From Sunrise to Sunset: A Typical Day as an English Teacher in Thailand

Finally, after being in Thailand for about two months, my daily life has settled down from the hectic running around filling out paperwork to a somewhat regular schedule. I emphasize somewhat because Thai schools have the reputation of often having schedule changes with little to no notice. In the US, school calendars tend to be set in stone a year in advance, and special events often require a couple of months of advance notice. For Thai standards, my school keeps us informed by giving us a weekly calendar of upcoming events, and every week there is at least one change to my schedule often that my class is canceled for that day.

To preface, I think it is important to note that life as a teacher here changes a lot based on what activities I am doing in class, what my lessons entail for that week, and how much grading I need to do. Though my weekly schedule is mostly regular, the time I am not directly in front of a class teaching is when my schedule can significantly change. Some days are busy during my teaching-free hours, and other days I may find myself getting bored at work. It just depends on the day or the week. 

So without further ado, here is an average day in the life of an English teacher in Thailand. 

Morning

Picture of me (right) with my fellow American teachers wearing our uniform on the first day of school. 

5am

My morning begins at 5:00am. Most of my colleagues wake up later than I do (closer to 6:45), and my reasoning for an earlier start is that I like to exercise before school every other morning. I don't have a gym membership, but instead go to the soccer field at my school and run for half an hour and stretch afterward. On my rest day mornings, I spend this time practicing Thai on Mango Languages. Since I have a library card with the Chicago Public Library, I get access to this app for free by using my library card number.

After coming back from working out, I drink my morning cup of tea and afterward get ready for work by putting my uniform on, putting my hair up in a low bun with a bow and hair net, and putting on makeup. My uniform is a light blue polo with my school’s name — Maryvit — tucked into black or dark blue slacks with white gym shoes. The hair net is also a part of my uniform, and I have fully embraced it by buying four different ones from Lazada (the Amazon of Thailand). Before coming to Thailand, I rarely ever put on makeup. Though makeup for women is not part of our uniform, I see many teachers here with light, clean makeup. When I asked the Thai teachers about their makeup, they claimed that it makes you look more “polite” at school. As part of the indirect culture, I interpreted it as makeup is preferred.

Lastly, after I am mostly ready for school, I spend about 5-10 minutes doing some quick morning yoga before heading to school. 

7 am 

My commute to school is a simple 5 minutes on foot, so I leave at about 7:10. I consider myself lucky to be employed by a school that has a housing complex right next door to the school, making this the most stress-free and easy commute I have ever had to my place of work.

Once I arrive at school, I head to the cafeteria to fill up my water bottle and grab food. Breakfast changes daily, and is often rice porridge, fried rice, rice and vegetables, or rice with some meat. But virtually every day, rice is inescapable. 

The next stop after breakfast is off to my desk to prepare for class and chat with my colleagues! 

8 to 11:30 am

My weekly class schedule. P.6 stands for Prathom/ Primary 6, which is the level I am teaching and the "/no." refers to the classroom I go to. Since Mondays and Thursdays are my busy days, I stop for a coffee/tea break right after my morning classes. 

The school day begins at 8 am, and for four days I teach the first period. These first classes typically are my favorite to teach since my students are still waking up, so they tend to be tame throughout my lessons, something I can not always say about my rowdy afternoon classes. 

Most of my weekly schedule has my classes in the morning, but on busier days, I have one or two classes after lunch. Classes here are 50 minutes long without a bell, so starting on time is rare, especially when teachers go from class to class and have to set up every time. After dealing with tech issues and getting all my students back at their desks, I virtually always start class 3-5 minutes after the unofficial bell rings.  

After I finish my morning classes, I go twice a week to the school cafe for a hot matcha which costs 30 baht, or 85 cents. Normally, I do this only on Mondays and Thursdays since those are my busy days, and I view my cafe stop as a little reward for my long day of teaching. Then, I enjoy my drink at my desk during my prep period. 

Since I do not teach every period, I use my free mornings and prep periods as a time for grading, lesson planning, writing student progress reports, or, if I have no other school-related work, writing for the CIEE blog and calling my family. Since I am from Chicago, there is a 12 to 13-hour time difference (Thailand does not observe Daylight Savings) between me and my family. This timing works wonderfully since I can call my family after they come home from work. 

Afternoon 

11:30 am -12:15 pm

Around 11:30, I go with my fellow co-teachers to eat lunch at the school cafeteria. Our school always has lots of options for lunch. I typically always grab one plate of rice with a side of meat, a fried egg, or vegetables, and a bowl of noodles. My lunch break is technically an hour long, though most days I only spend thirty minutes on my lunch break and then head up to my desk to read my book until my lunch break ends. 

12:15 - 4:30 pm 

After lunch, I teach my afternoon classes. Three times a week, I teach hour-long after-school classes for 1st-2nd graders and 3rd-4th graders. These groups only have six students and focus mainly on conversation skills. There is no strict curriculum for these classes since they are extra classes that students sign up for. Their parents pay a fee to the school each semester so their children can attend these extra classes. Therefore, they are purposely small and intimate so the students can practice their general English skills. My favorite part about these classes is that weekly topics and activities are up to me, so this is where I can get creative with lesson planning and teaching. 

Then, when 4:30 hits, I head home!

Picture of the board on our Thanksgiving themed extra class. I was teaching my Prathom 3 and 4 (grades 3 and 4) this day. The assignment was to create our own "I'm thankful for" posters and then share with the class afterwards. It was a great success! 

4:30-6:30 pm

When I get home from school, I spend about half an hour cleaning my apartment, eating a salad or snack, and getting ready to go back to school. Around 5 pm, many foreign teachers gather at the school gymnasium to play sports like basketball, volleyball, or badminton. I start by wandering off on my own to the soccer field where I do some stretching and gymnastics since the turf is softer and the area is less crowded. After this, I go to the gymnasium and play badminton with the badminton rackets I bought online for 207 BHT, or $5.92 (which includes a sleeve and badminton balls). 

I typically go for sports about three to four times a week. On the days I don't go, I do other errands like deep cleaning my apartment, doing the laundry, stopping at 7/11 for household materials, or walking to the nearby market to get fresh fruits, vegetables, or dinner. This weekly market trip is sustainable for my diet in making sure I get the vitamins and minerals I have been lacking since changing my diet. I try to go to the big supermarket only once a month to get international food like pasta, pesto, peanut butter, and almond milk or other items in bulk like nuts, oats, and tea. 

Evening 

6:30-8 pm

Somewhere in this time frame, I have dinner. About five times a week I make food at home using my hot plate, and the rest of the time I go out to eat with friends. There are not too many restaurants near where I live, so most of the time it is a matter of going to the food stands nearby. 

8-9:45 pm

Finally, after a day at school, my evening is spent doing recreational activities. I spend this time calling my boyfriend from Europe, reading, writing, practicing German, watching Netflix, planning future trips, or sometimes going across the hall to hang out with my friends in the building. Though I would like to stay up until 10 pm, I am often pretty beat by 9:30 and start getting ready for bed around then.