Team VI (18 February 2018 – 15 April 2018)

Welcome everybody! We are happy to introduce ourselves as Team VI.

From 18 February to 15 April 2018 we will work at Ban Sikeud Primary School, Ban Phang Heng Primary School, Ban Phang Heng Lower Secondary School, and the Lao-German Technical College. During our time in Laos, we want to continue and further develop the wonderful work of the teams before us.

 

Lao-German Technical College (LGTC)

ສະບາຍດີ Sabaidee! My name is Anna and I am 22 years old. I am responsible for teaching the Beginners (A+B) at the LGTC as well as doing the evening classes for the BHS-sponsored student Intermediate group. Furthermore, I work together with Ms Mouk and Ms Viengkhom, helping them to improve their lessons and to gain general didactic knowledge. Likewise, Tasja and I help the English teachers to work with the new Technical English Course Book. I am very grateful that I am part of this project.

My name is Tasja and I am 22 years old. Together with Anna, I teach at the LGTC. This is where I teach the two teacher-classes Elementary and Technical English as well as the BHS-sponsored student classes, where my duty also is with two different levels, the Beginner and Pre-Intermediate courses. Due to timetable changes, we needed to combine those two into one bigger class. Up to now this works very well. Besides teaching myself, I support my tandem-teachers Ms Akina and Mr Thavone in their lesson planning, teaching, and in the post-teaching phase of reflection and change, i.e. feedback, writing a lesson plan, preparing flashcards, or learning new “energizer” to activate the students during lessons. Regarding my special tasks, I am responsible for the Lending Library, the Didactics Room, and for organizing team meetings and writing the minutes, to make sure that everything necessary is discussed, agreed, and documented.

Furthermore, Anna and I support the English teachers in working with the new Technical English coursebook, to help them getting more independent in planning and organising lessons, with a steady progression. I am very grateful for being part of this opportunity because I am also learning a lot due to this project. I am still very curious about everything and would not want to miss these months in Vientiane.

 

Ban Phang Heng Lower Secondary School

Hello, my name is Shirin and I am 22 years old. I am very happy to participate in this project and am excited about living and working in Laos. I teach the science teachers Ms Khamsee, Ms Chanmany, and Mr Sackbong at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School. Besides teaching I am responsible for the Science Lab, where I offer the “Activity time” twice a week, just like the Conversation Club. I am looking forward to working with my Lao tandem-teachers and I am sure we will enjoy our time together.

 

Hello! My name is Isabell and I am 23 years old. I work at Phang Heng Secondary School, where I teach my tandem-teachers Ms Donekeo, Ms Souk, and Ms Saysamone. My goal is to support the teachers with their individual concerns. This includes regular English lessons, preparing extra teaching material for their next lessons, and a period of job-shadowing and observation after which the teachers receive feedback. In the English lessons we deal with pronunciation, grammar, fluency, and other topics on demand. I am convinced that together we can achieve the goals that were set individually. The dedication of the Lao teachers for the project is remarkable. Despite the amount of work involved in the project, all teachers are ready to devote their energy and effort to our cooperation and time spent together, with great success.
Besides teaching I am responsible for the Lending Library, the Didactics Room and our team meetings. The Didactic Room contains media and material for lesson preparation, such as a laminator, copier, games, and flashcards. It is my task to ensure order and the unrestricted use of the two rooms, and to make sure that anything broken is repaired quickly.
In the afternoon I do “Activity Time”, which in my case means I do experiments with the pupils in the Science Lab on Mondays, together with Shirin Ud-Din. In addition, I usually take care of two more Activity times, the English Games Club and the Conversation Club, together with Shirin Ud-Din and Fabian Stober. For me it was the right decision to participate in this project. The experience and the new acquaintances will always be part of my life.

Ban Sikeud Primary School and Phang Heng Primary School

My name is Svenja, I am 26 years old and I study education with the main subjects English and history. I work together with my tandem-teacher Ms Bounpheng at Phang Heng Primary School. Additionally, I teach the preschool children, the so-called “Mopsies” (since the hand puppet we use is called Mopsy), both at Phang Heng Primary School and Sikeud Primary School. There are about 160 of them, and we teach them for 20 minutes every day, in 16 groups of about 10 children. In the afternoon I also work together with Ms Bounpheng in the “Singlish” Activity Time, where pupils join us to sing English songs and play games in English. Two times a week, Julia and I also teach the ABC Club at Ban Sikeud Primary School.
As the blog-mistress of my team I am responsible for this blog. In Germany, I enjoy going to museums and cultural events in my free time, so I am excited to visit festivals and see art in Laos. I am so happy to work for this project and to spend a creative and productive time with the amazing people involved.

Ban Phang Heng Secondary School and Ban Phang Heng Primary School

Hey everybody – thank you for reading our blog. My name is Fabian and I am 26 years old. For the first time in the “Teaching English in Laos” project, three mathematics and one computer teacher at Ban Phan Heng Secondary School are involved, and I have the privilege of working with them. In mathematics, I work together with Ms Toukham, Mr Noy, and Ms Chanpen. My tandem computer-teacher is Ms Nalee. In the Activity Time, I offer a Maths Club for the pupils as well as an “English Games Club”. Together with Svenja, I also teach four of the “Mopsy” groups at Ban Phang Heng Primary School.

 

Ban Phang Heng Secondary School and Ban Sikeud Primary School

Sabaidee! My name is Julia and I am 25 years old. I study art and English and want to become a primary teacher. I work at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School and Ban Sikeud Primary School. At Ban Phang Heng Secondary School I teach 6 (soon 7) teachers in English: Ms Nalee, Ms Toukham, Mr Vienglakhone, Mr Sackbong, Mr Noy and Mr Thongsing (soon also Ms Chanpen). In addition to that I support Mr Vienglakhone (“Noy”) in his own English lessons. Therefore, I first observe his classes, and based on this we plan his next lessons together concerning techniques, material, and general approach. It is great to work with the teachers and I love to see their progress and their enthusiasm.

At Sikeud Primary School I teach the “Mopsies” three times a week. It is interesting to work with the children and I think it is a good start to get used to using the English language at that young age. These children are open for new methods and techniques. The children are keen, curious and not afraid of working with us. Therefore, there are no reservations in these groups – unlike in the older ones –  and they quickly lose their shyness and also participate more actively in their lessons later on, as Madame Engel and the primary school teachers have observed.

Finally, I offer a “Singlish” club in the Activity Time, where pupils are able to join and sing English songs and play games in English with me. Two times a week, Svenja and I also teach the ABC Club at Ban Sikeud Primary School.

 

Text & Photos by Team VI

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