My Typical Day Teaching English in Thailand

Before I moved to Thailand, I did a lot of research on what I could expect in a typical day teaching English in Thailand. While I did find some information, I wanted to provide what my typical day is like for those thinking of making the leap and moving abroad!

I do want to note that this experience may not be true for everyone; Thai schools in general are known to be very unorganized, so each week may be very different. This post outlines what most of my teaching days are like, although it is hard to say that teaching anywhere in Thailand will have the same day as mine as each school, school director, and students are different.

Mornings

I wake up for school at 7:00 AM. Since I live less than a ten minute drive away, I can take my time getting ready each morning. My school officially starts at 8:00 AM, so I leave around 7:45 to give myself a few extra minutes.

When I arrive at school, I park my motorbike in the teacher's parking lot, which holds many motorbikes in a parking configuration that always looks confusing. I am so curious to know how some of the teachers are able to leave at the end of the day based on where they are parked. Once I am parked, I am expected to sign in for the day in the Foreign Teacher Logbook.

At promptly 8:00 AM, the morning assembly starts. This is held each morning in the school yard. The students and teachers recite the national anthem, hear any news or important announcements, and have a light morning snack. Some schools expect their English teachers to be present for this assembly and stand in line with the Thai teachers. My school acknowledged that I have no idea what is going on or being said, and allow me to sit in the teacher's room and get some work done during this time.

At 8:30 AM, classes start. Two days a week, I have an 8:30 AM class; the other three days I don't start until 9:30. I use this time to lesson plan or grade papers that students have turned in to me. Each morning, I have two classes, back-to-back. Each class is one hour, making my morning teaching schedule a two-hour block. In Thailand, teachers rotate through the classrooms while the students stay in one room. It took me awhile to memorize where each class was since my school is made up of four buildings. This also means I need to bring all of my supplies with me to each class. At the beginning of class, teacher must sign in a special book for each class: you must include the subject, the topic being taught, you name, the absent students, and your signature. If I ever forget, a student will present me with the book at some point during the class. My two morning classes usually go by pretty fast, and before I know it, it is time for lunch!

Lunch

At 11:30, lunch is served to the students (except for the cute kindergarteners who eat at 10:30). Once I drop off any worksheets or homework I have collected at my desk, I head down to the cafeteria to eat with all the Thai teachers. All of the Thai teachers bring their own cutlery to lunch, and so I do as well. Here, you only need a spoon or a fork to eat with – they never use knives. I have gotten quite skilled at eating with a spoon in my right hand and a fork in my left.

Lunch always consists of rice, an entree and dessert. The entree is always a Thai dish, sometimes a curry, other days chicken wings, or some type of seafood. Dessert is either a traditional Thai dish or fresh fruit. I make an effort to try everything and so far it has all been delicious and thankfully not too spicy. The other teachers are impressed that I eat the Thai lunch everyday, as previous English teachers couldn't stomach it. There are even some Thai teachers that can't handle the spice; the other teachers always make fun of them saying that if I can eat it, they should too.

Since I am the only westerner at my school, I usually eat lunch quietly. The Thai teachers converse together, but since my Thai is as limited as their English, we mostly just smile at each other throughout the meal.

After eating, I take my tray to the kitchen, dump out any excess food, and leave it on a table to be washed. I then wash my spoon and fork and head back up to my desk in the air conditioned teacher's room until my next class.

Restrooms

All teachers need their bathroom breaks. In Thailand, as in much of Asia, squat toilets are preferred over western-style toilets. In the closest teacher restroom to the teacher room, there are two stalls; one of each kind of toilet. If you will be living in Thailand, it is best to get used to using a ‘squatty potty' sooner rather than later. Make sure to stand on the toilet, not straddle it. It really isn't that bad, and you get used to it quickly.

The toilets at my school are also bucket flush. This means that you cannot push a lever to have the water go down. Instead, there is a bucket of water next to the toilet and a bowl inside. You must scoop water out and pour it into the toilet until the water is clear again.

I would advise all teachers to bring your own toilet paper to school! Thai people do not always stock restrooms with toilet paper, and my school is no different. I always have to bring a little with me every time I go. There also isn't any soap in the restrooms at my school either, so I keep a bottle in my desk to use or use hand sanitizer (a godsend!).

One last comment on toilet use in Thailand before I move on – like Europe, they use water to clean their bums after going number two. I call it a ‘bum gun' though I don't know if that is the proper term for it. After going number two, you are supposed to spray your bum with it to clean it out before wiping, like a bidet. It actually is much more sanitary and my bum has never felt cleaner (so sorry for the TMI!!!!). Sometimes it is not used for this purpose by my students but instead to have water fights in the bathroom.. kids.

Afternoon

In the afternoons, I have two classes, just like the morning. These are always back-to-back as well for another two-hour block. After introducing a topic, reviewing with the students, and playing plenty of games, the time goes by quickly. Three days a week, I finish at 15:30 (3:30 PM). The other two days I finish at 14:30 (2:30 PM).

Thai Students and Respect

Having taught for a few years in America, there are several differences between teaching there and teaching in Thailand. The most obvious one is respect. Teachers are revered here, and I get the same level of respect that any Thai teacher gets right away. In America, respect is earned and then given to the teacher by the students. In Thailand, it is expected that you will respect the teacher. Some of the ways this is shown is:

• The wai – Whenever a student passes me in the hallway, they must give me a little bow with their hands in front of them, like they are praying.

• Teacher greeting – Before the start of each class, the students must greet the teacher before class can begin. This greeting is given in Thai to the Thai teachers, but in English to me:

   

  • Student Captain: Stand up, please.

   

  • S: (After standing) Good Morning/Afternoon teacher.

   

  • T: Good morning/Afternoon class. How are you?

   

  • S: I am fine, thank you. And you?

   

  • T: I am (fine, wonderful, great… choose your pick. I like to switch it up). Thank you. You may sit down.

   

  • S: Thank you teacher (bow and sit)

• Thanking the teacher throughout class: If I give a student a worksheet, or put a check on their work, they must ‘wai' me and give a little bow in thanks. If I have a student come up to the board, they always bow once they finish and give me back the chalk/white board marker.

• Kneeling: If I am sitting at the desk and a student needs me to check their work, they must kneel in front of me while I look at their paper. This shows respect by lowering themselves below me; If I am sitting, they are kneeling.

Punishment

Most of the time (90% of the time) the students are extremely well-behaved. I am at a school that has a reputation for naughty students, so there are the occasional kids who try to push the limits. If a Thai teacher witnesses a student being disrespectful to me, they will be punished. I had one class once that was really talkative, making it difficult for me to teach anything. I ended class a few minutes early and went back to sit at my desk and decompress. Another teacher asked me if class was over, and I explained how the students had behaved. She immediately promised that they would be punished. I don't know exactly what happened, but they have been angels ever since.

In Thailand, it is acceptable for teachers to hit the students. Most teachers have a stick that they use to hit students who are being disrespectful during class. Usually they make the student hold their hand out and give them a good whack. Other times they hit them in the back of the knee. They are never hit multiple times and never very hard, but it is very different than America where you are never allowed to touch a student. It took me a little while to get used to seeing the Thai teachers with their sticks and hearing kids getting punished in the hallways. I never hit my students since it is so engrained in me that it is against the law, but it is something you will see a lot of in Thailand.

School Activities

At least once or twice a month (sometimes more!), the school will cancel classes to hold activities for the students. Sometimes these center around a holiday, like Father's Day or Loy Krathong; other times, I can't figure out the exact reason why they are held. It is unlikely that I ever know about these days in advance. Usually, I show up that morning ready to teach and someone will stop me and say ‘No, no teacher, no class.' I then get to turn around and enjoy my free day! These days are little unexpected gifts! Depending on what the activity is, I can choose to participate or not. Recently, my school did a beach clean up as a community service project for Father's Day and in honor of the King. I did take part in that since I frequently use the beach. I used the opportunity to teach the students some new English vocabulary such as ‘styrofoam,' which we found a lot of, and ‘litter.'

Monkeying Around

This is not typical of most schools in Thailand, but I thought I would include it just because it shows how different it is teaching here than back home. My school is located at the base of what is known as ‘Monkey Mountain.' This means that many times during the week, the monkeys will come down and hang out in the school. They run through the hallways, sometimes into classrooms to steal any food they can find. They usually hang out by the cafeteria where they will go through the trashcans looking for something to eat. The students will interrupt class with calls of ‘Teachaaa, monkey! Monkey!' if they see one clamber up a pipe by the window. Other times, I will see a monkey run by the open door of the class while I am teaching. It is always a surprise to see them running around the school, when back home I only ever saw them in a zoo. If they do get into a class, the students will chase them out with sticks. I have seen monkeys chasing students during the lunch hour though, which was wildly entertaining.

After School

Once my classes are over, I am free for the day! This is not true for every school. Some expect their English teacher to stay until the school day is officially over, so I am lucky I get to leave once I am done. I will ride my motorbike home and sometimes nap for a bit. There is a gym near my apartment building, so I may go there to work out. What I prefer, and which is way more fun, is aerobics classes that are held all over the city. These cost bout 5 baht (about 14 cents) and last an hour. They are a great cardio workout with no breaks!

Dinner usually consists of street food during the week. My street fills up with vendors as the evening progresses and I can get a full meal for less than $3. On the weekends, I sometimes treat myself to a western style meal at a more expensive restaurant. After dinner, I usually hang out, watch some TV, and eventually get ready for bed. Then it's time to sleep and get ready to do it all again the next day!

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Do you teach English in Thailand? What is your typical day like? Share below!