At the end of my tether

Postbox letter from Steven

The problem I encounter with almost every class, is a lack of respect, plus attention, demonstrated by the students

Teaching a six-hour Sunday class

A world of classroom activity and the odd jaded colleague

I've now taught two sessions of a Sunday 6-hour class at a language school near Ekkami here in Bangkok, and I think I have a pretty good feel for what it's all about.

A teacher's pet peeve

The unenviable task of having to plan lessons

Lesson planning is a routine task that has now got into my system, yet if I had my choice, I would get rid of it. But how? So several times I tried teaching without a lesson plan? Do you want to know how it turned out? I think they were better than my planned lessons.

Mid-term prep and a week in review

You have to go with the flow in Thailand

Here's another example of why you must roll with the tides here in Thailand, too. I spent a good two hours making a 40-question midterm for my Mathayom 2 class. My paperwork shows that the M2 class I have is divided into Science 1 and Science 2, but the curriculum is identical for both

Ridiculous!

Postbox letter from Lauren

Your insinuation that school staff members hire cheap teachers so that they can squander the extra money on drinking is uncouth and plain culturally ignorant!

Happy hour at the ESL bar and grill

Amusing the students to death

Students are being scammed out of their money by an industry that is content to amuse the students to death by turning English language education into a perverted version of happy hour at Joe's Bar. Teachers and students deserve better than that.

Talkin' bout my situation 2012

More worried teachers and their complex situations

More situations from teachers who plan on coming to teach English in Thailand and are looking for hard answers and stone cold facts rather than hearsay and barstool opinion.

Stay positive

Postbox letter from Steve B

I had tremendous trouble finding a decent job when I first arrived, in fact it was two months from the time of arriving in Thailand to my actual first day as a teacher.

Farang ajarn cover letter

Postbox letter from Mel

I wasted my time and my life of quiet TEFL desperation at an all-girl’s government school off the Hua Lamphong BTS station sweating direly in dreary and dilapidated non-air-conditioned classrooms beneath depressing rows of old, broken-down fans babysitting on average 40 bored, clueless, and mediocre mathayom students