Teaching in Thailand Brian Hastie Copyright 1994

People from all over the world are enjoying working holidays while helping the country in its march towards affluence. At the same time they are learning things about themselves and the world that cannot be taught in classrooms. For example,Is it better to be rich or beautiful? The answer to this question in a level 4 test at Siam language school was a simple, 'yes'.

This guide is for people intending to teach in Thailand, whether they are already in the country or intending to travel in the future. It also contains information useful to people already teaching.

Travelling through a country is a worthwhile experience but a deeper understanding of people and their culture can only be obtained by living and working with them. Thailand offers opportunity and acceptance, (not to mention the greatest food in the world). Teachers of all types and backgrounds can achieve a relatively high income while taking advantage of Thailand's low cost of living.

There are more than sixty private language schools in the Bangkok area alone,ranging from one-man operations to sophisticated businesses with ten or more branches. Universities, private children's schools and colleges also employ a large number of foreign teachers.

Depending on qualifications and experience wages range from less than 100 Baht (US$2.50) per hour up to 500 Baht per hour or more. One story, possibly apocryphal, had a freelance teacher charging 1,000 Baht per hour and being unable to keep up with demand for his services. Among his customers was the Koh Samui police force who flew him to their beautiful tropical island by commercial airliner once a week.

Except during the quiet months of December, January and February demand for foreign instructors exceeds supply. One of the major English daily newspapers in Thailand, the Bangkok Post, carries around five advertisements a day for native speaking instructors. On the weekends there are often ten or more different ads, the majority for more than one teacher. Demand will vary with the state of the economy but for many who can no longer afford overseas study the in-country alternative is still available.

Thailand is fascinating and volatile. Recent economic growth had been around 8% per year, (down from a phenomenal 13.2% in 1988), it is placed among the Newly Industrialising Countries. Along with Malaysia it was closing the gap between it and the four "Asian Tigers", Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. The rercent collapse of the currency and finance and real estate sectors have reduced growth to zero or less.

Sixty million people crowd a country twice the size of England. Officially around 7 million of these live in Bangkok. In reality the number probably exceeds 10 million, putting a huge strain on services, particularly public transport. Thousands more arrive from the impoverished north-eastern region every month.

While two Thai families made Fortune magazine's list of the hundred richest billionaires in the world and many more enjoy the privileges of wealth millions of rural people are struggling to find a place for themselves in the new order. To alleviate the strain governments have devised a number of policies including industry incentives to decentralise and agricultural commodity price support schemes.

Thai politics is a fast moving spectator sport. Politicians change parties and allegiances effortlessly. Since 1932 there have been 18 elections and 22 coups. Other minor insurrections, communist insurgencies and Muslim breakaway movements round out the picture. Despite these disturbances the people and economy are generally left unaffected. Much of this stability can be attributed to the steady hand of His Majesty King Bhumipol Adulyadej, who has been head of state since 1946.

An impressive official literacy rate of 85% masks a deeper educational problem. Dr Chalongphob Sussangkarn of the Thailand Development Research Institute has pointed out that even if all primary school students go on to secondary schools from now on, 70% of the labour force will still lack a secondary education in the year 2000. These people will not be able to secure jobs in the manufacturing sector where unskilled labour is not likely to be needed.

As the economy continues to develop in the direction of manufacturing for export, travel and tourism, and banking and financial services the need for skilled personnel is not being met by the standard government universities and colleges. If you add in the large foreign corporations setting up offices and factories, the need to source technology, plant and materials overseas, and now the expansion of the more successful Thai corporations throughout the world, the education gap becomes obvious. For this reason therehas been a boom in private schools of all descriptions, particularly in the area of computers and languages.

Schools such as ECC, Siam Language and Computer School and Huge Language Academy employ a lot of teachers. The pay is often lower than other types of teaching, (Approx. 90 B/h - 250 B/h), but there is a chance of advancement since some have hierachical structures. They usually have plenty of work for teachers they like, particularly if you don't mind travelling from one branch to another and working on weekends.

Because the pay and level of support is quite low they do not always expect highly qualified and experienced teachers. Teachers who gain experience or who are qualified tend to move on to better paid jobs so turnover is high. This means jobs are easy to get (except from Dec. to Feb.). They are good places to start your Thai teaching career.

Most schools will put new teachers through a trial class. If they prove to be punctual, clean, neat, able to resist interfering with the students and perhaps show a little bit of promise in the classroom, more work will follow. If they like you it's possible you will be working 8 hours a day. If they are not happy it is unlikely they will say anything but your hours will dwindle away to nothing. (See Appendix A)

Most of the schools in Bangkok are single branch schools catering for the local population or specialist groups. British-American, A.U.A.,The British Council, and Nature Method give some idea of the range. British-American is one of the largest and most prominent schools in town, The British Council one of the more prestigious and expensive, and Nature Method one of the smallest and cheapest. Also included in this group are international schools inlingua and Berlitz.

As far as I know all schools of this type are prepared to offer outside teaching as well, although their main business takes place in classrooms within the school. All of them advertise for teachers in the Bangkok Post but The British Council and A.U.A. prefer to recruit by other methods. Virtually all will hire anyone who looks like a teacher when they walk through the door, thus revealing how desperate they often are.

Conditions and pay aren't really all that different from the multi-branch schools'. Nefarious acts, (such as refusal to pay for work performed), are occasionally reported but not in sufficient numbers to worry about. Nothing a credible threat of violence couldn't take care of anyway. (See Appendix A)

A lot of experienced teachers tend towards working for schools that provide classes on demand to companies. The money is better, (approx. 175 B/h - 400 B/h), the work is more interesting and you don't have so many people breathing down your neck. Basically you only go into the office to get your pay and pick up new assignments. A lot of schools will allow you some freedom in what you actually teach too, (expecting that some of it will be related to languages).

TTC, PELS, RLS, EBP, Elite and a few others are specialists. Other schools (British-American, ECC etc.) are expanding in this area as it is probably the most lucrative. For the most part teachers are not provided with courses to teach but they may have access to materials. Of course, the school doesn't have the rental or services costs associated with in-house teaching so the major effort is put into marketing.

Because the competition is keen some formerly successful schools are having a bit of a struggle. Poorly connected schools with weak marketing programmes are forced to accept contracts a long way from the centre of town. For the teacher this can mean up to 3 hours of travel each way. Often the pay doesn't justify the time spent. The more attractive contracts are saved for permanent staff. New recruits are tempted to do their time in the wilderness because they expect to get the cushy jobs in the end. This doesn't always happen, and here I speak from personal experience.

The moral is, if the job is too far or poorly paid don't take it on the expectation of a better future. You have more bargaining power than you think. On the other hand you are always expendable. Teachers are sometimes sacrificed to the greater good of the organisation, not unlike the way a drug trafficker may sacrifice an inexperienced courier to a corrupt policeman.

One of the major benefits for an experienced teacher is that as he starts to believe he knows more about the subject than the people who run the company he starts to resent observation and interference they occasionally force on him. When working outside most feedback is obtained by phone calls checking to see if the students are happy. (See Appendix A)

After you have learned how to keep students happy you will want to generate a bit of business for yourself. Some teachers poach clients from their schools but I can't recommend it unless you can keep it absolutely secret. Most students are not prepared to study forever and you alienate the school you work for.

Freelancing can be much better paid than working for schools. One well known school charges clients on Silom Rd. 750 B/h and pays the teachers 175B/h. Although they have a library of material available they do not actually provide courses for most classes.

The potential to split the price difference and go it alone is obvious. For companies 400-500 B/h is an achievable figure, for private students 200-300 B/h is more reasonable. Good personal relationships with students are vital for success.

Larger companies will be reluctant to make cash payments to individuals. You can set up a limited partnership as a legal entity to accept the money for you. Good quality business cards, stationery and receipt books lend you more credibility.

There are two ways to set up such a partnership; my way, and the wrong way.

MY WAY - Find yourself a good cheap accountant and let her worry about it. You will need about 7-8,000 Baht for fees etc., maybe 2,000 Baht for your stationery, a rubber stamp, two Thai partners willing to accept legal responsibility and enough income to pay your accountant up to 1,500 Baht a month plus tax and an annual auditing fee of around 6,000 Baht. You could share the benefits and costs with friends.

THE WRONG WAY - Try to do it all yourself, trust nobody, go insane, die.

Naturally, setting up a partnership is a valid course only for people who have decided to settle down in Thailand for a long time. It incidentally provides you with a more solid legal basis for conducting any other business you might be interested in, such as exporting. It also means you can charge more and resist bargaining better, your clients do not have to know initially that you and the company are the same thing.

Universities often have quite large language departments and lots of good jobs. They prefer to give them to people with higher, relevant degrees such as an MA in English Literature but some are prepared to compromise because of the following factors;

a) The University is a long way out in the country.

b) The University is a long way out in the suburbs.

c) The job isn't very important or well paid.

d) You are connected to someone important

e) There aren't many native speakers available, (of Spanish, German, Japanese etc.).

For qualified people University jobs are good because they usually have reasonable workloads, a fixed salary of around 16- 30,000 Baht a month and an automatic work permit. Extra private tutoring work is usually possible.

Drawbacks can include large classes and being forced to undertake extra work after hours. University students are polite but probably less motivated than students taught in other situations.

Universities offer the best hope of a reliable income for people whose native language is not in high demand.

Recruitment for the academic staff is a separate issue. Naturally enough priority is given to Thai applicants, particularly those who have studied overseas. Foreign academic staff come through exchange programmes and so on. Often foreign academic staff are often paid at local rates, which means they make less than the people teaching in language programmes. (See appendix B)

Probably the best teaching jobs in the country. Up to around 50,000 baht a month with free on-campus accomodation and use of school facilities, a free trip home every year, a limited amount of teaching hours and more. Drawbacks include infants, children; and adolescents with pagers and cellular phones.

Instruction is usually carried out in English and most students have been children of expatriates. As Thai parents recognise the difficult circumstances undervwhich most Thai schools operate the percentage of Thai students in these types of schools is increasing. Teachers are normally well- qualified and experienced in their own countries. Some reports indicate that schools will consider suitable unqualified people but I'm not sure what makes them suitable, or if unqualified people ever actually get hired. (See Appendix B)

Secretarial colleges, business colleges, hospitality training schools, military schools, well-off kindergartens, primary and high schools all hire teachers periodically. They normally need native speakers for conversation classes, relevant qualifications are not always necessary. The pay and conditions vary too much to estimate an average.

All of these types of schools recruit locally. Some of the most active are BCC (Bangkok Christian Colleges) and the Assumption group of schools, (which includes ABAC, a business college where all instruction is in English). Advertised or obtained by recommendation, these are good jobs for long-term residents. In the larger schools there is sometimes some resentment of better paid foreign staff from better qualified locals.

Some organisations engaged in processing refugees, whether from Burma, Laos or Kampuchea, run education programmes for those intending to go overseas. In addition to language courses they offer cultural and work orientation, and preparation for foreign schooling.

These are basically American operations so Americans possess an advantage in applying. The camps involved are in safe areas within Thai borders but not too close to Bangkok.

The normal position pays around 11,000 B/m with sick leave, medical insurance and holidays. Jobs are advertised periodically in The Bangkok Post. No particular qualifications are needed to apply.

The job itself would be rewarding in a way that others may not be. The pay is more than adequate for country life and conditions said to be quite good. Contracts last around six months and may be extended if they are satisfied with your work.

The only drawback may be the people you work with. Your community of colleagues will be small, even cliquey. One teacher quit after his first six months because he couldn't relate to his fellow workers. If it's possible you should go out to the camp and spend some time with the people before you decide.

Local branches of foreign companies and local companies with international business hire in-house permanent teachers. Typically they are legal or advertising firms who require only one teacher. Pay and conditions can be very good; 35,000Baht a month, company retreats to resort towns and so on.

These types of jobs are advertised locally and the competition is quite intense. Often editing or correspondence duties are included with the teaching. You may be expected to handle some foreign business from time to time, (particularly if you work for an export manufacturer).

Most of these jobs are pleasant enough and secure compared to schools that pay by the hour. The only real challenge is to come up with enough ideas to keep your classes interested week after week. Of course law firms present special problems as lawyers combine knowledge and humility in homoeopathic quantities.

In an effort to recruit good staff, (one of the most difficult jobs a manager has), schools sometimes make promises they can't keep about work permits, future improvements, minimum wages and the minimum number of hours.

Very rarely do any schools do anything deliberately dishonest. The worst story was about a manager who agreed to give a teacher her final payment just before she was due to leave the country and then refused to do so on the grounds that he could get away with it.

The market for teachers is volatile. Demand and turnover are high and quality is variable. Sadly, most teachers and schools show very little loyalty to each other and both suffer as a result.

As a foreigner in Thailand you have little recourse. All you can do is be careful and have a contingency plan. On the other hand the chances are you will have no problems at all since most schools deal fairly with their teachers.

The relationship between school and teacher is based on money. The success of the school is measured in money, not in how much the students learn, (although most schools are not actually against students learning something). Happy students spend more money so the good teachers are the ones who make the students happy.

If you have any choice try to arrive sometime between late morning and early afternoon, (if you're flying in). The elevated highway from the airport into the city proper is quite efficient but at the wrong times of day it leads into the normal atrocious traffic jams that plague the rest of the city at rush hour. It isn't the sort of thing you want to face after a long flight. The maximum reported time from airport to city is seven hours, quite a long time to cover 25 km.

The best way to get into town is to go up to the departure area and catch a taxi that is dropping someone off. There are other means of transport including a taxi service stand but they are all far too expensive. Ignore all the misinformation and offers thrown at you. Remember to take only the taxis with the "TAXI METER " sign on the roof.

Check that the meter is on, flagfall is 35 Baht. If the driver tries to bargain for the trip try another taxi. There is no special charge for airport trips so do not be fooled. However the trip is rather long and a tip is probably in order, maybe 20 or 30 Baht, more if you feel generous.

Much as I hate to recommend it, Banglamphoo is probably the best place for a novice to start looking for accomodation. All you have to say to the driver is, "By cow sarn", it's crude but effective. You'll end up on the street itself. Check in anywhere that looks good for the first couple of nights. Just take it easy, grab a bite to eat in one of the reataurants and relax to the gentle murmur of bullshit wafting from table to table.

Around Khao Sarn there are a number of less taxing establishments catering to longer term visitors. A friend of mine swears by "Peachy Guest House" on Phra Athit road, there are several others. If you are going to stay a while there are standard monthly rates at a discount to the daily rate.

As time goes on you will wander around Banglamphoo in ever increasing circles until you achieve escape velocity. Clean, safe one room apartments with attached bathrooms are available in all areas. Facilities may include swimming pool, (though not usually), garden, restaurant, washing service, telephone etc.Good places can be had within walking distance of Silom Road for less than 5,000 Baht per month including laundry, electricity and phone.

Finding these places is best done through personal recommendations of teachers you will meet.

Bangkok is a flat and relatively featureless city not unlike Los Angeles without the sea. Ironically both are "Cities of Angels". Many of the streets and buildings are virtually identical, to the novice. Maps are not always drawn strictly to scale, making judgement of direction and distance difficult.

The river is a good reference point but it twists and turns quite a bit. A ride on the express boat is a useful place to start when trying to get your bearings. Other notable features are the office towers of Silom road, the multi-coloured Baiyoke Tower in Pratunam, Victory and Democracy monuments, major temples, shopping centres and hotels, and the bridges.

The new 25 Baht buses are a good way to get to know the city. They are small, well air-conditioned and comfortable. Standing passengers are not allowed so visibility is good. You could catch one and ride it to it's terminus then catch another back. Some routes pass through the Victory Monument roundabout. Be prepared for at least a two or three hour trip.

In most cases getting the job is as easy as going in and asking for it. For the larger private language schools turnover is high and demand for good teachers pretty constant. If you want to teach in Thailand, you can.

There are plenty of teachers in Thailand who have no qualifications whatsoever. Some of these people are very good teachers and some are unacceptable. When compared with graduates, qualified teachers and qualified English teachers they are just as likely to succeed.

Given that conditions in Thailand are quite different to those in English speaking countries acceptable appearance, an open mind and a good attitude are more important than qualifications. In some ways it can be an advantage to have no prior experience. It is common to find experienced teachers having problems in classes because they have failed to adapt their teaching style to the new culture.

Qualifications of any sort will help you get the jobs though so I recommend you go out and buy some, (just kidding... I think). Every degree held by a teacher adds to the prestige of the school. Some schools make a point of advertising that all of their teachers have tertiary qualifications, even if it isn't true. The only essential qualification is to be a native speaker, and even that can be stretched, as in the case of one Fillipino teacher telling the class that the funny things on the end of your feet are called "foot fingers".

Unqualified people work at even the most prestigious universities, though rarely as lecturers or permanent staff. Of course Masters and Ph.D. graduates can occasionally be found in the humblest surroundings too. There aren't any absolute barriers but things sort themselves out roughly as follows;

Unqualified to simple degree holders

Private schools, private work, business English.

As above plus private children's schools and universities.

Qualified teachers

As above plus international schools.

Masters and Ph.D.'s

Tend to gravitate toward permanent positions on the staff of university language departments. Teaching positions outside the language field are limited and usually arranged through exchange and aid schemes.

It is possible to arrange a job from outside the country. ECC, PELS, Elite, EBP, The British Council and others get some of their staff by recruiting or advertising outside Thailand. However you must realise that language school managers have immediate problems. The situation may have changed by the time you arrive.

The only way a manager can maintain the flow of teachers is to build a pool of names and draw from that pool as the need arises.

That's why a school which advertises for teachers may not actually have a job available. They could be expecting work in the near future or be worried that their list of names is getting too short. Language school managers are often desperate people and deserve some understanding.

Unless the school has an urgent need it might take two or three weeks between interview and your first chance at a job. Once you have settled in at a suitable school you can expect to receive phone calls for months or even years afterwards from other schools you applied to. It can seem odd, like getting five minutes of "I Love Lucy" broadcast out of Baltimore in 1965 in the middle of today's news.

For jobs with international schools and universities written applications from other countries may be effective.

This is the best way to go. Make up your mind, buy a ticket, get on the plane, stuff like that. Most schools, particularly the smaller ones, will not be interested in letters or phone calls. They'd sooner believe in the tooth fairy than in a potential teacher living on the other side of the Earth.

Whatever your situation, arriving unannounced and ready to go allows you to make a quick assessment of the country and the schools you apply to.

Your first trip to Thailand should start with a tour so you can have some appreciation of the situation of your students. You could apply at a few select schools in Bangkok before you head out, and check in with them on your return. The perfect scenario would see you arriving in December, the cool season and start of the educational dead zone, putting your name down at four or five schools and heading out for a slow two or three month tour; tropical islands, ancient Khmer temples, fantastic food, dysentery, modern well-equipped hospitals etc. Around February things start to pick up again and you're at the head of the queue.

One of the most common fears is of public speaking. Teaching, especially a class of adults, is a form of public speaking.Every first time teacher experiences some degree of fear and apprehension. It's a type of stage fright. In my own case I was acutely embarrassed for the first few lessons. Even with the help of other teachers they were 90 minutes of torture. By the end of the 24 lessons I had reduced a class of around 14 students to 3. However, those students gave me a silk tie.

No other class was ever as bad as that. You can expect to overcome most problems of nerves within about two weeks of beginning teaching. Each new class you take on will present fresh challenges but they become easier to deal with.In my first lesson I estimate my heart rate to have approached 140 beats per minute. After a couple of months of experience teaching the same course I measured my heart rate and was disturbed to find that my teaching rate was lower than my resting heart rate. I still don't know how to interpret that.

The best way of preparing for your first few lessons is to ask other teachers what works and make a lesson plan that looks about three times as long as you need. Classes go through a lot of material at the start of a course. The students are usually shy and reluctant to talk to you or each other. As the course progresses this problem recedes.

If you have never taught before you should expect to feel uncomfortable at times. During your learning period you will make mistakes and some of your students will be unhappy. After my first couple of classes a new student came into our school and announced that she really didn't care who taught her as long as it wasn't me. She was a friend of one of my ex-students whom I had apparently failed to impress. My ego was dented but the other teachers and the management weren't too bothered. Many of the schools make allowances for your inexperience so don't worry about losing your job if you are making a conscientious effort.

The first and most important thing to understand is why the students are studying English. The answer is not as obvious as you may think. Many teachers run into trouble because they don't bother to find out. Weekend classes, for example, often contain children or adolescents who have no interest in learning English at all. They are there because an English school is a justifiable and handy baby-sitting service. These can be difficult to cope with, particularly if they are mixed in with more serious-minded students.

Executives may use a class as a reasonable excuse to escape demanding jobs for a few hours a week. They will probably also use it to form and maintain contacts useful in their work. In these types of classes the teacher must realise that some of the lesson will be consumed by talk in Thai not related to learning English. Traditional classroom power relationships do not apply as strongly when the students are so accustomed to giving orders and choosing what to do with their own time. Classes are quickly alienated by teachers who assume a superior attitude.

Thailand, and particularly Bangkok, can appear sophisticated and modern to the visitor but it is more accurate to think of it as a traditional society with quite rigid rules governing behaviour. Meeting members of the opposite sex, or even making friends and finding opportunities to spend time with them can be fiendishly difficult.

It's hard to say what percentage of students take courses for purely social reasons but I would guess it would be over 50%. Teachers should be aware that this side of the job is very important and useful. The success of the class depends on the teacher's ability to foster a friendly and open atmosphere.

Other students attend for more urgent professional reasons. Every year Thai International recruits new cabin attendants and pilots. The competition is intense and applicants are expected to have a high standard of functional English. Others may be aiming for promotion at work or hoping to get a good job when they graduate. Some students find they have to communicate often with foreigners and their English just isn't up to it.

Students sometimes need extra help with their University courses or need to prepare for courses that are taught in English.

The point is that there are as many reasons for attending an English class as there are students. Even if the name of the course and the set materials are exactly the same each time you can never teach them in exactly the same way, if you try to you will lose the interest and goodwill of your class.

It has been my experience in Thailand that almost none of the students are motivated by a burning desire to learn English. Teachers who behave as if they are, or believe that they should be, end up frustrated and embittered. Thai classes will probably not be much like classes you have attended. Thai students do not behave in the same ways as Western students; nor will they begin to just to please you.

One thing that might make this easier to bear is the fact that you work for them. They pay your wages and for many the expense is considerable, equivalent to a month's income or more for some. It is only fair that you take time to find out what they want and then make an effort to deliver it. I always ask each student why they are studying English. Done near the beginning of the course it gives you some idea of where to head while allowing the students to learn a little more about each other. It is also a useful conversational ploy to get you through the normally quiet first couple of lessons.

Your class will take their cues from you. That is, if you have a confident, friendly and cheerful demeanour you can make weak material work. If you do not you will find the class a burden and your students will start to disappear. Even the best teachers will lose some students from each class. You can never really know why they leave so you should not be unduly upset. It is better to expect it to happen and be thankful that the unhappy ones do not remain to destroy the atmosphere of the class.

If your drop-out rate exceeds, say, 20% in the first half of the course you may have a more serious problem. The front office staff in your school will have some idea of what is going wrong as part of their job is to monitor student reactions. Once you have defined the problem ask the advice of your manager or fellow teachers. As a last resort you might consider switching your class to another teacher. It is quite common for classes to request a new teacher if they are really unhappy.

Show an active interest in the students and their lives. The Thai education system creates significant formal barriers between students and teachers that inhibit active learning. On top of this problem, as a foreigner you are an unknown and not entirely trusted quantity. If you can learn something useful from them the class becomes an exchange of information and lowers the barriers between student and teacher.

Don't be disheartened by an apparent lack of response in the first few lessons of a course. Thai people are much more timid and self-conscious than most Westerners. Don't forget that in many classes they are not only getting to know you, they are getting to know each other.

If you do succeed in creating a friendly environment the students might invite you out for dinner or lunch. Accept if you can, it proves your sincerity. Of course, I only got invited out to dinner once but another teacher got an all expenses paid weekend in Pattaya.

Thai people are polite and generally friendly. They don't know much about Western lifestyles. Their reactions to, and expectations of foreign teachers can verge on the bizarre. I have never been able to come to grips with the notion of "Free Sex" which is mentioned occasionally. We Farang apparently come from places where this is the norm. Students are curious about it but reluctant to discuss just what it is in public. I am most curious about it myself.

It has been said that every culture regards itself as superior to every other culture. We native English-speakers are particularly prone to this conceit. Offensive insistence on this point disqualifies many people from being effective teachers and guests in someone else's country. I try to remind myself periodically that the education and experience of my students are often incompatible with and superior to my own. The inevitable culture shock makes chauvinists of us all at times but these attitudes should not intrude into the classroom.

In Thailand people have mixed feelings about the developed countries. They are not as firmly convinced of the superiority of Thai culture in all respects. As in much of the developing world there is a deep concern about the overwhelming effects of Western culture and technology.

Teachers who last in the job realise that respect works both ways. You have to genuinely like your students and treat them as your friends. When you start to break down the initial barriers that shouldn't be difficult.

Students do not expect foreign teachers to behave like Thai teachers. In fact, most pay their money in the hope and expectation that they will not.

Even if you teach in a school next to Thai teachers you will not be able to teach as they do. From a number of Thai people I have talked to I gather that the typical experience in a Thai classroom is for a large number of students to listen passively while a teacher lectures. Interaction is limited if it occurs at all, and homework and notetaking are rare.

Students are not encouraged to ask questions or analyse what they are taught. Neither the students nor the teacher challenge the notion that the teacher knows absolutely everything there is to know about the subject. In this context questions are an admission of hopeless stupidity or a challenge to the authority of the teacher.

This type of teaching has proved unpleasant and ineffective, that is why a lot of concerned Thai citizens are trying to change it. In the meantime Thai English students are not interested in paying a lot of money to get the same thing from a foreign teacher.

Bearing this in mind it is easy to see that foreign teachers are partly paid to be entertainers. Within the classroom students will usually expect to experience some of the freedoms that they imagine Westerners enjoy. In a sense each classroom becomes a little piece of England or America.

As you learn how to entertain your class you might develop a teaching character. Like any good actor, comedian or rockstar this character will be believable to your audience. They will think that is how you are in real life. Many quiet and retiring types are transformed into high energy performers in the classroom. It can be quite tiring and difficult to maintain if you associate with your students socially outside teaching hours.

In achieving a happy atmosphere there are a lot of inhibitions to overcome. Students are afraid of losing face. Losing face in Thailand is much more serious than the sort of temporary embarrassment we normally associate it with. You can lose a student or even make an enemy for life with distressing ease. Try to provide a non-judgemental atmosphere. Do not put students in a position where they appear ignorant. Do not criticise or become angry. Give them the maximum amount of help possible to appear knowledgable, even to the extent of not correcting most of the mistakes. Individual students often ask to be corrected every time they make a mistake but could not actually accept such behaviour.

Happily, some modern language acquisition theorists are coming to believe that the correction of mistakes is not such an important part of language teaching. Certain types of mistakes occur predictably at each level of skill. They do not automatically disappear when corrected but do disappear as the student moves on to the next level.

Paradoxically, language is learned through practise and not through the memorisation of formal rules. Correcting mistakes that do not impede understanding actually interferes with the learning process by interrupting the natural flow and by undermining confidence. Students without confidence are unwilling to continue to practise speech and therefore cease to learn.

It is probably inevitable that you will come across a few difficult students in the course of your career. Problems arise through personality clashes, dislike of foreigners, and unmet expectations. If the problem persists, and affects the progress of the class you will need to talk to the student/s concerned. You should not do this in public, or while you are angry. After class is a good time. It is quite likely that a student will resist a one-on-one interview and wish to have a friend present. If the behaviour doesn't improve your school ought to allow you to transfer or expel the student/s after consultation with the manager. Some schools resist this but if you explain it in terms of an unhappy class you stand a better chance of a sympathetic hearing.

Thai students are more socially motivated than Western students. In America, for example, people might be relatively content to attend a class and not have a lot of contact with fellow students. In Thailand the class must be a rewarding social experience. It really doesn't matter how much you know about English, how well qualified you are or even how much effort you put into the lesson if the students are not having fun. Your classes will dwindle down to a few die-hards and your reputation as a teacher will suffer.

The students' attitude to you is very important but many teachers don't realise that it is more important that the class enjoy each other's company. There is nothing worse than a class where antipathetic groups form. Classes of people who like each other will survive bad teachers and any other problems and keep coming back for more.

Students will not enjoy the class if the teacher appears too serious. "Serious", is one of the English words that has crept into the Thai language. In Thai it has an almost wholly pejorative sense. Try to be silly, friendly and above all, smile as much as you can.

Even if you are not a trained teacher you ought to behave like a professional. That means arriving on time, being prepared and finishing courses that you have begun. Attitudes of past teachers have not always been good so students and schools have learned to quickly identify and reject teachers without commitment to their job. Even if you have a problem wih the school administration your class should remain unaffected.

When called upon to take over a class it is necessary to acknowledge that the students will display some resistance. Loyalty to the former teacher and resentment at having their studies disrupted can make them difficult to handle but the problem will disappear if you make a sustained effort to win them over. All you have to do is find out where they are in the course and teach in your normal way. Student-teacher rapport will take a little longer to develop but no serious problems should arise. Some drop-outs are likely, however.

Commercial schools rely on keeping the customers who walk in as long as possible. These schools exist to make a profit. Everything else is secondary. You are working for a company. You provide a service and you are a salesman. It is unprofessional to denigrate your company in front of your students. Some teachers claim to do a good job but have unhappy students. Making the students happy is the job.

You will probably find, like untold numbers of teachers before you, that many of the prepared courses are unsuitable and boring for the students. Courses such as CAMBRIDGE, SPECTRUM, STREAMLINE etc. are designed to be taught in English speaking countries.

Most have a European cultural bias that makes them difficult for Asian students to relate to. Early in the popular Cambridge course there is a page showing the faces of famous people. Out of Brigitte Bardot, the Pope, Sebastian Coe, Jacky Kennedy/Onassis, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Roger Moore , Billie-Jean King and Indira Ghandi only the former Prime Minister of India has any hope of being recognised.

You cannot expect to teach such courses as they are written and be judged as a good teacher by your students. You will have to discard large parts of them and prepare your own material to fill the gap.

This is not as difficult as it sounds if you are prepared to buy some books of your own and ask advice from more experienced teachers. Bear in mind though, that these teachers will not be willing to give away all their sure-fire crowd-pleasers.

If you have a set course to follow make sure you don't get too far ahead of or behind the timetable for completion. Large differences can create problems for teachers who follow you. In one class I had to take over I found the last teacher had fled because he had completed the book in half the allotted time.

Apart from being inappropriate most set courses will not fill up the course time. Teachers develop different tactics to overcome this problem using games, stories, videos etc. Some develop their informal conversational skills to such an extent that they can teach a 40-hour course without referring to the book. Indeed, they take pride in their ability to do this. However it is a mistake. Students will ultimately resent having paid the money for a book that is not used. The book, no matter how awful, is their tangible evidence of having completed the course. You should use it at least two or three times each lesson. If the students sign up for another class you will be leaving the next teacher in an awkward position, all of the stages of courses assume the successful completion of the previous stage.

Your class must ideally be happy and satisfied at the end of each lesson and, in a slightly different way, after the completion of the course. This is important if you are relying on repeat classes. After you become experienced you will realise that a course consisting solely of unrelated games and activities will leave the students less willing to continue their studies than one on which the students can look back on with some sense of progress and accomplishment.

For the reasons outlined above all teachers are faced with classes that are initially reluctant to talk. The good news is that in virtually all cases they eventually get started, by the end of the course it is often difficult to get them to shut up.

If they won't talk there isn't much you can do. Rare classes remain unaccountably silent even for the best teachers. The most popular teacher I ever saw would, as a last resort, get down on his knees and beg students to talk. This tactic proved successful on all but one occasion, and he still finds that painful to talk about. As you gain experience you will learn new ways to provoke your students into speaking, even if it's just to tell you why you are an idiot. You're not in the class to massage your own ego.

I like to force-feed questions to quiet students. I tell them the question and simply get them to repeat it. When done with humour it can help shy students over that first barrier; hearing their own voice in the classroom. You can even deliberately provide talking points. Thai students are particularly conscious of appearance so anything unusual about you will be noticed. Failing to shine your shoes, wearing a bad tie or odd socks and then asking questions about it can be effective.

If they remain silent they may be uncomfortable together. If I sensed this was the case I would give them a short five minute exercise to do then leave the room for 15 minutes or so. They always start to chat to each other in Thai, probably saying how lazy I am. It breaks the ice and provides them with a better feeling of solidarity. I gave up the practice because I thought the manager of the school might agree with them.

Everybody has a different theory on this subject and no doubt you will come up with one of your own.

For people with normal memories simply remembering the names of 10 or 15 students is a formidable task. With names like Adisorn Trakarnvattanavong and Boonwit Sathiraphasuksakul the problem is redoubled. As you can imagine, if you do manage to remember all of their names after one lesson, you have impressed everybody. If you don't learn their names lessons can become stilted. All human beings are attached to their names. Forgetting one or two names in the class is just as bad. It is a small humiliation to be singled out as the most forgettable person in the group but one a student is unlikely to entirely forgive.

A tip that worked for me is to write up the names of the students along the top of the board when they attend the first class. Put the names as a mirror image of the class seating. Gather a few personal details about each student and write them under their names.

During the first exercise where they are writing or otherwise engaged let your eyes wander around the class silently naming the students as you go. Then try it in reverse and random order. If you have time before the class finishes try to use names to select students to perform certain tasks.

Finally, during the class use the class sheet to note a significant individual characteristic for each student. When you have left the class try to find a couple of minutes to go through this list to fix the names even more firmly in your mind. Then, before the next class go through the list again.

You will find that this technique, or your own variation on it, will enable you to remember at least 10 names from the first class. As you become practised it will take little time or effort and be amply rewarded by the good will of your students. It will also add greatly to your air of professionalism.

Note: For classes inside schools and consisting mainly of younger people it is preferable to ask for and use nicknames. For older students or people studying with work colleagues it is better to use their given names. Since Thai people often use an honorific, (Khun), before a name, particularly in the third person, you could use the English Mister and Miss, regardless of marital status. Remember, too, that Thai people use first names as identifiers, not family names.

For example; Khun Benjaporn Meesook, a senior married female accountant could be addressed in English as "Miss Benjaporn".

Similarly you can expect many of your students to address you in the same way, (in my case, "Mr Brian"). Foreign teachers can also expect to be called other things depending on how well they get on with the class.

Written Thai is phonetic. That is, letters stand for sounds rather than ideas. In this respect Thai is like English and unlike some other Asian languages such as Chinese or Japanese.

It is widely believed in Thailand that any word in any language can be written in Thai. In fact this is not true of any phonetic language: obvious enough if you think about it. Thai does not have "V", "TH" or "SH" sounds.Common spoken Thai does not draw as clear a distinction between "R" and "L" as English does, even though corresponding letters exist in Thai.

"X" occurs in the middle of words like "taxi" or "(King) Taksin" but does not appear at the end of a word. This means that Thai people pronounce "taxi" easily yet have trouble pronouncing "tax". This is part of a larger problem deriving from the fact that for the most part Thai consonants are separated by vowel sounds even where they aren't written ("X" is a combination of the two consonant sounds "K" and "S"). The tendency then is to insert vowel sounds between consonants when speaking English or to omit or change consonants. Educated Thais do not have much trouble with this but the less educated do, examples include "Sah-witzerland", "Ice-ah-cream", and "Aus-ah-tralia".

The pronunciation of a Thai consonant can depend on where it is in a syllable. Thus, the letter representing a hard "G", (as opposed to a Kenny G.), at the beginning of a syllable is pronounced as a "K" at the end. In a similar way "R's" and "L's" become "N's"; and "J's", "CH's" and "S's" can become "T's". Other differences exist. All of these have implications in the teaching of pronunciation.

Verb tenses do not exist in Thai. To show past, future, continuous etc. time scales, extra words are added to the sentence. This too poses a problem, particularly in the teaching of irregular verbs.

Thai is a relatively small language. On the other hand English has a huge vocabulary, (roughly equal to French and German together; which is what it is, in a way). Many similar but distinct words in English might all be correctly translated as the same word in Thai. The translation is correct because it is the best solution but the subtleties of meaning may be lost and therefore difficult to explain. Doubtless much of the nuance of Thai is lost in the reverse process.

Buddhist monks often attend language classes. They generally present few problems. The main thing to remember is that monks are not permitted to touch women under any circumstances. You will notice this when the class is entering and leaving the room. Often a male student will take it on himself to sit between a monk and female class members. All the teacher has to do is respect this arrangement.

It is possible that students may mildly resent the presence of a monk at first because they imagine the class will be more solemn than it otherwise would be, perhaps because their previous contact with monks has been formal and ritualised. Once the class loosens up this feeling will disappear. Monks who want to study languages are generally better motivated and informed than the other students and so constitute a valuable resource.

Without wishing to interfere with legitimate and useful natural differences in teaching styles it may help to have some guide to an appropriate teaching method for novices.

Don't touch or stand too close to students, especially of the opposite sex. Some students of your own sex may touch you if they really like you. Assuming this doesn't terribly upset you, you should accept it as a sign of affection.

Speak slowly, clearly and loudly. Emphasise the gaps between words.

Don't be afraid of repetition. What appears boring to you may be challenging to your students. By the same token try to gauge the mood of the class and be prepared to abandon anything that doesn't seem to work.

Since the ultimate goal of language teaching is communication any side-track that the class enjoys is a legitimate deviation from the course and should be pursued to its useful limit.

Ask plenty of questions and promote dialogue BETWEEN students. Resist the temptation to lecture. Listening to the teacher all the time denies the students opportunities to learn to speak.

When working through exercises always give examples of correct answers. Teachers who insist on proving their students don't know something before they teach it are infuriating. In Thailand it is a positively harmful habit. You make sure your students feel stupid every lesson. Building in the experience of failure is counter-productive.

Run through drills and dialogues yourself or with one of the better students. Then get students to pair up, exchange roles and so on. Finally you can get them to do the exercises across the classroom. When going around the class for responses do not use strict rotation. Make it difficult for the students to predict just when they will be called upon for an answer, it helps them concentrate.

Do not rely on students' actual experience or knowledge. The Thai education system suffers from a number of severe problems. Students are the unfortunate victims. On the plus side this means the demand for private schools is high and will increase. On the negative side it means your students will often have astounding gaps in their knowledge, even of Thailand. Several of my students have assured me that Thailand shares a common border with China, for example. Encourage them to use their imagination. Most likely they will need to be continually urged to do it but they will enjoy it.

Resist the temptation to believe that playing games is not "real teaching". Games are not just rewards for trying hard in other more serious areas of the course, they are self-motivating exercises in fluency. English games in the classroom may be the first tangible reward the students have ever had in years of studying English.

Thai students at any level (and here I include middle-aged senior executives and scientists) will enjoy playing games in the classroom. In fact, if you feel you are out of your intellectual or social depth and your class is not going well you will invariably find that games will be appreciated and that the students weren't happy because you were "too serious". The exceptions are students who have immediate reasons for learning English and even they will prefer games if they are convinced they are relevant.

Games are such crowd-pleasers that it is easy to fall into the trap of constructing all your lessons around them. Which isn't such a bad idea if there were that many enjoyable games and activities available. It is easier to accustom the students to a mix of exercises and activities in each lesson. If you avoid predictability but put enjoyable activities in regularly the class will be less demanding, make better progress and readily attack more difficult sections of your course.

Avoid trying to squeeze every drop of fun out of a good game or activity. Beginning teachers with few resources make this mistake. Every activity is used until the whole class is sick of it, then frequently reprised later in the course. Stop it while everyone is still having fun and wants to continue otherwise the class will come to expect everything they do to end in boredom. Remember, you want the games to contrast with exercises, not blend into one great, grey morass.

A lot of schools do not have any serious testing. One teacher reported that he had failed a student on the grounds that she had missed most of the classes, not participated in the classes she had attended, failed the test and demonstrated no ability to speak, understand, read or write English. The student complained to the manager on the grounds that she had paid for the course and so deserved to pass. The manager sided with the student.

The moral is; the students do not expect to fail. Your assessment procedures should be as liberal as possible. Do not think about failing any student until you have exhausted all other options, then reconsider giving them a passing grade anyway. If you feel you must give a student a failing grade it is probably wise to discuss it with your manager first. The prospect of a test is a good motivator though. Menacing the class keeps them on their toes, as evidenced by one student who answered the written question, "Why is it important to learn English?", with, "Because there is a test today".

Students who don't do well are inclined to blame the teacher for boring or ineffective teaching. To a degree they are often correct.

The classroom is an ideal place for information exchange. That is, just because you are teaching a language doesn't mean that you and your students can't learn a great deal of other things using the language as the medium. Thailand can be a lifetime study and your class is usually only too willing to tell you what they can. Their sense of self-worth is increased.

By the same token you will eventually come to recognise the sorts of things your class is interested in learning about your country or countries you have visited. It is important to really listen to what the students say, not just check the grammar.

If things are going slowly I like to ask them about their favourite restaurants, what they serve and where they are. You might also treat your students as a valuable information resource for any of your needs in Thailand. The computer I am writing this on was bought from a student for a very reasonable price. When explaining points about English you can legitimately ask questions about Thai, but don't overdo it.

Anything to do with food is interesting to most Thai students. They always like to know the English names for local ingredients. I've noticed that Thai students can nearly always generate English recipes for Thai dishes that are sophisticated beyond their measured English skill. Food is one of the few subjects to which you can return repeatedly in a course.

If you develop an interest in Thai politics and start to remember a few names your students will be surprised enough to talk about it for a few minutes. Business students are more interested in politics and economics than other students.

Most students will be very happy to tell you about some of the many admirable accomplishments of the royal family, which extend into the fields of music, agricultural experiments, languages, diplomacy, medicine, traditional handicrafts and more.

Thai sporting heroes such as the boxer Khaosai Galaxy or current snooker star James Wattana are good material. Current Thai events of a suitably spectacular nature, (large-scale accidents, assassinations, scandals etc.) are good.

Since Thai society has so many rules governing every aspect of behaviour, and since the social penalties can be severe for Thai people they have a strong interest in how to avoid offending people. It's probably best to present the strange ways of your country in a detached anthropological manner rather than couch the discussion in terms of right and wrong, which people tend to do when talking about manners.

As with people everywhere conversation can be safe and predictable. Mentioning the heat, (it's always hot) and the traffic, (it's always awful), are standard opening gambits.

Otherwise you can fall back on asking the students about themselves, while being careful to monitor the interest level of the rest of the class. Families, (theirs), are good topics too.

Notwithstanding what was said about the royal family above, you should be aware that Thai people typically have a feeling of religious awe towards their king and will not tolerate any type of criticism. This extends into the area of political debate about the usefulness of royalty in general. Listening is the key teacher function here, interspersed with a few respectful questions. If you start to feel that this oft-repeated warning is exaggerated and would like to test the truth of it, here are four words of advice, "No, no, absolutely not".

An interesting experiment you can peform on any Thai class is to walk in looking enthusiastic and announce, "Today we are going to talk about history". No more than 1% of the population has any interest at all in the history of Thailand and the numbers fall off dramatically once you move to the history of other countries.

You may have what you consider to be interesting stories about your life, or photographs of your family or home town. These are not normally well received in the class. Stories are often difficult to understand and have a cultural element that renders the point obscure. Photographs of America, Australia etc. are so far beyond the experience and expectations of most students as to make them boring.

Similarly, jokes that are hilarious in Boston are incomprehensible in Bangkok, mainly because the sense of humour is quite different. You will find that those riddles you can remember from your childhood are more popular e.g. Q: What has four legs and flies? A: A dead horse. Such simple jokes frequently illustrate interesting language points.

Sex is a predictably difficult topic. Discussions can become quite bawdy. Thai attitudes to sex are difficult to understand so a position of tolerant disapproval of sex talk is the safest. Discussion of personal lives is, of course, out of the question. Particular care should be taken when teacher and student are of different genders. Unpleasant misunderstandings have occurred. Some joking around is OK but serious talk is not acceptable.

Thai people like to hear Thailand praised. That's not difficult to understamd. They aren't too interested in teachers who talk about their own countries loudly and often. Generally speaking, if they want to know they will ask. Most classes get around to it at some stage.

Some things which you find interesting about Thailand will bore your students. Corruption and prostitution might be vaguely embarrassing to a Thai but more likely they will wonder why you want to talk about such obvious and old subjects. Likewise, wherever your political interests lie forget about them in the class. You may be a committed feminist, socialist, fascist, environmentalist or conservative, your class will see you as a raving lunatic who refuses to let them have fun and relax.

Religion in Thailand is a fascinating subject. The huge majority of Thais think of themselves as good Buddhists. Students normally have little interest in discussing religion. Indeed, I have found that it is the quickest way to upset them. If you really want to get a discussion going on this subject use similar guidelines to those used with the Royal Family.

Grammar, an inevitable party of any language lesson, is a minefield. Thai students have been learning English grammar for many years but are unable to speak. They look back on those years with the fondness of a serial killer remembering his childhood. Lengthy explanations and exercises, while theoretically useful, have limited value because you will lose the attention of your students. Grammar is best presented as needed, ideally at the request of students for clarification.

Grammar is also best left alone by some teachers who find that their students' explicit knowledge of grammar exceeds their own.