Creating Effective Spaces

Before coming into this position in Phichit, Thailand I had a lot of misconceptions and doubts about my position as a foreigner coming to teach English in a developing country. Being African, I hold strong sensitivities in regards to external support of governments and social sectors of developing countries. So, when I accepted the offer to teach in Thailand,  I was dealing with a lot of my own personal beliefs and whether I was doing what I believed in. After my first week, I realized that a mutually beneficial relationship was going to evolve out of this experience: The schools that volunteers are assigned to, genuinely want volunteers to teach English in their classrooms. For most of the schools, they already have a “resident” English teacher. They want volunteer English teachers to supplement those lesson plans, encourage learning through conversations and games, and help the students to develop their accents and pronunciations.

But the reality is just because I can speak English doesn't mean that I am the most equipped to teach it. The number of times, I've been forced to sit through a lecture by a professor who's studied, research, theorized and written about their work for 5+ years but could not teach the topic is innumerable.

So while I was teaching in my first grade class, in the middle of a lesson I found myself asking if I was being as effective as I could be. Was I teaching them in a way to would inspire them to use their own ability to speak another language as a form of communication? Was I providing space for confidence and curiosity? These are questions that I’m sure I’ll keep asking of myself through this experience.

In my times of weakness and inability, I find courage to question my intentionality and purpose while here.