It's not what you know

Postbox letter from Raphaella

I work in a government school in Issan which employs several teachers that do not possess degrees or fake degree certificates.

Failing students and the failing ESL industry

Failing young students is simply a poor strategy

Without a doubt the ESL industry around the world is primarily a scam that is governed by unscrupulous business people that rarely have any pedagogical knowledge or academic backgrounds in the field of education

Leave teaching in Thailand to the hacks

This is all just ridiculous

I no longer teach ESL classes to Thai school students. I will never again work for another Thai boss. I now work for a Chinese man with Thai citizenship (caters to the Taiwanese test prep market) and a pair of foreigners. If you're smart and resourceful enough, there are thousands of opportunities out there

Aren't we flogging a dead horse?

Postbox letter from Nick

I have from time to time read several of the articles post on your website and many are both interesting and good, but at the same time, I think sometimes we are beating the same dead horse over and over and over again without any real value or change

The new possibility of getting a teacher licence upcountry

Postbox letter from John Penney

Recently I inquired whether Ramkamhaeng would be willing to offer their weekend progam in Khon Kaen if there were sufficient numbers. Their response was yes, they will do it if we can find 14 people willing to commit.

What do Thai students think of us?

Straight from the horses's mouth

I wondered if our Thai students really had a true picture of the salaries we earn, the hardships we face, and the hoops we have to jump through? I put ten questions to a range of Thai corporate staff - male, female, single, married with kids. What do they really know? And is there any respect left for the 'ajarn farang'?

Good news for teachers

At last a glimmer of hope

The important news this month is that foreigners who wish to continue teaching in Thailand can now do so, even if they are not yet qualified. Read on.

News from the TCT

The latest in the ever changing world of teacher requirements

Thanks for stopping by this month, and reading my article. The last month has been a busy one for myself and many other teachers I have met. There have been many conferences hosted by The Ministry.

Regulations update

Some amendments to last month's article

All Teacher’s License applicants must have 1 year of teaching experience, prior to application. Several readers had emailed me that they heard that it was two years. I got the one year answer from The Teacher’s Council, just yesterday.

More time studying please

Postbox letter from Brian

The number of people who claim to be English teachers that cannot write so much as one short paragraph without making spelling and/or grammar mistakes.