Thai Educators Network

My First English Adventure

A program ideally suited for schools in countries where English is a Foreign Language

Peter Evans from MultiEducation and Gary Orman from Genggwaa

www.genggwaa.com

On Sunday, 10 May the day slowly turned dark and the heavens unleashed the first torrent of the rainy season. Inside the Roadhouse Barbecue, TEN was comfortably enjoying the tasty buffet, while listening to Peter Evans and Gary Orman tell us all about, “My First English Adventure”.

It is a well-thought-out program developed by a team of specialists from Israel headedby Dr Yael Bejarano, widely recognized internationally in language teaching methodology.

Peter began the presentation. He is a friendly, open man with a winsome smile.When listening to him I get a feel for the time and effort that he has invested in this program. Each word is carefully chosen and every phrase packed with meaning. I would think that he had given this presentation a great many times before, yet he sounded fresh and vivacious to my ear. The sound of a man who believes in what he is doing. He took us along the trail he had already travelled, from school to school and classroom to classroom. At each stop along the way, he let loose a few breadcrumbs of information.

It’s already in 31 schools in Thailand. You don’t need to be a native speaker to teach this program. It provides larger classes opportunities to engage in play and other activities. These things popped out of the whole story and made me think that this system was something that Thailand really could use.

He showed us a video of himself in Nonthaburi, where typical lovely Thai children were interacting with “Max”, a puppet that is center stage for a fair bit of this program. Which makes sense, it’s a program based around fun and as Thai children love sanook once they are interacting with Max, they are no longer thinking about learning, but having a good time.

This leads to successful English learning in a supportive and enjoyable environment for children with no English experience at all and takes them through to early reading and writing.

Gary showed us the practical side of the coin. Introducing us to how we might use this system in schools in Thailand employing Thai teachers.

Thai teachers can work part-time and make more money than a full time teacher in a school . That sounds appealing, as it lowers the cost to an employer and keeps staff happy at the same time. It’s a win-win all around. What I came away from this seminar with was a sense of being able to affect a great many children in the most positive way, giving them self confidence and a good education, which is something all children in every country should take for granted.