Category Archives: ESL
No Arrival or Waiting for Moto
“There’s man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet.” Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot I was sprawled out, wrinkled, rumpled, unbuckled, slouched out all over the carriage of a tuk-tuk. Informal pose, semi-formal wear….
A Note to All Educators….
First day of school. Introductory lecture. A note to all educators. Sales pitch from the Rector. Teaching is the topic for today, class. Open your books and kiss my ass. Give a man a fish and he’ll resent you for…
Forty Four Months in Cambodia
It’s been forty four months since I landed in Phnom Penh. I remember those first few weeks clearly – spending the days at the TEFL training centre on the corner of smelly river and 360 followed by 4pm walks along…
Happy Hour at the ESL Bar and Grill: Amusing the Students to Death
One of the things I like to do during the first week of a new course is have the students write a letter to me. I say to them that you are not just students, you are people; and as…
Memoirs of a Grizzled Expat 6: Visa Travels, Getting Hired and Bars
As my first month in Cambodia came to a close I had finally lined up some English-teaching hours at one university spread across three campuses along with a weekend Masters’ course at another university. Just before I started, however, I…
How I Came to Teach in Cambodia and Why I’m Staying
I have been teaching English here in Phnom Penh for three years and I really enjoy it. I know many other teachers here who enjoy their job and do it well, some much more experienced than me and some less….
Cambodia ESL: A Culture of Insouciance
The Cambodian rubbish dump, and my not so final, final exam “I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.” Benjamin Franklin, “On…
Maps of Cambodia
In August of 2006, my wife began a new job. She was to be working for an NGO in the hinterlands of Kep and Kampot, visiting and introducing herself in small villages and generally preparing the ground for the introduction…
Phnom Penh Teacher’s Diary 3
Day Five: The End of Week One One of the objectives that I set myself for the first week is to learn the names of all my new students. At the moment, I’m not teaching very many classes. I have…
Am I Wrong to Secretly Wish For A Chair Fight?
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I teach two grades – grade six and kindergarten one. Whilst the kindergarten class keep me on my toes with their brilliantly un-developed sense of acceptable behaviour, my sixth grade class sometimes leaves me feeling a little flat. It is…