So it was December 2012. By this time I'd gathered up a few private students, who I saw on a regular basis. I was happy with this working arrangement, although I knew I'd have to bring in more money eventually. For the time being, I was still spending every extra moment I had trying to explore and learn more about Thailand.
I got in touch with
Dragonfly English Camps, and a few weeks later I was on a bus to the province of
Loei for my first ever English Camp. The transport, food and accommodation was taken care of, and the pay on top of that was pretty good. I'm sure you can guess English Camps are also a whole lot of fun, where you spend your time running around with kids of all ages, playing games and being silly. The only downside is that Dragonfly don't make their way up north as often as I'd like, so it would be impossible to make a living through them. If I were down south I would definitely work with them, as they travel around as a team doing camps in cities, towns and even remote villages, staying in all sorts of places and meeting tons of awesome kids.
Check out my photos from my Loei English Camp:
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My Friend. Awesome! |
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These guys might look like ruffians, but were actually big sweethearts. |
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Taking photos of the person taking photos of you - a national sport in Thailand. |
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Young love! |
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Yes, the weirdo hiding at the back is me. |
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Uh, stomping as a form of dance? |
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Giving prizes at an outdoor assembly. |
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The kids were put into teams to make their own fictional country posters. |
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All the teams with their finished posters. |
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Some kids with the Dragonfly and school staff. |
very informative as I never knew there was such a thing as English camps. the pictures say so much about what the camps mean and what you experienced
ReplyDeleteThank you. There are different kinds of English camps in Thailand and this one was the kind where you travel to a school, stay on the premises and become completely immersed with the students and staff. The other sort is the one where the teachers from their respective schools teach their kids at the school during the summer break, and is totally different! I prefer the travelling camps by far!
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem with Thai schools school...too many games. I am an ESL teacher in Thailand. I teach English in Thailand and I play very few games with my students. My students actually learn English. Running around and acting "goofy' is NO way to teach English !! It's the Thai way but then Thai schools and teachers are not very good at teaching Thai students much of anything !! I live in Thailand. I have been here for 8 years and I am NOT impressed with the Thai Educational system. The Thai Govenment, Education ministry is also very concerned with the poor education their students are "receiveing", NOT receiveing in Thai puplic schools. International schools with International teachers do NOT play games in their classes !! Maybe if Thai teachers would stop[ "playing" games in their classes the students would actually learn something? !!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous I couldn't disagree with you more! I have done these camps and I have to say they help the kids build confidence, being able to talk in a comfortable place with people who are more like friends than authority figures makes kids more likely to talk and have fun. Which means they use more English with confidence. I don't think games are a bad way to teach either because kids need stimulation, they get bored with lectures and worksheets and don't pay attention, now you've lost your chance to keep them interested and learning! Frankly, with your spelling and attitude towards teaching I doubt any of your students like learning with you!! Sorry to say but true!!
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