Be Like Greg: Exploring Opportunities and Embracing My New Teaching Role in Thailand

At 28, as I sat in the dreary office in Manchester, the city that had been my home for the previous four years, I felt my twenties slowly but surely slipping away from me.

Having had friends travel around Southeast Asia before, and as many deadlines for work I no longer enjoyed loomed, I found myself fixated—some days vehemently—on air ticket websites. Of course, my search results often led me to the most visited city in the world, Bangkok, Thailand.

From Corporate Life to a Bold New Journey

Engulfed in my overreaching desire for something new, I decided it was now or never to make a change. Thus, in November 2023, my tickets were booked. Then followed nine months of travel around Southeast Asia, with multiple visits to all corners of Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. From the mountains of Mae Rim to the beaches of Da Nang, I found myself ever amazed and engrossed in the sights, food, and culture of this part of the world.

Of course, without some sort of lottery win, travel cannot last forever, and as such, I decided it was time to decide on my future. Return to the grey weather scape of the North of England or decide to stay amongst the sunny skies and positive people of Thailand?

Ultimately, the thought of embracing the opportunity to teach in Thailand ended up being a very easy choice. Thus, 4 weeks of an in-person TEFL course in central Bangkok was booked, and suddenly, becoming a teacher seemed to be very real.

Following My Passion for Teaching in Thailand

Education had always run in the family. Both of my parents were primary school teachers, and after many years in the private sector, I really felt a need to do a job where I felt I was making some sort of difference and could, in a way, follow in my parents’ footsteps (even if I was 9600km away from the place of my birth). 

After reading horror stories about employers in Thailand’s teaching sector, it was paramount for me to find an employer where I felt supported as a new teacher. Having had several interviews with different employers, BFITS Head of HR Angel immediately put me at ease; her attitude was very genuine during the interview, and I had good vibes from day one.

This interview and good reviews from my course leaders at my TEFL about BFITS’ reputation for helping teachers in Thailand made me feel as though perhaps I was onto a winner (if I was offered a job). It’s worth noting that time was taken in the interview to ask me about my preference in terms of location, age group, and subject, something I did not receive with any of the other interviews I attended, either online or in person. 

Securing My Teaching Job with BFITS

Then, to my surprise, the email came! A job was offered, albeit not in a location that was suitable for my needs. Without the classic use of British hyperbole, I wouldn’t be overexaggerating to say I was feeling more than a little bit deflated. Back to the drawing board, I thought…

As two days went by, I then heard from Angel via Line, a must-have messaging app if you are planning on coming over to Thailand, about a school in the location I wanted, teaching the age group I had requested, and English learners at a very good level of the CEFR scale!

Scrambling on my phone, I requested the next steps, to be told an onboarding would occur for a week in around 2 weeks, which was not very long at all.  I travelled around Bangkok’s fashion markets to find my work clothes (including ties) and waited patiently for the training week to begin.

A Comprehensive Training Week Before Teaching English in Thailand

After a quick motorbike taxi to Ekkamai, I arrived at BFITS’ office for the first day of onboarding, a welcome orientation with both lead BFITS Training Manager James Tovey and the previously mentioned HR Manager Angel, who outlined BFITS’ values and what is expected from us on a professional level.

The training group was a good size, with twelve people of differing ages, from different backgrounds and levels of experience. We were given the chance to introduce ourselves before getting into the diving into the essential skills for teaching in Thailand, and the nitty-gritty.

Over the coming days, all elements of being a BFITS teacher were touched on succinctly and with great purpose. Everything from effective teaching techniques to workable class management techniques was covered. It was useful in the training to be able to try it out for yourself rather than being spoken to for nine hours. It did feel like a very well-thought-out and interactive experience.

Then came what was possibly my favourite part of the training week: Google Classroom. I class myself as moderately tech savvy, and realising the things I could do with this software opened up a multitude of new possibilities regarding technologically driven lessons within the classroom.

The grading system and resources can all be accessed from one web page, and definitions and grammar rules are provided to help you along the way. This has already proved to be a time-saving exercise with both lesson planning and slide making. 

First Impressions of My New School in Thailand

On the final day of the training week, I was introduced to my Program Manager, Trell Cornelius, who is there to observe and help you grow during your first year of teaching. I was told it was time to visit the school for the first time while sporting my very Thai and very yellow Monday uniform. 

Arriving at Satriwitthaya (SW) School was a surreal experience. Due to it still being the school holidays, visions of it being full of schoolchildren were hard to imagine, and the silence of the halls echoed around me. The school is situated on one of the oldest streets in one of the historic neighborhoods in all of Bangkok, nestled just next to the democracy monument.

What struck me, despite the not long-lasting quietness, was the green and the trees situation within the school grounds. It was a moment of reflection after all of my travels for just how far I had come. I was introduced to my co-teachers and of course, the other BFITS teachers on campus, all of whom have been incredibly welcoming. Then it was time to begin prepping my lessons; there was about a week to go before term was starting.

First Day of Teaching: A New Beginning

Lesson planning seemed a hard and mammoth task at first, but with my new arsenal of skills learned during the onboarding process, I soon found my feet and decided I would plan my first 2 weeks of lessons ahead, doing them 1 at a time. 

Then, on the first day of school, I did my intro lesson with five out of my six classes. The pupils at my school couldn’t be more eager to learn (even with the more complicated grammar points). I honestly feel a sense of solid security from the team around me, whether for hints on how to properly grade or just simple things like how to structure this term, which is relatively short compared to others.

Every day is truly a learning experience, and by no means am I getting every single thing correct the first time around, I look forward to seeing how my teaching has developed and progressed in 3 months.

If you’re considering making the leap, don’t hesitate! Teaching English in Thailand is not just a career change—it’s an adventure, an opportunity, and a life-changing experience waiting to be embraced.