Should an ESL Teacher be a Native English Speaker?

This post from Jimmyesl sets the debate strait about Native and non-native speakers and their abilities as ESL teachers. 

http://jimmyesl.com/teach-english-abroad/should-an-esl-teacher-be-native-english-speaker/  

What a Decade of Education Research Tells Us About Technology in the Hands of Underserved Students

Although this post is about students in the west, certain aspects can be applied to situations in Thailand. Click on the link to read the full story. 
 

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-05-19-what-a-decade-of-education-research-tells-us-about-technology-in-the-hands-of-underserved-students?utm_content=buffer7e8cf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer 

Try MindMup for your mindmaping needs in the classroom.

from free technology for teachers by Richard Byrne

MindMup is a nice mind mapping tool that can be integrated into your Google Drive account. MindMup works like most mind mapping tools in that you can create a central idea and add child and sibling nodes all over a blank canvas. MindMup nodes can contain text and links. When you're ready to save your MindMup mind map you can save it to Google Drive, save it to your desktop, or publish it online. If you publish it online, you can grab an embed code for it to post it in a blog post or webpage.

I have used this app for the writing section of the learning journal. If you have a Google account, it integrates well with other Google applications. 

https://www.mindmup.com/#m:new-a-1466347047357  

Teaching English In Thailand: Is The ‘No Fail’ Policy Failing Students?

The short answer...yes. For Thailand to be a competitor in the ASEAN market English must improve. The tourism industry in the next 10 years alone will increase from 5 million to 8 million workers. Unless something in the Thai education system changes, the next generation of Thai youths may have these opportunities slip between the rungs and go to their Asian neighbors instead.
Click on the link to read the full post from "what's on Sukumvit"

http://whatsonsukhumvit.com/teaching-english-in-thailand-is-the-no-fail-policy-failing-students/?utm_content=bufferd7af0&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer 



 

Ten innovations that have changed English language teaching

Here is a post from the British Council about interesting innovations in education. Click on the link below to read more.

 https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/ten-innovations-have-changed-english-language-teaching

Adapting Folktales for ELL Learning Activities

For a number of years we have been trying to improve the reading abilities of students at my school. Folk tales are stories deeply ingrained in the cultures of the world. They add mystery and substance to our lives. This poster on the TESOL forum was able to achieve some success with his Spanish students. Click on the link to read more. 

http://blog.tesol.org/adapting-folktales-for-ell-learning-activities/#more-8207

Being an English teacher in Thailand just got more difficult

Council set to test all English teachers. According to a recent Bangkok Post article, the TCT will institute more tests to ensure the quality of English teaching in Thailand. That in itself is a good thing, but there was quite a heated debate on social media on how this would be done. Like usual, the article just seemed to raise more and more questions than answers. Click on the link for the full article. 

    


http://m.bangkokpost.com/most-recent/998229