Anyone teaching English with no certificate/degree?

[Icehockey9]

Thank you. I have a BS in Computer Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration. I just wasn't sure that any other job was a possibility in Thailand given that I speak little to no Thai...

[Joshua]

There are other jobs available, but they are very few and far between. As you could imagine the competition would be fierce. If Samsung or Fujitsu had openings in Thailand for a farang position, don't you imagine that there would be hundreds already within the company that would jump on it? They don't really need to try recruiting locally.

As far as speaking Thai, in a teaching position it is not required at all. In fact, most school administrators will even frown upon or may even ban speaking Thai outright. You are there to teach in English and conversing with the students in Thai is usually a no no. If Speaking Thai is a concern, you have nothing to worry in a teaching position. As far as your life outside of those working hours though, I would strongly suggest you learn the language if you plan to adapt to life there, and that goes for any country not exclusively to Thailand. If you don't make some attempts to learn the language you will always be an outsider, not to mention always be very limited in your capacity and options.

[Betti]

Some schools would prefer having a "white face" to having someone who looks Thai but is a native speaker of English. School admins want to keep up appearances with parents. Don't be surprised.

[Spookii]

I personally think it's going to be hard either way for me because I am not a White anyways. I am Asian and speak fluent English but I believe my knowledge goes beyond just teaching English. My husband and I have other things in mind that we want to pursue, not just teaching English. Besides, I think even if I cannot get a teaching job in any Thai school, I'd rather be self-employed and teach on my own rather than spending 8-10 hours in a school teaching. That would give me time to learn the culture and society better.

I guess the best thing to do is save money so I can fall back on something when time gets rough. I do have a family there which I think would be easier for me to adapt versus going there alone with my husband.

Thanks for all the responses, it really helps me understand the kind of opportunities there are and the steps that are needed to take.

[Tod-Daniels]

It's my experience that it's more than "some schools"; as in MOST if not all schools want a white person teachin' English even if you're a native speaker. If you ain't white, it certainly cuts down on the chances. I'm not being racist, the Thais are, so don't shoot the messenger!

You hafta remember perception IS reality in the eyes of the Thais. If they wander into the school and see a white person (even one who has no business teachin' engrish) at the front of the room teachin' their kids, they think because that person is white their kids are getting good instruction.

In reality that couldn't be further from the truth because I know all to many native engrish speaking white people who should NOT be teachin' ANY subjects here let alone engrish. Of course that could be one of the many reasons Thais pretty much suck at what passes for engrish here too.

I personally wouldn't let the "no credentials" get in the way of lookin for work. Again there are oh-so many engrish teachers here, some without degrees and some who have degrees in anything but English. You might do better concentrating on schools which cater to other asian nationalities like the Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, etc who're here learning English.

You'd probably make far more money putting a little flyer up at Chula, Thammasat or Mahidol Uni on the bulletin boards by their coffee shops or food court about private English tutoring. All those unis have International Programs (and the Thais that get into them are anything but proficient in English)! Plus that way you can work more when you want to rather than when you have to.

After 7 years here if I had to do it again, I wouldn't waste a second of the time here tryin' to wrap my head around or understand the mythical creature known as "Thai culture", but that's just me. Now I just take it in stride and say, "Wow, that Thai is sure actin' Thai today isn't he?"

Still Good luck in your endeavors. . .

[Marie]

This story I am going to share may be a bit off-topic, and its relevance is only on how Thais 'learn' English, based on my limited experience.

I was being wooed to join a big Multi-level Marketing outfit based in Thailand and now they were going to explore other Asian countries. That means their leaders should hone their English skills. In a few occasions I attended their meetings and I saw that the speakers generally spoke passable English. Most of them were highly educated. However, I noticed that they had a peculiar way of using certain English expressions--among others, "I am appreciate", and " I am boring" (to mean "I am bored").
(By the way, even in TCB Thais tend to use these phrases in this manner.)

Since I didn't have many talents to contribute, I took it upon myself to just concentrate on fixing these 2 wrong usages (though "I am appreciate" is more commonly used than "I am boring"). It's not that they're the most important in the world, but I figured this was where I could at least make a difference, however insignificant it would be. I was imagining that out of the hundreds of Thais in this organization these persons I personally tutored could use these phrases correctly.

After a few days I congratulated myself when I noted that the 3 guys I helped were able to pick up my teaching. I thought I could now rest on my laurels.

Soon I attended a small group meeting where a prominent figure was the guest speaker (I think he was a former vice-mayor of Bangkok, or something). He spoke relatively good English. In that gathering there was also a Thai interpreter who had a prominent American accent and knew many difficult English words.They shared one thing in common: they both said "I am appreciate". I remembered the 3 guys I had patiently coached. I was confident they would know better.

I didn't find out the answer until much later-about 6 months after.

They were all back to "I am appreciate". I was so heartbroken I tried to seek the answer WHY from some of my friends. One friend explained that if these persons hear 'significant' other Thais they look up to use the expression that way, they would probably tend to conform with them rather than stick out like sore thumbs.

How about "I am boring"? To be honest I am afraid to check if they have learned the proper use of that one.

[Tod-Daniels]

It is really hard to get Thais to break out of that "collective mentality", I liken them to the Borg from the old Star Trek Next Generation television series. They were a group of aliens who operated as a "collective consciousness" and the line was "become one with the collective".

As you know all too well "Marie", critical thinking is not a subject or a line of thought which is "in trend" here by any wild stretch of the imagination.

You should be thankful they at least tried what you suggested, even if they were sucked back into "the collective" by the "if he's sayin' it that way, I should to" mindset.

I gave up "tryin' to push that river" a long time ago as far as Thais and their penchant for often times horrifically structured and mangled engrish.

One only needs to look to the current PM, and the famous line to Hillary Clinton which went something along the lines of; "Let me begin by overcome Secretary Clinton to Thailand blah-blah-blah" to know things ain't gonna change much in our lifetimes.

When Thais ask me why I've studied Thai for 4 years, learned to speak/understand read and write it, I always answer, "I had to learn Thai because you guys aren't all that good with English."

Interesting story though "Marie". . . Food for thought. . .

[Betti]

there are a couple of persistent mistakes that are used all over the place (cannot think of any of them at at the moment though), I always guess they must be coming from a particular textbook.
and anyone who's ever seen the official exams administered annually nationwide will simply stop asking questions for good....

[Marie]

there are a couple of persistent mistakes that are used all over the place (cannot think of any of them at at the moment though)...

Is "I am a Thai people" as a way to introduce oneself one of them? I often encounter this. I just did now. (But of course I have learned to live with it.)

[David_Loves_Ubonwan]

Is "I am a Thai people" as a way to introduce oneself one of them? I often encounter this. I just did now. (But of course I have learned to live with it.)

I think that is a sign of a split personality,,,

David