Failures in sarcasm
When a lesson plan can all go horribly wrong
Even when I try to tone down my sarcasm, those rascally comments still slip from my lips! I know that my students are vaguely aware of sarcasm but they don't quite understand it and they certainly would never use it on their own.
English speaking day
Some different ways to get your students speaking English
I heard from a number of Filipino instructors in Thai universities that they had something called ‘English Speaking Day'. They said that students had not as yet made any significant progress but the instructors were optimistic that the ESD idea would work if implemented for a longer period of time and Thai students would surely improve.
This is an English-speaking only zone
Reflections from teaching in an English-only international school
Six weeks ago I started a new teaching job in Myanmar at an international school. The job and the school have surpassed my expectations and one of the most impressive things is that I can use complete sentences in the classroom and give directions in English and the students not only understand, but they respond with great English.
Class, may I go out?
Dealing with a delicate classroom issue
What do you do you if in the middle of your teaching you suddenly feel the urge to go to the toilet? Do you wait until your class is over? Do you ask your students to excuse you? What's the best way to deal with this most personal of issues?
Whole brain teaching techniques
An amazing new approach to teaching that really works
Do you want to be able to control a roomful of pratom one students with one simple word? ? Would you like to get 99 per cent participation from your matayom class? Do you want an easy way to engage your adult students making learning fun for them and for you?
Classroom ice breakers
How to start your lesson off the right way
Summer classes begin soon and many of us will be working during our vacation. One of the problems we face is how to maintain student interest
The harsh reality
Postbox letter from Ralph Sasser
When a student inevitably fails the semester final exam and/or has poor grades, the foreign teacher is instructed to dumb down the exam and let the student retake it so he/she will get a passing grade or retake it several times if necessary. If the teacher refuses to give the exam until the student passes, the foreigner teacher is deemed incompetent and terminated.
Ajarn.com's book of the month
Macmillan Collocations Dictionary
I can see perhaps a very serious student of written English dipping into it if there is truly a word whose possible collocations they want to find out more about. And for any teacher with an intermediate class, they might take a word and use the collocations as a ten-minute lesson filler, but I'm struggling to see the dictionary's value beyond that.
A teacher, an old wise man, two punks, and a chicken
Taking responsibility for your teaching
Every once in a while I get frustrated with my students. Yes that’s right; I’m not a perfect teacher. But the person I should get most frustrated with, however, is me.
Handling a 'sanook' class
How to handle a classroom full of badly-behaved children
Success in handling naughty students calls for common sense, creativity and resourcefulness on the part of teachers. Furthermore, a lot of reasons that trigger students’ behavior have to be addressed too, for if they are not, problems will surface
