Why teach English in Thailand?

Posted by on Jun 13, 2011 in Teaching | 11 comments

Why teach English in Thailand?

I’ve been asked this over and over again, Why Thailand? To be honest its not something I’ve been planning for years, but after a little research it seemed to be agreat option.  These are my reasons.

1. Its cheap to live in Thailand! Not as cheap as it once was but still your quality of life is pretty good on half the wages I earn in England. After a little research I figure with savings of about £4,000-5,000 even before I get a job and earn a wage I could live out there for about a year living very very cheaply.

2. It’s a beautiful country with a rich history and fascinating culture. I was inThailand in 2005 and spent 3 weeks travelling around and loved every minute of it. It has got beaches, mountains, great food and beautiful women what more do you want! To have the chance to live in such a country for a year or so is an opportunity that I didn’t want to pass.

3. Thailand is in the heart of South-East Asia, travelling around Thailand and to other cultures such as Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia etc. will be affordable and even be close enough for short weekend trips. This sounds like a perfect destination, being able to travel around Asia is a huge incentive.

4. And finally teaching jobs are available! Now from what I’ve read, again the jobs are not in abundance as much as they were 5-10 years back, but I hear the same story about everything. There are also a fair amount of horror stories about working in Thailand as an English teacher but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Thai schools genuinely want native English speakersas teachers, the students are well behaved (mostly) and the pay is fairly good.  Basic starts at about 25-30,000 BHT per month (£500ish).

So I figure this all makes complete sense, if I get a job in Thailand say about £500pmplus my savings of about £5000 I could enjoy my time in Thailand and not have to scrimp too much! Travel the world and experience a new culture completely differentto mine.
Just going to dive into Thailand head first and get on with it, what have I got to loose!

 

 

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  • http://tellthaiheart.blogspot.com Lani

    Well, let me be the first to congratulate you on your move. I hope it goes smoothly and you continue your optimism. Thailand has been good to me in its round-about way and the reasons you cited are among the best.

    Good luck!

  • dirtyroger

    Thanks Lani, really looking forward to it at the moment. I think planning the move is just as exciting as the the move itself.

    I’ll take that ‘Good Luck’ and use it!

  • http://www.shinowarsame.com Shino

    I’ve generally thought about doing something similar in Asia. I would love to. Will I need a teaching qualification? I’m just about to finish a Computing degree and would like a year off living in another country. Where would I start with this?

  • http://www.strayandsnap.blogspot.com Snap

    Sounds like an exciting plan! Teaching jobs are harder to get in saturated areas like Chiang Mai. Especially if you don’t have the right qualifications (MOE has tightened the belt) and, unfortunately male and farang…so I’ve been told. If we were to stay permanently, I think we’d opt to move more rural, for a few reasons, but job availability would be one of them.

    For one of us to live here, as we’ve been doing (modestly, but comfortably) it costs around 18,000 Baht per month. Have you been following Talen’s latest challenge, on The Land Of Smiles? It’s an interesting read.

    Good luck, and if nothing else, it’ll be a great adventure…just make sure you always have enough money in the bank for a plane ticket home ;)

  • dirtyroger

    Hi Shino, Go on, do it! there are loads of great opportunities out in Thailand. You don’t really need a teaching qualification as such, what the Thais and most Asian countries respect the most is a degree.

    Then secondly they would like to see a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate. This is usually a month long course such as the one I’m doing in Chiang Mai in August. A TEFL is desirable but not required from everyone!

    I recommend looking at Ajarn.com if your interested.

    cheers

  • Colin

    Thanks Snap, some good advice that I shall heed!

    I’ve already resigned myself to either smaller wages to work in Chiang Mai or even move further out into the rural areas like you say to find work. Either way i’ll be happy!

    Yeah I’ve been following Talens progress, good luck to him i think he needs it at this point.

  • http://faraang.wordpress.com/ Ray

    Good luck with your move, Colin. Let me warn you though, after 1 year, you’ll want to make it 2, and then 3, and then . . . who knows. Living in Thailand has been a complete life-changer for me, I love it. If anyone wants to know more about teaching in Thailand, follow this link to my own blog, where I outline some of the pros and cons of being a TEFL teacher in the Land of Smiles http://faraang.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/tefl-teaching-in-thailand-pros-and-cons/

    Thanks

  • Colin

    Thanks Ray, I’m really looking forward to the move. Thats a great article on your blog, you appear to have had a great experience in Thailand.

  • Ken

    Hi Colin

    You certainly seem excited and prepared for your move to Thailand. I hope it works out well for you.

    I am a little perplexed by the title of your post. It seems that you see teaching simply as a means to an end (which is to earn an income to support your stay in Thailand). You say nothing about a love of children or the English language or of the importance of education or the skills you already possess as an educator. If these were your genuine concerns, I guess you would already be a career language teacher in Britain.

    But you won’t be alone in Thailand. You’ll soon find that 95% or more of your foreign teaching colleagues are male with no career background in education in their own countries. You may find this a little odd when you consider that the proportion of language teachers in your own country who are male is probably 5%.

    You’ll get a TEFL ‘qualification’ that is not recognised by education employing authorities in your own country as a teaching qualification, and you’ll embark on your new career on a salary almost five times that of your Thai English language graduate colleagues who have completed a four year degree program in English language education (and who also are fluent in Thai).

    Perhaps you will become one of the few who become dedicated teachers and move on to get a professional qualification.

    Yes, teaching jobs are available in Thailand. Unfortunately, most of the foreigners doing the job are not teachers.

  • Colin

    Thanks for your comment Ken,

    You make a good point, I have never aspired to be a teacher and not once have I mentioned a desire to work with children or adults. I’m heading to Thailand for a change of scenery and a slower pace of life and to be honest working as a teacher is just a means to an end, I imagine this is what it is like for the majority of the 95% that you mention. Maybe I will enjoy the work and possibly return to the UK and undertake a PGCE, most likely though I’ll just go for the experience and enjoy working with the people I meet.

    I guess we’ll find out!

  • http://twitter.com/_MelissaEdwards Melissa Edwards

    I think you’ll be just fine. With your savings, and the attitude and excitement you’re bringing along, I think you’ll make at least an entertaining teacher. And Thailand loves their teachers to be entertainers! I don’t think you need to love children or teaching (and actually, much of the teaching here is for teens/adults).

    Unfortunately you will find lots of people here like Ken, and even more negative than him, telling you it can’t be done. But everyone I know here who wants to find teaching work, finds it. They mostly do it for the salary and work permit, but so what? It doesn’t mean they are bad teachers. And some of them find that they love teaching, and they will make it their career if/when they ever move back to the motherland.

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