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Alice Peel 2004
What's it like being single, female, and in Bangkok?
Alice took the plunge and decided that teaching English in Thailand was what
she really wanted to do.
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Harvey Taylor 2004
He's a lecturer at a well-known university. He's about
to take the Thai proficiency exam...and he's about to start his own
business. He's an interesting fellow.
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Andy W 2004
Ex-teacher turned second-hand car dealer. If you're
sick of riding Bangkok buses, then Andy's the man to talk to.
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John Caulfield 2004
One of Bangkok's cheeriest TEFL personalities - John C,
the academic director at inlingua - gives us the ins and outs of teacher
recruitment.
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George Bowman 2004
If you're confused about the definition of an
'international school' and want to know about the ups and downs of working
in one, then George is your man
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Phil of ajarn.com 2004
You asked the random questions, and I did my best to
answer them. Sorry that some of the answers were a bit long-winded.
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Ken May 2004
Ken is an American trying to 'beat the system'. He
doesn't confess to being an expert on teaching but he has worked in several
countries, and had a book published in Thailand. You'll enjoy him.
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Jackie Yearwood 2004
Our first hot-seat 'victim' of the new year is
Jackie, a female teacher who has only been teaching in Thailand for a few
months. Who says we don't have negativity in the hot-seats?
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Douglas Brown 2004
Douglas is something of an expert on the
Rajabhat institutes. If you're anything like me you're perhaps a bit
confused as to exactly what they are. Well he works at one and loves every
minute.
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Duncan Lewis 2004
'Big Dunc' as he prefers to be called, is here
teaching in Thailand for two reasons - Thai women and cheap ale. Not
necessarily in that order. He just can't figure out which is more important.
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Hugh Butler 2004
The hard-working operations manager behind
English First, Thailand.
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Teacher Greg 2004
Nothing but a kind-hearted English teacher
trying to do the best for his students and make his way in Thailand. Alas,
it's been a journey of ups and downs
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Duncan Donut 2004
He's terrorized any Thailand discussion board
you care to mention and given moderators sleepless nights. Not sure if he'll
send Smeg, Domunique or Wolfslayer, but we'll keep the crucifix handy.
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Sir Gregory 2004
In this dog eat dog world of teaching EFL in Thailand,
isn't it nice to know that are still some kind souls who believe in giving
up a few hours a week to do voluntary work. Good on ya mate!
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Jerry Rogers 2004
Jerry came to Thailand with no teaching
experience and no teaching certificate. I guess he just fancied giving it a
go. So how's it been going?
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Teacher Lindsay 2004
A rare appearance by a teacher from 'down under'. He
had a stressful job in Australia. Came to teach in Thailand for five years.
Went back to the stressful job in Australia. Er......and now he's in China.
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Ajarn Denny 2004
Could you organize 34 Asian university students
to each write and contribute one chapter of a perfectly-written novel, and
then see it published in paperback? This man has.
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Andy Gray 2005
Andy Gray (not the Sky Sports soccer pundit) talks
about his ten years in Thailand and why moving to teach in Taiwan was
definitely the right move.
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Matthew Gardner 2005
For many teachers in Thailand, Japan is something of a
mystical, promised land where the TEFL streets are paved with gold. Matthew
works there. He should know. But what's all this about coming to work in
Thailand?
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Olivier Vilayphiou 2005
He's a Frenchman, except he's 75% Chinese and
25% Laotian. He teaches English. Oh and he once lived in Runcorn. We've
truly gone international here on the ajarn.com hot-seat.
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Richard Kirtland 2005
Now here's a guy worth reading. He worked at the
prestigious Harrow School in Bangkok, but still felt that there was a danger
of stagnating and becoming just another part of the Bangkok TEFL crowd. So
it was back to the UK for a PGCE.
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Anthony the Exiled Gooner 2005
Eight years in Thailand and then off to
Indonesia to seek fame and fortune. Well, the fame part is certainly taking
shape. So just to prove that we sometimes let Arsenal fans mouth off on here
- Exiled Gooner.
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Rob Donnellan 2005
If you've ever wondered what a kids summer camp or
weekend camp is all about then here's an interview with one of Thailand's
best organizers of such events. The campfire burns for our main man Rob
Donnellan.
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Barrie Spark 2005
We haven't had a hot seat for a couple of months but
here's a guy who has been in Thailand for three years and done a little bit
of everything from corporate to secondary school and from freelance to
summer camps. Take it away Barrie!
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Terry Burton 2005
About time we had another interview with someone who
actually runs a language school - enter Terry Burton stage right - the owner
and director of Amerithai Education Center in Surat Thani.
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Louis Minson 2005
Something for Christmas. The fearless administrator of
the ajarn.com discussion board takes his place in the chair to chat about
family life, recruiting teachers for Southern Thailand, and his future
plans.
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Stickman 2005
I'm not quite sure how we've gone so long without
interviewing the legendary Stickman. For me he's still the man who started
it all - with his Stickman's Guide to Teaching in Thailand. Five years on -
how is everything in the Stickman corner?
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Kevin Forster 2006
Tired of the rather negative images portrayed in
many of our hot-seat interviews, Kevin fancied a go himself at answering a
few questions and giving his own points of view. Kevin is a 46-year old
government high school teacher and has worked in Thailand since 1995.
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Danny Stewart 2006
Someone once told Danny Stewart that anyone who
teaches EFL for more than 5 yrs must have some psychological problems. Well,
he’s been here for eight years – all of them in deepest Ratchaburi. He’s
taught at both a commercial school and a Rajabhat college.
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Garry Hargreaves 2006
Hot-seat candidates often send me a bit of
background about themselves so I can get an angle on the questions. When
Garry Hargreaves got in touch, his first words were – “I warn you – I’ve
done a lot”. And he wasn’t far wrong either. After reading a brief account
of his life in Thailand, I had to go and have a lie down. Thankfully I’ve
recovered enough to put the usual fifteen questions together.
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Robert Lee 2006
Rob Lee spent a total of two years teaching in Bangkok.
In his early thirties, Rob felt that although Thailand often felt like
paradise on earth, the failure to secure any kind of long-term security
constantly nagged at him. He's now teaching in Spain but hopes to return
someday to the Land of Smiles.
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Vincente Morantes 2006
One of the largest groups of teachers currently plying their trade in
Thailand are undoubtedly the Filipinos. The ajarn hot seat welcomes Vincente
Morantes to champion the cause and hopefully provide some answers as to why
Filipinos sometimes seem to get a raw deal from language schools and
institutes here.
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David Carter 2006
Now listen to this for a roller-coaster ride of an EFL career. He started
off teaching private students in Thailand in the early 90s. Then he packed
the teaching game in. Then he got back into it. Now he's earning the big
bucks out in Abu Dhabi. Take it away Dave Carter.
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John Kevany 2006
Malaysia is a country that's so near to Thailand and yet doesn't seem to
attract EFL teachers in any great number. Next up in the ajarn.com hot seat
is John Kevany. He knows what Malaysia is all about having worked there
three times in fact. In addition, he's done stints in Morocco with the
British Council and held rather an interesting position with a Thai
multinational.
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Adam Marshall 2006
In what has become known as 'The Nonthaburi
Project', the government has taken up the challenge of employing 250
teachers (or thereabouts) and placing them in Thai schools in the Nonthaburi
area. A lot of confusion has arisen over certain aspects of the scheme but
we are privileged to have Adam Marshall join us for an ajarn.com hot seat,
and attempt to put the record straight.
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Webmaster Rico 2006
For teachers who feel that they’ve been given a
raw deal by an employer in Thailand, there is now a website on which to air
their grievances and get things off their chest.
www.teflwatch.org was launched in
mid-January 2006 and is the brainchild of a gentleman who goes by the name
of Rico. Ajarn.com tracked down the man at the helm and he outlined the
aspects and hopes for this new and much-needed website.
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Mr Michael (of Siam Computer)
2006
The 31st of March 2006 will be something of a
monumental occasion in the Bangkok TEFL business. Mr Michael, the near
legendary Academic Director of Siam Computer and Language, has decided to
finally call it a day and leave the responsibilities of running one of
Bangkok’s biggest private language school chains to a slightly younger man.
In the hands of a more energetic man? – I very much doubt it. We caught up
with Mr Michael before he headed off to a life of gardening and fishing.
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Martin Walsh (of Dragonfly)
2006
Martin Walsh is the man behind the very successful Dragonfly operation. He
currently has two major projects going – one is placing volunteer teachers
in remote village schools and the other is fund-raising for tsunami orphans.
Worth a chat I think.
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Brian Boyd (creator of
Grammarman) 2006
We've all seen Thai kids and Thai adults with their heads stuck in those
damn cartoon books, but could Japanese anime be making way for Grammarman -
a new comic-book superhero? Grammarman is the brainchild of Mr Brian Boyd, a
teacher with the British Council Bangkok.
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Jay Johnson 2006
Jay works for a Thai school that has recently come in for a lot of criticism
on the TEFLwatch website, but are there two sides to this story? Jay Johnson
feels that much of the criticism is unjustified and that great improvements
are being made.
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David Solomon 2007
David Solomon is firstly an Australian and
secondly a very well-qualified teacher trainer for a well-known TEFL course
provider down in Pattaya. He contacted Ajarn.com and offered to be 2007's
first hot seat candidate. Take it away sport.
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Matthew Gardner 2007
Matthew Gardner wrote the 'Matt's World' monthly column
for Ajarn.com from September 2004 to December 2005. The columns focused
heavily on Matt's transition from TEFL teacher in Japan to TEFL teacher
Thailand - and all the problems that came with it. Eventually Matt said
enough was enough and scurried back to the Land of the Rising Sun, where
he's now been for over eighteen months. It's definitely time we caught up
with him again.
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Al Lock 2007
Let's catch up with what's happening in the world of
corporate training, and who better to put in the hot seat than Mr Al Lock,
Managing Director of NLI, a company that specializes in high-end training
programs for multi-national companies.
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Timothy McCrystle 2007
Timothy McCrystle has spent six years teaching
English in The Land of Smiles and in his words "had a good look around all
the aspects of teaching in Thailand" - so let's hear what he's got to say
for himself.
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Dave Roberts 2007
As Asia-wide recruiter for Shane Language
Schools, few people are in a better position to compare and analyze
conditions for teachers in Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China.....and of course
Thailand.
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Ralph Sasser 2007
Ralph Sasser doesn't hold down a 'big position'
in Thailand's EFL business and he has no illusions of grandeur. He came to
Thailand purely because it felt like home and happiness was of paramount
importance. He's a regular guy and a regular teacher.
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Andy Hill (Aitch) 2007
Andy H (or Aitch as he's better
known) is the webmaster behind Mrroomfinder.com, one of Thailand's most
popular apartment websites. What a lot of people don't know is that this
extremely likable Cambridge lad was teaching in Bangkok as long ago as 1994.
Since then, life has been something of a roller-coaster. Say what you like
about Aitch, he's always got an interesting tale to tell.
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David Gevaux 2007
Lets talk to a teacher who came to teach in Thailand
but soon realized that he was perhaps a little 'under-qualified' or rather
wanted to improve his chances of landing a better job. The answer was to
enroll on a degree course in Bangkok. Take it away David Gevaux.
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Rick Carter 2007
Rick Carter is the Human Resource coordinator
for English First in Jakarta. Ajarn.com asks Rick about his life as an
English teacher and what made him up roots and make the move to Indonesia.
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Preston Dixon 2008
One area that many TEFLers show an
interest in is hotel teaching. Can you imagine a job where your work
environment is a five-star luxury hotel surrounded by swaying palms and
waves lapping on to some private beach. And you probably only have to teach
a couple of hours a day as well. Is it really as good as all that? Step
forward Preston Dixon - a teacher at a hotel resort on Thailand's Koh Samui.
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Erika Stevenson 2008
One reader emailed me to say that there aren't
enough dames doing these hot seat interviews. OK, why should the lads have
all the fun? Erika Stevenson has been working at Rajamangala University in
Songkhla for the past two years and she's got a few experiences she's just
dying to share. Take it away girl.
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Barry Cowger 2008
Let's have a chat with Mr Barry Cowger. He
taught for a couple of years in Europe and moved to Thailand almost a year
ago. Even in that short time, he's experienced a couple of Thai primary
schools and designed an English program that got approval from none other
than the local mayor.
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Greg of TEFL Watch 2008
Back in 2006, ajarn.com conducted an interview
with Teacher Rico, as he set out to turn the Thailand TEFL world on its head
and provide a forum for teachers to report their good and bad experiences
with Thai schools (mostly bad). Two years later and Teacher Rico has decided
to call it a day. Ajarn.com catches up with Greg (the teacher formerly known
as Rico) and attempts to find out why.
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Brian Hodge 2008
Brian Hodge from New Zealand has only been in
Thailand for a couple of years but he's already racked up an impressive list
of employers including an orphanage, a temple school and a government
university. Let's find out how the different teaching environments compare.
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Garry Brown 2008
Let's have a chat with Garry Brown. He's a
56-year old Australian who describes himself as 'young at heart'. After
seven or eight years shuttling backwards and forwards to Thailand as
primarily a tourist, he made The Land of Smiles his permanent home for a
further three years. After mixed experiences in Thailand's teaching
industry, he thinks he's discovered TEFL nirvanha......in China. Garry
wonders what took him the hell so long.
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Danny Walton 2008
You don't come across many people who have held
a DOS (Director of Studies) position for more than two or three years, but
Anthony clocked up a whopping eight years in Bangkok as a language school
hirer and firer. Worth a chat methinks.
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