TEFL Chiang Mai: October 2012

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Training with TEFL Chiang Mai for Loy Krathong

TRAINING WITH PARADISE TEFL CHIANG MAI DURING LOY KRATHONG

(THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS)

The Loy Krathong holiday coincides with the full moon in November of each year in Thailand and other parts of SE Asia. This year the festival falls on the 27^th and 28^th of November but some events will begin as early as the 24^th here in Chiang Mai.

According to the writings of H.M. King Rama IV in 1863, the originally Brahmanical festival was adapted by Buddhists in Thailand as a ceremony to honor the original Buddha, Siddhartha Guatama. Apart from venerating the Buddha with light (the candle on the raft), the act of floating away the candle raft is symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot. People will also cut their fingernails and hair and add them to the raft as a symbol of letting go of the bad parts of oneself. Many Thai believe that floating a raft will bring good luck, and they do it to honor and thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha (Thai: พระแม่คงคา).

Loi literally means 'to float,' while krathong refers to the lotus-shaped receptacle which can float on the water. Originally, the krathong was made of banana leaves or the layers of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant. A krathong contains food, betel nuts, flowers, joss sticks, candle and coins. Modern krathongs are more often made of bread or styrofoam. A bread krathong will disintegrate in a few a days and be eaten by fish and other animals. The traditional banana stalk krathongs are also biodegradable, but styrofoam krathongs are frowned on, since they are polluting and may take years to disappear.

Regardless of the composition, a krathong will be decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense sticks. A low value coin is sometimes included as an offering to the river spirits. During the night of the full moon, Thais will float their krathong on a river, canal or a pond lake. The festival is believed to originate in an ancient practice of paying respect to the spirit of the waters. Today it is simply a time to have fun.

The Loy Krathong Festival takes place along the Mae Ping River on two nights of the full moon. On the first night, the people of Chiangmai take their lanterns to the Ping River and set them afloat. Then on the second night, Chiangmai hosts an illuminated parade with large floats of beautiful Chiangmai women dressed in the northern Lanna costumes of old.

There is no better time to come to Chiang Mai, Thailand’s cultural center and host for thousands who visit to partake in the events of this time. The weather is cool and usually dry. The start of the “high season” will be fully underway due to the lateness of the full moon in November this time round.

Why not make the most of your visit and get certified to teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) at the same time? Most visitors to Thailand end up intrigued with the special beauty and unique culture which captivates one’s eyes and heart and want to stay longer. Give yourself that opportunity by cultivating a career path that would not only allow you to stay, but to travel more, generate income and experience the opportunity to see new places and contribute to an education of the people?

Whatever methods or plans of action educator decides to take, in general, the more advanced certifications a TEFL or TESOL Teacher holds, the more opportunity they possess in terms of their marketability and increased number of employment options.

For a limited time, Paradise TEFL Certification Program offers these advanced certifications such as TOEFL, IELTS, and TEYL at the SAME PRICE as the basic TEFL/TESOL certification!

The advanced course provides additional English Language teaching certifications and is offered in tandem with our site courses in and Chiang Mai Thailand, and Mexico as well as a special summer course in Portland, Oregon or as a complete series of online modules some with a virtual practice teaching option. In order to become a TEFL Trainer, you should have already completed a TEFL, TESOL or CELTA course first in order to be eligible and teaching experience is necessary. (Our Basic TEFL on-site program provides 2 to 3 weeks of hands on observed teaching practice to help our teachers to effectively develop their skills).

All courses are fully accredited and you will receive a certificate of completion, which is internationally recognized and accepted when you graduate from the course. Many of those who already have experience as TEFL instructors are finding that becoming a certified TEFL trainer is another opportunity and feather in their cap in terms of meeting the demand of TEFL instructors (who are leaving their home countries and working abroad) by teaching others how to teach TEFL effectively.

Graduates with these additional certifications have the advantage of substantially increasing their marketability and employment status. Improve your chances of getting a good job with a higher level of pay by enrolling today!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Fee Increases for Basic/Advanced TEFL/TESOL scheduled for 2013

BASIC TEFL/TESOL COURSE FEES INCREASING AS OF JANUARY 1^st 2013.

Advanced Certificates Still Included, Services Upgraded

(Our costs remain low compared to the competition)

Attention all TEFL/TESOL teachers and prospective clients…

Paradise TEFL Chiang Mai remains committed to personalized and professionally service. For a number of reasons, we believe we are one of the best accredited certification programs in the region because at Paradise TEFL Chiang Mai we focus on a practical approach and making learning English as hands on, relevant and fun both for our participants and students who receive free English lessons as a part of the training process.

We have always kept our overhead expenses low in order to provide the best value for money in order to provide the opportunity for as many people as possible to become certified and go on to have rewarding careers as English Teachers all over the globe.

Since 2004,

Paradise TEFL has successfully placed students in solid employment positions around the globe not only in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, but in many other countries outside of South East Asia such as China, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Japan, South Africa, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Spain, France, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Oman, as well as the USA and Canada.

Due to increasing costs in the region and our decision to provide top quality service we are required to schedule a fee increase (of 5000 thb) for our basic TEFL/TESOL site course in Chiang Mai effective January 1^st, 2013. (The basic TEFL/TESOL program will cost 25,000 thb per individual). Yes, we still offer up to eight (8) additional advanced certifications for the one low price. These include:

· Teaching TOEFL (the US university admittance exam)

· Teaching IELTS (the UK & Commonwealth university admittance exam)

· Teaching TOEIC (the standard English exam required by many government and private employers)

· Teaching PET (a more basic standard English exam primarily for those working with youth)

· Business English (BE)

· English for Special Purposes (ESP)

· English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

· Teaching English for Young Learners (TEYL)

In addition to an increase in fees we are also attempting to provide increased service by renting an air-conditioned practice classroom space conveniently located to the guesthouses where we facilitate our practice teaching to make the entire program more efficient and convenient to both our participants and Thai students alike. Please keep your eyes on our Paradise TEFL and TEFL Chiang Mai websites for additional updates, photos and the details as they evolve. We will be moving into our new location as of November 1^st 2013.

Thanks for your patience and understanding during this transition. We hope to continue to provide the best training and certification process available for teaching positions in English as a Foreign (EFL) Secondary (ESL) and Additional language (EAL). We look forward to working with you soon.

For a limited time, Paradise TEFL Certification Program offers these advanced certifications such as TOEFL, IELTS, and TEYL at the SAME PRICE as the basic TEFL/TESOL certification!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Will I find a Job in Thailand?

Will I find work in Thailand?

(Is there a definitive answer to this incredibly common question?)

(reposted from Ajarn.com Oct. 21, 2012.)

Will I find work in Thailand? OK, let's begin with the main reasons why teachers ask if they will find work in Thailand.

1) The teacher lacks a degree.
2) The teacher is not a native speaker of English.
3) The teacher has no teaching experience to speak of.
4) The teacher considers himself / herself to be ‘too old' or in some cases ‘too young'
5) The teacher considers himself / herself to be at a disadvantage when it comes to skin color and/or appearance.

I think I've covered the main five reasons there.

I wish I could look at the five possible scenarios above and give everyone a straight "yes, you will" or "no, you won't" answer. But unfortunately it's nowhere near that straightforward.

Let me pull no punches here. Here's how it is and I think most long-term Thailand teachers, having spent a good few years in the system, would probably agree with me.

1) Teachers with degrees will find work much easier than those without degrees (but that's not to say finding work without a degree is impossible) A few years back I would have said degreed teachers will find work easier, instead of ‘much easier' but there's no doubt that things have become tougher for those who lack the required qualifications.

2) English native speakers will generally find work easier than non-native speakers but the key word is ‘generally'. Much depends on where you apply to for work. Many schools out in the rural areas gave up trying to hire native English speakers long ago. They simply can't or won't pay enough so they have to settle for ‘second best' (their words, not mine) And in many cases, a good European non-native speaker will be considered for a job on a par with a native speaker anyway.

3) Teachers with experience will generally find it easier to get work than those without. There's that key word ‘generally' again. If you're wondering why I'm not saying whether it's ‘much easier' or ‘a little easier' it's because I haven't got the first clue. No one has. It's all just based on opinion and supposition.

4) and 5) you could bundle together quite easily. Appearances and ‘packaging' count for almost everything in Thailand. It's no good pretending that ageism and racism don't exist because they quite clearly do! however not in every school thankfully. So to summarize, younger teachers generally find it easier to get teaching work than older teachers and I'll stick my neck out and say white teachers find it much easier to secure teaching positions than black teachers.

Let me reiterate that not for one moment does this mean that a black or old or inexperienced teacher won't find work. Period. I've worked with black teachers who have been easily the most popular teacher in the school and years ago, I worked with a 75-year old American guy, who not only got more student requests than everyone else but was still buzzing with energy at the end of an 8-hour teaching day while us ‘youngsters' were slumped over our desks in a corner of the teachers room.

Once again it's about appearance, ‘packaging' and the image you project. There are 30-year olds who look forty and 60-year olds who would pass for fifty. It's only a number!

But what makes all of the above almost completely irrelevant is this - the fact that ONLY YOU KNOW YOU! This is the point that the majority of people miss when they e-mail me to ask the question ‘"will I find teaching work in Thailand?"

To use one of my father's favorite expressions - "are you the kind of guy who could fall off a department store roof and land in a new suit?" Are you the kind of guy who can land in a strange country and within 48 hours, you've made three good contacts in local pubs and restaurants and got half a dozen good job interviews lined up? People who tackle what life throws at them in this manner are all out there. We've all met them.

Do you perform well at job interviews?
Are you good at making a first impression?
Do you get on well with people?
Are you a good team player?
Do you have a good sense of humor and a go-with-the-flow personality?
Do you have some savings behind you?
Is your resume as professional as it could be?

I could go on and list hundreds of these questions. The more of them that you can answer ‘yes' to, the more successful you will be in finding your dream teaching job in Thailand. But only you truly know the answers to these questions.

Is there anything I've missed out here?

Whatever methods or plans of action educator decides to take, in general, the more

advanced certifications a TEFL or TESOL Teacher holds, the more opportunity they possess in terms of their marketability and increased number of employment options.

For a limited time, Paradise TEFL Certification Program offers these advanced certifications such as TOEFL, IELTS, and TEYL at the SAME PRICE as the basic TEFL/TESOL certification!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Student Centered Learning

STUDENT CENTERED LEARNING

Student Centered Learning is relatively new concept in Western Education where the process of learning is focused on the individual rather on what is best for the learning institution. The origins of modern “assembly line” productivity in school’s was cultivated and refined during the industrial revolution to disseminate information and skills that might produce students who would be productive members of society based on the precepts that students would primarily become obedient workers and soldiers in the military.

Later, top European preparatory school in England and Germany held their roots in this kind of tradition.

One of the exceptions was the controversial figure of Austrian philosopher/reformist Rudolf Steiner, who’s “Waldorf holistic” and “imaginative approach” was influenced by Johann Goethe who felt that “Thinking … is no more and no less an organ of perception than the eye or ear. Just as the eye perceives colours and the ear sounds, so thinking perceives ideas.”

As controversial as Steiner’s method’s appeared during that era, today his principals are highly regarded for the focus on the individual and are recognized as the growing trend in teaching English through a process known as “differentiation.” Much of what motivates students is how learning relates to them as individuals. This concept is now held along -side such modern “constructivist” educators as Italian physician Maria Montessori who laid the foundation for “discovery” or inquiry based models of study and more recently Harvard scholar Howard Gardner who cultivated the idea of “multiple intelligences,” which provided the impetus for a modern student centered approach.

No relation to the founder of Paradise TEFL programs Dr. Stephen Gardner, albeit some similarities in their educational understanding and holistic approach toward the acquisition of teaching English as a Foreign (EFL), Second (ESL) or Additional Language (EAL).

Dr. Stephen founded Paradise TEFL with the goal of making the teaching of English easily comprehensible, relevant and fun. The terminology around the titles may vary as in the cases of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) but in fact the student’s needs to learn English (the widely recognized language of business and IT) remains the same.

ENTER PARADISE TEFL

One of the unique advantages of the Paradise TEFL program is personalized service. At Paradise TEFL we avoid the one size fits all business model and recognize that just as each student our graduates teach will have their own learning styles, needs and modalities that foster understanding and retention, the same is true of our clients.

Our aim is not to pretend that we are more prestigious than the rest, just more applicable, more useful and more relevant than the “big name” programs that taut their “Cambridge” and “Oxford” connections to as a precedent to inflate their costs to the prospective teachers around the globe. The fact is you don’t need to have a four year degree from a prestigious university or CELTA or TRINITY TEFL in order to be an effective teacher, just a desire to listen, learn and share/ assist those in need of what you have to offer.

At Paradise TEFL Chiang Mai, our aim is to make the whole certification experience as practical, hands on, time efficient and cost effective as possible. Check out this video page constructed by our Administrative Director and Founder, Dr. Stephen and his explanation for how we aim to keep the focus on you the prospective teacher, and how to make your TEFL/TESOL certification experience as student centered as possible.

For a limited time, Paradise TEFL Certification Program offers these advanced certifications such as TOEFL, IELTS, and TEYL at the SAME PRICE as the basic TEFL/TESOL certification!