Enhancing understanding
Getting students to enjoy using dictionaries in class
Understanding is one of the keys in making a lesson interesting. Students stay tuned to the repertoire of activities presented, deepen their liking for the subject, and look forward to more English encounters.
Thoughts on the Thais' English-speaking ability
Postbox letter from Methaya Sirichit
OK I have read a variety of opinions on the topic of 'Why can't Thais speak English?' Some are correct but some are outright shallow.
On teaching classroom language
Getting students to use simple English all the time
Whenever confronted with students who speak Thai in class, I considered it an opportune moment to teach them the right structures.
The 'Hour of Code' is here
Computer coding is going to become an essential skill for all students
Simply learning how to use popular software applications is no longer enough for today's students. Other countries are waking up to this reality and education departments have reformed their computer studies curriculum to introduce students to the basic principles of computer science from an early age.
Who gets the call when their arms are raised?
Which student gets the teacher's questions and why?
Here are the different groups of students within a typical class. They are quite distinctive and there's not really much of a gray area between them.
My ideas for change
Postbox letter from James
Having taught at government and private schools I echo the frustration of native English teachers when it comes to Thais being poor in English.
An effective way of learning
Interesting new teaching methods that originated in Israel
Lucky are the schools that use this module for students will surely learn to speak, read, write and listen much better than the usual way of teaching.
Classroom management experiences
Experiences from both Thailand and China.
The Thai teachers at my school, especially the veterans, are uncomfortable with the excitement and commotion during the lessons by the foreign teachers. They view it as an inability to control our students.
I don't want to learn!
The biggest teaching hurdle: motivation
Motivation in the classroom, both from the teachers and the students, is essential for learning but it is a tricky balance to strike since the two are so interconnected; if the teacher loses motivation, so do the students and if the students lose motivation, so does the teacher.
Great Expectations
When parents of students are simply too demanding
The demands and expectations that some parents burden their children with are alas often too great. At the moment I’m teaching a kid who hasn’t even turned six, yet his life revolves solely around learning.
