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[m567144]

Sorry just coming very late to this topic. I see lots of talk recently about Thailand looking for native speaking English Teachers. Is this now a priority or do you need formal qualification. Background I have a young thai daughter but am not married to the mother. I am a native English speaker from UK. Currently I work in Oman. I am a degree educated, professionally qualified accountant. I am also a Fellow of the UK Institute of Directors and have held senior finance roles eg CFO. I will soon be 55 years old and was thinking that what would be nice is to come to Thailand and teach English and watch my daughter grow up.  Is there any chance of this? I was thinking of getting the TEFL qualification if this would help. It seems a shame if Thailand is serious about developing English that this would not be worthwhile. The alternative is of course that I will "retire" to Thailand and the only one to benefit will be my daughter re Engish abaility.

please advise

[Scott]

The gov't is talking about a scheme to hire native speakers, but how and when this will materialize--if it does at all--is anybody's guess.

If you have a degree, you will probably be able to find work.  If you take a TEFL it will increase your chances.  If you have experience, I will be very surprised if you don't get a job fairly easily.

I am assuming that you are not teaching in Oman.

The money will be a lot less than you are currently lacking--maybe 35,000 baht per month.  The work will be difficult.

Best of luck and keep us posted.  Feel free to ask any questions that pop up.

[m567144]

Yes I am not currently a teacher. I will try to speak to some schools in Udon Thani where we live. Hopefully I will see out my contract (another 15 months) here first but I will keep you updated. again many thanks for the advice.

[rrac]

I was looking into teaching in Thailand a couple of years ago but decided to stay in Korea for a while. Now it looks like my (American) wife's company may transfer her to the company's Bangkok office later this year so  I'm back in the markert.

What will I need to do to get a teacher's license? I have an MEd degree from a US Univ, I also have a Texas (no jokes about Texas being backassward, I'm from Austin, its the rest of the state) Teaching credential and have been teaching at the univ. level here in Korea for 13 years. I was also planning to do a TESOL or CELTA course once we got settled in down there as it will likely be after the second semester has started.

thanks

[Scott]

Universities are not known to pay very well in Thailand, so depending on your financial needs, you may want to consider other options.  If you teach at the University level, you do not need a Teacher's License.  Language schools usually don't require a TL.

If you teach in grade school/high school, you will need one.  Usually, you will be granted a waiver, which is good for 2 years; you will have to take the Thai Cultural Course, With a degree in education, you should be eligible to get a TL rather easily, while jumping through a minimum of hoops.

[jji23]

A friend of mine wants to know if its possible to obtain a Thai teachers licence with a bachelor of education (life experience) degree? He has already obtained a work permit with it for a school in BKK.

Also what would really happen if he was caught? Imprisonment for fraud? deportation?

I've seen him teach and he is absolutely fantastic with the kids, really puts in a lot of effort.

Thanks for any info

[Scott]

I very, very much doubt that he would receive one.  The school and the degree would have to be accredited.  Very unlikely.

The degree is not necessarily fraudulent, but it is most likely not issued by an accredited school.

[jji23]

His degree is 'accredited' by that I mean he has a verification letter from them and I think the person who wants verification is able to contact them. However, if you went on their website, a native English speaking person would quickly work out what they're about!

What are the key differences between obtaining a teachers licence and obtaining a work permit, which he has already obtained with this degree? Wasn't his degree initially verified to get work permit? So, if it passed once for work permit, why wouldn't it for the teachers licence?

[Scott]

I have been told that the Ministry of Education, and I would assume the TCT, have a list of accredited/unaccredited schools.  To what extent this is true, or how often it actually used, I don't know.  If someone has been given a Work Permit on the basis of an existing degree, then they have a good chance of continuing to get a Work Permit.

Where I work, the MOL, has been quite pedantic about not granting WP's for those with less than a Bachelor's Degree.  A few years back, we had a person with a 3-year degree who had a WP from a previous school and he was granted a WP for our school.

In Thailand, like a lot of other places, it is the roll of the dice.

There is a difference between a verification of a degree and an accredited school.  Many of the diploma mills will verify the degree.  They will also provide a transcript.  But they are not accredited schools.  The degree is not necessarily fraudulent.

I am aware of schools, primarily in the US, which are 'real' schools, but they are not accredited.  Many of these are Bible Colleges.

[Xangsamhua]

Scott, on 2012-03-23 06:21:54, said:

Where I work, the MOL, has been quite pedantic about not granting WP's for those with less than a Bachelor's Degree.  A few years back, we had a person with a 3-year degree who had a WP from a previous school and he was granted a WP for our school.

I am aware of schools, primarily in the US, which are 'real' schools, but they are not accredited.  Many of these are Bible Colleges.

Scott, are you suggesting that a 3-year degree is not a "real" degree?  My old alma mater, Melbourne University - 37th in Times Higher Education world university rankings overall - still awards Bachelor's degrees in Arts, Science and Commerce after three years' study.  University of Sydney (58th) does the same.

I'm not suggesting a 3-year foundation degree is a comprehensive higher education, but, snobbish or otherwise, a 3-year degree from a top university may be worth at least as much as a 4-year degree from some other accredited places.

And are Bible Colleges "real schools"?  Would a 4-year degree from a Bible College be worth more as a teaching qualification than a 3-year degree from Melbourne or Sydney University?  I have nothing against Bible Colleges, which probably do a fine job for the purpose for which they were founded, but I don't think they were founded to give a comprehensive, open-minded and academically rigorous education outside the limited framework of their worldview.

[Scott]

The 3 year degree was NOT a Bachelor's Degree.

What I think or my opinion is of little value.  It is what the TCT and the Ministry of Education think that is important.

[Permin]

If you have a friend, Thai national & lawyer you'll get the papers needed.

Without us farangs in Thailand.. Good luck.

[Xangsamhua]

I'm sorry, I may have misread you.  I haven't been following the thread.

I didn't know there was any "degree" that took less than 3 years.

Does the MoE or TCT have any ruling on how long a Bachelor's degree must take?

[Scott]

I doubt that the TCT or MOE have any time limit on a degree.  Different Universities will have a limits on how long credits are good toward a degree--at least a 57 year old man that I know was told he would have to re-take certain courses if he continued his pursuit of a degree after 30 some odd years out of school.

People taking on-line degrees may take a considerable number of years to complete the entire degree.  Conversely, some people are able to finish a Bachelor's Degree in less than 4 years.

[rrac]

Just my opinion and Scott can verify this is, is the confusion is the term "accredited". In the states there are several regional accrediting agencies i.e. the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. they set standards for high school and college programs. My HS and Univ transcripts (from Ohio) say that X HS and Y Univ are accredited by the North Central Association, my grad school transcript (from Texas) says Z Univ is accredited by the Southern Assoc.. If the school is accredited by one of the 6 regional agencies it should be OK. Yeah there are a lot bible and "non traditional" programs that are not regionally accredited and that's where the problem lies

That's what K-immig here uses as the standard for accepting a BA degree. There was some confusion for a while because the Aussie and Kiwi BA programs were three year but now since US grad schools accept a 3 year degree from them as the equivalent of a US 4 year degree all is OK

Edited by Scott, 2012-03-25 15:47:42.
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[Scott]

I am getting a little out of my depth here.  There are various agencies that accredit universities and colleges.  In the US, for example, it is not the government, but a non-governmental agency that is involved in accreditation.  Along with accreditation comes certain benefits--including the transferability of credits earned, as well as government funding for educational programs, research and student loans and government grants.  These may be non-existent for unaccredited schools.

There are numerous degrees that are granted, but most of us will fall into these categories:  Associates Degree, which is a two-year degree, usually given by a community college, junior college or technical school.  The credits of an Associates degree are usually directly transferable to a 4 year, Bachelor's Degree.

The granting of a Bachelor's Degree is generally not limited to the amount of time you spend in school, but to the number of academic credits you receive.  This will vary from place to place and school to school.  For example, if you transfer from one school to another, the new school may dis-allow some credits or may require addition credits in some areas.

Schools will also have specific admission requirements.  For example, I had a friend who did not finish high school, but was admitted to University.  Although he did not have a high school diploma, he had completed the courses the University required (he actually lacked year 4 of English--necessary for a HS diploma, but the University only required 3 years of English).

Occasionally, you will hear about people who have not earned a full Bachelor's Degree but are admitted to a Master's program.  Again, they have completed the requirements for the Master's program, but did not complete all the requirements of a Bachelor's Degree.

So whether your Bachelor's Degree takes you 3 years or 5 years, you should have completed an accredited degree in your country.

Now, this I am not sure of, but I believe the magical number of credit hours for a teacher is 30-credit hours in Education.  

I don't know where I read this, so, I don't want to speak with authority on the issue.  If anyone has more accurate information, please post it.