realize that it may take a while to get to know your students and have them warm up to you.

There are actually some decent part-time jobs and very decent full time jobs - but, while wages ARE improving a bit - they are still not enough to allow you to live reasonably AND purchase a plane ticket home once a year (which really isn't much these days . . .).

Thus - the often talked about "teacher shortage".

[laconic]

Here's a thread from another site that relates to the problem and makes for very interesting reading IMO:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=144959

[The Lemon]