Teaching in Thailand (in a pandemic)

I first met Zac back in 2014 when we both started at Lancaster University that year. We were both coursemates and hockey teammates for three years and since graduating we still managed to meet up around once a year, despite both of us rarely being in the same country, or even continent. Zac is currently teaching in Thailand for the second time and like everyone has spent the past year and more deals with the implications of COVID restrictions. I know of many people who have taught in South East Asia and plan to do so myself, Zac's experience of doing so in the midst of global chaos is somewhat more unique!

Tom

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Thailand is an amazing country full of beautiful nature and impressive temples, as well as the lure of Khao San Road and Pattaya’s bars and clubs. Another brilliant thing Thailand has to offer is the potential to work as a teacher.

Now, for most Westerners, the image of a high school teacher conjures images of the battlefields of their youths, haggard teachers battling the obstinate teens whilst trying to impart some knowledge. This image can put some people off teaching in general but to do so is to miss out on an amazing experience.

I’ve been teaching in Khon Kaen, Thailand for a year now and due to COVID 19 it has been somewhat chaotic. My journey here started off poorly as, although I had already gotten a job with a teaching agency, Thailand immediately went into a full lockdown and shut their borders. This led to months of limbo in which I was waiting for the borders to open and then waiting for my paperwork; then I had to navigate the confusing bureaucratic system of Thai immigration. Fortunately, my agency was there to guide me through it, as otherwise I would have been lost in endless documents and photos I needed to upload and apply for.

For those who don’t know - which included me before I came - Khon Kaen is located in the NE of Thailand (called Isaan) and is 4 hours south of the Laos border. My school gave an impressive first impression with the gold (painted) display of the Thai King which led to the tree-lined avenue of the main road through the school. It is a pretty massive campus with 6 grades (or Matayoms) each of which has 20 classes of 30-40 pupils. This is very different from the much smaller rural school I previously taught at which had about 100 students in the whole school, with 1 class per Matayom and each one had only 3- 5 students (crazy I know). The occasionally much smaller class sizes are mainly due to the fact that students can leave after M3, they only stay if they want to go to university. This is less common in the city, but in the countryside, classes reduce after M3 as parents want their kids back to help with the fields and housework.

But back to my current school, my team gave a lasting first impression with a true mix of nationalities and characters: including a heavily accented Dutch, a tropical shirt wearing Brit, a grizzly Dane and my tiny, friendly Thai office manager, who had squirrel on her arm when we first met (only the first of her many pets which she brings to work). This is part of the fun of the farang (foreigner) teacher experience as you meet lots of interesting people whilst also helping young people in a country where a good grasp of English is the doorway to high paying jobs in management.

I had taught in rural Thailand previously which had very limited accommodation choices. This meant that when I first looked into my accommodation, I took the first option I saw, which to be fair was nice and close. However, if I was to redo my first week, I would probably have taken a day or so to check out some more of the options as I have moved to a new place which is still close but a lot more spacious with a gym and pool in the complex. This is certainly a benefit of teaching in the city, with more living options and familiar comforts compared to the countryside.

Since I arrived on the 20th of December, I got to experience Christmas at school; given that Thailand is a Buddhist country, Christmas is not a national holiday. I went into school expecting a normal day of lessons. My students are always energetic and fun to teach and there are no major issues, but as I prepared to start my first lesson of the day I discovered a distinct lack of students coming to class. Feeling a bit confused after 20 minutes I asked a Thai teacher in my office who told me, ‘Oh some students may turn up if they like but it depends if they feel like coming to class.’ Turns out that whilst Christmas is not an official holiday, teachers and students alike had decided to make it one. This is a pattern with my Thai classes where often I am the last to know about cancelled classes, school events or even students leaving school/changing classes. This unpredictability is part of the experience of teaching in Thailand for me; whilst my students are good and lessons are straightforward - due my agency providing lesson plans and materials - the frequent (and unannounced to farang) national holidays and sudden changes to the schedule keep me on my toes.

Testing as a teacher in Thailand is an interesting experience as there is a somewhat 'relaxed' attitude to exam conditions, with some of my students sitting all exams, whereas others attend only the final test.  This means they miss out the speaking, listening and mid-term tests, which is a wee bit frustrating at times when you discover new students on the day of the final test. But even when sitting tests, students can turn up 20 minutes late; my record for one of my students is turning up 40 minutes late to a 50 minute exam and still having time to spare. Once they finish their exams out come the phones, though not to cheat which I first thought, but just to relax. This is the (mostly) honest nature of my students, they don’t actively cheat. I say actively since during the exam they may allow other students to check their work, but that is seen as just being helpful to them, weirdly. So once they finish the test they start to chat and play games but no one alters their test which would be ‘rare’ in the UK.

This year’s downside has certainly been COVID’s effect of causing classes to be online for 80% of the school year, with us only just going back to school recently and with only 25% of the students in school and the rest continuing online. Now I’m sure anyone who knows a teacher or has a child will be aware of some of the issues with online learning: dodgy connections, lack of contact with friends and it feeling increasingly formulaic as students and teachers lose motivation. There have also been the familial issues of students either not being able to attend, as parents want their children to help at the store, or having to babysit and attend class at the same time. This does have a side benefit for me as I get to see adorable baby siblings, but in a country where parents have much more authority over their children than in western countries, students can be forced to not attend if there is something parents need a hand with.

In short I am very happy to be almost back to teaching as it means that I get to know the personalities of my students, as often shyness was a major issue when teaching online, as well as one or two students a lesson being ‘out and about’. One particularly memorable one was doing a speaking test as my students crossed the road. But, regardless of COVID, I would recommend teaching to anyone who wants to explore with months of lockdown possibly looming in Europe, as Thailand has brilliant food, people and students.

Posted: 17/01/2022
Written by: Zac Hesketh (@zachesketh)