We Hardly Ever Teach!!!

"how many classes do we have cancelled today?"

This is the running joke me and my fellow teachers have in the staffroom each morning as the head of English gives us our daily lesson cancellations. 

The second semester in Thai government schools (Nov - March) are always very stop-start as the students take part in a lot of activities. This makes lesson planning very hard because its impossible to second guess which lessons are going to be cancelled and you usually only find out about it 5 minutes before anyway!

Whilst some of the reasons for cancellations are understandable i.e. preparing for GAT tests, competitions etc some are not so...

• "students are very tired today... yesterday was  loy krathon"
• "students are cleaning car park because we have visit  from education area"
• "students will have a concert today"
• "students have to practice thai dancing"
• "students will have a uniform inspection"

Whilst it may sound nice to have all this free time the truth is we still have to stay at school so it just means that we end up sitting around for hours doing nothing. Personally I'd much rather teach!

Championship Manger: The Teaching in Thailand Edition

Anybody who has played the legendary championship manager or football manager series will know that it's vitally important to keep your players happy in order to ensure good performances.

I have found that the personal status of players in the game are often used by teachers in Thailand too. What do you think?

Common Personal Statuses

• Is excited by the new challenge
• Every teacher goes through this stage in the first month. It is the time when everything is new and exciting.

• Is happy with the conditions at the club currently
• After the first month this stage normally kicks in until there is a problem.

• Is content with the conditions at the club currently
• This is the position most teachers find themselves in neither particularly happy or unhappy in their job.

• Feels he was bought to the club under false pretences
• This is usually seen by teachers who have been assured that their 2 year diploma from Maidstone technical college would be recognised or they thought they could teach legally without a degree.

• Wants to be paid what he deserves
• This is usually when the teacher has been asked to do activities outside of their contract or they've been looking at jobs in China or Korea.

• Is homesick
• This is common in younger teachers who have never really travelled before.

• Struggling to adapt to Thai culture
• This is usually seen after Thai bureaucracy has been witnessed or they have been asked to pass everyone in their class regardless of ability for the first time.

• Feels he need to leave in order to further his career
• This is most common in younger teachers who have ambitions to establish themselves in either in their home country or in a more developed country. 

• Has personal problems with John
• Personal problems between foreign teachers in the staffroom can be common and I'm sure fights have broken out in some schools.

• Has lost faith in his manager
• This is if they had any faith in their head of department in the first place.

Transfer Statuses

• Refused a work permit
• This is usually teachers without a degree who have been granted a non b based on a future work permit application that will never be accepted because they don't have a degree. They need to do a visa run ASAP!

• Currently considering a new contract from the club
• Usually occurs in February or March when they are asking the question should I stay or should I go?

• Has instructed his agent to look for a new club
• The teacher wants to stay in Thailand but wants to change school so they give the agency a ring. The agency will probably be reluctant to help unless you are firm.

• Leaving on a Bosman
• They have decided to head off to pastures new.

• Given a free transfer
• The school has had enough of you and haven't renewed your contract. You might know why or you might be left in the dark.

I would like to see Thailand made available as a playable league in the series so that we can see statuses such as

• On a visa run
• Has chronic diarrhoea
• Is refusing to take part in training camp 
• Believes his agent is stealing money from him
• Is questioning the system

Teaching in Thailand: Typical Day

Teaching in Thailand is a great way to travel the country and see new things and teachers are lucky enough to not only be able to take advantage of the weekends and long school holidays but also the various public holidays which are spread throughout the school year. This gives you plenty of time to travel but what about the standard mid week day which is perhaps not quite so exciting and glamorous. 

This is an example of a midweek day in the life of a teacher in Thailand along with some thoughts. 

**The content is based on the daily routines of a few different teachers**

7:00am - Wake Up 

I really should have woken up a little earlier, it's going to be a rush to take a shower and get all my gear together but it's fine because I only live a three minute motorbike ride away from school!

7.30am - Arrive at school

We have to arrive before the students meet for their daily assembly at 7.45am where they will sing the nation anthem, say their prayers and catch up on any announcements. Luckily as foreigners we are allowed to skip the assembly and relax in the staff room until classes begin at 8.30am. A perfect time to catch up on the breakfast and grab the coffee I missed out on earlier.

8.30am - 10.10am - Teach

Teach two classes of M6 students (18 year olds) They are generally quite switched on and I am very lucky to have them and not the M2 or M3 classes. Walk pass another teacher who is struggling to control the rowdy 14 years olds. I'm not sure how long I would last in there. 

10.10am - 11.30am - Downtime

A bit of downtime means preparing my lessons for my private classes after school. The school has a printer and no one's checking what you print so I take advantage and print colour flashcards for my P6 students after school. 

11.30am - 12.30pm - Lunch

Lunch Break. Head off with the other foreign teachers to a local restaurant so we can all analyse the morning and have a bit of a moan. Can't go wrong with 35 baht Kaprow Gai and it's cooked fresh unlike the food at the school canteen which has been sitting around for quite a while by this point. The other guys like to go out because they need a cigarette. I'm lucky I gave up 3 years ago.

12.40pm - 2.20pm - Teach

Another couple of back to back M6 classes. The students are fine and we get through the work quickly. I also teach some of the M1 students. They are also nice to teach because they are so young. If you are given the choice of what grades to teach go with M1 & M6 (M5 are ok too). These grades will give you the least amount of stress and are the easiest to teach.

2.20pm - 4.00pm - Downtime

The afternoon downtime. One of the advantages or possibly one of the disadvantages of teaching is the amount of free time you get. In an ideal world it would be nice to have a hobby you could do in the office but most teachers don't. The afternoon is spent messing about on social media, chatting with the other teachers and catching up with an episode of that TV show I downloaded last night. 

4.20pm - Hometime

Arrive home and immediately take a shower. Work clothes are then instantly put back on and I head off to my private class.

5.00pm - 6.30pm - Extra Class

My private classes mainly consist of primary school students and whilst this is not my preferred age group to teach the language school does provide an assistant teacher to help keep order. The class mainly consists of flashcards and basic communication. I Prefer the privates with the M6 students which are mainly spent listening to them gossip about teachers at school. I guess it's OK as they are practicing their English. 

7.00pm - Dinner

Grab some dinner from a small restaurant near my house. The food is inexpensive and they actually serve good portion sizes. I try not to spend too much money in the week so I usually skip a beer unless others insist on having one.  

8.00pm - Relax

Some other people like to go to the gym in the evening but I'm usually far to lazy and just want to relax at home. I don't have a TV so I'm always downloading stuff to watch overnight. I spend a couple of hours watching TV programs, catching up on social nets and possibly a Skype call back home.

10.00pm - Bed

Usually feeling pretty tired by this point. It's a long day because unlike in the west where jobs usually start at 9 we have to be at school by 7.30. Slowly drift off watching some random thing on the computer. 

Up again early in the morning. Weekend soon :)

Teaching In Thailand: Agency vs. Direct Hire

If you have decided that you want to come and teach English in Thailand then one of the first questions you will ask yourself is how will I find a job? The internet is awash wish job listings and the general consensus seems to be that there are more then enough jobs to go around. If you look carefully at these job listings though you will see that many of them have been posted by one user who is usually an agent connecting schools with foreign teachers. 

Don't be put off by going through an agency certainly at the beginning. The truth is that most schools don't advertise on these websites and will find their teachers either though an agency or from candidates who have personally contacted the school either prospectively or through word of mouth. If you are new to the country and don't feel confident or comfortable hitting the streets with your CV in the the blaring Thai heat then an agency might well be the way forward for you. There are of course good agencies and bad agencies and I have come across some absolute horror stories in my time of agencies literally stealing thousands of baht from it's employees. I have worked for two agencies in Thailand and have been very lucky that they are both reputable stand up operations who have their teachers best interests at heart. 

The role of the agency is to find it's clients (the schools) employees who are reputable and qualified to teach in their organisation. The agency makes its money by taking a percentage of the salary from the employee which they have placed at the school. The most common remuneration package for government schools in the south of Thailand is that the school pays 35,000 baht per month and the agency takes 5000 baht leaving the employee with 30,000 baht. The fact that the agency is taking money every month from the salary leaves them with a duty of care to the employees they have placed in the schools. The best agencies will offer full support with settling in for example help with finding accommodation and transportation etc and then provide ongoing support while you are working for them. Most agencies will employ coordinators whose sole job is taking care of the teachers and dealing with all the paperwork which is involved. My agency is very good at this and the coordinator who lives in town is very approachable and eager to help.

(My first school was very rural)

30,000 baht per month is the most common salary for employees at government schools even if they are direct hire and there is no agency involved. The main difference is that the schools which hire their staff directly will invariably pay for the total cost or the work permit and one year visa and do all of the paperwork involved with this. The truth is however that the paperwork involved with hiring a foreign worker legally and attaining a work permit is colossal and requires quite a good knowledge of the system. Many schools either have problems with the paperwork, don't have the required knowhow or simply 'forget' to apply for the work permit leaving the employee forced to do border runs every three months and working illegally. Most schools in the city know exactly how the work permit process works but if you are going to work for a school directly make sure that they are going to apply for the work permit and that they have actually done it before!

The agency will take care of your work permit and visa but you will usually have to cover the costs of these yourself although some agencies are now starting to cover the work permit costs themselves which is good to see. If you work for an agency you should remember that while you technically work for the school, you actually for all intensive purposes work for the agency. This means that most of the time they will be the ones you deal with if you have any problems at work. I actually think that one of the reasons Thai schools like to use agencies is because they don't like conflict. In the west we are used to a culture where we can talk directly to our superiors in a firm but respectful manner about any grievances or problems we may have. In the west if we had a problem with our salary we would go ahead and talk directly with the head of finance who is responsible for our salaries but in Thailand you would have to go through a bizarre chain of command in order to have your problem dealt with or someone might loose face!. The schools feel comfortable that the agent can talk to the teacher and then address the matter with the school in a respectful 'thai' way. If you work for the school directly you are more likely be thrown into the Thai bureaucratic system at the deep end without any support mechanism which can leave you feeling helpless. 

(Transport from my first agency - it was a small town) 

The schools also like to use agencies because they can easily change teachers at the end of the year without having to have too much dialogue about performance etc. The schools know that the agency will send them a brand new native English speaking teacher next year and so the process continues. Most agencies know the value of a native speaker in Thailand and as long as you weren't sacked for gross misconduct or were a terribly poor teacher they will find you another school because they usually have lots on their books. Another potential problem with working for an agency is that if they were to fall out with the school then they could simply employ a different agent, which means that you would have to leave regardless of how good you were at your job. It is very rare to be offered a direct contract from a school which you have worked at as an agency worker and I imagine the most clued up agencies would have clauses in their contracts with the schools which prohibit this unless compensation was paid. 

(Apartment from my first agency)

I would recommend that unless you personally know people in the area that you want to live who can help you find a school then you should use an agency when first coming to teach in Thailand. I would also recommend those who are coming to teach English in Thailand as a sort of 'gap year experience' use an agency too. The agency will help you with settling in and take care of the work permit and visa situation for you so you can concentrate on teaching and enjoying yourself. If at the end of your contract you decide that you would like to stay longer then you could then use the contacts you have made as a teacher on the ground to search for a new job which is direct hire. If you decide to search for a direct hire job after working for an agency try your best not to burn your bridges because you never know when you might need them again, they do have a large number of schools remember. 

Thailand: Work Permit & Visa Renewal Process

This is a two part post which demonstrates the typical process of applying for and renewing a work permit and visa as a teacher in Thailand.

Those who live in and work in the kingdom of Thailand know that whether they like it or not, once a year they will be required to renew their documentation to remain in the country for another year. This has always been a contentious issue for a large number of long term expats who feel aggrieved that they have to effectively ask permission to remain in the country each year with no consideration or reward given for their investment in the country.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Part two (Renewing Visa & Work Permit)

In Part One of this post we talked about the typical process one would go through when applying for a work permit and visa in Thailand. 

If you offered a new contract from your current employer and you would like to stay for another year you will be required to extend your work permit and obtain a new visa for the forthcoming year. The paperwork involved with both the application and renewal of a work permit are mammoth including various copies of the directors i.d, maps of the school and even details of the schools financial position (if private). This should however not be your concern and either your school or agency will know exactly what is required for the work permit. 

The first stage of renewing your work permit is to check the status of either your teachers licence or waiver to teach without a licence. Teachers licences are valid for five years before they need renewing, whereas waivers to teach without a licence are only valid for two years. Teachers who hold a waiver to teach without a licence are given an initial two years which can be extended subsequently for another two years providing they have taken part in the 'thai culture course'. The official rules from the TCT state a maximum of two waivers (maximum four years) will be given and that during this time the teacher must become 'fully qualified' to receive a full teachers licence. It is worth noting at this stage that the waiver you receive is permission to teach in your current school. If you change school at any point you will be given a new waiver and you will loose any time on your current waiver. 

*Please note that I believe that if you were only at the school for a short period of time (i.e. less then four months) that this waiver will not count towards your total count. I was at my first school for six months but only held a work permit for three months and the TCT gave me a new waiver for my next school without taking part in the thai culture course.*

The current route to becoming a 'qualified teacher' is to either take a degree in education or to sit the TCT professional knowledge and ethics tests. Both methods require that a thai culture course certificate be obtained as well. Let's be honest the vast majority of teachers are not going to want to pursue a degree in education merely for the purposes of teaching in a Thai government school. If they did want to obtain a degree in education they would then be suitably qualified to work at an international school, which attracts more pay and doesn't actually require a thai teachers licence, so most people will look to taking the TCT tests. There are four tests each with varying levels of difficulty which in theory can be taken in one day (nobody passes them all at once though). The main complaint about the tests is that the standard of English used in the tests makes the answers ambiguous and very difficult to work out. In theory you will have multiple attempts at these tests providing that you start the process early enough. It is worth noting that the thai teachers who wish to obtain a licence have to take nine tests, so maybe we should feel lucky to only have to take four (just a thought) 

*YOU CAN CHECK THE CURRENT STATUS OF YOUR TEACHER LICENCE USING YOUR PASSPORT NUMBER HERE - Check Foreign Licence*

Current Situation (March 2014)

• The TCT has currently suspended the thai culture course and has not announced when it will be running again. 

• The TCT has also not announced the details for the next set of tests which had been due to be announced in January.

Teachers who are needing to obtain new waivers to extend their work permits (myself included) are being given work permit and visa extensions for a full year without the usual requirements due to there being no possible way for them to comply at the current time. I can confirm this to be 100% true because I have just extended my work permit and visa until 31st March 2015 but my teachers licence ends in July 2014. I cannot confirm whether a new two year waiver has been given at this point though. 

Once you are in possession of a waiver to teach without a licence for a full year you can apply to extend the work permit. This is done at the local labour office and the renewal of the work permit is actually quite an easy stress free process (providing all the documents are in order). The process typically takes 7 days but smaller offices take much less then this. You must leave your work permit at the office during this period. 

(a work permit book which has been renewed two times)

'but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes'

—Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789

Yes that's right just because you live in Thailand doesn't mean the tax man is off your back, but i'm guessing that he's not going to be as much of a burden then in your home country. The truth is that the tax situation in comparison to most other countries in extremely generous. I am no expert on the Thai tax system but I have been told that the rate is 3% of your total salary for employees but much more for businesses or those who are self employed. There is no universal monthly tax system i.e PAYE(UK) so most people settle their tax bills at the end of the financial year. I am going to assume that there is a minimum threshold of which you can earn before you pay tax because my last tax bill was (thankfully) much less then I had anticipated. My income comes from my teaching job of which i'm paid 30,000 baht per month. My last tax bill was 870 baht so I cannot accurately conclude how this was calculated.

(Receipt for tax paid)        

Armed with your renewed work permit and the receipt for your paid tax you can head to immigration to extend your visa for another year. The immigration official will check through all of your paperwork and providing everything is in order you will receive a brand new stamp in your passport (full page). Please see below a full list of what was required for my latest work permit and visa renewal and their costs.

1. Work Permit (3,100 baht)
2. Visa (1,900 baht)
3. Tax (870 baht)
4. Official Stamp (400 baht)
5. Health Clinic Certificate (40 baht)

Total: 6,310 baht

(one year extension visa stamp)         

If you would like to leave the country at any point during the time you hold your visa you will be required to purchase a re-entry permit. Those who travel frequently in and out of the country should purchase a multi reentry permit (3,800 baht) which entitles you to unlimited trips throughout your visa period. I myself who only anticipates taking two trips out of the country find it more cost affective to purchase two single reentry permits (1,000 baht each). In order to apply for these permits all that is required is a passport photo and the fee. It is vitally important that you obtain these permits prior to leaving the country because if you leave without one you effectively cancel your visa. If you do not obtain these prior to travel you WILL only be given a tourist visa on reentry to the country and will have to reapply for a work permit and visa again from scratch. I am sure your employer will not be amused particularly if they have paid for the work permit and visa!!!.

(single entry reentry stamp in passport)        

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

follow me on twitter

@souththaiexpat

Thailand: Work Permit & Visa Application Process

This is a two part post which demonstrates the typical process of applying for and renewing a work permit and visa as a teacher in Thailand.

Those who live in and work in the kingdom of Thailand know that whether they like it or not, once a year they will be required to renew their documentation to remain in the country for another year. This has always been a contentious issue for a large number of long term expats who feel aggrieved that they have to effectively ask permission to remain in the country each year with no consideration or reward given for their investment in the country.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Part one (Applying for a Visa & Work Permit) 

There are a number of different visas that foreigners can obtain to remain in Thailand. The vast majority of the foreigners you will see here will be in possession of tourist visas or visa exemption stamps, these give them permission to remain for a limited time for the sole purposes of travel. It is however not uncommon for teachers to work on these tourist visas, particularly if they perhaps don't have the required qualifications to obtain a work permit. 

Long term residents of Thailand normally have possession of a 'non immigrant visa'. These are split into a number of categories but the most common are 'non o' (marriage) and 'non b' (working). I myself am not married and work in a local government school on a non immigrant b visa.

(first non immigrant b visa stamp)

When you first sign your contract with the school you will be issued with the documentation to obtain a non immigrant b visa. In order to get this stamped into your passport you will need to apply at either an embassy or a consulate outside of the country. The vast majority of people in the south of Thailand choose to do this at the consulate in Penang, Malaysia and the whole process can be completed in a just a few days. I actually had my documentation sent to my home in England before I came to Thailand and I received my visa from the Thai consulate in Hull. 

Upon your entry to the country you will be given permission to remain for three months. It is your responsibility to obtain a work permit during this period so that the visa can be extended for a full calendar year or until the end of the term of employment (whichever comes first). 

Teachers who are teaching in OBEC Schools (basically every school with the exception of universities and private language companies) will be required to obtain the required documentation from the TCT (Thailand Teaching Council). This takes the form of either a teachers licence or a waiver to teach without a licence. A full teachers licence can be obtained by having a degree in education e.g. PGCE and having taken part in the 'thai culture course'. Most people however will have be applying for a waiver to teach without a licence. This waiver gives the holder permission to teach at the school for a period of two years.

Applicant who wish to apply for a waiver to teach without a license must have a degree from a recognised university, TEFL certificate and a recent criminal records check. The degree can be in any field and does not have to have any relation to teaching whatsoever. It is worth noting that those applying to the TCT from countries considered not to be 'native english speaking' (all countries except AUS, CAN, NZ, IRE, UK, USA) will be required to sit a TOEIC examination prior to application. 

(Thai Work Permit Book)

Once the process has been completed you will be the proud owner of a blue work permit (cost 3,100 baht) and an extension of your visa until the end of the contract (cost 1,900 baht). The whole process will normally take the better half of the three months on your initial visa but it has been known for the process to take longer, resulting in applicants having to do another visa run and start the application process again from scratch (not fun!!!) 

If you thought that the reward for that long winded process was to be required to have nothing to do with immigration for twelve months, i'm afraid you were wrong. You are required to report to immigration every three months to 'confirm' your current address. It's actually more of a minor inconvenience then a problem because the whole process is completed in a couple of minutes (providing you don't live in an area with many foreigners) and is free. The date is confirmed by a slip being stapled into your passport and you are free to attend 7 days before, if this is more convenient for you to do so.

(date to attend immigration for '90 day reporting' attached to your passport)

Part two of this article will be about the process of renewing the work permit, teachers licence and visa. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Follow me on twitter 

@souththaiexpat