Thailand delights

Thailand Ajarn's wanting to Teach English in Cambodia

2010-12-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

Over the past few years Teaching English in Thailand has become increasingly more difficult for foreign Teachers.

The main reasons for this being is that the Thai authorities have slowly wised up to the fact that a lot of foreign Teachers they were employing in their schools weren't quite as qualified as they should be. To be a Teacher in Thailand requires a degree in any field, those with education degrees are given preference.

The days of the unqualified backpacking Teachers are all but over. These days you have to do things like take the Thai culture course and go on teaching courses in order to qualify for a teachers license. Along with the ever changing visa rules & regulations has made Thailand a tricky place to teach these days.

So what do you do if you don't meet the above criteria? There is a place that will welcome you with open arms. Are you a drunk? Have you got an drugs problem, mental illness perhaps, or just a complete loser? Don't worry Cambodia awaits you. As one article called it, the last chance saloon for English teachers.

Teaching English in Cambodia... more

Living & Teaching English in Thailand for the over 40s

2010-12-13T09:36:00.000-08:00

Will moving to Thailand and Teaching English be the answer to my prayers?

How many of us just want to up sticks and make a new life in Thailand? Especially with the current economic climate that exists now in the west. Having been to Thailand on holiday and enjoying a short vacation here many guys think that this might just be the right move to make.

Age does make a huge difference if you want to live in Thailand

If you are 40 and over is it a good idea to just pack up your life in the west and move over to Thailand? Well the answer to this all depends upon your financial situation. If you can afford to move to Thailand and can sustain yourself while you're here then yes definitely! I've met guys in their 40s who've retired early with a small lump sum and a modest pension that are quite happily living in Thailand. A lot of their time they'll supplement their modest pensions with a part time teaching job. This allows them to get out and meet other people whilst earning a bit of extra beer money.

I'm 40 or over and am bored with the U.K I want to Teach English in Thailand

Firstly ask yourself, am I having a mid life crisis? No, Okay you intend to leave your home and come over to Thailand to live out the rest of your days living and Teaching English in Thailand, sounds like a great plan or not?

Do you have a degree? If the answer is no then you'll have trouble securing a work permit for Teaching here.

Do you have a retirement plan? Answer, no by any chance? This is a bad idea, Thailand will not provide you with a pension and when you get too old to work, you'll be booted out!

Are you in good robust health? Even if you are, who knows what the future may hold for you health wise. If your health starts to fail you'll then have to pay for all your medical care.

Health insurance is the only word I need to know it'll take care of everything!

That's what the companies that sell these plans would like you to think. In reality what happens if you're incapacitated for any length of time? Lets say you get the big C? Guess what you can't work which means you can't keep up with the insurance payments which in turn means your cover will expire!

My company provides my health insurance cover I'm alright jack!

A lot of companies will provide health insurance. However, take a look how much you're insured for. With some companies it might only be enough to cover a trip to casualty and a few aspirins!

Next time how to live and work in Thailand permanently...

What am I doing Teaching ESL in Thailand?

2010-10-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

Why am I an Ajarn Teaching English in Thailand?

This is a common question that many English Teachers ask themselves after a few years of Teaching here in Thailand.

For the new Teacher / Ajarn here in the land of smiles everything always looks rosy. Yes, you remember those days well. The transition from Thailand tourist to Thailand Teacher. You've made it, and now you're a fully fledged Thailand expat living & Teaching in the bustling Thai capital of Bangkok.

But wait! What's gone wrong! A few years ago you used to like going to work, doing all that overtime, nothing was too much trouble for you. Now all you want to do is get your monthly salary and get back to your condo. Friday night can't come fast enough.

Yes, the above happens quite frequently to a lot of Thailand Ajarns. Those rose tints go dull and reality creeps in. You're no longer on holiday! It's a job, yes a Teaching Job and you've an obligation to the school and all those smiling Thai students. It's just the same old 9-5 grind that you tried to escape back home in the west. The only difference is that the weather is hotter, prices are cheaper and nobody speaks your lingo!

What is it that really hacks foreign Teachers off here in Thailand? Well we could make a very long list but for the purposes of this short post we'll just stick to the more common points...

Cultural misunderstandings

Language barrier

Lower pay compared to western salaries

Racism or perceived racism

Thai laws & regulations that discriminate against Foreigners in Thailand

Inept bumbling Thai management and co workers

Two tier pricing

Thai people trying to charge Foreigners extra

Thai Visa rules & Regulations

Those are just a few common points that cause distress to Foreign expats / Teachers in Thailand. The thing that should be taken into account is this. Most Teachers here in the land of smiles knew in advance that they'd be up against hurdles like the above.

So why did they come and Live in Thailand in the first place? Beats the hell out of me. Maybe they were just in a state of denial with themselves or maybe they thought that they'd change Thailand and the Thai people? Who knows?

Having become disillusioned with Thailand, it's people, and the whole Thailand ESL Teaching scene. What happens next? Where do they go? Home maybe? No, they head over to Thailand internet forums like T***D*** There they take great delight in ranting and raving to each other about how unfair their lives are and how Thailand & it's people are conspiring against them!

Birds of a feather roost together or like attracts like. The purpose of this article is to point out potential pitfalls that new English Teacher might face here in Thailand. Life & things are what you make them. Why make something bad when you can make it good?

Enjoy Teaching English in Thailand.

Thai teacher canes students in Nakhon Ratchasima(St Mary's college)

2010-08-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

Thai teacher hits students in Nakhon Ratchasima(Korat) Thailand!

Here's a scene that will make all of you politically correct types jump up and chant it's barbaric, it's a human rights breach blah blah blah!

Caning in Thailand, allowed or not allowed?

So just what is the law concerning corporal punishment in Thai schools these days? Well caning was outlawed in Thai schools about 7 years ago or so.

So why are Thai students still receiving a good old thrashing?

Although corporal punishment was outlawed in Thai schools, it still goes on as the video clearly shows us. Its really down to the individual schools view on how to discipline students. Some schools still prefer the hard ass approach others like the more softly softly pc approach.

So which schools have the least discipline problems then? Well I don't think you need to be a brain surgeon to work that one out!

What's your opinion?

Spare the rod spoil the child? Or the softly softly approach and pray things don't go wild?

Best British English accent for ESL teachers in Thailand

2010-08-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

So you've got a job teaching English as a foreign language in Thailand. And for the purposes of this short article, you hail from the U.K. You want to do your best and teach as effectively as possible, unfortunately you have a broad scouse or cockney accent! Yikes, will all those kids end up talking like those brookside or eastender dummies? I wouldn't even wish that on my worst enemy!

So what can you do about your accent?

Well in my view strong accents are a no go when teaching English. Oh yes, some people might think that it's clever to say things like...

Twe – i instead of twenty or di - unt instead of didn't or finkin instead of thinking. In other words I really don't consider it fair on the unknowing students to expose them to strong accents and bad regional grammar traits.

What can I do about my accent and grammar?

Firstly you can practice consciously cleaning it up, after a while you'll get better. As for the accent. Well most cockneys, scousers,Scots or Essex folk that I've met in Thailand are not broad. A lot of them have been teaching English in Thailand for a number of years. They've actually worked on ridding themselves of that strong accent and in most cases succeded. It can be done. The motivating factor for this is employment. Most Thai teachers and employers are now getting wise to strong regional accents and can usually spot teachers that speak with them.

What's the best accent to speak with?

You don't have to speak with a plum in your mouth! I really don't think that there is a best British English accent. All you need to do is speak clearly and use the correct grammar. Nothing too hard about that now is there?

Teach English(ESL) in the sticks, Lampang, Thailand

2010-08-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Are you interested in teaching English in rural Thailand? Don't really want to teach in the big cities. Then we might just have the teaching job for you. Read on...

Why teach English in rural Thailand?

Lots of people come to Thailand to teach English, but a great deal of these teachers want to discover the real Thailand. Forget the hustle and Bustle of Bangkok, Pattaya and all the other cities.No, where it's really at is the countryside!

Advantages of Teaching English in the Thai countryside

* Cheaper cost of living

* Friendlier locals

* More laid back lifestyle

* Great opportunity to learn the language

* Get to live and experience the real Thailand, Thai culture, customs etc

So what are you waiting for?

Job details:

Full Time ESL English teachers, wanted in Lampang Thailand.

Salary: 28,000 baht per month, work permit visas taken care of!

Contact details.... ESL JOB lampang

ESL teaching opportunities in Thailand for travellers & students

2010-08-01T02:11:00.000-07:00

Why would anyone want to live and teach English in Thailand?

Student? Backpacker? World traveller? You might even be a gap year student looking for a job teaching English as a foreign language? So why then live, work and teach English in Thailand?

There could be many reasons for this, and going into each is a tadge beyond this short post. However, here are just a few points for you to think about...

Cheap living, cheap apartments, travel, cost of living etc

English teachers are in huge demand in Thailand = more teaching jobs

The compensation for foreign English teachers is 3 times higher than their Thai counterparts

Friendly easy going laidback locals

Opportunities to learn the local lingo

Enjoy the Thai culture & Thai ways

Great cheap & tasty Thai food

Short term living & teaching in Thailand

Is it really possible to live & work in Thailand for a couple of months at a time, or will I have to commit myself for a longer period?

Yes and no. Usually if you get a teaching job in Thailand, you will be expected to sign up for a 1 year teaching contract, that's the minimum that will be expected from you. What you do after that will be your choice.

Is it easy to get a work permit in Thailand?

To successfully obtain a work permit in Thailand you must show a four year B.A / BSc degree + the transcripts.

If you don't posses the neccesary paperwork then you'll still be able to find a teaching post teaching English in Thailand, though in a lot of cases you'll have trouble getting a work permit! Simply this translates to... you'll have to do visa runs!

Where can I find an English teaching job in Thailand?

The net is always a great source of ESL teaching jobs. However, a site that comes highly recommended is esljobs4teachers. This is a great free resource for English teaching vacancies in Thailand. It's updated on a daily basis with the latest ESL jobs.it's certainly becoming the place to go if you're searching for a teaching job in Thailand!

Teaching jobs now available in Thailand!

teach in thailand, efl jobs available

2010-07-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

teaching jobs thailand

Full time native English speakers required for teaching english in thailand.

The Sunflower Kindergarten School is in Samut Sakorn,roughly 1 hour southwest of downtown Bangkok.

we are looking to hire an additional efl teacher to join our staff with a mutually agreed start date. More...

ESL kindergarten & nursery teaching opportunities in Bangkok, Thailand

2010-07-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

ESL / EFL Nursery and Kindergarten teaching job opportunities in Bangkok.

Female Native English Speaking ESL Teachers needed (we've three jobs available). Nursery and Kindergarten aged children. More...

Is there life after TEFL teaching?

2010-07-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

The Tefl teacher

What is it about the TEFL teacher that makes him or her stand out from the rest? Is it his / her desire to travel to the far flung corners of the globe and help to educate the Indigenous population in the ways of the English language ? Which of course is the worlds number uno langauge in business & travel circles.

Well the above holds true in many cases. In fact most TEFLER's are in it for the travel, I think it's safe to assume that TEFL is seen by most to be a great passport to the world. And why not escape that boring old 9-5 existence. Bang your fist on that tyrant bosses desk and tell him to stick that job where the sun doesn't shine, just like the movies!

What happens when the TEFL teacher returns home?

So what happens then? You've spent 5 years or more out of your home country and you make the decision to go back, will it be easy? What can you expect?

If you believe the doom and gloom merchants out there then you might as well go and chuck yourself off of the nearest bridge right now! You know the ones who say that teaching English abroad will not look good upon your CV, and employers will drop you faster than a hot potato. UTTER RUBBISH!

In fact most employers will be interested in what you've been up to and how you got along abroad. So in many cases this could work in your favor! A huge plus point I might add! It shows balls!

Well you're back in your home country, what work options are open to you?

1. Apply for a PGCE course and teach in government schools

2. Work in a private language school teaching foreigners

3. If your language skills are up to it, translation jobs are available, you could get into this kind of work. Agency rates range from 60 - over 100 pounds per 1000 words depending upon the language.

4. Set up as a freelance teacher, teaching foreigners in the local area.

5. Become a classroom teaching assistant.

Reverse culture shock, it'll get you

Having been in Asia for a long period of time, upon my return I found myself having to deal with reverse culture shock aspect. This phenomenon affects some people more than others. Those who'll be most likely to encounter it are teachers who've worked in Asia. Most Asians are not direct, not loud, polite, laid back and mostly non confrontational.

However, upon your return you might think that you've stepped into a fast paced, almost chaotic world full of rude ignorant confrentational people. Don't sweat it! Mostly this will pass. Not having been used to it for so long will initially make it stand out in the first weeks and months. Later it'll fade into the back ground and you'll find yourself tuning it out.

Finally, never say never again. If the bug bites go for it! TEFLER's are a unique breed. Smart, creative, adventurous and sometimes non conformists but always ready for the next big teaching gig, wherever it may be!

Native English speaker needed in Sakon Nakhon, Thailand

2010-05-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

ESL TEACHING JOB VACANCY IN SAKHON NAKHON THAILAND.

Young energetic native English speaker needed!

18 - 20 hour per week!

30, 000 baht

APPLY NOW

Teach for the ECC language school in Thailand

2010-05-28T04:05:00.000-07:00

Many a newcomer have found themselves in Thailand wanting to teach English as a foreign language, but not quite knowing where to start!

Does this sound a tadge familiar to you? Well for most newcomers to the Thailand teaching scene the first few weeks in the country can be a bit daunting if you don't know the ropes, so to speak.

It simply boils down to this...

Private language schools in Thailand

There are many private language companies that operate in Thailand. These private language companies have contracts with government high schools to supply them with native English speaking teachers, that's you!

When in Thailand, all you need do is to seek out a school that you want to work for, and bobs your aunt's knickers they'll hire you and give you a choice of various schools that you can work at. Most agencies will have at least a few schools on their books where they can fit you in.

Private schools in Thailand

In Thailand there is also a private sector, these schools will tend to employ you direct, though sometimes they work through agencies as well. Finding these jobs generally means looking through job ads on http://esljobs4teachers.com or in the classified section of a local rag.

Working and teaching English for the ECC Thailand

So what is the ECC then? The ECC stands for English computer & Chinese. Basically they teach the previous aforementioned, however not in that order or maybe sometimes :-)

The ECC is one of the biggest private language schools in Thailand. They are able to help new teachers land employment very quickly and easily. Taking a lot of hastle out of job hunting!

Can I take a TEFL course with them?

Yes, the ECC run a tefl course so you can get qualified with them and then just walk into a job after you've completed your course!

I want a teaching job in Thailand, what next?

100's of ESL teaching jobs in Thailand. 100% FREE!

Ms.Tely Kalambaheti
Teacher Service Centre
ECC (Thailand) Big C Rajdamri
5th Floor, 97/11 Rajdamri Road,
Lumpini, Patumwan
Bangkok 10330
Thailand
Tel. +66 2 253 3312
Fax. (Thailand) + 66-2-254-2243, (UK) 0870-161-1256, (US) 425-930-5421
Email : jobs@ecc.ac.th

ESL / EFL teaching jobs now available in Thailand & China, apply today!

2010-05-09T02:45:00.000-07:00

Fancy a bit of a change from teaching in Thailand? Fed up of jumping through hoops to stay in the country? Then teaching English in China could just be the new direction you are looking for.

As anyone these days knows, China has one of the worlds fastest growing / expanding economies. People in China are now more reliant than ever before on foreign trade. And that means trade with western(English speaking countries) This is where you fit in.

China is such a vast country, that many teaching opportunities abound! Would you like to teach in the bigger cities... Beijing, Shanghai etc or out in the sticks? The choice is yours!

Here's a few teaching vacancies that have come up over the past few days...

ESL/ EFL English teacher required in Xuzhou city, Jiangsu province, China

Teaching position: English teacher
Level of institution: Training school
Location: Xuzhou city, Jiangsu province
Students: Primary to adults
Start: ASAP
Contract Duration: 1 year

.......................................................................
Full Time English teaching Job http://esljobs4teachers.com/ in Jiangxi Province, China.

To teach 5-16 years old kids in training center.
Working visa and accomation will be covered.
Working time:8 hours per day From Wednesday to Sunday.
Qualification: Must from USA AND CANADA. American accent.
Experienced in teaching kids.

And lots more ESL teaching jobs available in China.

Oh no, look out. It's the real Thailand ESL teachers!

2010-04-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Oh no, look out. It's the real Thailand ESL teachers!

After having various newcomers to the Thai ESL scene email me and tell me about forums full of teacher burnouts / rude flammers, I've decided to clarify the situation for new teachers who aren't yet aware of this growing phenomenon here in Thailand.

We used to use the term above in jest amongst ourselves when referring to certain ESL teachers here in Thailand. Any Thailand teacher will be familiar with the real teachers here.

So who are the real Thailand teachers then?

In a nutshell these individuals can work anywhere in the ESL business in Thailand. And when you meet them they always like to moan and put down other teachers, claiming that they are not real teachers, they can't teach, they hurt the kids education and should be chucked out. They themselves are of course the real teachers and the utmost authority on teaching in Thailand.

What are the real teachers afraid of then?

Basically in their eyes any tefler who comes to Thailand and lands a teaching job.

Why would they be afraid of that?

There number 1 excuse and they chant it like a mantra is... these under qualified individuals are lowering wages for us real teachers here.

So who incures their wrath then?

Go to certain Thailand teaching forums and create a thread along the lines of... I've just passed my tefl certificate and I'm looking for a teaching job without a degree, where should I go! That should just be enough to get yourself flammed to death by them!

Are the real teachers real teachers themselves?

Funnily enough I worked with a few over the years and one claimed he had a degree, that turned out to be a fake which got him jailed, and the others didn't have anything more than nvq's and city & guilds certificates in unrelated fields!

So why are the real teachers making a lot of fuss over nothing, lets all get on right?

The Real teachers have low self esteem. They try to boost it by putting down others, and pretending to be something they're not. This gives their fragile egos a temporary lift and makes them in their own minds feal important amongst their mainly internet peers. However, with low self esteem / poor self image, this is only a temporary fix, because the ego comes crashing back down to zero within no time at all. They're literally left at square one again.

How can I avoid the real teachers?

If you detect one on your internal loony radar at school, do not engage them. Get rid of them avoid at all costs. Don't get involved in ESL teachers forums, these places are breeding grounds for these particular individuals.

If they are persistent just inform them quietly in the staff room, that you'll rip them a new one if they continue to annoy, sorted!

ESL teaching jobs available in Nonthaburi 2010

2010-04-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

ESL teaching jobs available in Nonthaburi 2010

The Nonthaburi teachers project in Thailand is now looking to recruit possibly 100s of teachers for placements in government schools all over Nonthaburi province.

Briefly what is the Nonthaburi project?

The Nonthaburi teachers project is a local government funded initiative to place foreign teachers in Thai high schools, it's partly managed by Ramkhamhaeng university.

Who are they looking to recruit?

They're looking to recruit ESL English teachers to teach conversational English to high school students ranging from prathom to mattayom level.

I'm a non native English speaker, will they hire me?

Yes, so long as you can speak English and have teaching experience. However native speakers are given priority, but there's plenty of jobs to go round and too few native speakers to fill the positions!

What do they pay?

Native speakers usually command around 40,000 baht per month dependent upon qualifications others tend to get less.

I'm a Filipino will I get hired?

Yes!

I don't have a degree, will this be a disadvantage?

Not having a degree will always be a slight disadvantage whilst teaching over here. Though in the past this hasn't mattered too much here, teachers were hired.

Will I get a work permit?

Yes, that's one thing that they are keen on doing, getting their teachers legal. However who will pay for this might be down to you or them. See how it goes!

How many hours will I work?

18-25 per week depending upon your school.

When do they start?

1st May 2010 so get your skates on!

I'm interested how can I contact them?

Contact info here

1000's of ESL teaching positions available in Thailand

2010-04-02T05:12:00.000-07:00

1000's of ESL teaching positions available in Thailand!

Yes, very already the mad scramble to recruit new ESL teachers in Thailand is on! What's meant by this? Well for those not in the loop let me briefly explain.

Thailand has two main teaching semesters, especially in the government school / private school sectors. They are as follows...

Mid May through to the end of October and then November through to roughly about March. Now to the ESL teacher out there this means that schools are desperate to fill there teaching quotas for the forthcoming new term. Many English teachers in Thailand simply move on, get better jobs or move elsewhere, this leaves plenty of teaching positions left vacant and the big plus point here is that schools usually have problems filling their teaching voids! So it's really a teachers market. You just need to know how to tap it!

I'm new to the English teaching scene here in Thailand, how do I go about finding a teaching job?

Well this is a common problem for most new teachers here in Thailand. However our sister site http://esljobs4teachers.com can help you out. We have an abundance of ESL teaching jobs to suit most teachers, from novice teachers to more seasoned teachers. We also have the addresses of some of the biggest private language schools in Thailand so you can apply directly to them.

So if you're looking for an ESL English teaching job in Thailand then look no further than http://esljobs4teachers.com

Good luck with the teaching job!

TEFL College worldwide closes it's doors

2010-01-22T02:46:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we reported on the fate of a notorious Bangkok TEFL school known as ELT communications or simply English plus, This organization was run by a man called Mr Manoch. Unfortunately for kun M his business is no longer. A victim of the recession or simply just went bust? Who really knows at this stage.

Can't be contacted!

Well it looks like lightning has struck in the same place twice. His sister company TEFL college worldwide seems to be no longer as well! The website is down and Mr M can't be contacted. Just surf on over to the site and your faced with an empty domain.

TEFL college worldwide TEFL certificates?

Tefl college worldwide was set up at the end of 2003 with the aim to be an effective teacher training program. I really don't understand where the "worldwide bit came from" I believe that the only schools offering this course were located in Bangkok. Still the course had many graduates. However the big question on peoples minds now might be, are these certificates worth anything at all?

I mean at the time it was said that maybe these certificates weren't accredited although the company in it's writings always like to make the point that they were. However they would wouldn't they?

Whatever the facts may or may not be, what still stands is this, are the tefl certificates that were issued by the TEFL college worldwide actually recognized in ELT circles? Or are they no more than expensive pieces of toilet roll?

Native English speakers being replaced by cheaper Indians & Filipinos

2010-01-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

The world economic recession and the slow down of many of the worlds economies has forced lots of industries & businesses to shed jobs / workers. This we are all very painfully aware of, or at least should be!

The Thai esl teaching profession has also be hit by a slow down in job vacancies. At one time if you came to Thailand and had a white face and spoke English you'd certainly have no worries finding esl employment as an English teacher. The list of places where you could ply your trade was virtually endless, it seemed like schools were crying out for teachers, this was true and is still true now up to a certain degree.

So has the tefl teaching bubble burst? According to varies sources around the net, there has been quite a marked slowdown in esl teacher employment in Thailand. There have even been rumours that certain schools in the government sector were seriously not thinking of extending their foreign teachers contracts after they had run out. This is a grim situation especially for workers in the government sector. It was always thought that most government positions were immune to cut backs, especially in education.

Given the above, what is the solution to this dilemma? Well the Thais were always proud to employ white skinned native speaking English teachers when ever they could get them. However these teachers came at a price!

Some agencies & language schools both in the government sector and the private sector have had to tighten their purse strings. So they have come up with what they think maybe be a good fix.

Hire Filipinos and Indians!

Why?

A few reasons...

*They will work for a lot less.

*They will work harder and will tend to do more than is expected of them.

*They have a similar attitude towards work as their hosts.

*A lot are desperate to keep their jobs and will do anything to keep them.

*Most Filipinos & Indians speak good English and are quite good at grammar.

*Most Filipinos & Indians come with degrees.

*They tend not to moan about pay and conditions like their foreign counterparts.

What's not so cool about them in the eyes of their employers and the Thais...

*Some speak with heavy accents.

*Don't always use correct grammar when speaking.

*Have dark skin.

* Poor substandard paperwork & qualifications.

So it looks like the Indian & Filipino teachers are here to give the native English speakers a good run for their money in Thailand's ESL teaching game!

A happy 2010 to everyone!

2009-12-31T03:25:00.000-08:00

Well you'll no doubt have noticed that there hasn't been too many posts over the last couple of weeks on TD.

Tell you the truth we've been celebrating a bit too much hic hic! And now the new year is but a few hours away :-) What will it bring in the ESL world? Who knows.

Anyway, just time enough for me to say happy new year to all and lets hope it's a good one! See you soon in 2010!

Elt communications / English plus in fraud accusation shock!

2009-12-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

It has come to light of just recent that certain franchisees of the now defunct ELT communications / English plus company have accused the franchiser of fraud. For...

Not providing fully qualified English instructors as stated in their contract!

There were also complaints by franchise owners of...

Lying to the franchisees and saying that they held a license from the ministry of education.

Failing to provide decent qualified replacement teachers for those absent or on leave(visa run)

Employing teachers who showed up drunk to classes, and never sorting out the problems.

It was revealed that the franchiser who never held a license from the Thai ministry of education had simply made up the curriculum!

Well the cat has well and truly been let out of the bag for ELT communications / English+ wonder what the next move will be? Mr M on charges and doing a bit of porridge? All in all a really sad end to a company that had shown great potential in the early days.

Source: Here.

ELT /English+ language school Thailand closes it's doors?

2009-12-12T07:27:00.000-08:00

Over the past year or so many companies globally have been feeling the pinch of the world recession. However, education has always been one of those industries that tends not to get touched by global and economic crises. Unless of course you run a private language agency that relies on students who pay for their study off of their own backs.When the going gets tough the purse strings get tightened and English lessons fly out of the window!

It certainly looks like one of the bigger players in the Thailand ELT business has felt the financial squeeze more than the rest. However, for veteran teachers of the Thai ESL scene ELT communications also known as English+ was a disaster waiting to happen for many years now.

The company was founded in 2002 by a Mr Manoch who has quite a reputation here in Bangkok's ESL industry. Mention his name to some teachers/school owners here and you'd get some very mixed replies,of which probably are unprintable here.

The company started up way back in 2002, and quickly grew into a tour de force language school. Mr Manoch and his partner Miss Bun or Chutina as she's known built up quite a lot of contracts with government schools in and around the Bangkok area.

They also started up lots of E+ franchise branches around Bangkok and upcountry. At one point in time 2002-2005 there was literally an E+ branch on every corner throughout the city. This gave the impression to the uninitiated that English+ / elt communications was a winning business. What with all those branches and government school contracts, it really did look impressive.

So what went wrong for English+ & Kun Manoch

It's really hard to state exactly what went wrong, though there is and always was plenty of speculation flying around. Tales of franchise E+ branch owners being ripped off, government schools unhappy with the English+ management and some E+ teachers. However there were always stories circulating around English+ that they were about to go bankrupt even as far back as 2003.

ELT communications the incredible shrinking company

One thing that any keen observer on the inside would have noticed about English+ is that normally you start up a business and grow it! Your business expands, sometimes you start up small and then get new customers and it all goes from there.

No, not ELT communications! English+ was the exception to this business rule! They started off BIG! As each year passed they increasingly got smaller. They were losing school contracts like it was going out of fashion. Well school contracts in this business are very lucrative! Your bread and butter so to speak. Once again speculation abounds to why this may have been!

ELT communications where did it all go pear shaped?

Was it the business practices of Mr Manoch and his partner Chutima?

Was it the way they treated their staff teachers?

Or was ELT communications / English plus really a victim of the recession?

The English+ website is down and we've tried to contact Mr Manoch for an exclusive interview on this site, but alas to no avail yet. Mr Manoch has done a lord Lucan. Maybe one day he'll come back and grace us with his presence again.
Link

Qualifications for teaching English?

2009-12-05T05:02:00.000-08:00

What are the best qualifications for teaching English in Thailand?

Well it depends on what type of job your looking for doesn't it? Most teacher travelers tend to have a tefl certificate, and having an accredited tefl certificate from a decent tefl course provider will go along way. However, having said that anything with tefl written on it will in most cases suffice!

If you have a degree as well then that adds a lot more weight to your tefl certificate and you also fit the legal teacher requirments in order to get yourself legal and get a work permit!

How can I be taken seriously in the tefl world?

Well if you want to make a career out of teaching English and you want to rise above being just a mere tefler with or without a degree then you're going to have to start thinking about getting some heavy duty teaching qualifications! Don't get me wrong here having an accredited tefl certificate is good and will open a lot of doors for you but if you want to hit the teaching big time you should really be considering taking a pgce.

What's a PGCE when it's at home?

Pgce stands for post graduate certificate in education. Now before you go jumping to any conclusions and wanting to sign up for one of these courses lets just examine the "pg" bit here. Pg = post graduate, so that means you already need to be a graduate and have some sort of degree before you go on this course!

So where can I take a pgce?
Don't do a pgce course search check out a good pgce provider first! The university of southern Queensland Australia.

Duration of the pgce course?
The course is one year full time and two years if you take the part time option.

requirements for pgce

What are the requirements for thev pgce? A three year B.A from a recognized university.

Pgce costs?

It varies from university to university.

One last word here. Get yourself a pgce and the ESL teaching world is literally your oyster!

Filipino job employment teaching English in Thailand

2009-11-26T04:13:00.000-08:00

Thailand is looking for Filipino teachers mostly to fill positions and government jobs teaching English in private schools and for private language agencies all around the kingdom. One of the reasons that Filipino teachers are now being so eagerly sought after for teaching jobs in government schools and alike is the fact that employer know...

Filipino teachers are hard working.

Filipino teachers tend to have the same Asian outlook on work and culture etc.

Filipino teachers are very dedicated. They will do more than what is asked of them.

Filipino teachers work for less money. Though I must point out here that the money Filipino teachers get in Thailand does go along way in their home country.

Filipino teachers will rarely complain if the conditions are not up to scratch.

Filipino teachers for the most part all have degrees.

Filipino teachers like to do all that boring paperwork.

Filipino teachers will often work overtime for little or no reimbursement.

Filipino teachers usually speak and understand English very well. Better than most other Asians.

Though given all of the above sometimes Filipino teachers have a hard time finding teaching jobs and ESL positions here in Thailand. The fact really is that most employers tend to be biased towards native speaking white skinned English teachers. Now this is understandable for the most part. For example... He/she is teaching his/her own native tongue and so is far superior to that of a non native speaker. But hey this is Thailand and Thailand has a chronic shortage of English teachers! So they really need all the teachers they can get! Slowly but surely Thailand is waking up to this fact after a rather long slumber in the land of denial!

Filipino teachers are now starting to find themselves very much in demand these days! Especially when looking for government jobs, jobs at private schools and teaching jobs in general. Filipino teachers have never had it so good! Filipino teachers jobs and vacancies here!

Online English teaching jobs for remote workers

2009-11-22T02:46:00.000-08:00

Would you like a job where you could just work straight from home? No need to travel to work everyday and waste hours sat in traffic jams!Then teaching English as a foreign language via the internet could just be the answer to all your dreams.

How it works!

This is basically how it works in a very concise nutshell! You sign up with a Japanese company called Englisheverywhere, who specialize in teaching Japanese students. They will then give you an online interview as well as a sound check and a video check to make sure that all your computer hardware software is functioning etc.

If they like you and you pass their online web cam interview, and I believe they judge their teachers on how they present themselves and their facial looks and you've filled all their other criteria, you'll then be given some log in details. You can log into your account and wait for details of your first job.

At the web cam interview you'll most probably be asked if you can work what they call jump in lessons. Jump in lessons are basically where you're expected to sit by your computer all day / night long just in case a student decides on the spur of the moment that they want to have an extra lesson that hasn't already been booked.

They will log into the system which will normally be msn/ yahoo or skype and if you are online they will contact you.You can then do an ad lib wing it type of lesson with the student.

A word of warning here. At the interview you'll be asked if you're willing to do this kind of lesson. If your answer be NO. Then you'll most probably not get the job! One has to remember this is a Japanese set up and you'll most probably be expected to fall on your sword if anything goes wrong!

Most lessons are 30 minutes to an hour in duration. Normally teachers are expected to teach 30 minute lessons. You'll be expected to fill in a time/lesson plan sheet and submit it rather sharpishly, if you don't then you might have problems when coming to claim your money.

You'll normally be paid by pay pal so you really do need to get yourself a pay pal account if you haven't already got one. You will be expected to create your own lessons and materials. Suppose that's not a bad thing, it gives you personal control over what you teach and how you teach it.

Pay is 800 yen per 30 minute class. Though you'll have to have a read through some of their rather anal terms and conditions. Fine here for this, fine if you don't do that, show up 10 minutes late, don't wear a tie. Haha last one was a joke, though you can see where I'm coming from here. I personally don't blame them for being strict after all they are running a business. However you can go a little too far in some places!

Overall thoughts???

It's not a bad idea, though you'll have to take into consideration the time difference between your home country and Japan when arranging your teaching schedules etc.

My last thoughts are maybe there are other companies out there that offer a better more relaxed deal! Englisheverywhere might just be good for a bit of extra beer money!

Compare the tefl courses with teflteachingcourses.com

2009-11-17T08:34:00.000-08:00

So you're a new budding recruit to the ESL teaching industry here in Thailand. You've made that decision to travel thousands of miles from your home country and come over here to the land of smiles to ply your trade in the tefl English teaching industry. Well you've made a good choice not only will you find that teaching English can be one of the most rewarding occupations going you'll also find that you will make memories that will last you a life time!

So why do a tefl course anyway?

If you're seriously set on a teaching career teaching English as a foreign language, then a tefl certificate is a real handy piece of paper to have! Why???

It's recognized throughout the world by all major ESL employers

It gives you a good solid grounding on teaching and ESL techniques

It looks good on a C.V no matter what job you're applying for

It prepares you for all aspects of ESL teaching

It will give you the confidence and the necessary tools you need

It's a passport to world travel

Okay I want to do a tefl course but there are so many courses about, where do I start?

One of the greatest dilemmas to face any one who is looking to make a career as an ESL teacher is the question of what tefl course to take? The market is literally flooded out with tefl course providers offering courses. You could take a...

Classroom based course

A cd rom based course

A tefl diploma course

A taster course

An online course

A distance course

The list goes on! And without proper guidance it can be difficult to know where to start! Fortunately for the newcomers to this industry http://teflteachingcourses.com is here to help you!

Tefl teaching courses aims to provide you with a list of tefl course providers contact details and a short description of each course provider. Thus enabling you to make a more informed decision when choosing the tefl course. So choosing the right tefl course has never been easier!

ESL teacher burnout the faqs

2009-11-12T08:29:00.000-08:00

One thing that can effect English teachers the world over is the problem of burnout! You ask ten teachers about it and you'll almost certainly receive ten different blow by blow accounts of it and it's effects.

What causes burnout?
Burnout is a phrase coined by chalkies over here to describe a condition that occurs through overwork and too much teaching. One of the worst things a newcomer to English teaching can do is work too many hours, especially if they're a teaching rookie!

Now, you might be thinking... well that would never happen to me because I wouldn't teach so many hours! However, place yourself in the shoes of a new teacher or a newcomer to the ESL teaching scene. Now, coupled with the facts that some teachers may not be as qualified as others which makes landing teaching jobs a little harder for them and you have a teacher eager and willing to please his or her boss!

In other words a lot of teachers will work like horses and do just about anything the school bosses ask of them early in their ESL teaching careers. You see the path to the dark side emerging here???

What are the symptoms of burnout?

The symptoms of burnout can be many and varied. Normally they manifest themselves in several common forms.

1. Teacher gets angry and very irritable with people and students.

2. Teachers lessons start to go down hill, no proper preparation, poor lesson plans etc.

3.Teacher starts to miss days,and goes off sick a lot.

4.Loss of interest in the job, the students and the lessons.

5. The teacher could brake down and cry, as the nerves are usually in taters.

What's the cure?

The cure is very simple. Reduce your teaching hours! If you're teaching 30 hours per week, bring it down to about 18 hours per week. Do not overload yourself! You will only get away with it for so long! If you take on too much teaching work, you will suffer! Maybe not now, but it will get you eventually!

Just because you don't feel it for the first month or so BE WARNED BURNOUT IS IN THE POST AND IT'S ADDRESSED TO YOU!

English teachers urgently needed in Thailand!

2009-11-06T04:54:00.000-08:00

Would you like to live in the exotic land of Thailand and teach English to Thai students? Are you interested in learning the Thai language and immersing yourself in Thai culture? Are you interested in helping students develop their English language skills?

If this is you, then teaching English in Thailand is the job for you! There are many ways to get into the ESL teaching industry over here and many routes. A lot will depend upon your qualifications and experience. Here are a few bare bones examples.

I'm a backpacker wanting to teach English in Thailand. I don't have any English teaching certificates and I lack a degree. Oh by the way I have a basic certificate in wood work, will that help?

Advice: You can still find a teaching gig in Thailand, many low end types of jobs to be had here. The pay will be low, the hours long, and you won't get a work permit! You'll be forced to do visa runs

I have experience Teaching English and I have a tefl certificate but no degree!

Advice: You will be able to easily land a job, the tefl certificate will be a big help. However you'll end up doing visa runs. You might be lucky, and I stress lucky here to get a work permit! All down to your employer and jis or her pull with the powers that be!

I have a degree, a tefl and experience teaching English

Advice: You are gods gift to the Thailand ESL teaching industry. Wake up every morning go out side onto your luxury apartments balcony and shout out loud POM PEN AJARN DII THII SUT MII PARINYAA TRII LE MII TEFL DUAY KON THAI MII CHOOK DII MAAK PHRO WAA POM MAA THII NII HAI SORN! I'm the best English teacher! I have a degree and a tefl! thai's are lucky because I've come here to teach!

You sum of a gun! You can demand great teaching jobs in international schools. You do not need to take any kind of poo poo. If your degree is in the area of education then the sky's the limit for you!

ESL JOBS TEACHING JOBS

Esl classroom activities & short games

2009-10-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you only have lets say 10 or 15 minutes left in your lesson? How do you plug that gap?

A. Let the kids relax?

b.Scratch your head and wondering what you should do next?

c.A quick entertaining team esl game or activity?

If you answered (a) Then you'll have a mini noise riot on your hands after 30 seconds and a lot of kids mucking about out of control.

If you said (b) Pick up the nearest pencil, sharpen it and then poke yourself in the Eye very forcefully!

The answer is (c) and if you got it, then the beers on me so drink up and enjoy!

Seriously though, the best way to plug those time gaps in your lessons is with a quick esl game / activity, the kids love it!

The lucky dip bag

1. Get a bag, make sure th students can't see into it.

2.Create two teams, team A and team B if you like.

3.Fill the bag with lots of objects, coins, pens, battery, watch, cd, fork etc

4. Call out a student from one team and have him or her place their hands in the bag and pull out an object. Make sure you have constructed some kind of barrier so the other students can't see what the object is.

5.Have the student describe the object. Eg.. it's round, it's made of metal, it's small. What is it?

6. The first team to call out the correct answer gets a point.

Tip

Be careful they don't shout out the name in Thai. If they do then deduct one point from their team score!

Student gap year employment and jobs in Thailand & China

2009-10-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

Are you a student who wants a gap year adventure or are you someone looking for a job in the esl teaching business? Whoever you are then we've got some great news for you. At this time of the year there are literally thousands of esl and gap year jobs available teaching English as a foreign language.

So why not take advantage? How about teaching English in that great cultural capital of Beijing? Not only would you have a life changing experience, you could also use it to learn the Chinese language!

Don't fancy China? How about teaching only a few yards away from the beach in Phuket? Does that grab you? Thailand is a great country to teach English and the people have a world wide reputation for their friendliness and warmth!

How many hours will I teach per day?

Normally you'll teach about 4 hours per day. That's 20 hours per week Monday to Friday. Which all adds up to 80 contact teaching hours per month! Not bad hey? How many do you work back home, 37? 40? 45? or more???

How much will I earn teaching esl?

Depending on where you work, anything from $1,200 us up to $3,000 us. Plus you would also have the chance to work more hours if you really needed to or just wanted extra cash!

I earn more back home

Of course you do. Though countries like Thailand and China are developing countries and your money will go a hell of a lot further.

What's the cost of living like there?

A lot cheaper than your home country. For example you could rent a small cheap condo in Bangkok for around about 4,000 to 5,000 baht per month. If you want cheaper then you could move out to the suburbs.

Will I need some kind of training?

Yes, like anything else you'll need to know what you're doing. You could enroll on a tefl course. There are a few to choose from and if you're pushed for time you could always do an online course.

I've done my tefl course now I need a job

No, problem! We have lots of esl teaching jobs in Thailand and China. http://esljobs4teachers.com

How long will it take for me to get qualified and land a teaching job?

After finishing this article, to start your new life and new career teaching English all you have to do is...

1.Sign up for an online tefl course!

2.After you've graduated with your tefl certificate, then go here esljobs4teachers.com and get that job!

3. Start to finish just four weeks!!!

Good luck with your new job!

Having the right teaching attitude in the esl classroom

2009-10-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference, so they keep telling me. Though I must admit when it comes to teaching English and especially with the younger students your attitude does count for a lot.

The wrong attitude to have

Depending upon you and your personality type your lessopns could be a great joy in the lives of others or be quite the opposite, complete drudgery! We all know of teachers who have trouble keeping control of their classes or not being popular with their students.

Of course this can also boil down to teaching techniques and the way materials are presented. However, at the end of the day a good attitude is needed. If you come into a classroom hung over and really not wanting to be there at all, your students will be able to pick up on your low mood. You'll then have trouble motivating them, which in turn will lead to a rather slow and tedious lesson.

The right attitude to have

When you walk into the classroom your attitude should be one of positivity. This will then be picked up by your students, in other words good vibes!

But how do I get good vibes I'm bored to tears with this teaching lark?

Well if you feel the above you could just get another job, that's the knee jerk reaction answer you'd get from other so called teachers on other forums. This attitude is not the one to have, and helps nobody, it's not a fix!

If this is you then there could be a number of reasons why you feel this way. Let's try to address this problem with a few things you could try to improve your attitude towards esl teaching...

1. Teach using a different style, if you're a grammar man, try more games / activities.

2. Change your lessons, materials and way you approach students.

3. Put the emphasis on the students. You could do a survey and see what they would like to do.

4. Try teaching a different level. If you teach youngsters then change to older students or adults.

5.Try to smile more be more friendly in your approach to students. Eg: cut out the shouting and any whacking etc

Believe me esl teaching isn't a bad job to have. You're living in paradise and being paid for it, in most cases money for old rope. So appreciate it while you've got it!

Teaching corporate English in Bangkok

2009-10-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

What's a corporate English teaching gig then?

Teaching corporate English or business English as it's also known is simply when a company or organization needs you to train it's staff. So instead of the students coming to you to learn English in a language center, you go and teach them at their company or place of work.

Do you earn more teaching corporate English?

The big answer to this one is yes! You do earn more, in fact rates vary from language school to language school. Mostly you could expect to receive anything from 400 baht per hour(low end) up to 1000 baht per hour upper end. Though most people who are employed by private language schools usually get on average 500 baht - 700 baht per hour.

When will I teach corporates?

Normally corporate teaching jobs will be held from 4pm onwards. However some companies will have you come in during the day and train a few staff at a time.

One thing I should mention here is that if you land the after work shift then most of the staff will have to stay behind late. A lot of them really don't want to be staying over another 2 hours after work and can be quite a challenge to engage especially after a hard days work. So yu'll have to be creative, by that I mean plenty of games & activities as opposed to grammar and chalk and talk activities.

Can I just do corporate English teaching full time and make loads of money?

Yes, and no. There are a few companies in Bangkok that deal in just corporate work. A working day for you would consist of getting in a cab and traveling from company to company. Initially you can earn a good wedge working this way. However I'd just like to point out that corporate jobs don't last forever!

Your company will get a contract to teach at a company for maybe 8 weeks and after that time you're off somewhere else. So your language school will have to constantly be getting you a stream of new contracts to keep you in work. Just remember that you're not the only one doing it. In other words work can run short and when it does your earnings go down!

Where can I get a corporate teaching job?

A few private language schools in Bangkok deal with corporate work. One that springs to mind is Inlingua.

More information here... INLINGUA CORPORATE
or here esljobs
Conclusion
For me corporate English teaching was just a way to earn a little extra money each month. I'd do a job every so often when they came up, though I was never really tempted to go out and give it a try full time. For me I'd rather have a dead certain monthly income by working the government schools. However nothing to stop you giving it a shot!

Pin the tail on the buffalo esl classroom game

2009-10-02T00:32:00.000-07:00

This game is a slight variation on pin the tail on the donkey, this you might say is the Thailand version!

Now before we go on with this, I'd just like to give you a little culture tip here. In Thailand the buffalo is seen as a stupid animal. So one of the biggest insults you can give to your Thai brethren is to call them a buffalo! So please don't because it could potentially get you into a whole world of poo poo if you do!

However the word buffalo when not used directly at anyone is a great source of amusement for the kids hence the word buffalo in the title.

I normally used this game to teach directions...

Go forward, go back, go back a little, to your left, to your right, straight ahead, stop, turn around etc

1. Pre teach the vocabulary your going to use.

2.Have one of the kids draw a massive buffalo on the board without it's tail. Kids are great artists and they'll do a better job than you in most cases. Put a X on where the buffalo's tail should be.

3.Split the class up into two teams.

4.Use your tie as a make shift blindfold.

5.Blindfold one of the kids and put a marker pen in his/her hand.

6.Have the kids team give it's team member directions.. go forward a little, to the right a bit, up a little, just there

7. Give each team points for being accurate. The team that draws the tail closest to the X gets an extra point etc. You can make up your own points system this is just a quick guide.

My kids loved this game and I'm sure yours will too!

esljobs4teachers.com

2009-09-26T00:25:00.000-07:00

Are you looking to make a career teaching English as a foreign language abroad? Or are you simply just after landing an esl teaching position somewhere? Well it doesn't really matter too much because esljobs4teachers.com has been launched!

Yes, esl jobs4teachers.com initially will be dealing with esl jobs in Thailand and China. However we intend to eventually cover places like Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Esl jobs 4 teachers .com will be your source of teaching vacancies for Asia and Thailand. You'll be able to download free ebooks about teaching in Thailand and esl related subjects from degrees to tefl courses.

Employers can post their job vacancies on esljobs4teachers.com for free! Yes, that's free esl job advertising!

Website

Teaching the Present Continuous in the esl classoom

2009-09-20T01:46:00.000-07:00

One thing that is guaranteed to put your students to sleep will be any mention of the word grammar! I think it's fair to say that grammar is not the most exciting part of learning any language. However one does have to occasionally touch upon it now and again, it can't simply be totally put to one side and avoided for ever.

Now in my esl lessons I've always tried to avoid grammar as much as possible for a few good reasons.

1.I don't like it that much.

2.The students think it's boring

3.It can sometimes over complicate a lesson and thus create confusion amongst the students, especially the younger ones.

How to present grammar in an interesting fashion

The way you present something can either have a positive effect or the reverse. Just think about the times you've tried to learn a foreign language. Take a look at the back of that book for all those verb lists and tenses written down, you kinda take a glimpse and then banish them forever!

Not that these lists are useless. No, far from it they are very necessary in most cases and make a great reference for later learning when you become more advanced in the language you are learning.

The present continuous

If you're not sure what that is, then simply put it's the ing form of the verb.

Something that is happening right now, something that you or someone else is doing right now.

For example:

He is speaking

She is writing

I'am talking

Present continuous esl student game

1. Prepare in advance a list of phrases with the present continuous...

I'am singing, he is reading, They are talking, He is skiing, They are walking etc

2.Split the class into teams, let's say Team A and Team B

3. Invite a student to the front of the class and have him her or them mime one of your phrases.

4. The other students have to guess what the student or students are miming.

5. The first student to call out the correct answer, eg... He is walking, they are running gets one point for his or her team.

Tip:

Make as many phrases as you can and remember to cut them up into individual strips so that you can put them away and use again at a later date with another class.

This is a great esl classroom game and your students will love acting out the mimes. It's also a great way to present and teach grammar in the esl classroom!

Crackdown on back to back tourist visas in Thailand

2009-09-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Thailand has decided to crack down on people who get back to back tourist visas. They claim that the visa is being misused by foreigners who then use it to illegally seek employment during their stay.

So it looks like the days of continually picking up a two month tourist visa from surrounding consulates eg Laos, Singapore and Cambodia are drawing to a close.

The Thai government is now trying to encourage long term stayers to get themselves onto the one year non immigration visa, which can be extended up to a year.

Teach for ftc_Asia in Thailand & China

2009-09-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

Our featured language school of the week this week is ftc Asia. Now for many people out there who have been around the esl teaching scene in Thailand for any length of time. You might be scratching your head and saying ftc what???

Ftc Asia is a relative newcomer to the Thailand esl scene. This school has been in existence since around about mid 2005 now.

The owner of this language school used to work for Siam Computer and the British American before deciding to set up a Thailand teachers union called ftc, ftc stood for foreign teachers committee.

The teaching union however didn't really take off and after that ftc morphed into a fully functional private language school employing a handful of staff at local schools in and around Bangkok and Nonthaburi.

Branches

Ftc asia has a branch which is it's main head office in Pak kret Nonthaburi. Rumour has it that it's also opened a place in Bangkok somewhere.

Where you'll work

Ftc asia has school contracts all over the city. You could even find yourself doing private classes at their head office and sometimes you'll get the odd corporate teaching gig coming your way!

If you'd prefer to work in China then this can be arranged. The owner Arthur Wood has many school contracts in the peoples republic of China too! So if China's your thing then ftc might just be the school you're looking for!

Work permits

Work permits are supplied depending on if you have the necessary paperwork. Eg a degree, otherwise it'll be visa runs for you!

What's ftc Asia like to work for?

Ftc Asia is a good company to work for and the boss Arthur Wood is a very sociable type of guy, who likes to take his employees out every now and again!

How do I get in contact with ftc Asia?

At this time of writing ftc Asia don't have a website up and running, however here is some contact info for you...

Arthur Wood

Mobile 66(0) 6562 8178

Office 66(0) 2964 0023

E-mail ftc_asia@hotmail.com

Address: 37/35 moo 5 look-in tupsaeng building, soi suankularb, wittayalai, pakkred nonthaburi Thailand.

Quick esl gap filling games for your English lesson

2009-09-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

How can you easily fill that gap at the end of the lesson? You know when you've finished all of your teaching materials and you've been left with that 10 minute gap that needs to be filled.

If you don't fill it with something those kids will start to get restless and the noise level will increase as all the kids start chatting and messing around.

What you need is a game or two! Nothing too complicated and what better way to finish your esl lesson than on an exciting game. The kids will love you for it too!

Here's a couple of ideas you can try out...

Simple simon says

Great game and very simple, you can make many variations on this theme though mostly it'll go along these lines.

1.Start off by saying Simple Simon says..... touch your head!

2.Simple Simon says... touch your nose!

3. Simple Simon says... touch your foot!

You can use body parts or ask the students to do actions like jump in the air, turn around etc. It's really up to you and you can also tailor it to the needs and level that you're teaching.

Backward sentences

A great game for getting kids to revise what they've already learned. You'll need to prepare for this game beforehand.

1. Make a list of sentences that the kids are familiar with.

2. Reverse the sentences eg. What's your name? becomes name your what's?

3.Split the kids into teams

4. Call out the first sentence you have. eg name your what's?

5.The first team to call out the correct answer... What's your name? gets a point.

This game not only helps you to revise lesson material that you've previously taught. It's also good for helping esl students create grammatically correct English and promotes correct word order.

Online tefl courses with ICAL tefl certification

2009-08-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

It's never been easier to get yourself tefl qualified and teach English! Now's the time to get ahead and kick start your new tefl teaching career with ICAL!

ICAL makes it so easy to get tefl qualified and start teaching English in the country of your choice, you'll be wondering why you haven't done it already!

Why choose ICAL to get yourself tefl qualified?

ICAL is the oldest online tefl course provider, we've been around for 10 years and we have the knowledge and experience in order to help you reach your full tefl potential!

You'll have a dedicated tefl tutor who will help you every step of the way whilst you are studying with us.

Our learning materials cover all teaching situations that you're likely to encounter in your teaching career.

Email help when you want it throughout the course any questions that you may have will be answered within 24 hours.

There are no hidden extra costs on our courses guaranteed!

Our courses

A 100 hour courses that are accredited and accepted anywhere in the world.

Highly qualified tutors with years of teaching experience

Excellent quality course materials

Study at your own pace. There are no course deadlines so you don't need to feel rushed.

We give you support 24/7 any questions you need answered,

Student forums where you can interact with other ICAL tefl course students.

Help with finding jobs at the end of your course. In most cases we can easily find you employment.

Don't delay start your tefl teaching course today with ICAL!

The TESL/TEFL Certificate is the basic qualification to teach English and now you can get the ICAL TESL/TEFL Cert completely online for just $265!

Sex, booze and teaching esl in Thailand

2009-08-28T01:56:00.000-07:00

Living and teaching English in Thailand can almost be too much for some. I mean just think of it this way, a lone male here in the wonderful city of Bangkok just got his first pay packet, only been in Thailand a month or so. What's he going to do?

A.Snuggle up in bed at 8.00pm with his bible for comfort and thoughts of the next days grammar lessons.

B. Go out collecting for a local charity.

C. Head for the crusty streets of Patpong to get a skinful and bring back some smokin hot girl for a night of stroking the sausage and playing the skin flute!

Now don't get me wrong here, I'm all for having a bit of fun at the appropriate time and all, however, when it starts interfering with your work then you seriously need to take a step back and evaluate the situation!

Many inexperienced first timers find themselves heading down this road, and it's a very long and slippery road to get off!

Hookers booze and teaching the not so good combo!

What's going to happen to you if you decide to take this route?

1. You'll eventually end broke! Think about it. To feed Suzy wongs badger will probably set you back around about 2,000 baht longtime nowadays.

2. You'll be getting back late and drunk, so you'll have problems getting up for work the next day.

3. When you do wake up you'll have the mother of all hangovers. Made worse by the heat and extra dehydration factor here in Thailand. Think of it as about 50% worse than the normal hangover you're used to back home.

4. Will you be able to teach properly with all that noise the next day?

5. Booze and hookers cost money as mentioned before, you'll be broke before the end of the month.

6. If anyone connected with your work sees you, students, teachers, parents you could be sacked or get a stern word in your ear. It's not really considered the in thing to do. If you're going to do it be discreet about it!

7.Hookers can become very demanding of your time and money. It starts off slowly and gradually builds up. If you've ever had any aspirations of financially ruining yourself whilst putting yourself on a huge crazy emotional roller coaster ride then by all means get yourself a Thai hooker!

8. One mistake a lot of guys make. New teachers and old hands alike. They convince themselves or are gradually brainwashed into thinking that their pay 4 play sweetheart really loves them!Then the worst thing in the world happens to them, they move the hooker in!

Most guys go for hookers because in their own minds they believe that they're the only girls they can meet and get! It boils down to in most cases an easy option. They believe that ordinary girls are out of their range, so when suzy wong comes along and bats her eyelids in their direction it's love love love!

This of course is totally wrong! With a little work they can of course get a normal girl who is in no way connected to the industry. There are plenty of girls to meet, just takes a little effort!

Most hookers will try and convince you that you are their true love and the relationship has moved on now! Boyfriend & girlfriend! This is just a ploy to extract more money from you! Beware, once you have been milked for everything she can get, you'll be discarded! Don't do it! Hookers are for short time fun and no more!

9. Don't get into the habit of knocking back the beer every night, it becomes a problem! Don't believe me? Just take a look at all those rosy faced expats you'll meet! You'll also miss work a lot due to the brown bottle fever as it's known over here.

10. Remember moderation is the key! Do enjoy yourselves and have a great time!

Esl games for your esl lesson in Thailand

2009-08-27T00:46:00.000-07:00

Why use esl games to teach english?

When we talk about teaching English through the use of esl games and esl activities we are referring only to small segment of the esl lesson.

Remember there is no one effective way to teach English, we have to make use of a wide variety of methods and varying angles in order to teach English most effectively.

One of the biggest reasons why we tend to use or should use so many varying techniques and different approaches in order to teach English in the esl classroom. Is simply if you are teaching English to kids their attention span is very limited and they become bored!

Once you have a class full of bored kids then your problems will really start. Boredom = noise, no control, discipline problems and most of all a lack of learning which all translates to you not being an effective esl teacher!

The one way to make your troubles disappear whilst maintaining order in the esl classroom is to introduce esl games and esl activities into your lesson. Now for the esl teacher who is teaching English you are litterly spoiled for choice.

However I must point out to you especially if you are a new esl teacher that your games should be simple! Why simple games?

1. Easy to explain to the students.

2. Easy for you to organize

3. Quick to get started

4. A lot of fun in a short amount of time

5. Great time fillers! Can easily fill that odd ten minutes at the end of the esl lesson.

How often should I use esl games and activities in my English lessons?

In my humble opinion you should include esl games and activities in every lesson that you teach!

A word of caution about the usage of esl games and activities in your English lessons!

DON'T OVERDUE THINGS! If you do your students will become bored of the same old games and activities. Make the activities and games like a treat that they earn for working hard in the lesson! After a while they will begin to associate esl games an activities with working hard and behaving themselves!

If it helps you can think of it a little like the Pavlov's dogs experiments!

Remember it's alright to use the same games and activities again and again, however if you decide to do this, then make sure you don't do the same esl games and activities every day!

Games and activities should not be used solely on their own in the esl classroom! They are only a supplement and should if possible complement what you've already taught from the book!

Don't fall into the trap of excepting one word answers! Of course any English that the students utter is beneficial to them and their future development in learning to speak English.

Though I must add, one of the most serous culprits that I've ever come across is that world famous game HANGMAN! This esl game might be of some use when teaching English to young kids lets say five years old and upwards though very inappropriate in an adult esl class!

If you want to teach esl games that only require the student give a one word answer then I suggest that you restructure the activity so the student has to form a short sentence with the target word in before you award points or except it as a correct answer!

Esl games and activities for teaching English in the esl classroom a few examples...

Play Math with esl

1. Make sure the kids understand these terms first / + * - teach them before you start

2.Create two teams or more in the esl classroom. For example... team A & team B.

3.Give an example.. what is 1 + 1? Somchai shouts... IT'S 2! Teacher replies... that's correct one point to somchai's team.

This esl activity really gets the students thinking! What you should do is to write out a list of sums that you're going to use before the lesson.

If you can just say them off the top of your head then all the better for you. However I would advise you to plan out what you are going to do before you go into your esl lesson.

For more esl lessons esl games and esl activities check out this page... ESL GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

Remember it's up to you to make your esl lessons interesting for you and your students! The more interesting your English lessons are, the more your students will love learning and the more they will learn!
ESL/EFL

Good Luck.

The British American language school Bangkok

2009-08-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

This week we're going to be focusing upon the British American language school. The BritAm as it's also known is one of the oldest private language schools if not the oldest here in Thailand. It got started around about 79 or 80.

Branches

At one time the British American language school could boast many branches all over Bangkok. However over the last few years they've shut down most of their language schools in and around the capital.

Here's a short list of some of their branches. Please be warned that some of theses places may no longer be in existence at this time of writing.

Lad prao, Fashion island, mall ngaam wong wan, mall bang khae. Plus a few upcountry branches notably one in Nakhon Sakhon.

Hours of work and rates of pay

If you've come to Thailand in order to get rich, working for the BritAm won't exactly be the best place to start. In fact the BritAm pay the lowest wages around. Maybe with the exception of The Berlitz language school.

You can expect to work up to 36 contact hours a week for an hourly rate of around 220 baht! Oh I forgot to mention, if you wear their BritAm jacket you'll receive an extra 10 baht per hour! If this isn't enough to fire up your enthusiasm then how about this. If you've got blue eyes then you'll receive an extra 10 baht per hour! Yes, you can't go wrong there now can you?

Other nationalities who teach for the British American don't fair quite as good in the wages department here. For example if you happen to be a Filipino teacher or a teacher with darker skin you'll normally be paid around about 180 baht per hour! On top of those long contract hours it all ads up to a rather meager deal.

What qualifications will I need?

ENTHUSIASM!!! This is what the BritAm used to state in their ads! So have plenty of this and you'll be alright!

Work permits

This is one area or was one area that the BritAm excelled in I must say, they were very good at getting their teachers legal with a working permit. The possible reason that they were able to secure work permits for their teachers, was that they were on very good terms with the labor department who issued them.

Whether or not being on good terms with the powers that be meant a few palms got greased here and there we can only speculate.

One big plus point for most esl teachers here in Thailand is the work permit issue. Now without going too deeply into this a lot of teachers find this a sticky issue because they lack the necessary paperwork.

However a lot of teachers tended to work for the BritAm on a part time basis maybe do a few hours on Saturday and a few on Sunday.

They would then get themselves a work permit through the BritAm, even though they had other jobs and were only pt for the BritAm.

This made them legal. Well as legal as you can get. Though strictly speaking this type of permit would not cover them for their week jobs, but lets not start splitting too many hairs here! The Thai authorities haven't become this nit picky as of yet.

Where you'll work

Surprisingly the BritAm only tend to specialize in teaching English in their centers and doing a bit of corporate work at various companies around the city. So you'll end up teaching in one of their many air con language centers in and around Bangkok.

Their language centers are usually located in big Malls and shopping centers so in your breaks you can have a wander around and get something to eat. Most teachers used to rush outside for a fag(cigarette to Americans) Lol no funny ideas guys!

So all in all quite a nice and pleasant working environment for the newbie esl teacher here in Thailand.

Our Rating: 5 / 10 The BritAm is a good school for newbie teachers who want to be thrust in at the deep end and don't mind a bit of graft. However most teachers here will move on to find better teaching gigs. The BritAm is always hiring new esl teachers and if you're interested in teaching English in Thailand then the BritAm could be the esl language school you're looking for!

English grammar in the esl classroom

2009-08-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Teaching English & English grammar

What is it that turns most esl teachers legs to jelly and bores the pants off of most Thai students over here in Thailand? Yes, it's none other than having to teach English grammar! A real pet hate with a lot of English teachers in the esl business!

A couple of reasons that most English teachers here dislike teaching grammar is No 1... Because most Thai students love sanuk in their lessons and your Joe average teacher who has been over here for a few years will know, if grammar is not presented in the right manner his students will tire of their English teacher and the lesson! Reason No2 which is the most obvious one, the teacher isn't comfortable teaching English grammar or he doesn't know it!

Why teach grammar?

Any student who is serious about gaining any proficiency in English or any foreign language for that matter will need to know at least a little grammar. Grammar also helps students structure the language they produce and also gives them a good background in the language.
Though you can get along way without knowing too much grammar, if you require proof of this then visit a few Pattaya bars and strike up a conversation or two with the ladies who work there.

Will I need to teach English grammar in Thailand?

This is dependent upon where you work. Obviously if you're teaching high level university / business students, then yes. They will be seriously looking to improve their English language skills. Most of these students believe that learning grammar is the NO1 key to achieving their goals!

I on the other hand do not share this belief. Instead I believe that conversation conversation conversation is the key factor, with a liberal amount of grammar thrown in here and there.

Ways to teach English grammar

If you've ever seen that film Gremlins, then you'll know that one thing you shouldn't do to these little creatures is feed them after 12.00am no matter how much they beg and plead you to!

I tend to take this approach when teaching Thai students grammar. Why would I do this? Well in my experience I've come across Thai's wanting to learn English grammar so much that in the end the foreign teacher has given in to their demands. Gone out and bought all the correct grammar books and created the lesson, only to be met with complaints a few weeks down the road. Yes, the old chestnut.... naa bua boring! These were the people who asked for it!

If you want to teach English grammar then I suggest you structure your lessons so they are fun, Yes, even learning English grammar can be fun sometimes!

I'm going to tell you about a couple of books I got that helped me no end over here. They are a little expensive, but well worth the investment because you only have to buy them once.

Play games with English by Colin Granger

Basic English Grammar

Don't know grammar not sure? Or just want the basics, then look no further...

Active Voice
In the active voice, the subject of the verb does the action (eg They killed the student).

Adjective
Describing word, describes the noun or the pronoun... The red car the black dog

Adverb
Examples... quickly, quietly, well, often etc. An adverb modifies a verb.

Article
The "indefinite" articles are a and an. The "definite article" is the.

Auxiliary Verb
A verb that is used with a main verb. Be, do and have are auxiliary verbs. Can, may, must etc are modal auxiliary verbs.

Clause
A group of words containing a subject and its verb (for example: It was late when he arrived).

Conjunction
A word used to connect words, phrases and clauses (for example: and, but, if).

Infinitive
The basic form of a verb as in to work or work.

Interjection
An exclamation inserted into an utterance without grammatical connection Example...: oh!, ah!, ow!, well!

Modal Verb
An auxiliary verb like can, may, must etc that modifies the main verb and expresses possibility, probability etc. It is also called "modal auxiliary verb".

Noun
A naming word, name of a person,place or idea... cat dog man woman car plane train etc

Object
In the active voice, a noun or its equivalent that receives the action of the verb. In the passive voice, a noun or its equivalent that does the action of the verb.

Participle
The -ing and -ed forms of verbs. The -ing form is called the "present participle". The -ed form is called the "past participle"

Passive
In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb (eg The President was killed).

Preposition
For example words like... at, to, in, over etc.

Pronoun
Words like.... I, me, you, he, him, it etc. A pronoun replaces a noun.

Verb
A state of doing having or being. Or a doing word..... go walk eat run etc

Well that's it just a quick overview of a few English grammatical terms. I hope that you find the above info helpful when you are teaching English grammar in the esl classroom!

Get tefl qualified & teach English abroad

2009-08-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

What is TEFL?

TEFL stands for teaching English as a foreign language. Qualified tefl teachers are currently in great demand globaly, so there has never been a better time to get yourself tefl qualified!

Which countries can I teach English in?

Most non native English speaking countries are always looking for tefl teachers. However the more popular places tend to be...

South America

Middle east

Thailand

China

Japan

Mexico

Just to name a few!

How long will it take me to complete a tefl course?

Depending on the type of course you choose, anything from 4 weeks to a couple of months.

What kind of courses are offered?

Traditional classroom based courses

Weekend courses

Online courses

What's the next step?

Take a TEFL course, of course, and start your new teaching career today!

A guide to Testing esl students in Thailand part 1

2009-08-09T02:05:00.000-07:00

Every teacher will find themselves having to test their students here in Thailand at least a couple of times during a semester so you're going to have to learn how the testing game goes over here.

Esl students pass rate

100% Yes, is that right? Yes, sir in Thailand nobody fails a test, it just doesn't happen! Why do all the students pass their tests 100% of the time in Thailand? Are they all super intelligent and diligent hard working kids?

NO, certainly not, but all of the above can be traced back to this face thing, and not wanting to lose it. You see it works like this. You fail a student and he or she loses face. In Thailand face is a big thing and people will do just about anything to save it.

Hey this isn't right I'm going to tell it how it is. Call a spade a spade and all!

This kind of attitude won't get you too far here in Thailand. It might be a trait that's admirable in your own country but here in Thailand in the esl business it won't go down to well. What will happen is this... You submit the test results, and your students have failed their English test. The Thai teacher will review the test results and then come back to you and simply ask that you retest the ones that have failed.

You will then retest the students that failed and once again they'll all flunk their English tests. You will then resubmit their English test results to the powers that be.

After the head of the department has read their results, you'll probably be told that they need to come up to at least 50% to pass. This is a subtle hint for you to massage the figures!

So now we're getting down to the nitty gritty of student testing here in Thailand. You of course will have to adjust your views on this particular Thai way, if you still wish to carry on your career as an esl teacher teaching in Thailand. More to come...

The Thailand tefl teaching report

2009-08-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

If you want the lowdown on the tefl Thai scene or are just generally interested in starting a new career and traveling the world teaching English. Then the Thailand tefl teaching report will be of great interest to you.

This ebook contains information and links for various tefl resources that will be very helpful to the new teacher and old hands alike.

The ebook covers areas such as...

Types of tefl courses and tefl course providers, from online courses to full classroom based courses.

We give you a brief rundown on what you'll be learning on the tefl course and teaching practises.

Where to get your first teaching job and more!

So don't hesitate download this ebook today! And guess what? It's FREE yes, FREE as in free beer!

Download here... The Thailand tefl teaching report FREE

College degree + tefl certificate all in one!

2009-08-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Would you like to be able to travel and live anywhere in the world?

Would you like to be able to finish work and stroll down to the beach?

Would you like to be able to help other people?

Would you like the freedom to be able to choose for whom and where you want to work?

Would you like to be able to experience other cultures?

Would you like to earn good money?

Would you like to have the opportunity to learn another language?

Would you like escape the boring old 9 – 5 routine back home?

I could go on!!! However I think the point is as clear as the nose on your face by now! If you answered yes to any of the above, you're in need of a career change and fast!

A lot of people for many and varying reasons decide every day that they want to escape the rat race. However, in these days of rising unemployment and job instability it's sometimes not very practical just to hop from one job to another. So many people tend to get bogged down in a single job and then they start to feel like they're in a rut!

Do not despair there is a way out of this vicious cycle, and the best news here is that there are plenty of opportunities for everyone! Yes, that's right everyone! Employers all around the globe are literally tripping over themselves to offer you work!

You see there is a huge demand for teaching English as a foreign language abroad. Virtually everyone in the world wants and needs to learn it! If you're a native English speaker then you're half way there to being fully qualified to teach it! If you're not a native English speaker don't despair! If you can read write and speak English to a good level then you too can teach it!

The next step is getting yourself a qualification that is world recognized and accepted by all major employers throughout the globe.

Tefl / tesol are basically the same thing, the two terms are used interchangeably so don't get confused!

Tefl = teaching English as a foreign language and most Americans use this term.

Tesol = teaching English to speakers of other languages. Most English people will use this term.

College degree & tefl certificate + esl teaching job!

College degree & tefl certificate + esl teaching job!

Fortunately these days getting yourself tefl qualified is a very easy thing to do! There are plenty of courses to choose from:

Online tefl courses

Classroom based tefl courses

Short taster tefl courses

Tefl grammar courses

And many many more!

So by now you'll be wondering where do I start? One of the best course providers out there for quality and student satisfaction is tefl England. Tefl England run many of the above courses and are very thorough. Normally it'll take you around about 4 weeks to complete one of their many tefl courses but after that you'll be a fully qualified tefl teacher. You'll certainly have plenty of opportunities to travel the globe and find employment teaching English.

If you're the type that would rather have someone else find you a teaching job, then no worries tefl England has a job finding service that'll help you find the job you want where you want!

If you're still wondering and can't make up your mind where in the world you'd like to teach then pop over to my web site and contact me, and I'll fix you up with a job for FREE! Thailand delights.

Take the next step and get tefl qualified with tefl England today, you'll be glad you did!

TEFL ENGLAND COURSES

Live and work abroad. If you can speak English then you can teach it. TEFL England courses to get you teaching abroad.

So what's next? You've gotten yourself tefl qualified either the online way or by taking a traditional classroom course. You're all ready to go and start you're new teaching career in the country of your choice. Yes, it can be very tempting just to up sticks and take off to that exotic paradise where you can sit on a sun soaked beach and enjoy the friendly locals whilst soaking up all that sun!

Let me just say that by now you are ready! You can take off to where ever you like, but just hold on one minute. You could also increase your employability further!

College degree & tefl certificate + esl teaching job!

College degree & tefl certificate + esl teaching job!

Although having a tefl certificate will make you well qualified to teach anyone and you'll certainly be able to easily pick up English teaching jobs with ease throughout the world, there is one more thing you can do.

I call it putting the icing on the cake! Get yourself a college degree! Yes, with a college degree you'll be able to walk into very highly paid jobs.

For example a friend of mine decided he wanted to up his credentials, so he decided to purchase a life experience masters degree. He got his degree in English . Because of his previous experience and college work it counted towards his degree and he was able to pick up his new masters degree that day!

After that he landed a great teaching position in an international school in Thailand where he is the directory of studies making good money with good benefits!

Don't worry if it's not a Masters degree you want! You can get Bachelors degrees, diplomas, Masters and doctorate degrees, so you've got plenty of choices here. You can even choose the subject that you want to graduate in!

After that you can get yourself a full copy of your college transcripts + they are 100% verifiable and checkable. The university even offers you a toll free line!

So take the next step and graduate today!

Would you like to earn a Bachelor's degree, Masters degree, doctorate degree or an online diploma today? Now you can! Turn your life experiences into your very own degree!

I wish you good luck in your new career!

Teaching in Thailand, low pay and poor English teachers

2009-07-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

The topic of teaching salaries in Thailand has always been a bit of a hot potato with certain teachers here.

You see if you're teaching in the government school system then you can expect a salary of around 30,000 to 35,000 baht per month. Far too low most teachers might cry out!

Cost of living here

Small one room condo in Bangkok = 3,000 to 4,000 baht per month.

Water = 160 - 200 baht per month

Electric 500 - 1000 baht per month dependent on if you get your electric direct from the electric company or through the condo / apartment block where you are living.

You see getting it direct from the company will save you a lot of money, because you don't have the building owner adding extra onto each unit.

Condo maintenance = 500 per month(approx)

Traveling to work = go by bus rather than getting a taxi makes it cheaper.

Food = Well you can eat out all the time which is dirt cheap

T.V = get dvds for the week 150 -200 baht

Ways for teachers to save money

Don't go drinking at go go bars etc!

Don't pick up Suzie wong every night, at least give her one night off a week!

Don't rent that 10,000 baht per month condo right in the most expensive tourist haunt!

Don't eat at Mcdonalds and pizza hut every day!

Don't exercise your arm muscles every night lifting heavy bottles!

Don't keep hoping into taxis!

Don't buy everything from western style department stores!

Don't send a big portion of your monthly wedge to the squeeze's money grabbing parents in iisaan!

Don't send money to help sick buffalo's etc!

You're still broke?

Well you could ask your employer for more work, but this will just make your days longer and in the end you'll tire of it!

You can supplement your income by working direct from your own home! If you don't mind filling in short surveys you can make a $1 a survey. The surveys usually a very short and on average will take you 5 minutes to complete!

So lets say you spend an hour a night in your nice cool comfortable condo filling in surveys. That equates to... $12 dollars a night for one measly hour spent in your own comfortable home doing something really easy!

Over a week that = $84 dollars extra!

Over a month that = $336 dollars per month!

Over 1 year that = $4,032 dollars a year tax free and in your pocket!

Just think how much more you could make if you spent just a few more hours a week doing this? You can do as many surveys as you wish!

So what's the catch? Is it going to cost me something?

NO, IT'S ABSOLUTELY FREE IT WILL NOT COST YOU A DIME! IT'S FREE AS IN FREE BEER!

All you have to do is sign up to start up 100% FREE!

That's all there is to it, the quicker you start the quicker you can earn!

All I ask of you is to let me know how you're getting on with it!

Teach English for Siam computer Thailand

2009-07-30T23:14:00.000-07:00

This weeks featured English language school happens to be none other than Siam computer language institute Thailand!

Now most expat English teachers here in Thailand will know that Siam computer is one of the biggest if not the largest English language school here in Thailand. They also claim to be the oldest.

Siam computer has it's head office Based at victory monument in Bangkok. It also has many schools / branches / franchises scattered throughout the kingdom of Thailand, with a whopping 15 branches in Bangkok alone!

Siam computer & language institute was founded way back in 1979 and today offers more than just English language courses. Siam computer language institute now offers courses in computing, French,German, japanese and Chinese! Along with it's ever increasing network. Siam computer language school just seems to be going from strength to strength!

Working and teaching English for Siam computer

If you are a newcomer to the esl business in Thailand then you could do a lot worse than Siam computer.

For the newly arrived English teacher in Thailand Siam computer makes a great starting point! Not only for the newly arrived rookies, for more experienced and seasoned esl teachers as well!

Contracts & money

Siam offer a rather bog standard contract of employment across the board, so what can you expect?
Normally along the lines of 30,000 - 35,000 baht per month for approx 20 - 23 contact hours a week in one of their many government schools located throughout the capital city of Bangkok.

If you work at one of their many upcountry branches rates of pay might be slightly lower as is the cost of living in the sticks so things tend to work themselves out.

You will be asked to sign up for a one year contract. At the end of this contract you will be paid a completion bonus of 20,000 baht! That is dependent upon you not having any days off! If you are ill or miss a day during your contract you will forfeit 1,000 baht for every day you don't show!

You will have the opportunity to earn overtime working for Siam computer. They also run in house courses in their many language centers. This could be evening and weekend work.

However, I'd just like to point out that Siam computer only pay a measly 250 baht per hour for teaching English courses in house!

This is a pretty poor deal, because you could earn 300 - 500 elsewhere. Siam computer lag behind a little here I'm afraid to say. Personally if it was me I'd work for them teaching English during the week at one of their government schools and then moonlight at another agency on weekends!

What happens if I'm sick will Siam pay me?

No! Unfortunately Siam don't or didn't used to pay you for being off ill! It was tough titty in this department and you lost a days pay.

Holidays

You will be entitled to all public holidays, which there can be a lot and you'll get paid for them!

What are they like to work for?

In a word good! The Thai management have understood the need for smooth staff / employer relations and have employed foreign staff who take care of the interviewing and recruitment process for the school.

Siam computer is a good place to kick off your esl teaching career here in Thailand, and is especially very friendly and welcoming to newcomers.

Siam computer also realize that to maintain a happy working atmosphere and to get the most out of their foreign English teachers they must work together hand in hand and they're certainly accomplishing this!

Requirements

To teach English for Siam computer the prospective English teacher will in most cases be required to be tefl qualified. This not only gives you the necessary skills to be able to teach English successfully. It will also help in your pay negotiations, and being a qualified esl teacher will definitely be a great advantage to you for future job hunting and employment within the esl business.

There are many tefl courses available from short tater courses to online courses so you really do have a vast choice of tefl courses to choose from!

Contact Siam computer

Tel. (66) 0-2247-2345 ext. 200, 204, 364
Fax. (66) 0-2644-6974; (66) 0-2644-6977
E-mail : patrick@siamcom.co.th and bhudeb@siamcom.co.th

Our rating and comments:

8.5 / 10 Siam computer and language esl school is a good school to work for. The only little niggles I have with this school are the lack of sick pay and the in house 250 baht per hour teaching rate. It needs to be raised guys!

The company are very fair to their employees, however Siam don't suffer fools gladly so if you're a pot head or a hippy that thinks you're going to roll up and pick up a few bucks without doing anything, then you're in for a shock!

Yes, do work for them, get yourself a start, and enjoy your life as an esl English language teacher, teaching English in this wonderful land called Thailand! Have fun!

Pick up the FREE EBOOK FOR SIAM COMPUTER!

Esl teaching styles Thai vs farang!

2009-07-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

When a new recruit to the Thai esl scene enters the classroom over here in Thailand, he/she is expected to be dynamic. Well that;s a word one of my old bosses Mr Manoch used to love to band around.

What he meant was that a foreign English teacher should be able to be creative whilst teaching students in the classroom environment. The reason for this is that Thai students who learn English, whether it be in high school or whether you be teaching private students in a language center somewhere need a teacher / clown type jester in order to keep their attention.

Lessons that are solely grammar based ortext book based here in Thailand are considered boring period! Teachers who teach this style will learn this very quickly as the student levels drop and the complaints roll in!

So lets take a brief look at the two styles here...

Thai teachers and their very own brand of classroom sanuk(fun)

Thailand is a culture where the word sanuk features in just about everything and if it's not sanuk then it just aint worth doing!

So how do Thai teachers teach? What's their big secret? How do they keep their students constantly entertained and always happy?

They don't the Thai teaching style is based upon the rota method of teaching. Basically the information is wrtitten on the board and the students must copy it down. After that the students recite what they've learned parrot fashion with the teachers, and that just about sums up their teaching style. Ask them to step outside of this little box and they can't!

You see part of the problem here is that most of the Thai teachers are old school just to coin a phrase. Yes, they were taught their trade back when the dinosaurs still walked the earth. That's the way they were taught and that's the way they will always teach. The old phrase can't teach a dog new tricks springs to mind.

Adding to this most Thais / Thai teachers have 0% creativity, it's just not a Thai trait! So thinking, planning and executing fun exciting and compelling lessons is just way out of their very limited scope.

Why aren't the students complaining that the lessons are dull and lacking in fun? The reason for this being is that they are Thai teachers and Thais will not go against Thai's, in other words they all stick together. This means that the Thai teachers are continually able to pull off the worst mind numbing drudgery one can imagine and still have the bare faced cheek to criticize the foreign teachers lessons for lacking in sanuk!

This is one way that Thailand works, and most new recruits over here had better get used to it, because you can't change it!

Foreign teachers style

Can you sing? Are you able to create fun entertaining and engaging lessons? Can you teach English very effectively? Are you able to discover and use the best techniques for foreign language acquisition? If so then you are just what the esl teaching industry here in Thailand is looking for.

The key here I would like to stress is creativity. For example take a pack of flash cards ok, how many different ways can you find to make games / activities out of a single pack? This si what I'm talking about, because you constantly need to be coming up with new and ever more creative ways to teach and engage your students. It's not too hard and after a while you'll discover that you've evoked that creative muse within yourself, and you're in full teaching activity flow!

When you create or find new activities write them down! Make a special file for games activities lesson plans etc. You'll certainly be using them in the future, and why not build up your arsenal now!

The differences between you and your Thai teacher counterpart is, you are creative, you are a native speaker of English, you have the ability to think out of the box, they don't! Use your skills oh wise ones and make your esl lessons in Thailand a teaching experience your students will remember and enjoy!

Download FREE EBBOOK ESL PRONUNCIATION

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2009-07-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

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Start an online business, live & work anywhere in the world

2009-07-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

To start your new business simply go to the download page where you'll be given instructions on how to get a copy of the workingnomad ebook.

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Teaching esl in a thai government school part 3

2009-07-18T02:59:00.000-07:00

In the classroom

One thing that any newbie to the Thailand esl teaching scene will start to realize is this.. one cannot simply drift into a classroom with a book under ones arm and simply teach from it for the entire lesson.

Why? Simple... The students soon get bored of book work. Especially Thai students! Remember one of the first rules of teaching here... sanuk or fun, things have to be fun easy going and well a phrase they love to coin is not serious.

So the keen observers amongst you will have deducted that you can get along way by making your lessons fun! I'll even go as far as saying... even if you're not the best teacher in the world, if you can create this valuable element within the classroom then you've virtually cracked teaching esl here in Thailand. This will be in most cases enough to carry you.

Teaching materials resources

So book work should of course play a big part in your teaching. After all it is what they're supposed to be learning.

The problem a lot of new teachers find is that they tend to be hurled right in there at the deep end. They lack experience and mostly are given rather shoddy teaching materials etc. This can be make or brake time for some.

You'll find a huge amount of stuff available on the net to help you. However I will suggest a strategy that has worked well for me, in the planning and execution of my lessons.

Lets say you lessons are 1 hour in duration, you could plan your lesson along the lines of this...

1. Book work = 20 minutes

2. Conversation based upon what you've learned from the book = 10 minutes

3.Game / activity based or not based on the work you've just covered = 20 minutes

4.Quick review / game type activity to review the main parts of the lesson = 10 minutes

Finish.

Lesson plans

For those of you who are not in the know a lesson plan is basically a description of what happened in your class. What you taught, language and grammar points, games / activities and the language you practiced and produced.

My tip is to fill in one of these after your lesson. Why? because what you did is still fresh in your mind, you remember it and also it's always best to keep up to date with your lesson plans. Imagine what a nightmare it would be if you didn't do a lesson plan all semester and then suddenly the head of your department asks you for them tomorrow?

Sounds silly but I know of many a teacher this has happened too!

Next week.. Thai esl teaching style vs foreign teachers esl style.

ELT communications / english+ Bangkok Thailand

2009-07-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

Every now and again we're going to be doing a special feature on an esl language school in Thailand.

We'll give brief details about the particular school and we'll try to give it a fair rating.

Many newcomers to Thailand are usually overwhelmed by the vast array of private English language schools that proliferate here in Thailand and especially around the capital Bangkok.

It can be quite a challenge to actually decide for whom you want to work and where you want to work.

So our first featured private language school is ELT communications or English+ as it's also known.

English+ was established in 2002 by a man called MANOCH BHESAYANAVIN, this is he...

Contracts

This school used to have a lot of contracts with government schools in the early days of it's operation. Though over the past few years it's lost all but one or two of it's schools.

English+ centers

English+ was quite well known for opening small franchise branches all over the city and many upcountry, though like it's school contracts most of the centers have now closed or gone out of business,

You will still find a handful of E+ centers scattered throughout the city, though at one time E+ could boast up to 18 centers in Bangkok and many more upcountry.

Here's a list of their school contracts / centers as of 2007/2008...

Cement Thai Ministry of Public Health

BPB-Thai Gypsum Products Plc. Ministry of Education

Thaicoon-BrandAge Holding Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy

TMB Bank Chest Disease Institution

Kasikorn Bank Suankularb Wittayalai School

Glow Group Debsirin School

Tipco Foods (Thailand) Chulalongkorn University (Satit Chula)

Philips Electronics (Thailand) Nakhon Ratchasima Municipal Office

Euro RSCG Flagship SME Development Bank of Thailand

JSL Revenue Department

Gianni Enterprise (Spicchio Pizza) Ministry of Finance

Nok Airlines

ELLE Magazine

CLEO Magazine

Marie Claire Magazine

AMTAR (A subsidiary of TV Channel 3)

ADVANCE AGRO (Double A)

Prudential Life Assurance

Contract

Contracts and conditions vary a lot at this place but basically you can expect something along the lines of 30,000 baht to 35,000 baht per month for 100 contact hours. If you work for them in house and by that I mean at any of their E+ language centers, you'll be paid anything from 300 - 350 baht per hour.

Taxi expenses

Again this firm used to give you traveling expenses, however they were then withdrawn and then reintroduced for just a selected few.

Work permits

Hmmmm, good point.

Our rating: 6/10 needs to work harder and create a better working environment for it's teachers.

Should I work there?

By all means, though this is a good school to start with and it has some good resources, you could certainly learn a lot working for this school. Though at the end of the day most teachers move on to bigger and better things.

Final comment

Okay for a newcomer to Thailand and the esl teaching world. You can even take a tefl course with them.

Teaching esl in a thai government school(part 2)

2009-07-10T10:36:00.000-07:00

Testing the students

If you teach tefl in a Thai government school you'll be expected to test your students usually twice per semester.

Now for the tefl teacher this can either be a god send or a right royal pain in the ass! My thoughts and experiences in this department are that testing is great! Why's that you might be thinking?

Well most tests in your average government schools are just speaking tests. You should of course base all your test questions on what the students have previously learnt with you.

For me testing all my classes which there were usually 18 to 19 in all was great. It meant that I got to sit outside and call my students out one by one to test them. I would test half the class one week and then test the other half the next week, all in all two weeks of testing and not having to teach!

What will the other kids be doing while I'm testing?

Herein could lie a problem. Let's see, you have 50 kids in a class and you the teacher are sat outside calling students out one at a time. That is a recipe for disaster, all those kids in a classroom on their own with time on their hands and nothing to do! Anarchy will certainly follow!

Not only will you suffer discipline problems, noise and general disorder, you could even end up with students fighting and getting injured if you're unlucky.

What you need to do is to give them something to occupy their time. For example print up a crossword or word search, make sure that what you give them is not too hard, or else they'll just give up, or not too easy or they'll have it finished within ten minutes leaving you back in the same boat!

This will occupy them for a decent length of time. Now take your table and chair outside and close all the doors except for one.

Connect your mic up inside the classroom and hopefully the lead on it will be long enough to extend outside of the classroom and to your table.

Sit down at your table with your students name list and call each student out individually and conduct your english speaking test or what other esl test you have prepaired for them.

Part 3... esl resources, lesson plans, and making your own games and other esl classroom activities.

tefl,efl,esl,tesol,tesl... do you speak a da tefl lingo?

2009-07-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Newcomers to the tefl teaching world might find themselves a little overwhelmed by the amount of terms that are being banded around. Most teflers tend to use some of the above phrases interchangeably, but fear not help is at hand. You too can now speak a da tefl lingo!

tefl = teaching English as a foreign language.

tesol = teaching English to speakers of other languages.

efl = English as a foreign language.

esl = English as a second language.

tesl = teaching English as a second language.

Now you've got a few tefl phrases under your belt. You should now feel confident to speak a da tefl lingo with your English language tefl teaching buddies!

Teaching esl in a government school in Thailand part 1

2009-07-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

So you're a newbie teacher or just a plain wanabee and you're wondering what it's like to teach English in a Thai government school?

The classroom

Well Thailand isn't exactly a first world country and this is reflected somewhat in their educational facilities. When I first walked into a Thai government school and started teaching English, I discovered it was like stepping back into some kind of time warp, taking me back to my early school days in England.

You'll find a blackboard, oops am I allowed to say that still? Lol who cares! and chalk! Jeez, I thought they'd all gone out years ago, back in England and the west yes! However this is Thailand and that's the way of things here.

One other thing I'd like to mention here is this. The air con lovers out there will be very disappointed because most Thai government school classrooms have fans! If you can't take the heat then you'd better find somewhere that has air con!

Number of pupils

Here's one that will probably blow the mind of a rookie teacher in Thailand. To tell you the truth it did me. I remember in the bosses car that day. My first day teaching esl in Thailand. On the way to the school my boss dropped the bomb shell, that I'd be teaching 50 kids in a class! Fifty I said, the answer came back, yes.

Now I know why they left it to the last moment to tell me. Boss said... are you okay with that? I said... suppose I'll have to be! In some schools the number can rise to 60! So you've been warned!

Public holiday

Plenty and numerous especially in the second semester. So here's my tip. If you get a choice of a monthly salary or getting paid by the hour. In most cases it would be wise to take the set monthly salary, even though you might earn a bit more by teaching for an hourly rate. Believe me in the second semester if your getting paid by the hour, your monthly salary will drastically drop!

Hours you'll normally work

Depending on your employer and the school you'll normally work 75- 100 contact hours per month.
Now 100 contact hours is the top end of the scale here. That equates to around about 25 classroom teaching hours per week. I'll tell you this now, 25 hours will tire you, and should be avoided!

A fairly sane target you should be aiming for is anything from 17 to 19 hours per week. Sometimes this can seem a tadge too long as well.

Classroom control and discipline

Fifty to sixty kids in a classroom will be a recipe for anarchy if you're not careful. You have to be able to control the little buggers. Now there are various ways of achieving this. The easiest way is to become an expert in classroom discipline techniques

By discipline I don't mean taking a student to one side and thrashing him within an inch of his life. No, what I'm talking about is a lot easier. Simply creating your lessons so that they are entertaining and fun will go a long way to keeping kids under control.

Your problems will normally start if the students get bored. They get bored for a number of reasons and the biggest factor here is lack of understanding which then leads to boredom that inevitably leads to out of control classes.

Part 2 to follow...

Having a live sing along with Michael Jackson and the carpenters esl classroom activity

2009-06-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

What's the best way to teach English to foreign students in the classroom? How can we most effectively teach the kids and at the same time provide them with a healthy dose of edutainment!

What is the one method we can use that will most effectively cover all the educational angles in the classroom?

Well there is no silver bullet, there are just techniques and activities. As I pointed out in another one of my posts, variety is the key. The more the merrier, sometimes just experimenting can reap great successes in the efl classroom.

However today I'm going to focus in on one method that virtually any esl teacher can put to immediate use in his or her classroom. It's simple and the great thing about it is, you already know and are familiar with it. Yes, it's called English through music and singing.

Now as luck would have it most Thais are very fond of singing and especially love western pop music. I personally have used The beatles, the carpenters and I found that my students really loved Michael Jackson, Yes, the kids really loved Michael Jackson. Whenever I put him on they'd get up and try to do the moonwalk, it was so funny, a good and jolly time was had by all.

The technique:

1.Ask the kids what music they like, and go get the cds!
2.Download the lyrics to a few of the songs and print some copies out.
3.Blank out some words in the songs and then copy the sheets.
4.Hand out the copies to the students with the words blanked out.
5.Put them into teams and play the music
6.The first team to successfully fill in all the missing blanks are the winners.
7.After that get out your microphone and make two teams.
8.Challenge them to a kind of sing off style competition
9.Score them
10.Team with the most points are the winners.

The kids really love this and it can become really competitive at times, so watch out you'll have a heavy duty sing off on your hands.

English teacher caught using fake degree in Thailand!

2009-06-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

An unknown English teacher who posts on a popular Thailand teaching forum has apparently been caught for using a fake degree!

The unnamed teacher was reported to have spent two nights in the notorious Bangkok immigration detention center, a place where you really don't want to end up in period!

The teacher was fined a sum of 3,000 thai baht and received a six month suspended prison sentence. Phew that was lucky for him! I bet that he'll be breathing a big sigh of relief now!

The judge added that the sentence should have been double that, but due to the teacher in question coming clean and admitting up to the charge a bit of leniency had been shown in his case.

So how was he caught? Was it the school that he worked for? Apparently not! According to sources inside the M.O.E, they now have a dedicated team checking on all foreigners who have submitted degrees and diplomas. It seems that Thailand has finally woken up and decided to do something about the problem.

So as a final note...
Anyone who is working on a fake degree or has in the past submitted a fake degree should now be worried! Be very worried!

The teacher in this article got off lightly, YOU MIGHT NOT!

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2009-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

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Teaching under the radar (illegally) in Thailand

2009-06-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

Today we're going to take a look at teaching under the radar in Thailand. There are a few reasons why individuals should do this which are explained below.

At this point I'd just like to point out that this article is not a how to guide for teaching illegally in Thailand or anywhere else for that matter, that's not the aim!

All this piece is doing is pointing out what actually goes on in Thailand, rightly or wrongly depending upon your point of view.

Why should someone wake up one day and think, hey I want to teach illegally in Thailand? A number of factors could come into play here, for example...

1.No degree, which in most cases is required to obtain a work permit.

2.Not wanting to pay tax, which is a bit silly because these days doing visa runs and getting a new visa from surrounding countries isn't as cheap or as easy as it once was.

3.The person only intends to stay a very short time in Thailand and doesn't see the point.

4. The school that the teacher works for, can't get a permit for some reason. Eg, doesn't know the procedure, is on bad terms with the labor office, or just plain laziness on behalf of the company, or is to cheap to spend the money on the permit.

So if you have no permit how do you stay in the country? The answer is that you do visa runs. Now years ago it was all a pretty straight forward affair. You entered the country on a two month tourist visa. After that you went to a visa agent, and paid them some money upfront, around 1,700 baht and they'd send off your passport to Malaysia. Seven or so days later, you'd get a call from the agent telling you that your passport had arrived back, and you'd go and collect it!

Well times and visa regulations have moved on since then. Tightening of regs has made this a slightly more costly and time consuming affair. Which has made most expats think twice about working on temporary visas. Put simply it's more trouble in most cases than it's worth!

If you should be in the above category, and need to do border hops or jaunts into Laos for a ne visa, then I recommend jack golf. This company specializes in border runs and will usually be able to advise you on visas and options in regards to where to go and what visa to get.

So when you go to the border now, you'll be issued with a short stay tourist visa about 15 days. In another 15 days before it runs out you'll have to do a run to the border yet again!

What a royal pain in the ass! and at 2,000 baht a trip on the visa bus not a cheap pain too! Plus on top of that you can only get about two of these stamps back to back at the border, then the next visa you'll have to get is at the embassy in one of the surrounding countries.

One thing I would advise people to do is this, get a non b visa at the embassy in your own country if you're able to! These visas come in two flavours, single entry = up to 3 months and multiple entry up to 12 months!

The regulations have been changed with these too. At one time all you had to do was get some company documentation from the school that was employing you and that was it you'd be issued with a multiple entry b visa which would be valid for a year. Unfortunately now with all the rules being tightened, you have to provide proof of your teaching credentials when you apply for this visa.

So what happens if you can't get the one year b visa? Well, and it's a long time since I've done visa runs but it should go roughly along these lines...

1.Enter country on two month tourist visa, this can be extended at immigration in Bangkok for an extra month for a small fee. That will get you 3 months in the country.

2.After three months do two back to back border runs with jacks golf, that will get you another month = 4 months.

3.Do border run to Laos with jack golf, and get another two month tourist visa and extend it at immigration = 3 months.

4. Go and do another two border hops again or go to Laos and get another two month tourist visa up to you!

5.Start the cycle again.

If you're really desperate to stay in the country, you could try applying for a one year non o visa, which in most cases is issued for marriage. Many expats simply refer to it as a marriage visa. Of course if you intend to apply for this type of visa then you'll need to get married duh! You'll also need to show that you have a certain amount of money in your bank account, a few hundred thousand baht or so last time I looked. If you get the non o it should be issued for a year, though you can get single entry ones for 3 months.

What happens if you get caught?

I'll tell you this... in all my time living and teaching in Thailand, I've never known anyone to get caught teaching illegally! I've heard the occasional rumour and heard reports of a few language schools being raided in Bangkok. A few teachers were hauled in and made to sweat it out in a police cell. Then they were given a talk, fined and told to get themselves the necessary paperwork and that was that!

I must point out that the above cases, I read about on internet forums, so my view on this matter is as follows, Yes, I do believe that these cases were true! Why do I believe this? At the time when they happened, there was a big fuss going on about some American guy who confessed to a murder in the u.s you might remember it.

The person in question was a teacher in Bangkok, and he'd been teaching on false credentials. So this embarrassed the Thais, which then sent them into a very predictable knee jerk reaction in which they started to raid language schools in certain areas of the capital. The raids continued on for a few weeks and then eventually fizzled out.These were worrying times for teachers who weren't on the books!

So the question is should I or shouldn't i? As Suzie wong would say... up to you!

Esl classroom discipline

2009-06-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Ever walked into a classroom with 50 or more students, and they're literally all wild? Well if you take up a teaching position in Thailand then odds are that you'll probably encounter something similar to what I've just mentioned above.

How should we handle such a situation? How can we get control back in the classroom? and most of all how can we maintain it!

There are many forms of discipline that we can use. One of the older forms which was very widely used in the west up to 25 years ago was corporal punishment. This meant if a student stood out of line he or she got whacked! Usually with a cane or a belt!

This was a very effective way of controlling 99% of the students 99% of the time. Unfortunately for the teacher, the wishy washy loony leftie do gooder politically correct brigade got it banned. The results of what happens when discipline is taken away are evident for all to see today, especially in western societies.

Okay so we've established the above method is not for use. Even though the stick was banned 5 years or more ago in Thailand, some Thai teachers still carry it and use it! You shouldn't! Period!

When you look at discipline it's all about control in many cases. If you can control the kids then you'll have little or no problems! Right so how can we most easily control the kids in a way that will be beneficial for all concerned?

1. When you enter the class, lay down some good classroom rules and stick to them!

2. Try not to raise your voice and shout all the time. This will initially work at first, but after a while they will grow used to hearing you and ignore you.

3.Have a good plan for your lessons with no gaps here and there. For example a 10 minute gap at the end of the class where you've run out of material will lead to a noisy and rowdy class.

4.Make sure your lessons are fun, plenty of games and activities. Nothing is worse than doing boring book work for all of the lesson, chalk and talk.

5.Variety... variety is the spice of life and English teaching! More interesting topics will keep students focused and engaged in the lesson.

6. Be firm but fair, becoming a tyrant will not help you and you'll become hated.

7.Do not sit friends together wherever possible! They will chat and lark around, split them up.

8. If you give lines to naughty students, make sure they do them! Chase them twice a day for them until the lines have been completed. The message that will get around is that you mean business.

9.Instead of shouting when you want to get peoples attention. Why not just try this... stand in front of the class quietly and stare at them. They'll eventually all become quiet, then you can start talking.

10. If the class gets too out of control and you get too stressed, just walk out for a few minutes compose yourself and then go back in.

Good luck!

English pronunciation and language in the esl classroom

2009-06-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

For many students learning a new language is a rather daunting task. What with all the new vocabulary, grammar sentence construction, tenses etc. Then on top of all of that there is the dreaded pronunciation! Yes, if all of the previous wasn't enough you've still got to get your tongue around it!

Imagine you are the student in the class, or maybe you've already had experience of being a foreign language learner or maybe you've completed some adult education course.You'll almost certainly know how frustrating it is when you just can't voice those sounds, or even catch them with your own ear.

The poor students sometimes feel embarrassed to even open their mouths and produce a simple utterance. Why? Because of the fear of losing face in front of their peers and looking really dumb.

The more people who feel like this, then the quieter your class will be. You really don't want to be the only one who is talking in your class now do you! It should be all about the students. The students should be the ones who are producing the vast majority of the language. The teachers job is to help facilitate this and to give any essential prompts and extra help that may be needed.

When a student makes an error whether it be with pronunciation or anything else related to language learning, it's important not to jump straight in and be critical! Imagine yourself in their situation. You've just plucked up enough courage to stand up and speak. You then proceed to utter your sentence and all of a sudden are jumped upon from a great height by some foreign teacher saying... NO..NO..NO..YOU ARE WRONG!

Your confidence could well take a bashing especially if it keeps happening. At the end of the day you might even start to think, what the hell I'm not interested anymore. Remember when you first started to learn your own language, you made all kinds of mistakes. You'll have no doubt been reminded of these bloopers by your parents or other siblings in a jovial way whilst they recollected your childhood with you.

So try this approach...

Okay, little Somchai is rather a brave character he decides to take it upon himself to answer your questions.

Example:

Teacher: What did you do at the weekend Somchai?

Somchai: I went to shopping

Teacher: Really, I went shopping

Teacher: So where did you go at the weekend Somchai?

Somchai: I went shopping

Teacher: Very good somchai

Correcting language errors this way is more beneficial and allows the learner to realize their mistakes and make corrections themselves.

Getting back to the main topic of our article, pronunciation. We can learn pronunciation through tongue twisters, and believe me there are plenty of resources out there on the net for you.

Tongue twisters are fun, especially if the teacher goes first and makes a mistake. You'll certainly get a chuckle or two out of it and the students won't feel too anxious about speaking up and getting involved.

You could even make it into a two teams game or something like that, and award points for the best pronunciation.

Here are a few tongue twisters to be going on with...

She sells sea shells on the sea shore.

How many yaks could a yak pack pack if a yak pack could pack yaks.

Whether the weather be fine or whether the weather be bad

Blakes back brake bracket block broke

Have fun!

Classroom esl teaching strategies in Thailand (part2) Fun!

2009-05-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

In Thailand there tends to be a culture of fun especially where education and learning are concerned. The Thai word for fun is(sanuk) and it's ingrained in their culture and society.

Now how is this going to affect you as an esl teacher? Well it's going to affect you greatly especially in the classroom. You see for Thais everything has to have the sanuk element in it or it's simply not worth doing. This is something you'd better get used to and quickly if you intend to teach in this country for any length of time.

What not to do in the classroom

A lot of new and inexperienced teachers that come to Thailand simply turn up with a book under their arms and walk in the classroom and just teach from the book. This style is called chalk and talk. This is definitely a no no for teaching in Thailand!

If you decide to teach using this method your students will get bored and tire of you in no time at all. Then you'll start to have discipline problems with your students who will simply get restless and tired. This in turn will lead to you getting poor feedback and in the end you'll be given your cards!

How to create sanuk in the classroom

This is the rather easy part, your lessons have to be fun and entertaining, with lots of games and activities. The games and activities you use should really reflect and be connected with the topic of that particular lesson that you've been teaching.

For instance if you've been teaching a class about fruits, then to add the sanuk element you could get some fruit and veg flash cards and have a two team game, to reinforce the language you've already taught.

After that for a follow up you could take the flash cards draw a tic tac toe grid on the board and stick the flash cards in the spaces. Then have a game of two teams tic tac toe, where as the students put x's or o's in the grid if they get the names right. easy!

So remember your lessons have to be fun, easy going, lively with plenty of games activities and plenty of variety. If you stick to this simple plan then you shouldn't go far wrong.

Here's a link to some more classroom games and activities that you might find helpful.

Find an English teaching job easily in Thailand

2009-05-25T06:13:00.000-07:00

You've just gotten off of the plane at Suvanbphumi airoprt in Bangkok. You've arranged your guesthouse accomodation and you're looking forward to that new life in Thailand!

Everything seems rather peachy and you're shaking with excitement. The heat hits you as you walk out to hail a cab. Then as the journey progresses you see an amazing array of street life that litters the sidewalks and sois of this awsome city. It's just too exotic for words and from here it's just one big happy adventure!

Yes, this is how asia can grab you on your first trip! It does it to us all and nothing can top that first time, believe me it's hard to put it into words, it's just a feeling!

A few common mistakes a lot of wanabee English teachers make in this part of the world are as follows...

1.They come over without really knowing how they're going to land a job!

2.They don't get down to finding a job straight away. Instead they party and waste their money. Then they wonder why they're broke!

3.They get hooked up with the wrong types!

Your first priorities should run along the lines of... Arrive...get somwhere to stay... find job....then find a permanent apartment in which to live!

After that you can party a little if you wish.

It can be a little confusing knowing the best route in which to get a job here, if you're a newbie. So help is on hand with my quick top list of language schools who are always looking to hire teachers. Taking a short tefl course will also boost your employment prospects no end and make getting a job a lot simpler with most major schools over here.

Get qualified to teach English abroad. TEFL courses from £55 - £325.

ECC Thailand
A large private language school with many branches in and around Bangkok also upcountry too.
ECC (Thailand) Big C Rajdamri
5th Floor, 97/11 Rajdamri Road, Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand
Tel: +66 (2) 253 3312
Fax: + 66 (2) 252 8570
Email: jobs@ecc.ac.th (job enquiries only)

Siam computer language institute
Another large school similar to the ecc. Pretty decent people to work for. Major schools over here.
Tel. (66) 0-2247-2345 ext. 200, 204, 364
Fax. (66) 0-2644-6974; (66) 0-2644-6977
E-mail : bhudeb@siamcom.co.th or anthony@siamcom.co.th

ELT communications or E+ as they;re known
At one time a large school with many contracts. Now few school contracts but still have language centers throughout the capital.

ELT Communication Group
47/19 ELT Building,
Ngam Wong Wan Road,
Lat Yao,
Chatu Chak,
Bangkok 10900,
Thailand.
By telephone on: 02-941-3787/8
International callers dial: +66-2941 3787/8
By Fax on: 02-941-3786
International callers dial: +66-2941 3786
By Email: eltcommunication@eltcom.com

Well there you go, a nice little starter for your job hunting. And good luck!

A guide to Thailand's beach resorts

2009-05-25T05:09:00.000-07:00

Thailand is the Far East’s premier beach destination for UK holidaymakers, with resorts ranging from the brash and breezy to romantic hideaways. Howard Carr outlines the resorts’ attractions and suggests which would suit what type of customer

Phuket

A one-hour flight from Bangkok, Phuket is a large island rather than just one resort. Its mixture of busy beaches and secluded bays makes it one of the most popular destinations in Thailand, with something for most types of holidaymaker.

The main holiday playground is lively Patong, with plenty of shops, night markets, bars and clubs.

There are lots of more relaxed options along the sandy bays of Phuket’s west coast, with accommodation ranging from budget to upmarket brands such as Banyan Tree.

Elephant treks, canoeing in spectacular Phang Nga Bay and boat trips to tiny islands are among a wide variety of sightseeing excursions.

Phuket Town is also worth visiting for its temples and Chinese heritage.

“Phuket attracts all types of clients from backpackers to millionaires,” says Travel 2 Far East product manager Kerry Towers.

“It can be great value for money, especially between May and October when many hotels have special offers.”

Ko Samui

Thailand’s third-largest island is about two-thirds the size of the Isle of Wight.

Its position on southern Thailand’s east coast means its climate differs to west coast resorts such as Phuket.

The rainy season is from October to January, as opposed to May to November on the other coast.

Hotel development on Ko Samui has been heavy over the past few years, particularly since the 2004 tsunami when many holidaymakers switched to the east coast from resorts damaged in the disaster.

The main beaches of Chaweng and Lamai are within easy reach of the island’s airport. Lined by luxury hotels, they can get quite crowded in the peak season.

Beaches on the south and west coasts are more remote and therefore quieter.

Away from the beaches, Ko Samui’s beautiful scenery is one of its great attractions. Highlights include lush mountain jungle, waterfalls, coconut plantations and traditional villages.

“Ko Samui is for those who prefer to stay in a smaller hotel on an island which still has a paradise feel,” says David Carlaw, Premier Holidays’ head of Faraway product.

Flight time to Ko Samui from Bangkok is one hour 20 minutes.

Hua Hin/Cha-Am

About a three-hour drive from Bangkok, Hua Hin is the oldest beach resort in Thailand. It is home to the Thai royal family’s summer palace.

Hua Hin has a good range of beachfront hotels, shops and restaurants but its royal connections help to give it a more relaxed and genteel atmosphere than other resorts such as Phuket.

Neighbouring Cha-Am is even quieter, with a more restricted range of shopping and nightlife.

Facilities in the Hua Hin area include golf and watersports, while popular excursions take in ancient palaces and temples, hill tribes, the River Kwai and Thailand’s biggest national park, Kaeng Krachan.

“Hua Hin appeals to those who are more price-driven and looking for an easy beach extension from Bangkok without extra air travel,” says David Kevan, Western & Oriental group head of product.

Krabi

The southern Thai province of Krabi is about a one-hour flight from Bangkok and a 2.5-hour drive from Phuket.

It is renowned for its beautiful beaches backed by dramatic limestone cliffs and caves, and for scores of tiny islands including Phi Phi, a location for films including The Beach and The Man with the Golden Gun.

Krabi’s main tourist centre is Ao Nang, which offers a wide selection of hotels, restaurants and shops but retains much of the atmosphere of a secluded hideaway.

Clients wanting a choice of nightlife on their doorstep should opt for hotels in Ao Nang itself, while those seeking greater tranquillity should consider the many options nearby on Phang Nga Bay.

Boat trips offer the chance to explore Krabi’s secluded coves and islands. Other popular activities include scuba diving, snorkelling, kayaking, rock-climbing and jungle treks.

Jetset product manager Jonathan Ditte recommends Krabi for couples and honeymooners. “It offers an authentic taste of Thailand. It’s the place to relax and do very little,” he says.

Khao Lak

Fifty miles north of Phuket airport, Khao Lak (right) is one of Thailand’s “hideaway” resorts.

It attracts a cross-section of visitors, from backpackers to well-heeled tourists, looking for somewhere away from the bright lights.

Before the 2004 tsunami, it was one of the fastest-growing destinations in Thailand. Most of the damage has been repaired but the setback to hotel development means Khao Lak still resembles the uncommercial Phuket of decades ago.

The coastline features beautiful white-sand beaches among cliffs and lush hillsides covered with palm and rubber plantations.

“Khao Lak is a fantastic destination if you want to get away from everything,” says Jetset’s Jonathan Ditte. “It is more suited to the adventurous client as it is off the beaten track to a certain extent.”

For up-to-date travel information and advice on Thailand, visit the FCO’s Know Before you Go campaign.

Source:http//www.ttglive.com
By Howard Carr

Backpacking Thailand guides

2009-05-25T02:44:00.000-07:00

One thing that I really missed whilst I was living and working in Thailand, was the lack of time I had for travelling!

Yes, having to go to work 5 days a week and not really having much time to myself meant that I really didn't have much of a chance to visit Thailands many many other provinces. I was kinda stuck in Nonthaburi. Now if you know that particular province you'll also know it aint no jewl in Thailands crown!

Still I had the odd trip to Phuket and kanchanaburi on the rare occasions that we'd have a long weekend due to some public holiday/celebrations, musn't complain.

However this was all a far cry from when I used to come every year to Thailand on vacation. I'd have two months free each year. You see I worked a 10 month contract and the I had two months free. So I'd use the opportunity I had to travel Thailand. Boy I used to love those times.

I'd arrive in Bangkok stay a few days there and then hop on a bus or train with my guide book and head off into the great wide wilderness. I hit so many provinces and sometimes I'd venture into places like Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

What made it easier for me was that I'd always carry a decent guide book. The guide book was very good source of travel information because it contained detailed maps of the country, the main roads and the b roads. I could then plan my bus routes quite easily. But also not forgetting the wealth of other information, hotels, guest houses, transport, food, restaurants, warnings etc.

Back in those days you'd normally carry a couple of books around with you. The thing was that they'd be quite heavy in your pack and that was a nusiance. Nowadays you can pick up...

ebooks

for a fraction of the cost of a traditional guide book and in pdf format. So you can simply view them on a portable device, on the go! Oh how I love technology!!!

The traveller / backpacker now has it so much easier!

English language classroom teaching strategies for new teachers

2009-05-24T03:05:00.000-07:00

Many newcomers to teaching become a little overwhelmed when they suddenly find themselves thrust into a classroom for the first time, with 50 or more kids to teach!

Yes, it's true many teacher training programs fail to mention this when you're taking their courses. Depending on where you work and who you work for, your classes could be anything from 20 up to a whopping 60 kids!

I myself have had experience of both ends of the scale and I can tell you right now, I prefer the 20 odd end of it!

Well such is life and such is teaching! Think of it this way, if you can handle 50 to 60 kids then less is a should be a walk in the park for you. It will over time actually make you a stronger teacher and you'll gain more experience and pick up more classroom techniques and skills.

Getting back to our new teacher who might find himself/herself thrown in at the deep end without any kind of support.

What can we do? What's the best plan of attack here? What's the magic solution? Well 90% could be planning! Yes, being prepared for a lesson, it's that simple! Failing to plan = planning to fail!

Imagine for one second, It's your first day... you haven't got any teaching plans / ideas... what do you think the outcome will be? Well no prizes for guessing that things could turn out not quite so rosy for you!

Seems rather simple doesn't it? You'd be surprised how many teachers show up without a plan. Ask them what they're going to do and you might receive an answer like oh, the school will provide me with my materials! Oh, I'm just going to wing it!

You can't rely on the school providing you with everything, especially here in Thailand that is a huge mistake to make! As for winging it, you might get away with it for a while, but in the end you'll fall flat on your ass!

Simple and easy way to look at the lessons.....

Lessons are normally 50 mins to 1 hour.

I divide my lessons up into segments of 20 mins. 20-40-60!

First segment 20 minutes = book work, pronunciation, speaking, vocabulary learning/building.

Second segment 20 minutes = two teams class game/activity based upon what has been practiced and learned in the first part of the lesson.

Third segment 20 minutes = English interactive dvds, my favourite ones have to be the walt disney magic English cartoon series.

These are especially liked by the younger kids and are excellent because the kids love to watch cartoons and this helps them to associate fun with English, which can't be a bad thing, especially in language acquisition!

Remember 20...40...60 or 1...2...3 easy!

school classroom management techniques for teaching esl

2009-05-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Today we're going to take a brief look at how to create a better atmosphere for learning in your classroom. We're going to be using one very simple technique which I myself have created and used to great success in the classroom with a few of the... how shall we say, less enthusiastic students.

It's a very simple and straightforward technique that anyone can use and it has a marvelous affect upon the students, not only making them feel better and more confident within themselves, but also helping them to actually want to take part in the lesson.

Okay, in every classroom we have the good students(the ones that are good at English and like to learn and take part) and we also have the not so good one(the ones that sit and talk and don't know much)

Why has the situation come about? Well there are many reasons for it, too many to go into in this short post. However we'll just quickly skim through a couple here.

Firstly, many students find English a rather difficult language to get a foot hold in. They have limited opportunities to actually interact and use the language with native speakers in everyday situations. This does not in itself help the progress of the students. At the end of the day most of them will actually see learning English as a boring waste of time. Coupled with the fact that they have now fallen so far behind with learning it, and basically can't understand a word the teacher is saying. This further acts to discourage the student or students. In the end they just say.... bugger this, and chat away with their friends.

When this scenario happens, you might find that your classroom gets noisy and you begin to suffer from discipline problems.

What can we do? Well, first off identify the problem students. Bring the problem students to the front of the class and sit them individually next to some of the better students, if they both have nothing in common that's all the better, less for them to chat about.

Please note, that you could inadvertently sit a couple of enemies together, but you'll soon find out about this if you do and then you can then take the appropriate action to remedy the situation!

Don't make the lesson too hard, and focus your attention upon the troublsome students and make them do some of the work, like reading from dummy cards, copying you when you speak. Writing a few simple things down. The point here is to bring attention to these students and help them. Don't expect them to recite a novel or hold a conversation with you on global warming or anything silly like that!

Make it easy for them! Make them use the target language. Then just before the lesson is about to finish bring out the students to the front of the class. Make sure the rest of the class are silent when you do this. Then tell everybody in the class...

These students have worked hard today!

These students have spoken English very well today! I

'am proud of these students because they have worked hard and tried very hard!

Then start clapping, and encourage the rest of the class to join in. This not only makes the students in question feel great! It also boosts their confidence and makes them feel good. It also creates good feelings about learning the language, and you're far more likely to get them to work and participate more in further lessons. After all I've never met anyone who didn't like to look good in front of their peers! I've never met anyone who didn't like to be praised and applauded!

Just a little word of warning, do not overuse this technique! It works well! However if overused it becomes a bit predictable, and may even start to look and sound a little insincere.

Classroom icebreaker activities for esl teachers

2009-05-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

So it's your first day at that new school! You've got all of your books, teaching materials and lesson plans. You're ready for action, right?

Okay what's niggling you? There's something missing, an essential part of the lesson which you haven't got! Yes, we all know it, it's the icebreaker! Yeah in fact a good icebreaker always makes those first lessons go easy.

If you have a decent icebreaker the rest of the lesson will flow! Well that's what I always used to find anyway. What you need is something that's fun, not to overly complex and something that requires minimal planning. Well here you are...

Write some info about yourself on the board. For example...

John? England? 29? married? Hamburgers? Football? Car?

Now divide the class into two teams.... team a and team b for this example.

Explain to them that they have to make a question and ask you using the information you've just written down on the board.

So the teacher points to.... John? On the board and says in a loud voice John whilst pointing at himself.

The team that creates the correct question first gets 1 point. Example: What's your name? Teacher replies... My name is John.

A very simple and easy icebreaker which not only allows the students to get to know their new teacher but also is fun and a good way to kick off the first day at a new school.

More....... games/activities

Teach English abroad with tefl England

2009-05-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of millions of people all over the globe want and need to learn English. The only way they can get real experience of English speakers is if you go out and speak to them. So, if you can speak English then you can be an English teacher. This means that you can travel overseas and find paid teaching work pretty much anywhere around the world.

What are TEFL England courses?

The TEFL England course aims to give you the tools, theory and methodology and more importantly, the confidence to do this.

How you learn is up to you. Some prefer to do this on a classroom-based course over one weekend, others prefer to take on the theory and method with online learning, many though, do both.

We host courses throughout England, so you will be able to find a course date and location to suit you.

Can I take a TEFL course?

Anyone who can speak English is eligible. You don't have to be a professor in English, you don't need experience or qualifications, you just need enthusiasm. In our experience, you don't need to be an out-going performer to teach English in the classroom, you simply need the skills to know what to do when you first step into your first lesson.

How can I find work?

The TEFL England certificate will find you paid teaching work in pretty much any country worldwide, such is the demand for learning English. Some TEFL graduates are teaching English right here in England.

On the course, you'll get lots of help about how to apply for work, and as a TEFL England customer, you'll be entitled to call us anytime for jobs advice.

The most difficult step you need to take is to decide where you want to go!

Live and work abroad. If you can speak English then you can teach it. TEFL England courses to get you teaching abroad.

Making money online and living around the world

2009-05-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered about life? In particular your own life and where it's going? Life is a really precious gift that's been bestowed upon us, and I think you'll agree when I say this... to waste it is a bit of a sin! Maybe that's an understatement or an overstatement depending upon your own viewpoint.

No, what I'm really getting at here is that most of us live the good old 9-5 grind! Yes, and we tell ourselves oh well that's the way things are! That's just my life! How can things be different! I'll just have to put up with it!

At the back of your mind the frustration is at boiling point! Why? Because your mind is smarter than you think! It knows that there is more to life than a dull job with even duller narrow minded colleagues who live for the soap operas on the t.v.

Your mind is saying hey!!! You can do better, you were meant for more than this! You should be living your dreams! Now the human mind can't hold a negative and a positive at the same time in relation to any one belief! It's either right or wrong.

For example if you do a run of the mill job that you don't like, and live a life you dislike continually. Then you tell yourself oh well this is just normal. However your subconscious mind keeps saying you were meant for greater things, then you have a conflict! Which if left alone for any length of time will simmer away and keep coming back to your attention until something is done about it.

The good thing here is this...

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR CAREER!

YOU CAN CHANGE WHERE YOU LIVE IN THE WORLD!

YOU CAN EARN MORE MONEY AND HAVE ALL THE TIME TO SIT BACK AND REAP THE BENEFITS OF IT,!

YOU CAN LIVE THAT LIFE ON A BEACH IN SOME EXOTIC COUNTRY IF THAT'S YOUR DREAM!

YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR EARNINGS POTENTIAL!

Did you know that a lot of people are living their dream lives abroad whilst only working a couple of hours a day doing it?

Did you know that these people are working from where they live, wherever that be in the world?

Did you know that most of these people pull in anything from 2,000 us dollars a month to 10,000 us dollars. Now 2,000 us dollars goes a long way in countries like Thailand!

Did you know that these people weren't whizz kids or Harvard graduates but yet still were able to make themselves a good living.

Well what's the big secret? You might be used to seeing the word secret plastered over the Internet. Examples of this are.... the secrets of making money on the net, the secrets of getting rich quick blah blah predictably blah!

This is not a get rich quick scheme! There are no mystic secrets with this! There are no over the top fees with this! There are no complicated things to learn with this! All you need to do is follow a few simple instructions and the rest will follow!

Think of it as a nice career change where you are the boss! Think of this as a great way to earn and learn whilst having fun! Think of this as your ticket to freedom and independence from that tyrant boss! Think of this as an education! Think of this as a way to move on in life both spiritually and financially!

This article here will show you how to get started!

Earn money and travel the globe with tefl

2009-05-09T00:17:00.000-07:00

Is the economic gloom getting you down? Has your job hunt not been going well? Or do you simply not trust the weatherman about the promised summer? Answer yes to any of these questions and a Tefl course could be the thing for you.

Teaching English as a foreign language is one of the world's most mobile and in demand skills. A small amount of training really can take you a long way – in fact to almost anywhere in the world.

"I did a Tefl course to have something to do on the side while travelling," says Rob Tesh, who teaches English in Brussels. "You can find work in almost any country, usually very quickly."

George Shiel agrees. As an English language teacher, he has been able to live and work in Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Japan and the Czech Republic. "I've always found it easy to get a job," he says. "I think there'll be an abundance of work no matter what."

Most newly qualified English language teachers scatter across the globe after finishing their course. Language institutes can be found in almost any town or city, and some primary and secondary schools are hungry for native-level speakers. Or you might choose to arrange informal classes as you move from place to place.

"Teaching English is really the only way of getting to live and work somewhere exciting, particularly as a young person. You can do something of value, that people living there can't, and you really are integrated into the life of the place," explains Andrew Small, who taught English for six months in a language academy in Guangzhou, China.

And – without wanting to add to the economic blues – Tefl qualifications are attractively recession-proof. Not only can teaching supplement your income, but it can also provide an alternative as the slowdown hits jobs.

"We've seen a 40 per cent increase in bookings so far this year, compared to 2008," reports Robin Garforth from St Giles International, a company that has trained English language teachers since 1955. "And the profile of our intake has changed – we are seeing more mature students and people from professional backgrounds."

Choosing the right course is the next hurdle. The range of options can be bewildering. But what most people agree on is that you do need that certificate. "The days of going travelling and finding a teaching job just because you're a native speaker are more or less over," says Shiel. "Any half decent school will require a proper qualification."

In Britain, those are the Celta and CertTesol certificates, awarded by Cambridge University and Trinity College London respectively. Full-time Celta and Tesol courses are a commitment, usually four weeks of training with practical classroom experience, and start at £800-£900. "The course is hard work, but it introduces you to important concepts and gives you a head start in the classroom," says Sarah Hampton, who took a Celta course before teaching for a year in Indonesia.

There are accredited course providers across Britain, but you can also study abroad. You won't save a huge amount of money – the flight offsets the cheaper living costs. But, according to Nick McGirl, who trained in Barcelona, learning abroad gives you a great introduction to the country and connections to possible job should you want to work there afterwards.

While many language schools require Celta, Tesol or an equivalent, some shorter courses can act as good tasters if you want to try before you buy. And a week-long course should give you the confidence to teach conversation classes.

One piece of advice resonates: choose overseas postings carefully. Some language schools cover your flights, but only if you fulfil certain conditions. "When I arrived in Indonesia, the school seemed really unprofessional," Hampton explains. "People should check before going whether they can break their contract, if it becomes necessary."

The flexibility of Tefl comes with a snag: it's no get-rich-quick scheme. Salaries abroad are linked to national averages and, while usually enough to live on, do not permit saving.

Should you choose to return to teach in Britain, wages remain low. A full-time teacher with two years' experience might start on £16,000 a year in London. Unless you decide to break into English-language teaching at the academic level or progress into management, Tefl will likely remain a short-term option.

But, short-term or not, few other qualifications give you the opportunity to travel the world, engage with local communities and earn your keep along the way. As Shiel says: "It's often hard work. But with Mayan pyramids just around the corner, it can still feel like you're always on holiday."

By Zoe Flood
The Independent

Work, make money, travel and live anywhere in the world!

2009-05-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Every now and again a nice little gem comes along that catches your attention. For all those people who've ever pondered leaving their dreary 9-5 jobs and doing something different, this is for you.
Would you like to travel the globe and earn a living whilst sat on a lovely beach somewhere enjoying the beautiful vista? Or maybe you just want a rewarding change of career.

Now it's possible!

Working Nomad Ebook
A lot of people are doing it and it's a lot easier than you may think!

This e-book is a step by step, week by week guide to making 5 websites in 20 weeks for the purposes of maintaining an online income.

The features of the e-book...
> Tells you exactly what do on a week by week basis from having nothing to 5 web sites for income.
> I have earned up to USD $10,000 per month from websites and have been working for myself for over 3 years (read the blog for proof!)
> At the end of every week there is a checklist so you know where you should be.
> Links to valuable resources that got me where I am now.
> Written in plain, non-technical standard English.
> Highlights the mistakes I made and how to avoid them.
> Suitable for the absolute novice to get started in website making. No web design knowledge needed!
> Also suitable for the website publisher who already has sites as there is useful information on marketing, improving your site and most importantly getting more visitors!

Pick up your copy of the ebook here, before they all go!

Volunteer positions, summer jobs, gap year employment, jobs galore in Thailand!

2009-05-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Taking it easy down at the beach is one way of spending your school / college break. However if that's not for you why not help the residents of Sakon Nakhon province in Thailand. With indigo design, or why not teach English in Ayuthaya province? Or even design landscapes for community based tourism? Sound interesting? Then read on!

You can do all of these through a new Tourism Authority of Thailand programme called Voluntourism. This scheme is aimed at students and travellers alike.

Voluntourism, a new type of tourism, is becoming popular with young Westerners keen to who leave their homes behind and spend the summers working with local communities or nonprofit organisations. Volunteer jobs vary from building children's playgrounds to observing sea turtles.

Instead of hanging out at tourist attractions , travellers join work camps and help the locals in their own communities.

There are going to be four camps held in the northeast of Thailand, central Thailand, in the next school holidays, paving the way for this new travel trend.

In the northeastern provinces residents of Baan Tham Tao village offer volunteers work on indigo farms and in clothing design.

If you're not up to the design side, no worries there is still plenty of work to be had on the farms around the village and surrounding areas.

In Ayuthaya province volunteers can teach English and undertake landscape design. They will be warmly welcomed by the very friendly locals here.

So if you've ever wanted to travel abroad gain experience whilst helping the local community then this programme will be right up your street!

Hurry because the first working camps at Sakon Nakhon and Ayuthaya will be held next month with two more camps being organised in Chumphon and Uthai Thani in October.

More info from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Check out there web site for further details.

Other teaching positions in Thailand here.

Thailand's tourism likely to suffer a 35% drop in revenue!

2009-05-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Thailand's tourism industry likely to suffer 35% revenue drop
By Channel NewsAsia's IndoChina Correspondent Anasuya Sanyal | Posted: 06 May 2009 0015 hrs

BANGKOK: Thailand's tourism industry could suffer a revenue drop of 35 per cent this year due to prolonged political instability and the global economic crisis, according to analysts.

Growing fears about influenza A (H1N1) flu pandemic are not helping with the situation either, even though travel industry experts are confident that Asia is well prepared to handle a potential health crisis.

Dale Lawrence, director of Corporate Communications, Pacific Asia Travel Association, said: "It's potentially another kick in the teeth for tourism, but it isn't yet... In the Asia Pacific region, we are very experienced in dealing with it, in the wake of the SARS crisis of 2003. Lessons have been learned."

But aside from the H1N1 issue, last year's closure of Bangkok's airports and continued protests at the Government House have dampened travellers' confidence in Thailand as a safe tourist destination.

That is why the Abhisit government is making tourism a top priority for the country. Tourism accounts for 5 per cent of the GDP and employs up to 7 per cent of the total workforce.

An estimated 200,000 jobs could be lost in the sector this year. The government is hoping that incentives such as reducing visa fees and flight landing charges will entice visitors.

It is also extending assistance to travel businesses with the aim of stopping redundancies.

Deputy Prime Minister Kobsak Sabhavasu said: "We talked to the business people, especially in tourism - 'Please do not lay them off and we would help shoulder some of the courses for you to retrain your people at their workplace'. You work five days; you train for two days. We pay for that. We even pay for the trainer."

But critics of this plan said it is not feasible in the long term as the government may have to borrow money to stay afloat.

It is estimated that Thailand may only receive around 11 million visitors this year – 3 million less than last year.

- CNA/so

How to land a job in the Thai esl business and teach English in roughly 3 days!

2009-05-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

How to land a job in the esl business and teach English in roughly 3 days!

This is a very brief guide to finding yourself an English language teaching job in the esl/tefl industry in Thailand. If you follow these easy laid out steps it should be possible for most half decently qualified individuals to land them selves employment within the private language school industry / sector in Thailand.

Before you depart your home country.

A week or so before you leave home, email the major language schools and tell them that you are interested in working for them. Make sure you sell yourself and enclose a copy of your c.v. Tell them when you intend to arrive in Thailand and what your qualifications are. Tefl, celta, degree, diploma etc.

Now most people will say that emailing the schools before you arrive is normally a waste of time! This is not completely true! Although many companies do receive a lot of mail from prospective teachers abroad, who in turn never show up. So they might take your email with a pinch of salt. But don't be put off!

What we want to do here is really to introduce ourselves and plant the idea in their heads that we will be around. Also make sure you show up when you say you are going to. This will also show them that you are a man/woman of your word. You are reliable, and this is a very good and highly sought after trait in the esl teaching game over here.

Make copies of your certificates, diplomas and degrees. Never hand over your original documents unless you are really pushed for them. This should only be when you have to submit the original copy of your degree in order to obtain your work permit!

Go out and buy a decent pair of trousers, a shirt and a tie. Make sure you buy them in your own country. A number of reasons for this. You can buy all you want in Bangkok, however when you arrive, you really don't want to be wasting your time running around town looking for decent threads. It's tiring and your time should be spent looking for employment / job.

Make sure you know the locations of the private language schools you've already emailed.
Go onto the net, get their addresses, in Thai as well if you can. Find their websites and print off any location maps they may have. Some companies will have their location and a map on their web sites. This will come in very handy when you're in the taxi and trying to explain where you want to go.

Next thing get on the plane and come over here.

Day 1 arrive in Bangkok and proceed straight to your hotel. Now get some good quality rest and sleep. You need to get over your long flight and no booze!

Day 2. Wake up. Go to the nearest internet cafe and check your email, just in case you have any other correspondence from any of the companies you emailed.

Go out and buy a cheap mobile phone with a Thai sim card. You'll need this in order for employers to more easily contact you. I can't tell you how important it is to have a mobile here.

Next get all your qualifications together, put your best rags on and hail a cab. Make sure you have plenty of small notes / change for the taxi drivers.

Make sure also that you have a list of maybe 5 or six companies that you are going to visit. If you don't know any private language companies in Bangkok then check here for details... http://thailanguageschools.blogspot.com/

A little tip here, make sure you go to the companies head office! Why? Well a lot of private language schools in Bangkok have many franchise branches scattered throughout the city.

If for example you show up at a small franchise branch, the manager may not be able to help you. So you might find yourself redirected back to their head office. This is a waste of your time and money!

Now go in and introduce yourself as a prospective teacher. If the branch manager is in you should be able to get an interview, if he's not then you'll probably be told to come back later. This time could be spent by visiting the other schools on your list.

Don't worry about just walking in and introducing yourself, most of the larger chain schools are always on the look out for new teachers.

One of the best times to get yourself signed would be around March-very early-May and September. These periods are the school breaks. In these periods language schools are usually looking to recruit teachers for the following semester, for reasons such as new school contracts and teachers leaving etc.

Now you might just find yourself being offered a job at the interview if all goes well, so don't be too surprised if this happens. From here it''s up to you how you play it. You could tell them that you'll think their offer over and then proceed on to the next school to see if you can get a better deal. It really depends on you and how much you need the job! Or accept the offer whilst still on the lookout for something better to come along. It's really down to you at this stage of the game.

What I will say is this... take the job because you're always in a better position to find another job, when you already have one.

Day 3 Wait for the replies to come back and phone calls. If you haven't already been hired.

While your waiting go and get a cold one in, you've earned it!

filipinos working abroad and teaching English in Thailand

2009-04-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years Thailand has seen an increase in Filipino teachers coming to teach English here in los.

Now there is plenty of work to be found in Thailand for the likes of the Filipino teacher.http://tefljobsworldwide.blogspot.com/ Most of the major language companies take on a lot of Filipino workers, when they are unable to get any native speaking English teachers.

One thing that I must say about our Filipino counterparts is this... for the most part they are very hard working and dedicated to the profession. This of course puts them in favour with management when they're going for a job.

Filipino workers will also work a lot harder and longer than most native speakers, sorry guys it's true. The downside for the Filipino is of course they tend to be put on a little by the Thai management who will, for want of a better expression... exploit them!

Another big plus side for our Filipino worker is that they tend to come with a college degree, so that makes them easier to employ.

On the downside their tends to be a little bit of discrimination laid at there doors by some language institutions and schools here in Thailand.

Fortunately for them, not everyone sees things that way. A lot of schools even the big chains will quite happily hire the Filipino teacher.

Here are a few places that always tend to be on the look out for teachers and will quite happily hire the Filipino teacher.

.........................

ECC (Thailand) Big C Rajdamri
5th Floor, 97/11 Rajdamri Road, Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand
Tel: +66 (2) 253 3312
Fax: + 66 (2) 252 8570
Email: jobs@ecc.ac.th (job enquiries only)

........................

Siam computer and language institute

Tel. (66) 0-2247-2345 ext. 200, 204, 364
Fax. (66) 0-2644-6974; (66) 0-2644-6977
E-mail : bhudeb@siamcom.co.th or anthony@siamcom.co.th

........................

The Nonthaburi English teachers project

http://www.ril.ru.ac.th/ntp/

Esl teaching in Thailand(would I get that job?)

2009-04-27T02:49:00.000-07:00

So you've sat at home back in farang land pondering if this is the right move for you to make!

You love Thailand so much. Your mind is dead set on coming over here and plying your trade as an English language teacher, in the tefl world!

You're now wondering, will it be easy to land a job in one of the many esl establishments over here.

So...

There are a few factors that are going to come into play when you're job seeking in Thailand.

1. Your qualifications (degree + tefl = beating them off with a rather large shitty stick)

2. Degree in any English teaching field + tefl + pgce = (You are a god so demand the world! You'll most certainly receive it on a platter with an obscene salary to follow. In comparison with what others in Thailand are earning)

3.Degree any field no teaching experience = (You'll get a job without too much effort, you'll be in demand by most schools)

4.Tefl + no degree = (Getting a job with most of the larger schools is very possible. If you've got teaching experience under your belt then that will put you in good stead too)

5.No experience + no tefl + no degree = (Proceed to the nearest canal bridge and throw yourself off it! Your chances are rather slim here. There are quite a few schools out there that will give you a start, you could check out schools like Brit am, E+ and a few others. Though you could dramatically improve your chances by getting a tefl certificate. http://tefldirectory.blogspot.com/ this will further increase the odds of you landing a job.)

So from the above I hope that you're starting to get the picture. A word of warning : You can teach in Thailand without a degree. Though to secure a work permit in most cases a degree is required. So no degree = in the majority of cases, no permit!

Working without a permit might land you in trouble with the authorities if you get yourself caught.

However having said that quite a few people still do it and have had no problems. Though one thing you should remember is this... The good old TIT rule. This is Thailand, and with that in mind things can change overnight, and crackdowns frequently happen. Whether you want to teach legally or illegally is your choice at the end of the day!

Conclusion: A degree is needed! A tefl or celta will put the icing on the cake. Anything else after that is a good bonus!

Teacher recruitment in Thailand (a nice little earner!)

2009-04-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

There I was working away and constantly thinking to myself, this job just aint cutting it anymore financially wise!

I really need to make some extra cash and fast! So what were my options? Well I could ask the firm for more hours / extra teaching at nights + weekends. Now naturally this would be the obvious choice, but then again, I'd have to travel to the job. These evening and weekend classes were usually at far flung language centers situated throughout the city.

So after battling your way through the Bangkok traffic and then teaching your class with the return trip thrown in, you were lighter on the cash due to travel costs and had wasted a lot of time + you were knackered into the bargain! Great deal I don't think!

Second choice... teach privates. Well to tell you the truth I really didn't want to bother with those private classes and chasing my cash around, so that was out of the question.

Choice three... came to me like a bolt of inspiration from heaven! Language schools need teachers to teach their students, Yes, At the moment they're short of teachers! Yes, ok... so therefore they require them! Yes,... So why don't I give them what they want!

TEACHERS!!! YES.

With all of that in mind I decided to get into the teacher recruitment game. It was simple, I already knew most of the schools anyway. I also knew the ones that were short on the old farang teachers.

There of course were the other establishments that had a seemingly revolving door of teachers for reasons that are well known to teflers and expats alike in Thailand.

Anyway who was I to judge. The teachers who I couldn't get work for at the bigger schools I would churn them through the revolving door schools.

So I approached a few well known private language schools and left them my card with details of the service that I could offer them.

Less than a two days later I got a call on my cell phone. I had my first assignment. I was to recruit 5 native speakers to teach English at various high schools throughout the city.

So okay, I had the job, now it was up to me to fulfill my part of the deal and put some white native speaker bums on classroom chairs.

How could I go about this? Well if I advertise in the Bangkok post it would have cost me money and been too slow. I like need the teachers yesterday kind of thing.

So where do foreigners hang out in Bangkok? Yes, of course you'll find them in abundance on khao san road. Khao san is like a backpackers mecca for those of you who are not in the know.

I ho I ho it's off to work I go. I put my best threads on, grabbed my bag and with some printed material and a list of terms and conditions jumped in a cab and said (yaak pai thanon khao san rew rew na) I'd like to go to khao san road and step on it!

Having arrived there I came upon a bar. Gullivers I think the name was. I entered and looked around. In the corner were a group of guys sitting down. I bought myself a drink and pro ceded to approach them. Trying to avoid looking like a mincer or mad axeman type :-)

I introduced myself and got talking to them. Now what a stroke of luck! These guys were on an asian backpacking tour. However this was their first time in Asia and Thailand.

They liked Thailand so much that they'd decided to stick around for a while and chill. I told them all about the jobs and they seemed happy because they'd be able to make some extra bucks thus financing their further travels.

I got their details and guest house phone number and I agreed to pick them up the following day and take them to the company. I did however brief them on dress code and pointed them the way to banglamphuu to pick up some cheap clothes.

So that was three signed and two to go. To cut a long story short they told me they knew of a couple of other guys who were staying at the same guest house and who would be interested in a job. A German and a french guy. Ok not quite native speakers but white and with a decent grasp of the lingo. I jokingly informed them if anyone asks about your accents just tell em you come from Scotland :-)

So I had all five. Next step I proceed to collect my cash. Which for me was 2,000 baht a head. So five teachers = 10,000 baht. So basically I'd had a night out at khao san road a few beers and I'd got a pay day out of it. Not a bad day at the office if I may say so!

Taxi meter drivers in Thailand

2009-04-24T11:44:00.000-07:00

We all have to take a cab from time to time and in Thailand there are more taxis than one can shake a stick at!

Taxi drivers the world over have come in for a bit of stick and to be fair on them they're not all a bunch of robbing b*stards! However taking a trip in a Bangkok taxi can become a rather challenging affair for your average tourist or expat.

So what about the drivers themselves? Most cabis hail from the north eastern provinces of Thailand. Economic reasons tend to drive them, pardon the pun :-) to the larger cities in Thailand, namely Bangkok! Here they will usually rent a cab and take it in shifts to drive.

So what are the main things that tend to tick people off? On phrase you should remember is wing orm What does wing orm mean I hear you asking yourselves? Wing orm means to take you around the houses or take the long route around.

This tends to piss off a lot of expats, especially when an extra 50-100 baht can be added to the meter!

I remember an incident when I first came to Thailand between a cabie and a teacher friend of mine. We both shared a cab to work. When we pulled up at the school, my friend Dave passed the driver a 100 baht note. The fare came to about 95 baht or so if I can remember correctly. The taxi driver took the cash and didn't return the 5 baht change. Dave then demanded it by saying... ooy, come on 5 baht!

At the time I thought this was rather stingy, but after a few years living in Thailand and having the same trick pulled on myself, I grew weary of it in the same way as my colleague had.

Another favourite trick of our local taxi man, and this one tends to take place around the touristy areas of Bangkok is to try and negotiate a price with you instead of switching on the meter.

If any cabie tries this trick on you. Do not try and reason with them, just walk! It's called a taxi meter for a reason, it's a taxi with a meter!

Want to kill the boredom on a long journey? Then take the micky out of your new taxi guy friend with some Thai conversation...

How many hours do you work a day? = Tham ngaan wan la kii chuamong

You work hard, you must be really rich = kun tham ngaan nak maak khit waa kun ruay maak duay

I bet you live in a big house, with lots of girls = khit waa kun yuu thii baan yai gap pooying
laai kon

You are ricer than me = kun ruay gwaa pom

At home we're really poor = thaang baan raw jon maak

What to do with your free time in Thailand?

2009-04-19T02:52:00.000-07:00

The above is a question which many an expat have pondered over. You see when you visit Thailand on a two week vacation, you'll rarely encounter this little problem.

However when you take that big step and relocate yourself to Thailand, you'll suddenly be faced with it, sooner rather than later.

One thing you could do is to go all out and just work. The slight downside with this is that you'll be missing everything that Thailand has to offer and who in their right minds wants to work 24/7? That's what most of us after all came here for, to escape the rat race! To get off of the 24/7 work like a madman treadmill!

If you walk around some places that expats live namely Pattaya, Phuket and certain areas og Bangkok, you'll no doubt stumble upon rosy cheeked expats bar owners, business owners etc sat around with beer bottles welded permanently to their hands.

A lot of expats end up on this slippery slope, the red face look is also a warning sign that all is not going to great with their insides by the way!

A lot of these people simply do this out of sheer boredom and while I'm not trying to be anybody's mother here. I'm just trying to highlight that sometimes for certain individuals having too much free time on their hands will not always be beneficial.

So what to do? Well for me having free time on my hands after a hard working week is a great opportunity to pursue other interests.

For example: Writing for websites and getting paid for it :-) Learning another language :-) Writing and having books published and receiving regular royalty payments :-) Studying for a degree via distance learning :-) Learning to program and write simple programs. Learning about ecommerce. Setting up websites and writing and updating them :-) Taking care of my girlfriend. Going out and eating at nice restaurants.

The list just goes on! The only problem I face is that time seems to be going too bloody fast!

So if you have half a brain in your head you can make the most of the time you have and exploit this great opportunity that has been given to you!

Daniel gets married in Thailand

2009-04-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when the newly arrived show up in Thailand things tend to go a little to their heads as was the case with teacher Daniel.

Now give the man his dues he was really enjoying his new life in Thailand. He was certainly getting into the swing of things what with all the food and Thai beer he was consuming he really was starting to fit.

All he had to do now was become a gambler and fritter his money away and he would have completed the transition from farang to Thai guy.

What was next on Daniels agenda? Well, plainly to him it was marriage. You see he'd met his other half in.... no other than a bar! Surprise surprise. Having been together for around about two to three months, it was time to pop the big question. Get down on your hands and knees boy and beg that bird!!!! WILL YOU MARRY ME?

The answer he received was a big hearty yes of course. ("thoughts of financial stability and long lazy days spent asleep never entered into the equation, honest!")

So now the scene was set: Daniel would travel upcountry to her home and meet all the family and of course guess who was in charge of the wedding plans. Yes, no doubt you'll have figured it out, it was his other half and the family.

So the day was set and off Daniel merrily went like a lamb to the slaughter. Lol lets not be so cynical here :-)

He arrived in the village, to be greeted by the family and a couple of monks. A ceremony was then performed where he had water tossed over him by the monks and a few prayers were said. Then string was tied around his wrist another traditional thing. After that it was bobs your uncle hey presto and according to her and the family they were now married.

He came back to school the next week with all the stories, and a happy look on his face that only a married man can have Give it a few months :-)

Now, asked, did you have to pay a dowry? The answer was yes. I inquired how much? The reply I got was 10,000 baht. This was quite cheap but on the other hand it was still a large sum for folks scratching a living in the poorer northeastern provinces of Thailand.

Daniel showed us some pictures of the affair and the monks who blessed him. Tell you the truth it looked all rather stone age to me.

However the bigger shock was later to come a few months down the line. Daniel was looking through his new wifes belongings, and came across some pics of her and her family.

At the back of it he saw two lads, they looked a tadge familiar to him. So he brought them into school along with the pics of his wife the family and the recent wedding.

OMFG! the two monks and the two lads were the same, they were obviously family members maybe brothers! Except that on the family shots, they had hair and on the wedding pics they were bald as coots and dressed in monks robes!

Then it all fell into place. The monks weren't monks at all! They were her brothers or other family members posing as monks. So next question? The money? The 10,000 baht dowry?

Yes, the guys had and the family had had themselves an easy pay day! Guess what? Daniel had paid for the food and the booze as well!

Daniel felt a little sick after this and of course the wife denied everything, as usual! So a good day was had by all except for Daniel!

Teacher Daniel gets his first teaching job in Thailand

2009-04-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

Daniel showed up in Thailand around about April 2003, he was from a small town in Yorkshire England. He was really pissed off with the U.K as most of us were, the reason we'd all ended up over here.

Daniel was a nice guy and we got on well. Though he wasn't exactly the best teacher around. To be fair on the chap, it was all new to him and he needed to get more experience under his belt in order to improve as everyone does.

So we ended up working together in the same school around about Sept 2003 - March 2004. WE had some good times and Daniel was really enjoying his new life in Thailand and he was in a way really going overboard to fit in. Yes, it could be said that he was totally enjoying his new situation.

Everything was going well for him apart from the odd blooper here and there which were so befitting to our Daniel.

For example the time when he spent the whole of his lunch brake outside in the heat of the day playing football on a hard dusty pitch with a bunch of school students. There was the other time in the classroom when he'd allowed his students M6 = 17-18 years olds to ask him what he and his other half got up to on their recent half term trip to Pattaya.

Daniel of course allowed himself to be led into a position where he showed the students what he and his other half had gotten up to. This he skillfully demonstrated by placing his two palms together and moving them up and down whilst making a grunting noise. The actions received a barrage of laughter from the boys in the class and a red faced silence from the girls. After this little incident Daniel found himself busted down to teaching M1 - M2 12 14 year olds and I ended up getting landed with his M6 classes which I wasn't really happy about.

Then a few days later a visit from the boss old Manoch who skillfully tried to explain that Thais were... how did he put it... a little conservative, and that playing football with the kids at lunchtime was not the correct way for a teacher to act. You could argue that Daniel was a likeable idiot.

Now when you work at a government school, it kinda gets a bit routine and to be fair it gets on your nerves a bit and there are so many other problems. So you try and do things to get you through the day, literally to amuse yourself when teaching. You come up with all ideas. Now the kids at this particular school were rich kids and very lazy. So one day Daniel comes bounding up to me with a smile on him like a Cheshire cat!

I said hey Daniel what's up? He told me that he'd come up with a great idea for a lesson. He'd been looking through some books in the library and come across his book sesame street which was a really annoying yank kids t.v program with lots of characters based on animals and alike.

So he printed off a few hundred copies and handed them out to his kids. Their task was to name the characters and then colour them in.

It was a great success he later informed me, it'd helped him to toss off half an hour of the lesson thus giving him plenty of opportunity to sit back and put his feet up in the class.

Later on Daniel was moved to a private school by the company and then was employed direct by that school. That was the last I ever heard or saw of the guy. Though I still reminisce over the great times, memories and just the plain nice experiences I had.

Priceless!

Travelers / backpackers earn extra cash in Bangkok!

2009-04-12T02:30:00.000-07:00

In Bangkok for a short time? Short on cash? Need some extra spending money? Then teach for English+!

Yes, English plus has many branches in and around Bangkok. It also has branches upcountry. If you're in Thailand and have a few months free then why not give them a bell and earn some extra cash teaching English for them!

English + or elt communications as they're known are always on the lookout for new teachers to fill their never ending teacher void.

Work may include... Teaching at various government high schools in and around Bangkok. Or you could be teaching weekend and evening classes at one of their many language centers located throughout the city and provinces.

Don't be shy give them a bell today, you'll be glad you did!

ELT Communication Group
47/19 ELT Building,
Ngam Wong Wan Road,
Lat Yao,
Chatu Chak,
Bangkok 10900,
Thailand.

Alternatively, you can contact us by telephone, fax or email;

By telephone on: 02-941-3787/8
International callers dial: +66-2941 3787/8

By Fax on: 02-941-3786
International callers dial: +66-2941 3786

By Email: eltcommunication@eltcom.com

Software in Bangkok

2009-04-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

Where would you go if you wanted a nice new copy of office xp? windows vista or any other popular program?

Well if you happen to be lucky enough to be in Bangkok, then you need look no further than the famous Panthip plaza!

Yes, for software geeks this place will be like a paradise on earth! You, can literally get just about anything you want.

Want that brand new Mac os x software. No problem 150 - 200 baht! Well better than shelling out maybe 4,000 baht or whatever it goes for these days.

How can these guys operate you might think with the likes of Microsoft banging it's big corporate hand down on the table all the time.

Well it's illegal to sell hooky software in Thailand and if the owners are caught they could face heavy fines, jail time etc.

So what about raids? This could be a big problem, people getting arrested and businesses going out of business right?

Well here is the deal...

Police ring Panthip plaza and inform stall holders of an upcoming raid on lets say Friday. Stall holders make sure they have nothing on their stalls etc. Which they normally wouldn't have due to them keeping it outside and around the corner somewhere.

When you the punter come into their shops and look at the empty software sleeves which all have assigned numbers on them. All you do is write the number down and they send a boy outside to pick up your order, 5 minutes later he's back you pay and that's that!

Anyways getting back to the raid, Police show up on the day sniff around a few stalls / shops etc. Low and behold nobodies got any snide software.

Everyone is happy, police have been seen to do their jobs and off they go. A result for everyone, except probably for Bill and Steve :-)

Soi dogs of Thailand

2009-04-05T01:22:00.000-07:00

In most western nations people tend to go a bit overboard with their beloved k9s. They tend to pamper them to death and take them for nice walks in the park whilst calling them by cute names and generally lavashing tons of affection upon their darling mutt.

Thailand tends to take a different view on dogs. For example rightly or wrongly these sad animals get thrown out onto the streets where it's up to them to fend for themselves and find whatever scraps of food there might be in bins on the street or simply by strangers giving them left over rice etc.

What happens next? These pooches tend to breed and before you know it. A large mutt community has sprung up! The dogs tend to keep their distance from people. However, you try walking down some of these sois at night or early morning on your own! The dogs will eye you up in the street growl and bark.

Before you know where you are, you'll have a pack of mangy mutts following you. The one thing you should never do is take your eye off them. If you do then one or more will creep up behind you and bite you.

Yes, it happened to me a few years back near sukhumwit road! I was just walking down the street and the next thing I knew was that something had grabbed the back of my leg. When I turned around. It was a soi dog. Luckily for me I was wearing jeans, however it had drawn blood, and I needed to get a few shots at the local hospital.

Back in the u.k for example this problem could be cleared up effectively and easily with a nice choice of options:

1.Call the local dog wardens out.

2.Buy an air rifle and have a bit of Saturday night sport from your bedroom window, with a few friends and a crate of beer.

3.Chuck some poison meat out for them. Then try to keep a straight face when the local paper and community start wondering why there are so many dog corpses littering the streets.

4.Ring the local Indian or kebab restaurant and tell them you've got some fresh meat for them.

5.If you have a stray cat problem then contact the nearest Chinese restaurant.

Learning a bit of Thai

2009-03-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

One thing that a lot of foreigners don't do in Thailand is to learn the language or even a little.

Now when you live in a foreign country it's always a good idea to get at least a few phrases under your belt.

What's Thai like to learn? Well there are some good points and a few not so good points.

First off, the Thai language is tonal. This means that the meaning of the words is determined by the tone you pronounce them at.

For example: say maa at one tone and it'll mean come. Say it at another tone and it'll mean dog. Say it at yet another tone and the meaning will be horse!

There are five tones in Thai, High, mid, rising, falling, low tone. So when you start to learn Thai you must be aware of the intonation you use. You really need to divorce your emotions from your conversation when you are speaking Thai.

On the bright side, Thai has virtually no grammar! Verbs don't change and there are only a few past tense markers that you can use.

Example: I've already been = pai maa laew laew here means already.

More Thai phrases can be found here
http://learnthai101.blogspot.com/

Things to do in Nonthaburi at the weekend

2009-03-22T02:43:00.000-07:00

Well what to do? a phrase that used to amuse me as it came out of my beloveds mouth. What do you mean what to do? What are we going to do now that the weekend is upon us?

You see living in Nonthaburi isn't the most thrilling place to be, it's a rather dull and drab province next door to Bangkok. Yes, you might say why not go into Bangkok and enjoy yourselves rightt? No, wrong! Why? because Bangkok isn't really that far away. However try getting in the car or on the bus and travelling there, and then do it on a frequent basis, I'm telling you, you'll jolly soon get pissed off with all the travelling and traffic jams.

Yes, non stop crawling traffic that litterly takes you hours to get anywhere. I must admit when I was new to Thailand, this thought didn't really put me off. Though as time wore on, I became weary of it.

So back to what to do? Well there are plenty of large shopping centers / malls that you can browse around if you get bored. The really good thing is that these same malls and centers have a great variety of different restaurants where you can eat and the costs are very reasonable too!

Our favorite was hachiban, which was a kind of Japanese noodle place that also sold rice dishes. We'd have two bowls of noodles, I'd usually have the tom yam flavour and with it we'd have a pepsi each and a rice dish in the middle. If memory serves me correct, the bill would come to something around the 300 baht mark. Not bad for two people.

Then there was Sizzler! Yes, Sizzler is like a western style steak house. I'll give you one guess what they sell :-)

Anyways we'd order two steak dishes, and get free salad as much as we could eat, with soup and fruit. The thing you need to watch out for here, is that you don't fill up too much on the soup salad and fruit before your main course comes!

Then after you've had your main dish of steak and chips, you can hit the eat as much as you want salad. On top of that if you order pepsi with your meal you can have as many refills as you want. I tell you, I used to walk out of that place stuffed. I felt like I didn't need to eat for a week after a session there! The price? Well for two people it used to run up to around 600 - 700 baht. Very good for two, try getting a meal like that in the west for the same price!

Songkram Thai water festival

2009-03-15T03:06:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not in the know, songkran the Thai water festival is just a couple of weeks around the corner.

That's when briefly Thailand shuts down for a few days and people start chucking water over each other on the streets. It's a rather merry occasion or should be. However due to the fact that it's a Thai holiday you have to be very careful especially if you happen to be traveling on the roads around about that time. The accident rate will literally soar around this period.

So why should there be so many accidents? Well it's a holiday and what do a lot of people do in their free time? Yep, 10 points if you answered get drunk and a poke in the bum if you said racing buffalos, although it does go on in certain provinces in Thailand!

So if you don't want to be a stat, keep off of the roads and highways!

Now I remember my first songkran in Thailand. I'd only been living there about 4 months and I was still wearing my rose tints. I can remember that day bloody hot it was too. I'd gone into Bangkok, actually to the panthip plaza. That's a place that sells all the hooky software in Bangkok.

I'd just come back from there and decided to take a stroll down sukhumwit road before I jumped onto the bts to go home. It was a rather jolly occasion with tourists and Thais alike throwing water over each other.

As I was walking down the street, some hookers poured water all down my back. Now I just smiled and carried on walking.After all I was in Thailand and that was a tradition. However as the years rolled on I began to dislike songkran and all the water throwing, it really became a pain in the arse having to avoid people in the streets, groups of kids on the corners. Going to the 7/11 for a bottle of water became like a huge obstacle course for me, dodge those people on the courner while avoiding the people on the other side of the road. To top it all off it's not clean water that gets thrown, they mix a kind of white powder in with it which makes a horrible white paste. When that gets on you or your clothes it really makes a mess!

I recall a teacher friend of mine who used to travel right out into the sticks and spend songkran sat on the cold floor of some tin shack or something, that was the gf family house! He would tell me that they'd all wake up at 7.00 am and start drinking all day sat in a circle. Jeez what a bloody nightmare I used to think to myself! Still if that was what he was used to and liked, you can't take it away from the poor dude.

So have a good songkran, and as that old fart on the hill stree blues cop show used to say...

Lets be careful out there!

Girlfriends visit to u.k 2008/9

2009-03-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

This year was my first xmas back in the u.k for 5 years. The first christmas I'd seen in years seemed rather strange to me especially the run up to it. You see, I'd been feeling like a fish out of water back in the u.k since I'd arrived back here.

In the space of a year I'd got myself a flat, bought everything for it, shelled out for my uni fees and god knows what other expenses I'd incurred. Yes, it really had been a busy year for me. On top of all that I'm back in a different job / climate / culture / oh not to mention having had an operation in the hospital a few months back.

So it was a great relief when I knew my other half was coming to visit me. That made me feel happy, we had some great times and she'd made herself another friend called Holly. Yes, Holly is an 11 year old Yorkshire terrier.

Bangkok a swinging town!

2009-03-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

Well it's a Sunday afternoon around about 1pm and I'm sitting in Mcdonalds in a mall in Bangkok. Why am I having a burger in a mall on my own you might well ask? Well I'm on a job, Yes not on the job, but killing a bit of time until I have to teach at a small language center upstairs in this mall.

This is a real bum job I've picked up. Number 1, I have to take a few buses to get here from Nonthaburi and it takes me nearly an hour to arrive. So that's two hours travel time wasted, and another two hours for teaching. That's a rather big chunk out of my Sunday! But hey, it's extra money.

Well getting back to what I was saying. I'm just sat there on my own eating my burger when I catch sight of this small roundish guy. We acknowledged each other and before long he took that as an invitation to come over and plomp his ass down next to me.

We got talking and before long the conversation got around to women. He then proceeded to tell me about the open relationship he enjoyed with his Thai other half.

Then straight out of the blue he started telling me about a nice little arrangement he's got with this Thai guy and his wife. Apparently he goes around and all three of them get it on and the Thai guys wife gets a good seeing to by him and her husband.

He then asked me in a non direct way, if I or my gf would be up for some of that! At that point my patients had gone a bit, and I told him in no uncertain turns to.... sling his hook!

After that he crept away with his tail between his legs. It's true you get all sorts over here, when you think there are no more surprises left, something else comes around the corner to shock you.

In my case I'd thought that I'd met most of the loonies through my work, but oh no, there was still plenty more of them out there!

My Friday evenings in Thailand

2009-02-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time again folks, the weekend is here and upon us again! What shall we do?I finish work on Friday's at 1.40, lucky old me, I know! So it's off out of the school gates at hight speed with my bag slung over my shoulder.

Then it's straight on the back of a motorcycle taxi to the end of the soi and from there I jump off and foot slog it for exactly another 10 minutes until I reach the bus stop.

At the bus stop I wait for the first bus to come along and then I jump on it. Five minutes later I'm jumping off it and crossing the road to the mall Bang khae.

At the mall, I jump into a mini van and off we go. 20 minutes later I'm arriving at big king bang yai where I get on the back of another motorcycle and 5 minutes later I'm hoping off at my condo, I'm home and the weekend is young.

If everything has gone to plan it's about 2.20 to 2.30 pm. Then it's hit the shower grab all of my clothes and dump them at the laundry across the road and the next time I'll see them is on Sunday night all washed and nicely ironed for Monday.

So I get back to the condo, and do a bit of heavy duty loafing around, surfing and generally take it real easy in the heat of the afternoon sun on my balcony.

Roll on a few hours and gf arrives home from work in her car around about 7pm. I jump in and off we go to carrefour and to the M.K restaurant. We order a good kick ass meal with a nice spicy dip and have a small feast. All for a princely sum around 350 baht. Then it's off to the dvd hire shop to choose a western film to watch.

We arrive back at the condo where I buy a bottle of chang and a small can of chang and then up to my room. Lie down on the bed relax and watch a dvd. Me, my gf and chang! What a great combination.

Two elt teachers get arrested for fake degrees

2009-02-25T00:43:00.000-08:00

Back in 2004 elt got a private school contract for a school called kornpitak suksa in bang khae which is on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Now this school was a privately run establishment and elt had the contract to supply them with teachers. So off we all went. Now I can tell you that I and a few other members were not at all happy with this place, for a number of reasons. My main reason was and hey I know this is gonna sound kind of cranky, but I just got bad vibes from this place. Yes, from day one when I walked through the door I just got an uneasy feeling about this place.

Well I did a few weeks there and I decided that I should move on. Plus the fact that this place was having us teach multiple subjects... English, math, social, P.E, computers, health etc. Now I did the math for this, and a measly 33,000 baht a month was wank!

So off I went got myself another job with another company. Well the months went by and I kept in touch with the lads and what was happening at the school.

Guess what? The school had increased their wages, and got them all work permits! That really was an achievement because only about two people there had degrees!

You can guess what happened. The school got it's teachers to submit fake degrees. I must admit I was a little jealous, because I was now working at a government school with no permit.

Well I just put that to the back of my mind. On top of it all they'd all received a pay rise and were now on 40,000 still a small amount for the work they were doing.

Then the fateful day came. The immigration police showed up at the school looking for a couple of teachers, who'd for some reason had their work permits canceled, but had still continued to work there. The reason they'd had their permits canceled was due to the fact that the authorities had been doing a bit of checking and found that the paperwork they'd submitted was iffy! So their work permits had been stopped.

I don't know why the two teachers continued to work there. It's just plain stupid, as soon as they'd got a whiff of trouble they should have been off and away.

Well the guys got arrested and taken away. They were then jailed for 3 months and blacklisted from ever entering Thailand again.

What happened to the school? Nothing! It was believed that the school had also encouraged them to how shall we say.... go out and get the paperwork!

American teacher gets arrested in Thailand

2009-02-20T00:08:00.000-08:00

When we were all working for E+ the language agency in Bangkok for a while we seemed like one big happy family. Yes, there were a few loonies and oddballs, however they were largely avoided and ignored by the rest and soon moved on or were forced to move on.

One guy that had a lot to say and was known for consorting with the ladies was Keith. Now Keith isn't his real name, and it's not that I'm trying to protect his identity or anything. The truth is I bloody well can't remember his name for the life of me, must be getting old as the Thais like to say!

Well Keith hailed from the us and was an ok kind of a guy when you got to know him, he kinda kept himself to himself and worked alone. Well nothing wrong with that at least you can avoid the flakes.

Well that fateful day came around when Keith had a job to do at a language center the other side of Bangkok. He'd finished school and got a cab to head for his two hour night time gig at an e+ language center somewhere in the suburbs. That's how it was when you worked for e+, their language centers were so hellishly far away!

Keith jumped into the cab and told the driver his destination. The driver turned around and looked at him, with an oho..... rot tit exclamation. The traffics bad! Well it always is in Bangkok what's new?

So off they went and the traffic really was bad, in fact they'd got caught in so many jams that our teacher was going to be late, and that he couldn't have.

So the were just blocks away from the center when the traffic ground to a complete standstill for the umpteenth time! Keith only had 5 minutes in which to get his fat ass to the center and start the lesson. He could forget about putting his feet up now, and reading that girlie mag he had hidden in his bag. No, he had to get straight in there and teach.

The traffic wasn't moving, he had 5 minutes before his class started, what should he do? Then like a bolt out of the blue it hit him! Inspiration, yes that's inspiration not perspiration! Well theres a lot of it about in Bangkok the latter I mean.

So without a thought he threw 200 baht a the driver and opened the door ready to do a three block sprint to the language center. As soon as he flung the door open, there was an almighty thud and a huge noise. Keith was able to catch a glimpse of a Thai guy in mid flight, kinda gliding in slow motion over the top of the door which he'd just opened. It was like it was all happening in slow motion.

However the landing was far from graceful as the Thai guy ended up in a heap on the floor rolling around and holding his leg for extra affect!

Keith goes over to him to see if he's ok. The guy mumbles something in Thai that he can't understand. Then the taxi driver jumps out of his cab and starts pointing to his rather warped and scratched door. Now Keith understood what he was saying he wanted some kind of compensation.

Now what happens? Could it get any worse? Oh yes, a crowd is starting to form around the taxi and our guy Keith seriously thinks about doing a runner. However when he tries to edge out, the crowd push him back. Now to cap it all the guy rolling around on the floor is wanting 2,000 baht and the taxi driver is asking for about the same.

Heres Keith's big problem, he's skint only got enough for the bus ride home and a bowl of noodles! You see when he left his home he only intended to go out work, get some noodles and get a mini van home. He'd certainly not planned on all of this!

What happens next? Well you guessed it, the police show up and our friend Keith is taken down to the station where he's put in a holding cell and starts to wonder if he's in a scene out of midnight express.

He's allowed to make a call, so who does he call, his pay4play girlfriend? Thank god no. He calls Manoch the head of e+. An hour or so later Manoch is down there explaining what the situation is and a couple of thousand baht is paid. Driver and rider get 500 baht a piece or something like that and Keith's on his way home.

One other interesting point is that Keith was working on a tourist visa. Yes, he didn't even have the right visa or a work permit. Lucky for hime the police didn't do too much digging.When we were all working for E+ the language agency in Bangkok for a while we seemed like one big happy family. Yes, there were a few loonies and oddballs, however they were largely avoided and ignored by the rest and soon moved on or were forced to move on.

One guy that had a lot to say and was known for consorting with the ladies was Keith. Now Keith isn't his real name, and it's not that I'm trying to protect his identity or anything. The truth is I bloody well can't remember his name for the life of me, must be getting old as the Thais like to say!

Well Keith hailed from the us and was an ok kind of a guy when you got to know him, he kinda kept himself to himself and worked alone. Well nothing wrong with that at least you can avoid the flakes.

Well that fateful day came around when Keith had a job to do at a language center the other side of Bangkok. He'd finished school and got a cab to head for his two hour night time gig at an e+ language center somewhere in the suburbs. That's how it was when you worked for e+, their language centers were so hellishly far away!

Keith jumped into the cab and told the driver his destination. The driver turned around and looked at him, with an oho..... rot tit exclamation. The traffics bad! Well it always is in Bangkok what's new?

So off they went and the traffic really was bad, in fact they'd got caught in so many jams that our teacher was going to be late, and that he couldn't have.

So the were just blocks away from the center when the traffic ground to a complete standstill for the umpteenth time! Keith only had 5 minutes in which to get his fat ass to the center and start the lesson. He could forget about putting his feet up now, and reading that girlie mag he had hidden in his bag. No, he had to get straight in there and teach.

The traffic wasn't moving, he had 5 minutes before his class started, what should he do? Then like a bolt out of the blue it hit him! Inspiration, yes that's inspiration not perspiration! Well theres a lot of it about in Bangkok the latter I mean.

So without a thought he threw 200 baht a the driver and opened the door ready to do a three block sprint to the language center. As soon as he flung the door open, there was an almighty thud and a huge noise. Keith was able to catch a glimpse of a Thai guy in mid flight, kinda gliding in slow motion over the top of the door which he'd just opened. It was like it was all happening in slow motion.

However the landing was far from graceful as the Thai guy ended up in a heap on the floor rolling around and holding his leg for extra affect!

Keith goes over to him to see if he's ok. The guy mumbles something in Thai that he can't understand. Then the taxi driver jumps out of his cab and starts pointing to his rather warped and scratched door. Now Keith understood what he was saying he wanted some kind of compensation.

Now what happens? Could it get any worse? Oh yes, a crowd is starting to form around the taxi and our guy Keith seriously thinks about doing a runner. However when he tries to edge out, the crowd push him back. Now to cap it all the guy rolling around on the floor is wanting 2,000 baht and the taxi driver is asking for about the same.

Heres Keith's big problem, he's skint only got enough for the bus ride home and a bowl of noodles! You see when he left his home he only intended to go out work, get some noodles and get a mini van home. He'd certainly not planned on all of this!

What happens next? Well you guessed it, the police show up and our friend Keith is taken down to the station where he's put in a holding cell and starts to wonder if he's in a scene out of midnight express.

He's allowed to make a call, so who does he call, his pay4play girlfriend? Thank god no. He calls Manoch the head of e+. An hour or so later Manoch is down there explaining what the situation is and a couple of thousand baht is paid. Driver and rider get 500 baht a piece or something like that and Keith's on his way home.

One other interesting point is that Keith was working on a tourist visa. Yes, he didn't even have the right visa or a work permit. Lucky for hime the police didn't do too much digging.
More...

My cheap Thai condo

2009-02-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

When I first arrived in Thailand I lived near the mall ngaam wong wan. Now for those of you who are not familiar with Bangkok and the provinces the mall ngaam wong wan lies just over the Bangkok boundry in the province of Nonthaburi.

I lived in an apartment up the road from there back in early 2003. Now the apartment was just like one big room, with a bathroom and a balcony. It was very clean and spacious. The bathroom was western style with a really nice cool tiled floor. Cool in the sense of the meaning not hot!

The problem that I found when living in an apartment in Thailand was that when you paid for your utilities at the end of the month, you know your water and electric. The apartment owner would add and extra baht or so on to each unit of electricity, and the water would be charged at a slightly higher rate too.

Now we're not talking extreme here or anything. Lets take my electric bill. In the hot season I'd use the air con everyday as opposed to the fan. So using the air bumped up my electric bill from 500 baht in the cool season to nearly 1000 baht in the hot season.

This really didn't seem like a lot to me at the time and I hardly gave it a second thought! The rent on the apartment came to 3,400 baht per month and the water about 180 baht per month.

However a change of job forced me into a situation where as I had to move. So off I went and moved into a private condo. Now the condo was a bit smaller had a Thai style bathroom, no air con but the rent was a lot cheaper. The rent came to 1,500 baht per month! On top of that I had to pay an extra 400 baht per month for the extra services in the building security etc.

However here's the surprise..... water 60 baht per month, electric, 120 baht per month. Okay I didn't have air, but hey in the apartment, it would have run me up to 500 baht per month.

Why were things cheaper here? The reason was that I got my electric direct from electric city power company and there wasn't any apartment owner adding an extra few baht on for themselves! Same same with the water!

I stayed another 4 years here, and the owner never increased the rent! I was able to bank the extra money I'd saved and on top of all, built up a great tolerance for hot weather!

Dental treatment Thai style

2009-02-14T06:01:00.000-08:00

Back in December 2007 I decided to have one of my back teeth filled, due to the fact that my old filling had come out after nearly 17 years! Wow that was a pretty good run I thought. So I'm here in Thailand what should I do? Get it filled of course! and here in Thailand you'll find a dentist on virtually every street corner.

So after a few inquiries I came upon this place not too far from where I lived. I went in and explained what the problem was and the dentist took a look at my tooth and said ok lets get started. So after about 40 minutes or so I walked out with a brand new filling in my back molar.

Fast forward a little to this year. Last week I was eating and low and behold this huge rock started to roll around my mouth. It came out of nowhere! Now you don't need to be a brain surgeon to work out what it was! Yep it was my filling. It lasted a whopping 13 months! The cost was 1,200 baht for that if I can remember rightly.

Girls...marriage...Thailand...and the dreaded dowry

2009-02-12T01:04:00.000-08:00

The best things in life are free? Money can't buy me love? Well in Thailand it can to a certain degree. So what am I gibbering on about? If you've ever delved deeply enough into Thailand and it's culture you'll have no doubt stumbled upon this word khaa sin sort....or to you and me the dowry!

What is the dowry? In Thailand most but not all families will require you to shell out a certain amount of money before taking their beloved daughters hand in holy matrimony, to put it bluntly, you'll be required to pay an amount of cash for their daughters hand in marriage, and sometimes throw in some gold too.

Now depending on what social class your beloved belongs to this will normally set the rate. For example...

1.Bargain base iisaan hooker = low social status and smallish dowry, roughly 10,000 baht or less. Don't ever pay any more than this. Whilst I was in Thailand, I'd heard some horrendous stories of guilable tourists being asked for hugely sums of 1 million baht! Now that is just a plain scam.

2.Ordinary middle class uni educated girl = decent social standing and better breeding plus an education under there belts albeit it be a Thai one.
This can be a little trickier to estimate., but again lets take a rough ball park figure of around 100,000 and upwards. Once again not too much!

3.Higher classes as they like to be known hi-so, all a big act if you ask me, but you've got to let them act out heir fantasies.

One of these types could set you back half a mill to 1 mill.

Nowadays a lot of women and their families in Thailand are no longer asking for a dowry, this seems to be a new trend amongst some. So a lot of guys are getting away without shelling out their hard earned!

On a last note, remember that the amount you will pay is not set in stone and will vary from person to person. The above examples are just that examples!

Thailand expat alcoholism

2009-02-10T02:17:00.000-08:00

One thing you'll tend to see a lot in Thailand if you live there or just generally have a long extended stay in the kingdom, is the high proportion of expats with bottles of beer seemingly welded to their hands. Along with their big rosy red faces. There is a kind of mindset over here amongst expats that works along the lines of, well I'm living in this country now and I must go into a total downward spiral of chronic alcoholism, why? Because I can. Furthermore at these prices I can bloody well afford it!

Not to mention that it's the way of life over here, to drink yourself into early liver failure! The above are some misguided beliefs held by certain expats. If you challenge any of them you'll be told that it's only a couple of bottles of beer a night. Now don't get me wrong here if you want to you can, however don't be in denial about your problem! The first thing an alcoholic can do to recognize his problem is to admit up to it in the first place! It creeps up on people and before they know it, it's out of control!

What happens to a lot over here is that they tend to arrive in this country, and everything seems so nice and exotic. They're really enjoying themselves so what better than to have a beer. Unfortunately for them the next night becomes beer night and the night after that and so on! You see where it's all heading?

Coupled with the fact that the most popular beer in Thailand is Chaang and it's a bloody rough brew at that. The strength can vary from about 6 percent and upwards depending on the batch. You never really know. God help you if you have a bender on this stuff, the local expats aptly refer to the after effects as a changover. And by god you don't want to have one of those on a work day, or any day at that.

I've known many a teacher that have succumbed to the initial charms of Chaang, and on a regular basis have to miss work due to the brown bottle fever!

Bargaining in Thailand 101

2009-02-09T01:58:00.000-08:00

If you're a first timer to these shores, then my friend you're in for a real treat! Yes, a wealth of cheap cheap goods await you. However there is one thing you must learn and as the old saying goes.... When in Rome, do like the Romans. You have to get in there roll your sleeves up and haggle for a good bargain.

A lot of people who travel to Thailand simply don't realize this! It's one thing you should be very aware of as soon as you step off of that plane.

Now you have to know where to bargain, certain places in Thailand especially around the tourist hot spot department stores of Bangkok or Phuket might not take too kindly to you trying to get them to lower their prices. Especially when there is a price quite clearly marked on the item telling you so.

The rule is that in stores and malls you don't bargain! However out on the streets and in the Thai markets, it's a free for all you can bargain until your hearts content!

Now a word or two about your bargaining. Some people take it upon themselves to try and get the item for virtually nothing, they will haggle over even a half a baht. This is not the way to conduct your haggling! And it will make you look mean and almost certainly annoy the hell out of the vendor.

So remember when you're haggling don't start to low and above all make sure you smile, and make it into a light hearted affair, and you should be able to get yourself a nice little discount.

Word of warning, getting decent prices at stalls along sukhumwhit road is virtually impossible! Why you may well ask? The reason being is that this particular end of town sees a lot of short term tourists that just pay whatever prices asked of them.

Heres a couple of phrases tpo keep you going...

How much = kii baht / thawray

Expensive = phaeng

Cheap = thuuk

It's too expensive = phaeng gern pai

Can you reduce the price a little = lot rakhaa noi daai mai

Visa run in Thailand

2009-02-08T02:10:00.000-08:00

One thing that a lot of teacher don't really look forward to doing in Thailand is the dreaded visa run. Now if you've got a work permit you'll have no worries on this score. However those out there who haven't yet secured a work permit will have to do border runs every few weeks or months depending on which visa they currently possess.

I'm going to save you guys at lot of time and hassle here by recommending a very easy way for you to do your visa runs. Instead of doing it on your own which to tell you the truth is a real pain in the ass. Lots of touts at the border to contend with, and on top of all that you get to meet bent border officials with their hands out for all kinds of kickbacks, it's just not worth the hassle.

There is a tour company out there that will pick you up in the morning from sukhumwit road in Bangkok and take you all the way to the Cambodian border on a nice modern air con bus. Whilst on this bus you get to watch movies and relax. They usually arrive at the border point within about 3 and a half hours. They've already sent your passport on ahead of you, so when you arrive at the Cambodian border, the rep will give you back your passport with a Cambodian visa already stamped into it.

Then it's just a case of going through Thai customs, getting stamped out and walking over the border. When you've crossed into Cambodia you'll all go over to a casino where you'll have a free buffet meal. After the meal you'll wait for another 40 minutes or so then the rep will come back and tell you it's time to go back.

After that all you do is walk back over the border through Thai customs, where they'll stamp you back into the country with your new visa or another 90 days depending on what type of visa you have. After that it's all aboard the bus for your trip back to Bangkok. What a great way to travel!

All of this for 2,000 baht! That's all, for more information about this visa run service...........http://www.jackgolf.com/en/