Bangkok: After flying 11 hours from Sydney to Bangkok I was greeted by my school friend Pleng who took me on the sky train to her parents house where I was welcomed with a plate of freshly sliced mango. Thai people are extremely generous- 'krieng jai'= generosity 'naan jai'= fluid heart. Thai people also believe strongly in positive energy. You will notice that they find it difficult to say no, and when they do say no they say 'mai-chai' which actually translates as 'no-yes', a polite way to decline an offer.
It had worked out that I had arrived right in the middle of the Songkran festival. This is basically a giant water fight that celebrates the Thai New Years; because it's now the hottest time of the year in Thailand I also suspect it's an excuse to throw cold water on each other to cool down. We decided to go out to a big street party celebration somewhere in Bangkok other than Khao San road; which is consistently full of tourists. When we got to the party Pleng insisted that I was going to get soaking wet straight away and bought me a plastic protector for my phone and wallet. I didn't think it was necessary until about a minute later when a nice gentleman poured a bucket of freezing water over my head.
During the night I was electrocuted by a soaking wet ATM machine and later had my all time favourite street snack: banana chocolate rottee.
The following day Pleng took me to one of the many sky bars in Bangkok and I got ready for my long bus ride up North to Chiang Mai where I would be spending the following two weeks doing my TEFL course!
The SEE TEFL course in Chiang Mai began with a week of intensive classes and then a second week of teaching practices and observations. Because of the nature of the course, the group of 18 of us bonded quickly and became a very close group. There are many online TEFL courses that I looked into doing but I would highly recommend doing the TEFL course in the country that you will be teaching in as it gives you a great chance to learn about the culture and see what the schools will be like before being thrown in the deep end.
The fruit in all of Thailand is extensive and relatively cheap. They also have every way of serving the fruit- shaken, iced, fried, dried, juiced etc...
During our first week of TEFL training we were introduced to one of the main ways of planning TEFL lessons. This was the PPP method; Presentation, practice and production. We were shown examples of this way of teaching students from kindergarten age through to adults. We also began planning some of our own lessons and rehearsing these lessons with each other. In our second week we were lucky enough to be placed in schools for four teaching practices. We planned and carried out our own PPP classes and all four of our teaching practices were observed with feedback and marks given accordingly. It was intensive but extremely enjoyable, it was great to have each other to bounce ideas off and share resources.
The markets in Chiang Mai are incredible. Particularly the Night Walking markets just inside the Moat at Chiang Mai. I went all the three Sundays that I was in Chiang Mai and found that it was best to go at about 5pm before all the crowds which get bigger after 8pm. You can easily have your dinner there very cheaply and try a range of great street foods. We had a strange experience on the last Sunday that we went when the whole market stopped still in their tracks and froze while the national anthem played.
Doing the TEFL course before your placement allows you to meet other people who are on the same journey as you. You may not all be placed together but can keep in touch and share experiences, as well as organising trips in your holidays or after your placement!
Some of the schools in Thailand are beautifully decorated. This is Vinmantip School in Chiang Mai which was decorated as a castle- designed by the school directors daughter.
The three TEFL teaching practices allows you to practice putting the PPP method into practice before you begin teaching at your placement school. It's a time to make mistakes and try out teaching techniques with the instructors giving you feedback on what you could have done differently.
Thank you for reading and I will leave you with the beautiful Thai phrase 'mai pen rai' which translates as 'it is what it is.'
Thankyou so much we really enjoyed reading this keep it up !
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