Teaching the Chinese in Thailand
experiences of teaching an international program
I came back to Thailand from Korea because I far prefer working with Thai students, or because my experiences here were so much nicer. To my surprise,upon my arrival, the university announced it was launching an international program in which there were many students from the south of China. So I'm in Thailand teaching Chinese students. Go figure!
Did you plan it?
Getting to grips with student compositions
To say that it is sometimes difficult to fix a student's written work is somewhat of an understatement; it would be truer to say that it is an excruciating process, one that is often impossible unless you have the author on hand to provide a bit of interpretation.
Agreeing with Alison Empey
The downsides of teaching in Korea
What exactly is it that I don’t like about Korea, or that made me finally spit the dummy? In as objective tone as I can muster, and in no partcular order, here’s the nature of my gripes.
Phrasebook learning
Is phrasebook learning letting Korean students down?
One of the true beauties of learning another language is the curiosity value of seeing how other peoples string together the concepts the words of their language embody to give meaning to the world in ways we never thought of.
The dog and pony show
Demonstration lessons in the Korean public education system
I like the principle of putting on a demonstration lesson and having teachers watch. In my time teaching, one thing I have been short of is the opportunity to see other teachers teach. And you can always learn from other teachers.
Levisiting the plobrems
Problems with pronuncing R and L
Perfect pronunciation in my experience is pretty much the last aspect of a second language to properly fall into place. However there are good reasons why Thai and Korean students should be shown very clearly exactly what they have to do to come up with an unambiguous ‘r’ and ‘l’, and the sort of problems that are going to stand in their way.
who speaks English well?
An impossible question to answer
If we compare Thais to Koreans, Japanese or Chinese, who comes out on top in the English language speaking stakes? Well, exactly how easy are these things to judge and what criteria are we going to base our evaluations on?
Featured Teachers
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Sandro
Certificate (2), BA (1), MA (1)
Swiss (male, 47 years old, native German speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Martin
Certificate (8), BA (1)
British (male, 55 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Leslie
Diploma (1), BSc (1)
Zambian (female, 27 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Chris
BA (1), Certificate (1)
British (male, 26 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Kristofe
Certificate (1)
South African (male, 22 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Esterlyn
BEd (1)
Filipino (female, 33 years old, native Tagalog speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Michael
Certificate (2), BA (1), Diploma (1)
American (male, 52 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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David
BA (1), Certificate (1), Diploma (1)
American (male, 44 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Christophe
Diploma (1)
British (male, 31 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
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Freeman
BA (2), BEd (1), Certificate (1)
Canadian (male, 66 years old, native English speaker). Currently living in Thailand.
Ajarn Guests
Going Home
I possess ten years of classroom EFL teaching experience, plus a solid education, and this was the type of work available to me. There were many moments, such as when I was cleaning a toilet bowl, or when a housekeeper ordered me to do something, that frustration welled up inside me.
Teacher nightmares part two
More stories from teachers in Thailand who have found themselves in difficult situations often through no fault of their own. Can you offer them some good advice?
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
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.
Friends of Ajarn
Renting an apartment?
Before you go pounding the streets, check out our guide and know what to look out for.
E-mailing for jobs
E-mailing potential employers in Thailand can be a very frustrating experience. Teacher Chris is on hand to give you some top tips.
Hi, I’m Tony Dabbs
I was a licensed life and health agent in the USA for many years and now I'm ajarn.com's health insurance expert.
The Region Guides
Fancy working in Thailand but not in Bangkok? Our region guides are written by teachers who actually live and work in the provinces.
Fancy teaching freelance?
How easy is it to cut out the middlemen and rake in the cash teach students at their own homes?
Fun Quiz
Find out how employable you are in Thailand as an English teacher. Is it a case of 'welcome aboard' or "Mom, I need you to send some money again"
The cost of living
How much money does a teacher need to earn in order to survive in Thailand? We analyze the facts.
