Class control
Tips on how to make your kids classes go smoothly
You need to know how to control kids better than they know how to control you. The way you control any class depends on what size class you have and also on the age of the children, but here are some tips on how to keep your class together.
Teaching phonics
How to make teaching phonics effective and fun
I have had the privilege of seeing children taught phonics in many different schools, ranging from international schools, bilingual, Thai schools and even language schools. I have seen Phonics taught brilliantly at times and at other times not so well.
Jolly Phonics songs
Songs that are standing the test of time
The Jolly Phonics songs have been around for over two decades now and although they have become a little dated, as a Synthetic Phonics teaching aid it has impressively withstood the test of time. I wish I could say the same for the scheme too but unfortunately it falls well short of the reliability of the songs themselves.
Cultural differences in teaching
The only way is Britain.....or is it?
I often wonder about the morality of a British education for Thailand's international school pupils which are mainly Thai or Thai mixed. Where is their cultural relevance? Their literary legacies? The moments where they connect a memory to a place or taste and belly-laugh with contentment that only resonance can bring.
Go Genki
An unusual approach to teaching vocabulary
Why don't you try Genki English now? Once you have tried it, your teaching worries will be over, lessons will be enjoyed, dynamic students will be developed and most of all your classrooms will come alive.
Baby steps and spontaneity
An ode to a semester in the books
One thing I will say for any aspiring teachers who are even mildly contemplating the idea of hopping over the pond to teach is this: Give it a shot! I for one am 25 years old and despite being here for seven months, am still wildly unsure of what I want to do for a career.
School open house
Not something you would expect to find in a Western school
For the past few weeks, all the students in our school have been preparing projects, posters, and games for the school's Open House Expo which is apparently held once every three years.
Teaching a six-hour Sunday class
A world of classroom activity and the odd jaded colleague
I've now taught two sessions of a Sunday 6-hour class at a language school near Ekkami here in Bangkok, and I think I have a pretty good feel for what it's all about.
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!
Farang ajarn cover letter
Postbox letter from Mel
I wasted my time and my life of quiet TEFL desperation at an all-girl’s government school off the Hua Lamphong BTS station sweating direly in dreary and dilapidated non-air-conditioned classrooms beneath depressing rows of old, broken-down fans babysitting on average 40 bored, clueless, and mediocre mathayom students
