Teaching English in Hua Hin

Post by **velboy** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:43 am

Hi,

I am looking for some good companies in Hua Hin who I do a English Teach Tefl course and then get a job placement.

Can someone recommend a good company.

Thanks

V

Post by **johnnyk** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 2:41 am

Go to Bangkok and do the CELTA, its recognized world-wide.
It is one month of hell but you will know what to do in front of a class.
You need a university first degree to be accepted.
Avoid other short courses they are mostly junk.
Do not expect to make much money in Thailand teaching English unless you have M.A. degree, lots of experience and are well-established/connected.

Spitfire · Post by **Spitfire** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 11:24 am

Agree there, best CELTA courses in Thailand are done by ECC but ironically they are generally regarded as one of the worst employers. You can do these courses in Bangkok Chiang Mai or Phuket and last 4-5 weeks and will keep you very busy. The center in Bangkok is located on the 5th floor of the Big C building close to Siam Square. Be warned though that you can fail them and the whole exersize of get one can be expensive now, especially with a crap exchange rate and the living costs of Bangkok for a month or so, not to mention the entertainment aspect.

Post by **johnnyk** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:36 pm

spitfire wrote:Agree there, best CELTA courses in Thailand are done by ECC but ironically they are generally regarded as one of the worst employers. You can do these courses in Bangkok Chiang Mai or Phuket and last 4-5 weeks and will keep you very busy. The center in Bangkok is located on the 5th floor of the Big C building close to Siam Square. Be warned though that you can fail them and the whole exersize of get one can be expensive now, especially with a crap exchange rate and the living costs of Bangkok for a month or so, not to mention the entertainment aspect.

Yes, good point. Unlike high school, people actually flunk the CELTA. That's cred right there.

Post by **Vital Spark** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:13 pm

One more point: It's not (or wasn't 12 years ago) mandatory to have a degree to do the CELTA course in Bangkok - just a damned good understanding of grammar. I agree with JK - it's a month of sheer hell, but worth it. One of my colleagues on the course didn't have a degree, and he was a clever chap. He passed the course. You can still get a job and a work permit without a degree, but it can limit your choices.

There are cheaper and less stressful courses around, but just make sure that they're worth the paper they're written on. It really depends on whether you really want to learn how to teach or if you just want the requisite certificate.

You can also get a job without a TEFL certificate, but if you're new to teaching I really don't think you could do an effective job.

Finally, the best time to start looking for a job would be around February/March during the university and school holidays.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

VS

Post by **velboy** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:10 am

Hi all,

Thanks for all the info

I have contacted ECC about there february course in Phuket. Bangkok would just drive me nuts.

Don't know how much of sheer hell it can be it is Thailand after all

Seriously I have studied hard before

Post by **PeteC** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:25 am

For those in the know, isn't one of the requirements to become employed here teaching English that you are a native English speaker? Meaning born, raised, educated in a country where English is the officially recognized language? Pete

Post by **velboy** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:48 am

Meaning born, raised, educated in a country where English is the officially recognized language?

I was born and raised and educated to university level in England so no problems there.

Also have Canadian Permenant Residency too if that helps.

Post by **HuntingTigers** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 8:48 am

velboy wrote:
Meaning born, raised, educated in a country where English is the officially recognized language?
I was born and raised and educated to university level in England so no problems there.

Also have Canadian Permenant Residency too if that helps.

Pity you can't spell permanent correctly then.

HT.

Post by **charlesh** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 10:10 am

very funny, I suppose that is the Canadian French influence.

VincentD · Post by **VincentD** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 11:26 am

Pete,
please forgive the s(n)ide comments that follow.

Long gone are the days when a long nose and an American or English accent were the only requirements. I don't know how they quantify 'native' any more either. English is an officially recognised language in many Asian countries.

You find lots of Pinoys employed in this sector now, they're qualified, they know the subject, and most important to the employer, they are willing to work for less. Many employers are willing to overlook the accent.

Very few places pay good money for a proper English teacher. These places usually source from overseas anyway, on a contract basis.

If you qualify locally and have little or no experience in the field, be prepared to accept a fairly modest income. It will afford you a cheap apartment and a few beers at 7-11 but not a lot more.

Velboy

forgive my reading between the lines but your first post strongly hints that you want to extend a trip and are looking at ways to finance this.

The other is a question of legal and gainful employment. A work permit is required and is not the easiest thing to get these days. I strongly suggest you go to the stickmanbangkok.com website and read what he has written about teaching English in Thailand.

If I have misread your intent then please do accept my apologies.

Post by **PeteC** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 12:32 pm

No problems Vincent. Only going from what I see in print all the time in various classified sections of newspapers. "Native speaker" is often a requirement but as you say, how does one define that these days. Pete

Post by **velboy** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 5:54 pm

HuntingTigers wrote:
velboy wrote:
Meaning born, raised, educated in a country where English is the officially recognized language?
I was born and raised and educated to university level in England so no problems there.

Also have Canadian Permenant Residency too if that helps.
Pity you can't spell permanent correctly then.

HT.

Didn't realize the course had started

Post by **velboy** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 6:04 pm

VincentD

Thanks i'll take a look at that site.

Post by **Vital Spark** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:23 pm

VincentD wrote: Very few places pay good money for a proper English teacher. These places usually source from overseas anyway, on a contract basis.

The other is a question of legal and gainful employment. A work permit is required and is not the easiest thing to get these days.

I guess it really depends on what you consider good money. Most universities now pay around 30,000 baht a month (some more than that). The contact hours are usually 14-16 hours a week, and any hours over that can sometimes earn you around 800 baht an hour. If you work a 20 hour week you're heading into the 45K bracket. Which ain't so bad. As far as I'm aware the only places that source from overseas are International schools who can afford to pay the 100K+ salary and expect boatloads of MAs and DELTAs.

If you get a job at a reputable school, then the'll sort out all the paperwork for the Work Permit. It's a pretty painless process (apart from the blood test for syphilis

).

VS

P.S. Velboy, if you do decide to do a CELTA course you'll need to know the difference between there and their.