As an EFL teacher in Bangkok, Thailand you will probably be surprised when your school suddenly asks you to teach Geography, Health, History, Math, Creative Writing, Critical Reading and any number of other subjects related to and not related to teaching English.
You will be even more surprised when they do not have the teaching resource books or textbooks you need and expect you to buy your own.
Don’t worry though. Buying teaching resource books and textbooks in Bangkok, is not as difficult as it sounds. Not if you know where to go.
Chulalongkorn University Bookstore – The first place to go for any teaching books in Bangkok, and that includes EFL textbooks and workbooks, is the Chulalongkorn University Bookstore. Chulalongkorn is Thailand’s top university and its bookstore is one of the biggest educational bookstores in the country.
At Chulalongkorn (known as ‘Chula’), you’ll find everything from basic EFL textbooks, workbooks and teacher resource books to readers, books on how to teach Creative Writing, History, Geography, Math, Science, Business English, dictionaries, encyclopedias and even flash cards, charts and maps.
Much of Chula’s massive bookstore sells Thai books but their English language section is also quite large, with most of the books being upstairs on the second floor. They also sell stationery and office supplies.
The easiest way to get to Chulalongkorn bookstore is take the sky train to Siam station, and take the exit to Siam Square. Walk through Siam Square until the street you’re on dead ends into a main street. From here, depending on which street you walked down, Chula’s bookstore is on the right or left. Just ask any passing student if you can’t immediately see it.
Kinokuniya – The Japanese chain bookstore is Bangkok’s biggest English language bookshop, where you can buy a huge selection of teacher resource books, student books and some textbooks and workbooks.
Many of the branches have large children’s sections selling English and Math workbooks, TESOL books, children’s literature, first-reader books, maps, – they even sometimes have a few educational games. I’ve even bought English comic books from their massive comic book department, as Thai children love comic books and, as the language is usually simple, they can be excellent resources for any EFL class.
They also have big departments of History, Science, Math, Geography etc. in case you also end up having to teach any of these subjects.
You can also special order if they don’t have what you want, or order online and then go to the store to pick up.
The best Kinokuniya branches are at EmQuartier Shopping Complex and Siam Paragon Mall.
D.K. Today – The best chain of educational books in Thailand, D.K. Books has several branches throughout Bangkok and a huge selection of teacher resource books, student books and textbooks. Prices are low and, if you buy more than just a couple of books and show your work permit, they’ll often give you a discount too.
D.K. Today has TOIEC, TOEFL, and IELTS books, EFL textbooks and workbooks, Business textbooks and teacher resource books for Science, Math, Geography, History, Social Sciences, Creative Writing, Computer Science, a great selection of readers for all levels and loads more.
They also have just about every MacMillan, Oxford University and Cambridge University book you might want. They can also order it if they do not.
The other wonderful thing about D.K.Today is you can order online, then just drop into the closest branch to pick them up or have them delivered to you.
D.K. Today has several branches, give them a call to find out which is closest to you. (Check D.K. Today’s website for more help).