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Past Volunteers |
Helena's story |
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BIO:
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| Name: |
Helena Mitchell
Age:20 |
| From: |
London / England |
| Status: |
Completed a 4 week placement in Ubon Ratchatani province |
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My first day at Keung Nie Pittyikan School fell on the 14th February and at the morning assembly I was presented with a beautiful bunch of Valentine’s day roses. After this I was asked by the head of English to introduce myself to the school. Standing in front of all the students and teachers was terrifying, but I received such a warm response that I couldn’t help but smile, as the vice principal took my picture with just about every member of staff. I can’t imagine that, as an inexperienced teacher, I would ever receive such a wonderful welcome in an English School. My first class followed the assembly, and I have to admit that I was quite taken aback when I was thrust into a classroom of M6 students without any information from the teachers as to the level of English, or current curriculum. I began by introducing myself and was planning to move on to a lesson plan I had structured previously, but was bombarded with questions and spent the entire period answering them. Throughout my stay I was truly touched by the eagerness of both staff and students in learning about the English language and culture. I found my age to be an advantage because I was only a year or two older than some of the students and so we could relate to each other and talk about the similarities and differences between our lives in Thailand and England. Neither I nor my students could believe it when the lesson ended – the time went so quickly – and many of them stayed afterwards to ask more questions. I was on a high for the whole day, and if I had any bad lessons during my placement I would think back to that first day, and the amazing feeling of getting through the language barrier and enthusing these students to learn. |
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I decided that as I only had a short time with the students, it would probably be more beneficial, and interesting, to teach them about my culture, rather than focusing on grammar, vocab etc. I also wanted to make the lessons fun because I noticed that the style of teaching by the Thai teachers was based around dictation and repetition. I would highly recommend to anyone considering doing a placement to bring pictures from home. I found that a lot of students who weren’t normally as responsive as others would be prompted to ask questions when I brought in some photos. I also found that the students really became engaged in games and songs, even the older ones. The prospect of standing up in front of thirty 16 year olds in England and singing “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes” would be completely out of the question, but the Thai students loved it! I taught it to a few classes but by the end of the day my work was done for me because the students had learnt it already from their peers, complete with actions! |
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It wasn’t all fun and games, however. There were a few challenges to overcome, and sometimes my lessons failed miserably. As anyone would expect there were huge differences in ability and it was very hard to get through some lessons with the younger children because the standard was so low. As the time went on I found techniques to deal with this but it was still difficult to get through to some students. The steepest learning curve for me was getting used to the culture and to how conspicuous a Falang can be in Ubon Ratchatani. Many of the students, and even teachers, had had little or no contact with Westerners before and found me very strange! I found that I was stared at everywhere I went, which was somewhat disconcerting, and sometimes I felt awkward doing even the simplest things like going shopping, without a member of my host family. I was also a bit shocked at how unsubtle the Thais can be about what we would consider to be touchy subjects in England. For example, I am slightly “bigger boned” than most of the Thai women was nicknamed “Rachini Chang” (Miss Elephant) after a local beauty contest for girls weighing over 100kg – which I must point out is far heavier than I am! You can imagine that I was ever so slightly offended by this to begin with, but after a while I was laughing along, because it had never been meant it as an insult, but rather as a light-hearted observation and moreover a compliment to my host’s cooking. Anyway, how the Thais manage to stay so thin with all that delicious food around is beyond my comprehension. On the other hand, I found it very amusing that I was forever being complimented on my “beautiful” white skin, while I was desperately trying to get a tan! |
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I couldn’t possibly write about my time in Thailand without mentioning the family that I stayed with. Anyone who has ever been to Thailand will tell you how hospitable, laid-back and respectful the people there are, but I can honestly say that I could never have expected to be welcomed into a family so warmly. By the end of my stay I was calling my hosts “Mere” and “Por” (Mother and Father) and referring to their nieces and nephews as my brothers and sisters. I am still in contact with them and I am planning to go back next year. It was with great sadness that I said goodbye to the family.
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I came to teach but I learned so much in Thailand – more than I ever expected to. I came back with teaching experience, knowledge of a culture and a country of which I had previously been ignorant, a “second family,” the basics of Thai language and an increased obsession with Karaoke! |
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One piece of advice – bring mosquito repellent!
Thanks to Martin and everyone at Dragonfly for making this amazing experience possible for me. I will be back! |
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