Steve's Blog - 28th June 2009

Excursion to Northern Bangkok primary school

A valuable insight into what goes on during a TESOL course excursion

The great thing about taking a TESOL course in Thailand is the huge number of practical excursions we are able to take everyone on. I find that excursions to schools in Bangkok and the surrounding area really do provide an excellent opportunity for everyone involved to gain exposure to living and teaching English in Thailand.

Course participants often say how much insight they've gained into the rewards and frustrations of dealing with learners at the coalface. Whether participants plan to teach English in Bangkok or elsewhere in rural Thailand, this is an invaluable experience to take away from the TESOL course.

This week we visited a primary school in northern Bangkok. Participants were able to see firsthand the life of a teacher in Bangkok. We were allowed into three classrooms to observe teachers in action, meet the children and get involved in the lesson. In the first class, a kindergarten lesson with five-year-old children, the course participants kicked off the lesson with the ABC song with the children, and then observed the teacher teacher working with the children on vocabulary lesson on food. Once the children started their worksheet task, we were able to get involved with helping the children with the task and the colouring activity.

Next, we were invited into a lesson with a group of grade four students studying health in English. Our American teacher was well prepared and used plenty of tricks to keep the students interested and curious about dental hygiene. Not a fun lesson, perhaps, but the students were put into groups and tasked with making a poster, which gave each of the course participants a chance to get involved with the students' work.

Finally, we visited a grade one teacher who was reviewing material for an upcoming test. This lesson gave the course participants the chance to see phonics in action with professional, imported material designed to help students develop their reading skills which tied into the session that was covered on teaching young learners. The TESOL course content becomes much more meaningful when it is seen in the classroom with the teachers and students.

After eating lunch with the students, it was time to go back to the centre, and then end of an insightful excursion to a typical school in Bangkok. With this day behind them, participants are now more easily able to put into context the theoretical aspects of teaching methodology that we cover in the TESOL course here at the Chichester College Center in Bangkok.

In the 2-3 years that we've been running excursions as part of the TESOL course, I've seen a noticeable increase in the level of confidence of our graduates upon completion of the course. The prospect of entering that dreaded "first classroom" is no longer a worry since everyone has already shared in the experience together and drawn strength from each other. We're glad we made this important addition to the course!

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