Thread: Advice on TEFLing

maybe someone wants the shirt off your back.

so you've given up on the teaching game ?

I've been teaching English language and grammar at the weekends and one night a week at a community based place for foreign nationals here in the UK. beginner to intermediate/Intermediate to advanced (Grammar )

Im seriously thinking of doing a bit of teaching back in LOS this winter. Ive got a degree B.A (Hons) in Social Anthropology and also did a one day a week for 2yrs course as part of my degree in Teaching English to foreign learners. I looked into the CELTA over here in the uk but it was pretty much the same as i did in uni.
Does anyone have any opinions to whether the experience i have to be useful in gaining a position in LOS?
Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Breny

Ive got a degree

that should get you a job alright.

they usually like a contract for a year tho. for the work permit.

Cool i can do that. Im going to try somewhere up North, i Loved working in Bkk ( swampy airport ) but the travelling to and from work/ rental prices outweight the lure of bright lights and fluffy things.

cheers Billy

Originally Posted by Breny

Does anyone have any opinions to whether the experience i have to be useful in gaining a position in LOS? Thanks in advance.

Mate, if you're English and have a good head on your shoulders you can easily get 1500bt for a 2 hour-piece of piss lesson.

I do no more than this a day - as my main business is internet based and I need time for it, but still get about 30-40k a month off it.

Thanks Mr shagmaster, yeah im an (nearly ) old hand at living/working in LOS so im not going to be making the rudementary mistakes that others have in the past. Just a few hours a day teaching, a bit of cycling and fishing will do me just fine ( until a full moon and then i go freaking nuts )

Originally Posted by Breny

Just a few hours a day teaching, a bit of cycling and fishing will do me just fine ( until a full moon and then i go freaking nuts )

Sounds like a quality plan.

Originally Posted by billy the kid

maybe someone wants the shirt off your back.

so you've given up on the teaching game ?

Don't follow, not wearing a shirt, too hot.
School holidays, miscommunication on dates, not a life style change, just a few hours a week.
Not some big deal.Jim

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Hi all,
been asked over the years by the local school boss, district governor etc to do some volunteer english teaching at the local high school.

So was thinking of doing a TELF course and volunteering some time.
Question, how much do these courses cost, how long do they take and is there any in Ubon.

School doesn't require a certificate, just someone who speaks english to help the Thai [alleged english teacher]

is it worth the effort to do the course.

You won't know until after you start teaching if it was worth the effort to do the course but everybody I have met who has done a teaching course has said they benefited from doing them.

Most of the courses I've seen have been a month or 120 hours long but I have also seen much shorter ones advertised, even weekend ones. A search on the internet will tell you what's available in Thailand or in your area and what the costs are.

Some questions for you to ponder:

1. What are the expectations of the school?

2. Will you be left in a classroom to do your own thing or will there be another (Thai?) teacher there in the classroom to guide you or instruct you all the way all the time?

If you will be left alone, read on ...

3. If you were thrown into a class of 50 kids and told to teach them for an hour, what would you do?

4. If the answer to 3 is "I don't know", go away and think about it for an hour then answer the question. If the answer after an hour is still "I don't know", either give up the idea of teaching or take a teaching course.

Originally Posted by Neverna

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Hi all,
been asked over the years by the local school boss, district governor etc to do some volunteer english teaching at the local high school.

So was thinking of doing a TELF course and volunteering some time.
Question, how much do these courses cost, how long do they take and is there any in Ubon.

School doesn't require a certificate, just someone who speaks english to help the Thai [alleged english teacher]

is it worth the effort to do the course.

You won't know until after you start teaching if it was worth the effort to do the course but everybody I have met who has done a teaching course has said they benefited from doing them.

Most of the courses I've seen have been a month or 120 hours long but I have also seen much shorter ones advertised, even weekend ones. A search on the internet will tell you what's available in Thailand or in your area and what the costs are.

Some questions for you to ponder:

1. What are the expectations of the school?

2. Will you be left in a classroom to do your own thing or will there be another (Thai?) teacher there in the classroom to guide you or instruct you all the way all the time?

If you will be left alone, read on ...

3. If you were thrown into a class of 50 kids and told to teach them for an hour, what would you do?

4. If the answer to 3 is "I don't know", go away and think about it for an hour then answer the question. If the answer after an hour is still "I don't know", either give up the idea of teaching or take a teaching course.

Just going to help out with English, no big deal.
Have helped mix concrete for he local Wat, when there were few cars here, would take people to hospital.
Where I live, my home, helping out doesn't hurt, if helping kids learn English doesn't pan out, so sad to bad.
Would like to give swimming lessons, no pool out here, but 3 to 5 kids drowned in rivers, lakes every year.
Not trying to change the world, have a lot of free time, using it for some good is better than just sitting drinking beer. Jim

The photocopier is your friend. Decent bookshops like Kinokuniya will have photocopier-able resource books that have activities suitable for your students. You can build a series of lessons round these resources. Next best friend: your school's photocopying teacher's allocation.

How are the staff lockers?

I've done 3 TESOL courses over the years. If you are going to teach in fancy school in a city, it might help. Here in Bangkok, I know guys teaching in big schools who haven't done a course, don't have a work permit, and have no problem. The school doesn't care because its too much problem for them to do the paperwork for the work permit.
For where you are, and even here, they (the kids) don't learn unless they are really keen. Even then, all you need to do is speak slow and clear and write a few things on the board. After that you will see which way its going.
There is lots of stuff on the internet to help.

So, what happened Jim? Have you started teaching, yet?

Bogglesworld has all the resources you need on the internet - lesson plans, flash cards, work sheets etc.

Don't need to bother with the courses. Just work around PPP - present, pratice and production. Go back every now and then and add a bit of revision of past lessons and vocab and you'll swing.

I've been at this game for over 22 years and if there is one thing I can't underscore enough it's...

Originally Posted by Rocksteady

So, what happened Jim? Have you started teaching, yet?

Bogglesworld has all the resources you need on the internet - lesson plans, flash cards, work sheets etc.

Don't need to bother with the courses. Just work around PPP - present, pratice and production. Go back every now and then and add a bit of revision of past lessons and vocab and you'll swing.

I've been at this game for over 22 years and if there is one thing I can't underscore enough it's...

About 2 hours a week, daughters school, have to pick her up. More about pronunciation than English teaching, teachers pretty good. Get stumped at times, last week, what's a farang AKA fruit, had to look up the names on the net. Jim

Let's face it, bring any pre-teen Thai kid to the UK and they will be speaking good accentless English within 6 months even when they didn't know a word. Kids pick up a second language the same as they pick up their first. Native speaking teachers are there to speak naturally, grammar rules don't matter. 95% of it is to spend time with you, not speaking their language is probably an advantage. TEFLers try to big themselves up, they are there for exposure to native speakers, simple.

Originally Posted by jamescollister

About 2 hours a week, daughters school, have to pick her up. More about pronunciation than English teaching, teachers pretty good. Get stumped at times, last week, what's a farang AKA fruit, had to look up the names on the net. Jim

Classic and back to my link of 'make 'em laugh'. You play the old chestnut of 'farang gin frarang'! It's a very very old classic that many in the capital tell and every time they hear it they bust a gut!

While in Laos I met two middle school girls who were eager to show me thier english gramar text books. Some of the sentance structures were poorly written. I spent some time explaining how a person would really make such statements back home. It was fun to interact with them. I found a piece of chalk and on a beam under thier house I drew a right angle and marked off 4 equal spaces on one axis and 3 on the other. The hypotenuse was drawn and equaled 5 spaces. They loved it. They called me teacher and I was. Truely a memerable day. I'm sure you know the feeling. No TEFL required. Good luck and enjoy.

I am English and speak with out a strong accent which to me is what is needed , for a teacher and not American English also.
The children i here and speak to in my village when spoken to can not have a conversation with me , but are having English lessons .
I think to here the language spoken and in the right way is a good way to learn it .
Reading and writing is not the same this is hard but someone can learn to
speak well with out , but these kids don't even have this skill.

Originally Posted by nevets

I am English and speak with out a strong accent which to me is what is needed , for a teacher and not American English also.
The children i here and speak to in my village when spoken to can not have a conversation with me , but are having English lessons .
I think to here the language spoken and in the right way is a good way to learn it .
Reading and writing is not the same this is hard but someone can learn to
speak well with out , but these kids don't even have this skill.

300 million native American speakers versus 60 million English (UK) speakers and you think the world needs to learn your dialect and accent, not to mention the butchered up spelling? As home to the most native English speakers in the world (USA), I would say American English should taught and not your Queen's English. We're talking about a 5 to 1 ratio here. To say otherwise is highly prejudicial and biased imho.

Originally Posted by BigRed

Let's face it, bring any pre-teen Thai kid to the UK and they will be speaking good accentless English within 6 months even when they didn't know a word. Kids pick up a second language the same as they pick up their first. Native speaking teachers are there to speak naturally, grammar rules don't matter. 95% of it is to spend time with you, not speaking their language is probably an advantage. TEFLers try to big themselves up, they are there for exposure to native speakers, simple.

Totally agree with that apart from any pre teen Thai being able to pick up English in 6 months.

It would need to be an intense course with a live in teacher much in the same way a kid learns from parents.

Originally Posted by Roger Lee

Originally Posted by nevets

I am English and speak with out a strong accent which to me is what is needed , for a teacher and not American English also.
The children i here and speak to in my village when spoken to can not have a conversation with me , but are having English lessons .
I think to here the language spoken and in the right way is a good way to learn it .
Reading and writing is not the same this is hard but someone can learn to
speak well with out , but these kids don't even have this skill.

300 million native American speakers versus 60 million English (UK) speakers and you think the world needs to learn your dialect and accent, not to mention the butchered up spelling? As home to the most native English speakers in the world (USA), I would say American English should taught and not your Queen's English. We're talking about a 5 to 1 ratio here. To say otherwise is highly prejudicial and biased imho.

Its not called English for nothing mate!

Steady up you are getting carried away.