On teaching classroom language
Getting students to use simple English all the time
Whenever confronted with students who speak Thai in class, I considered it an opportune moment to teach them the right structures.
Who gets the call when their arms are raised?
Which student gets the teacher's questions and why?
Here are the different groups of students within a typical class. They are quite distinctive and there's not really much of a gray area between them.
Individualized instruction
How to 'reward' students who finish work on time
If I have the opportunity to individualize my teaching, I do it. I will call one student to my seat, check his/her work, make the student change his/her answer when it is wrong, and receive extra work or reward.
Classroom management experiences
Experiences from both Thailand and China.
The Thai teachers at my school, especially the veterans, are uncomfortable with the excitement and commotion during the lessons by the foreign teachers. They view it as an inability to control our students.
Puppet talk
I had a great idea to use puppets in the classroom
At present my English Club members are working on a show that will last for 15 minutes and hope to present this at Christmas or on Children‘s Day. Try puppets in your own classes. It will make your teaching very enriching, so interesting, and really entertaining.
The teaching game
Games - I love 'em and I use them in my classroom in every way I can.
Don't be dismissive of games or underestimate their value. The resultant effect of these light-hearted activities may have more than just the 'learning' benefits.
Too many games!
Beware of turning your class into gameaholics
"I'm really starting to take a dislike to this class," my colleague complained in the teachers' room. "All they want to do is play games, and it's not even like they're a bunch of kids.
Advantages of team teaching
Working with a co-teacher who becomes a valuable assistant
When I taught with my partner, the Thai teacher would translate everything I would say. When I modeled all the oral activities, the Thai teacher would explain. But the flow of the lesson was in the hands of the Thai teacher.
How to motivate your students
An extract from a new book on teaching English to Thai students
Many studies have been undertaken to determine the reasons why South East Asian students have problems learning English. I would add to the list: weakness of the curriculum design, limited school resources, class sizes, poor course design, and course-books not always being relevant to the student's own environment.
Work with the tools you have
Postbox letter from Khru Mark
On the topic of Thai classroom assistants and are they useful to a foreign teacher? I have six teachers with me. (One for each level that I teach.) They are all different and they all need to be treated differently.
