Our Volunteers and their Experiences
Volunteers come to
Thai Mueang for many different reasons; mainly we believe they come
because they want to do some good for other people and to learn
something about the unique Thai culture.
At Thai Mueang Volunteers we emphasize the volunteer’s personal
skills. We want each volunteer to bring themselves into the classroom,
and use their individual abilities to promote the English language and
make a connection with the students. Everyone has something unique to
bring to the classroom that makes learning English more new and
exciting for the students.
Every volunteer experience will be different and each individual
volunteer will take something special home with them, from their time
teaching here; yet there is always something to be learned from other
peoples’ past experiences. We hope that by reading past volunteers
comments and advice you will feel more aware of what volunteer
teaching in Thailand is all about and maybe be inspired to create a
similar experience of your own. |
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 Volunteer:
Dave McFall
Nationality: South African / British
Volunteered at: Wat Muang Pracharam Primary School
My favorite memory: There are so many to choose from, but as
I have to choose one. I would have to say the students at Wat Mueang
Pracharam. Every student at the school is so eager to learn. They
greet you with open arms and the biggest smiles you have ever seen.
Just walking through the corridors between classes took me about 5
min as they kept coming over wanting to speak what little English
they know. High 5’s, shaking hands, making fun faces to each other
and comparing tans got me through many hot and tiring days.
I was surprised that... My teaching was easier and a lot
harder than I anticipated. With no teaching history I was worried at
first that I could even teach at all. But without the support and
guidance of ‘’El Jefe’’ Anders, I don’t think I would have survived
2 minutes in front of the 40 or so glaring eyes. When you learn from
the best it makes your teaching experience worthwhile.
The most difficult thing I experienced was… I didn’t really
have any major difficulties when it came to the teaching. Probably
when I came back from school one day. I wanted to get a little sleep
before we went out for supper. So I went to my room and I had a
little visitor above my bed. It was a Black snake with red and
yellow spots over it. Approximately a meter and a half long. I
thought I would try my Steve Irwin impression. I tried to get the
little critter onto a stick for about 10 min but it curled up and
looked as if it wanted to bite me. I thought sack that. The best
thing was to call Anders because he will know what to do. He came up
and said let’s just get the ranger out from the National Park rather
than taking any chances. A good idea in the end.
My best received lesson: Was when I got the students out the
class and got them hold hands and make circles, squares, triangles
etc. Very basic but the children loved it. They end up rolling about
the floor having a great time.
Tip for Future Volunteers: Keep it basic. Don’t try to make
to difficult because the students won’t learn anything. Whatever you
think will be easy for them, go two or three steps back. Get the
students out the class to play a game or an activity. For every
class I played a game or an activity.
Personal Paragraph: This being my second time in Thailand I
kind of knew what to expect. Living in Thai Mueang is so different
from living in your tourist resorts such Phuket, Samui and Krabi.
But that is why I came to Thai Mueang. Not your continental
breakfasts or your beer guzzling louts. The people in Thai Mueang
that you meet during your experience will stand you in good stead
for your stay. Andoo, teaches you all Thai phrases that will help
you through your teaching and day to day living. Toin, with his
wealth of knowledge on Buddhist teachings enlightens you every time
you meet. Net, with her bubbly nature always wants your time in Thai
Mueang to be as enjoyable as possible. She is an absolute gem.
Anders is always there to help you with your lesson plans, teaching
ideas and generally talking about anything. Personally, I don’t
think Aston Villa will make the top four. Haha. But you never know.
My time here has been the best experience I have ever had. Thank you
to everyone in Thai Mueang. |
 Volunteer:
Paul Watson
Nationality: Canadian
Volunteered at: Thai Mueang Vocational College
My favorite memory: All of my students. Every one of them
were good students, had a good attitude trying their best and
always willing to learn. This in spite of the fact that I was
teaching them during their holidays. Remember how you felt about
summer school? I wish all of them a bright future.
I was surprised that... the level of understanding and
speaking English was rather low. The students have a good textbook
understanding of English, i.e. they can recognize and read English
words. However, they need a lot of help speaking English and
pronunciation needs work. That is where the volunteer can help.
My best received lesson: were ones that didn’t come out of
a text book. I would have the students create something – like a
map of town, or the layout of a hotel resort (for the hospitality
and tourism students) – and then they would practice giving
directions. It was more relevant to them if they were working with
something that they created.
Tip for Future Volunteers: My tip is to expect that the
students will have a low level of understanding and seek out
material that teaches English in a simple way but with lots of
pictures. The book I ended up using most was “Side by Side”, by
Melinsky and Bliss, purchased at a Border’s book store in the U.S.
Practical tip: Take it easy when you first arrive, and do
not take any trips on a motorbike on the highway until you have
several days (or more) of practice. A minor fall could lead to a
scrape that would only take a few days to heal at home, but could
take weeks to heal here. (You can find the same advice over and
over in Lonely Planet – take it). As you might guess, I learned
the hard way.
Personal Paragraph: Overall the experience was very good.
Thai Muang is a wonderful town located on a beautiful never ending
beach that you will have to yourself. It is also close to many
popular tourist locations which you can reach on the weekends. The
students need to learn English if they want to get a job in the
tourism sector that surrounds the area and tourism is obviously a
major part of the Thai economy.
These students greatly benefit from any help they receive in
improving their English. |
Paul with some of his business students
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Lesson about creating a restaurant
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A fried rice is 35 Baht
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English course well done
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Paul taking his students to the beach
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Teacher Fon in the middle
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 Volunteer:
Turner Wright
Nationality: American
Volunteered at: Wat Patchatikaram Primary School
My favorite memory: Walking back from the Buddhist temple
with my 5th grade class, casually speaking English and Thai along
the way and developing a rapport I had not yet seen in the
classroom. Who was the teacher, and who the student? It was
impossible to tell, and that alone was comforting.
I was surprised that… many teachers do not have hands-on
lesson or too much interaction with their students at all. My
classes were by far the loudest and most energetic (yes, sometimes
due to me losing control of the students), and others involved the
kids just reading, taking notes, or copying what the teacher said
directly.
My best received lesson: Outside the classroom, just
playing volleyball with Phratoms 5 and 6, tossing English and Thai
words back and forth for the various objects and actions (“catch”,
“hit”, “I got it!”, “serve”, etc).
The most difficult thing I experienced was… the language
barrier with other Thai teachers. For the students, it was really
no problem, as the class should be English immersion, but I wanted
to discuss my feelings about the students and my life in Thailand
with the teaching staff; this proved to be impossible.
Tip for Future Volunteers: Even if you’re not an
experienced teacher, don’t stress over lesson plans or preparing
for classes; it’s far better to come in with the idea of what
simple vocabulary or phrase you want the students to learn, and
let the class develop as you figure out if they understand what
you’re saying, or are just repeating everything and not
comprehending. In addition, you should be enjoying your time in
Thai Mueang, not spending hours on end inside doing paperwork.
Practical tip: Be careful of any small cuts and scrapes you
may get just walking around; they take a lot longer to heal over
here (some dry powder helps with keeping the wound clean). Use
talcum powder on your face if you find you’re sweating all the
time. Learn to accept the fact that it’s raining, and walk with
dignity.
Personal Paragraph: Stay out of Phuket. I really like
coming to smaller towns in foreign countries like Thai Mueang
because you have the chance to see this “undiluted” culture, for
lack of better words; there is no tourist industry here, just
normal people living their lives and genuinely interested in where
you come from and what you’re doing, how you think, how you live.
Whereas if you stick to the road more often traveled, people only
see your wallet and just how much they can potentially get from
you. Thai Mueang has a beautiful beach, friendly people (oh,
they’ll know who you are and where you live soon enough after
arriving), delicious food, and some great country to explore. |
 Volunteer:
Zachary App
Nationality: American
Volunteered at: Thai Muang Vocational College
My favorite memory: There are several, it's hard to say,
but I think some of my favorite memories were the ones outside the
classroom - having lunch at Ms Sunisa's house eating home cooked Thai
food, hanging out in Khao Lak with some of my students at the weekend,
taking part in a Chinese/Thai ceremony one night with my students, going
out to lunch on the beach with Ms Sunisa and the accounting class, and
planting trees in Khok Kloi with Ms Fon and all the students in the
pouring rain. Whether I was shopping at the Tuesday market or riding on
my motorbike into a random village in the area I would somehow always
run into some of my students and stop to talk to them. I'm going to miss
that especially.
I was surprised that… some of the students didn't know how
to say "my name is..." or "I'm 17 years old." There were several
occasions I had to help them spell Thailand. I was also taken back by
the level of respect people have for each other, both at the school and
in the town itself. Sadly to say; this is something I don't see back
home.
My best received lesson: We had a lot of fun at our cooking
lesson in Ms June's class when I taught them how to make an omelet and
French toast with step by step instructions in English. I cooked first
and explained what I was doing; "break the egg"-"pour the milk"-"pour
the mix into the pan"-"ready to serve." The class was split into four
groups and each group explained as they cooked. Ms June and I were the
"testers."
The most difficult thing I experienced was…Trying to learn
and remember their names. The first couple of weeks I had a really hard
time. It was also difficult at times helping them with their
pronunciation, example: the word "sport" they would pronounce "saport".
They are taught English by Thai teachers, so native speaking volunteers
can really help them with pronunciation.
Tip for Future Volunteers: Bring stuff from home to make
lesson plans. I brought with me menus from restaurants and some
brochures from hotels which I used for some of my lessons. Also bring
photos from home of your friends and family, your house, town etc. The
students like to play games like hangman. Flash cards are also great to
use.
Personal Paragraph: This was my first time outside the
United States. The managers of this program helped me with lesson
planning the first week, offered new ideas when I needed them, and
treated me like family. The locals here are very laid back and some of
the nicest people. When you have free time pick a random back road and
purposely get lost. I ended up meeting some local kids and they took me
through the villages, down narrow dirt roads, into the jungle and to a
beautiful waterfall where the local kids swim, somewhere you won't find
in any tourist book or map. |
Ms Sunisa's House - Having Dessert
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Planting Tress in Khok Kloi
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Cooking an Omelet - Arooy!
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What's your name?
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The Tuesday Market in Thai Muang
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Visiting a Rural Village
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Volunteer:
Karen McColl
