A year in Ubon (part one)

I know. I'll go and teach English in Thailand.

Do a TEFL course, sell my bungalow, get a teaching job and move to Thailand. What could be difficult about that?

A first lesson disaster

I mean, seriously, how many other teachers pass out in their first class?

when I awoke, I was on the floor slumped against the wall. I looked up to see at least 30 faces looking down on me, and yes, the smartphones were out in force. I could only wonder how much of the event had already been recorded.

My first day at school

An introduction to the cast of characters (my teaching colleagues)

It was already 35 degrees in the shade, and the last thing I really needed now was to be doing star jumps and the like. But it seemed that all of the teachers were getting their own dance moves on, and I had to do the same.

The short, fat, bald new guy

The adventure starts at a school in Kalasin

As I rode down the main Kalasin Road, towards the school, I was aware of hundreds of school kids heading in the same direction, I wondered which ones I would be teaching? As I parked up the bike, the school grounds were already teeming with student life it was as if the school had been transformed into a mini city.

The first days of the new school year

A new term usually means meeting new students

As you move into a new year with new classes, you may be considering what sort of impression you want to make on the students when you have your first lesson. What exactly should a teacher do in the first few lessons considering that these first impressions are so important?

Tips from the trenches

Tips to help a new teacher get through that very first day of class

Worried about that first day of class? The following compilation of articles might offer some insight into how to approach your students for the first time, regardless of their age, numbers and gender.

Three ways to keep your composure in the classroom

How to get over that first day 'stage-fright'

We've all had the first-day jitters as new teachers working for a school or language facility. We've all fumbled over grammar points or have been unable to answer a student's question on the spot.

Thailand teaching stuff - November 2014

Another selection of links that will interest any teacher in Thailand

Wow! Time really flies doesn't it? It's almost the end of the year already but here's another selection of links to blogs and articles from the past few months that I think teachers and foreign expats might enjoy.

Thrown to the wolves

Teaching kindergarten for the very first time

Today's class was my very first 2-hour stint with a group of kindergarteners. I've never been the world's largest fan of little kids, not because I don't like them, but because I have no earthly idea what to do with them. Well, all things considered, I'd say my class went quite well!