Before choosing where to do your own TEFL course, you need to know that we do training in five beautiful locations: Koh Samui, Chiangmai, Pattaya, Khon Kaen and Bangkok. Below, we tell you about Pattaya, and included with each description of the course location is a map showing you exactly how to find us.

PATTAYA

Just about two and one-half hours southeast of Bangkok, Pattaya has been a favorite beach resort since the late 1700s. It is now known worldwide for its nightlife, Thai markets and beachside sports. However, nearly every amenity that might be desired is available here, including golf courses, modern department store complexes, five star hotels, excellent international-standard restaurants, etc. So if you'd like all the conveniences of a big city in a compact, fun area, Pattaya is the place to be!  Selected for its quiet, friendly ambience, South Pattaya Road (just a short walk from the beach) is the area in which your TEFL for Target Learner Groups course is conducted (see map).

Corey McKenzie Pattaya TEFL Course Director

Our course is conducted at our own TEXT-AND-TALK Academy, which is located beside the Chevin Gymnasium (for a small fee, you can enjoy a workout after a hard study session in the TEFL class!) The Chevin Gym is located inside Soi Tuk Com (a large computer company), just across the road and this side of Wat Chaimongkol, about five minutes' stroll left from this soi. At the corner of the soi is the Thai Farmers Bank. Only moments away, and for about $100-$150 US per month, are accommodations with all the basic facilities you might desire, including air-conditioning, cable t.v. connection, refrigerator and other amenities. Swimming pools are sometimes also included (for more money), though you may be spending most of your free time at the beach anyway! Caution: Don't overdo the nightlife (and beware of persons who take advantage of tourists) while you are in training; you have a lot of work to do in order to complete your course successfully! An encouraging bit of information for persons flying in to do our course, as well as for people already resident in the general Pattaya area, is that there are a lot of schools in Pattaya, and they are crying out for trained teachers, though the pay is not as good as in Bangkok. To find out all about Pattaya (and to see a large listing of the schools), go to: http://www.pattayanet.com for information about jobs and the need for trained teachers. 

A word of caution! Ours is the FIRST AND ONLY internationally recognized training course for English teachers of Asian students!! This means that, while our graduate teachers can teach with unique effectiveness to any national group of earth, only our course provides what they need to know to accommodate the long-neglected needs of Asian English learners. There have been many who have tried to construct a course that "looks" like our own, but none have ever been successful in producing one that gets the same results. Therefore, for your own well-being and future, you would be wise to ask any other Thai course provider how long they have been in business. If that is less than five years, just say "No!". Beware how you spend your money, in making such an important “career change” as this one.

While doing your TEFL Course, we recommend a short stay in a furnished room near our school, as this is cheap and does not require a long-term contract. Following completion of your course, and if you wish to live and teach in Pattya, there are several types of accommodation available for rent. These range from simple unfurnished rooms with almost no amenities to western style multi-bedroom, multi-bath houses. Prices range from 2,500 baht/month to well over 100,000 baht/month. Below is a brief description of the general options available and what you can expect to pay. Hopefully, this will provide enough information for you to know what kind of accommodation you might want both before and after you arrive.

In general, the closer to the beach you get, the more expensive the property is. As you get further away, the price goes down, but so do your transportation options. Most visitors and a lot of residents use the song taus or “baht buses” to get around in. Once you get east of 3rd Road, you are outside the range of the song taus. This means you will have to rely on motorbike taxis or purchase or rent your own transportation. Based on past observation and experience, we discourage newcomers from driving in Pattaya unless they are truly skilled, and exceedingly patient with drivers who tend to be much more 'reckless' than they're probably accustomed to.

Pattaya doesn’t really offer what Americans think of as an apartment. The closest are the condos. These are rooms sold to individuals who finish and furnish them as they see fit. The bathroom, living area, etc can vary wildly from one room to the next. Some owners purchase 2 or 3 units to make a single large unit, so size will vary as well. The owner will determine the rent. Location, amenities such as security or a swimming pool, age and maintenance of the property, etc… will all influence the pricing.

In general, all rooms described below will be furnished with at least a bed, sofa, refrigerator, and television.  The least expensive options will not have air conditioning or hot water. Some townhouses and houses may have a land telephone line. Most will not, although reasonably priced 'Internet cafes' are conveniently located in many areas. Accommodation prices are in baht/month. These are approximate and may go up during high season. Note that water and electricity will be extra. The price of electricity depends on the property and can range from the city rate of 3.5 baht/unit to over 8 baht/unit. You can expect to pay at least 1,000 baht/month for electricity if you use the air conditioning. The cost for water also varies but usually will cost about 150 baht/month.

Note that almost all houses and townhouses will require a rental contract of at least 6 months. Some condos will charge extra without a 6 or 12 month contract.

Type	Near the beach	Inside song tau route	Outside song tau route
Hotel/Serviced Apt.		4,000+	2,500+
Condo	15,000+	6,500+	4,000+
Condo w/kitchenette		12,000+	5,500+
Townhouse		12,000+	7,000+
Detached house			8,000+

If you are already in Pattaya, or in Thailand and on your way here, you can contact the Pattaya Academy Manager and TEFL Course Director, Mr Corey McKenzie, for further information on +6686-610-5406 (locally, 086-610-5406), or e-mail him at corey@langserv.com. (If still abroad, just dial the "+66" shown before the number above.) And, if you need visa assistance (the best time to seek this is while you are still abroad), we invite you to contact Mr Leigh Richards of our Bangkok Academy by calling him on  +6689-823-7049 (locally, 089-823-7049, or e-mail leigh@langserv.com). (Make sure you take into account the time zone difference between where you are and Thailand.) This is a free service provided by our Academy to TEFL class enrollees.

Finally, should you arrive in Pattaya and find Corey's number (which is his cell phone) busy, or that he is out of the office and unreachable, this is not a problem! Simply call our wonderful Thai staff in our Pattaya academy, and they will be delighted to help. The academy number is: 038-723101.

So, have you decided which is the best location for you to do our course? Have you also selected a class start-up date convenient for you? Then now is the time to save a place in the class of your choice, and . . .

ENROLL NOW!

Otherwise, just check out our other training locations first! 

Our Training Sites: Bangkok | Chiang Mai | Pattaya | Koh Samui | Khon Kaen Maps of Our Training Sites: Bangkok | Chiang Mai | Pattaya |Koh Samui |Khon Kaen