Opinion: 3 solutions to Thailand’s English teacher shortage

[webfact]

3 solutions to Thailand’s English teacher shortage

By The Thaiger

by Eric Haeg

 

 

Thailand needs 10,000 English teachers. News of a teacher shortage is no surprise, but news that the Ministry of Education has recently urged embassies to find English teachers has raised eyebrows.  The US Embassy confirmed it participated in the meeting, and it has also been reported that over 20 other embassies participated in the discussions.

 

According to Thailand’s Education Minister, “The aim of the discussion was to seek cooperation from embassies.” He went on to say, that foreign teachers must have some professional training to qualify for the job, adding that a language teaching certificate is preferred.

 

It’s refreshing to see the MoE taking proactive measures, but finding workable solutions on a large scale may be far off.With the start of the next academic school year coming up this May, here are three possible solutions that could be implemented by schools now.  

 

1. Cut out the middleman

Many schools outsource teacher recruitment and employment to agencies. The agencies charge fees to the school, thereby driving down teacher salaries to offset costs. As a result, Vietnam and even China have lured many teachers away from teaching English in Thailand.

 

Schools cannot afford the luxury of agencies, nor the inconvenience of high turnover when teachers quit because they’ll be paid more at a new direct hire job. 

 

2.Hire fluent non-native speakers

While most experts agree fluency is what’s important, most Thai students, parents of students, and teachers assume an English teacher’s most important qualification is their nationality. Hiring only native speakers is understandable if that’s what the market wants. The problem is that the demand is based on a false assumption.

 

Well-informed school administrators hire non-native speakers who can prove their fluency, some hire non-natives but only after they can’t find a native speaker. Others flat out refuse. As a result, countless qualified applicants are turned off or completely discouraged from finding work in Thailand after reading most of its job ads for native English speakers who only come from six countries as per the MoE’s definition.

 

Perhaps the embassies could bring in experts to help share information about the value qualified, fluent non-native teachers bring to the classroom. This information can then be shared within local communities to better understand what makes a good English teacher. Over time, the market may increase its acceptance of non-native English teachers. 

 

3. Hire from abroad

Thai employers prefer hiring teachers within Thailand, yet most prospective teachers hope to secure employment before taking the massive commitment of moving to Thailand.Those who aren’t prepared to come over without a job end up looking for work in countries like South Korea, Japan and China, where they can do Skype interviews and sign contracts before leaving home.

 

While there are inherent risks associated with hiring from abroad, there are also benefits, like attracting more teachers.  

 

In order to mitigate the risks, schools could at least consider overseas recruitment for applicants who have teaching experience, can provide years’ worth of teaching portfolios, as well as those who’ve already taught English abroad. Without at least trying, Thailand remains at risk of losing quality candidates who need job security before moving here.

 

These solutions may seem difficult, but actions worth doing usually are. Approaching embassies may help further down the road, but students need solutions now.

 

If current recruitment trends continue, Thailand can hardly expect to increase its English teacher workforce by 140% as planned.

 

One definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting different results. Well, perhaps it’s time to try something new.

 

Eric Haeg is the Course Director of TEFL Campus and has been training English teachers in Phuket since 2007.

information on teaching English in Thailand, email HERE .

 

Source: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/3-solutions-to-thailands-english-teacher-shortage

 

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2020-02-19

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[Thaiwrath]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

1. Cut out the middleman

If this meant the school directors, it would be the best solution.

Instead, they will continue to increase their personal wealth, by paying less wages to future teachers, than that allocated by the education ministry.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Thaiwrath

[darksidedog]

I can't remember how many years this discussion about getting better English teachers has been going on. Nothing has happened to date, and it is difficult to see anything really positive happening any time soon.

Immigration seem set to vilify us to such a degree, many potentially good teachers will be put off by the attitude towards them from chunks of the population who believe all they hear in the news. Then there comes the issue of salary of course, an immense hurdle to jump to actually get quality.

I want to believe that Thailand will dramatically improve their entire education system, but unfortunately I just can't.

[JustAnotherHun]

4. Make the world learn Thai. No need for english teachers any more.

[daiwill60]

17 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

If this meant the school directors, it would be the best solution.

Instead, they will continue to increase their personal wealth, by paying less wages to future teachers, than that allocated by the education ministry.

I once heard that the allocation to schools etc from the MoE is around 50,000 bht a month.  And as we all know, many schools offer way less than that. 

[RotBenz8888]

18 minutes ago, webfact said:

One definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting different results.

But the education minister was thinking out of the box(his box) the other day, when he proposed that foreign English teachers should teach Thai teachers. In 3 years problem solved, no need for any foreign teachers at all.

[Odysseus123]

Endless freakin' discussion that goes nowhere as we drift down the Volga viewing innumerable Potemkin villages..

 

Pay teachers coming from overseas a decent wage and give them good conditions.

 

Advise them not to read ThaiVisa.????

[Isaanbiker]

1. Cut out the middleman

Many schools outsource teacher recruitment and employment to agencies. The agencies charge fees to the school, thereby driving down teacher salaries to offset costs. As a result, Vietnam and even China have lured many teachers away from teaching English in Thailand.

 

Schools cannot afford the luxury of agencies, nor the inconvenience of high turnover when teachers quit because they’ll be paid more at a new direct hire job. 

 

That's the most crucial part in IMHO. It's not just a high turnover; it's the way agencies treat foreigners.

 

Some agencies don't even offer insurance. If the teacher in question gets sick, he/she has to pay the hospital bill out of their pocket. 

 

And if the illness takes longer, the teacher will be replaced by anybody with a white face, who might not even know how to teach.

 

Many agencies only pay a ten months salary, even when the school pays for 12 months. 

 

Some agencies advertise that foreigners do not need a degree, which is not valid. It's just to fill positions without telling them the truth. 

 

Once the foreigner has started the job and sent to a neighboring country to apply for a Non- B visa, the consulate, or embassy, will ask for a degree.

 

 Some agencies then produce a fake degree, send it to the applicants' e-mail address, and then submit counterfeit documents.

 

If things go wrong, the foreigner will be arrested, deported, and might not be able to come back to Thailand.

 

  That has to stop immediately.

 

The Thai labor law stipulates that foreign teachers must have have Thai social security at a government school. 

 

Still, agencies are not willing to pay an additional 750 baht that the foreigners have full coverage if things go wrong.

 

If flight attendants have to have a minimum TOEIC score of 700 points out of 950 points, for example, how can foreigners with a TOEIC score of 300 be able to teach English?

 

Yes, cut out the middleman, check the dead bodies under the agencies' beds, and offer insurance as the law stipulates.

 

Some schools have such a high turnover just because of agencies that some classes have the tenth teacher in a term. That can in no way be good for the students. 

 

It's time for a change and get rid of these agencies, go-betweens, and all who take a piece of the cake.

 

Imagine, when many agencies can't continue their illegal practices, the schools must hire directly and should pay for 12 months.

 

People have expenses all year long, not only for ten months.

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Isaanbiker
Treat us as human beings, please!!!!!

[Bezdomny]

What is the difference between top countries on EF EPI rankings and Thailand? They don't hire NES with irrelevant diploma and 2 Mondays one Tuesday TEFL course. ????

https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/

[spiekerjozef]

Lots of people from different countries speak multiple languages (or at least are trying to). Only the people from native English speaking countries have no interest in speaking another language or get upset when somebody can't speak their language??

[Mango Bob]

You treat us like <deleted> and now you want our help.  I volunteer under the table for years at a Elementary school with just over 100 students.  I stopped because of immigrations acting like jerks and wanting to deport us because we didn't follow the rules.  Now I want to laugh in your face and say Hell NO.

[Odysseus123]

1 minute ago, spiekerjozef said:

Lots of people from different countries speak multiple languages (or at least are trying to). Only the people from native English speaking countries have no interest in speaking another language or get upset when somebody can't speak their language??

Hmmm..I speak three apart from my native English language.

 

Admittedly I am a little rusty..but strangely enough I was following along my wife's Thai conversation on the phone the other day..

 

She said "The silly farang is listening in to the phone call..and is becoming rather paranoid....I will have to get an even dumber one.."

 

I swear it's true..????

[samsensam]

2 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

Lots of people from different countries speak multiple languages (or at least are trying to). Only the people from native English speaking countries have no interest in speaking another language or get upset when somebody can't speak their language??

 

inaccurate generalisation; just within my family and friends, all native english speakers, i know people who speak; french, spanish, german, italian, thai and russian, some speaking more than one second language...

[smedly]

 

lol

[bkkatl]

29 minutes ago, Thaiwrath said:

If this meant the school directors, it would be the best solution.

Instead, they will continue to increase their personal wealth, by paying less wages to future teachers, than that allocated by the education ministry.

A Few Thoughts From My Experience

On the contract my company or agency says that the teacher's salary is 60,000฿....while only paying the teacher about 40,000฿ a month. The Thai teachers through gossip  see this and look down on and even hate the foreigner teachers think we there is this gigantic pay gap thus creating a less than ideal work place. So the school and agency lie about the salary..... and all the while the director gets huge kick backs for signing with the agency. 

 

Most schools want the agency to do the paper work associated with the Visas and work permits. So until the government has some kind of streamlined Visa process for English teachers don't expect the agency to go anywhere. 

 

And as usual the corruption associated with agency and the school directors will almost ensure that the agency's don't go anywhere. 

 

The agency I work for only pays is for 9  1/2 months. They refuse to hold the salary and disperse it over 12 months which means most teachers are out the door quick to new and greener pastures. The long Thai holidays October, March- May means no money for the foreign teacher so they are usually done after one term. 

 

This too is the norm and not the exception. 

 

Moreover, the total lack of support from the schools in supporting the foreign teacher put the teacher at a huge disadvanatge. Especially when many of the students have such poor English already. Thai schools assign assistant or co-teachers but in my experience those teachers show up about 20% of the time. 

 

 

[Vacuum]

47 minutes ago, webfact said:

foreign teachers must have some professional training to qualify for the job

Compared to local teachers....

[fforest1]

They have been raking English teachers through the visa coals for years now making their lives miserable......Come out with rock solid clear plans or shut the H up.....

[Airalee]

I for one admire the apathetic attitude that Thailand has towards learning English.

 

Paying teachers more won’t change that attitude.  
 

If teachers want to earn more money, they can go teach in Saudi Arabia or some other ME country.  But, I suppose the women aren’t to their liking there.

 

If Thailand wants to attract competent teachers that are really passionate about teaching (and not banging Thai women)...hire women only.

[Odysseus123]

35 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I can't remember how many years this discussion about getting better English teachers has been going on.

Yes..but that is because of an ineluctable question that the Thai resolutely refuse to answer (for about 30 years)

 

The question is "Do you want,as a nation, to learn English?"

 

The answer is NO.

 

Sure individuals do (and good on 'em) but the nation as a whole..it is NO.

 

The same could be said for Mandarin as well..

 

Thailand has missed many buses.

 

 

[Just1Voice]

 Why bother?  Didn't General P state some time back that Thai would become the new International language? lol

[keith101]

I knew an American who was teaching English in a college and was laid off because he failed a student (absolutely hopeless he said ) and refused to change the result to a pass .

He got a new job in a different Province and had to move .

Edited February 19, 2020 by keith101

[metempsychotic]

cant be bothered to read the whole thread, but pay a living wage with proper benefits wouldn't hurt either.

only issue i can see with that is the local teachers would probably appreciate a living wage as well.

[FalangJaiDee]

I got an in-class TEFL in bangkok and then got a little...."sidetracked" so I didn't wind up teaching, but I might decide to put it to good use considering this new demand. I'll require 2 gov't assigned thai gf's for the duration of the contract

[cyril sneer]

none of those solutions will work...

 

most student's arn't interested in learning, thai teachers are too lazy to teach and incapable

students will still be made to pass

students will still be allowed to cheat + pay their way to the top

working conditions will still be poor, any extra money put in just goes on new buildings for sports and/or in the director's pocket

you'll still be treated like garbage from the thai teachers mostly because of your higher wage

 

[simon43]

27 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

Lots of people from different countries speak multiple languages (or at least are trying to). Only the people from native English speaking countries have no interest in speaking another language or get upset when somebody can't speak their language??

Huh?  I'm British and a teacher. I speak English, have an MA in Thai (read/write/speak).  I also read/write/speak intermediate level French, Italian, Lao and Myanmarsa.

 

Please don't put all NES in the same pigeon hole ????

[shady86]

No need learn learn English. Thai will become international language soon. Should not stop the country from moving backwards.

[bobbin]

10 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Huh?  I'm British and a teacher. I speak English, have an MA in Thai (read/write/speak).  I also read/write/speak intermediate level French, Italian, Lao and Myanmarsa.

 

Please don't put all NES in the same pigeon hole ????

Can I ask where you received your MA in Thai?

[Airalee]

19 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Yes..but that is because of an ineluctable question that the Thai resolutely refuse to answer (for about 30 years)

 

The question is "Do you want,as a nation, to learn English?"

 

The answer is NO.

 

Sure individuals do (and good on 'em) but the nation as a whole..it is NO.

 

The same could be said for Mandarin as well..

 

Thailand has missed many buses.

 

 

Exactly.  They don’t care.  And who are we to tell them that they should?  I think they should just drop the foreign language classes from the curriculum and stop wasting time and money.  The Thai’s that really want to learn English can sign up for private classes.  That way, they will have some skin in the game.

 

Thailand should spend the money (wasted on teachers) cleaning up the beaches, oceans and air.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Airalee

[Ventenio]

There are NO fluent non-native speakers.  I've talked to some with almost a perfect TOEIC (?) score and they fail miserably in very, very, very, very, very basic conversation.  OK, OK, maybe 1 in 300,000 are good.  

 

Paying natives more will get the NNES super mad and the Thai teachers will NOT be happy.  Might work in the short-run, but the NES will leave after all the backlash.  

 

Nobody has a clue how to teach conversation, and the exams are copied from a book where some questions don't make sense to an NES.  

 

Maybe a teacher can teach 20-minutes per class, that's NOT enough if they only meet with their class once a week.  

 

Plus their parents don't speak English........and it goes on and on and on.

 

1.  ONLY natives, ONLY real teachers, pay 100,000 for a multi-year contract and try to gives these kids a chance.  

 

[248900_1469958220]

18 minutes ago, Airalee said:

I for one admire the apathetic attitude that Thailand has towards learning English.

 

Paying teachers more won’t change that attitude.  
 

If teachers want to earn more money, they can go teach in Saudi Arabia or some other ME country.  But, I suppose the women aren’t to their liking there.

 

If Thailand wants to attract competent teachers that are really passionate about teaching (and not banging Thai women)...hire women only.

But white women that come here to teach will undoubtedly not take much of a liking to the local Thai men.....which is often the case.....and that will turn them into lesbians that end up 'banging' Thai chicks anyway! That's my theory anyway. No science in it, just purely based on my porn addiction and a penchant for daydreaming