Student Blogs - 1st March 2006

Experiences from Wat Sra Kaew

Lindsay looks at how her life has changed over the 2 years since she took the course in September 2004

I have been in Thailand since September of 2004, when I arrived in Bangkok to enroll in a Chichester College TESOL (TEFL/TESL) training course. While teaching, I have continued to assist in the activities of the Training Centre. I have seen many exciting things happen as the Centre has extended it’s arm and influence to the community, providing both support for the local Thai people and teacher development opportunities for course participants.

One of the recently developed projects, where participants have a unique opportunity to practice their new skills takes place at Wat Sra Kaew, a rural temple school, two hours north of Bangkok, in Ang Thong province. Wat Sra Kaew is a school which includes both day students and residential learners. Most of the children who live at the school come from the northern regions of Thailand, from places where opportunity for study is limited and even the most basic of needs are not often met. Many of the students are in fact orphans, and have found a new home and a new family among their peers and teachers at Wat Sra Kaew. The school is government run and provides standard curriculum for its students. The residential costs are absorbed by a combination of government support, and donations to the temple. Children who live at the school wake up early each morning and do chores before their studying begins. In the evenings, the surrounding community will often sponsor events and even concerts for the students.

After one of the Chichester TESOL graduates spent some time volunteering as an English teacher at Wat Sra Kaew, the team back in Bangkok began brainstorming ways to get involved with the school and provide the students with some basic English training on an ongoing basis. One of the first projects established on site was a summer camp, now held annually, during which several foreign teachers spend four of five days organizing English games, activities and music at the school.

One of the most significant examples of the Centre's involvement with Wat Sra Kaew is the recurring teacher practicum. The Teacher Training Centre in Bangkok and the school in Ang Thong have developed a program in which teachers enrolled in the TESOL (TEFL/TESL) training course visit the school and spend time observing lessons and teaching classes themselves. This practicum is appreciated by the school and provides the new teachers with an opportunity to practice in a relaxed, non intimidating setting. Student teachers typically observe one or two lessons and teach two lessons that they have prepared themselves. They are provided with a workshop before hand, to assist them in their lesson planning, as well as with a guide and transportation to the practicum site. The rural setting is a wonderful introduction to authentic Thai culture and is very different than Bangkok. New teachers can feel confident here amongst the helpful Thai school administrators and friendly students.

Feedback regarding the practicum program has been positive. New teachers enjoy the pace and structure of the rural school and are able to get more out of the experience. The students and staff at Wat Sra Kaew are incredible grateful and practicum teachers, though gaining valuable experience themselves, are well regarded and treated with the utmost respect and appreciation.

During a recent course I had the privilege of facilitating the lesson planning workshop and accompanying the students on their excursion to Ang Thong province. Although the new teachers were nervous during the ride and concentrating on their lesson plans, once we arrived at the school, the hospitality of the staff and excitement of the students helped to ease the stress of teaching a class for the first time. Once in the classroom, the students were attentive, yet involved and the teachers found their comfort zone. The trip back to Bangkok was full of stories and laughter about how the day had gone. Many teachers had already learned the names of the students they taught that day and they expressed a desire to return to Wat Sra Kaew. They felt that their first experience in the classroom had been a rewarding and memorable one.

I feel very fortunate to have been involved in this program. Wat Sra Kaew is a special place and completing a teaching practicum there is a one of a kind opportunity. Some individuals who have visited the temple and the school as part of their course have even returned there upon completion of their certificate to volunteer full time. The partnership between the Teacher Training Centre, Bangkok and Wat Sra Kaew School, Ang Thong is a valuable collaboration, equipping young students with basics English knowledge, and providing new teachers with practical, guided experience on which to build their career.

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25th June 2009

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20th June 2009

Charlie looks back over the last three years and reflects on how dramatically his life has changed. From leaving England, to taking the course in Thailand and now teaching in Tanzania

1st April 2006

Francois and Sanru Jansen van Rensburg, a young couple from South Africa, joined Chichester College's TESOL course in Bangkok in February 2007

1st January 2006

Darren, a participant on the TESOL course in August 2005, looks back at the the past few months