David E. Kolmer

My life and work in Thailand

ILLINOIS

• I was working as a bellman at The Chateau Hotel and Conference Center, Bloomington IL.

The Job in Thailand

• My neighbor told me of a job opportunity teaching English in Thailand through ISU Normal, Illinois.

• I had a meeting with Dr. Ron Strickland and soon I was on a flight to Thailand.

Two layovers and 48 Hrs later…

• We landed in Bangkok

Lampang, Thailand

Then it was just a quick flight up north to Lampang.

Lampang is only an hour away from the big city of Chiang Mai.

Lampang, Thailand

• After getting situated for a day,

…and going to see the Elephants.

Lampang, Thailand

• I made it into the office…

• ..and jumped right into a classroom.

Nearby

• I lived in an apartment next to an open air market in the center of town.

Getting Around

• I hadn’t rented a motorbike yet,

..but I discovered a great Taxi service.

• That helped me get around a bit.

I worked at LCCT

• A vocational school that serves over three thousand students per year.

• Lampang College of Commerce and Technology.

Campus

• The school had a beautiful campus.

LCCT

• The student body was large.

• But class sizes were kept well under 30 students per class.

Classes I taught

• Basic Conversational English

• Business English

• Hotel Management

• Tourism

• English for Computers

• English for Food and Beverage

• Advanced Communication Skills

Preparation

• Each hour in class room accounts for about an hour of out of class preparation.

• It was required that teachers prepared lesson plans for each class taught.

• I found it helpful to include visual props and pictures wherever possible.

This kept the students more interested in what I was teaching and helped in understanding.

Teaching Method

• When teaching a foreign language it is actually preferable to not know the language of the people you are teaching.

• That way they are more submersed in the language you are teaching.

• This is why drawings and visual props are so important because they up a scenario and introduce the names of nouns.

Compassion

• I also found that it helped to just be real with the kids.

• Treat them like ordinary people: make jokes, have fun and don’t be afraid to look like a fool.

• This really helped me break the cultural and language barriers.

Meetings

• LCCT had monthly meetings where we discussed events and talked about what we were up to.

• These meetings were great for getting ideas about teaching methods or different approaches from other teachers.

Construction-ism

• LCCT’s creator, Dr. Nimmit, is a very big fan of the work of Dr. Seymour Papert the mathematician; who later in his life applied his work in A. I. to develop a teaching method.

• The Constructionism method revolves around the key concept of a student focused classroom where students create a tangible product from their studies.

• I was identified as a teacher who did well under this model and was even asked to give a seminar on the method to the other teachers at LCCT.

A New Culture

• A new set of rules.

• A new “normal”.

• Living and working in the heart of Siam really gave me a better grasp on how much of what we consider to be the “status quo” in America simply is not so in other parts of the world.

A New Culture

For Example:

In Thailand it is perfectly acceptable to:

• Ask about someone’s age.

• Tell a person you think they are getting fat.

• Smile at someone when you are angry.

• Agree to meet someone, but then later just change your mind.

A New Culture

And also in Thailand it is never appropriate to:

• Point the tip of your foot at someone

(Even when sitting cross-legged).

• Show the bottom of your foot to anyone.

• Strongly assert your opinion about where to go for dinner or what movie to see etc.

• Drink Beer without ice in it.

NEVER

• Deface a picture of the King of Thailand

• Depict the King of Thailand dancing or singing.

• Speak of the King of Thailand in a negative way or a negative reference.

Students attention to detail

• It’s amazing what Thai people can do with their hands and their focus.

Extra Work

• I was also given a side job teaching at a local public grade school, called Tri-Pop.

House

9 months later

• My parents flew out and we had a short trip down to the beaches.

• Then it was off back to America…

…until next time.

Thank You

… for watching my presentation.

Any Questions?