chonabot

I think it's great to see someone below 50 in the kingdom,

but a 'monolingual language teacher' is an oxymoron

Do you have first hand experience as an English teacher?

Have you ever heard of the Communicative approach?

Despite the widespread adoption of the communicative approach by textbooks and curricula around the world, research suggests that communicative language teaching principles in classrooms are rare.

http://eltj.oxfordjo.../50/3/187.short

'Research' has never been in my Classroom

The Communicative Method is in reality an umbrella term - a broad approach rather than a specific teaching methodology, and has now become the accepted 'standard' in English language teaching.

Communicative Language Teaching is a natural follow-on from the reaction during the 70s against previous methods which over-focused on teaching grammatical structures and template sentences, and which gave little or no importance to how language is actually used practically.

http://www.tjtaylor.net/english/teaching-method-communicative-clt

I find it amusing to read some of the indignation here from teachers as though they came here on some great vocation or are fulfilling some work of great altruism.

Most of you came here simply for the reasons the majority of people come - the women, the climate, the culture, whatever - and teaching offered you the only option of staying.

From some of the self-important nonsense I've read here is it any wonder you suffer from a negative image?

I especially liked the part about how it's only the old boys in a shack in Issan who treat teachers with contempt. Believe me it isn't.

If I wasn't doing something I enjoyed and thought I wasn't helping in even a small way, I would not do it.

Teaching is important, I am not.

I think it's great to see someone below 50 in the kingdom,

but a 'monolingual language teacher' is an oxymoron

Do you have first hand experience as an English teacher?

Have you ever heard of the Communicative approach?

I thought the grammar police weren't allowed in this forum.

In general, I agree, but English teachers who can't write good English are fair game, because they devalue the honoured profession of teaching.

Many Thai English teachers at my school are 'grammar-tastic'.

But holding a basic conversation in English is often beyond them.

Most of them understand that the value of a NES teacher is not confined to memorising syntax/grammar - thankfully.

I think one needs a certain talent and a lot of patience to be able to teach a class of 60 children 5 times per day - so far grammar hasn't been an issue for me

XBox 360 Elite for sale - approx 2 years - 120 GB HDD - 2 wireless controllers.

Includes Kinect and 5 games.

Aliens vs Predator

Tekken 5

Bulletstorm

Call of Duty Black Ops

Kinect Adventure

All games work fine despite surface scratches - cases not included.

7500 Baht plus postage - or buyer can collect

PM me for more details.

When strange people approach you at the airport, just so no thanks. When they get presistent say yet mah ham lek (go screw a dog, pencil dick). Walk away. There are alot of parasites in Thailand, just like in every other country. They prey on those who know no better. Go to the 4th level, walk out, and find a guy willing to use his meter. That is all I ever do. Reject the punks who do not want to use their meter. Discard them like trash. Just move on to the ones willing to work for a living.

Yep that will go down well with the wrong sort of taxi driver...not

If you were to change the heading from Animals to Mammals we could enjoy a new variety of posts

Due to the substandard education systems that most of the posters come from they don't know the difference as it is.

Mammals are Animals and are therefore included in the topic's parameters ?

I don't think humans are animals. A chicken is an animal. One of the first things I learned in school was the difference between animals and humans.

If a creature gets its energy from eating other things and it can move around on its own, then scientists call it an animal.

Dogs, cats, frogs, fish, dinosaurs, and humans are all examples of animals.

But surely you're pulling my chicken here ?

Try 9 years plus

I've been through a few phases here...

1. Noob

2. Semi Noob

3. Bad Boy

4. Banned

5. Good boy

6. Moderator

7. Admin

8. Hibernated

9. Back and unsure of current phase....

Gawd....I'm still on number 2!

Neh I reckon you're 3.5 Smokie

Try 9 years plus

I've been through a few phases here...

1. Noob

2. Semi Noob

3. Bad Boy

4. Banned

5. Good boy

6. Moderator

7. Admin

8. Hibernated

9. Back and unsure of current phase....

I don't understand how a member still can have a life after reaching point 4 .

Or do you want to say that all mods and admins are actually banned members.

The X-files springs to mind.

In those days the banning was a 31 day holiday.

I went through a phase of over-using TV and logged on at work, helped start the Football forum and generally was an addict.

Then I hit the wall and pretty much didn't log on for 3 years or so.

It's changed many times and these days there are more trolls than before but it's still very good value

Try 9 years plus

I've been through a few phases here...

1. Noob

2. Semi Noob

3. Bad Boy

4. Banned

5. Good boy

6. Moderator

7. Admin

8. Hibernated

9. Back and unsure of current phase....

If you were to change the heading from Animals to Mammals we could enjoy a new variety of posts

Due to the substandard education systems that most of the posters come from they don't know the difference as it is.

Mammals are Animals and are therefore included in the topic's parameters ?

Move and give in?

No wonder people think a farang is just to be shit on.

I think this in response to Ludacris's post - what advice would you offer him?

I do not disagree with this, only to ask, why then do the farang not pick up Thai after they live here 5 or 10 year?

Because the Farang can make himself understood in Thai by shouting loudly and waving 1000 baht notes at all and sundry

I'd agree with the uneducated working the bars. The educated work in closed clubs.

Yes but very funny this..why is lady that work in bar uneducated but still she speak better english than any lady that go to university or even the one who have professional and governemt job in BK.

I think many bargirl would speak better English than prime minister

It's fairly simple really - if you are surrounded by people speaking another language - and that language is in this case English - you will inevitably pick the language up.

If you are taught to read and write English and really concentrate on the grammar - as the Thai education system currently does - you will be able to read and write English but your spoken communication skills will be as poor as most of the Thai English teachers who taught you.

I'd let my wife deal with it. She's vicious!

Tommo has ouitlined quite succintly the solutuion. All right here we go, my next door neighbours didn't like their neighbours smelly garbage bin, so "suggested" they move it down the street which they eventually did...outside my house. I told the missus that it was ugly, smelly and attracting flies and that perhaps she should mention that to them before I dragged it off behind the motorbike never to be seem again, that they might choose of their own accord and greng jai to move it back. That seemed the lesser of evils to her and it has gone back to the original feud where it belongs.

Your Thai partner does know how to deal with issues, she may not like to, but she does know. Let the local culture resolve, no need for antagonism if she does the right thing and is up for it.

If all else fails I find that Black Sabbath at maximum volume with a wicked sound system (rentals are also good) with a bunch of drunken loud mouth friends seems to create a little aggravation, which could be a bargaining point. Aside from that you will also have a really good time. If you are socially challeged and musically illiterate the lastest realases of Death Metal should also do the job, albeit without the style.

I reckon The Immigrant song would have the optimum effect...fast forward to reality ( not Masters of Reality )

All quiet on the western front and the neighbours are neither to be seen or heard.

I may throw a BBQ tomorrow and invite friends and school colleagues - watch this space

Some awesome posts here guys - still under the weather - flu has changed into tonsilitis

Maybe that bugger poisoned me in my sleep ( The neighbour not wifey )

She has spoken to all of the neighbours regularly since we moved here, it's what she does

I haven't mentioned it and today will ask discretely who the neighbours at the back are.

I will keep you all posted

Maybe ask in the TV Pattaya forum ?

Just watched ' The Kick ' - not brilliant but pretty entertaining

Is this a bad attempt at comedy writing?

Hoping to feel better tomorrow and will possibly pretend it never happened but unfortunately that was never my style

Sounds like your neighbours had a ''100 Pipers moment''. Dismiss it and crack on. If it gets worse talk to your local Tourist Police, they are ''there'' for you, a farang.

But he will have to wait 6 months until the tourist police can speak fluent English.

No probs -

1) Kalasin has no Tourist Police

2) My Thai is reasonable.

3) Still Flu'd up

I'm working here as a teacher on a Non Imm B visa - expires end of March 2013 as does my Passport.

In all probability myself and family will be returning to the UK at the end of the next school semester - for at least a few years.

The school say I can leave on the 10th-15th March 2013.

I understand that a passport should have 6 months validity when travelling overseas from your home country.

Does this also apply if I am returning to my home country?

With your qualifications I would be looking for minimum 60k baht. You'll be on campus from ~8 to ~4.... that is the layout of the "good" Thai schools anyway. The international sort I don't know about.

The 30k schools are conveyor belts. All things being equal, that turnover should be enough to make you think anyway.

If I was you I'd try to figure out who is head of EP at about a half dozen "good" schools, walk in and make a good 5 minute impression on him. Let him know you are here solidly, not a transient. Try to make sure he has your contact info in his phone when you leave and knows your name. Sending CV's here is weird.... it is like the lotto... so odd.

Most schools in Thailand are filled with drunk native speakers wreaking of cigarette smoke and cheap perfume. I'm from Bulgaria but atleast I'm not an alcoholic and I cant find a job paying me more than 20 thousand baht a month!

You could find the answer in your own post. Guess you meant drunk native English speaking teachers, otherwise I’d suggest to change your medication.

Bulgarian English teachers are pretty much uncommon here.

That’s the deal here, 15- 20,000 for a non-native English speaker, 30- 40,0000+ baht for those who know the biological difference between a herbivore and a carnivore.---

Herbivore eat plants carnivores eat meat any idiot knows that, and you expect to get 20 thousand more for knowing something that most Thai kids will never learn from you drunken bafoons?

We're not all drunken buffoons