On July 15, 2015 we moved from Chiang Rai, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Yippee! Right? Wrong! First of all, there was no honeymoon phase for me. As you might remember, it was looking for a place to live straight away and starting work.
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At home in Siem Reap (part 2)
I wake up to the sound of our local handyman sawing ice. It’s a slow sounding push, the rhythm, soft, the ice surrendering to Jahb’s saw. His saw appears rusty, prehistoric, with fine-long-sharp teeth. Sometimes he runs the ice through a “shaved ice” machine that was once red, it sounds old and temperamental, but he…
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🇹🇠ESL teaching resources and observations about teaching in Thailand
I can’t believe I’ve been teaching in Thailand for almost 4 years now. And I’m rather pleased that I have had the experience of teaching in three different cities here: Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. I’m not sure if I can count Bangkok since that is where I got my TESOL training, but I…
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🇹🇠Teaching in Thailand Etiquette
No, I’m not teaching etiquette. I don’t work at an all-girls finishing school. I’m talking about what you need to know as a foreign teacher in the Land of Smiles.
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🇹🇠7 Outdated Stereotypes about Teaching in Thailand
It’s time to debunk the top myths on what it means, and what it takes, to be an English teacher in the Land of Smiles.
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Lesson Planning Advice from EFL teachers (part 2)
Here are a few more lesson planning advices from EFL teachers, and a “breakdown” of lesson planning.
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How I got my EFL job: Asian Americans can teach English in Asia
In 2009, I took SIT’s TESOL’s course in Bangkok. The month long intensive course was wonderful because the instructors were quality, and my classmates and I got along really well. We were a diverse group from India, Cambodia, France, Belgium, Mexico, the US and Thailand (not including our instructors who hailed from Romania, South Africa…
Read MoreA typical Waldorf classroom and how it relates to teaching EFL
I’m in the middle of editing my missing teacher book, and when I read this entry, I was keenly struck by the similarities Waldorf’s educational framework has on the kind of teaching I’m doing now – English as a Foreign Language. Waldorf like EFL tries to encompass ‘whole brain learning’ in each lesson. In EFL…
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Lesson Planning Advice from EFL Teachers
As a newly-qualified CELTA teacher, it is engrained in you to spend hours planning the perfect lesson.
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How Students are Misunderstood in the EFL Classroom
I was one of those kids. So, I know. And if you were one of those kids too, you probably are thinking, KARMAAA!!!
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Mistakes Old Teachers Make
One of my colleagues was surprised to hear that I did a teacher observation recently. This is something the newbies have to do, not someone like me who has been here 2.5 years.
Read MoreRant about men and work in the Land of Smiles
I’m a little angry at myself. I was talking to a friend about my ex-boyfriends. You know, the real gritty gruel ones, the ones you regretted, the ones that made you wonder why you tolerated that shit.
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Back to work!
Mistakes New Teachers Make
As a lot of you know, I’m a clichĂ©, I’m an English teacher in Asia. You might also remember that I was a trained Waldorf teacher. I already wrote two articles about how my Waldorf experience has helped and hindered me as an EFL teacher. So I’m surprised I haven’t written about mistakes new teachers…
Read MoreAdventures in EFL teaching (the games we play)
The term has flown by, like a lot of my dignity in personal relationships. This is not to say I haven’t enjoyed it, in fact, this class has been my reminder why I like teaching.
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Students draw me
My friend and colleague JP inherited one of my previous classes. So she decided to have them write down what they learned in their prior level, and draw a picture of their former teacher, complete with descriptions.
Read MoreAdventures in EFL (love is in the air)
I received my first love note on Friday. I’m not saying there will be more but it certainly was surprising, flattering and weird.
Read MoreAdventures in EFL teaching (mistakes were made)
The following day the class was unnaturally quiet – or exhausted. I couldn’t tell but it was a welcome drink compared to the loud din we had been previously swimming in.
Read MoreAdventures in EFL teaching (stage 1)
I was curious as a Loburi monkey. “What advice were you going to give me for that class?” “Well,” Matt Foley said, “it’s more like a special technique.” He named off a few of the students. “Yeah.”
Read MoreAdventures in EFL teaching (time trial)
I walked in with more swagger and confidence than I normally do because I felt I needed to. I wanted to keep my expectations clean and clear of any perceived danger, but I also wanted to be smart about it too.
Read MoreAdventures in EFL teaching (prologue)
I’ve inherited a class whose reputation precedes itself. I first heard about the class – literally – through the wall, as they were next door to mine, making such a noise that I went over to see what the heck was going on.
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Julia’s lesson plans
I’ve been here for 2 years, so I’ve seen a lot of friends come and go. One of the perks of knowing a transient population is you get to rummage through their castoffs and leftovers. Many of my clothes are hand me downs (thank you Aofie, Melanie, Sara, Yuko, Mia, and Julia!). My library collection,…
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What you need to teach…
There are certain personality traits or dispositions that help you be a successful teacher. I learned this when I was going through my Waldorf teacher training back in the United States. Then I was reminded of this while going through my TESOL course in Bangkok a few years ago, and I’m reminded again when I…
Read MoreL5 summer 2 class
I love my students!!! xxoo
Read More10 things I learned from my first year of teaching ESL
#1 I’m not a natural teacher but that’s okay. I watched one friend burn her tall sassy self out because she got stuck on the ring road of lesson planning. She just obsessed over it and new teachers have a Johnny Walker tendency to do that.
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🍛 What’s your favorite food?
What’s your favorite food? Noodle. By far the most common answer to the common practicing English in the classroom question. I’d say fried chicken or fried rice would be the second most common. But let’s go back to noodles. Or nooden as it is pronounced by Thais.
Read MoreWhat makes a good teacher?
Some teachers think their students are stupid. I don’t think my students are stupid, in fact, quite the opposite, I think they are smart and clever and little geniuses. If they are giving me that blank open mouth stare I think I’ve done a poor job explaining what I want them to do. Or I think…
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Not American enough
Should I be hurt that I was told I wasn’t American enough to teach English? I mean, I’m certainly cute enough. . . My friend who is a teacher at CMU (Chiang Mai University) passed along a student’s information to me since she wasn’t able to take on any more tutoring. After she made the…
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Teaching in Chiang Mai (early impressions)
Teaching in Thailand is no longer popular as it once was, the efflorescence has withered from too many unsatisfied passerbys. Only like the present, it is hanging on to the past with both arms, but no hands.
Read MoreLearning Thai is making me a better English teacher
In my Thai 1 (or Book 1) class I was able to skate by on the Thai that I had acquired from my previous year. But when I started Thai 2 I knew on the first day I would not be able to do so. My classmates were stronger, further along and my teacher was…
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Goodbye Cuenca (and the 7 types of ESL students)
Anyone who has been following me on the missing teacher or who knows my story, knows what a uphill road it has been back to teaching. After a few attempts to stay connected with the force-field known as education, I gave in trying to get through. So I pursued writing. I shifted my focus. And…
Read MoreThe color of English
Yellow is the new black. Now don’t get excited. Titles are supposed to grab your attention. All this discrimination against the Chinese certainly has. . . I didn’t really think about it until now. You know, I was aware that teaching English in an Asian country might be tricky because of my ethnicity. And I…
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Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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