BFiTS Thailand & AYC English Review

Unprofessional company. Look at the many spelling mistakes on their website. They have no manners. Wasting candidates time. Low pay and benefits. Avoid at all cost.

I was placed with BFITS Thailand from Xplore Asia with my wife. BFITS was a pleasure to work with and I definitely had a better experience than many friends that also came to teach in Thailand. BFITS provided an extensive contract that covered hours, salary, curriculum, vacation time, and bonuses. BFITS has a visa department to help their teachers make sure they have the correct visas and paperwork and also a great HR department. Teachers that work for BFITS get private medical insurance, which I didn t use but it gave me a peace of mind to know that I had it available. BFITS also helped set me up with accommodations. There were a lot of school breaks and I get two weeks paid vacation, which is great for traveling. I would say the salary is comparable to what other teachers I know make but all of the extras definitely make it worth it. Downsides would include last minute communication/changes (not an anomaly in Thailand), mistakes in the curriculum (not really BFITS fault but shame on these big curriculum publishers!), and having to come to school when students are not present and having nothing to do(example: two weeks after finals are over [may be school specific]). Overall, I felt lucky to be placed with BFITS and I recommend them for anyone looking to teach in Thailand.

I had an excellent experience working with BFITS Thailand. My BFITS colleagues were professional and intelligent. And the Thai teachers/staff were welcoming and supportive. And mostly, it was the students that inspired me to bring my best to the classroom each day. They were eager to learn and appreciative of my efforts. The media system in each classroom allowed me to supplement the materials I was given with relevant, topical, informative, and entertaining information to keep students engaged. The various extracurricular activities were valuable lessons in Thai culture and provided memorable bonding time with the students. Getting to know each student individually and guiding them on their journey of English language learning was the most rewarding part of the experience. One challenge is the requirement to remain on campus, even if you've finished teaching for the day. My advice is to quickly realize that the Thai classroom is more communal than in Western cultures and to leverage that atmosphere of shared learning toward using and enjoying English.

Working for BFITS has made my experience teaching in Thailand extremely enjoyable. The company provided a comprehensive and well-rounded curriculum, in addition to corresponding activity books and resources. I was able to utilize an interactive whiteboard, and could easily include my own supplemental materials into the lessons to meet all of my students needs. Class sizes were manageable, and a bilingual assistant was always present to ensure that the students understood the content and directions. I was fully supported throughout my entire employment, and felt safe knowing that my visa and work permit matters were taken care of by the company. BFITS holds its teachers to a high standard, and I am grateful to work for a company that expects the best for its students.

Working for BFITS was an incredible experience, but there are some instances in which BFITS must accommodate individual schools in order to keep the partnership happy. Schools are proud of their English programs and value their foreign teachers, but there are instances where the schools expect a lot from the foreigners. BFITS compensates its teachers fairly for any additional working hours, but be prepared to do a little more than is expected if it is in the best interest of the school.

Working for BFITS was great. In comparison to a lot of other teaching agencies here in Thailand, BFITS is definitely transparent when it comes to information that you'll need. They provide support and guidance throughout the whole visa process (which can be a very stressful process) and have a hands on Visa department that you can contact at anytime for assistance. You are also provided with medical insurance which was a life saver for me as I got really ill 2 days into the job and it really came in handy, since then I've been sick 2 other times and the medical insurance definitely helped again. BFITS help you with accommodation which is also very nice as it saves you the stress from having to find your own. The downsides to working with BFITS is the lack of communication, last minute cancellations (not really BFITS fault), having to come in even when students are not present. I do think that in the future BFITS need to work on how they deal with unprofessionalism and bullying within the workplace, better intervention is needed to deal with those problems.

BFITS is an awesome company to work for! BFITS equip their students with the necessary language skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing for effective communication. In addition, they teach essential learning skills of literacy, numeracy and technological capability through the study of English, Science, Mathematics and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). BFITS prepare students to be globally competitive. They shape future leaders and success stories by cultivating real-world skills through a comprehensive curriculum and modern instruction by quality teachers.

I had the privilege of becoming one of their English teachers. This opening has lead to new opportunities that have impacted me physically and emotionally. For example, since becoming a teacher, I have taught over 152 beautiful Thai students and was blessed to interact with them daily. All the love that has been shown from these beautiful Thai students has really uplifted my spirit. If you are thinking of becoming a teacher abroad, I would definitely recommend BFITS!

Working with BFITS was an overall good experience. I really enjoyed the students who were bright and eager to learn. The time teaching was not overwhelming (20 hours a week) and the rest of the time was used for prep work and grading. The salary is good and the contract is clear and bonuses are offered for completion of contract. Paid vacation is also given. HR is very responsive if you have any questions or concerns and the visa department is helpful when working out visas. Based on some of my other friends teaching experiences in Thailand, I feel like I lucked out working with BFITS.

I had a positive experience overall working with BFITS. Pro: I only taught 16 hours per week and had friendly coworkers. Probably my favorite part of teaching with BFITS was the students; I really appreciated the good rapport that comes with having small classes (20-22 students). Con: There are neither positive nor negative incentives for students academically - even if they don't do a single bit of work or get a zero on everything, we still have to give them an 80% score. I already lived here and rented a house and had a community of friends so I did not have the cultural adjustment that others may have. I had a 15 minute bicycle ride to school. Working in a Thai school is interesting in that education is so different here from in western countries, especially because there is a national no-fail policy and most students seem to understand that it is far more important to braid their hair the right way or wear their school pin than to study. If you are okay with that, you'll be fine. If there was one thing I could change, it is that teachers have to be at school for 45 hours a week (including lunch break) even though they teach less than half that time. Helpful advice I wish to share with future teachers: Definitely consider working with BFITS rather than doing direct hire with a school (I've heard many horror stories about Thai schools taking advantage of foreign teachers). Also, keep an open mind, have fun, and leave your cultural values about education at the airport.

My experience working for BFITS. What was it like working in Thailand?

My big decision to work with BFITS has to do with location. I like the small town of Nongkhai with 500k population, right on Mekong River and the Laotian capital. I can have a delicious Thai or Western dinner at a riverfront restaurant for under 10 dollars, which is not possible along the river in Bangkok. You can rent a scooter for $90 a month and go around the town or commute to school, which is no more than five km away, no matter where you live. My apartment rent is $80, but it has no AC. Many teachers get apartment with AC for $160. Life is slower here, compared to the bustle of Bangkok. I would compare Nongkhai life style to that of Luang Prabang in Laos.

This is probably the strongest point that BFITS offers... a chance to work in more than 20 locations all over Thailand and even transfer to new locations at the end of the contract. With BFITS, I choose where I want to work.

Things I learned about myself

I like my students, the department, and the school. The English Program students vary greatly in their English ability. Some just joined EP for the first time and had to adjust to learning math and science in English. This represents a huge challenge for both teacher and student. I find myself teaching, not just science, but also English another bullet I can add to my resume. I didn t know I would enjoy teaching English vocabs, but we had fun trying to come up with interesting examples, e.g. When Kam (M2 student) meets a cute boy, she wants to make babies. The vocab is Gametes (sex cells) = Kam meets..

Advice for new teachers

Many new teachers to Thailand will face similar challenge, and my advice to them is to be innovative and do what you have to do to get the results you want. Don t be afraid to try new teaching ideas and make your lessons as 3D as possible. The department and the school are very accommodating and understanding. It took me a few weeks to adjust, but it works out well in the end.

How would I describe my time working for BFITS?

Working with BFITS, I have learned to adapt to the culture of that particular school and be flexiblex. This adjustment translates into no stress and high quality of life inside and outside the school, I would recommend any of my fellow teachers to work for this department at this school and BFITS.
In the classroom, BFITS equipped me with a complete teaching package, including powerpoint lessons, worksheets, classroom activities, lab activities, quizzes, and tests. This helps me save so much prep time for each class. I have wifi, whiteboard, projector, and stereo system in each classroom to give the most dynamic lesson that I can deliver.

For these reasons, I find myself frequently hanging out at coffeshops around the school, mostly spending time on the Internet browsing for materials that would enrich my lessons, make the class more fun, and never worry about preparing the content. That is what we call.. work smarter, not harder, which is my favorite part working for BFITS.

What would I change about my experience?

I would try to establishe closer ties with the parents and the students. This can be done with social networking tool, like LINE app. I would create one LINE group with parents of each grade I teach, one LINE group with Thai teachers, one LINE group with fellow BFITS teachers, and one LINE group for students in each grade. This would increase the amount of communication between all parties, i.e. 360 communication. This passing of information is the way of the future.