Diary of a Thai football season
2023/24 Rayong FC v Samut Prakan
Our last away game of the season - or will it be simply our last ever away game?
A tough finish to our away campaign as we travel to third-place Rayong and a team pretty much guaranteed a play-off place. Just a point from their last two games will see them over the line.
Mark Beales
How to make lessons interesting (warmers)
A good selection of warmers and lesson-fillers for a teacher to keep up their sleeve
Warmers are an important part of a lesson. They aren’t just there to fill time while you figure out what page they’re on today. A simple warmer should be either used to review the previous lesson or set the scene for the day’s class. If done well, students become interested and are then easily led into the main task.
Stephen Louw
Withitness
The art of knowing what's going on in your classroom at all time
A withit teacher can see when students are not paying attention, which students can’t follow the lesson, when students are becoming restless, etc.
Mark Newman
Older teachers and acculturalization!
Adapting to life in Thailand strategies for the older expat
For the older expat, life in Thailand can be magnificent. A well organized and well resourced expat can enjoy a rebirth in the ‘Land of Smiles.
Laura Thomas
I actually don't mind gate duty
A chance to connect with both parents and students.
Initially, when I was assigned gate duty a couple of years ago, I felt apprehensive. It was unfamiliar territory, as in my home country, such formal greetings weren't customary. Greetings between students and teachers happened naturally.
Adam Crittenden
How to motivate your students
From using humor and surprise to employing reward structures
Boredom grows from predictability. An occasional taste of the unexpected will make everyone's learning experience more enjoyable.
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 Parfitt
A teaching room of your own
It's not just about having a space to teach; it's about creating a hub for learning, laughter, and lifelong memories.
Starting out as a floating teacher meant I didn't have a proper classroom for the first two years. It was like being a nomad in the world of education, but it taught me to adapt like a pro.
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.
Ricky Batten
Expat’s guide to dental care in Thailand
Whilst Thailand is known for its medical tourism, finding the right dentist can still be a challenge
In Thailand, there are several dental care options you can choose from including dental hospitals, private clinics, and branded dental clinics. Each option comes with its own pros and cons.
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
How to write a sleazy SEO article For a Phuket beach resort
Sleazy beach resort proprietors, multinational corporate executives with private jets, sleazy SEO article writers, and tourists are all in the same boat.
In my spare time at the university, I started writing search engine optimized (SEO) pieces to get older Western women to come to Thailand for titjobs, and for tourists to visit resorts, and other stuff involving foreigners spending money in paradise.
Jessica Watson
The dreaded letter grade
The anguish of having to evaluate progress with a single letter
I teach Pre-School, Kindergarten and Prathom 1, 2 and 3 and while I find it easier to dole out letter grades to my Prathom students, giving A,B,C's to my Pre-School and K's is much more difficult.
Steve Schertzer
The making of a good true Thai
Towards a new patriarchy and an inclusive nationalism
With the recent change in government, now would be a good time for Thais to take their country back. Any time would be a good time for Thais to take their country back.
Rob Newman
Act professionally please
Why don't teachers act like teachers for a change?
Start looking at things from an employer’s point of view. Start thinking like a teacher, teaching isn’t a 9 - 5 job, it’s a profession taken up by people who want to educate young minds.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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!
