STUMBLING UPON ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

      I've been teaching for six years in Thailand, and as I look back at how it all began, I'm amazed at how different life's twists and turns can be from what you dream, or even imagine. I came to Bangkok with the intention of finding a job - any job that would secure me a place in that society of the employed. I had interviews for secretarial work, for telemarketing, for office jobs, and a few in the Nursing field. But of course, I ended up a teacher of English.

      Armed with an overwhelming desire to stand on my own two feet, I didn't think of the difficulties I was to face. For starters, I wasn't experienced nor educated in what was in store in teaching - first graders at that. All I had was gumption, and the gullibility in the belief that I could do anything. 'Talk about the innocence of youth.

     I survived a year. And because I found that I was learning a lot on the job (and making good money on the side), I signed for another year, and another, and another. Now here I am, still a teacher and loving it! Only now, I've come to yet another phase in my professional life. I'm about to finish a school year of teaching as a third grade homeroom teacher in an international school. Of course, I don't have to tell you that it has been a totally different ball game.

     As I look back, I've come to realize a lot of things. My job forced me to seek proper education in the field of ELT. And now, I'm on my way to getting an MA in ELT. And later on, I plan to do further studies in teaching in an international setting. Thailand has presented me with wonderful opportunities to develop my skills and expertise as a teacher, while providing a backdrop of a culture interesting enough to explore and understand. It has served as a window to other cultures in this part of the world and beyond. The various people I've met opened my eyes to the great diversity that exists not only in terms of social groups, but also among individuals.

     My husband and I look forward to extending our family (I'm seven months on the way) here in Bangkok. We oftentimes reminisce about earlier days when we had to put in extra hours doing tutorial work to substantiate our meager incomes. But as others may find equally true, the more you know people and the longer you live in a place, opportunities to better your life present themselves in some very uncanny places.

     The bottom line? I don't really have a bottom line…:) Well, I would like very much for this site to serve as a guide post to those who are thinking of coming to Thailand to work, and later, perhaps it could also serve as a center for information for those who would like to venture out in other places in Asia. Also, I have this very selfish desire to keep the lines of communication open between myself and all my other classmates in our MA.ELT course at Assumption University. For all our months of toil together - this is for all of us.

Hedda