Topic: Filipinos are among the best English teachers here

[Nemesis]

3,000 Pinoys teaching English in Thailand

By JOSE RODEL CLAPANO

The Philippine Star

BANGKOK – More than 3,000 Filipinos are now teaching English in various parts of Thailand.

Thai teacher Chaiyot Saengthong told The STAR that Filipinos are among the best English teachers here.

Saengthong, a teacher at Minburi Polytechnic School in Bangkok, said Filipino teachers are good in English and are currently working in various private and  government-owned schools in this country.

He said Filipino teachers are earning salaries ranging from 12,000 Baht (P17,000) to 30,000 Baht (P43,000) a month.

He said the Filipino teachers are more efficient than their Thai counterparts.

“They are better than Thai teachers when it comes to English and Mathematics subjects,” Saengthong said.

Napoleon Favila, 28, a Filipino teacher who attended the four-day Southeast Asian workshop for the media hosted by the UNESCO from Aug. 14-17 here, said that he was forced to work in Thailand because he was not able to get a job in the Philippines after graduation.

“I’ve been here in Thailand for the past two years now. I applied to an agency two years ago because I failed to get a job in our country. I was luckily hired to teach in Sathit Bangna School located in Bangkok where I earn 12,000 Baht per month,” said Favila, who finished Bachelor of Science major in Industrial Education at the Nueva Vizcaya Polytechnic College in 2001.

Favila said his wife, Robelyn Bergonia Favila, is also working in Lumpini, Bangkok as an aide to Associated Press executive Patrick McDowell.

“My two kids are living with my parents in Nueva Vizcaya. So, I’m still sending them money from the earnings that I’m getting from my teaching profession here,” Favila said.

Favila said he transferred two weeks ago to Islam Lam Sai School, a government-owned school being funded by the King of Thailand, because the salary offered to him was bigger than what he is receiving from the private school.

“The management is giving me topics for students in Kinder to Grade VI, then I will create a conversation training in English for them. I also teach grammar for Thai English teachers here,” Favila said.

Favila said he is now earning a monthly salary of 20,000 Baht (P29,000).

“I have free lunch here. I am budgeting 3,000 Baht for my needs for the whole month. Lam Sai is a very peaceful place. There is no violence here and the people are all honest. I easily adjusted here because Thailand is just like the Philippines except for the culture of the people here,” Favila said.   

Favila said he and his wife meet only during weekends whenever they have time to go out.

He said he plans to continue working in Lam Sai until he saves P500,000 which he will use for the construction of a house in the hometown of his wife in San Manuel, Isabela.

“I have no plans of migrating here. But before I return to our country, I want to build our house in Isabela where my wife’s parents have land of their own. My wife and I are scheduled to have our vacation in the Philippines next year and visit our two kids,” Favila said.

From: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storyPage.aspx?storyId=88791

Any comments?

[hero]

Thai teacher Chaiyot Saengthong told The STAR that Filipinos are among the best English teachers here.

At least they are at his school.  Pretty strong generalisation by the journalist to assume this applies across Thailand - there is little likelihood that the guy quoted will have ever worked with native-speakers at his polytechnic!!!

He said the Filipino teachers are more efficient than their Thai counterparts.

We all know that doesn't take much

Favila said he is now earning a monthly salary of 20,000 Baht

Lots of Filipinos earning a lot more than this I believe.  Just as with other nationalities, I have encountered good and bad Filipino teachers here.  I certainly don't go for grand statements like the journalist above.

Any comments?

Typical flag-waving, chest-thumping, third-world journalism 

[Nemesis]

My thoughts exactly, hero!

[wangsuda]

Ya know, I'm going to play devils advocate here and agree with the article and the title of the topic - WITH ONE CAVEAT: FOR THE MONEY THEY GET PAID Filipinos are the best English teachers in Thailand. 20,000 baht per month is well below poverty level in most first world countries. The quoted article shows that it is beyond what a third world teacher can make in his/her home country. Perhaps Filipinos see this as a good thing; it expands their job market.

[bomha]

I have never met a Filipino teacher, or worked with one, anyway.  Color me ignorant.   But from what I have heard, Filipinos are NOT native speakers, usually they speak with accents, they speak with strange syntax and grammar, they use the same old failed methods that do not work for the Thai teachers of English, etc.  However, they usually have a strong work ethic, and make good slaves for the Thai directors.  If we work for peanuts, the Filipinos work for sawdust.

[certified]

The Filipinos here are a self promoting group that will say and do about anything for a job. Sure they are hard working when the boss is looking, and on time when someone is checking, however just turn your back and for many of them its break time. They like some of the rest here are on false documents,or retired gangsters running from the law, over the hill bar hostesses,ignorant cab drivers, con artists, thiefs and undesirables. Lets face it Thailand with it's sloppy regulations and it's greed to turn a buck will take anyone to make money. Filipinos are just the same as anyone else. They try to alter this perception to get as much of the educational market they can get for themselves. I work with 10 of them now and only 1 has a background in education. Three of the staff are on false documents.

[Krungsri]

I have never met a Filipino teacher, or worked with one, anyway.  Color me ignorant.   But from what I have heard, Filipinos are NOT native speakers, usually they speak with accents, they speak with strange syntax and grammar, they use the same old failed methods that do not work for the Thai teachers of English, etc.  However, they usually have a strong work ethic, and make good slaves for the Thai directors.  If we work for peanuts, the Filipinos work for sawdust.

Depends on what you mean by "native speaker".  Some Filipinos are brought up bilingually and have very strong English skills, but not many of them would be looking for teaching jobs here.  In my experience there is some variation in both English competence and teaching ability.  Some of our Filipino teachers have really native-like English skills, but there are some who fall well short of that mark.  They generally work conscientiously and are easy to manage.  Perhaps their apparent docility is partly caused by their relative powerlessness; perhaps it is partly due to the Asian employee ethic.  Generally I have found them to be capable teachers who stay in the job and cause little turnover.  They are also pleasant people to have around the school.  Some Thai parents and students resent having Filipinos on staff, but (in my experience) they generally get good value for the money.

[retiredstillteaching]

The thing I like about educated and qualified Filipinos is that they don't take any shite in class from the Thai students. The Filipinos make it clear from the outset as to who's running the classroom.

One time I did a relief lesson for a Filipino teacher who unusually was absent. I began the lesson as I always begin a relief lesson, saying "Don't say this to anyone because I only heard it myself and don't know for sure, but Mr. ********* (the teacher, in this case a Filipino male) died." I LMAO because the whole class spontaneously broke out in applause. The Filipinos I've worked with over the past ten consecutive years in Thailand insist on an orderly classroom which, as we know, Thai students hate.

As to the newspaper piece presented above, I second the reaction that it isn't tuff to teach English better than a Thai teacher. However, most Filipinos I've worked with don't know English language idioms well, e.g., "I've got a bone to pick with you," usually goes right past 'em.

[Thai Me Up]

I can't stand it when some Dutch, German or Swedish guy tries to pass himself off as a "native speaker" in the TEFL workplace but can get away with it because his skin is WHITE.  Isn't that what it's all about?  Filipinos are dark-skinned so fair game for bashing even on this pro-teacher forum.  "If you're white, you're right, if you're black, stay back."  Do Dutch, German or Swedish teachers know English idioms?  Nope.

As for comments that Filipinos speak with "strange accents" and that they are a "self promoting group that will say and do about anything for a job," well, everyone speaks English with some accent and tries to promote himself in some way.

Is this thread warming up for some off-color Filipino jokes next?

[RobRoy]

Dang, I once again agree with TMU!

I worked with some white guys from England (Manchester, I believe is where this guy is from) and I couldn't understand him.  Same with a couple of Scotttish guys...yes, they were white, yes they had a UK passport but could the speak clearly (to my American ears), sadly no.   

From my humble experience, yes, Filipinos make great teachers, but get them in a group and there is usually problems...everything from religious differences to petty whining that makes 5 years seem all grown up.  My wife (a Filipino teacher) won't work where there's already a large number of Filipino teachers because of this.

[retiredstillteaching]

To be as clear as I think I can be, only educators certified in their native countries and whose native language is English should be teaching TEFL/ESL etc anywhere in the world.

It so happens that in general Filipinos are a constant topic of discussion among native speakers of English who teach English in Thailand.

I taught at a proprietary school here in Thailand which elevated a black-skinned South African woman to the position of Coordinator of Prathom English, a matter which went wholely unnoticed at the various TEFL forums in Thailand and globally. I guess fairly or unfairly, if she'd been Filipino there probably would have been hell to pay!   

[Nemesis]

Depends on what you mean by "native speaker".  Some Filipinos are brought up bilingually and have very strong English skills, but not many of them would be looking for teaching jobs here.  In my experience there is some variation in both English competence and teaching ability.  Some of our Filipino teachers have really native-like English skills, but there are some who fall well short of that mark.  They generally work conscientiously and are easy to manage.  Perhaps their apparent docility is partly caused by their relative powerlessness; perhaps it is partly due to the Asian employee ethic.  Generally I have found them to be capable teachers who stay in the job and cause little turnover.  They are also pleasant people to have around the school.  Some Thai parents and students resent having Filipinos on staff, but (in my experience) they generally get good value for the money.

Yeah and my wife's best friend worked at one of the campuses, it might be yours. She had a run in with your director because of the 12,000 baht per month she was earning and what she was expected to to.

From my humble experience, yes, Filipinos make great teachers, but get them in a group and there is usually problems...everything from religious differences to petty whining that makes 5 years seem all grown up.  My wife (a Filipino teacher) won't work where there's already a large number of Filipino teachers because of this

I know the feeling. There's a mindset among many Filipinos who go abroad that just because they are abroad, they're something special. Not to mention a crab mentality that makes TEFLWatch look like a walk in the park.

My wife was the same way at her last school. She wouldn't help any Filipinos get on the staff because she knew what you describe would happen.

[Nemesis]

I can't stand it when some Dutch, German or Swedish guy tries to pass himself off as a "native speaker" in the TEFL workplace but can get away with it because his skin is WHITE.  Isn't that what it's all about?  Filipinos are dark-skinned so fair game for bashing even on this pro-teacher forum.  "If you're white, you're right, if you're black, stay back."  Do Dutch, German or Swedish teachers know English idioms?  Nope.

Is this thread warming up for some off-color Filipino jokes next?

I hate double posts, but this different enough of a post to be worthy of its own post.

I agree almost totally, TMU. At a school I worked at, Filipinos earned half what Westerners earned. The reason was, native speakers vs non-native speaker. Or so they said. They hired this South African woman. White skin but her grammar sucked. She was not a native speaker, but they paid her full salary. The Filipinos? Half her salary. It was obvious that it wasn't about English fluency but rather about skin color. And that ain't right. This site stands against racism, totally.

I don't think we'll be bashing Filipinos. RobRoy has a Filipina wife, we do have some Filipinos who check in here, and I'm in the Philippines.

[herrkutz]

Certified.

I know exactly what you mean perhaps or in fact we do work at the same place. Add to the Fillippino experience with an unqualified school owner with a self awarded "Life Experience Degree" a scheming liar of an Indian manager a couple of grumpy old men with dubious backgrounds, co-ordinators that have worked at 35 schools in 5 years and an ex cook along with his ego you now understand why qualified staff are feared at this particular school (sic) 
 
Praise be to Allah Blessed be his name !!! 
 

[fed_up]

I agree almost totally, TMU. At a school I worked at, Filipinos earned half what Westerners earned. The reason was, native speakers vs non-native speaker. Or so they said. They hired this South African woman. White skin but her grammar sucked. She was not a native speaker, but they paid her full salary. The Filipinos? Half her salary. It was obvious that it wasn't about English fluency but rather about skin color. And that ain't right. This site stands against racism, totally.

There are 2 reasons for lower Filipino salaries:

1) They are sooooo desperate to get anything that they haven't realized yet that they can command higher salaries by just saying "no".

2)

Favila said he transferred two weeks ago to Islam Lam Sai School, a government-owned school being funded by the King of Thailand, because the salary offered to him was bigger than what he is receiving from(a) the private school.

“The management is giving me topics for students in Kinder to Grade VI, then I will create a conversation training in English(b) for them. I also teach grammar for Thai English teachers(c) here,” Favila said.

“I have free lunch here(d). I am budgeting 3,000 Baht for my needs for the whole month. Lam Sai is a very peaceful place. There is no violence here and the people are all honest. I easily adjusted here(e) because Thailand is just like the Philippines except for the culture of the people here(f),” Favila said.

Spot the grammatical mistakes ? Let's correct them:
a) he was offered a higher salary than what he was receiving from
b) then I will design an English conversation course
c) English grammar to Thai teachers
d) I get free lunch here
e) I have adjusted here easily
f) no need for "of the people here", just omit

Well, I guess we all try to sell ourselves as best as we can, but I believe that native speakers have (hopefully) more to offer than Filipinos. After all, would you send your luk krung to learn English from this guy who made 6 (even more but I disregarded couple of them) grammatical errors in 3 paragraphs (even a basic past continuous tense error) ?

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys....

Oh, by the way, I felt the need to modify the post as IMHO South Africans are not native speakers of English no matter what they say.