An English Teacher in Thailand

Being in Thailand and teaching is a very different experience from visiting as a foreigner. So I thought I would write this post to give you a better idea of what it’s really like to live here and get to know Thai students and other Thai teachers. All the stories below are from either myself or other teachers out here that I have met through my TEFL course or at work. Some are funny, some maybe not, but hopefully it will give you more of an insight in to the Thai life.

-         Teacher asks P5 students to name as many items of clothing as possible, getting towards the end and one shouts out G-String.

-         Thai Teacher says to English Teacher- “teacher has small Nom Nom” (nom nom in Thai is boobs) They don't hold back.

-         Teacher asks a Secondary school student to carry all the work books for him, it isn’t until he’s half way down the stairs that he realises he has a club foot and is struggling.

-         Practicing directions by using a game similar to pin the tail on the donkey. One boy and one girl volunteer blindfolded. The other students are directing in English and the teacher realises after a while they are not directing them to the board but in to each other. Then just lets it happen.

-         All Thai kids get called by a nick name chosen by their parents rather than their full long Thai name. However some of them are very random. In my classes I have an Elle, Sarah, Mark and Eve alongside a Pooh, Petch, Brown, Porn, Pun-pun, Poogun and Game.

-         English Teacher says to another English Teacher “Oh I like your skirt” Reply – “I’m not wearing it again I got called sexy today.” “Oh I see.” Being called Sexy Teacher is not a complement it’s a way of Thais saying it is not appropriate for school.

-         English Teacher walks out of the staff room on third floor and 3 students on a push bike ride past, at least they had helmets on!

-          Kindergarten kids playing a game where they chant the vocab word and take a step forward until the teacher changes the flashcard and they all run away as the teacher chases them. Two kids collide and one ends up with a bleeding nose. Home room teacher cleans the boy up and he’s back playing in ten mins, no accident book for the teacher to fill out, all will be fine or as the Thai's say Mai Pen Rai.

-        English Teacher uses a puppet to introduce vocab but scares a kindergarten kid so much she pees on the floor.

-         While doing swimming lesson little nursery boy goes to the bathroom, English teacher goes to find him, He’s done a big shit. Teacher bum guns (this is the water gun next to every toilet that you can use to clean yourself) him down and shoves him back in the pool.

-          Telling a child to “say it in English” and they reply with “say it in English”

-          A student tells an teacher to F**k off, he is taken to the principle who smacks him and tells him off. Then next day the student comes in with his parents, his parents are not happy as the principle smacked him. The principle tells the parents what happened and then the father smacks the kid.

To be continued…..