Teaching in Thailand

Great thanks Steph!

Maybe you could write a new blog inviting anyone with questions about the Thai internship? Lisa was on the Poland internship and did something that worked well:

http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/troy2011/posts/8157-ask-me-anything-about-the-poland-internship

Sure you'll have a lot of excited people wanting to hear your stories!

Katie

Sawadee Kaa!! Yes thats correct! 

Oh thats good to hear thank you, I am sure she will be very pleased to hear from you. As far as I am aware there are many jobs available in the North East region that she can help out with. Yes I willing to share details or my experience with anyone who is interested :) 

Steph 

Sawatdee Kaa! I sure hope that's correct...

I'm really enjoying your posts and learning lots about Thai life from them! I'm just stopping by also to say you and your coordinator might be interested to know we're launching a TEFL jobs board on our site in the next few weeks and it's completely free to advertise as many TEFL jobs as you like on there.

I've sent a your coordinator's email address to my colleague, so he'll also be dropping your coordinator an email to give them further details.

Can't wait to hear more about your experience!

Katie

....Sorry...i have gone on for ages!! I have only just realised I have so much to say hahaha. I hope I haven't put you off or anything...it really had been the best experience of my life. Just relax.. and don't take things too seriously. Also be aware of 'Thai Time' which I am sure you will get used to pretty quick. :P On my first day my driver didn't pick my up until 2hours later... so I was panicking as I was over 2hours late for my first day. They DO NOT care. Their response is 'No worries' (well 'Mai Pen Rai' in Thai). It's great. I hope you have a great time! I am slightly jealous as I want to be doing it all over again. Just enjoy it :) Feel free to ask me again if you have any more questions. I will try not to rant as much!

Take Care,

Steph

....Students are fab as well. Literally broke my heart to leave the school. They are so polite.. but when it came to teaching them they are very shy and don't say a word. I had expected them to know basic English but they knew nothing. Or at least they acted like they didn't, but a lot of it is just lack of confidence. So it was pretty much one big game of charades for me, which was amusing for them! haha. Once you get them on side and show that they can make mistakes and have fun with you they wont leave you alone and follow you around the school! They are all very lovely and both students and staff compliment you ALL the time. I felt that they were taking the pee a little at first.. but they are generally just being nice. They will never tell you if you do anything wrong and never correct you, which again is annoying as we are on the internship to learn.. but take it with a pinch of salt and do what you think is right. They will agree with you no matter what. If you have a question for them, ask it in a way where they can't say 'yes'as their answer... it is the only way they will tell you what you are supposed to be doing. haha. I turned up to one to my first lessons with a particular class... taught the whole 50minutes with a thai teaching at the back watching. Very off putting but i assumed she was just observing me to see how i get on. When I was taking down the students names at the end, it was then I realised they werent my class. I then asked the teacher what class they were and she casually said "oh no they are not yours, they are mine, I was supposed to teach them". Very embarrassing, but funny at the same time. She found it amusing anyway!! haha.....

Hey! 

Regarding Visas I believe you have to apply for a non immigrant B visa, and I would apply for this at the Hull embassy as the service there is pretty good. I would recommend getting a multiple entry visa if you wish to travel a bit whilst you teach. This is my regret, as some of my friends were having little weekend trips to Cambodia etc, but I couldn't as I only had a single entry visa. They sort out the extention for you once you start working, probably around January, but you don't have to do anything before hand for this. My coordinator extended the visa until one month after I finished teaching to allow us to travel thailand a bit more before moving on to a different country which was good. I am sure your coordinator will do the same as many interns hope to travel after!
Thailand is amazing. I have absolutely loved it here and I plan on coming back next year to teach more. As for the teaching you get thrown straight in to it. I was teaching in a secondary school in the north east and on the first day they gave me a tiny bit of paper with my timetable on... This was all the preparation i was given. Pretty daunting! haha.  I had to find my own way around the school etc and introduce myself to both students and staff. The first month..i will be honest..i really didnt like it. I didn't get told anything about what was going on. Some days i would turn up to find that no students were learning that day for some reason or another..(this is good on the whole as its a nice break for you..but annoying when you have been up half the night planning a lesson.) After a while i just got used to not knowing anything and just take things with a pinch of salt. The Thais are so laid back, nothing like anywhere else i have been. They turn up to their lessons when they fancy, and leave when they want. So all in all some do very little teaching. The atmosphere is so nice though, very relaxed. Great for first time teaching....

Hey!

I've applied to do the Thailand internship in October. Do you have any tips, especially on the likes of visas etc that you think would help? I've never travelled to Thailand before, and would love to learn more about it, as well as about the teaching aspect of the internship.

Thanks,

Shauna