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
Kink Bundy
My experiences of working in a college in Bangkok (part 4)
Settling in to my apartment and meeting my wacky teaching colleagues
The apartment had no windows, though a sliding glass door leading to a tiny balcony funneled in a trickle of sunlight. Worse than its size was its smell.
Stephen Louw
Stars and candy
When rewarding our students for their efforts works ..... and when it doesn't.
Children aren’t pigeons. Learning isn’t simply habit formation reinforced by a teacher with an unending supply of stickers and stars. The fact is, we can’t induce children to do our bidding for long by offering a reward or issuing a threat.
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.
Phil Hall
Different teachers, different styles
Sometimes showing the students tough love doesn't work.
My teaching colleague was just a bully who could only intimidate the younger students. ‘Find something unique that the kids are interested in, then you will be halfway there’ was some of the best advice I ever got.
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.
Walter van der Wal
5 recommended detox retreats to start your new year in Thailand
I’ve come to learn that the full detox experience goes far beyond visiting a regular spa.
The most suitable detox location will depend on your self-improvement objectives. Whether you are looking to strengthen your physical health, improve your immune system, or lose weight in a healthy and efficient way, there’ll always be a detox program that targets your particular goal.
- Chikungunya in Thailand
- 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?
TEFL Course News
January 2020
Start off the new year with a quality TEFL course in Thailand
All the latest news, promotions, videos and starting dates for Thailand's leading TEFL course providers.
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.
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.
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.
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
