Paul’s thoughts on his first week volunteer teaching at the Thai Mueang Vocational College:
I have just finished my first week teaching at the vocational school. My students were 16 teenagers who are studying to work in the tourism/hospitality field. Although the school is officially on vacation at this time, these student were so eager to learn English that they took time off from their school holidays to spend their mornings back at school – with me!
Although I can calmly write about my first week looking back on it now, it was an intimidating experience for me at first due to my lack of teaching experience. By way of background I am a middle aged professional man who has taken time off from work to volunteer in Thailand. I had never taught in a classroom setting before. TM Volunteers is not the place to go if you are only looking for a holiday. They give you a great deal of responsibility. I was given suggestions and resources to assist in preparing my lessons and given all the support that I have requested. However, the lesson planning was up to me, and I was in charge of the class. The students here know their English words, and are good at spelling – a good textbook understanding of the language. But they are very weak in conversational English. That is where the volunteer teacher can help. I kept my lessons relevant by dealing with themes related to the hotel and restaurant industry. The students reacted in a positive way. Even though this was only a one week assignment, I am confident that the students understand English better, and more importantly, understand the importance of continuing to study English if they want to work in the hospitality industry.
I am looking forward to my new assignment with a new group of students that starts next week.