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Teaching Tips
- Smile
- Respectively “Wai” the Thai teacher when you arrive
- Try to make the learning fun and playful
- Use simple and concise language. If you are teaching animals, hold a picture of a dog and just say 'dog', not, “this picture here is a dog, see the dog?”
- Speak slowly
- Use images to support your teaching
- Repeat the vocabulary you are teaching many, many times
- Only have one teacher explaining at one given time. Do not confuse the children by having a discussion of what is happening next, you should have rehearsed this already
- If you write on the board, please print, do not use script, the students will not understand
- When you have numerous resources, do not give to the students all at once, just one by one, otherwise they will feel overwhelmed and get confused
- Use small group work when possible. Taking risks in learning language is safer when not in front of a large class.
- For songs and games, ensure that within your planning you have a common version. Songs and games can vary slightly across cultures. Similarly, the noises for animals vary – the Thai noise for a pig is very different to the English– ensure you use the sounds the children know.
- Do not teach vocabulary in the same lesson that is similar in sound because this will confuse the children. Similarly, do not focus on letters that are similar (such as p and q, or b and d).Thai schools teach the alphabet, but students generally only know the alphabet when sung in sequence. If you point out random letters, they will struggle. Let's help develop this skill in our lessons.
- Teach across curriculum areas, i.e. incorporate maths if possible. For example, picking up 8 red pencils.
- The human concentration span is about 15 minutes, so have various activities in your lessons. For example, speak the new vocabulary, write it down, sing a song with them, read a story with them, draw a picture with them. There are many ways to repeat the same vocabulary in different ways to ensure all learning styles are appreciated.