Blogs

Bangkok Phil

Bangkok Pat's 'Secrets of Bangkok'

At last! Some truly enjoyable travel vlogs!

Whether you're a long-term expat or the new guy in town, I urge you to check out Pat's Bangkok travel videos - because you're sure to learn something interesting along the way.

Mark Beales

Getting started as an English teacher

A quick overview of TEFL certificates, degrees, work permits and visas

If you didn’t go to university, don’t pretend that you did. You may be able to bluff your way through an interview and produce a certificate upon which the ink has just dried; however, all it takes is one phone call to immigration and you won’t just lose your job, you could lose your freedom.

Why become an English teacher?

Walter van der Wal

Time for a health check-up

What should a typical health checkup package include in Thailand?

Personally, I would recommend sticking with the private hospitals if you can afford to. They tend to cost a lot more than government hospitals, but are typically value-for-money when compared to hospitals of the same standards in the West

TEFL Course News

July 2020

Time to plan for an in-house TEFL course?

Things are looking a little more promising as Thailand begins to open its borders to new arrivals. What do Thailand's major TEFL course providers have planned for the coming months?

Richard McCully

Why online teaching isn't for me

Speaking to students online just isn’t the same as being in a classroom face-to-face

Like many teachers out there, I found myself suddenly teaching online at home without much preparation time. By the end of week one, I had run into several issues.

Richard Constable

Homespun mumpsimus

Another look at this phenomenon.

I thought it was only fair to write about the 'mumpsimus' I have mostly encountered from any number of Thai people, over the past eighteen years or so.

Tom Tuohy

Teaching in Thailand post COVID-19

The 'new normal'

What does the future hold for education in Thailand? With the “new normal” in full swing, a “tourism reset” on the way, will there be any other meaningful changes in education, as some are hoping for?

Jesse Sessoms

Happy to be here

Thai people have generally behaved impeccably during this period of hardship.

As impenetrable as Thai culture can seem, and as frustrating as certain things can be, I feel genuinely blessed to be here in these hard times of COVID-19. Nearly everyone here wears a mask. That is not the government forcing them to do it, but the people themselves willingly doing the right thing.

Stephen Louw

Thoughts on a post-Covid classroom

How important could those computer screens become?

We may find that our dabbling with online education has changed the way people think about computers as a medium for teaching and learning.

Mark Newman

The accidental whistle blower

Distance learning TV and the toppling of Kru Wang

If we're going to be pointing a condescending finger at one teacher in one video at one moment in time then we should maybe look into a mirror and point it at ourselves, too.

Kylie Millar

Five myths about being a TEFL teacher

I'm sick of the moaners.....I really am!

I am sick and fed up of people coming out to Thailand with stupid misconceptions and then moaning about how awful it is to live in Thailand. Shut up and go home then!

Phil Hall

Getting a job interview - part 1

The pros and cons of four different approaches

I was confident that emailing my resume and following up with a phone call was the way to go. Several days later, not a single school could locate my e-mail.

Diary of a Thai football season

2020 season fixtures

How will Samut Prakan fare in their second season as a Thai Premier League club?

Thirty Thai Premier League games plus FA Cup and League Cup.

More Diary of a Thai football season articles

James Humphries

Tips for the newbie teacher

Keep these points in mind and you'll cope far better

Don't get stressed by the job. Remember that you are merely the latest in a long line of farang teachers who have come and gone. There isn't enough time to make any real progress with students' English so just try and make it fun for them.

Sam Thompson

The importance of a positive learning environment

It helps to think back to my own past school experiences.

Call me an idealist, but each time I see a teacher whose negativity and/or negative reinforcement tactics are obvious, the Pink Floyd music video plays in my mind. “Hey! Teacher! Leave those kids alone…”

Phil Roeland

How to motivate students

Keys to improving language learning

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.

Parin Hemtanon

How to gain teaching experience when you have none

Could lack of experience be the reason why schools aren't replying to your job applications?

When I realised that I was an inexperienced teacher, I decided to create my own life-changing “teacher training program”. These are things I did to pack my resume with relevant teaching skills and experience, which I believe helped secure my first teaching job.

Stop that noise!

Nick Tarver

The pee, the nong and the wai

Aspects of Thai culture

Although ajarn.com has never shirked from handing out some just criticism on Thai education and culture I felt it was only fair to balance worthy criticism with worthy praise.

What hope for a superficial education system?

David Walters

Do bilingual children out-perform their monolingual peers?

What do research studies show?

Giving a child the chance to learn multiple languages from an early age is one of the most amazing gifts a parent can give. Being bilingual opens up so many more doors in life.

Steve Schertzer

My friend Moishe the Beadle

Keeping silent in the dead of night

In discussing, or attempting to discuss, the outbreak of the coronavirus with friends, I am receiving responses that seem to be amiss and awry.

Kink Bundy

My experiences of working in a college in Bangkok (part 7)

Poor facilities and poor student attendance make teaching difficult.

Many of the students had taken out loans to come to this school. The loans could often be too much for their families to repay and they’d need to drop out for financial reasons, and end up leaving the school with no degree and a staggering pile of debt that their families would struggle to repay.

Charles Green

The teacher mindset

English teachers are all business owners

In Thailand, I have found that people quickly get labeled and categorized as either good or bad, helpful or unhelpful, good teachers or bad teachers, etc. Then once you are labeled it is a long and difficult process of changing your projected image.

Karisa Blake

Confessions of a new teacher

What I learned in the first five months

I'm Karisa and I couldn't be more of a cliché: a blonde, American, recent college grad who decided to go teach in a foreign country! Don't be too impressed with me; I'm hardly unique in this expedition to teach English abroad.

Adam Crittenden

Tips for first year teachers in Thailand

How to maximize your teaching enjoyment!

Successful good quality teaching is never a "walk in the park." As you prepare to teach in Thailand really try to focus on being there for the students.

Megan Swanick

Grammar vs speech

Differing techniques inside the classroom

In my experience, students recite a grammar rule or know the rule or learn the rule and maybe even vaguely understand the rule, but then you ask them a basic question and they don't understand.

Jessica Watson

Dealing with the troublemakers

Discipline: tips on control in the classroom

Troublemakers. We have all seen them do their thing, causing mayhem and disorder in the classroom; perhaps you were even one yourself at some point during your time as a student. Troublemakers are the bane of every teacher's existence and they make our job go from difficult to pounding headache and hair-tearing proportions.

John Wilson

Can you start on Monday?

What lies behind that oft-heard request?

This request often means the organisation you are joining is less than adept at hiring procedures and is pressed for time. The ‘power-dressing princess’ delegated to find new recruits may have had little aptitude for the practicalities of recruitment.

Dr. A.E Schneider

Things I learned about recommending students for graduate and professional school

Ways to truly support students’ path forward

Once applicants have accurately assessed their skill set, standing out amongst the crowd of outstanding applicants is surprisingly straightforward and achievable with enough hard work and preparation.

More Dr. A.E Schneider articles

Jocelyn Pollak

Three fun warm-up activities

Games designed to get students focused on using English and getting comfortable with their classmates.

Have fun with these games and consider joining in with your students! Great EFL warm-up activities really set the tone for a great class. Enjoy!

Rachel Diamond

Finding a job in Thailand - the basics

From one newbie to another

If you're considering coming to Thailand on your own to find work as an English teacher, I promise you can do it.

Ben Bartee

Stumbling blocks

What I didn’t learn in my 100-hour online ESL course

I can see my skin through my dress shirt because the thin layer of fine linen is totally soaked through. In short, it’s too hot to care about anything academic.

Lee Lepper

An amazing TEFL journey

From Saudi to Thailand to China (and a bit of America in-between)

China is definitely on the upswing as far as English teaching goes. Thailand is a place I love but professionally dead to me. Saudi was challenging, interesting and of course lucrative.

John V

Excuse me, haven’t we met before?

A satirical look at TEFL personality types

If you’re just an average teacher struggling along in a sea of two legged sharks trying to do your best give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back, because you sir or madam are gold dust.