Experienced teacher and author of 'Teaching English' (How to Teach English as a Second Language)
Ways of teaching
Do you know your TBL from your ESA and CLT?
Great debates rage as to whether PPP is outdated, if TPR works for everyone and if ESA is really PPP in disguise. The good news is that the basics remain simple – keep students entertained and give them a chance to use what they are learning.
How do students learn?
Creating a variety of lessons that will appeal to most of your students
Theory often comes near the bottom of the pile when it comes to teaching, but there are several things worth knowing about how people learn and how best you can teach them.
There's a wide range of students out there
Who would you prefer to teach - young kids, teenagers or adults?
Some students are eager, some are recalcitrant; some students are delightful, some are dire. However, the good news is that to a large extent the kind of student you get is related to the kind of teacher you are.
The good, the bad and the downright unlucky
The different kinds of foreign teachers who end up teaching in Thailand
Wherever you end up teaching, the chances are that you are going to be alongside people you'd never normally work with, which can make the whole experience more memorable, one way or another.
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.
Don't get too upset with the job ads
Thailand's employers can be brutally direct about who they want to hire
It’s worth being aware that some schools are pretty fussy about what they are looking for. Glance at any jobs section of a newspaper and you’ll notice that such pedantry is common.
What will my school be like?
An overview of different types of institute in Thailand and the students who go to them
At the highest echelon are the international schools. Internationals are nearly always based on the British or American curricula, and employ career teachers.
Getting started as an English teacher
A quick overview of TEFL certificates, degrees, work permits and visas
If you didn’t go to university, don’t pretend that you did. You may be able to bluff your way through an interview and produce a certificate upon which the ink has just dried; however, all it takes is one phone call to immigration and you won’t just lose your job, you could lose your freedom.
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.
