Thread: newbie coming to Thailand

**StarGazer** · 13th June 2007 01:52

Greeting and salutations to all of my soon to be colleagues:

First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity and introduce myself to the Ajarn community. Many of the threads have been very useful and I have appreciated the wit of many posters on these boards.

As the title suggests, I am in the midst of making my first big journey to Thailand. And to be honest, I am scared shitless. I have only seen the ocean five times in my life and I have never left America in my life. My desired destination is Hat Yai because I have some very good friends there.

I have several options before me and I am unsure which one would be the best one for me specifically. For the past year, I have been a teacher in special education in BaltimoreMaryland. However, my college degree is in Social Work and not in Education. My options are:

1: Arrive mid august and attend StamfordCollege in oct.

2: Take an online Tefl class from Tefl International (any pro/cons for this?)

3: Enroll in the TEFL class in Ban Phe (hopefully I spelt the name correctly) and accept a 30,000k thb for four months (pitifully low i know).

4: Rely upon my teaching credentials (I am not a licensed teacher) and my college degree

I just want to build up my esl resume' and in a couple of years teach in korea, japan, or taiwan. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff

**Mr Brown** · 13th June 2007 02:22

Originally Posted by StarGazer

My desired destination is Hat Yai because I have some very good friends there.

Welcome to the board, StarGazer. Shouldn't your friends in Hat Yai be your first point of contact?

Have you got a wicked southern accent? I just lurve that southern drawl. I think Thai kids will find you easy to understand.

Anyway, I'd wait till I'm here to do a TESOL course. There are so many programmes available now that there's at least one kicking off every month. Since you haven't taught ESOL before, it's best to do an on-site course which will also give you the time to acclimatise to Thailand.

Haven't heard anything negative about the Stamford or TEFL International programmes although I understand that Dave Hopkins, the teacher trainer extraordinare that made the Ban Phe course what it was has retired.

I did the CELTA which is probably the most widely recognised initial TESOL qualification in the world. Equally rigorous although less well known is the course run by the School of International Training (SIT). Both courses are available in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

Good luck!

**StarGazer** · 13th June 2007 06:45

you read me like a book. Indeed, I do have a deep country accent since I grew up in Tennessee. However, I have lived on the West Coast for seven years and nerely lost most of it.

My friends is actually a filipino girl who is teaching down in Hat Yai. I do not want to base my personal well being merely off of what she says. I want to have every angle cover.

Is the online course junk? I thought about the CELTA course but I have not found any course that is 'cheap'. Guess that makes me a penny pincher. Are there any cheap ones from reputable schools? What type of visa should I get? a 90/180 day visa/ should i get it in america and how long does it take?
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I would ask this question in a different forum but i needed 5 post counts to even post. Is it possible to get high speed i-net in hatyai at a cafe' or for personal use? where would I look? That is one western commodity that I would have to have no matter what. To my shock and dismay, I found out that dial up connection speeds does not heed my shouting commands "faster faster faster".

. I will be bringing a couple suped up labtops to thailand since I am an avid online gamer.