Teaching English in Thailand:

Frankly speaking, it is highly essential to know the language for communication. In general, the most popular language is English. In this computer age, English is the only language that anyone can understand. So to say, it has become as an ideal language for expressing our feelings. First, we have to learn the language and then we have to gain fluency in the language. Unless we have the fluency in English language, it would not be possible to work with the computer. If you do not know English, then you would be in need of a translator to do the job.

All over Eastern Asia, from Japan and South Korea to the Philippines and Thailand, there is a huge demand for native english speakers to tutor the english language. Even if you have no university diploma or teaching certificate it is still possible to find work in Thailand either as a private tutor or working in an established school. The wages for teaching positions in Thailand are generally lower than those offered in Japan and Taiwan; however this is offset by the much lower cost of living and the plenitude of jobs.

It is possible to arrange a job before departing for Thailand or else you can search one out once you are already there. The internet is becoming an increasingly useful tool in searching out job opportunities. THE BANGKOK POST online edition has an extensive employment section with many listings for positions in Bangkok and other cities. THE AUSTRALIAN online edition also carries ads for teaching positions in Thailand. Try also a general search such as "teaching, english, Thailand".

Once in Thailand there are several other tactics you can employ to hunt down a job. In Bangkok, other english teachers can be a great source of information regarding current vacancies, rates of pay, good schools and bad schools, etc. English teachers tend to congregate together after hours so try and find out where the current hangouts are. THE HARDROCK CAFE has always been popular with young english teachers in Bangkok. Another tack is to get your hands on a copy of the YELLOW PAGES OF THE GREATER BANGKOK METROPOLITAN TELEPHONE DIRECTORY, which contains many upcountry as well as Bangkok listings. Check headings such as schools, universities, language schools, etc. In Bangkok you can pay a direct visit to inquire about work or else phone them if they are upcountry.

The rates of pay are generally higher in Bangkok than the rest of the country. If you are hired with no qualifications or teaching experience expect to be paid about 10000B a month (about US$270). If you hold a degree or a teaching certificate such as TEFL you can earn anywhere from 30000B to 50000B a month (US$800-US$1300). Out of Bangkok these figures are cut by about a third. 

Once hired your employer must obtain a work permit for you. This is important and some smaller schools try and get around it which can cause a lot of hassle when you come to leave the country. The larger schools are usually quick and efficient. Most of the time you will need to find your own accommodation. In Bangkok try to find a place near your work as getting around the city can be difficult.

At CMU, you can teach five classes per semester, which means five classroom hours a day, three days a week.  You can have two or three sections of the same class, which means if you have a good lesson plan for one section, you can use it over again in the later sections of the same class. Lesson planning is not a static thing; it's very organic. Classes at CMU usually contain from twenty-five to thirty-five students.

Thai students can be very shy, even at CMU. This goes especially the freshmen, many of whom are away from home for the first time. Outwardly, they are very respectful, and the entire class will stand when you enter the classroom and greet you, saying, "Good morning, teacher!" in unison.
 
Teaching English at Chiang Mai University, known in northern Thailand as maw-chaw. (Maw-chaw is the initials for the university in Thai.) You can get the job and get paid by the hour, and teach 15 hours a week. You don't make a lot of money, but it's enough to get by if you can budget yourself and don't go hog-wild on weekends. Most farang ajaans at MU have a second job. What is an ajaan? An ajaan is a college teacher, a professor. It's a title of respect. 

There are both Thai and farang teachers at the university. About half of the staff are firings, who come from English speaking countries such as the U.S., England, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. There may also be a few from countries like Burma, Hong Kong, or Singapore, where English is a strong second language.

The rest of the staff in the English department is Thai. The Thais run the department, design the courses, and make the rules. Sometimes there is tension between the Thai and the foreign ajaans. A big office like the English department is always going to have politics and cliques, and people who want to protect their territory.

Many of the farang ajaans came to Thailand after raising a family or working for twenty years in their own countries. Some are close to retirement age, and seem to just like being in Thailand. Others are just out of college, and are just starting out in life.  Some stay for just one or two semesters, others stay for twenty years.

It's easy, because CMU arranges all the paperwork so that you don't even have to leave town. Farangs who work at some of the other schools are not so lucky. They have to leave Thailand every three months and re-apply for a visa. Laos and Malaysia are the usual stopovers for these "visa runs." 
 
In Chiang Mai, you can rent a small apartment near the university for about 2,500 baht a month. This includes a bedroom and bathroom only, no kitchen. If you want a place with more luxuries, you can spend 3,500 or 4,500. You can also share a house for about 3,000 a month, or rent one yourself if you feel flush. Forty-five hundred baht will rent you a modest house, or you can pay 7,000 or even 10,000 if you want something really fancy.
Transportation in Chiang Mai is fairly inexpensive, about 200 baht a month if you own a motorbike, or a little more if you take public transportation. Food is cheap; figure on 150 baht a day or so, which comes to 4,500 a month. Entertainment and discretionary expense varies from person to person. Movies are cheap at 70 baht. Thai massage is a steal at 100 baht per hour (compare to $40 an hour in the U.S.). Going out to hear live music or to a disco can come to a couple of hundred baht if you’re conservative, but if you get carried away, you can easily spend much more.

Other incidental expenses may include visits to medical clinics, which are cheap compared to the U.S. – usually not more than 200 baht per visit for simple complaints, often including medicine.

So, going by the cheaper route, we have 2,500 for rent, 200 baht for transportation, 4,500 baht for food, and for entertainment let’s assume 2,000 a month. Throw in another 2,000 just for things that always seem to happen, and the final figure comes to 11,200 per month. At 43 baht to the dollar, which is where it’s been for some time now in 1998, which would be about $260 a month.

But remember, the salaries for most jobs in Thailand are pretty low, too. You're not going to live like a king, unless you bring a lot of money with you. And, I’ve always found that it’s easy to spend more than I planned.

In the end, your cost of living all depends on the kind of lifestyle you want to have. If you want to live in a nice house, eat western food in a restaurant every night, and own a car, you're going to spend a lot more than 11,000 baht a month. But, if you are the kind of person who doesn't mind eating Thai food on the streets most of the time, and who can be satisfied with small things, then living in Chiang Mai on a teacher's salary will be fine for you.