18 red flags
18 points to consider carefully when choosing a school
From unpaid mid-term breaks to having to pay for white-board markers. What are the things that turn teachers off the idea of working for a particular Thai school - and are they justified?
Getting the kids hooked young!
My goal is to not frighten the lives out of my students
I'm stepping back from the serious, academic approach and working on making my classes something that kids look forward to - even if they aren't learning as much.
The DoS by default
What can happen when your director of studies is a clueless foreigner
I've worked under four foreigners. The first one was fantastic. A fully qualified teacher with his own business who really wanted to be the best. The thing I liked the most about him was his honesty. The next three were just terrible people.
My wishes
Reflecting on what I could have done better for my students
What had I achieved as a teacher, as a class?" "What had I given them? What had my students taught me during the past year?" So many moments of ups and downs, sheer joy and triumphs, but there were things I wish I could have done better.
Handling students with learning difficulties
How can I ignore students just because they are different?
I remember in my first week at my government high school there was a student who was severely autistic. I just wasn't prepared for the task at hand.
Learning vocabulary
Let's start with Chinese household appliances
I had always taken teaching and learning lexical sets as a given - but perhaps in language teaching, there are no givens: it's a constant search for ways of doing things better.
Decisions, decisions
Is it time to stick or twist? To leave Thailand or stay?
I came to Thailand for an adventure but I fear the adventure is nearing its end. There is a new journey to start and I'm hopeful its one that can begin - but for now I'm feeling a bit stuck.
How can I make it in the madness?
The harsh reality of teaching in Thailand
It's depressing just how many people come here to teach and leave with lots of resentment and bitterness. Or worse still, remain here polluting the place with those same feelings! Don't be one of them.
Low test scores are no surprise
Postbox letter from Sheri
It is not a surprise that Thai students score so low on English tests because they don't sense any urgency in learning English.
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.
