Does anyone have any information on the pay scales for either of these schools? I'm looking at EAL/ESOL support jobs at both of these schools and I'm trying to weigh my options. I don't know what the salary is like at these schools. I am pretty sure flights and accommodation aren't included for EAL/ESOL staff. Is this standard everywhere or what? Here are the two schools I'm wondering about:
American Pacific International School in Chiang Mai
Bromsgrove International School in Bangkok
I went back to school to get QTS and I'm wondering if I even need to be a qualified teacher to teach EAL/ESOL in an international school. Any advice with regards to EAL/ESOL work in international schools would be extremely appreciated because this is a big decision for me!
Pay scales for Thai international schools
Re: Pay scales for Thai international schools
I don't have specific information for these schools, but I can speak to being an ESOL teacher in an international school. For every school I've worked at (3 different regions and varying Tier levels), ESOL teachers are held to the same expectations as classroom teachers: teaching degree/license and X number of years experience, usually 2+. And with that comes also the same benefits as all other overseas hired teachers: salary, housing, flights, insurance, etc.
I'm sure there are schools out there that hire ESOL teachers without the above qualifications. Even at good schools, I get the feeling sometimes that ESOL is viewed as the red-headed stepchild by many admin. However, I've never personally worked at a school with different qualifications for ESOL and homeroom teachers.
I'm sure there are schools out there that hire ESOL teachers without the above qualifications. Even at good schools, I get the feeling sometimes that ESOL is viewed as the red-headed stepchild by many admin. However, I've never personally worked at a school with different qualifications for ESOL and homeroom teachers.
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buffalofan
- Posts: 350
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Re: Pay scales for Thai international schools
The better schools will require all their teachers to be qualified, including ESL.
There are international schools in Thailand that will hire unqualified teachers for ESL (and even core subjects), but these schools tend to be run Thai-style, which means you should avoid like plague.
I'm not that familiar with the 2 schools mentioned, but I do know that APIS is a boarding school and you would no doubt have lots of boarding duties outside school hours.
There are international schools in Thailand that will hire unqualified teachers for ESL (and even core subjects), but these schools tend to be run Thai-style, which means you should avoid like plague.
I'm not that familiar with the 2 schools mentioned, but I do know that APIS is a boarding school and you would no doubt have lots of boarding duties outside school hours.
Re: Pay scales for Thai international schools
Monkey wrote:
> I don't have specific information for these schools, but I can speak to
> being an ESOL teacher in an international school. For every school I've
> worked at (3 different regions and varying Tier levels), ESOL teachers are
> held to the same expectations as classroom teachers: teaching
> degree/license and X number of years experience, usually 2+. And with that
> comes also the same benefits as all other overseas hired teachers: salary,
> housing, flights, insurance, etc.
>
> I'm sure there are schools out there that hire ESOL teachers without the
> above qualifications. Even at good schools, I get the feeling sometimes
> that ESOL is viewed as the red-headed stepchild by many admin. However,
> I've never personally worked at a school with different qualifications for
> ESOL and homeroom teachers.
Good to hear from someone with experience. It makes sense that ESOL would be held to the same expectations. I think the issue may be that some schools in Thailand hire TEFL teachers that aren't actually qualified teachers to fill these positions. It's a shame because it discourages the qualified and trained ESOL teachers from applying. I do get the feeling that admin don't seem to consider it as serious as other subjects, and if it's only because they've abused the hiring process by hiring unqualified people, then that's an unfortunate situation. It's certainly not because other subjects are more important or that ESOL teachers don't pull their weight. ESOL is arguably the cornerstone subject in an international school that has mostly a NNS student body.
> I don't have specific information for these schools, but I can speak to
> being an ESOL teacher in an international school. For every school I've
> worked at (3 different regions and varying Tier levels), ESOL teachers are
> held to the same expectations as classroom teachers: teaching
> degree/license and X number of years experience, usually 2+. And with that
> comes also the same benefits as all other overseas hired teachers: salary,
> housing, flights, insurance, etc.
>
> I'm sure there are schools out there that hire ESOL teachers without the
> above qualifications. Even at good schools, I get the feeling sometimes
> that ESOL is viewed as the red-headed stepchild by many admin. However,
> I've never personally worked at a school with different qualifications for
> ESOL and homeroom teachers.
Good to hear from someone with experience. It makes sense that ESOL would be held to the same expectations. I think the issue may be that some schools in Thailand hire TEFL teachers that aren't actually qualified teachers to fill these positions. It's a shame because it discourages the qualified and trained ESOL teachers from applying. I do get the feeling that admin don't seem to consider it as serious as other subjects, and if it's only because they've abused the hiring process by hiring unqualified people, then that's an unfortunate situation. It's certainly not because other subjects are more important or that ESOL teachers don't pull their weight. ESOL is arguably the cornerstone subject in an international school that has mostly a NNS student body.
Re: Pay scales for Thai international schools
buffalofan wrote:
> The better schools will require all their teachers to be qualified,
> including ESL.
>
> There are international schools in Thailand that will hire unqualified
> teachers for ESL (and even core subjects), but these schools tend to be run
> Thai-style, which means you should avoid like plague.
>
> I'm not that familiar with the 2 schools mentioned, but I do know that APIS
> is a boarding school and you would no doubt have lots of boarding duties
> outside school hours.
All international schools should require teachers to be qualified, otherwise it's not an international school. I think some schools are trying to save money by just hiring unqualified TEFLers. APIS and Bromsgrove are both boarding schools. I don't think the extracurricular load is crazy at these schools though. I know at APIS you have a lot of duties if you choose to live on campus with free accommodation, but if you opt out you actually have less responsibility, with most teachers there choosing the latter apparently. At Bromsgrove, teachers are required to do boarding duty once a month, which includes eating dinner and spending time with students till late in the evening around 9:00 p.m. However, it's only once a month.
> The better schools will require all their teachers to be qualified,
> including ESL.
>
> There are international schools in Thailand that will hire unqualified
> teachers for ESL (and even core subjects), but these schools tend to be run
> Thai-style, which means you should avoid like plague.
>
> I'm not that familiar with the 2 schools mentioned, but I do know that APIS
> is a boarding school and you would no doubt have lots of boarding duties
> outside school hours.
All international schools should require teachers to be qualified, otherwise it's not an international school. I think some schools are trying to save money by just hiring unqualified TEFLers. APIS and Bromsgrove are both boarding schools. I don't think the extracurricular load is crazy at these schools though. I know at APIS you have a lot of duties if you choose to live on campus with free accommodation, but if you opt out you actually have less responsibility, with most teachers there choosing the latter apparently. At Bromsgrove, teachers are required to do boarding duty once a month, which includes eating dinner and spending time with students till late in the evening around 9:00 p.m. However, it's only once a month.
Re: Pay scales for Thai international schools
Reviews for both schools on the paid section of this site.
Bromsgrove will be better pay, but obviously it's in Bkk - more expensive and more to spend your money on.
APIS is on a scenic road about 30 mins drive out of C.M. You should be able to get some accommodation off campus, especially in the low tourist season, as there are a lot of Thai style 'resorts' near APIS. CM is much cheaper than Bkk.
I'd be thinking less about money and more about which lifestyle you'd prefer - they'd be very different.
Bromsgrove will be better pay, but obviously it's in Bkk - more expensive and more to spend your money on.
APIS is on a scenic road about 30 mins drive out of C.M. You should be able to get some accommodation off campus, especially in the low tourist season, as there are a lot of Thai style 'resorts' near APIS. CM is much cheaper than Bkk.
I'd be thinking less about money and more about which lifestyle you'd prefer - they'd be very different.
Response
There is a difference between being an ESOL teacher and doing ESOL "support"/ Support is nothing more than an ESOL teacher in an academic setting. They essentially come with a local hire contract.
Professional educators have regulatory authority credentials authorizing instructional services and appropriate academic qualifications. Upper tier ISs will require any faculty member to be appropriately qualified. ESOL however has a negative reputation in IE, so many instructors try to talk their way into a teacher of record position, that many admins and management just disregard anything that looks or sounds like ESOL.
I do agree with PIEGUY, that the issue is more what type of lifestyle you want to live, than compensation package.
Professional educators have regulatory authority credentials authorizing instructional services and appropriate academic qualifications. Upper tier ISs will require any faculty member to be appropriately qualified. ESOL however has a negative reputation in IE, so many instructors try to talk their way into a teacher of record position, that many admins and management just disregard anything that looks or sounds like ESOL.
I do agree with PIEGUY, that the issue is more what type of lifestyle you want to live, than compensation package.