I'm starting to enjoy edutainment
Edutainment is the idea that teachers should entertain and not just teach students. Teachers should be like game show hosts or performers in the classroom.
Chances are that your employer in Thailand will put some pressure on you to add some edutainment to help them keep students and get good reviews. If you can’t do this then you’ll probably be looking for a new job pretty soon.
Ajarn's top ten blogs
What were our top ten most-read blogs in October 2018?
What were people reading in the month of October on the Ajarn website?
Games to try in your classroom
Five games / activities that work with Thai students
Thai students of all ages love games. Even adult learners with serious jobs can really get into games. I also love them too because they are a fun thing to add to a class and you can make them relevant at the same time.
‘Sanook’, games and the Thai EFL classroom
Should teachers be entertainers?
One would think that the Thais' love of ‘sanook' would make the EFL classroom an inviting place for new EFL teachers, but the situation can be frustrating.
Experience is often the best teacher
How can I improve my teaching practice next year?
One great idea that I picked up from a colleague this year was to invest in a laminating machine. You can pick one up for around 2,000 baht at sites like Lazada. Lamination effectively safeguards the durability and presentation of my teaching materials.
Teaching young Thai kids with no resources!
How to be a success in the classroom with very few materials
‘How do I teach with no resources?' Well, if you are new to Thailand and teaching and have just started at a new school this may be useful to you.
Helping students with spelling
Activities for your writing classes
Make spelling part of your writing lessons. It works wonders and a poor spelling student before is now a poor speller no more.
Individualized instruction
How to 'reward' students who finish work on time
If I have the opportunity to individualize my teaching, I do it. I will call one student to my seat, check his/her work, make the student change his/her answer when it is wrong, and receive extra work or reward.
The teaching game
Games - I love 'em and I use them in my classroom in every way I can.
Don't be dismissive of games or underestimate their value. The resultant effect of these light-hearted activities may have more than just the 'learning' benefits.
Teacher talking time
What happens if the teacher does a lot of talking in the classroom?
As an English teacher, when I teach, I see to it that my students do more of the talking in class rather than I doing it because I am already good in the language.