Parent power
Postbox letter from Keith Evans
We are currently halfway through the mid-term exams. Yesterday, a colleague and I were called into a meeting with some of the senior secondary students' parents, and the assistant director and a few of his cronies
Stop this no-fail policy
Postbox letter from Dr John Smith
I have many students that fail and one particular class I was supposed to teach had never turned up to a class, never took a test or exam and I failed them all. I was told that I could not fail them by the head of year and by the director of the school and that I would have to give them minimal scores.
Notes on a semester
What lessons can a teacher learn from a difficult semester?
When a number of students fail their course, what can a teacher do to make the next semester a better and more successful one? It's all about preparing well, observing other teachers and talking less in the classroom.
Teaching the Chinese in Thailand
experiences of teaching an international program
I came back to Thailand from Korea because I far prefer working with Thai students, or because my experiences here were so much nicer. To my surprise,upon my arrival, the university announced it was launching an international program in which there were many students from the south of China. So I'm in Thailand teaching Chinese students. Go figure!
Let's start failing students
Postbox letter from JP Robinson
Unfortunately Thais cannot face failure so this means Joe Bloggs and his dog are in with a chance of getting a job. Schools should have their own methods of evaluating for the good of the school and not the good of their pockets.
Good morning Vietnam
Postbox letter from JP Robinson
How the tables have turned. I don't know about Thailand but I think it is Vietnam that is an exciting place to be.
The greatest myth
How communicative language teaching fails
These truths are not wild, philosophical, esoteric ramblings. How we choose to teach English as a second or foreign language is a perfect example of how our methods of teaching is failing the very same people it was meant to help.
The magical land
Where no student fails an exam
Yes, dear readers, students in Thailand simply cannot fail exams. This probably comes as a very big surprise for the people unfamiliar with the Thai situation, but believe me, it is true. Well, it is still true at the time of writing, but maybe not for long anymore.
