TEFL/TESOL school close to Buriram?

[teppo42]

Hi!

I found several TEFL and/or TESOL certification courses in Thailand, but none very close to Buriram where
I will be based for the rest of the year. Khon Kaen has one or two possibilities, but I would have thought
that Khorat had several, being such a big city, however I have not found any yet. My Mother-in-Law claims
that there are options in Buriram too but I cannot find any on the Net.

Khon Kaen might be interesting since I have never been there. Chiang Mai seems to have several excellent
schools and I used to like the city, but that was ten years ago, and it's not very close to Buriram.

Any recommendations?

[nookiebear]

Hi!

I found several TEFL and/or TESOL certification courses in Thailand, but none very close to Buriram where
I will be based for the rest of the year. Khon Kaen has one or two possibilities, but I would have thought
that Khorat had several, being such a big city, however I have not found any yet. My Mother-in-Law claims
that there are options in Buriram too but I cannot find any on the Net.

Khon Kaen might be interesting since I have never been there. Chiang Mai seems to have several excellent
schools and I used to like the city, but that was ten years ago, and it's not very close to Buriram.

Any recommendations?

I wouldn't think there is hardly any demand for such courses outside of Bangkok,Pattaya & Phuket.If there are such places in Khon Kaen I would hazard they are not run very often.

[teppo42]

Thanks for the reply. So far the American TESOL Institute (ATI) seems to be the cheapest, usually that means
that it's not the best either. But they seem legitimate at least and if I only need the certification then it doesn't
really matter how good they are, does it? http://www.teflcoursethailand.com/ I emailed them and they replied
promptly so that is a good sign too. Sadly they cannot allow me to sit in and observe but that was expected and
quite normal I guess...

The Khon Kaen school seems active enough with courses starting just about every month. http://www.teflteachthai.com/

Whatever I decide to do, I will NOT stay in Bangkok or Pattaya or Phuket. I just wish that I could know beforehand
whether I would be any good as a teacher... Oh well I guess you have to try before you know...

[Don Ho]

Thanks for the reply. So far the American TESOL Institute (ATI) seems to be the cheapest, usually that means
that it's not the best either. But they seem legitimate at least and if I only need the certification then it doesn't
really matter how good they are, does it? http://www.teflcoursethailand.com/ I emailed them and they replied
promptly so that is a good sign too. Sadly they cannot allow me to sit in and observe but that was expected and
quite normal I guess...

The Khon Kaen school seems active enough with courses starting just about every month. http://www.teflteachthai.com/

Whatever I decide to do, I will NOT stay in Bangkok or Pattaya or Phuket. I just wish that I could know beforehand
whether I would be any good as a teacher... Oh well I guess you have to try before you know...

Hi Teppo, I sent you a PM then checked Text and Talk and they have courses in Khon Kaen, not Udon.  Check the website I gave you, there are a few providers in KK.  Just make sure you get 120 hours and at least 6 hours practice teaching.  You can probably get a job without it but my employer, BFITS, wanted to make sure I had those qualifications as a minimum.

[Don Ho]

Here's some more info:

Khon Kaen University Language Institute
http://www.kku-li.com/courses/tefl.php

They have courses starting monthly, the price is 48,000 Baht. 

Text-And-Talk Academy
http://www.teflteachthai.com/index.html

I see now you already had this link.  They have a good reputation.

So that makes three providers in Khon Kaen.

I took my TEFL course in Chiang Mai at SEE http://seetefl.com/ and it was a great experience.

[nookiebear]

Here's some more info:

Khon Kaen University Language Institute
http://www.kku-li.com/courses/tefl.php

They have courses starting monthly, the price is 48,000 Baht. 

Text-And-Talk Academy
http://www.teflteachthai.com/index.html

I see now you already had this link.  They have a good reputation.

So that makes three providers in Khon Kaen.

I took my TEFL course in Chiang Mai at SEE http://seetefl.com/ and it was a great experience.

Jesus,that 48,000 seems very expensive...I did the 120 hour course in Pattaya in October 2005 ,The cost then was 22,000baht.........Many of the private schools will want to see not only your TEFL/TESOL certificate,but also your degree certificate....

[Don Ho]

Here's some more info:

Khon Kaen University Language Institute
http://www.kku-li.com/courses/tefl.php

They have courses starting monthly, the price is 48,000 Baht. 

Text-And-Talk Academy
http://www.teflteachthai.com/index.html

I see now you already had this link.  They have a good reputation.

So that makes three providers in Khon Kaen.

I took my TEFL course in Chiang Mai at SEE http://seetefl.com/ and it was a great experience.

Jesus,that 48,000 seems very expensive...I did the 120 hour course in Pattaya in October 2005 ,The cost then was 22,000baht.........Many of the private schools will want to see not only your TEFL/TESOL certificate,but also your degree certificate....

Wow, that was cheap!

Government schools will want your degree as well.  Language schools will still hire people without degrees, some government schools will too I hear.

Are you working as a teacher now?  BFITS is still looking for English teachers to work in Buriram.

[isanbirder]

Yes, you generally need a degree as well, but this requirement is often overlooked... if you have an internationally-recognised TEFL Certificate.  The recognition is important if you want a decent job afterwards.  Mine is Royal Society of Arts Dip TEFLA (now Cambridge University) which is acceptable everywhere (I did it at the British Council, Hong Kong).

[nookiebear]

Yes, you generally need a degree as well, but this requirement is often overlooked... if you have an internationally-recognised TEFL Certificate.  The recognition is important if you want a decent job afterwards.  Mine is Royal Society of Arts Dip TEFLA (now Cambridge University) which is acceptable everywhere (I did it at the British Council, Hong Kong).

Not having a degree is a big risk you take.....As you correctly say ,it is often overlooked by the employer but the penalties are severe if you are caught teaching without one.

[Mymatesaid]

I actual fact there is now no law in Thailand that says you need a Degree to teach in Thailand.

What is now required is a Teachers Licence. This is where the details about degrees get mixed up.

If you have a degree in Education from a  Uni that is on the Teachers Council's list of acredited Unis then you can apply directly for a licence at the Teachers council.

If you have a degree in a different subject,ironically including English, then you have to sit a test. The test is a complete cock up,the current pass rate is 2 percent of takers. Those that have taken it say that some questions have more than one correct answer and some don't have any.

The alternative to this is to take a 12month course run by a Thai Government Uni. This costs 144000 baht.

The final alternative is to ask the school where you wish to work to write to the Teachers Council and explain something like "This person is an excellent teacher, the students love him/her, the teachers think he/she is great, our school cannot find/afford a qualified teacher and if this man/lady had to leave then the school would fall apart". I think you get my drift. The Teachers Council will then, almost definately, give you a 2 year waiver letter allowing you to teach with out a licence. This letter is accepted by Immigration and the Labour office as overriding any other requirements. When the 2 years runs out they will issue another one.

Basically the Thai Government have realised that the old rules are too strict and it is scaring teachers away to Laos,Cambodia and Viet Nam. Thailand currently has 10000 teaching vacancies and no takers. Instead of changing the rules they are allowing teachers to get on with it.

The only serious problems you will get are if you work without a work permit or if you use a fake degree.

By the way. The Teachers' Council,most schools and Immigration don't care about Tefl/Teofl/Celta.

Most of the places that offer Tefl courses are run by cowboys anyway. I know a company that had teachers teaching Tefl that hadn't even taken Tefl themselves.

Hope this helps.

[teppo42]

Hi again!

Yeah I knew about the Degree "requirement" but I thought that just about any
kind of a degree will be acceptable. Meaning that it wouldn't have to be related
to teaching or English in any way. I do have a degree from back in the 90's, but
it's computer-oriented, and also I'm not quite sure what degree it is. The English
translation of my diploma just says that it is a "college level degree" and somebody
else claimed that it is equivalent to a B.Sc. but I have no official opinion on that.