Thai speakers do it better
Postbox letter from Steve
It's a stone cold fact that the most-liked foreign teachers at my school are those that can either speak Thai fluently or at least to a basic conversation level.
Speaking Thai in the classroom
It is not what foreign teachers are paid to do.
It wasn’t until moving to a language school, with proper management, that I saw the negative side of a foreign teacher speaking Thai in class. It was also at that job where I saw that some TEFL teachers are actually stuck in the routine of speaking Thai with students.
Is knowing and speaking Thai necessary?
Useful in everyday situations but what about in the school environment?
A knowledge of spoken Thai is always going to be invaluable, but how about speaking Thai in the classroom and within the school environment? Is it something that schools frown upon? What do some of the more experienced foreign teachers in Thailand say on the topic?
The Burning Question - Does it help if you can speak Thai?
Teachers give their opinions on a couple of teaching in Thailand questions
This month's burning questions are a) Does a period of time spent teaching English in Thailand look good on your resume if and when you return home? and b) Does knowing and speaking Thai language in the classroom come in useful?