Who knew? Teaching is fun!

 With two days of teaching under our belts, we can confidently say: We are enjoying this. Very much.

Phil and I have been assigned to team-teach two classes, both Level I English. One meets from 1-3 p.m., the other from 4:45-6:45 p.m., Monday through Thursday, for four weeks.

Because Thai schools teach English vocabulary and grammar, Level I is not as basic as it sounds. Most students know a decent amount of words and also have studied verb tenses, pronouns, and sentence structure. So our classes focus mostly on pronunciation, as well as listening and speaking skills. 

In a city like Bangkok, you’d expect many people to speak English well. That’s not the case. They’ve studied grammar and vocabulary, but have little experience speaking or conversing in English, since their Thai teachers are unpracticed in that also. If Phil or I have questions in a grocery story or restaurant, for example, we must resort to Google Translate to find a Thai word to express the concept of chicken with vegetables and rice. Or to ask where the raisins or soy milk or bread is located.

Those who do speak English often speak it unintelligibly. “R” and “L” sounds are difficult (“lunch” is often “runch”). They say “heem” instead of “him,” “wery” instead of “very,” “dem” instead of “them.” They usually leave off the final consonants, so “house” becomes “how,” “think” becomes “theen,” etc.

Business language is even worse. Here are some quirky sentences from the instruction manual for a small cooker/steamer I purchased this week:

• The product should be cleaned after use, and ensure that there is no water in the interior or the tide of learning affects the next use.
• It is normal to use it for the first time if there is a slight smoke or slight scorching. Please rest assured that it is used.
• Cleaning method: after use, the inner gallbladder can be brushed with detergent and cloth.

A recent study found that Thailand has one of the lowest English proficiencies in the world.

So—our teaching is needed. But what makes it fun? 

Well, really, the electricity of connecting with the students. It’s hard to explain. But we leave each class feeling a bit high. Our students seem to love us. They are eager to come to class, serious about learning more and pleasing us, and willing to come an hour early just to hang out and have lunch with us. We’ve already been invited to a family party. Students tell us happy memories from childhood, talk about frustrations with getting visas or work, describe evenings spent watching hour after hour of puppy videos. One has a parrot that whistles “When You’re Happy and You Know It.” Another finds happiness in cleaning house and decluttering. One older couple wants to visit their daughter who is a Thai cook in San Francisco, but they can’t get a visa. The same with the parents of a son in Columbus, Ohio. So they are learning conversational English and biding their time.

We laugh a lot in class. Phil is great at cracking jokes and getting the girls to giggle. It’s fun—for us and for them. Here are a few faces from our late afternoon group:

And the nice thing is, they’re learning to speak English at the same time.

But the feeling Phil and I take back with us from class—that’s priceless.