Teaching Abroad in Thailand Was Delightfully Odd

I taught English in small-town Thailand for two and a half years.

These are some of the memories that have stuck with me.

I'd love to tell you it was the moments when I saw the lightbulb flicker behind some innocent child's eyes as I helped them grasp some tricky grammar point.

But that wouldn't be honest.

The moments that stay with you when you're teaching abroad are the funny ones, the unexpected ones. Here are some of my favourites.

A Teenager's Worst Nightmare

The first school I worked at was a big international school, and it taught from kindergarten right up to the age of 18.

Like every school in Thailand, each day began by raising the flag and signing the national anthem. Except that one day when it didn't.

I turned up to find the entire school population neatly assembled in the car park. Naturally, I assumed it was a fire drill.

Of all the things I expected to happen next, the last would've been for 'Achy Breaky Heart' to blare out over the speakers, the entire school line dancing in unison!

Graciously, I didn't have to join in. But the look on the "cool" teenagers' faces - priceless.

Turning Chinese

When I was growing up in the UK, there used to be lots of documentaries on TV about amazing Chinese schools.

Their day began with the kids outside doing aerobics in their baggy little tracksuits, before sitting deathly still in class all day.

When I started teaching abroad, people back home would remember these and say things like, 'The kids are all really well-behaved there, right?'

Wrong. Despite their dalliances with morning exercise, Thai kids are not Chinese kids. Apart from one day a year, apparently.

After hearing 'no' all week when I asked who'd be celebrating Chinese New Year, my class only had ONE poor girl in it on the day!

Being Put In My Place

If you're teaching English in Thailand, or just living there, you'll notice that all state schools have basically the same uniform.

White short-sleeved shirts, navy skirts and shorts. For some reason, it's usually the girls that have to wear ties.

But teenagers will be teenagers, even if it means sacrificing comfort. The way they express their individuality is by wearing hoodies and jackets - in the 30-degree tropical heat.

I know this because I once made the mistake of asking one why she didn't just take her hoodie off instead of boosting the aircon.

'It's my style!' she declared, with a confidence I can only dream of. That was me told!

Teaching Latin as a Foreign Language

When you work abroad in Thailand, it's important to respect the concept of 'saving face,' i.e. not publicly embarrassing others.

By the time this story happened, I was teaching at the local university. I'd tasked my students with writing a CV.

In my experience, many Thai students miss the point that these tasks are learning opportunities, so they just copy the first example they can find online.

When I checked the work, one girl had filled out her entire CV with Latin placeholder text from an online CV template! She apparently had no idea it wasn't English.

Rather than point this out in front of her classmates and cause her to lose face, she got a quiet talking-to after class.

Don't Call Me Baby

One of the most amusing aspects of Thai culture in general is that nobody uses their real name in everyday conversation.

They all have nicknames, which usually bear no relation whatsoever to the lengthy name on their birth certificate.

Some nicknames sound like their parents opened an English dictionary and picked the first one-syllable word they found. Bean, Cheese, Nut, Phone, and Toast were all students of mine.

Others sound like the parents failed to consider the long-term consequences.

Baby is a very cute nickname for a toddler, but when she's a 15-year-old girl and you're her teacher, it's a bit uncomfortable to say the least!

Have a Gee Day, Mate!

One thing you'll learn when you're teaching abroad in Thailand, or anywhere else, is that people don't usually know very much about other countries.

It was a challenge, then, when my fellow university lecturer asked his students to organise an international fair.

Each group was assigned an English-speaking country and had to create a little table-top display, bring in some traditional foods, and prepare a short presentation.

Of course, I made a beeline for the England table, where I was treated to tea and biscuits. Or, rather, orange Thai milk tea and Ritz crackers.

But the real highlight was the Australian group's presentation, which ended with that classic Aussie sign-off, "Have a gee day, mate!"

The Truth About Teaching Abroad

Teaching abroad is filled with shocks and surprises.

And there's no two ways about it: many of them will be frustrating.

But many will just be delightfully odd, and I find that these don't get written about so much.

I hope you've enjoyed my efforts at trying to balance things out.

If you're interested in learning more about teaching in Thailand, I highly recommend the Ajarn.com blog (no affiliation).

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