Making the transition

Reasons why people teach English and the possible career paths

4th November 2011

Foreign ESL teachers in Thailand or other parts in Asia are a diverse lot and have many different motivations for teaching abroad.

Transforming lesson plans into modules

Plans to develop a better school curriculum

26th September 2010

Teachers who use their own modules know very well the advantages they bring to classroom teaching and professional development.

What to do about academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and direct copying?

Sent in by Mike

4th July 2010

How do the teachers working in Thailand handle direct copying and obvious plagiarism?

Is it wise for a foreign teacher to complain in Thailand?

Sent in by Siri Herath

22nd May 2010

Misunderstandings and problems with an over-zealous assistant

Teaching at my university

What does holding down a university job entail?

3rd January 2009

if you want to teach university classes like mine, in particularly regard to Thai classes, if they are school leavers they’re really as good a bunch of starters as you could ever hope to get. If you try and teach them in a systematic way, you will encounter difficulties – difficulties that might, at first, be inclined to plunge you into the deepest depths of despair.

Culture revisited

A continuing analysis of 'culture'

1st September 2008

There is a lot of convenience to the idea that ‘our cultures are very different’. This was never plainer than in the era of (blatant) Western imperialism – I’ve said previously that cultural studies writers speak of ‘orientalism’, which, loosely defined, means disparaging other people because you want to put them to utilitarian purposes.

Did you plan it?

Getting to grips with student compositions

1st August 2007

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.

who speaks English well?

An impossible question to answer

3rd December 2006

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?

The end of innocence

Comparing and contrasting cultural diversity

20th June 2001

Comparing the ritual that is know as " Welcome Freshy time " by students in Thailand and "Freshers' week" by those in the UK.

The international course bandwagon rolls on

Are Thai MBA courses worth the money?

23rd May 2001

I'm friends with the ( Thai)Head of English at a Thai college which has just started an MBA program - it's a waste of money and she feels sorry for her students. That's what gave me the idea for this offering.

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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.