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Fear of change?
Why the reluctance to adopt English as an official language in Thailand?
In Thailand the government has set 2012 as English Speaking Year with a goal of encouraging students to converse in English every Monday. Such policies are useful but the major leap of enacting legislation to make English an official language for Thailand is also needed
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Software for student tests
How to get the best from your students with on-line tests
The integration of internet and computers with education and English learning is something students find normal, and classrooms without some access to educational software may seem quaint. Some students may even feel they can get more ‘professional' teaching from the numerous online ELT sites if a school is behind in IT.
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Whatever happened to the shopping mall teacher?
Teaching for 300 baht an hour as the rest of the world enjoys itself
They are the shopping mall English teachers - gliding like pale, undernourished phantoms amid the hordes of weekend Thai shoppers. The main reason I empathize with the shopping mall teacher is because I was once one myself. I know how desperate and soul-destroying it can be.
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Should I stay or should I go?
Getting to grips with life as a teacher in Thailand
I flew in to Bangkok and spent four amazing days and nights there. I was about to head out towards Ubon to start looking for work when I was tipped off with a potential opportunity in the Si Sa Ket province of Isaan.
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Let’s all make a difference in Thailand
Make a difference with Design for Change
You can change the lives of your students and improve the quality of life in Thailand by spending just a few hours a week organizing a Design for Change contest at your school.
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Things I won’t do for work
They say that everybody has a price
Although most of my TEFL experience has not been in Thailand, there is still a long list of things I won’t accept in a teaching job. Talk numbers and cross my palm with silver because these are the things I simply won’t do for work.
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The teacher’s diary revisited
One teacher's descent into madness. Now updated for 2011
The diary is the heartbreaking four-week journal of Mr Jim Elmdon - a teacher who came to Thailand and failed miserably. Keep a box of tissues handy.
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Quite literally a lucky career break
Be bold and ask your boss for a career break
Like many of you I work a regular job. For the last 8 years I've been a psychiatric nurse working for the NHS. Life is pretty good, I've never had as much job satisfaction as I do now (I'm not lying, honest!). But the lure of adventure is just too much.
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Teacher Nightmares
What happens when teaching in Thailand all goes horribly wrong
I started this section of the ajarn website because I simply felt it was needed. Although for legal reasons, companies and individuals cannot be named or implied, and details of stories are impossible to confirm, they are stories that need to be heard. If only because they serve as a warning of what can happen here.
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Take part in a school film tour
New film highlights the stigma associated with HIV-infected orphans in Thai
Living with the Tiger focuses on two of the kids as they take an emotional journey back to the families that had once left them to die at a hospice. Some of the family members are even shocked to see that the children are still alive.
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Teachers sinking to new depths
Scuba diving is something anyone can enjoy on a weekend off
Teacher and fanatical scuba diver, Andrew Stanford, discusses the best diving spots in Thailand and encourages more people to get out there and enjoy a whole new world.
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Whole brain teaching techniques
An amazing new approach to teaching that really works
Do you want to be able to control a roomful of pratom one students with one simple word? ? Would you like to get 99 per cent participation from your matayom class? Do you want an easy way to engage your adult students making learning fun for them and for you?
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Failing students and the failing ESL industry
Failing young students is simply a poor strategy
Without a doubt the ESL industry around the world is primarily a scam that is governed by unscrupulous business people that rarely have any pedagogical knowledge or academic backgrounds in the field of education
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Do students in private language schools have the right to choose who teaches them?
Should the most popular teacher get the largest share of the work?
The student was not happy with this arrangement and asked the manager why I could not teach her. The manager replied, 'You learn with who I choose, not who you want. And I have chosen the other teacher.'
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In defence of the edutainers
A young teacher's perspective on teaching in Thailand
Most of the English teachers in Thailand seem to be slightly older so it’s understandable that they would view energy, positive reinforcement and affability in the EFL classroom with disdain and denial.
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Flying solo
What it's like to start your own 'Thai-style' business in Thailand
When I visited Maesod for the very first time I decided to come and live here and start a factory. I was attracted by the town's abundance of cheap teak, cheap Burmese labour and OK its beautiful girls as well.
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After the tsunami
Jorge Jo's moving account of one of the most newsworthy events in history
It’s only after six years that I’m able to deal with the pain of the injury sustained during the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26th, 2004
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House of horrors part three
An update on the perils of having your own house built in Thailand
After returning to Thailand, I found a contractor I thought was committed to building my house the way I wanted it. Finding someone to complete what had been started by another person, I knew would be difficult, but nevertheless I thought I had found the right man.
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Leave teaching in Thailand to the hacks
This is all just ridiculous
I no longer teach ESL classes to Thai school students. I will never again work for another Thai boss. I now work for a Chinese man with Thai citizenship (caters to the Taiwanese test prep market) and a pair of foreigners. If you're smart and resourceful enough, there are thousands of opportunities out there
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Of teachers and emperors without clothes
An ironic view of a job ad
Employment agencies in are in dire need of actors for live performances on stage. Body piercing, visible tattoos, drinking or smoking in public, or any kind of physical handicap, even if slight, will qualify the applicant.
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Spice up your teacher threads
Alternatives to the shirt and tie combo
What can a teacher do if they are fed up with the standard 'teacher's uniform' of business shirt, necktie and trousers? Ajarn's man of style, Sebastian Hawkes, comes to the rescue with some carefully thought out suggestions. Mimi Rodgers offers her valuable opinions from a woman's perspective.
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Teaching tips
What to do and what not to do in the EFL classroom
Regular ajarn contributor Tim Cornwall is back with more tips and techniques for both experienced and inexperienced teachers alike from smiling to laying down class rules and from teacher movement to setting up activities.
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What’s your bag?
Pay close attention to what you carry those textbooks in
Fashion guru, Sebastian Hawkes, joins ajarn.com to cast a critical eye over what teachers should be carrying their stuff in this coming Fall. Could it be time to ditch the backpack for something more trendy?
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Biking blunders
Man and machine in not so perfect harmony
When a group of experienced motor-cycling friends suggest hiring powerful bikes to explore the beautiful Chiang Mai region and you know full well that you've never ridden a motorbike in your life, that crazy sense of adventure takes over.
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Ajarn.com can go to Hell
You can please some of the people some of the time
Recently we sent out a teachers newsletter to let people know about all ajarn's latest developments and news. Although a lot of the feedback we get is complimentary, this letter from Dave Bryant proves that it's not always a bed of roses running the ajarn.com office.
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Tips from the trenches
Tips to help a new teacher get through that very first day of class
Worried about that first day of class? The following compilation of articles might offer some insight into how to approach your students for the first time, regardless of their age, numbers and gender.
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House of horrors two
Just when you thought it was safe to walk under the scaffolding
Teacher Ralph Sasser has now returned to America. After being duped by building contractors here in Thailand, it's the only way he can save enough money to get the job finished and realize his dreams.
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People without formal teaching qualifications
I'm talking about those without as much as a TEFL or CELTA certificate
Some would say controversial words from 'Oooh that hurts'. What is it about untrained teachers that really gets his goat?
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Oh, one more thing - you’re fired!
One teacher's account of being popular with students and getting fired
I found out later after talking with other teachers, that there were two teachers that didn’t like us and they were both on the “committee” The director couldn’t go against the committee because she would lose face.
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You’re moving to where?
People's reactions on hearing that you're Thailand-bound
Leigh-Anne Hunter has found out that people fall into three distinct groups when you let them know of your ridiculous plans to move to Thailand. How do you know you'll like it if you've never been? Isn't that where the tsunami was? I guess these people mean well.
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Teacher’s crib
Look what I did Mom!
Take a look at what teacher Steve Salyer has done to his studio apartment in Sukhumwit 71. Let Steve be your inspiration. Now isn't it about time you paid more attention to your living environment and stopped your mother worrying so much?
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PJ’s journey
How difficult is it to adjust to life back in the old country?
How easy or difficult is it to adapt back to a life in your native country after spending seven or eight years teaching in Thailand? Will jobs be easy to come by? Are your old friends still around, and if so, how will they react when the wanderer returns? How does it feel to suddenly find yourself thrown into a world of credit crunches, binge drinking, escalating crime rates and a world far removed from the one you left behind?
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With a kid in tow
Loving parent Kirsten Jeffrey tackles the parent child issue
Kristen Jeffery came to Thailand for 18 months to teach English....with a husband and a very young daughter in tow. Kristen very kindly tells ajarn.com how her experience unfolded and needless to say, it's a must-read for anyone thinking of teaching English while caring for a young child at the same time.
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A teacher in Chiang Mai
Is it paradise or pants?
Few teachers know Chiang Mai better than Andy B. Although he started working there for less than 10,000 baht a month, he soon found out that displaying a degree of professionalism reaped dividends.
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Discrimination against Filipinos
Are the Filipinos getting a fair crack?
Straight-talking Australian teacher Ajarn X has written an excellent article on racial discrimination in Thailand, and also what makes the good Filipino teachers very good and the bad ones extremely bad. Not just a good read for Filipinos, but anyone who teaches in Thailand.
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Ajarn Art
One of my favorite ever contributions to ajarn.com
Take a look at the ajarn.com art gallery. This is the place for talented teachers to scan and send us those little masterpieces that are created while students are busy doing tests or assorted gap-fill exercises.
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No Saturdays, no kids, no evenings and no TEFL certificate
One woman's quest to find a teaching job through informal interviews
Kathy Willis from the USA contacted me to say that she was going to spend a whole week interviewing for teaching jobs in Bangkok. Yes sir, she was going to run a finger down all those banner ads on the ajarn.com homepage and hit the mean streets in search of suitable employment.
Featured Teachers
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Roda
Diploma (1)
Philippino (female, 26 years old, native Tagalog speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Elie Grace
Diploma (2), BA (1)
Philippino (female, 30 years old, native Tagalog speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Shanisara
BEd (1)
Thai (female, 33 years old, native Thai speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Jeff
Certificate (2), BA (1), MA (1)
British (male, 57 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Billy
BA (1), MA (1)
American (male, 37 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Evan
Certificate (2)
South African (male, 26 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Kieron
Diploma (2), Certificate (1), BSc (1)
British (male, 37 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Martin
Certificate (1), BA (1)
Dutch (male, 33 years old, native Dutch speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Amanda
Certificate (3), BA (1)
American (female, 26 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Derren
Certificate (1)
British (male, 39 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
Ajarn Guests
Fear of change?
In Thailand the government has set 2012 as English Speaking Year with a goal of encouraging students to converse in English every Monday. Such policies are useful but the major leap of enacting legislation to make English an official language for Thailand is also needed
Software for student tests
The integration of internet and computers with education and English learning is something students find normal, and classrooms without some access to educational software may seem quaint. Some students may even feel they can get more ‘professional' teaching from the numerous online ELT sites if a school is behind in IT.
Whatever happened to the shopping mall teacher?
They are the shopping mall English teachers - gliding like pale, undernourished phantoms amid the hordes of weekend Thai shoppers. The main reason I empathize with the shopping mall teacher is because I was once one myself. I know how desperate and soul-destroying it can be.
Most recently answered question:
Are there any teaching agencies in Bangkok that I can just walk into?
About Ajarn.com
Ajarn.com was started as a small hobby website in 1999 by Ian McNamara. It was a simple way for one Bangkok teacher to share his Thailand experiences and pass on advice. The website developed a loyal and enthusiastic following. In 2004, Ian handed over the reins to Phil Williams and 'Bangkok Phil' has run the ajarn website ever since.
Ajarn.com has grown enormously and is now the most popular TEFL site in Thailand - possibly even South East Asia. Although best-known for its vibrant jobs page, Ajarn has a wealth of articles, blogs, features and help and advice. But one principle has always remained at Ajarn's core - to tell things like they are and to do it with a sense of humor. Thailand can be Heaven or Hell for an English teacher. It's always been Ajarn.com's duty to present both sides of the equation. Thanks for stopping by.
