My thoughts on gate duty

It’s not a punishment. It’s not going to kill you.

Thai students actually really appreciate having foreigners there doing something such as gate duty. Moaning about it makes you look a bit pathetic.

25 teacher mistakes / rules to teach by

Postbox letter from James

25 teacher mistakes to learn and live by - especially if you are a teacher in Thailand.

Should foreign teachers do gate duty?

Postbox letter from Jack

If you think refusing to stand gate guard duty when it is expected will help you live a happier and more successful life, by all means refuse

The ajarn.com quiz

Have you got what it takes to be a teacher in Thailand?

Why should women's magazines have all the fun? Try our ten questions and find out if you're cut out to be a teacher in Thailand.

So, you want to teach English in Thailand?

First impressions of a novice

A couple of months into teaching at a school in Pattaya, I think I've learned a thing or two about living and teaching in Thailand.

At least nobody died

Sometimes just be thankful that's as good as it gets

I'm now in my third year as an English teacher at a secondary school in Thailand. I guess you could say I'm a veteran now, though this is a job which 'veteran' doesn't mean much

Time management

Five tips for success

I have a few common-sense time management tips to offer for any of you newbies out there struggling to have a night on the town without stacks of work to be done nagging you in the back of your mind.

More English camps

Possibly the final instalment of my summer camp trilogy

As the semester at my Mathayom-level government school came to a close, the students in the Mini English Program (MEP) got the chance to go to two different camps, one in Cha Am beach near Hua Hin, and the other in Green Beach, also near Hua Hin.

A Thai field trip

Where's our risk assessment?

I'm hoping to be invited on another Thai school field trip. The students are well behaved, and it was quite a lot of fun! Who would have thought you could get a job that pays you to have a good time at the zoo?

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.