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James Parsons
James Parsons has spent much of his teaching career hopping between Korea and Thailand. He’s dabbled in Thailand’s property market and he’s done more visa runs than you’ve had hot dinners.
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Mike Thompson
Mike Thompson is an Asian American from California. He admits that his Asian appearance put many employers off when he started looking for teaching work in Thailand, but slowly he’s turned things around. It hasn’t been easy though.
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Cat and Fernanda
When I first considered teaching English abroad, I bought myself a book called “Teach English Around the World’. It promised experiences beyond my wildest dreams and while the sound of teaching in exotic locations was undoubtedly appealing, Thailand was as far as I got. It’s therefore a great pleasure to talk to not one, but two globetrotters who have literally ‘taught English around the world’. Step forward Catriona and Fernanda - two fine ladies, both working for the British Council in Bangkok. It’s ajarn com’s first ‘double interview’ folks.
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Court Merrigan
Court has taught English in Thailand for five years. He’s a prolific writer of articles and short stories and an ardent supporter of something called Creative Commons. He’s also hopefully about to return to the USA with his good lady wife. Let’s delve a little deeper.
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Donald Patnaude
A familiar path that many teachers tread in Thailand is to start at the ‘200 baht an hour’ language schools and work their way up. Eventually you might even be lucky enough to open your own language school. Donald Patnaude is one such man.
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Danny Walton
You don’t come across many people who have held a DOS (Director of Studies) position for more than two or three years, but Anthony clocked up a whopping eight years in Bangkok as a language school hirer and firer. Worth a chat methinks.
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Brian Hodge
Brian Hodge from New Zealand has only been in Thailand for a couple of years but he’s already racked up an impressive list of employers including an orphanage, a temple school and a government university. Let’s find out how the different teaching environments compare.
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Garry Brown
Let’s have a chat with Garry Brown. He’s a 56-year old Australian who describes himself as ‘young at heart’. After seven or eight years shuttling backwards and forwards to Thailand as primarily a tourist, he made The Land of Smiles his permanent home for a further three years. After mixed experiences in Thailand’s teaching industry, he thinks he’s discovered TEFL nirvana…...in China. Garry wonders what took him the hell so long.
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Greg of TEFL Watch
Back in 2006, ajarn.com conducted an interview with Teacher Rico, as he set out to turn the Thailand TEFL world on its head and provide a forum for teachers to report their good and bad experiences with Thai schools (mostly bad). Two years later and Teacher Rico has decided to call it a day. Ajarn.com catches up with Greg (the teacher formerly known as Rico) and attempts to find out why.
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Barry Cowger
Let’s have a chat with Mr Barry Cowger. He taught for a couple of years in Europe and moved to Thailand almost a year ago. Even in that short time, he’s experienced a couple of Thai primary schools and designed an English program that got approval from none other than the local mayor.
Featured Teachers
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Jonah
Certificate (3), BA (1)
Filippino (male, 28 years old, native Tagalog speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Karina
BA (1), MA (1)
Filippino (female, 31 years old, native Tagalog speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Robin Jame
BA (1), Certificate (1)
Filippino (male, 23 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Jonary
BA (1)
Filippino (male, 25 years old, native Cebuano speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Charlotte
BA (1)
British (female, 22 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Patrick
BA (1)
American (male, 42 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Deborah
Certificate (3)
American (female, 58 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Kay Anne
BEd (1)
Filippino (female, 27 years old, native Tagalog speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Abner
Certificate (10), BSc (1)
Filippino (male, 44 years old, native Tagalog speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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James
Certificate (1), BA (1)
American (male, 50 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.
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.
