Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello everyone!

I created this thread to see if anyone visiting Dave's ESL Cafe would be interested in participating in a short interview for my dissertation work. I appreciate Dave and the other members of the site allowing me to join you and explain what I am doing.

Below, you will find the formal description of who I am and the type of work I am doing. I am open to working with individuals who have been in Thailand for any length of time as the majority of information I would like to collect focuses on an individual's preparation before arriving in Thailand.

The interviews will take place via email or instant messaging (IM). All information (e.g., screen names, real names) is confidential.

I have already interviewed a number of faculty members and I hope to learn more about your experiences. Please feel free to contact me via PM or email if you are interested in participating.

Take care!

Michael

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I am a third year doctoral student in Organizational Communication and Rhetoric (Ohio University) and I am currently working on my dissertation research.

My research focuses on English teachers in Thai universities, colleges, language schools, high schools, etc… and how they use websites to socialize and prepare themselves for life in Thailand, working in Thai organizations, and/or teaching EFL courses there.

I lived in Thailand for five years and taught Management and Marketing courses at Yonok College and Bangkok University. Although I did not teach English except for a handful of conversation classes for overtime pay, I have friends and colleagues who have. The interesting career path which many of them have taken has led me to my research area.

As part of my research, I would like to invite interested EFL teachers who are teaching/have taught in Thailand to participate in an interview via instant messaging or email. The interviews will mainly focus on your experiences prior to arriving in Thailand. As I am in the United States, all interviews will be scheduled around your time in order to avoid difficulties with teaching schedules or work rules.

All personal information (e.g., names, screen names, emails, etc.) will be kept confidential.

Please PM or email me if you are interested in participating or have questions about the research.

Continued success,

Michael

Hi everyone!

Recently, I was asked whether or not I am only interested in individuals CURRENTLY teaching in Thailand for my study.

No. I am interested in speaking with anyone that has lived/worked in Thailand in the past or is currently teaching there. The study is about your experiences, so when you lived there is not as important to the study as the information about how you used (or did not use) websites to search for information about the country, teaching EFL courses, and/or other issues surrounding living and working in the country.

I hope that helps to better explain my study!

Continued success,

Michael

Hello everyone! I would like to take a moment and update all of you who participated in my study about EFL teachers, virtual communities, and Thailand.

First, I would like to thank everyone who provided assistance either through interviews, referrals, questions, information, websites, or all of the above. Your assistance was invaluable to my work and I hope to do more research on EFL teachers in Thailand in the future.

Second, I would like to specifically thank the management of this site for allowing me to post and offering guidance and suggestions to me.

Third, I recently reached my goal in terms of interviews and the information gathering part of the dissertation work is over. I have been writing for several months, but the bulk of the writing starts now.

Despite being finished (for now) with this project, I would still like to hear about interesting ideas and encounters that anyone has had with virtual communities as you searched for information about being/becoming an EFL teacher and/or moving to Thailand.

Once again, thanks for all of the help!

If anyone is working on their own research, and I can help, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will do my best. Also, if I can provide any information on living in Thailand, please let me know as well.

Michael