Culture of insouciance

The Cambodian rubbish dump, and my not so final, final exam

Many of the students in my class with their fancy clothes, laptops, I-phones, and I-pads, rarely experience an atmosphere where true learning takes place. Outside of the odd serious teacher they may have encountered along the way, they also live and learn in a rubbish dump, an educational one.


Software for student tests

How to get the best from your students with on-line tests

The integration of internet and computers with education and English learning is something students find normal, and classrooms without some access to educational software may seem quaint. Some students may even feel they can get more ‘professional' teaching from the numerous online ELT sites if a school is behind in IT.


Failing students and the failing ESL industry

Failing young students is simply a poor strategy

Without a doubt the ESL industry around the world is primarily a scam that is governed by unscrupulous business people that rarely have any pedagogical knowledge or academic backgrounds in the field of education


The enemy within

The evil side of the TEFL industry

It is a complicity of silence that sees many foreign teachers working hand-in-glove with a Thai administration that cares only about money and maintaining an educational system mired in cultural backwardness and social repression.


The Mismeasure of Thais

Teachers rarely take the blame for students constantly failing exams.

It is not the students’ fault that they are failing tests and exams. All students want to pass. They simply don’t know how since most teachers have never taught their students how to study effectively and to recognize the pitfalls of taking tests and examinations.


Ignorance or arrogance?

Students and their lack of proper test preparation

Teachers who have taught TOEFL or IELTS courses can attest that for non-native speakers, doing well on these tests translates into a lot of hard work. Apart from becoming proficient in English, students will also need to fine-tune their test-taking skills and build up their endurance and concentration, as these tests usually take about four hours to complete.


Phrasebook learning

Is phrasebook learning letting Korean students down?

One of the true beauties of learning another language is the curiosity value of seeing how other peoples string together the concepts the words of their language embody to give meaning to the world in ways we never thought of.


Negative expectations

And their role in language learning

My turn as an agony aunt for the masses. Compassion is just one of my many virtues.


Choice tests

The sheer joy of multiple choice

Over reliance in Thailand. All roads lead to a,b,c or d. When speaking to Thai students it's often best to give them a choice of 4 responses to each comment you make.


Showing 9 tagged items out of 19 total Page 2 of 2



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