TEFL Thailand Blog

Here is an example of why Thailand is a wonderful place to spend some time teaching English.

We have a student, Johnny, who earned his TEFL certificate with us and is teaching in one of our schools, and he shared a lovely story with me.

He had a minor motorbike accident – he slipped out in some loose sand on the road – and scraped up a knee and foot. Johnny did the standard “no insurance” thing, washed his wounds and put a small bandage on them.

Later that day, several new Thai friends were visiting him – he had met them once or twice before. They saw what he described as his “amateur attempts” at being his own doctor. Without prompting, they pulled his bandages off, checked his injuries, pronounced them no good, and as he said: “one went this way, one went that way, and the third went another way.” His Thai friends returned with an assortment of medicines, cleaned his wounds, applied some various salves and bandaged him up correctly. All of this was done without request or compensation.

Later, when he was out and about, his landlady cleaned his apartment, changed his bedding, and left his home spotless. Again, without prompting by Johnny.

He has healed perfectly, with only some minor scars and a beautiful story.

Simply put, the Thai people are incredibly compassionate and caring, unlike anything you may have ever encountered.

Do yourself a favor and come to Thailand when you can. Your spirit will be refreshed and your heart will be touched by the gentleness and beauty of Thailand and her people.

Thanks to Johnny for the story and to the Thai people for being ambassadors of kindness to the world.

Many of our potential students wonder: Is it possible to teach English in Thailand without speaking the Thai language?

YES you can teach as knowledge of Thai is not necessary to teach English in Thailand.

In fact, speaking Thai in your classes can be a hindrance to the progress of your students.

TEFL is Teaching English as a Foreign Language. This means the language spoken locally, outside of the classroom, is not English. This is different than EFL or ESL and sometimes TESOL which are generally taught in an English-speaking country. The difference is that your class time may be the only time that your students are easily and safely (without risk of embarrassment) able to practice their English. To speak Thai with them, or to rely on their mother tongue for instruction, would mean they lose valuable English practice time and opportunity.

We view the classroom as a safe place in which errors in English are welcomed as opportunities to learn. Your role as teacher is pronunciation coach and usage adviser. As a native speaker, you have a natural “ear” for what sounds correct. English is highly irregular in some situations, and a native’s knowledge is irreplaceable for students learning to speak well.

Thai may sometimes be used to clarify a point or as an aid in definitions, but the absolute majority (99%) of your classroom time should be speaking English with your students. It is possible to use an online dictionary or translation service to give a general idea of meaning, as well. Plus Google image search can help with pictures of things, emotions or activities. There are also online videos from YouTube and other sites, which can be beneficial, but these should be pre-screened.

In our training, we emphasize maximizing student talk time (STT) rather than teacher talk time (TTT). You can speak English, your students cannot. So we engage our students, teach them a bit of new English, then set up a safe “free practice” opportunity. Thus, they learn with confidence and in an enjoyable manner, so they learn better and more quickly.

Thus, near-native proficiency in English is the only language skill necessary to be successful Teaching English in Asia.

For more information on registering for the course, please click here.

Thanks for your interest and see you in Phuket soon!

Sawatdee – The Thai equivalent of Aloha!