Teach Travel Asia Report – November 2011

Some students from Tedsaban Ban Takiap performing a traditional Thai dance as a part of the
Railway Anniversary Festival.

Overview

The first cultural experience our students were exposed to was a wonderful celebration for the 100 year anniversary of the Hua Hin Railway Station (one of the most beautiful in Thailand) where all the participants dressed in the fashion of olden days to take us all back to the past.

The November group arrived in Thailand on November 12th and 13th. Students were picked up at the airport and taken to a hotel in Bangkok. They traveled with Kevin Meldau to Hua-Hin on Monday the 14th. All students stayed at the accommodation. Two students rented motorcycles that they shared with the remainder of the group.

The introductory dinner was at La Mer restaurant with its beautiful panoramic view of Hua-Hin. On Sunday the 20th, Teach Travel Asia arranged a day out to visit Monkey Mountain with its historical temple and fantastic lookout points. The day was finished off with a late afternoon swim and a candle lit, authentic Thai dinner on the beach.

On Sunday the 27th Teach Travel Asia arranged a road trip to a pineapple plantation where we bought 300kg of pineapples that were not fit for human consumption, from a local farmer. From there, we went to Hutsadin Elephant foundation. We have recently gotten involved with this foundation, and once a month we do volunteer work for them, including cleaning the premises, feeding the elephants and more recently they have asked for volunteers to come and teach English.

Our very own Willie Victor who got the chance to sit with the most amazing little elephant
this side of Thailand, Songkran.

Teach travel Asia was invited by Tedsaban Ban Takiap School to join them in the 100th birthday celebration of the Hua-Hin Train Station. We all went and were entertained with Thai stage productions. It was a great, colorful evening.

On the 5th of December we were again approached by Tetsaban Ban Takiap school. It was the Kings’ birthday and in Thailand it is also considered Father’s Day. It is a massive event and is celebrated throughout Thailand. Teach Travel Asia was asked to nominate two of our students to represent Tedsaban Ban Takiap school in the parade and to deliver the kings gift. This was a huge honor.

Willie and Menay were the chosen ones. They were whisked off to Thai tailors and makeup artists and transformed. We all met at the clock tower and set off on the 4km procession. Hats off to Menay who completed the walk in a pair of high heels. She did this like a princess. The parade came to a halt next to the Kings’ summer palace. Gifts were given to the king, who was not there in person, but in Thailand his presence is always noted.

Thai Princess for a day – Menay Lintnaar was dressed up in authentic Thai dress for the King’s birthday celebration. She and Willie both looked amazing and were honored to take part in such a grand event.

At the end of the course, the students completed the practical training portion of the course, which entailed real experience teaching Thai school children with Teach Travel Asia instructors grading the students.

Teach Travel Asia arranged a two day English Camp at Tedsaban Ban Takiap School. The camp commenced on December the 8th and finished on December the 9th. Teach Travel Asia students had to prepare lessons for 7-9 year olds and 10-12 year olds. Students taught from 09.00 – 16.00. They had classes of 20 students each.

NJ Hauman shows us how positive an impact it can have to incorporate activities into your lesson to make sure the students get the most out of every lesson.

They taught the structure and brought in their personality. It was great to observe how far they had come in only four weeks. Their lessons were fun, contained a grammar point and were well executed. They did an excellent job!! The English Camp is also a nonprofit initiative.

Placement

The floods have had a huge impact on the economy. Schools that were meant to have a two week holiday now had an eight week holiday. People could not get to work or school and that meant that there were no functioning HR departments. Once the floods subsided and the schools reopened the placement process went very quick. Teach Travel Asia students were even offered employment before completion of the course. Special arrangement was made in order for them to first successfully complete the course. This was done on Friday the 9th and all the students have been placed.

Willie Victor gets one of the students to complete a Practice exercise on the board.

Student Testimonials

Firstly I would like to say thank you to all the people from Teach Travel Asia. I cannot express enough how wonderful each and every one of you is and how my life has changed since I have arrived in Hua Hin Thailand November 2011. My experiences in the last month have been enough to last a lifetime. So much has happened that it’s difficult to pick a favorite.
Not to mention, I am thankful for all the new friends I have met and all the new memories I can share with my family and friends back home.From day one the staff at Teach Travel Asia has been very helpful in all aspects of my trip.
A special thanks to everyone at Teach Travel Asia for always offering their help and advice. My trainer Jaco definitely needs to receive a medal! It takes a very special person to help me to listen and pay attention in class and Jaco scored very high on that.Thank you for all the cultural experiences and showing me all the right places. Everyone has been friendly, polite, and caring, which has made the experience far more special. I would recommend anyone to sign up for Teach Travel Asia. You will not regret a single moment. – Willem Victor

Improvements Suggested

At the end of each course, we ask students to fill out course evaluation forms. This is done to facilitate us at Teach Travel Asia to be informed where there might be possible room for improvement and in so doing, can make the necessary changes:

What, if anything, would you have improved on the course?

More information on budgeting would be helpful to have before arriving in Thailand.
More extensive Thai language lessons.

Is there anything else you would like to know?

More clarity on limits of placement and requirements
A real breakdown of the cost of living in Thailand

Course Issues

There were very few issues in this course. As a whole, the learning and placement process went smoothly. The only issues came from client personal preferences and not logistics or operations.
One of the clients from our course was placed at multiple schools. The student may have been confused about Teach Travel Asia’s placement procedures and limitations. The student refused offered positions and Teach Travel Asia responded by finding new placements for her each time. There is still contact and complete support for the client. We continue to help the client with placements.

Improvements Made or Planned as a Result of Issues and Feedback

Teach Travel Asia will now provide a comprehensive presentation for both clients and agents prior to their arrival via skype. This will help with any confusion as well as provide accurate information and answers to any client questions.
Teach Travel Asia has developed a cost of living reference chart to address student budgeting issues. Cost of living information will be given to students earlier on in the process to give them a better idea of money preparation.
Teach Travel Asia will add a more extensive Thai language resource within the textbook as well as provide information on inexpensive Thai language courses in the area.
Teach Travel Asia has arranged an observation day at a Thai school in the second week of the course. Clients will get a feel for how the classroom is run as well as receive a foundation for their lesson planning.

Cassie Kirkeby explains the different types of collective words to her students.