TEFL: Teaching English (as a) Foreign Language

My favourite moment of teaching was probably when I was teaching ‘Time’ and, in lieu of a board eraser I used my hand. I then wiped my hand across my cheek (on accident) leaving army stripes on my face. The kids found this hilarious. One boy took out his pen and drew stripes across his cheek too (Ha! I’m a trend setter!).

My teacher partner, Steph, commented “You look like GI Joe” while I got the class to chant (chanting is the preferred method of teaching in Thai schools. I don’t know how much I believe in it, but it’s not for me to challenge their methods. After a month here, hearing Buddhist chants in markets, temples and around I realise just how ingrained chanting is in the culture, it makes sense it’s the centre of education, though I think the students memorise things they can’t understand) “One forty five is quarter to two, Two forty five is quarter to three, Three forty five is quarter to four…” and they perfectly echoed the intonation in my British accent. I try to over-enunciate everything I say so they hear distinct vowel sounds. Basically, I speak with Received Pronunciation, think stereotypical ‘posh’ British- Hermione Granger or Mary Poppins.

So that’s my best TEFL moment. Looking like GI Joe, sounding like Mary Poppins, trying not to laugh as a chorus of Eton-sounding Thai children chanted number patterns.

 

Tree Three Free

I’ve spent the last two days tutoring this girl for an English competition; she’s reciting the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’. I think the volunteer who taught her numbers must have been Irish because she kept saying the ‘tree little pigs’ which was equally endearing and frustrating, it’s cute, but it’s wrong.

We chanted ‘Three, Three Three’
We counted ‘One, Two, THREE’
We walked outside, I pointed to a tree and demonstrated “This is Tree, you say Three”
All to no avail.

Then miracle struck, in the form of Youtube. I got up John Mayer’s ‘Free Falling’ because in the chorus there’s an on going repetition of ‘I’m FREE FALLING’ and the ‘free’ is the same sound used for ‘three’ so I played that on loud and she started singing ‘FREE FALLING, NOW I’M- FREE FALLING NO-OW’ with John Mayer and I (paha!).
And suddenly, after two days of wanting to head desk, she could pronounce ‘Three’.

I took a shameless selfie just after that moment. Here’s us, after singing John Mayer (for totally academic purposes) :P