Launching a school magazine

What's involved in creating a brand new student publication that everyone will enjoy reading?

Since moving to Thailand, I've often considered creating a simple magazine for students. But with a schedule focused on younger students (P1 to P4).

Why can't Thais speak English?

Some of these students have had over 2,000 hours of English.

Considering that English has been the international language of tourism and commerce for I don't know how many decades now, and there are I don't know how many thousands of English teachers all over the country, why is the general level of English so poor?

Tips for the newbie teacher

Keep these points in mind and you'll cope far better

Don't get stressed by the job. Remember that you are merely the latest in a long line of farang teachers who have come and gone. There isn't enough time to make any real progress with students' English so just try and make it fun for them.

Interviewing Foreigners

Being interviewed in the street by English students

Taking to the streets and talking to complete strangers is something no Thai student would do out of their own volition. It is clear that most – if not all of them – do it because their English teacher imposed it as a mandatory assignment.

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.

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.

Using a touch screen in class

Maintaining student interest with technology

I felt so overwhelmed by the results of using the touch screen computer for this was my first time in 9 years to use the most updated technology in my English classes. In fact, during my last observation, my inspector rated me excellent in my teaching.

Puppet talk

I had a great idea to use puppets in the classroom

At present my English Club members are working on a show that will last for 15 minutes and hope to present this at Christmas or on Children‘s Day. Try puppets in your own classes. It will make your teaching very enriching, so interesting, and really entertaining.

The Ideal Student

What qualities and characteristics make the perfect student

This blog doesn't focus on teachers and how to achieve near-perfection, but on what the ideal student would be like. Let's keep in mind though that nobody's perfect and that most teachers would probably be over the moon if only a slight majority of students showed some of the traits mentioned