The Ninth Traveler

 

 

On Monday, June 11, 2012 I entered my first class ever as a teacher. There were about 30 2nd year students in this English Speaking/Listening class. I used an icebreaker I found online.

I brought a deck of cards to class. I shuffled them and then placed them out on a desk. A student would come up and pick a card. Whatever number he/she picked is the amount of things he/she would have to say about their self. The student held a microphone while talking. Once the student finished, the student would then pass the microphone to a student of their choice. Most of the students really enjoyed this part because they were able to pick on a friend they did or did not like. I was really surprised by some of the

responses. It was a good way to gauge personalities and knowledge of English. With jacks, queens, and kings being equal to 10 most students had to say 10 things to their slight dismay. During teacher orientation in Bangkok, I learned that Thai students are generally shy and it is key to create an atmosphere of activity and involvement.

Some responses from my students:

“I have 21 cats.”
“I am Mr. Cool.”
“I love Justin Beiber”
“I used to be a white man before I came here.”
“I want to dance with you.”
“In the future I want to be a god.”
“I want 2 boyfriends.”
“My favorite subject is English”

 

Kasetsart University(http://kps.ku.ac.th/eng/) has a focus on agriculture, nature and English. When I first applied to the Teach in Thailand program I thought I would want to work in downtown Bangkok.

However, I think Kasetsart will turn out to be a great fit for me. It has a plethora of nature trails and plenty of athletic facilities. It boasts an Olympic size pool, basketball courts, gym, golf course, running trails, and about 5 lakes. The students seem very eager to learn and often hang out after class or in my office to practice their English. I look forward to an energetic class environment. If you have any lesson plan ideas please let me know. Thank you Shannon and Gloria for the great ideas so far.

 

Below are a few photos from my experience so far:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Laundry Mat Chair

 

 

 

Dryer

 

 

 

Oklahoma City Thurder beating the Spurs made the sports front page.