The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

pai nai ma

All's fair in love and TEFL.

Bexar County Stud

Wow, you're really hung up about this - and entirely incorrect, as know-it-alls can only be.

You don't know anything about my situation, and haven't offered anything useful or accurate on this thread, so why don't you fuck off?

To the OP, reading your post again it seems groups would be they way to go for you. If your concerned about charging too much, a group rate keeps the price down for the parents. And the high numbers will provide a high enough net to keep things interesting for you.

I don't know what level you're teaching, but in general I've found it helpful to follow a book series in your privates. For young learners, I like the GoGo series.

Accidental Ajarn

^

I am very familiar with the practice in Thailand of teachers asking their students to pay for extra lessons. It is common throughout the country, and the real purpose of this practice is known. It is an exchange of money for test questions or good grades. Maybe you are new to the system and have not yet caught on to what is expected of you in exchange for this money.

What you are doing is totally different from teaching "private lessons." If your "private students" don't get better grades in your classes than others, you can not sustain this practice and the income that comes from it.

How many groups of students do you teach you do not control the grades of? Do you think you could get students from a different school to come to pay for your extra classes?

So, you want me to fuck off? Getting a little testy? Why?

KW

I don't understand, you said 1000 to 1500 is the going market rate and Thailand is filled with people willing to pay this amount, and then later you say you can't get enough work to sustain youself at this rate.

Seems a contradiction here.

If I was an ESL teacher I would surely prefer working for 120,000 plus baht a month teaching at the market rate for privates than teaching for less than half that amount at a school if the first option was possible.

So, if you can get this much from teaching privates why don't you do it full time? I know you mentioned the work permit thing, but this is Thailand and I am sure for 10,000 baht a month someone would put you on their work list even if you are not in actuality.

Man, you SUPER TEFLERS get a bit testy when your statements of your superior business savy are questioned.

kingwilly

erm, i already earn more than 120K p/m.

Accidental Ajarn

^

TEFLING?

WOW, YOU ARE REALLY A SUPERHERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can make well over twice the average TEFL rate. I am so impressed by your HUGE salary and I am sure the rest of the forum is as well.

But there still is the contraction between your statement that this was the going rate and difficulty in finding enough work at this rate, but what the hell. As long as you get a chance to tell us how wonderful you are, who cares what the actual topic of the thread was.

kingwilly

FFS

Nope.

You dont listen good, do you, here, I've said it 2 or 3 times already on this thread.

I am not a TEFL teacher.

kingwilly

no contradiction.

There is a limited number of hours in a week that you could tutor students, since they are supposed to go to school etc.

I dont think that, (I could be wrong here) one could tutor a 40 hour week, every week of the year.

kingwilly

Not really, you questioned why I do not tutor full time when i 'could, in theory earn 120K p/m' (your calculations, BTW, not mine).

You presented this as an argument to my statement that 1000K an hour is perfectly attainable and a reasonable charge.


Now since you are an Accidental Ajarn, but you aint a TEFLr - sounds like you know all about teaching in Thailand. Do enlighten us some more please?

__________________

Accidental Ajarn

^

My my, aren't you just wonderful, you could (if you wanted to) make twice more than the average TEFL teacher and you are not even a TEFLER.

Aren't you just dandy.

Don't get sore at me, I am agreeing that you are so much better than the average TEFLER. You know a business plan a Tefler could use to make at least double their existing salaries, but you are way too good to lower yourself to that level which all TEFLERS are to stupid to reach.

You the MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't that what you have been fishing for?

Accidental Ajarn

"Now since you are an Accidental Ajarn, but you aint a TEFLr - sounds like you know all about teaching in Thailand. Do enlighten us some more please?"

Not currently in Thailand, but spend over 10 years there and wife and kids still there. So, it is still home. Done all kinds of things there, been an NGO manager, a manager of an export company, a university prof type, a 210 baht an hour tefler (for a few months but please don't tell anyone), a writer, and who knows what all.

Made enough to live on and had a great time.

Now I am an "ajarn" again but not a tefler, two seperate categories in my humble opinion. But I know a great deal about the Thai educational system from both working in it and being a parent of children in it.

I know about both the economic conditions in Thailand and the educational system. I know there is a limited number of people who could afford 1000-1500 baht an hour for private lessons, and I also know there are many TEFLERS willing to work for less and I furthermore know the market does not distinguish that much between top of the line and run of the mill English teachers.

So, you claiming you are so wonderful that people throw themselves at you wanting you to work for higher than market wages in an industry you only dabble in does not ring true. But, if you are TEFL SUPERMAN, like you are claiming, well, it must be true.

But still, the original poster may not be all that interested in your greatness. Instead that indiivdual may want more practical advice.

good2bhappy

well I can see this thread degenerating into another panto scene of yes you are and no you're not.

kingwilly

nope.

read again.



Dont recall saying that, please show me the link?

I've given some, as have others. You dont like my opinion, I wonder why?


No I'm not, I've already said I am quite ordinary.

I do believe another poster said that they have bene approached in the gym or shops for private lessons too.

Accidental Ajarn

^^
I agree with KW. He is the MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so impressed with his greatness.

Ok, back to the actual topic of the thread

kingwilly

Quite, I'm done arguing with this guy and his chip.

pai nai ma

Me too.

NickA

Just to stop this Accidental Idiot guy making even more of a fool of himself I'll point out to him that KW is a proper teacha who teaches as international schools and that, yes, the going rate for private lessons for his students would be 1,000 - 2,000 baht.

I expect the main reason for the difference is that their is a limited number of qualified teachas and they already work long hours and so they will not work for low wages, whereas for teflas there are any number of people who are willing to work for relatively low wages which means parents are able to shop around for lower prices.

Bexar County Stud

This may be your situation, but it is certainly not mine. So fuck off with your negative bullshit, you don't know what you're talking about.

What you're doing is merely projecting your lack of knowledge onto the situation. There's a large and very fast growing segment of the teaching market here that does not involve grades or grading. What might that be, Ajarn fuckface?

Plenty...all of them, actually. Furthermore, I do get students coming over from the school next door to join my private classes.

Because your dead wrong and are making false insinuations about my teaching character. Fuck off, loser. Are you jealous perhaps?

Accidental Ajarn

“yes, the going rate for private lessons for his students would be 1,000 - 2,000 baht.”

The key feature here is HIS students. Does the original poster work at a top international school? Is KW's opportunities typical of English Teachers? Why did KW feel the need to inform all of us of his elevated position within the teaching industry with a not too subtle implication that those without the same opportunities are inferior to the great one?

Because KW is SUPER ENGLISH teacher it is obvious he has opportunities that those working in a less elevated environment don’t.

KWs post was not intended to be helpful, but as a way to show off his elevated status (or at least what he considers elevated).

“fuck off”

“Ajarn fuckface?”

“Fuck off, loser.”

A bit hostile? Ironic, I just so happen to be using as a reference for a book I am working on an article about education in Cambodia and the same practice of charging for extra classes is used there which makes it difficult for the poorest students to attend and contributes to the high drop out rate.

If you are interested

Tan, C. (2007). Education reforms in Cambodia: Issues and concerns, Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 6 (1), 5-24.

Charging YOUR students for extra classes would be illegal in a Western country and obviously would be considered a conflict of interest, but when in Rome…, I wasn’t being critical, but teaching YOUR students extra classes is different than teaching privately.

Are you jealous perhaps?

Eh, hardly. Probably the only thing we have in common is we are both in the “education” industry, but in very different situations. I won’t say my position is “better” than yours, just different. I teach business and economics at the university level (not in Thailand by the way), both undergraduate and post-graduate courses and I also research and write on my academic specialties.

I won’t say I am superior to TEFLERS (As you can see I have defended them from insults such as TEFL Scum, and I have taught a bit of English myself before having the qualifications and experience I now have), but at this stage of my life I am hardly jealous of the salary or working environment of an English teacher whether they are a TEFLER or a “real” English teacher.

good2bhappy

Is KW an English teacher or a teacher of English or another subject?

AntRobertson