This is another one of those questions that you frequently hear asked from those wishing to work in Thailand. It is actually two questions; the first is. do you need to have completed TEFL in order to work as a teacher in Thailand? the second question is, should you complete TEFL if you want to teach in Thailand. Let me deal with the first question first.
If you need a TEFL certificate to teach in Thailand is a much debated topic. In regards to the teaching license there seems to be no official requirement to have this certificate. It is most often the schools themselves that are most interested in their ESL teachers having this qualification. I personally only managed to finish half the certificate, but the fact that I have a Post Graduate Certificate in Education means that schools don’t tend to ask me for one. Most schools seem to treat the TEFL as an official requirement and are reluctant to employ people without it if their qualifications are not related to education. It would seem that that this piece of paper is well worth getting for anyone without the traditional qualifications.
The second question is, should you get a TEFL certificate if you want to teach in Thailand and that is a far easier question. If you have no teaching experience then it makes sense to complete a TEFL certificate. This will not make you a great teacher, but it will certainly give you an introduction to the area, and more importantly give you some some supervised teaching practice.
30 August 2009
23 August 2009
Education in Thailand and why I'm worried
The longer I stay in Thailand the more concerned I become about the Thai education system. This has become even more pressing as in a year or so my own son will likely need to become part of it. I can’t afford the high prices of the international schools, but even they attract the occasional bad press from disgruntled parents.
My main worry is the fact that the system here does not seem value quality, but instead seems dedicated to decoration and keeping people happy. For instance, my current school insists that all students be given at least 70% no matter how badly the students perform.
Cheating is rampant and not just confined to the students. Some of the teachers are studying for higher qualifications and just last week one of them just cut and pasted a whole English article from a web-site and submitted it as his own work without any qualms. He didn’t even bother to hide this blatant plagiarism because it is obviously something he has been doing all his life. This is not an isolated incident but a frequent occurrence. It is obvious that many have made it through academia without doing the work, and many of these people now teach for a living.
The people who suffer are the good students. The ones who work their asses off for nothing. Believe me there are quite a few of these. Thai kids are not dumb, they are just being failed by a dumb system that seems to be showing no signs of improving anytime soon. There is a public expectation that every student do well. There is no recognition that a percentage of students doing less well than others is a sign that the system is working and has merit. Not every student can be getting top marks in every subject - that is just silly and demeans the whole system.
The Thai education system is not all bad of course. The students are among the best in the world, and if given the chance more of these young people could do amazing things. The ones who go on to do great things at the moment seem to manage it despite the system and not because of it. The people of Thailand are not unaware of the problem either. Some fine students are just as baffled by the whole thing as every one else. An excellent article on the subject was written by this Thai student (http://n-natta.blogspot.com/2009/08/nation-of-cheaters.html)
I am sure that there are some schools in Thailand that get it right. The problem is that it only takes a few to tarnish the rest. That is just the way it is. When too many people are getting 70% it makes that mark mean practically nothing. When no attempt is made to control cheating it makes all marks mean less.
So I’m worried about my son’s future here in Thailand. The obvious answer would be to take him away from Thailand altogether. I don’t want to do this though, this is his home. Thailand has so many great things it its favour. He deserves to be part of its brighter future, and maybe things will improve in his lifetime.
My main worry is the fact that the system here does not seem value quality, but instead seems dedicated to decoration and keeping people happy. For instance, my current school insists that all students be given at least 70% no matter how badly the students perform.
Cheating is rampant and not just confined to the students. Some of the teachers are studying for higher qualifications and just last week one of them just cut and pasted a whole English article from a web-site and submitted it as his own work without any qualms. He didn’t even bother to hide this blatant plagiarism because it is obviously something he has been doing all his life. This is not an isolated incident but a frequent occurrence. It is obvious that many have made it through academia without doing the work, and many of these people now teach for a living.
The people who suffer are the good students. The ones who work their asses off for nothing. Believe me there are quite a few of these. Thai kids are not dumb, they are just being failed by a dumb system that seems to be showing no signs of improving anytime soon. There is a public expectation that every student do well. There is no recognition that a percentage of students doing less well than others is a sign that the system is working and has merit. Not every student can be getting top marks in every subject - that is just silly and demeans the whole system.
The Thai education system is not all bad of course. The students are among the best in the world, and if given the chance more of these young people could do amazing things. The ones who go on to do great things at the moment seem to manage it despite the system and not because of it. The people of Thailand are not unaware of the problem either. Some fine students are just as baffled by the whole thing as every one else. An excellent article on the subject was written by this Thai student (http://n-natta.blogspot.com/2009/08/nation-of-cheaters.html)
I am sure that there are some schools in Thailand that get it right. The problem is that it only takes a few to tarnish the rest. That is just the way it is. When too many people are getting 70% it makes that mark mean practically nothing. When no attempt is made to control cheating it makes all marks mean less.
So I’m worried about my son’s future here in Thailand. The obvious answer would be to take him away from Thailand altogether. I don’t want to do this though, this is his home. Thailand has so many great things it its favour. He deserves to be part of its brighter future, and maybe things will improve in his lifetime.
16 August 2009
Teaching is how you improve as a teacher
I frequently come to the conclusion that we can sometimes become better teachers despite ourselves. Even if we are not making any great effort to improve our pedagogy skills the mere fact of being in the classroom day after day can improve your ability to teach effectively; this has been my experience anyway. The students don’t make it possible to stagnate or should I say they don’t make it easy. If the students are not kept engaged they can make your life hell and you have to be constantly learning and refining ways to stay in control; much of this learning is not deliberate.
I remember a more experienced teacher telling me that it takes at least five years for a new teacher to find her or his feet; this makes sense to me. I firmly believe that the only real way that you can learn to teach is by actually doing it. Theories and research are important but are practically useless if you have nowhere to test them. All the most useful techniques in pedagogy are learnt through experience and what works for one person might not work for another.
I like the analogy of teachers acquiring a toolbox full of tools which can be applied to different situations. Each teaching situation is unique and so the more tools you have the better. Sometimes introducing a game might increase the energy of the group while other times slowing the tempo down might be what is required. The longer you stay in the job the more tools you will have in your toolbox.
I remember a more experienced teacher telling me that it takes at least five years for a new teacher to find her or his feet; this makes sense to me. I firmly believe that the only real way that you can learn to teach is by actually doing it. Theories and research are important but are practically useless if you have nowhere to test them. All the most useful techniques in pedagogy are learnt through experience and what works for one person might not work for another.
I like the analogy of teachers acquiring a toolbox full of tools which can be applied to different situations. Each teaching situation is unique and so the more tools you have the better. Sometimes introducing a game might increase the energy of the group while other times slowing the tempo down might be what is required. The longer you stay in the job the more tools you will have in your toolbox.
8 August 2009
The different types of English language teachers you find in Thailand
I have come to a recent realisation that you can divide ESL teachers in Thailand into three main categories. I know that in reality that people are not really this easy to put into boxes, but for the sake of discussion these categories seem useful; if only to see where I fit in the equation.
The first group of teachers are the consummate educators. These are the minority and their main purpose in life seems to make the rest of us feel bad - only joking. No these are professionals who live for their job and consequently tend to be brilliant teachers. It could be argued that this type of teacher is born and not made, but I’m not sure about this. I think that if most people put in the same hours and invested so much of their personality into teaching then they too could be this good - but maybe not. All I do know is that I do not belong to this group and probably never will.
The second group of teachers are those who see it as a job but try to be the best they can at it. Teaching does not necessarily give them their identity, but they like to feel that they are benefiting the students in their charge. Some of these teachers might go on to become one of the consummate teachers but most will choose not to. I would say that most of the ESL teachers who stay in Thailand for a while belong to this group. This is where I would see myself belonging.
The third group of teachers are the malcontents. They really don’t like teaching but see it as a way to stay in Thailand. The students get on their nerves and the see the sole purpose of the school administration as being there to piss them off. They are always aware of how many sick days they can get away with taking and see a term as an obstacle course to make it through. They have no interest in becoming better teachers and believe that the consummate educators are at best deluded and at worst evil-suck-ups there to make them look bad.
I know that these groupings are far from a perfect picture of reality, but they make sense to me. I sometimes admire those in the top group and worry that I’m slipping into the third group.
The first group of teachers are the consummate educators. These are the minority and their main purpose in life seems to make the rest of us feel bad - only joking. No these are professionals who live for their job and consequently tend to be brilliant teachers. It could be argued that this type of teacher is born and not made, but I’m not sure about this. I think that if most people put in the same hours and invested so much of their personality into teaching then they too could be this good - but maybe not. All I do know is that I do not belong to this group and probably never will.
The second group of teachers are those who see it as a job but try to be the best they can at it. Teaching does not necessarily give them their identity, but they like to feel that they are benefiting the students in their charge. Some of these teachers might go on to become one of the consummate teachers but most will choose not to. I would say that most of the ESL teachers who stay in Thailand for a while belong to this group. This is where I would see myself belonging.
The third group of teachers are the malcontents. They really don’t like teaching but see it as a way to stay in Thailand. The students get on their nerves and the see the sole purpose of the school administration as being there to piss them off. They are always aware of how many sick days they can get away with taking and see a term as an obstacle course to make it through. They have no interest in becoming better teachers and believe that the consummate educators are at best deluded and at worst evil-suck-ups there to make them look bad.
I know that these groupings are far from a perfect picture of reality, but they make sense to me. I sometimes admire those in the top group and worry that I’m slipping into the third group.
1 August 2009
The school where everyone passes exams
In the school where I now work the students are not allowed to fail. This is not just an aspiration; this is school policy. Not only that, but every student in the bilingual programme is expected to get the equivalent of a high B or A in every subject. Our academic department has decided this. The school believes that if a student isn’t doing well then it is the teacher’s fault and it is up to the teacher to remedy the situation. The implication being that you either just give them a high mark or keep on testing the students until they get it themselves. Most teachers just wind up rewarding marks for no effort. This is because it would be impossible for some of these students to achieve this mark. This is not meant as a slight to them. Where in the world do all the students in a school get top marks all the time?
This way of doing things probably all sounds completely crazy to anyone outside the Thai teaching profession, but this is common practice here. If you don’t like it your choice is to either move to one of the few schools where it doesn’t happen or just put up with it. If we complain to Thai colleagues the usual response is to claim that we just don’t understand Thai culture and we should stop worrying about it so much. If we complain to the management about it the usual response is silence.
I quit teaching full-time a few years back because I felt like a bit of a fraud in front of the students. I didn’t have any proper teaching credentials so what right have I to be teaching them anything? In order to rectify this I spent a lot of money and a lot of time studying for a Post Graduate Certificate in Education while teaching voluntarily in a Thai village school. Four years later with my bona fide credentials in pedagogy I returned to full-time teaching. Yet, here I am a couple of years later feeling again like a fraud.
I spend a lot of my time trying to convince students that studying and learning is important. I try to tell them that exams are important. Yet, all they have to do is look at their classmates how don’t do any work and still come out with high marks. Why should anyone make the effort? The usual way I deal with this is by telling myself that it is the knowledge that is important and not the exam marks, but sometimes it is hard not to feel like a clown. I ask myself the question. If I was a student in my school would I study? The honest answer is no. Why work for something that is going to be given to you anyway.
This way of doing things probably all sounds completely crazy to anyone outside the Thai teaching profession, but this is common practice here. If you don’t like it your choice is to either move to one of the few schools where it doesn’t happen or just put up with it. If we complain to Thai colleagues the usual response is to claim that we just don’t understand Thai culture and we should stop worrying about it so much. If we complain to the management about it the usual response is silence.
I quit teaching full-time a few years back because I felt like a bit of a fraud in front of the students. I didn’t have any proper teaching credentials so what right have I to be teaching them anything? In order to rectify this I spent a lot of money and a lot of time studying for a Post Graduate Certificate in Education while teaching voluntarily in a Thai village school. Four years later with my bona fide credentials in pedagogy I returned to full-time teaching. Yet, here I am a couple of years later feeling again like a fraud.
I spend a lot of my time trying to convince students that studying and learning is important. I try to tell them that exams are important. Yet, all they have to do is look at their classmates how don’t do any work and still come out with high marks. Why should anyone make the effort? The usual way I deal with this is by telling myself that it is the knowledge that is important and not the exam marks, but sometimes it is hard not to feel like a clown. I ask myself the question. If I was a student in my school would I study? The honest answer is no. Why work for something that is going to be given to you anyway.
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