The Heart of Isaan and traditional cuisine

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TEACHING AT AUA KHON KAEN

Since 1985 AUA has operated a branch in Khon Kaen serving the educational needs in the northeast of Thailand, an area often referred to as Isaan. For the past 16 years, the school has been located in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Khon Kaen University which is about four km from the city center. The AUA office is in the main administration building of this faculty. AUA classes are taught primarily in the evenings from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the Department of Foreign Languages classrooms. The university has a main library, main cafeteria, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts and many other recreational facilities. KKU is home to Srinagarind Hospital, the largest teaching hospital in the Northeast. In addition to the Faculty of Education, there are 15 other faculties, ranging from agriculture and engineering to management science and veterinary medicine. Besides the branch director, our staff consists of an administrative assistant and several university work-study students.

Our students range in age from teenager to adult. They are highly motivated and fun to teach. Each new student is tested for placement and may enter into one of 15 levels of our curriculum. Regular classes are offered Monday through Friday, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. In addition to the regular classes, we offer numerous private and off-site courses at other faculties and at hotels, banks and other educational institutes. Besides teaching general conversational English, AUA can provide specialized classes such as writing, business English or tailored courses of study. We also offer a Thai language studies program.

At present there are six English teachers on the staff. Most teach about 20 to 25 hours per week. Pay rates range from 250 baht per hour for teachers-in-training to 300 baht per hour for teachers under contract with one year teaching experience at AUA. Some special weekend courses pay up to 400 baht per hour.

There is a wide range of quality housing options in the area at well-below Bangkok prices. Many AUA teachers live in small one-room apartments or houses for between 3,500 to 4,500 baht per month. Motorcycles, air-conditioned buses and mini-buses are the most common forms of transport for our teachers. Other types of transportation, such as tuk-tuks (three-wheeled motorcycle taxis), and samlors (man-powered tri-shaws) are also available at modest rates.

Living and working in Khon Kaen has its rewards. The city has a rich history with a unique culture, its own language, food and festivals that attract people from all over the world. Western culture including food, entertainment and life-style easily fits in with the easygoing nature of northeastern Thais. For food lovers, Khon Kaen offers a unique blend of Thai and Isaan food, the most popular being som-tam, gai-yang and kow-neo (papaya salad, roast chicken, and sticky rice). Western and other ethnic food such as Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese are popular choices and are readily available at one of three top class hotels in town: the Kosa, the Charoenthani Princess, and the Hotel Sofitel Raja Orchid. The city also boasts some of northeastern Thailand's most famous temples dating back to the Khmer era.

Web links about Khon Kaen: http://www.khonkaen.com or http://www.kku.ac.th