Great Expectations

When parents of students are simply too demanding

2nd October 2009

The demands and expectations that some parents burden their children with are alas often too great. At the moment I’m teaching a kid who hasn’t even turned six, yet his life revolves solely around learning.

Interviewing Foreigners

Being interviewed in the street by English students

2nd December 2008

Taking to the streets and talking to complete strangers is something no Thai student would do out of their own volition. It is clear that most – if not all of them – do it because their English teacher imposed it as a mandatory assignment.

Back to school

A brief overview of primary and secondary schools in Thailand

1st June 2008

There are three main kinds of schools in Thailand: government schools, private schools and international schools. Internationals schools are the most expensive, with average yearly fees ranging from 200,000 to 600,000 baht, depending on the quality and reputation of the school.

How to motivate students

Keys to improving language learning

1st March 2008

Motivation can either be internal or external. Students who are internally motivated usually learn English because they want to, because they enjoy learning or because they want to achieve a certain goal, not because they have to. Examples of personal goals could be pursuing a promotion at work or planning to enrol in a foreign university’s graduate programme.

The tools of technology

Using the internet to improve your English

1st November 2007

For students looking for more educational content and online courses instead of authentic materials, a myriad of websites provide free English lessons for all levels, ranging from beginner to advanced, from IELTS preparation to business English, from Pidgin English to skid row slang.

My friend he sick

Frequent Thai student mistakes (part two)

1st July 2007

Communicating well in any language just takes some motivation, dedication and a lot of practice. Is this too much too ask to become a proficient speaker?

I go to shopping

Frequent Thai student mistakes (part one)

1st June 2007

If you've taught in Thailand for any length of time, you'll be familiar with these errors. In fact you've probably heard them more times than you care to think about.

Belated April fool’s jokes

Humorous Thai news stories

1st May 2007

You'll find it hard to believe but these stories - taken from Thai newspapers - are genuinely true. You just couldn't write the script!

Teachers and textbooks

A love-hate relationship

1st December 2006

There are a lot of excellent books on the market; most of them are produced by major publishers such as Oxford, Cambridge, Longman and Macmillan. The problem a teacher can encounter during an English lesson in Asia is that these books are not always culturally suitable for the learners.

My teacher is a computer

The role of the computer in the EFL world

1st March 2006

If someone is really eager to learn a language (any foreign language, it doesn’t necessarily have to be English), a computer is the ideal tool for self-study. Actually, a computer is nothing more than a modern combination of a notebook, a pen, a dictionary, a phone and a fax machine. Without the communicative infrastructure called the Internet or the software to make everything happen, a computer is basically worthless.

Teaching the kiddies

Do they learn anything at all?

1st February 2006

Although weekend courses have to be fun for everyone involved, meaning both children and teacher, I think that fun and learning should be balanced. If the parents pay good money to get their kids on a course, the least a teacher should do is make sure that they learn some English. This can be done using fun and games, but not exclusively.

How to improve your English

Tips for students

1st January 2006

Communication is all about using a language to transfer a message and to make yourself understood. If the students can’t say it, if they can’t get their message across, if nobody understands them or doesn’t even bother listening to them anymore, their knowledge of English is virtually useless and all the hours of studying it have been a complete waste of time.

Rote learning and Thai schooling

Improving student language skills

1st December 2005

To improve Thai-language skills amongst youngsters, Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng plans to cut rote learning and introduce more reading and writing. Mr. Chaturon said Thai-language teaching needed to undergo a radical change since children were not good at their mother tongue.

The magical land

Where no student fails an exam

1st November 2005

Yes, dear readers, students in Thailand simply cannot fail exams. This probably comes as a very big surprise for the people unfamiliar with the Thai situation, but believe me, it is true. Well, it is still true at the time of writing, but maybe not for long anymore.

TOEFL woes

How Thai English speakers measure up

1st September 2005

The Minister of Education apparently thinks it’s possible the revamp a whole educational approach in just a month. It made me wonder if he’s got any idea at all what he’s talking about. Everyone with more than a pea-brain should know that change – especially a change of this magnitude – is always a slow process

Never mind fluency

Here comes the grammar teacher

1st June 2005

I think it is quite absurd to reward students who are good at cramming grammar rules – and may not be fluent at all – and punish students who can speak English fairly well but aren’t very accurate. English is a language. The main purpose of a language is communication.

Sit fetch and roll over

Basic Thai commands for teaching children

1st April 2005

Let me get a few things straight first. First of all, it doesn’t really matter if the kids understand everything you say. Even if they do, they still won’t listen to you. Second, even if you know the commands in Thai, you’ll probably get the tones wrong and no one will understand you.

Clock, peanut and frog

The problematic pronunciation of many Thais

1st March 2005

I try to have as much empathy for my students as I possibly can and I am becoming rather good at understanding the unintelligible. However, there are limits to everything and I am not a mind-reader. If a person says for example /sa-pye/, I know he or she means “Spy” (the wine-cooler or James Bond, doesn’t matter). But if someone says “kye”, I don’t automatically think of cry.

Monty Python returns

Teaching can be rewarding, stressful, frustrating, or even downright funny

1st January 2005

What follows are a few (slightly adapted) classroom conversations. Although they might be familiar to you, I hope you’ll find them entertaining.

A teacher’s lot

A week in the life of an English teacher

1st December 2004

As Friday is my day off, I consider Saturday to be the start of my working week. Yes, that’s right, I work six days a week, not unusual if you work for a language school. Unlike Thai schools, the weekend is the busiest time for language schools.
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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.