Hello, everyone! I've been teaching in Thailand for over four years now. Crazy I know! I really love it here now but when I first arrived I found it quite hard to understand completely what was expected of me and I had a few problems understanding the culture and settling into my school. And that's why I'm writing this! I wanted to make this blog in case it would help any teachers who are just about to come and teach in Thailand.
Tip 1: Be punctual
Whilst "Thai time" is definitely a thing, it does not apply to working hours, so remember to be on time! The other teachers will not appreciate it if you are late. Also, remember if you're coming to Thailand to teach because you mainly want to travel Thailand, keep the travelling outside of the teaching hours, again, in Thailand they won't appreciate if you're off sick a lot because you've been off galavanting (or island hopping).
Tip 2: Dress politely
Teachers are very highly respected in Thailand so it is of the utmost importance that you dress polite conservative 'teacher' clothing! Girls, they like it if you wear skirts, make sure it's on your knees or below your knees, failing that wear some tailored trousers (if you can stand them in the heat!). Boys, you have no choice unless you can rock a skirt. Everyone will need to wear shirts which cover their shoulders and that are in no way see-through too (students will pick up on that bit of bra showing, trust me.) Finally, you will need to wear closed-toe shoes.
Oh and if you have any tattoos on show, try and cover them up.
Oh and if you have any tattoos on show, try and cover them up.
Tip 3: Smile
Thailand is known as the land of smiles as you probably will already know and they really like it when you smile! From my experience, I've learnt that Thai people tend to like teachers who smile a lot and try and communicate. Students will love it if you're smiley and happy too!
Tip 4: Have fun
Have fun whilst teaching! Students love to play games and just laugh!
Don't try and make the teaching too serious, that will probably just scare the students and make them not want to learn English. A lot of students in Thailand are fine at things like grammar and writing, as they learn this a lot from the teachers - they're just not confident in speaking English. So yeah! Make your lessons fun and try to give the students a chance to speak and hopefully, this will build up their confidence with English!
Tip 5: Don't stress
Thailand can be a bit disorganised sometimes. Not in a really bad way, they just aren't as planned out as we are in the West. Try not to stress about it and just go with the flow because one thing I have learnt is that things in Thailand thing just have a funny way of working out!
I have no idea how but they just do!
:)
Lots of love 'n' stuff
Cola
:)
Lots of love 'n' stuff
Cola
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