Diary of a Thai football season
2023 / 2024 Fixtures
Hopefully this won't be another nail-biting season at the wrong end of the table
Samut Prakan City's second season in division two will be another 'tour of Thailand' and will include away trips to Nakhon Si Thammarat (twice) Chiang Mai (twice) Nongbua, Lampang, Phrae and Krabi.
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.
Mark Newman
Why you are fantastic!
10 reasons why teaching English has made you a fantastic person
Think about how you've changed since you became a teacher - because you have and all for the better, too.
Ricky Batten
Three tips for expat teachers seeking medical care in Thailand
Moving to Thailand to teach? As you’ll need to access medical care at some point, it’s best to be prepared beforehand.
Even if your school provides you with private health insurance as an employee benefit, it’s still worth doing your own research and arming yourself with knowledge.
Richard McCully
Strict discipline at Thai schools
Teachers aren't afraid to dish out the punishment if a student steps out of line.
The topic of school discipline came up in one of my classes a couple of weeks ago and it was pretty illuminating to me what happens in some schools here. I talked about it with some Thai friends over the weekend and they had pretty mixed views
Ben Bartee
The Thai ESL agent hustle
Thai ESL agents are largely unhindered in their business practices by morality.
When personal and working relationships between school staff and agents come under pressure and scrutiny because of good old-fashioned kickback schemes.
Rob Newman
The enigma of lesson plans
Why do teachers hate them?
The students are the ones that benefit most from a well prepared lesson plan. By the teacher preparing a lesson plan, the teacher is organizing their thoughts and ideas along with a coherent follow on from previous lessons.
Adam Crittenden
Keeping a positive teacher mindset
Coping with the demands and frustrations of teaching
Stay positive and view issues pertaining to Thai education with a broad mind. Balancing your concerns, with a deeper understanding of how Buddhist values reverberate in the local community is the way to go!
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.
Richard Constable
Not a Mister Chips among them
EFL teachers I've known over the decades, who didn't always wax their tracks as serious educators.
I chosen to write about some of the teachers I've worked with down the years who I found to be the most amusing and likeable, well, apart from Nick.
Stephen Louw
The first days of the new school year
A new term usually means meeting new students
As you move into a new year with new classes, you may be considering what sort of impression you want to make on the students when you have your first lesson. What exactly should a teacher do in the first few lessons considering that these first impressions are so important?
John Wilson
Are TEFL qualifications necessary?
Let's consider what can go wrong after TEFL courses.
One argument against qualifications is that teaching experience itself is enough to guarantee a good teacher. Not so. I have recently been learning French in an institution where my intermediate classmates are often poor performers in their out-of-class interactions. And for what reason?
Mark Beales
Why become an English teacher?
A job that brings challenges and rewards every single day
When it comes to picking your dream job, some options just leap out at you. Wine taster, travel writer, movie critic: who wouldn’t fancy any of those? Teaching, on the other hand, is a more maligned profession.
Sam Thompson
Tolerance
One aspect of Thai culture that must be the envy of the world
We foreigners may see some aspects of Thai culture as idiosyncratic, but it truly warms my heart when I see even young people in Thailand getting along in spite of personal differences
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.
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.
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?
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!
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.
