Teaching in Thailand for keeps

The main reasons teachers get fired

4th July 2011

Getting fired from a job causes teachers anxiety, embarrassment, trauma and often sense of injustice.

Make sure to get that contract

Sent in by sheryl

14th October 2010

One teacher's terrible experiences from taking a job offer with no contract

I work for the school from hell

Why the Thailand TEFL watchdog site is doomed to failure

21st June 2010

Where can a teacher go to on the internet if they want to warn other teachers about a particular school and tell others how they have to work with an insane farang-hating nun, an alcoholic academic director who spends most of the day flirting with the Thai staff and a cross-dressing senior teacher who stands up in the middle of observations and shouts "you dare to call this an English lesson"?

Oh, one more thing - you’re fired!

One teacher's account of being popular with students and getting fired

6th October 2009

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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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.