Blogs

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

Richard McCully

It’s time to start paying non-native teachers fairly

Nationality shouldn't determine pay rates!

If someone speaks English to a native level, has great teaching skills and experience, they shouldn't be discriminated against purely based on their nationality.

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…”

Mark Beales

The importance of planning lessons

Planning lessons also includes seating arrangements don't forget.

Get a notebook and jot down how you see your lesson going in your head, from the warmer to the presentation to the summary. This doesn’t mean you’re teaching by numbers; it just gives you a basic framework.

Diary of a Thai football season

Close season updates and news (2021)

Transfer news and general news, etc from Samut Prakan City FC (April to July 2021)

Keeping an eye on social media to see what's making the headlines at Samut Prakan City.

More Diary of a Thai football season articles

Richard Constable

A rare combination of education and fun

The story of how I got my full-time teaching break

After three months as a part-timer, my chance arrived when two of my fellow full-time teaching colleagues, Big Barry, a former scaffolder, and Londoner Jeremy, an ex-soldier and former plumber, both failed to turn-up.

Stephen Louw

Variation in the classroom

Problems with a mixed-ability classroom

Every one of my students is different. There are huge differences in what they know, what they can do, and what they are interested in. How am I supposed to teach them?

Ricky Batten

Celebrating Thai New Year

Alcohol and your health insurance

Besides being illegal and dangerous, anything that happens to you or other people while you’re operating a vehicle and under the influence will void your insurance. Being drunk while riding a motorbike or driving a car is a quick and easy way to lose coverage.

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?

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.

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.

David Walters

Class control

Tips on how to make your kids classes go smoothly

You need to know how to control kids better than they know how to control you. The way you control any class depends on what size class you have and also on the age of the children, but here are some tips on how to keep your class together.

Mark Newman

Common law and common sense

In Thailand, the ‘rule of law' is often just a guideline and last resort

One of the biggest grievances of expats living in Thailand is the enforcement of laws. In every aspect of Thai society from murder to littering, there seems to be a casual enforcement of the law.

Sion Binalon

Early intervention for special kids

Experts say intervention is crucial while the child is still very young.

Evidences show that early intervention increases the developmental, educational and social rewards. Moreover, the medical field greatly supports early intervention too.

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.

TEFL Course News

January 2021

Our first TEFL course blog of the new year.

The latest news and promotions from some of Thailand's major TEFL courses.

Adam Crittenden

The benefits of working in an after-school language centre

Extra cash and more teaching experience for starters!

Teaching at an after-school has been a worthwhile experience. If you are willing to build your endurance and self-discipline then you will gain the rewards of more experience and some extra cash to boot.

Megan Swanick

Ten reasons to teach in Thailand

Why choose Thailand over other TEFL destinations?

Now, more than ever, being a native speaker of English (Or even non-native speaker) is a valuable world export and can be an easy, economic, and deeply rewarding way to see the globe.

Phil Roeland

Learner autonomy

Encouraging learners to be more responsible for their own progress

There are various ways to speed up the learning of a language. First of all, students should try to develop the habit of using the language they’ve learnt in the classroom outside the classroom.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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.