Teach Abroad with BFITS Thailand

I would recommend BFITS for anyone new to teaching or new to teaching abroad. They are professionally run and provide a variety of teaching opportunities, in several locations across Thailand. I began teaching at the start of the second term and was able to teach outside of Bangkok, at my request. I was provided with a four day crash-course orientation on BFITS, Thai culture, Thai teaching expectations and BFITS on-line grading system. It was a little rushed as I had joined a later orientation for those of us who couldn’t make it to the one on the first of the month. I appreciated their flexibility with my start date. The orientation was held in Bangkok, after which they sent me on a bus to my new city, where I was picked up by the office coordinator. She took me to look at an apartment and then took me shopping. I needed basic kitchen supplies, bedding and the school teachers’ uniform. As a woman, the school uniform was quite casual and comfortable. If you have tattoos though, you’ll likely be expected to cover them up, which may mean longer sleeves and longer skirts. Not knowing the specifics of the uniform, I had packed and purchased a lot of unnecessary clothing. Having this information ahead of time would have been nice.

BFITS provided me with all the tools and information to make teaching as easy as possible. I had well-structured lesson plans, a teaching schedule, an online grading system and lots of videos on classroom management. With teaching 20 hours per week and making use of the material provided, there was plenty of time throughout the day to prep, grade tests and projects and input grades into their online grading system. They also allow some flexibility with the material, so you can update and personalize it, making it more fun and engaging for all. I was placed in a school with a really small BFITS presence. Just two English teachers and two teacher assistants; one who doubled as the office coordinator. This was probably the toughest aspect of the teaching experience, as we were quite isolated from the rest of the school and other BFITS teachers and managers. I relied on this small team for all local and school information and it often felt like the information wasn’t forthcoming. The Head Teacher was also in a different location. Although just a phone call or email away, I could have used some advice throughout the term and, as it was my first teaching experience, I didn’t always know what questions to ask. Others may really appreciate this less-structured environment, which I think is quite rare in Thailand.

Over these five months, I have experienced and learned a lot. I never thought teaching was easy and this experience hasn’t proven me wrong. If you’re thinking about teaching only as a means to support your travelling desires, you might want consider other means. If you would like to experience a new culture and support others in learning English, BFITS is a great place to start. Along with the challenges, there wasn’t a day that went by without a reason to smile, both within the school and the community.

They appear to be an organized company offering training and support with happy teachers. Once you sign the contract and are at the school, the smiling teachers are few and far between, and management is only seen during the infrequent visits that involve being lectured to about what you did wrong or giving you more duties because the schools wants more. There were many duties like morning assembly, grading every single day, writing exams, camps, Christmas activities, and more. The school wants everyone ready at the school at 7:30am and noone is to leave until 4pm. After spending 1 hour commuting to school and teaching 3 or 4 classes a day, grading, planning and then commuting 1 hour back home, I was exhausted. Then there was the training which felt rushed and more like a lecture of what they wanted me to do, not how to do it.

The company gets a ton of things right. What are they? They provide materials and support, they try their best to accommodate you with location and subjects, they have a variety of teaching options across the city and the country, they are progressing with the times i.e. technology/methodology and the staff genuinely wants you to succeed.

The managers really want you to do well. For all subjects you get resources beyond a book/worksheets to really bring the class to life. The management staff as a whole is very knowledgeable and can guide you.

The company takes care of all your visa needs and makes it a very smooth process. They give advice on where to live and your commute. Its a very seamless and supported process.

The overall experience is terrific and I would recommend the company to anyone coming to Thailand.

Pro’s
I have been working for BFITS for a considerable time and have always found them a friendly company to work for. Although the pay isn’t comparable of some schools or companies it is certainly not the worst paying company. I have always been paid on time.
The schools I have worked at on the whole have been professionally run and with the support from the BFITS staff most problems get sorted quickly.
You are given teaching material that you can use “straight out of the box” which is adequate if you are a new teacher or a teacher that doesn’t like to spend too much time in preparation. However you can add your own style to these lessons to suit your students learning.
One last advantage of working for BFITS is that visas and work permits are organized for you. You also get a basic cover of health insurance to use in most hospitals in Thailand.

Con’s
As a person that has been working as a teacher for many years I have seen many colleagues who work with me who have little or no experience in a Thai classroom. Therefore I suggest that more training should be on going to not only help these teachers but also take this responsibility off of the more senior teachers.

Advice to management
Hire more cover teachers to allow management/trainers to get to schools to do more ongoing training to the less experienced teachers.
Look after your experienced teachers as they are the life blood of the company.

BFITS is an amazing agency and I would strongly urge anyone considering teaching in Thailand to utilize them as your agency. The support was top tier and I always felt like I could turn to them with any issues I had. I had plenty of friends use other agencies to secure teaching jobs and I can honestly say I got the best deal with BFITS, better support, higher pay, better school placement etc. They provide you with all the materials and equipment you need to teach in the classroom so all you have to worry about is adapting your lessons and having fun.

For me, BFITS has been a good experience all around. I'm only working because I want to, not because I have to. That being said, I came to Thailand 11 years ago and have been with the company ever since. Though I had prior teaching experience in America, being here takes a different skill set, and BFITS has helped to teach me those necessary skills. Since being hired in 2007, they have seen fit to promote me not once, but twice, to my current position as School Manager. The support I've gotten over the years has contributed to my success, and continues to help me along in my on-going process. The amount of time I have spent with them should be a testament to their overall business practices, and how they take care of their employees. And there have been several times in which they went above and beyond what was required of them in order to watch out for their teacher's best interests. This is a good agency, plain and simple.

I spent a year with BFITS teaching at a large convent school based in the heart of Bangkok. Having worked overseas for one year in South Korea, I had some experience of dealing with companies placing native teachers in schools and language centers. Currently I work in essentially the same job at a private high school in Tokyo.

I found BFITS to be professional, supportive, and organised. Along with this, I found their staff to be knowledgeable with regards to good teaching practice. As somebody who still teaches English and sees this as my career, my time in BFITS taught me a lot about teaching large classes, using materials, engaging with students, classroom management, writing tests and arranging a curriculum. Among other critical applications for an aspiring teacher. The company were efficient with the arranging of visa dates and clear about how the process works.

I taught classes of around 25 students between the ages of 13 - 15. When I started the position, I was given a tour of the premises along with a chance to observe lessons and get a feel for the school. The company was very supportive in this and provided me with a useful handbook to give me an idea of how to conduct myself around the school, and I was also given pre-prepared attendance records and other such materials. Now that I work in a high school in Japan, i have learned that these benefits - while seeming small - are not always provided and are very handy!

BFITS is a multi-cultural organisation. Between management and teaching staff I worked directly with staff from Thailand (of course), America, Philippines, Taiwan, Britain, and Canada to name a few. This multitude of nationalities lends itself extremely well to a positive teaching environment, the importance of which cannot be understated as - in order to provide students with a cooperative environment in which to study English - that atmosphere should exist within the teaching staff as well. This is something BFITS has fortunately recognized.

In regards to management, I again left with a very positive impression of the program - BFITS provided regular feedback and observation, and my program manager did a wonderful job of recognizing improvement as well as offering areas for potential improvement. Feedback was always constructive and well laid out. My co-teachers were also very professional, highly motivated and generous with their time and knowledge. The head teacher of the English department was also very friendly and helpful - not always the case when working in a foreign country as an English teacher and a mighty relief.

Overall I would highly recommend BFITS, particularly to new teachers who are motivated and want to ''try on'' English teaching. Thailand is a very beautiful country and has plenty of sights to see, so even if you're just wanting to work overseas while seeing the sights, the company does provide a generous amount of time off. Just be sure that you're motivated to work hard and be professional, but with that being said, I think this role could appeal to someone who wants to take a year out and see Southeast Asia.

I have been working for BFITS for 7 years in the Northeast Isan region of Thailand. I have worked in large government schools in Surin, Khon Kaen and now Nong Khai, where I am presently employed as head foreign teacher, overseeing 6 other teachers in addition to myself. They provided ample training at the outset of my employment prior to my initial teaching assignment in Surin, where I began my career conducting general conversational English classes in an environment that was often rewarding due to higher motivation and language ability of multiple outstanding students, but could at times be challenging due to large class sizes coupled with low language ability and occasional behavioral issues. I currently conduct classes as part of the BFITS boutique portfolio of English and International programs, where other subjects are taught in the English language such as math and science, and classes are conducted in a climate controlled, multi-media environment and are smaller with a high proportion of highly motivated, high performing students. This is typical of the normal teaching environment in a BFITS contracted school. In the entire time, I have found BFITS to be an upstanding company with courteous and professional staff in both the central office in Bangkok and the regional Isan office in Buriram, providing additional training, encouragement and support as needed from to time to time. One thing that I particular enjoy about BFITS is their progressive educational ideas and willingness and desire to improve upon teaching processes and educational technology deployed in the classrooms. This is best illustrated by interactive computer technology currently deployed in 5 pilot schools in Thailand and soon to expand to several others. More important than the educational technology made available to teachers, BFITS employees at every level have always provided me with an excellent “sounding board” or support as I look to improve my teaching techniques on an ongoing basis or when encountering occasional issues with schools that can surface from time to time. Salary is competitive and commensurate with work performed with a year-end bonus, paid substantial paid time off during off-peak work periods and similar benefits offered which are not offered or are superior to competing firms. Assistance with visas, work permit and other items to ensure compliance with immigration regulations along with assistance with relocation as needed has been invaluable. Put simply, I enjoy working for BFITS. For that reason, I am now in my 8th year with them and plan to continue in with them in the future.