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For
many people around the world the term
'teacher' and 'traveller' are, to some
extent, synonymous. For years English
language students around the world have
seen entrepreneurs feed their desires
for a 'native English teacher' to teach
them 'real' English by offering backpacking
westerners a haircut, a shave, an advance
to buy a shirt and a pair of trousers,
and a few bucks an hour. Fortunately,
although the poster on the left (seen
on Khao San Road last year) may suggest
otherwise, things have generally got a
bit more sophisticated over the last few
years. |
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Although
you can still get teaching jobs in Asia without
a degree, any form of teaching qualification,
or any experience, they are getting fewer -
and they really are not worth having. When I
first started teaching in Thailand I was pretty
much in this boat. I did my best, and I got
a good reaction from my students. I quickly
became committed to teaching and decided to
give it a go as a career. And over the months
(and then years) I got better at my new trade.
Fairly quickly, the Thai students at the schools
where I was working asked for me to teach their
classes. They were happy to see me; we enjoyed
ourselves - in Thai terms everything was 'Sanuk'
(fun). There was only one thing wrong: Although
there was a lot of teaching going only, and
sometimes I broke into a sweat because of the
effort I put into doing it, there wasn't much
learning happening. In these circumstances you
leave a lesson recognising one thing - the bottom
line is that you are a charlatan. I was a well-meaning
amateur and my students were paying for a professional.
Without training you can't claim to be professional
and so I decided to get myself some training
as soon as possible. |
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Back
then teacher training was hard to find, but
with persistence, I got myself onto a month-long
Teaching
English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) training
course. The result was almost divine revelation
- the techniques I learned put knowledge into
my students' heads and kept it there. Suddenly,
there was potential for my students to get real
value for the money they were spending on my
services. I enjoyed teaching from that point
forward… |
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Well,
that was ten years ago. I progressed through
the ranks and ended up working for some of the
best institutions in Thailand. Along the way
I have seen new teachers come, and new teachers
come (I have to admit… I haven't seen that many
go) and all of those who prospered had some
form of teacher training. |
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"But",
I hear you say, "I am only travelling for one
year during my year off - what a waste of time
p**sing around with a teacher training course".
Normally I would say you were right, but if
you head over to Thailand first, you can start
your travels by doing your teacher training
right here in Thailand. |
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Teacher
Training in Thailand |
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Over
the last couple of years Thailand has become
a leading centre for teacher training, not only
in Bangkok, but also virtually everywhere else
around the country. You can do it all - in the
city, on the beach - you can even take teacher-training
courses in a temple! All lead to some form
of certification and the skills that will give
you the self-confidence to know you aren't ripping
your students off. |
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It's
important to do a bit of homework if you
are going to do teacher training in Thailand.
If it's your intention to use Thailand
as a springboard for teaching around the
world, only certain training courses will
do. But if you are intending only to teach
Thailand, a variety of qualifications
are available to you.
Here's a basic introduction: |
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Teacher
Training Centre ECC (Thailand)
ECC (Thailand) offers the Certificate
of English Language Teaching to Adults
(CELTA) at three locations around Thailand
– Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. The
CELTA is the single most widely recognized
TEFL qualifications in the world and a
must for those serious about taking up
English teaching as a career and would
like to teach in many counties around
the world (rather than just Thailand).
The course is available to anyone with
native-English level English language
ability aged 20+.
Click here for more on Teacher
Training Centre ECC (Thailand) |
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SIT
TESOL |
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| Steve wrote
in recently with information on the AUA's
SIT TESOL course: "The School for
International Training, Vermont, has been
a leader in the field of teacher training
for more than 30 years as is recognized
worldwide. Their SIT TESOL Certificate
Course is now being offered in Bangkok
in conjunction with the AUA Language Center.
This 130-hour, four week course provides
participants with professional knowledge
and skills in teaching English to speakers
of other languages as well as tools for
their own reflection and growth as teachers.
Click here for more on SIT
TESOL at AUA. |
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Chiang
Mai University TEFL |
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This is the only TEFL course in Thailand
(in fact one of the few worldwide)
that is accredited by an actual university.
ItÂ’s on a par with other certificate-level
courses in terms of depth and instruction,
with a full 120 hours of instruction
(over 4 full time weeks) and significant
classroom hours with hands on experience.
A shorter, cheaper online course is
also offered. Both methodology and
phonics are taught, along with classroom
management, lesson planning, interactive
activities and materials, textbook
review and grammar refreshers. Their
certificate is internationally recognised
and Chiang Mai is probably the cheapest
and, students tell us, the most relaxed
place in Thailand to be studying TEFL
- the campus is beautiful. Click here
for more details on the Chiang
Mai University TEFL courses.
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SEE
Siam Educational Experience |
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Become an accredited TEFL teacher and teach
English anywhere in the world. SEEs 4-week
120-hour TEFL certification is internationally
recognized. In addition, participants receive
accredited cultural awareness training,
Thai language instruction and a job-interview
guarantee. 'Click
here for more information... |
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This
is just a taste of what's available in Thailand...
there really are many more courses. Click here
for more
information on English language (EFL) teacher
training courses in Thailand ... Ask around,
see what people think... If you hear of any
other courses, send us the details... We'll
post the information... |
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Found a training course
we don't know about? Had a good/bad
experience doing training... Let us
know
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