Thank you a lot for reading my trivial blog. Finally, it is time that I wrote the last post as a summary( + some suggestion).
5-1 Purpose of practicum
It is only once that I went abroad before participating in this program. I went for a trip in Guam through 4 days, but approximately did nothing by oneself because my friend who go to Guam together all did for example the reservations of a hotel and the airline ticket then. I wanted the experience that went by own power abroad, and touched the culture over there and applied for this program. I lived in real Thailand for one month and noticed difference in culture and charm points that we can never understand only by sightseeing a lot. ” I have lived in a very small world”, I keenly realized it. It was interesting to have been able to learn cultural difference from Philippines and Indonesian people who came by this sea teacher program.
Then, I think that I want to study about woman enpowerment by sports. Therefore I wanted to see lesson of the physical education of the different country. The sports are paid more and more attention to as means of the position improvement of the woman now. I think that the education plays an important role to become able to guarantee the woman the right that can play sports in the same way as a man where women’s rights are not respected. Through this program, I am thinking about putting an important point for the physical education, and researching it. Content to learn by a class called the physical education is various by a country, and this is because it is fun to learn.
5-2 Procedures of practicum
2/6~2/8 Arriving at KK, First Meeting, Getting accustomed Thai culture
2/9~2/15 Class Observation and Making my own lesson plan, Meeting with my mentor teacher to make lesson plan and give me some advise about it →Practice teaching and see if my lesson plan works well.
2/16~2/22 Meeting which I could get some advise from teachers who saw my teaching practice, changing detail of lesson plan to meet their demand, on 2/22, I taught PE following arranged plan, my mentor teacher evaluated my lesson.
2/23~2/29 Observation many class( math, English, PE, artcraft, music)
3/1~3/7 There is no class because this week is test period, we were absent from school and going out to see many Thai cultures. Refering to test period, it was shortened and last 2 days for exam were canceled due to spread of COVID-19 so we gave teachers present and appreciated them. Last meeting to tell our experience by presentation. After that we go back to Japan.
5-3 Outcomes of practicum
At first I prepared for the foreign tour by myself for the first time. Also I went abroad and was able to return to Japan safely, which became a great experience. Of course there was a lot of what I did not know even after arriving at Thailand and during the preparations and had a hard time. Because I was ignorant and powerless, I had in trouble. This program was not accomplished by only oneself. I appreciate the encounter with many people who helped me. And I was able to know much culture. For example, 18 kinds of sex is in Thailand. On the other hand, as for us, the thought about a sex point and the sex self-acknowledgment except majority is unsociable in Japan. For me who was interested in gender, it was very interesting that this variety was accepted. There is different culture varied to a country and a race or so. I strongly hope now that I want to check variety of more culture with own eyes.
5-4 The challenges of practicum
At first, I was uneasy because I did not know if own class would be accepted by students. I think that the students were looking forward to what the university student coming from Japan will do in the class. As I cannot speak Thai, I cannot understand it even if students complain. Besides, I do not know handling of the student well as I do not take a specialized class to become a teacher. Still I felt that I was worth having made a lesson plan with effort when I saw that students played a game happily and laughed.
5-5 Overall impression
After all it was a good experience generally. It may become hard when you live in the environment where you are not used to. My ability of English was insufficient to convey a feeling appropriately. I regret that I should have learned knowledge about courtesy and the common sense in the different country more. The period of preparations was busy too. Though there were many documents which we must submit, there were club activities, a byte, a test, a report, which I must do. But there were a lot of pleasant things, also. Having eaten Thai delicious traditional dishes, sightseeing, shopping, cross-cultural communication, dancing with a student and education. I appreciate many experiences in this one month very much in Thailand at this opportunity. And I was able to leave and go back to Japan safely without some disease in spite of the time when infection of the coronavirus became. I seemed to be lucky. In addition, I want to go to Thailand with pleasure and expect that there is an opportunity to meet people concerned with by this program again.
5-6 Suggestions for future improvement
We are the students who participated in this program for the first time from Japan as having said before. Therefore I, who had few overseas experience worried until just before the travel because there are a lot of indistinct point. I want to interchange with the student participating in this program in after next year by all means. In addition, I did not know in public transport and where I should buy daily necessities as Khon Kaen was not a sightseeing spot at a beginning. Therefore I think that we should have contacted the student of before the travel. On the contrary, we can tell sea teacher students coming to Japan. Plus, I think that I was able to prepare for a class if I became known earlier which school year I will teach. Also, we should limit the object of teaching to more than junior high student. This is because the students can communication in simple English after becoming junior high students. I offered a class to the primary schoolchild. However, no student has our English in primary school. The class is not managed if I do not finally depend on a Thai teacher. Because there was an opportunity teaching abroad with much effort, I think that we should be able to teach a student with initiative.
I wrote feeling, impression, and the opinion of me in this blog so far. What I wrote is what I feel all honestly. I hope for student participating in this program and also who do not, there is a useful part from now on. I am sorry that I write a lot of long sentences in unpolished English. I thank gentle readers who read such a sentence even a little. I am going to study about a foreign language and cultures in future. This splendid experience gives motivation of the learning. Thank you for reading, and, I believe that all of sea teachers in the future could have good experience by this program.
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