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.
Bangkok Phil
My perilous walk to the gym
Highlighting the ordeals that Bangkok's pedestrians go through every day
It's just a ten-minute walk from my house to the local gym. Yet even in that shortest of walks, I encounter almost every hazard, peril and obstruction that your average Bangkok pedestrian knows only too well and confronts on a daily basis.
TEFL Course News
December 2019
Latest news, promotions and special offers from Thailand's leading training providers
It's almost the start of a new year. Why not start 2020 by taking your TEFL course in Thailand and boosting your employment chances.
Richard McCully
Is TEFL management the right choice?
What exactly would I be giving up if I became a manager?
Something I love about TEFL work is that as soon as I walk out of the door each day, I don’t have to think about my job. That’s certainly not true as a manager.
Richard Constable
Having fun with teacher
Some great word activities that will make you the most popular teacher at school.
Have fun with these, move at a fast pace and persevere as you'll have to be the teacher games' master a few times with a new game before you're able to present it perfectly. Above all else, if you don't keep the students round about level on points they'll lose interest.
Stephen Louw
“I don’t like Teacher Nick.”
Is it important for a teacher to be liked by the students?
The argument goes that happy students learn better, are more willing to buy into a lesson, and feel better about being in class. Being liked is important!
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.
Diary of a Thai football season
The 2019 season overview
So how was Samut Prakan's first season in the top flight?
If you had offered me a 6th place finish at the start of the season, as the old saying goes - I would have bitten your hand off. I think most Samut Prakan City supporters would.
Walter van der Wal
Chikungunya in Thailand
All you need to know about avoiding infection
In Bangkok, cases of chikungunya infection have also been reported. In August, Despite the worrying signs of a chikungunya outbreak, the general public remains largely ignorant of the issue, with many still not even knowing what the disease entails.
- 4 most important things to consider when relocating with children in Thailand
- 100 baht tourist tax to cover basic insurance in Thailand
- All about emergency medical evacuations
- Retiring in the Land of Smiles
- Should you consider private health insurance for an elderly family member when moving to Thailand?
- Why is health insurance important for kids?
Karisa Blake
Moving to Bangkok
What I did right and what I did wrong
When I moved to Bangkok, I wasn't really sure what I was doing. Looking back, I can honestly say that I did some things right and other things I did completely wrong! Maybe you can learn from my mistakes.
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.
Phil Hall
Those first time teaching nerves
How not to prepare for your very first class
I’ve read about how some of you love this work whilst others almost sneer at the very suggestion that we teach for the love of it. This is just a short recollection of how I really failed to prepare for what was one of the most challenging jobs of my life.
David Walters
Keeping your job application out of the bin
How to stand out from the job application crowd
Applying for jobs is always tedious and can take up copious amounts of time especially if you are tailoring each application for specific positions. I can't speak for all employers but for anyone applying for jobs I can offer advice based around what I look for when filling any position.
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.
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.
Phil Roeland
Teaching the kiddies
Do they learn anything at all?
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.
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.
Mark Newman
Investing in people or rolling out policies?
Let's evaluate what happens here in Thailand as something we can learn from rather than condemn.
I firmly believe that we can look at Thailand and learn a lot about how we prepare our kids to enter society and live rewarding lives with the resources they have and priorities they live by.
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.
Mickey Sheehan
New term conversations
Eavesdropping on the first day of term
Steve Schertzer
The poor traveler
The promised land or the den of lions?
One of the books I recently read is Bangkok to Ben Nevis Backwards, by Phil Hall. It could have been my story, minus the marriage to a Thai woman, a son, and an almost completed house in the countryside.
Todd Persaud
Get it down on paper!
The secret to managing office politics
Conflict in a workplace can pop up unexpectedly. This is why it’s necessary for you to write things down. This way, when it comes time to defend yourself or to shed light on the matter you can look back to your notes and bring up exactly what happened
Blake Sibbitt
The best place to live in Bangkok for teachers
Onnud has got the lot!
In the past, all we had was a Tesco, Big C and the beer garden. It was pretty barren. But it's distance from the "city center" and subsequent lower rents, while still having access to the BTS, has made it a popular choice for expats.
FIRE in Thailand
What does your retirement from teaching look like?
There's no excuse not to invest and plan.
Planning for retirement doesn't have to be complicated. All you have to do is spend less than you make and invest the difference for the long-term. That's it. I know you are thinking that's easier said than done, but start small.
