TEFL Phuket News

Imagine that you are the General Manager of a resort in Phuket. 95% of your guests are English speakers but only about 10% of your staff is able to speak English well enough to understand and respond to the most basic of guest requests. The majority of your staff ends up constantly bugging that 10% to ask them to help communicate. Again, this is for simple guest questions about directions, needs or general information. Your number one complaint among your guests is lack of communication with staff. Would you, as the GM be interested in improving your staff’s English?

This is an actual situation we were able to remedy with a 5 star resort in Phuket. We have conducted several classes for them thus far, and they have re-booked our teachers with an aim to improve the English skills of their staff over the long term. Phuket is an international top-ten travel destination. Managers of resorts, restaurants and other businesses know that English = Money.

We currently have 9 contracts of this type of position in Phuket that we can not meet, due to the lack of teaching talent. These jobs are great jobs, working with motivated students and with good salaries & nice benefits in posh settings.

We were recently contacted to provide an English Teacher for a resort on Phi Phi Island. Phi Phi is one of the “can’t miss” destinations for travelers to Southern Thailand. The job included room and board and the schedule was for about 5 hours of teaching 6 days a week – all on an hourly rate of 300 baht each hour. Non-teaching time is free time and there is plenty to do on Phi Phi. They have some of the best full moon beach parties in all of Thailand. This is the type of dream job that comes up all the time in Thailand.

Maybe you want to work at a school. There was a recent article in the Phukette Gazette by the head of Phuket’s Ministry of Education branch. He detailed the over 400-person teacher shortage, primarily in the field of English teaching. Yes, there are plenty of jobs here in Phuket and Thailand at large. We work with a local foundation that has a mandate to fund English education in our local schools, so our school opportunities are among the best in Thailand, too.

The job scene in your home country may not be what it once was, but the job market for English teachers in Asia is extremely good. Consider that it is widely reported that more than a billion people worldwide are attempting to learn English. In China, alone, there are more people studying English than there are American citizens.

Yes, with our help, you can easily find a job. If so, then do you really need a TEFL course? There are several benefits to TEFL:

First - you learn how to be a good teacher. Speaking English fluently does not automatically mean you can teach English. You may have the best of intentions, but you’ll inadvertently end up harming your students without formal training. You need familiarity with the nuts and bolts of teaching English and practice with actual students. Our course is designed to give you both competence and confidence. We have you student teach more than any other course in Thailand, and there is little comparison to on-line only TEFL courses. Would you trust a well-read mechanic who had never held a wrench?

We provide classroom teaching experience which fully prepares you for actual English teaching. Unqualified teachers make the educational process unnecessarily difficult, and at the end of the day it’s the students who suffer. Students and their employers pay well for English lessons and they deserve to have a teacher who knows what he or she is doing.

Second, potential employers are wary of transient types looking only for a quick buck and having no experience or training. They know these people cannot teach and it is a waste of time to hire them. They have probably been burned in the past.

Employers look for a serious commitment to teaching professionalism and proof of qualifications. To gain English teaching employment in Asia, TEFL is a must. A TEFL is required to teach in Thailand and many other Asian countries.

Third, when you register with us, you have a team of experts on the ground working for you. We know about the best jobs, the situations to avoid, how to work out a visa, where to live, and much more. We continually contact our grads about job opportunities.

In short, the students benefit from your professionalism, you benefit by outshining your competition for teaching jobs and your transition to teaching English in Thailand or Asia is smooth. Our mission is your teaching success and we stand behind our graduates. We have a reputation to protect, so will make sure you can teach and that the job you get is a good fit for you – everybody wins.

Our total package of TEFL Course + basic housing comes to US$1400. This is the least expensive TEFL course in Phuket and the best deal in all of Thailand. We have openings in our courses starting this Fall, but our courses tend to fill quickly, as we run smaller class sized to focus on our students’ learning.

Go online to www.TEFLPhuket.com, visit our enroll page, submit your details, and use Paypal to send your $400 deposit to info@teflphuket.com. We can also process credit cards, if you prefer to pay that way. Just drop us a line with your phone number, and we’ll give you a buzz: info@TEFLPhuket.com

See you in Teacher’s paradise soon!

Teaching English is often touted as highly rewarding and fun. But is it really, or is this just another sales job?

English is the language of commerce and travel. It is the default language of international communication. Teaching in Phuket gives the opportunity to teach not only Thai people, but also people from all of Asia. I have encountered travelers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea and Indonesia, during my teaching time in paradise. As our planet becomes more interconnected, everybody needs to learn English. Thus, the demand for English teaching in Asia continues to climb.

People from the above-named countries are able to come to Thailand, book a room, take a couple of hours of class each day and enjoy some rest and relax time on one of Phuket’s famous golden sand beaches. All of this for about the same cost as an English tutor back home. They have studied and learned quite a bit of English on their own - mostly through books, computer programs or non-native speakers. The chance to work on pronunciation, usage and conversation with a real, live native speaker is what they desperately need. This is the only way to learn how to actually speak and hear how English actually sounds when spoken correctly and in person.

Additionally, I have had students from all over Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and even Greece. For these people, basic English conversation is becoming a necessity as well. Again, the market for the services of a teacher continues to grow. There is a seemingly endless stream of people who want and need to learn to speak English.

So is it really fun and rewarding? You might think that working for the better part of an hour on a point of grammar or pronunciation and creating new and interesting ways to approach the material doesn’t sound all that great. But, when they finally get it, and all of your efforts have paid off, then you’ll know.

The smiles on the student’s faces say it all.

Take the average Thai student. They don’t really want to do something unless it is fun. This is part of their “sanook” ethic. Sanook means “fun” in Thai and if a lesson isn’t fun, lively, interesting or attention-grabbing, what’s the point, really? So, my job is to be an entertainer and comedian with a good grasp of English and clear pronunciation skills. Teaching in this relaxed manner with laughter as a healthy part of each lesson is an excellent way to foster a positive learning environment. Mistakes or slips are met with smiles and chuckles - as opposed to a more western model of anxiety or self criticism. The Thai are really onto something here! I have actually learned to relax while working! Thank you, Thailand!

So how to get started? If you are fluent in English, taking a TEFL course is the best way to go. Why? In a month of easy study, you’ll be prepared to teach. The TEFL course covers everything you’ll need to get going and feel confident in front of students. Without a TEFL, you’ll probably over complicate your attempt to teach English and short change your students in the bargain. My students are eager to learn, and since I work at a private school, they have paid good money to do so. Visit our enroll page to review course dates and accommodation options.

Why not have a fun and rewarding adventure in paradise? Join us now!

People always ask me what it is like teaching in Phuket, so here is an average day.

I wake up early, usually about 6 am. Never an early riser in the States, it is surprising how easy it is to get going each day. In Phuket, life is good, and I feel happy for each day spent in paradise. Sometimes, there is a stroll down to the beach for sunrise, as the beach is only 5 minutes from my doorstep. The colors in the sky are amazing, and it is never tiring to look, as the hues of the sky are always shifting & melding and the ocean is usually smooth and calm.

Maybe a quick coffee and danish at a beach side cafe is next, or I can pop back to the house and make a fresh fruit smoothie. There is always fresh fruit in Phuket: mangoes, papaya, Thai kiwi, pineapple and even bananas from my own backyard. Sometimes I do 20 minutes of yoga, sometimes I just sit on the porch and watch the neighborhood wake up � usually with another coffee.

I have my first class at 8 or 9 in the morning. The type of class is usually varied. Some days it is a one-on-one private with a Thai student who is preparing for higher education. Other days is is a small group of Thai who are interested in improving their English conversation ability. I also teach small groups of up to 8 or 10. Working at a private school, there is an emphasis on small class sizes to ensure quality of teacher to student interaction. The majority of my classes have less than 3 students.

After 2 or 3 hours of teaching, there is usually free time until my next class, so lunch is a leisurely affair. Thai food is incredible - the subtlety of flavors and exotic spices are always an adventure. My tongue grew up on pretty plain American food! I love Thai fried noodles sauteed with fresh shrimp or chicken. A close runner up is Tom Yum Koong � a spicy soup with shrimp, fresh Thai vegetables and chillies, of course.

I have rediscovered the lost art of napping and a light afternoon siesta is a wonderful thing. Generally, there are a couple more hours of teaching in the afternoon or evening and then, dinner. More delicious Thai food or occasionally a hamburger or some fried chicken. The chicken is fresh here and the flavor is dramatically better that back home in the States.

At some point during my day, I review each class asking � what I have been able to teach each student, what do we still need to work on and where we might go next? For 5 hours of teaching, this takes about an hour, so you could say work time is about 6 hours each day. Each classroom hour gets me about 300 baht. I teach only 5 days a week and earn about 30,000 baht a month. That is about $1000.

Maybe it does not sound like much, but my rent is only 6000 baht a month with utilities, and it’s a sweet place. Meals run me 100 baht on average � and that is top notch fresh food. So there is about 15000 baht each month to play with. I can rent a motorbike and explore the island, go out and have a few beers with friends or take the occasional scuba trip to some of the best diving on the planet, with money left over each month. There are western movies here, an Apple store (so gotta get the latest ipod) and the night markets are a true adventure � so much to be had for a song!

It would be difficult for me to explain how fortunate I feel to have made the change and created a new life for myself here in Thailand. Earning a TEFL certificate was the key to a wonderful and relaxed life. The Thai people are the best on Earth. They are friendly, generous and always ready with a huge smile. But that is another post…

See you soon -

Thomas

TEFL Phuket has teamed up with Anna’s Language School, a provider of TEFL Certification for 12 years in Phuket, Thailand. We are very excited about this and look forward to offering more services and experience to our already robust curriculum. Anna’s Language School