Thanks for the invite. I come from the city of sails, Auckland. I’m glad you enjoyed your trip and holiday ‘down under’. I am guessing that you toured the South Island and you picked a good time of the year to travel, as in October Spring is kicking in and everything’s green, lambs are bouncing around, daffodils and tulips are in full bloom, fresh strawberries abound…

Hmmm, why did I leave all that behind to teach in Thailand?

Yes that it is. However, there is a big difference between spending 10 days in Thailand with a pocket full of “real money’ and a carefree attitude to living and working in the same country, week in, week out. Many teachers out there would agree with me when I say that Thailand is one of those countries that is set up better to cater for the short term tourists rather than for those who have made Thailand their new home. It seems like that for as long as you look like a foreigner, then you must be here in Thailand on holiday and are ‘targeted’ as such.

If you asked me if I miss my home country at times, then the answer would be yes. Not sure what part I miss the most, maybe it’s the roast lamb and roast potatoes. It could even be the lazy days out fishing for snapper in the harbour with a few friends and a beer or two!

It sounds like a big career change to many people but I haven’t viewed it that way. Marketing involves selling or promoting an idea or a product. As a teacher working in both the corporate evening classes and weekends, I have found that having a marketing background has helped me to ‘sell’ the concept that learning English is vitally important for so many reasons.

Also, a marketing background gives me a different slant on lesson presentation material as I put an emphasis on variety, fun and interesting topics when teaching to these classes.

I do not consider a few years in Thailand makes anybody an expert and all teachers are different by virtue of their personality or disposition.

However, Thai students (of all ages) are generally shy and lack confidence to speak to foreign teachers so I think that if teachers can appear to be friendly, show by action that they enjoy their work, and add a bit of fun and variety to their class lessons then the bridge between teaching and learning narrows. I have noticed that when this communication barrier is ‘opened’, then students can give valuable feedback on lesson material being taught, problems in learning, etc. This helps me to ‘fine tune’ my future lessons to better suit their level of learning which makes my teaching more effective.

Seems like I am a workaholic, huh? Well, university work is not as taxing as a secondary or private school is. Less than 10 hours teaching a week at uni so there is still a little “gas’ left in the tank for evening or weekend work. Corporate work is only 1.5 hours at a time and just twice a week and weekend classes can be as little or as much as you want.

My main reasons for working in different institutions are firstly because I actually love teaching so I don’t class it as ‘work’. Second, this career change to be a full time teacher has come in the twilight of my working life so I am ‘fast-forwarding’ my teaching experience to gain as much variety as possible in the limited time I have left to teach as Thailand is one of those countries that values youthfulness (image) over maturity when sourcing their teachers.

I also have plans for overseas travel in the pipeline so I think that gaining experience in other ‘fields’ of teaching will pay dividends in the long run when presenting my C.V. for an overseas posting. The language school I work at has branches around the world which gives me the opportunity to piggy back my way to whichever destination that appeals most.

I taught there for 8 months and loved it! I got involved trough the company that I learnt my TEFL and TEYL through (Spencer International). There were nearly 2,000 students there from all parts of Thailand and it was a both humbling and rewarding performance. The students ranged in age from 4 to 15 years old and they don’t have it easy. Up at 4am, cleaning, praying, studying, doing exercise plus other household chores, but that’s life. A more receptive classroom full of students you will never find. They were aware of their station in life and understood the value of learning English in their future lives so study and try their best they did.

For those teachers out there who have considered volunteer teaching but never taken the step forward, then take some advice from me, go do it! No money but the rewards come and you are doing your bit to enrich their lives through the power of learning.

Life in the temple school was great! Unlike some prestigious private schools in Bangkok, the students here were so polite and appreciated having a native speaker to teach them English. Having a regular input from the monks and a Buddhist influence throughout the school has a positive influence on the students. Certainly, from a teachers perspective, it was more enjoyable to teach students there as discipline was never a question.

Not at all, it was always my plan to move through the different teaching sectors. From my experience so far, all teaching institutions have their “plus” and “minus” factors, and the only way to know what suits your teaching style best is to experiment and experience.

Actually, neither of these! Working in a weekend language school has two main advantages for me. Firstly, it gives me the unique opportunity to teach on a one to one basis as well as small groups of students. Secondly, it gives me the chance to build up specialized teaching experience with this specific institution which has branches, world-wide. This, in turn, becomes my ticket to travel and work in the future.

I think it’s a matter of personal choice. I work the weekends, not for money, but for the love of teaching. It gives me the opportunity to teach a variety of classes in any given day. From “ankle biters” right through to IELTS classes gives me the opportunity to be a more balanced yet adaptable teacher. Because I enjoy teaching, I do not really class it as work and many of my students and I have a good student- teacher learning relationship.

Well, as my university is closed for the summer break, I cannot enlighten you or your readers on this one. However, as being a contract teacher in a government university, I do not expect that we will need to jump as many hoops as some of the private schools will need to.

As a footnote, hot off the press is the latest news that some private language schools do not need this new teacher’s license as they are officially classified as a ‘learning institution’, not a school. As sure as eggs, for as long as there are new regulations, there will always be “exceptions” to the rule!

On face value, it seems like the main focus of the new teacher’s license is to extract more money from ‘over-paid’ foreign teachers. Short term gain…. maybe long term loss.

In my few years of living and working here in Thailand, the rules and regulations regarding foreign teachers have changed at an alarming rate. The authorities need to realise that it’s not all ‘peaches and cream’ here in the ‘land of smiles’ and there are other options for teachers in other countries where the list of conditions is not so long or complicated. If the authorities read the local newspaper, they would know that 30% of all Thai English teachers are due to retire in the next 2 years. That’s 30,000 Thai English teachers!

If I had any input into this latest piece of legislation, I would be looking at ways to encourage more teachers here, not finding ways to tax them further.

I guess I have almost answered this question indirectly in my last few answers. Two years ago I believe I made the right decision to come here but the last two years has seen so many new regulations and restrictions coming in to play. If someone was to ask me now if it is still the best place to start out teaching, then I would say yes. However, once you’re qualified, take a look around the traps and think about spreading your wings!

My future plans were always to spread my wings. Through my weekend language school, I have my air ticket to some amazing destinations around the world and in a years time, I want to travel and work in Spain and in Russia.

I think that I have covered all the bases of teaching here in Thailand so the game plan for now is to keep working on, gain more experience and improve my skill and ability as a teacher of English to foreign students.