Q and A with Sarah (Thailand)
What is your name, age and nationality?
My name is Sarah, I’m 27 and I am from Ottawa, Canada.
What is your education level and background?
I completed my undergrad studies at the University of Ottawa in Communications and History. After that I continued my education and completed a Masters in Communications, specialised in social media and globalisation.
What is your education level and background?
I completed my undergrad studies at the University of Ottawa in Communications and History. After that I continued my education and completed a Masters in Communications, specialised in social media and globalisation.
Have you travelled abroad previously, and if so where?
Before coming to Thailand, I had travelled abroad but mostly with my family. Our favourite thing to do was to road trip through Europe. My most memorable trip was when we rented a car in eastern Europe and travelled through seven different countries. Other destinations I had travelled to were the United States and Mexico. I had never been to Asia prior to this experience and I had never travelled on my own.
What motivated you to teach abroad?
I had caught a travel bug! I wanted desperately, to not only travel, but to experience living in a different country. I was seeking out an adventure that would transform me and lead me down a different path. South East Asia had become of great interest to me. I had taken history classes in University about this region and I was eager to visit it, first hand. When I found out that you could get a job teaching abroad, I thought it was the perfect way for me to immerse myself in a different culture and discover a new way of life.
What did you want to personally achieve with this experience, and have yousucceeded?
I didn’t have anything that I specifically wanted to achieve before coming out here. I actually didn’t put much thought into it and decided to just dive in and see what life brought me. I was confident in my capabilities to succeed, with success being defined as having a positive, inspiring and fun experience. Going off of those three aspects, I have most definitely had an experience that has been defined by those three words. This country and employment changes you for the better if you let it. It teaches you valuable life lessons that I am not sure I would have learnt as quickly had I not taken this opportunity.
Did you apply for the program with a friend or on your own?
I applied for the program on my own. I wanted to challenge myself and wanted it to be a personal experience.
Did you know anyone who had taught abroad before you?
I had a few friends who had just come out to Thailand to do the TEFL Program and they had a very positive experience.
What were some of your concerns before you began teaching abroad?
I didn’t have any concerns before coming to teach abroad. I was trying to get the most out of my last summer in Canada and was very confident about my decision to come abroad. Something was tugging at me and I knew it was the right decision. I was excited and knew that this was the right journey for me.
How prepared did you feel for your teaching position?
I felt very prepared going in to my teaching position. The trainers I had were a great help and they really took the time to share their knowledge with us, whilst making sure that we were comfortable throughout the entire process. We were also lucky to have the opportunity to teach children at an English camp during our training which greatly helped with my confidence prior to getting to my placement. Again, the community of fellow trainees and the support system I gained throughout those three weeks was imperative to my success.
How long have you been in Thailand and how long did you plan to stay?
I have now been in Thailand for almost 5 years. Initially I wanted to come to South East Asia to travel and thought that teaching in Thailand would be a great place to start. I was planning on staying for one term and then wanted to backpack through South East Asia for another 5 months. I had given myself a year and was convinced that I would go back home after that year. Those plans quickly changed as soon as I began teaching. I absolutely fell in love with the experience, with Thai culture and with the way of life here in Thailand.
How did you secure your English teaching job?
One of the best things about Thai Workation is that they offer a guaranteed job placement, which makes things much easier for all trainees who come to Thailand to be a teacher. After the course was completed, I was placed with an agency that secured me an English teaching job. I didn’t have to do any research. They found a school for me, helped me to find suitable accommodation and also helped me with all the visa processes. It was completely stress free and the transition was extremely easy!
What did a typical working week look like for you?
A typical working week consists of a Monday to Friday 7:30 am to 4:30 pm daily schedule. I would get to school around 7:30 am in the morning in time for assembly and the national anthem. After that, class for the students would start at 8:00 am. The morning session would go from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon, when the students had an hour of break for lunch. In the morning I would usually teach 2 hours during that 4 hour block. The other hours were taught by my fellow Thai teacher. With the 2 free hours I would have in the morning, I would usually go for a coffee and do lesson planning for my class. After lunch, I would usually teach another 2 hours in the afternoon and so I had another free hour to lesson plan or grade some work or workbooks. In total, you usually teach an average of 20 hours a week. This is great because it gives you a lot of free time to plan your lessons and really allows you to get creative with future lessons. I had a desk in my classroom and a computer hooked to a printer that was always available for me to use.
What age group or range did you teach?
My homeroom class at the school I was working at for 4 years was primary 1 and so the students were 6 to 7 years of age. This is the age group I liked the most throughout my teaching experience. They are coming straight from kindergarten and are all extremely cute and endearing. At this age they are just starting to develop their English skills and so there is a possibility that you could even be their first experience when it comes to interacting with a foreign teacher. Primary 1 can be intense as you are helping them develop their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. It is very rewarding to see your students’ progress and to see them gain confidence throughout the year.I have also taught all ages of kindergarten, from nursery (2-3 years old) to K3 (4-5 years old). I also did some substitute teaching in primary 2, primary 3, primary 4, primary 5 and primary 6.My first placement was in a College in Bangkok. The students ranged from 18 to 21 years old. This was an interesting experience as I was told I would be teaching subjects like Business English, English Communication and English and Tourism. At first I was unsure if I would be qualified to teach these subjects, however, after the first day of school, I quickly realised that these students had an extremely basic level of English and so all I had to do was start with the basics. It was a wonderful experience as it allowed me to form great rapport with these students while getting know their interests and passions.
