Adam Crittenden
Useful classroom management techniques
These ideas have all worked for me!
If you have something the students want then you have a big asset in keeping your class under control. I have developed a few games and props that the kids love and I will use them when they start to tire or lose focus on a more testing part of the curriculum.
Mark Beales
The TEFL job interview and what makes a good teacher?
Getting past the interview stage and deciding what roles to play in the classroom.
Think back to your favourite teacher at school. What was it that made him or her stand out? Chances are if you ask 10 people this, they’d come up with broadly similar qualities.
Diary of a Thai football season
2022/23 Samut Prakan v Nakhon Pathom
Here we go then and we open the new league campaign against The King Tigers
Interestingly, this is Samut Prakan City's fourth season as a football club and the fourth time we've begun with a home match.
Richard Constable
Tales of Thai school discipline
When foreign teachers face the classroom troublemakers
I thought I'd tell you about a few of my memories of disciplining students from my (so far) 20-year teaching career.
Mark Newman
Be the worst teacher you can be
A guide to making life difficult for you and everyone else
There's simply not enough information on how to be a crap teacher and just coast by. There's almost nothing on how easily you can do things that can get you fired or at least lose you the respect of everyone around you.
Ricky Batten
Does smoking affect health insurance?
Whether you smoke occasionally or are a chain smoker, you might be wondering if this habit will affect your health insurance.
To be considered a non-smoker by health insurers, you must have given up smoking for at least 2 years. Honesty is expected on health insurance application forms so you will need to make your smoker status clear.
Bangkok Phil
Renewing a UK passport in Bangkok
A fairly painless procedure
Like many bureaucratic processes in Thailand, advance preparation is key. In terms of paperwork, it's all about getting your ducks in a row so that the actual application day goes as smoothly as possible.
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.
Sam Thompson
Choosing the right employer
The joys of working for a teacher agency
I wouldn't say I have a "horror story" per se, but rather a three-ringed circus. I found the whole ordeal quite amusing for the most part, although the never getting paid on time or the correct amount, along with the constant harassing emails from whom I can only assume to be a mentally imbalanced employer did get a bit tiresome by the end.
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.
Stephen Louw
A good teacher
Who gets to decide what it means to be a 'good' teacher?
I have to admit that it is easy and tempting to think about teachers in shades of 'good'. But perhaps the reality is that there is no such thing as a good teacher. Or, if you are a glass-half-full sort, every teacher is good (in their own little way).
Parvez Amlani
Why education reform in Thailand is imminent
The Thai MOE surely has to begin the formal development of rules and regulations.
If the Thai education system was in fact reformed where certifications and teachers qualifications were vetted, then so-called teachers would indeed have to resort to “flipping burgers” in their native countries simply because they have no real qualifications to represent themselves as teachers.
Lee Lepper
Life itself is irony
A teacher's journey - different countries, different jobs.
Believe me I am thankful to be a teacher in Thailand today. Ironically I had to leave Thailand to get the best job I have ever had here.
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.
Phil Roeland
What's in a nickname?
Boom, Bomb and Bam Bam don't like Beer and Porn
How do Thai parents choose these nicknames? Sometimes a nickname is just a short form of an official name. If your name is Jiraporn, you'll probably be called Porn (this is a frequently used Thai nickname and has got nothing to do with being able to perform in X-rated films)
Rob Newman
Teacher contracts
Are they binding, and if so, how?
Let’s face it, when a teacher realizes they made a mistake by taking the job, or have suddenly found another school that will pay them more money, they will try to get out of the contract. Many just up and leave with no word or thought for the mess they are leaving behind.
Sion Binalon
In loving memory of Kuya Ben: A teacher and a friend
I met Kuya Ben (Kuya means older brother) through a co-teacher a month after I arrived in Thailand.
We had our last dinner in one of those makeshift restaurants that come alive only at night along Thailand sidewalks. The buzzing sound of cars and passers-by made me listen hard as to what he had said. Lost in his thoughts and blank gaze, he told me that life is short. The past should not hold me back from life and its kindness.
Karisa Blake
Failures in sarcasm
When a lesson plan can all go horribly wrong
Even when I try to tone down my sarcasm, those rascally comments still slip from my lips! I know that my students are vaguely aware of sarcasm but they don't quite understand it and they certainly would never use it on their own.
James Humphries
Be honest with yourself
Every teacher has made mistakes - including you!
I've read many teaching blogs down the years and I generally enjoy hearing about other people's experiences. However there is one thing I'd like to see more of - honesty
Mickey Sheehan
All hail the mighty khao pat gai
Boring yes, but never a dish to be underestimated
How many times have I been out for dinner with a group of Thai friends and that enormous bowl of khao pat gai has saved the day?
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.
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.
Phil Hall
Getting a job interview - part 3
Legwork and salary negotiations
I was finally being offered teaching roles but the salary was typically around the 20,000 mark and that was just too low to consider. On the other hand, in most cases I would be the only Westerner at the school.
Jesse Sessoms
Species extinction
Reflections on how technology has changed the way we travel
We have lost our identities; we are lost to ourselves. We are but a series of endless reactions to online stimuli. Before we have time to think and form our own perspective on anything, we are looking to see what our family, friends, and peers said; what the reviewers said; what the online influencers said; what the experts said.
Steve Schertzer
The selfish generation
Covidiots and their dangerous ways
Unfortunately, the coronavirus has not brought out the best in us. To the contrary, it has brought out the worst in us. It has thrown the curtains wide open to reveal a human population so scientifically ignorant, many seem to be regressing back to a time of human sacrifice.
Mark Brown
Beta testers wanted!
Testers who provide useful feedback will be given additional free materials as they are developed
California Accent provides over 300 TEFL lessons organized into 16 courses and 5 curriculums. These lessons are intended to be used by TEFL teachers in Thailand to supplement (not replace) the standard teaching materials issued by the provincial administrative organizations.
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?
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!
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.
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.
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.
- My experiences of working in a college in Bangkok (part 6)
- My experiences of working in a college in Bangkok (part 5)
- My experiences of working in a college in Bangkok (part 4)
- My experiences of working in a college in Bangkok (part 3)
- My experiences of working in a college in Bangkok (part 2)
- My experiences of working at a college in Bangkok (part 1)
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
