We are all unemployable at some point

Sent in by Ian BKK

24th March 2011

Sadly, the older you get, the harder it seems to be able to get a job.

Clouds of smoke

Sent in by Fair go

19th March 2011

Surely there must be the element in institutions where English is taught for profit in Thailand, that they want to adorn their business prospectus with a young and handsome or beautiful white face.

Discrimination exists all over

Sent in by Dan

17th March 2011

Undoubtedly there is racial discrimination in hiring. There is also ageism in hiring, even in the U.S.

Age discrimination and stagnant salaries

Sent in by Beauregard

11th March 2011

Why does there tend to be a cap of 55-60 for the hiring age, regardless of excellent qualifications and experience

Tossed on the TEFL scrapheap

Is teaching in Thailand a young man's game?

3rd February 2011

These are older teachers who have made their life in Thailand, perhaps even got married and raised children, and are now contemplating the unthinkable. Leaving the home they love. For many it’s either a case of seeking out pastures new or returning home to a country they left behind a long time ago.

Wisdom

Sent in by M.Benson

2nd November 2010

I want to home in on one very specific aspect of education within Thailand – namely, the prevailing approach to utilizing teachers. From what I have observed this country has moved strongly toward what I perceive, again, as an essentially money obsessed , cheap is better hiring scheme.

Keeping up with this topic

Sent in by Donald Patnaude

5th August 2010

Primarily, teaching English in Thailand is all about 'edutainment', meaning if you teach English in Thailand you must be an entertainer as well as an educator.

Ajarn.com supporting ageism?

Sent in by K.Dempsey

3rd October 2009

Surprisingly, a respected top university in Thailand was one of the first to promote this kind of blatant prejudice against teachers. Someone there has decided for some reason that anyone over 50 is braindead and incapable of teaching English to undergraduates!

What do Thai students think of us?

Straight from the horses's mouth

4th November 2008

I wondered if our Thai students really had a true picture of the salaries we earn, the hardships we face, and the hoops we have to jump through? I put ten questions to a range of Thai corporate staff - male, female, single, married with kids. What do they really know? And is there any respect left for the 'ajarn farang'?

Oldies….....but goldies?

Are those teachers over 45 suddenly too long in the tooth?

2nd March 2006

With one or two positions on the jobs board asking for teachers no older than 45, ajarn.com asks if this is the start of a terrifying trend and whether our middle-aged days are numbered? Is the TEFL industry about to be over-run with lantern-jawed buck studs who've barely started shaving? Your e-mails came in by the truckload but strangely no one under 45 years old had an opinion (well, only a couple). As someone who turns 42 next month, I'm already finding out the locations of reputable nursing homes. Enough of all this - I need to go again.

View all Jobs »
TEFL and TESOL Training Courses
View all Resumes »
Schools that need Teachers

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.