Teaching Thai children english?

Question

does anyone have any ideas I could use to teach some children in Thailand some basic English in a fun way?
I think they'll be around 8 years old
I've got no previous teaching experience but I'll try anything that is viable and would work...thanks

Answer 1

Hi

I am an English teacher at Japanese elementary schools so have lots of ideas about activities etc. Before I bore you silly with them all could you answer the following questions?

How long are you going to be teaching the students for? Will you meet them just once? How long will the lesson/s be? Do you have to follow a curriculum or are you just teaching what you want?

If you are meet the students just once (and don't have a curriculum to follow) I would probably introduce yourself and your country and then teach them “my name is xxx” and “nice to meet you” .

If you don't have time to reply to my questions you can try this website, http://www.genkienglish.net/, for ideas.

Regardless of what you are teaching the students you should do the following:

Speak English properly (no pigeon English), but use very simple words and speak slowly (you might feel like an idiot but it helps a great deal). Also use your voice to set the tone of the lesson e.g. if you want to play a game with the children sound excited. The children may not understand what you are saying, but they will hear the change in the tone of your voice and know something fun is about to happen.

Use flashcards/drawings and gestures to help explain yourself e.g. if want students to be quiet say "quiet please" and then put a finger over your lips.

Get the children moving. TPR (Total Physical Response) is great when you are teaching English as a foreign language. What it means is that you should have the children moving and using actions with words and phrases (it helps them remember them). An easy example is if you are teaching the children the alphabet have them make the shapes of the letters with their bodies. This website will give you more information:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/tpr.shtml)

Try to find out about cultural differences. For example in England when a students gets an answer right you give them a tick. When I came to Japan I ticked students work when they got answers right, the students were horrified though as in Japanese culture it meant they had all of the answers wrong.

Take photographs of your friends, pets, city and home. Japanese children love learning about different cultures and I bet Thai children will be the same. Research what the kids in your country eat for lunch. Children love nothing more than finding out about what other children do.

Don't correct every mistake the children make. If it is a fundamental mistake which means you can't understand what the child/class is trying to say then address the mistake. However nit picking will only make children feel self-conscious.

The most important thing though is to have fun! Don't worry about making mistakes at the beginning, as the children will just be so happy to see you they won't care. With practice you will find out what works and doesn't.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Get a visual dictionary in english and the language you'll be teaching. You can show them images of things to help them understand what it really is.

I think you can find it on Amazon or Borders.

Answer 3

To a Thai....it isn't English.....it's Hingrish....with emphasis on the H......