Letters from Laos (Savannakhet, no. 1) – by Napha Khothphouthone (Erasmus+ participant )
Hallo! Wie geht es lhnen?
My name is Napha Khothphouthone, 28 years old. I am married and have a cute daughter, she is Nadeer, 1 year and 2 months old.
Our house with seamstress shop adjunct
My family
Now I work at Savannakhet university (SKU) as a lecturer at Faculty of Natural Science. According to my background that I graduated double diplomas: English language and Animal husbandry and health care, I teach English for Bio and Vertebrate. I also run an animal clinic for the neighbouring villagers. I am a participant in the Erasmus+ mobility programme between between Karlsruhe University of Education and Savannakhet University. For the research project, I’m interested in diversity some of amphibian.
Everyday before and after work, I usually go to my house’s garden, we grow many kind of trees and vegetables such as mango, cassava, coconut, chili peppers, celery, eggplant, spring onions tomato, bamboo and other kind of diary life vegetable.
Bamboo
Jackfruit
Mango tree
Papaya
Of course the all plants in the garden are organic I also raise some of animal like fish, frog, chicken and cricket.
Pond (fish still very small)
Crickets
Chickens
It seems like an agriculture farm but it is very small, what we grow and raise just only for family not for sale so we don’t need to buy any vegetable in the market.1
Studying and living abroad is my biggest dream, and it seems my dream comes true when I was interviewed in September 2018 and invited to be one of the exchange students in the Erasmus mobility programme between Karlsruhe University of Education and Savannakhet University. My lucks lead me to meet Dr. Isabel Martin who gave me the great opportunity and also Mr David Schrep our first English tandem-teacher from PH Karlsruhe, who helped us prepare. I strongly believe that 90% of luck is given to us by other people. So I will spend my 6 months time in Germany to learn language especially English skill, culture, biology and the new experiences in new places and with new people. I really want to be a part of the community there. I love to share my lifestyle and experience in Laos with the new friends who interested in.
In addition, football is my favorite sport, I usually watch the match on TV, so I hope I can watch the real match in Allianz Arena (FC Bayern Munich) soon and join the stadium tour. I can’t wait to go to “Germany the land of ideas” and will arrive early in March in Karlsruhe.
See you soon!
Text & photos by N. Khothphouthone
Note
1 The salary of teachers here begin at around 1,600,000 kip (Lao currency, ca. 160 dollars) per month, the money will go up depends on how long we work and degree of education. Of course we have different salary here.
Traditional Lao weaving – an interview with Ms Khamsee Thanbounhueang
Before we came here, we read many of the articles on this blog to get a first impression of what we can expect from our journey to the Lao PDR. Besides many interesting articles on many different topics, especially the two articles about fabrics and sinhs by Lena and Laura arose our interest,1 and so we were very excited about getting our own sinh in our first week in Laos.
Already on our first day on the market we were surprised by the great variety of marvellous fabrics and patterns, and admired all Lao women for their beautiful and colourful skirts. Of course, we also bought fabrics for our very first own sinh. We all have far more than just one sinh by now because there are so many different and beautiful fabrics and patterns – so we just could not stop ourselves from buying more and more. The many visits to our local tailor’s made us curious about how the fabrics are actually made before the tailor gets to adjust the sinh to the measurements of the woman.
As soon as we were more familiar with all our tandem-teachers, we realized that especially Ms Khamsee Thanbounhueang – a science teacher at Ban Phang Heng lower secondary school – always wears unique sinhs. When we found out that she actually weaves her own sinhs, we asked her if she would be willing to teach us more about weaving and the fabrics and patterns of the traditional Lao sinh. We are very thankful that Ms Khamsee found time to do an interview with us although she is very busy. The “good soul” of Ban Phang Heng Secondary School, Ms Saysamone Singhalath, kindly helped us and Ms Khamsee to bridge any remaining language barriers.2
At this point, we would like to draw attention to the remarkable linguistic and communicative achievement in the English language on the part of both Ms Khamsee and Ms Saysamone. Neither of them teach English or studied English, and Ms Khamsee only joined our tandem-project over the past two years, for a few hours each week, on top of her regular workload. (Editor’s note: Now and then it seems appropriate to mention that the volunteers also invest their work, expertise, time, and cooperation without renumeration.) This made it possible to now exchange very valuable and first-hand information about the weaving traditions in Laos.
Marleen Linder, Ms Khamsee Thanbounheuang, Ms Saysamone Singhalath & Natalie Wickmann after the interview
Interviewers: Who taught you how to weave?
Ms Khamsee: My mother taught me how to weave when I was eight years old.
Interviewers: Do all of your family members weave sinhs?
Ms Khamsee: Yes, they do. All women can weave, but not the men. Some men can weave but only a little bit. In my province, which is in the north of Laos, all women can weave.
Ms Khamsee’s family is originally from Houaphan province, which is in the northeast of Laos, located directly on the Vietnamese border. (Ms Khamsee now lives with a few of her family members in a village in Vientiane Province close to the school in Ban Sikeud, where she works.) Houaphan province is considered as one of the poorest regions in Laos. However, it is widely known for its textile traditions: Saleu and Nasala villages in Xiengkhor District, for example, are famous for the women’s skills at weaving and handicrafts. Especially the group of Tai Deang are very well-known for their weaving skills within the whole country.
Their products are now also sold in crafts and souvenir shops in the major towns. Each woven fabric can be considered a unique piece of art, especially because the women weave all their patterns from memory and do not use any pre-drawn templates.
Tourists rarely visit this province – only those who are interested in the caves go there.
The different provinces of Laos, with Houaphan Province in the northeast (cf. note 3).
Why do we mention the caves? During the bombing campaigns in the wartime of 1964-1973, with 580,000 raids, “the soil was poisoned, which made the cultivation of cotton or hemp impossible, and families had to flee from their houses, leaving their looms and weaving instruments behind” (cf. Beck & Hirschstein, 2017, n.p., quoted in Kummetz, 69). It is estimated that many weaving techniques and textiles were lost in that period (cf. Kummetz, ibid.). Weaving was not entirely abandoned, however, as some weavers hid in caves with their materials in order to keep their heritage undamaged – and probably also to keep occupied during the “Secret War” years, as one souvenir shop owner in Vientiane explained to us.
Ms Khamsee still knows her heritage. We asked about the weaving process.
Interviewers: Is it difficult or easy to weave?
Ms Khamsee: It is difficult, but I like it. I weave every day. Sometimes one or two hours after school but I weave more on the weekends.
Interviewers: Do you only weave or do you also embroider?
Ms Khamsee: I only weave.
Interviewers: Which tools do you use?
Ms Khamsee: I use the shuttle loom.
Different kinds of shuttle looms used by Ms Khamsee
Interviewers: Who built your weaving frame?
Ms Khamsee: My father built my weaving frame.
Ms Khamsee’s mother on one of their weaving frames
Interviewers: Do men always build weaving frames?
Ms Khamsee: Yes, because it is hard to make it and put the frame together. You can also buy it, but if you buy it from someone, it is more expensive.
Interviewers: Which fabrics do you use?
Ms Khamsee: I use cotton and silk.
Interviewers: When you buy fabrics and threads, what do you need to take into consideration?
Ms Khamsee: I need to take into consideration the quality of the fabrics. The threads should be smooth and strong and they should be without irregularities.
There are many different colours and fabrics.
These are the fabrics Ms Khamsee uses for weaving.
In order to use the threads for weaving, they first must be coiled on a spool. For this process, Ms Khamsee uses a self-made wheel to prepare the thread for weaving with the shuttle loom.
This is a self-made wheel to coil the spool…
… the finished spools…
… the spools in the shuttle loom.
Interviewers: Do you buy finished sinhs at the market and change the patterns?
Ms Khamsee: No, I do not. I make everything by myself. But when I buy silk on the market I sometimes dye it by myself. I put it into hot water and then I mix it with the silk and the pigment.
Interviewers: How do you traditionally clean the sinh?
Ms Khamsee: Normal cotton sinhs can be cleaned by hand or washing machine but for the silk sinh it is better to wash it by hands. You have to use a special washing liquid and iron it.
Interviewers: Are there any specific colours for the sinh that are only worn for special occasions?
Ms Khamsee: There aren’t special colours. But for example at a Baci or a wedding the person or the couple can decide which colour they want to wear and therefore also decide which colour the guests have to wear.
Interviewers: And are there any special patterns for the sinh?
Ms Khamsee: There are special patterns which have special meanings.1 I weave animal patterns like the pattern of a swordfish, peacock, chicken and flowers so that the Sinh looks pretty.
Interviewers: Do you use the patterns for one ethnic group or can anyone wear your sinhs?
Ms Khamsee: No, I do not use the patterns for one ethnic group. Everyone can wear my sinhs. But there are different patterns and clothes for different ethnic groups.
There are 49 different ethnic groups and up to 120 sub-groups in Laos . Many people tend to categorize the ethnic groups into “language families”: Therefore there are five big language families. The biggest one is the Tai-group which makes up 65,5% of the population. Most of these people are Lao or Thai-Lao and there are several sub-groups which mainly live in the north of Laos (cf. Loose 2017, 339). Another big group, which makes up 25% of the Laotian population, is one of the older migrant group belonging to the Mon-Khmer people. The Mon-Khmer people came to Laos from Cambodia between the 6th and the 8th century, and nowadays they are spread all over the country (cf. Loose 2017, 339). Thirdly, there is the group of the Miao-Yao people. They immigrated from China during the 19th century, and nowadays they mostly live in the northern parts of Laos (cf. Loose 2017, 339).
Last, there are two smaller groups: the Tibeto-Burmese and the Sinitic group. Both groups only make up 3-4% of the population (cf. Loose 2017, 339). However, it is important to keep in mind that each language family still consists of many different ethnic groups and sub-groups. Therefore, there are many differences: Each ethnic group has unique traditional habits and also wears special clothing according to their beliefs. Records can be found in Lao museums, for instance the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre in Luang Prabang.
(We explored the traditional habits and beliefs of one small ethnic group in the south of Laos during one of our trips in Laos: Check out our photo-reportage on our Live documentation or click on Live documentation/Team VII/Exploring Laos/The Bolaven Plateau).
As sinhs are worn by all women in this country and among all ethnic groups, we wanted to know more about the popularity of patterns and their complexity.
Interviewers: Are there any popular patterns?
Ms Khamsee: It depends on the money, the more money you have the more special sinhs you can buy. Animal and flower patterns are very popular.
Interviewers: How long does it take to make one sinh?
Ms Khamsee: It is up to the patterns. If it is easy it takes two or three whole days. If it is difficult it will take a week but usually it depends on the weaver’s skills.4
Marleen’s and Natalie’s sinhs have quite simple flower patterns and therefore are very easy to weave. Ms Khamsee says it would take about one day to weave one of this kind.
Flower patterns
A sinh consists of three parts: The “houa sinh” (the waistband), the “pheun sinh” (the body/main part) and the “tdin sinh” (the hem). The “pheun sinh” can be seen as the center of the sinh, therefore it is the most important part but also takes the longest to weave. There are different techniques to weave the “pheun sinh”, which also depend on the design of the pattern.5 The fabric can be weaved as one vertical piece with the pattern duplicated. Here, the tailor later has to make a horizontal cut and sew the two pieces together. In the second technique the fabric is also weaved in one piece. In contrast, the pattern is not duplicated but designs are often stitched with one seam whereas the sinhs with horizontal designs are weaved with two seams.
Next, we wanted to find out more about the “sinh trading business” and Ms Khamsee’s personal preferences.
Interviewers: For whom do you weave?
Ms Khamsee: I weave for women who are interested in my weavings and in the patterns and I weave for myself. Everyone can order a sinh from me.
Interviewers: How much does it cost?
Ms Khamsee: One sinh costs around 200,000 KIP. If I use only silk, then it is more expensive and costs up to 1,000,000 or 2,000,000 KIP.6
Interviewers: What is your favorite colour and pattern?
Ms Khamsee: I like dark blue, navy blue or green. I like animal patterns, like swordfish, snake, or peacock.
Ms Khamsee in her favourite sinh
Lastly, it is important to mention that the women in rural areas wear sinhs everyday whereas women in the larger cities do not wear traditional clothes as much anymore. However, when it comes to events and ceremonies, most women (both in rural areas and cities) wear beautiful traditional sinhs made out of silk. The sinhs made out of cotton are often worn by women in rural areas because cotton sinhs are more comfortable to wear when carrying out daily tasks – cotton is said to breathe better in comparison to silk (cf. Weir 2015).
This interview answered many questions that we had, but did not quite know how to find answers for until Ms Khamsee gave us her very personal insight into her weaving and the weaving tradition in Laos. We are also very thankful that she invited us to visit her at her new home near Ban Sikeud to do this interview.
Text by M. Linder & N. Wickmann, with notes by I. Martin
Photos & videos by M. Linder
Notes
1 Ariane Kummetz (Team V) researched this topic for her State Exam Thesis (Lao weaving as cultural heritage – a cross-curricular storytelling project for primary school, 2018). Each pattern, color, and motif bears meaning. They are the unique fingerprints of an ethnic community, i.e. carriers of identity. They preserve cultural heritage and “tell” stories.
2 The English phrasing or translations of Ms Khamsee Thanbounhueang’s answers were edited in places for better readability.
3 The map of the provinces of the Lao PDR can be found here.
4 The regular length of a sinh fabric before the tailoring process averages out at three to four metres.
5 More detailed information about this cf. the State Exam Thesis by A. Kummetz (note 1).
6 1,000,000 Lao KIP are about 103,00 € or 116,50 $ according to the current exchange rate (as of 10/02/2019).
References
Kummetz, Ariane (2018). Lao weaving as cultural heritage – a cross-curricular storytelling project for primary school. 117 pp., with Appendix: Glossary, Didactic material, interviews 26 pp. (summary forthcoming in new series “Language education and global citizenship“, 2019).
Loose, Stefan (72017). Südostasien – Die Mekong-Region. Stefan Loose Travelhandbücher. Ostfildern: DuMont Reiseverlag.
Weir, Emi (2015). Wearing a “sinh” or Lao skirt – a brief guide for foreigners. https://matesai.com/blogs/news/wearing-a-sinh-or-lao-skirt-a-brief-guide-for-foreigners.
Websites
Beck, Maren & Josh Hirschstein (2017). Above the Fray. Traditional Hilltribe Art. http://www.hilltribeart.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Laos#Traditional_clothing
Workshop on 22 November 2018 – “Split lessons for science experiments with a big class”
Idea – obstacle – solution
Jasmin: “For this lesson you could do a great experiment in the Science Lab!”
Khamsee: “I want to, and the students ask me to go almost every week, but I have almost 60 pupils in my class and they don’t fit in the laboratory.”
Jasmin, Marleen, Mr Sackbong Boulapane, Ms Khamsee Thabounheuang, Ms Chanmany Tippachan
This conversation between Ms Khamsee Thanbounhueang and Jasmin kept us thinking “how can we fix this problem?” During our last team meeting with Johannes Zeck in October we discussed the option of splitting classes in science lessons to make use of the Science Lab more often.
Originally, there were 36 stools in the Science Lab so that eight pupils fit around one of the four large tables. But a few days after our meeting we got some more stools so that more pupils would be able to sit in the Science Lab and the Science Lab could be used more flexibly.
The Science Laboratory at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School
Even if this increases the attractiveness of the Science Lab for the teachers,1 there are some experiments which are not suitable or even dangerous if too many pupils are present, due to the fact that they would stand on each others’ feet in the small laboratory and the teacher would not be able to take care of so many pupils during those experiments. Therefore, splitting a class would be a good solution which would make it possible to provide an action-oriented and explorative learning environment for all pupils.
After we got permission from Madame Engel for the science teachers to split their classes, the next question was how this could be organised. As it holds new challenges for the teachers as well as for the pupils, careful preparation, planning in advance, finding a teacher who has time to keep an eye on the pupils in the classroom and finding appropriate tasks for both the Science Lab group and the classroom group need to be taken into consideration.
Of course, the group of the class that stays in the classroom cannot be left in the classroom unattended, but as teachers do not have lessons throughout an entire school day, the science teachers would kindly ask their colleagues if one of them has time to look after half of their class for a while. Depending on the task the group was given to do, it may also be possible for the teacher in the adjacent classroom to keep an eye on them. Obviously, for the “split classroom” teachers need a functioning system that assures that all pupils work and are not left unattended. For this, they have our support as well, of course, while we are here.
We decided to make this one of the topics for our upcoming science workshop.
As soon as we got the director’s signature on our announcement posters and invitation cards for the teachers, the date, place, and time for the workshop were set. During the preparation of our workshop we focused on three main aspects: Besides a revision of how to conduct an experiment in the Science Lab, we also wanted to show the teachers experiments they could do in their classrooms. Apart from that, we dealt with the question of how to coordinate a split classroom and which tasks would be appropriate for the group that stays in the classroom and who would take care of this group.
On the day of our workshop, a Wednesday, we prepared the equipment for the experiments, tested the presentation with the projector in the Science Lab, made some adjustments where necessary and bought some fruits and cookies.
At 4 o’ clock in the afternoon, after the school day had come to an end and the pupils had left the campus, we began our workshop with the three science teachers Ms Chanmany Thippachan (physics), Ms Khamsee Thanbounhueang (chemistry), and Mr Sackbong Boulapane (chemistry). Ms Saysamone Singhalath also participated as she had kindly offered – as always – to help our team with translating difficult parts from English into Lao.
Should the teachers not understand the volunteers fully or vice-versa, Ms Saysamone is there to help.
Ms Khamsee Thanbounheuang, Mr Sackbong Boulapane, Jasmin, Marleen, and Ms Chanmany Tippachan go through their handouts together.
Part 1: The day of the workshop
We started off with an agenda of what to expect from today’s workshop. At first we gave our tandem-teachers a short theoretical input about the structure of a lesson with a split class and then underlined the theory with some experiments and tasks to deepen their understanding.
The beginning of the lesson needs a short introduction of the topic in the classroom. It involves the distribution of tasks for the pupils in the classroom as well as splitting the class into two groups.
The agenda of our science workshop
Rough lesson structure of a science lesson with a split class
After that Marleen shortly revised how to do experiments in a lesson but as this had already been part of one of the last workshops conducted by Team V we did not go into detail. Then Jasmin asked “why…?”, emphasizing the importance of activating pupils by asking this question and waiting for their thoughts, speculations, and guesses, when all of a sudden there was darkness and silence. Air condition, projector, and the lights had gone off.
Marleen introduces a model lesson plan for a split classroom.
Jasmin helps the science teachers to find the right page on their handouts.
A few seconds of shock and darkness passed until Marleen came up with the glorious idea to open the door and let daylight into the dark lab.
Then Jasmin could start with the main focus of our workshop: She listed possible activities that could be implemented to frame the experiment – like “Fill in the gap”, matching picture and sentence, the Memory game, and pupils’ experiments and tasks for the classroom – which do not require constant monitoring by the science teacher. For this half of the split class, the science teachers would kindly ask their colleagues or us volunteers if someone would have time to look after them.
In an ideal split classroom lesson, after half of the time the groups swap, meaning each group has worked in the science lab and in the classroom. The last part of the lesson takes place with the whole class meeting in the classroom. Now it is time to discuss what happened during the lesson (their tasks as well as the experiment), ask questions to check the pupils’ understanding and give them feedback about their behaviour.
Part 2: Model lesson about “air”
2.1. In the Science Lab
After the bits of revision, theoretical input about the organisation of the classroom and the experiment as well as the surprising electricity shut down, we decided that now it was time to do some practical work.
As the topic of our model lesson was “air”, all our Experiments scientifically revolved around this topic. The first experiment “Who is stronger – water or air?”2 needs to be conducted in the Science Lab because it involves water and therefore would not be suitable in the classroom. We distributed plastic bottles, drinking straws, and play dough and let our workshop participants follow the steps of the experiment.
Luckily, we did not have to rely on the projector as the teachers had the test record (see photo below) of the experiment in their handouts. The experiment worked well, and everybody produced a little fountain. The air pressure caused by blowing into the bottle through one drinking straw made the water flow out of the other straw. We encouraged the three teachers to talk about the experiment and find an explanation afterwards.
No electricity? No problem! The volunteers continue with their presentation in natural light.
Test record of the experiment “Who is stronger – water or air?”
“Who is stronger – water or air?” The teachers prepare the experiment for the Science Lab together with Jasmin.
Mr Sackbong Boulapane and Ms Chanmany Tippachan perform the experiment over the sink.
2.2. In the classroom
After tidying up a bit we moved on to our second experiment, which can be conducted in the classroom. “You against the paper ball”3 is very suitable for the classroom, as the pupils can do it without the help of a science teacher. Furthermore, this experiment is conducted quickly and easily and does not need any special guidance by a scientifically skilled person.
The teachers had great fun trying to blow the paper ball into the bottle. All of them participated in describing and explaining the phenomenon the air pressure causes. We used glass bottles for the experiment, but for the classroom plastic bottles are less dangerous and less likely to break.
Jasmin and Ms Chanmany Tippachan “fight” aginst the paper ball.
As Jasmin and Ms Chanmany Tippachan relise that they cannot win against the paper ball, they burst out in laughter.
The next phase once more encouraged the teachers to switch roles and do some tasks that the pupils would usually do in the classroom. The first task asks them to revise the steps of the experiment “Who is stronger – water or air?” by matching a sentence and a picture. They took turns in reading the sentences and together we found the matching pictures.
This task can be used as an activity in the classroom when the experiment has already been conducted. It can be easily adapted to other topics, to match the units in the Lao science books.
The next task was “Fill in the gap”. We had prepared a short text about air pressure in which certain words were left out. These could be found in a box under the text and had to be put in the right place in the text.
To finish our example lesson, we also wanted to show the science teachers an experiment that they can conduct in the classroom, if they are not able to use the Science Lab. Our chosen experiment “Air has weight” (cf. Christoph Biemann 2003, 52) is suitable because it does not contain fire or water and can be done with less material. Moreover, it is not dangerous, as no chemicals are involved. The experiment is also related to the topic “air”, dealing with the question whether air has weight or not.
For the experiment you need a ruler with a length of 30 centimetres, two balloons and three pieces of thread. First of all, the ruler is turned into a scale by knotting the thread around the ruler. Here, it is important to take the exact middle of the ruler. Now a balloon is put on each end of the ruler and the pupils observe what happens to it. After that, one balloon is blown up and put onto one end again. Does anything change? Everyone can participate in the discussion now, as the experiment can be observed also from the last rows in a large classroom.
2.3. Last part of the lesson
Now it was time to discuss what we learned during our example lesson. We went through the experiments and tasks again and checked if there are any open questions. They had none so far, but they took their handout back home – and the worksheets for the experiments are also in our Experiments Booklet in the science lab, which was first created for the Science Lab by Rebecca Dengler and Veronika Golla, and then added to by Shirin Ud-Din. If there were any further questions they could always contact us.
Marleen and Jasmin conduct the teacher experiment for the classroom “Air has weight”.
Mr Sackbong Boulapane helps Jasmin to tie up the balloon to the ruler.
Jasmin demonstrates that the blown-up ballon has more weight than the empty balloon.
Test record of the experiment “Air has weight?!”
Part 3: Further example activities and tasks
In the Lao school system, teachers need to go by the (one) set book.4 When no additional material supplements this book, e.g. worksheets to practise and consolidate understanding as well as experimental games to transfer this understanding to a new context, the teachers would need to use their own creativity. This is why and how we devised some more ideas for possible activities and tasks on the subject of “air”.
The following example tasks are creative ones. We took out our scissors and by neat cutting and canny folding transformed an A4 page into our own little pocket books on the topic “sight”. Once it was crafted, we enjoyed trying out and explaining the optical illusions.
The next activity we showed them was a game for a topic from human biology. It was a “Memory” game about the inner organs and consisted of cards of pictures and cards of the corresponding names of organs,which were placed face-down on the table. This was probably the activity that everyone enjoyed the most. We took turns in picking two cards to turn over and find a matching pair and the teachers became very competitive. However, at first, they did not want to show their cards to the others and once they did, they had a big discussion about the English words for each organ. Therefore, they searched for the Lao words with the help of labeled pictures of the human anatomy they found by using the Google search engine. After vividly discussing the position of the organs the teachers added the Lao translation onto the word cards of the Memory game. We later added the Memory game to the science lab inventory so that it can be used at all times by the teachers – also after we leave.
The game took longer than expected, not only because they first did not show the cards they turned over but also because they mixed the cards after each turn instead of leaving them in the same place, until it dawned on us that we had better explain the rules of “Memory” to them. We discovered that they were not acquainted with that game and we had assumed – instead of questioning our own culturally determined assumptions – that everybody in the whole world would know this game.5 Never mind! This assumption brought even more laughter to the science lab.
Activities and tasks in science ideally serve some main goals and can be implemented in the teaching phases of practice, consolidation, and performance. This always depends on the level of difficulty of the specific activity as well as on the kind of activity. Most activities match more than just one of our didactic goals: 6
a) Deepen understading
It is important to offer the pupils the chance to process and recycle what they have learned or observed beforehand, apart from only presenting an experiment or phenomenon to them. The process of deepening the understanding can be achieved through very different forms of activities, e.g. games, but also written tasks, thereby serving different learner types. An example from our model lesson could be “Match picture and sentence”.
b) Motivation
From our experience, the pupils are very keen on working on activities, exercises, or tasks that are not from the book, like “Fill in the gap”, games, or creative tasks. Hereby, learning becomes more playful and motivating for them and provides some variation from the regular course book work.
c) Transfer from the exemplary to the general
Similar to mathematics the challenge in science is to understand a phenomenon and become able to recognise a certain pattern or deduce a general formula from an exemplary observation. It does not suffice to stick with the exemplary as it does not enable to pupils to transfer their knowledge to other contexts.
This goal is more important in chemistry and physics where the level of abstraction increases grade by grade and the ability to generalise becomes more and more important. This goal is mainly achieved in the teaching phases of performance and consolidation. “Fill in the gap” would be an example for an activity that serves this goal. On the long run it is the most important goal as it enables the pupils to use their knowledge flexibly and critically.
While Mr Sackbong Boulapane studies the instructions, Ms Khamsee Thanbounhueang starts to craft her booklet.
Ms Khamsee and Mr Sackbong enjoy the Memory game about the organs. Mr Sackbong looks up the right words in Lao.
As we had already overrun our time frame – we had planned 1,5 hours in the beginning – we all agreed that this was enough input for one day. We decided to quickly tidy up and then have a little chat about the workshop whilst sharing the rest of the fruits and cookies.
Everybody was very motivated throughout this long afternoon and we are now looking forward to applying what we did together in our upcoming science tandem-lessons!
Text by M. Linder & J. Unterweger, with notes by I. Martin
Photos & videos by A. Schuler
Notes
1 It is most rewarding to read that after a year-and-a-half into the science project and the pioneering work of Rebecca and Veronika, who came to work in Laos twice (in Team IV and V), as well as Shirin and Isabell (Team VI), who built on this work, the laboratory is now filled with “life”, i.e. active learning and teaching.
2 The experiment “Who is stronger – water or air?” can be found here under “Fountain Bottle”. It was adapted to the needs of the group and play dough was used instead of clay.
3 The experiment “You against the paper ball” can be found here under “Blow Their Minds”.
4 The course books are written and set by the RIES (Research Institute of Educational Sciences), which works under the Ministry of Education and Sports. Sometimes additional teaching material (e.g. flashcards or audio material) is produced to add variety to the lessons.
5 Our teaching styles and techniques encapsulate cultural meanings and practices that cannot be “imported” to foreign classrooms without constant questioning of our own (Western) assumptions. Our partners’ need of customised teaching demands constant self-examination on the part of the volunteers, which is one of the many valuable lessons learnt by the German tandems in this project. (Games in teaching are not a part of Lao culture. Board or card games as we know them in Europe as such are not a part of Lao culture.)
6 A conscientious teacher would not “pick and mix” at random, however, but make conscious decisions about his or her lesson goals first and then choose suitable activities.
Reference
Biemann, Christoph (2003). Christophs Experimente. 105 Experimente und mehr zum Staunen und Mitmachen. [105 experiments to participate and marvel at.] München: Carl Hanser.
Website
https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Pocketmods-little-booklets-with-MS-Word/
We are Team VIII
Meet Team VIII!
Top row: Vanessa Wecker, Siegfried Hadatsch, Anna-Sophia ten Brink, Thomas Pelka; Bottom row: Mariana Dimtsiou, Rebekka Vogt, Elisabeth Heinz (missing: Cornelia Pröls)
Hello and Sabaidee!
We are Team VIII and excited to be part of the project! We will be living and working in Laos at Ban Phang Heng Primary & Secondary School and the Lao-German Technical College (LGTC) from 19 February 2019 onwards until April of the same year. Some of us, however, will stay much longer than that, namely until July 2019! We are glad that some team members of Team VIII will still be there when we arrive to show us the ropes and hand over the baton.
Our team finds itself in the novel situation where some of our members will switch schools, working at the Ban Phang Heng schools until April and then moving over to the LGTC in Vientiane. The team members who are doing this will illuminate their reasons for staying for such a long period of time in their personal introductions.
We are not going to Laos unprepared! By way of three prepatory workshops at the University of Education Karlsruhe and a fourth “send-off” meeting on 8 February, in which we distributed the collected donations to bring over in our suitcases, we were able to get our first insights into the kind of work we will be doing in Laos, building on the work of previous teams. It was during these workshops that we got to talk to returnees of former teams, received our first set of instructions for “The Laos Experience” – what to do before leaving, who our tandem-teachers will be, and what things to take care of first after arriving in Laos (among many other things) – and we were introduced to helpful literature for our stay, ranging from travel guides on Laos to the school books we will be working with.
Additionally, we were provided with both a printed “Project Reader” (December 2018, V 2.1, 104 pp.), compiled by five student helpers from Team V and VI and the project leaders, and an introduction to “alfresco”, the online repository or CMS (content management system) of the whole project. Both the Reader and the documents uploaded to alfresco by (former) volunteers and the project management, ranging from simple “how to” texts to lesson plans, weekly reports of volunteers, and workshop materials (among many other things!) offer great insights into what will await us in Laos, and we are very happy to have access to so much prepatory material with relative ease.
And while there is no “correct formula” of how to best prepare for your work and life in Laos, every team member did their part, and each new team will make their own special contribution.
But now, we would like to introduce ourselves:
Ban Phang Heng Secondary School
Vanessa Wecker
Sabaidee!
My name is Vanessa and I am 20 years old. I study at the University of Education Karlsruhe; my main subjects are English and chemistry.
I will be working at Ban Phang Heng Lower Secondary School. One of my responsibilities is the Science Lab, in which I will offer “Activity Time” in the afternoon so pupils can try out experiments.
Since I have never been to Asia before, I cannot wait to get to Laos and make new friends and experiences there. In my free time, I enjoy dancing Zumba (areobic fitness programme mixed with Latin American movements), going for walks, cooking, and baking. I am also looking forward to learning as much as possible about the Laotian culture and language. Therefore, I am really excited to meet my tandem-teacher Mr Sackbong Boulapan (chemistry, physics).
I am sure this project will be an enriching experience and will help me grow as a teacher and as an individual as well.
See you soon! ?
Rebekka Vogt
Hello everyone!
My name is Rebekka and I am 21 years old. I am currently studying at the University of Education in Karlsruhe to become a future primary teacher of bilingual teaching with the subjects English, biology, and German.
I am very happy to have the possibility to work in Laos where I am going to work at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School. Together with Vanessa I will offer the “Activity Time Science Lab” and I will also be responsible for the Didactics Room. I will closely be working with the science teacher Ms Khamsee Thanbounhueang. On top of that, I will also take care of some “Mopsy” classes at Ban Phang Heng Primary School. There I will be teaching English to the pre-schoolers, contextualising and semanticising new words and chunks of language by singing/miming, gestures, or drawing. Immediately after this in mid-April I am going to work at the Lao-German Technical College until beginning of July where I will continue with the Didactics Room.
For a teacher of bilingual teaching it is important to use possibilities for cultural learning and teaching and therefore it is necessary to stay abroad for such a long time (20 weeks). I am absolutely grateful for the opportunity to work at two different types of schools for an even richer learning and teaching experience and looking forward to everything that is yet to come!
Elisabeth Heinz
Hello!
My name is Elisabeth and I am 22 years old. I am studying at the PH Karlsruhe to become a teacher for secondary schools. My main subjects are English and Everyday Culture and Health. I will be working at the lower secondary school and the primary school in Ban Phang Heng from February until mid-April. I am looking forward to working with my tandem teachers Ms Nalee Vonkhamsai (computer science) and Ms Bounpheng Singhalath (English) in the further development of the English skills of the pupils. Further responsibilities of mine are teaching the pre-schoolers, helping them to get in touch with the English language involving singing and dancing. My special task in this project is to coordinate the blog together with Siegfried Hadatsch.
After the Lao New Year in April I will teach at the Lao-German Technical College until July. I am looking forward to working at three different schools because I will get three different views of how school works in Laos. Thanks to this, I will gain more experience, which will hopefully help me as a future teacher of English back home.
In my band “The Blue Berries” I love to sing and perform. Hopefully I will pass on the spirit from the stage into the classroom and help the pupils and students become a little more confident in speaking English and to learn it in a fun and playful way.
Time goes by so fast – from my application last year in November to introducing myself as a team member of Team VIII to blog readers today – and very soon, on 18 February, I will be on my way to Laos. I am looking forward to all new experiences, people, and to diving into the Laotian culture.
Mariana Dimtsiou
Hello and Sabaidee everyone,
My name is Mariana and I am 25 years old.
I am studying education in the Bachelor’s degree at the University of Education in Ludwigsburg, a town 82 km away from Karlsruhe. (There are only 5 Universities of Education in Germany, all of them in the federal state BadenWürttemberg.) My subjects are English and art.
This semester I made the acquaintance of a fellow-student in an English seminar and as we were talking, she told me about her stay in Laos and recommended it to me. It was Shirin Ud-Din from Team VI. As I was very interested I started to read through this Blog and decided to apply for Team VIII. Fortunately I got accepted, which made me very happy. I will teach at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School together with my tandem-teachers Ms Donekeo Keosiththivong and Ms Souksakhone Sindavan (both teach English).
My “Special Task” is going to be housekeeping, which means that I will be in charge of distributing our daily allowance of 2,50 € and I will also look after the “Villa”, i.e. make sure that groceries and working materials are bought and broken things are fixed, with the help of Ms Bouangeun Hanthavong, the Foundation Assistant in Ban Sikeud. For my “Activity Time” task, I am going to take over the Conversation Club, to which pupils come who want to improve their speaking skills, and the English Games Club, in which I will focus on playful learning activities in the English language.
Since I have never been to an Asian country, I cannot wait to see and experience the Laotian citizens, culture, nature, and school system.
I am really looking forward to this experience because I am sure it is going to be an unforgettable journey and an enormous advantage for me as a future teacher. I am convinced that a stay in a foreign country facilitates gaining various important personal features, for example intercultural competence, tolerance, as well as independence and adaptability.
Cornelia Pröls
Hello everyone!
My name is Cornelia and I am 19 years old. I passed the A-Levels (final exam at the end of German high school) last year and as a fresh graduate, I am not only curious to experience the school system in a completely different country, but to also change my perspective and work as an assistant-teacher myself.
I will be in Laos at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School from February to April 2019. During this time, I will learn from my more experienced team-partners how to support my tandem-teachers Ms Saysamone Singhalath, Ms Noy Inthavong, Ms Mittaphone Sichampa, and Mr Noy Vienglakhone in their mathematics and English lessons. Furthermore, I will teach English to some of the “Mopsies” at Sikeud Primary School in an age-appropriate and therefore playful way. My special task will be managing the “Live documentation“, the technical word for which is “Pageflow”, which describes “the Laos Experience” in a more emotive way than the blog posts do, i.e. in a visual-auditory and less academic/text-based way.
My favourite pastimes are reading, being out in nature – especially with my dog – and traveling, which is also what I did for the month prior to my arrival in Laos (I am actually already in Sikeud – the first team member to have arrived). My destination was a neighbouring country of Laos: Thailand. Since I was amazed and fascinated by its beautiful culture and diversity, I am even more excited and grateful to have the opportunity to now not only travel, but also to live and work in another Southeast Asian country and to get a close and first-hand insight into what living and working there actually means.
Lao-German Technical College
Anna-Sophia ten Brink
Hello everyone!
My name is Anna-Sophia and I am 23 years old. In February I will finish my Bachelor’s degree at the PH (University of Education) in Karlsruhe and before I will start my Master’s degree, I will take the great chance to go to Laos.
Together with Siegfried and Thomas I will be teaching at the Lao-German Technical College (LGTC) in Vientiane. I will be teaching the “Beginner” classes of both students and teachers groups at the College. I will also be responsible for the Didactics Room and the Lending Library and I will also work together with the English teacher Ms Akina Yadsadahuk (English).
In my free time I play the violin in an orchestra, I love singing and dancing, spending time with friends, and traveling. However, I have never been to an Asian country before, so I am very thrilled about “The Laos Experience”! I am very much looking forward to the project and to all the new cultural and academic experiences in Laos and at the LGTC!
See you very soon!
Thomas Pelka
Hello and Sabaidee everyone!
My name is Thomas and I am 25 years old and live in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, which is close to Stuttgart. Just recently I finished my Bachelor’s degree in economic science at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart-Hohenheim, where I subsequently started a Master’s program in management. In this phase – before this further part of my educational path is going to get more serious – I was lucky to discover the great opportunity the “Laos Experience” programme brings, giving me the chance to develop as a person as well as making many new experiences.
During my “Laos experience” I will work at the Lao-German Technical College, where I am going to teach the Elementary class and the Pre-intermediate student classes. For that purpose I will be also working together with Ms Viengkhom Phyathep (English), which I am really looking forward to. Additionally to that, I received the “Special Task” of being the “media manager” for the LGTC, meaning I will organize and save all of our digital data which we create and use in our everyday work.
In my spare time I love listening to music, doing sports, and travelling. But regarding travelling I have not made it out of Europe yet, so this will be my very first journey to Asia, which excites me a lot. I can hardly wait for our trip to start. I am full of anticipation of new people, a new culture, new food, new perspectives of our world and of academic experiences.
Siegfried Hadatsch
Hello there!
My name is Siegfried, I am 21 years old and studying at the University of Education Karlsruhe to become a future secondary teacher of English and history. Before I start writing my Bachelor’s thesis in the summer semester, I decided to take the exciting opportunity to go to Laos to teach and live there for a few months.
Alongside with Anna-Sophia and Thomas I will be working at the Lao-German Technical College, where I will teach the Intermediate classes for students and the Technical English classes for LGTC teachers. My tandem-teacher will be Ms Moukdala Keomixai (English) and I am really looking forward to working with her. Additionally, I have the “Special Task” of being the blog master of Team VIII, which means I will ensure that all future blog posts of Team VIII are proofread, correctly formatted, and fit for publishing. This task I will share with Elisabeth of the “Villa team”, who work at the three AfC schools.
In my spare time, I like to read, listen to music or podcasts, or simply take my bicycle and ride it wherever my legs and curiosity take me. I am really excited to be going to Laos in only one week, as I have never been to an Asian country. I am really looking forward to all the new places, people, ideas, perspectives, experiences and more that I will hopefully discover soon!
Text & photos by Team VIII
Morning sport in Sikeud Primary School – combatting the “cold”
The onset of the “cold season” in winter brings a mean temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, and Laotians start wearing jackets, woolly hats, leggings, and gloves. To combat the cold, a new routine begins at Ban Sikeud Primary School: The daily morning exercise. This is conducted jointly by all pupils of the school. Even the smallest preschool children stand in line when the bell sounds. Neatly sorted by class – on the right the preschoolers, on the left the 5th graders – they wait until the instructions sound through the speakers. These are not given by a teacher, but by a 5th grade student.
The first question that came to our minds was why do only the 5th graders present the movements? As we were not sure about this, we contacted Mr Khamsing Nanthavongdouangsy, the school manager of Ban Phan Heng Primary and Secondary School and also “Lao General Manager” of the Angels for Children Foundation here in Laos. He stated that these 5th graders are pupils who are talented in talking in front of many people and that it was important to foster the pupils’ talents.
The pupils stand in line on the school yard, ready for morning sports.
After all the children have taken their places across the schoolyard, the first instruction sounds through the microphone. Six pupils of the 5th grade present the exercises. Most of the instructions are as follows: The “caller” speaking into the microphone says “one” in Lao, the pupil body responds with “one” in English and then performs a certain movement that must have been rehearsed before. To learn the movements, there are also DinA4 sheets lying on the ground with images of the movements. English as well as Laotian is used for the instructions (we are not sure why, but some of the commands are also part of the set English course book, e.g. “Turn to the left” etc., so this could be one reason), so the instruction is in English and while doing the exercise the pupils repeat the instruction in Lao – but this evidently also happens the other way around.
Morning sports takes about four minutes and actually warms up the pupils in the “cold”. But since the pupils are all still quite young, a lot of running and romping happens afterwards, which also has a very warming effect. From our (biased) Western stance, as nothing of the sort is done in a German schoolyard, we started wondering after a while how or whether the warming-up routine was maybe also related to nation- and identity-building in post-war Laos?
According to Mr Khamsing, morning sports during winter time only serves the purpose of getting active and warming the body on a relatively cold winter’s morning. This is done collectively on the school yard (and not during PE lessons, as would be the case in Germany). In fact, also the secondary school students perform morning sports, but not on a regular basis, only when it is “really cold” in the mornings – as we observed last week when even we came with an extra layer of clothes to school (a light jacket or cardigan on top of the T-Shirt or blouse).
Besides getting warm in the morning, the grouping of all pupils in the school also serves another intention, i.e. showing who is top of the class. This can be seen in the red ribbons in the girls’ hair or in the red kerchiefs worn by some pupils. The ribbons in the girls’ hair and the kerchiefs round the pupils’ necks are awarded by the school’s director, and the annual awarding ceremony is an important event during the school year. As Mr Khamsing explained, only the “good and diligent”pupils get to wear the red ribbons.
Later on, as older pupils, these pupils also wear the blue shirts. The pupils in the secondary school who wear the blue shirts are members of the Lao Youth Union, the youth organization of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (short LPRD). The Lao Youth Union can be compared to other Socialist Youth organizations such as the “Junge Pioniere” in the former German Democratic Republic – they wore the same kind of ribbons and blue shirts.1
Mr Khamsing told us that getting awarded with a red ribbon in primary school and membership in the Lao Youth Union during secondary education are important pre-stages for becoming a member of the LPRD. Hence, being a member of the party would not depend on the parents’ membership but only on one’s own achievements – the party has to approve one’s accession and elects few. Nowadays more than 190.000 people are members of the LPRD (2011), out of 6,7 million people living in Laos – this is approximately 2,8 %. Membership in the party is important for a future career in politics and for taking over leading positions in governmental organizations, such as schools or other institutions.
“Same same but different”, as the Lao people say… some habits and rules at our Lao school might seem foreign to us Westerners but we are learning in Laos (probably more than anywhere else) that every country has its own traditions and habits, and that this demands respect and a conscious attempt on our part to try and understand instead of just “seeing” through our Western lens. Everywhere in the world, political participation seems to begin in schools. These are the organisations on the micro-level where the political decisions by the stakeholders – governmental education organisations, directors, elders, sometimes parents – are carried out. These translate as rules and regulations, passing on information (or not), organising school events, etc.
While young people in Germany may become members of the youth organizations of Germany’s two main democratic parties – the “Junge Union” (“Young Union”, Christian) or the “Jusos” (“Young Socialists”) – during their secondary education, pupils in Laos may become part of the Lao Youth Union. They start to take over responsibilities for common issues, participate in certain stages of a political process, and they show this to the world and the pupil body – these are clear similarities between both countries. Differences can probably be seen in the kind or degree of participation – e.g. what can be co-determined by the pupils, or what kind of tools and methods are available for making decisions (e.g. surveys, school groupings, discussions etc.).
This would be an interesting research topic in a combination of the fields of comparative politics and education, i.e. how the representative democratic system of the Federal Republic of Germany may differ from the Socialistic One-Party System in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic as evident in school practices – such as Morning Sports.
Text by H. Glass, M. Linder, N. Wickmann & J. Zeck, note by I. Martin
Photos & videos by H. Glass & M. Linder
Note
1 These past shared (socialist) “brother-country” decades are the reason why we now have long-standing diplomatic relations (60 years) between Germany and Laos, and why ca. 2.000 Lao seniors – in prominent (mostly governmental) positions today – speak fluent German: They studied in the German Democratic Republic in the seventies and eighties, as the only Lao university was shut down between 1976 and 1996. This fact is not well-known in Germany, but has led amongst other things to the institution of a Lao-German Friendship Society.
Workshop on 14 November 2018 – “Lesson planning, games, and material for the mathematics classroom”
“Do you think it would be possible to get a new ruler for the board that I can use for my lesson?”
This was a question that one of our tandem-teachers asked us just a few days ago. Even though we knew that it would take a few more weeks up to the arrival of the new Team VIII until we could make her wish come true,1 we were very pleased with her request. Seeing our tandem-teachers prepare their lessons using different material is always a little progress for all of us.
In Germany, it seems normal to have variety in lessons. We are encouraged to work with different methods and techniques, have access to abundant material as well as countless workbooks and worksheets. Here in Laos this is not the case. While the teachers follow the mandatory course book, is may also seem like there is not enough room for creative methodology or material. However, from our perspective, it is important to foster a deeper understanding of the subject by using different methods and material. They do not only make the lesson more interesting, but are desirable – or even instrumental – for facing and conquering mathematical problems. Also, it is quite possible to save time by lesson planning. Once more and more children really understand the subject matter, the less time is “wasted” in later classes, too. The time factor would level out in the long-run.
For the future it would be a major goal to introduce and start using the material from as early as Grade 1 in the primary schools so that the pupils can establish a profound mathematical understanding, which involves more than just learning formulas by heart.2 Core competences such as problem-solving and flexible thinking – which have become indispensable in the 21st century – need to be enhanced and fostered constantly.
Therefore, it is our main goal to improve the pupils’ learning environment in the local schools by encouraging the Lao teachers to foster the development of these competences by using the afore-mentioned material and techniques in their lessons. By giving them new ideas and teaching input we intend to help them in planning motivational lessons that the pupils as well as the teachers enjoy.
As we – Anja and Pauline – are working closely together with our mathematic tandem-teachers, we were eager to put all of this into one workshop, which took place on the 14th of November 2018 at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School. We were excited about welcoming four of the mathematics teachers – Ms Toukham Chanthavong, Mr Thongsing Sinnaphisith, Mr Noy Vienglakhone, and Mr Noy Sibounhueang. Apart from them, Ms Chanpen Bounyavong – former mathematics teacher but now teaching biology – participated, as well as Ms Saysamone Singhalath, who, with a constant smile on her face, translated whatever we said into Lao.
Our workshop consisted of three main parts:
- A theoretical part: Lesson planning and number line
- A practical part: Number line and games
- New material and lending system
1. Planning a lesson
The following four principles should be observed when planning a lesson.
Firstly: Activate all students!
This includes a variety of individual work, working in pairs, and group work. It is most important to get every student involved by making them calculate, think, proof, try out things, and not only copy from the board. This is particularly difficult in Lao classrooms where there are 50-60 children and it can be very challenging for the teachers. However, it is not impossible.
Secondly: Let the students explain!
Teachers usually explain subject matter to their pupils, but if the pupils try to do this it can be just as effective for their learning if not even more. If one not only listens but also verbalizes subject matter it comes to steady stabilization and a much deeper understanding.3 This way, the teacher is given the chance to check whether a pupil understood a certain point or still has difficulties working with it. While the teacher also might be afraid that a pupil might make mistakes in front of the others, mistakes actually offer great possibilities to talk about strategies, operations, algorithms, and numbers. It is not only important to make this transparent to the teacher, but also to the pupils, so that they can develop a classroom atmosphere in which every pupil feels comfortable and will not be laughed at for making mistakes.
Thirdly: Use material and visual aids!
Most subject matter is best understood when the teacher uses materials and visual aids in the lesson. It has been shown that the use of certain mathematical material like the calculating frame helps the children to construct a better understanding of the subject itself.4 Whether it is geometry, where the pupils can draw different patterns and forms using compass and triangle rulers, or arithmetics, where material such as the above-mentioned calculating frame or base ten blocks can be used to establish a number sense,5 we try to motivate all teachers to use the new material which is now stored in the Didactics Room.
Triangle rulers and compasses for the blackboard…
… calculating frames…
… base ten blocks
Fourthly: Practice mental maths!6
Many mathematical problems presume a good number sense and mental maths. Many pupils here tend to often count – even in higher year groups – or calculate using a written algorithm. However, in many cases it is not only faster but also makes more sense to just calculate in one’s mind.7
It is normal to use counting strategies (also using the fingers) in the first one or two grades in primary school, but they should soon be replaced by operative strategies (e.g. using analogies) and an increasing understanding and afore-mentioned number sense. There are various motivating and fun games that challenge the pupils’ mental maths skills – see a few examples below.
Anja talks about the importance of activating all students and Ms Saysamone helps to translate.
Fun and laughter are included.
Number Line
We chose the “number line” for our workshop as a visual aid to bring different addition and subtraction strategies to paper. As we noticed that many students in the secondary school do not really use calculating strategies, our plan was to introduce the number line to students and teachers to give them a scaffold and show easier and faster ways of adding and subtracting numbers.8
There are many different ways of solving a problem like 38 + 27 mentally, as this number line shows:
There are different strategies to solve 38 + 27.
The number line offers a graphic way of making the students aware of this, showing the strategies 9 and how they relate to each other. Furthermore, letting the students find as many ways as possible for one problem offers great opportunities for talking about the strategies and the question which ones are more practical than others. They thus help the pupils practise their skills in communicating, justifying, and arguing – which we are interested in fostering also in our Lao classrooms. (In Germany, these skills are set down in Educational Curriculum for mathematics.)
During the workshop we discussed the benefits of the number line, how and when to include it in the lesson, and practised its use in several examples. To let the teacher experience the possible range of application, we included examples – both addition and subtraction – with lower (e.g. 38 + 27) as well as higher numbers (e.g. 1749 – 943). After a 10-minute period of individual work with the handout,10 the teachers presented their number lines and we talked about different problem-solving strategies.
Introduction of the number line
Ms Toukham concentrates on solving the number line problem.
Mr Thongsing presents his results.
2. Games
Bingo – The game “Bingo” is an excellent game to practise mental maths and it can be adapted to any class level, degree of difficulty, and mathematical topic.11 By naming a mathematical problem instead of just giving a number, the pupils are asked to calculate. Since there is not as much time pressure as in other games, each pupil gets the chance to calculate individually. It is not always the best student who wins the game, as there is a certain amount of luck needed, too. This makes it very motivating for all students.
Trio – Another great game for practicing mental maths is the adapted classroom version of the board game “Trio”. Material needed: A big poster with the digits 0-9 (see picture below). The teacher says a certain number (e.g. 23) and the students have to form equations using three numbers which can be found horizontally, vertically or diagonally next to each other on the template (e.g. 5 x 4 + 3). Whether you succeed or not does not only depend on how fast you are at calculating mentally, but also on how fast you can find a suitable number combination. In our version, the students are divided into two or three teams and always gain points for their team, but the game can be played with all students competing individually against all others, too.
Blind passenger – This activity offers the chance to practice problem-solving and is a fantastic way of speaking about mathematics. The only material needed is either a set of flashcards (pictures) or coloured chalk. One could describe this activity of a more flexible version of “Odd One Out”. The teacher prepares several pictures/flashcards and puts/draws them onto the blackboard. The major point is that they should all have things in common but still be unique. Any of them could be the “blind passenger” – the one between the others that does not share the common features. Then the teacher tells the pupils that one picture does not fit and asks which one it could be. The pupils then have time to think about it, talk about it with their neighbours, and in the end discuss it in class. The activity can be conducted with different mathematical content, especially geometry, but also various other pictures from other subjects are suitable. It is great to play with different levels of difficulty as the teacher can decide which pictures to choose.
We played these games during our workshop so that our tandem-partners would get an idea of how to include them into their own lessons. They were really excited about the games and – this was especially nice to see – some of them started using them in their classes straightaway.
Pauline conducts the game “Trio”…
… our next game: “Blind passenger”…
… geometrical shapes can be used to play “Blind passenger”.
3. Didactics Room
The Didactics Room at Ban Phang Heng Secondary school was established in 2017 by Team III and is a place for studying, printing, laminating, as well as preparing and storing material. As one of the main goals of our stay was to introduce new teaching material to the teachers, we included a short visit to the Didactics Room, where we had set up a collection of maths material upon our arrival in Laos. This was inspired by the former volunteer who pioneered the work with mathematics – Fabian from Team VI. He introduced the use of triangle ruler and compass and suggested that we bring some more triangle rulers, since there were not enough for one class.12
Committed to following his suggestion and very eager to bring even more material from Germany, we started Phase one of our small project and contacted friends and family, asking whether they would be willing to donate some money for this cause.13 In the end, we arrived here with bags full of calculating frames, base ten blocks, tangrams, scissors, cubes, geoboards, small triangle rulers for the students and big triangle rulers and compasses for the teachers – material that we knew from school or that had been introduced to us during our studies at the PH Karlsruhe. Additionally, some material – measuring tapes and compasses – were bought from a local market here.
Phase two was then ready to start – the teachers would probably not use the material if they did not know that it existed in the first place or how to use it. This is why we regularly introduce different material during our tandem-lesson-preparation time and then use it during “Activity Time” so that the teachers can see how and why we use it. Especially for Mr Thongsing and Ms Chanpen, who came to our workshop but do not get tandem-time preparing lessons with us, we included the short introduction during the workshop.14
Phase three – the use of material in the maths lessons – is ongoing. Sometimes we suggest to the teachers to use certain material in their lesson, other times they come up with own ideas. Whichever way, it is always rewarding to see the lessons being enriched with new activities, new ideas, and new material.
Conclusion
We would like to thank the teachers for participating in our workshop and, moreover, for being so motivated and keen on applying new ideas. We are grateful that they share their teaching journey with us. Simultaneously, working with the Lao teachers is a unique learning experience for us, too, which allows us to deepen our personal, professional, and intercultural competence. Thus, we are glad that they help us to become more broad-minded and skilled, too.
Group picture of all participants taken after the workshop.
Text by A. Schuler & P. Faix
Photos by M. Weis & A. Schuler
Notes
1 There are new triangle rulers in the Didactics Room.
2 Much time is spent in the maths classes for learning formulas by heart, copying exercises from the book or board, and applying the formulas with only very little transfer. It has been shown in recent LGTC exams that the graduates from our secondary school struggle applying those formulas when more transfer is required.
3 Confucius: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
4 Prof. Dr. S. Wartha (PH Karlsruhe) suggests four phases for using mathematical material. At first, the pupil should calculate directly with the material while explaining what he/she is doing. Second phase: The pupil will only explain the action while the teacher conducts it. During the third phase the pupil will still explain, but no longer can see the material (the teacher can use a screen to put between the pupil and the material). The last phase is the detachement of the material – no more material is used and the pupil should now be able to use the material in his/her mind.
5 This refers to a deeper understanding of numbers and their properties as well as an understanding of how different numbers relate to each other.
6 Calculating without the help of a calculator or written algorithms, often by using mental calculating strategies that need to be acquired early on.
7 This is why we try to focus on mental maths during the Maths Club and noticed that some pupils still need a lot of practice.
8 The number line as shown in this article should be used as a documentation of those strategies only and has to be based on number understanding, which can be established and strengthened by the use of other material such as the calculating frame and the base ten blocks (cardinal number understanding) as well as the “normal” number line (ordinal number understanding).
9 The use of different colours makes it easier to keep track of the strategies. Some strategies such as for example 30+20+8+7 cannot be shown on the number line.
10 Each teacher was given a handout with all the content addressed in the workshop, including some exercises and a collection of games for the classroom).
11 Each student is given a template (3×3 or 4×4 fields), where he/she has to fill in given numbers, in whatever order he/she likes. When every student has his template filled with numbers, the teacher gives problems to solve. After calculating a problem, the student can cross out the result on his template.
12 Regular rulers can be bought here in Laos, but not the triangle rulers.
13 A big thank you to Thomas & Susanne Schuler, Almuth & Hans-Martin Schuler, Paul Schuler, Jakob Schuler, Christoph Herrmann, Angelika Weinmann, Sabine & Klaus Weis, Werner Herrmann, Alina Truöl and Simon Lang, as well as the Wissner GmbH.
14 We also set up a lending system, whereby the teachers can borrow various mathematical material for their lessons and preparation.
References:
Padberg, F. & C. Benz (2011). Didaktik der Arithmetik. Heidelberg: Springer Spektrum.
Schulz, A. & S. Wartha (2012). Rechenproblemen vorbeugen. Berlin: Cornelsen Scriptor.
An exceptional encounter: When “muan” and the “Lao-German Cultural Night” join up
“Muan” is a Lao expression that can be translated as “joy”.
It was Friday, 9 November 2018. The sun had just disappeared and a light breeze blew through the bungalow of the three German volunteers Dilara, Nicole, and Patricia. The preparations for the upcoming evening had just been finalized: The sinhs, hairdo, and make-up were in place; Madame Engel, the AfC foundation driver, and two other German guests were waiting in the car. The “Lao-German Cultural Night” could come…
Since 2014, the German Embassy has hosted an annual “Lao-German Cultural Night”. Lao and German citizens, but also people from other countries are invited to this evening, which puts Lao culture center-stage – literally. Various artists are called on stage to present a colorful show in order to give an insight into what Lao culture in the 21st century can look like. But before going more into depth about the different show acts and the impressions they left on the audience, especially on this team of volunteers, let us throw light on the term culture itself.
Culture is a complex phenomenon with multiple dimensions and has been defined and redefined in many different ways. On doing a quick first search in dictionaries and encyclopedias on the Internet, results yield the words arts, literature, theatre and music. The English Oxford Living Online Dictionary (2019) sees culture as “[t]he arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively“. Nevertheless, there is more to this word. The Cambridge Online Dictionary (2019) suggests that culture “[…] is the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time”.1
Individuals have their own perspectives on culture as well. Robert Cooper (2008), an English author and sociologist who emigrated to Laos decades ago and owns a bookstore in Vientiane, formulated his own definition of culture in his study The Lao, Laos… and you (2008). In his opinion, the term comprises norms and values of a society on the one hand, and on the other hand “[…] what people actually do, […] why, how, when and where they do it” (ibid., 68).
Besides, it is commonly agreed that “culture” has a dynamic character and is therefore constantly subject to change (cf. ibid.). Several expatriates2 from all over the world state in Martina Sylvia Khamphasith’s anthology Wahlheimat Laos – Expats erzählen (“Adopted homeland – expats’ stories”, 2013) that Laos is a country which has tremendously changed over the last decades. Hence, it can be assumed that Lao culture has also been considerably transformed. Still, Cooper (2008, 68) finds there is a certain omnipresent “Lao-ness” that has not vanished in the course of the development of the past decades. One major characteristic of this “Lao-ness” is the so-called concept of muan. It can best be translated as “joy”: A life in Laos and, consequently, Lao culture is usually expected to be joyful, enjoyable, pleasant (cf. ibid.).
With these definitions and the multi-dimensional nature of culture in mind, one single evening will of course not be able to show all the facets of Lao culture. Nevertheless, it can – and will – most certainly convey the idea of muan!
After having been checked by security personnel at the gate of the German Embassy, Dilara, Nicole, and I (Patricia) finally saw the Embassy building for the first time. It was actually much smaller than we had imagined. Still, it exuded a specific kind of stateliness that official architecture oftentimes emanates. The compound did not seem to be large at first sight, but when our group – the volunteers as well as Madame Engel and her visitors Katharina and Jacob – passed through a second gate, a huge garden opened up to us and revealed the actual size of the property.3 Probably more than a hundred guests had gathered there already.
The swimming-pool in the middle of the green was uncovered and filled with water. This surprised us: Was it not dangerous to remove the coverage? Many people were standing around the pool, because cold alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks were served right next to it. What if someone fell in, possibly a child? We got ourselves refreshments and waited for an official beginning of the evening.
It started with random touches by strangers. I wondered who had just skimmed my arm. I turned around and saw a woman who was about to draw closer to one of the other persons standing next to her. That is when I realized not only the woman but also other people were moving dynamically through the crowd. Their movements resembled an uncontrolled dance. What was happening?
What we and all the other guests were seeing showed a modern form of dancing that does not follow a fixed choreography. It is called “in-situ” (Latin “on-site”) and combines dance with theatrical features: Something happens directly at the place one finds oneself at this very moment. Hence, an “in-situ”-dance is characterized by improvised elements which grow out of the conditions a specific spot can offer. Dancers virtually “soak in” their surroundings and try to convert it into artistic movements. This circumstance makes the whole performance highly unique (cf. IG Tanz Steiermark; cf. Sursaut – Dance Company).4
The in-situ dance served as opener for the Cultural Night and was presented by the “Fanglao Dance Company“. The eight professional Lao dancers left both a feeling of puzzlement on the volunteers – due to this contemporary form of dance that ended with a jump into the pool – and growing excitement. What would follow next?
Right after this first show act, the guests made their way to the actual stage where the German Ambassador His Excellency Mr Jens Lütkenherm as well as his personal assistant Ms Antje Maggie Mutz warmly welcomed them and shortly gave them an overview of the show acts that would follow. Whereas the “in-situ” performance had already included theatre elements, the upcoming group’s focus would be completely be on drama. Again, an exceptional performance awaited us: The Khao Niew “puppet theatre show“. When I first read the title on the program handed out at the gate, I imagined tiny colorful hand puppets like the ones my teacher used at primary school. Imagine my surprise when five actors, all dressed in black, stepped on stage, each of them holding a wooden cask. No puppets could be seen. Everyone in the audience looked confused and was on pins and needles: Where could they be? Dilara, Nicole and I had a hunch: The puppets were most certainly hidden in the casks which were about a third of the size of a human being. We were not mistaken.
The opening scene: Softly played traditional Lao music in the background, five performers interacting with their casks in the foreground. Each of them not making a single sound while gradually “unpacking” their vessels: The inner surface of the lids turns out to be the puppets’ faces. Their arms and legs appear to be bamboo canes.
Puppeteers create their puppets
…and bring them to life…
… during an exciting evening for the German AfC volunteers
The pool area on the compound of the German Embassy
Step by step, the puppeteers created their puppets. Although the audience was able to observe each and every step of this building process, once finished, it seemed the puppets were finally brought to life. They were not bits and pieces anymore. Instead, they became vivid “creatures” everybody stared at while forgetting about their actual driving power – the puppeteers. The original five actors of the play slowly took a backseat. They handed over the leading roles to their puppets who did not make a sound either. The whole performance resembled a silent movie which – although it did not have a “plot” – captivated everyone present for the next fifteen minutes – the perfect realization of muan.5
Blown away by this postmodern performance, the audience could hardly wait for the next two show acts. They threw new light again on the world of dance – a world that could not be more diverse and exciting, especially for Dilara and me (we share a passion for dance).
Thus, on this evening, we did not only get to know the “in-situ” dance, but would now also see professional Lao break-dancers performing a Hip Hop and Breakdance choreography. Our feet were already moving before the music had even started. Everybody was waiting for the “LDR Dance Crew” as indicated on the program. But instead of several dancers, only one was guided to the stage. Although this young dancer could neither see nor hear his surroundings because he was blind and deaf, he evidently felt the vibrations of the bass that had started in the meantime. Without any warning, he surprised each and everyone present with an unforgettably special break-dance show before his fellow dance crew members took over. Besides the parts in which they all danced synchronously, each artist showed his skills individually, too, one after the other. The audience was stunned as one could see in their faces and then hear as well: A hurricane of applause ripped through the crowd and marked not only the end of the dance performance but also of the artistic part of the fourth Lao-German Cultural Night. Now, the culinary part was to begin.
Most impressed by the performances, the volunteers left the stage area and headed towards a buffet with different kinds of Lao food. We felt a little hungry and filled our plates with fried rice, spring rolls, and other Lao delicacies. Our minds still dancing “in-situ” and breakdance elements, we were thankful for this experience and enjoyed the rest of the evening in the midst of a more than just “pleasant” Lao-German environment: A combination of chatting, laughing and eating in a serenely joyful surrounding made this evening unforgettable. One could say: Muan at its best.
Text & photos by P. Hopp, with notes by I. Martin
Editor’s Notes
1 An introduction to the theory of culture and its many newer manifestations – multi-culturality, interculturality, cross-culturality, transculturality, hyperculturality – will be given in the the new series on this blog “Language education and global citizenship“.
2 From Latin “ex-patria” (out of one’s homeland).
3 The size can be explained by the fact that it used to be the East-German Embassy. Lao-German diplomatic relations go back 60 years.
4 The art form itself has a long tradition, cf. site-specific theatre.
5 This act thematizes “art” and therefore foregrounds the processes behind the creation of “art”. This theme is at the core of postmodern art, which emerged in Western culture after The Second World War, i.e. in literature, painting, music, architecture, etc. The five characteristics of “Postmodernist” art are self-referentiality, multiple perspectives, a high degree of playfulness, irony, or parody, and non-linearity and fragmentation.
References
Cooper, Robert (2008). The Lao, Laos… and you. Vientiane: Lao Insight Books.
Khamphasith, Martina Sylvia (2013). Wahlheimat Laos – Expats erzählen. Interviews. Edition Mayoulie.
Online
Cambridge Dictionary. “Culture”. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/de/worterbuch/englisch/culture (accessed Dec 18, 2018)
English Oxford Living Dictionaries. “Culture”. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/culture (accessed Dec 18, 2018)
IG Tanz Steiermark. “IN SITU – Innenwelten (Eva Brunner)”. http://igtanz.at/preview/in-situ-innenwelten/ (accessed Dec 18, 2018)
Sursaut – Dance Company. “IN SITU: A DANCE HAPPENING”. http://sursaut.ca/en/spectacle/happening-danse-situ-2/ (accessed Dec 18, 2018)
Cross Dancers. “Fanglao Dance Company”. https://crossdancers.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/fanglao-dance-company/ (accessed Dec 18, 2018)
Workshop on 26 November 2018 – “Communication in the classroom: How to make pupils talk”
Sabaidee!
We are Natalie, Malin, and Meike and – in case you missed our previous Team VII post – one of our diverse tasks is being responsible for tandem-work with the primary and secondary English teachers at the three AfC schools. This does not only include English language lessons, but also preparation, observation, team-teaching, and evaluation of lessons together with our tandems.
It was during these observations that we realised that our tandem-teachers did an excellent job when introducing and practising vocabulary and grammar – which is probably owing to the effective tandem-work of previous volunteers. Amidst all those strengths, however, we also detected one aspect that could be improved further: Even though the pupils remember the words taught in class well, it is still difficult for them to apply the vocabulary in communicative contexts unless they learned the whole structures by heart before.
The results are dialogues like the following, which we experience on the school yard on a daily basis:
Pupil: “What is your name?”
Volunteer: “My name is X. And what’s your name?”
Pupil: “My name is Y.”
Volunteer: “Nice to meet you.”
Pupil: “It is nice to meet you, too.”
Not too bad! However, whenever we ask further questions such as “how old are you?” or “how are you?” to express genuine interest in our pupils, the students struggle to come up with an appropriate answer.
This real-life example reflects the situation in the classrooms.
Since the coursebooks are compulsory and there is only one for each grade, the teachers have no choice but to follow them rigidly.1 For primary school, the focus lies on learning vocabulary and easy structures, whereas in secondary school the focus lies on grammatical material. Therefore, we thought this incapability to flexibly use vocabulary in various contexts was a good starting-point for our workshop: “Communication in the classroom – how to make pupils talk.”2
It was on the 26th of November that we finally put our plan into action. We had prepared both a PowerPoint presentation and a handout for our tandem-teachers, and they were divided into two parts: A theory part in the beginning, followed by the presentation and actual performance of communicative tasks, games, and activities. Six teachers followed our invitation and came.
Natalie, Meike & Malin test the PowerPoint presentation before the workshop
I. Theory
The theory part revolved around the two central questions:
- Why do we want our pupils to speak?
- How can we get our pupils to speak?
The English teachers Ms Donekeo Keosiththivong, Ms Souksakhone Sindavan, Ms Bounpheng Singhalath & Ms Mittaphone Sichampa brainstorm on our two questions.
At first, the workshop participants were given some thinking time. Thereby, their prior knowledge was activated and they got the chance to actively contribute to the workshop rather than having to listen passively for 1,5 hours. After the brainstorming phase, their answers were shared, discussed, and compared to the answers that we had prepared ourselves.
The video depicts one important reason. Ms Saysamone answered the question by saying that it was important for the pupils to be able to speak to foreigners. In her opinion, this was for example the case in these three schools, as we – the German volunteers – work here and can be encountered every day. This corresponded with what we had thought of or looked up beforehand.
Firstly, the classroom should be a place to practise and prepare pupils for real communication with speakers of English, or for communication between nations or people who do not share another language. The latter is especially important in today’s increasingly globalised world.
Secondly, social interaction forms one major part of language acquisition. Following Vygotsky’s theory, it is simply not enough to learn words and grammatical rules, especially not by oneself.3 Why not?
- One cannot form comprehensible sentences when only knowing words.
- Communication, which we defined as the goal of language-teaching above, is then not possible or only to a limited extent.
- One cannot reply to questions, especially not flexibly. The results are incoherent dialogues just as in the example given above.4
- Communication is not possible as spoken English differs from written English. If English is studied alone with a book which does not contain transcriptions in IPA5 or a CD, one does not know how to pronounce the words and, in turn, cannot decode words and phrases uttered by a communication partner.
As we went to university in Germany, our knowledge of early foreign language research largely concentrates on the western world. There is a consensus that there should be a consecutive progression of the (traditional) four skills in order to learn to communicate: “From listening to speaking, from reading to writing”. In both cases, the receptive skill comes before language production (cf. Brewster, Ellis & Girard 2002; Legutke, Müller-Hartmann & Schocker v. Ditfurth 2017).
In Laos, by contrast, it makes sense to start to learn how to read and write early on, because the Latin alphabet has to be acquired. This is just one of many examples of all the circumstantial differences between Asian and (most) European classrooms.
Adapting tasks, games & activities to the circumstances in Lao classrooms
When preparing for our workshop and coming up with suitable activities, it was necessary for us to take into account many other differing aspects of school life. This meant that we could not simply integrate tasks and activities we might know from our own time at university or even school, but we had to either come up with different ones or adapt the afore-mentioned games and activities accordingly. (A far more detailed description of how to adapt games to the Lao classroom can be found in a paper written by Jana Brecht (Team II).)
1. Classes in Laos consist of many more pupils than we are used to. In the preschool class, for instance, there are 86 pupils in one class. Even though there are not as many pupils in the primary and secondary classes, they can still be almost twice as big as classes that we know from hospitations in Germany, England, or Canada.
2. The structure of the classrooms is different as well. Whereas most of the European classrooms’ interiors we know are flexible, at least to some extent, this is not the case in Lao classrooms. This makes it more difficult for the teachers to conduct pair or group work, or games that require moving through the classroom. One example would be Kugellager (English: “Onion”, or “double circle”)6 which we consequently did not include into our canon of communicative tasks, games, and activities.
An example of a non-flexible classroom
3. There is a notable difference in the children’s contact time and prior knowledge of the English language outside of the classroom. Whilst children in Europe listen to English songs and use English terms for everyday objects (“T-shirt”, “computer”, etc.), Lao pupils are primarily confronted with English during their lessons at school. Even though their desire for youtube, mobile phones, and other channels of accessing the internet increases, primary school children are mostly surrounded by Thai media if their family owns a TV set, or no media at all. And even though there are few English loan words (e.g. “compu’ter”), their amount is significantly lower, and pronunciation and word stress still differ.
It is only later, when the need and value of being able to speak English is recognised, that they start to busy themselves with it in their free time also. This became evident to us when looking at our Facebook news feeds. Our Lao teachers and friends frequently share useful words and phrases translated from Lao into English.7
Example of the English and Lao word families for “places”
4. One last aspect we had carefully thought of beforehand were relevant topics that can be used for authentic communicative situations. Examples of topics which are not as suitable here are “seasons” and “weather”. Concepts of “snow” or the division into our four seasons may be interesting for intercultural learning purposes, but are not useful for teaching words that the pupils may need in everyday conversation to describe the world they are surrounded by. The Lao do not have four seasons, or ever saw snow.
II. Practice
We revised some basics, which were already covered in previous workshops8 such as modelling the game with the help of a big version and a pupil as an “assistant teacher” in front of the classroom. Afterwards, we both introduced and then played selected games as well.
This was beneficial for two reasons: Firstly, the teachers got to watch us explain and model the game to get inspiration for how they could do it in their own classrooms (see video below). Secondly, letting them play the games themselves follows the concept of learning by doing and should help them avoid possible later uncertainties.9
The following paragraphs summarise four tasks, games, and activities which we carried out with the English teachers during our workshop:
- Mingle
Pupils walk around the classroom and ask each other questions. Options are “Do you like …?” or “What’s your favourite …?” On the worksheet, which was handed out before, there is a table – it can either be filled with the possible answer choices already so that the pupils only have to tick the correct box, or otherwise they can write down the answers themselves. Results can be discussed afterwards, e.g. by putting them into a diagram. The game can be played with many different topics – some examples are food, school subjects, or free-time activities.
Malin and Ms Saysamone tell each other their favourite fruits
- Guessing games
- “I spy with my little eye”
No preparation is needed for this game. The teacher chooses an object that is in visible distance. He or she says “I spy with my little eye – something that is yellow/ green/ blue/ etc.” The children have to guess what it is. If the pupils are confident and know the colours well, they can take over and come to the front or play the game with a partner. Variations can be describing initial letters or shapes.
Examples:
“I spy with my little eye something that starts with the letter ‘t’.”
“I spy with my little eye something that is round.”
- Describe & guess
The teacher describes objects, flashcards, or persons while the children have to guess what or who it is. For this activity it is important that the pupils know the basic adjectives (e.g. colours and opposite adjectives, e.g. big/ small, young/ old, etc.). Once the pupils are familiar with the game and feel comfortable speaking, they start to describe themselves, and then their partner or the class has to guess.
This can be done with any new vocabulary when introduced with flashcards, but also with real objects which can be found in the classroom. For younger players, it is important to reduce the amount of vocabulary and choices.
- Who am I?
This game is best played in groups of three or four. Each child is given a flashcard with a picture of an animal. They stick it onto their foreheads and make statements or ask questions in order to receive hints about which animal they could be.
- Memory
Memory is a game commonly played by and with young children in the western world. It is supposed to foster their ability to remember, and implicitly, concentrate. It has been implemented into the early foreign language classroom as it offers the opportunity to consolidate or revise vocabulary. In order to play this game, the teacher prepares the right amount of mini-flashcards needed beforehand. All of the cards are then turned face-down so that the pictures or words are not visible. One after another, the pupils turn two cards around. If they match, the pupil keeps the two cards and is allowed another go.
The goal of the game is to get as many pairs as possible. If the two cards are not the same, they are turned around once more, and it is the next pupil’s turn. In order to make it a communicative game and therefore justifiable to be used in the EFL classroom, it is the teacher’s job to make sure the children speak to each other while playing. Suitable structures are:
| – What is it?
– It‘s a… – It‘s (not) the same. – Is it my turn? – Yes, it‘s your turn. – No, it‘s my/ X‘s turn. – I have a pair: it is a heart. – I do not have a pair. It’s your turn. |
(two versions of the game “Memory”) |
It is upon the teacher to decide if the game is played with matching pictures, or alternatively with corresponding sets of pictures and written words. The pupils form groups of 2-4 children.
4. Guided dialogues & conversations
There are different ways of implementing guided dialogues and conversations into the classroom. Some offer more, others less support.10 The two activities that we chose offer a balance between providing the pupils with clear sentence structures on the one hand while still leaving enough room to be filled with authentic and real statements about their lives on the other hand.
One guided yet communicative activity is a partner interview with gaps. The sheet is either folded or cut in the middle, so that each partner only sees his or her half of the conversations. Partner A starts by asking his or her questions, and B answers. (This game is also used for so-called “gap-filling activities”: find directions on a map, find differences between two drawings, and so forth.)
For our second activity, each pupil fills in a short profile about him- or herself. Then the information is presented to the rest of the class. The teacher makes sure the children speak in full sentences. One possible variation would be not to introduce oneself, but a partner. In that case, the personal pronouns “he” or “she” instead of “I” are used, with the third person singular -s attached to the verb.
III. The end
In the end, the teachers had the chance to ask their open questions. Following this, we did a short “Spotlight” with them – one person is chosen to give feedback about what they learned, what they liked or did not like, and which activities they are planning to include into their lessons. This was very interesting for us as we kept on working with our respective tandem-teachers in the preparation lessons over the following weeks – and we could therefore consider their opinions and wishes much better.
All in all, the workshop was a success for everyone involved: Whilst preparing for the workshop, we, the volunteers, realised once more that our knowledge and perspectives on EFL didactics and methodology are largely tailored to the western world. Only because they meet the needs of our pupils back home, it cannot be assumed that they automatically meet the needs of our Lao pupils in their Lao classrooms. Instead, extensive reflections on their applicability (and value) are advisable, and in the following, the results thereof have to be taken into account when making suitable adaptations to games and activities.
Moreover, the effects of the workshop are already noticeable in our tandem-teachers’ English lessons. At this point, it has to be stated that the lesson’s goal has to be kept in mind at all times. The teachers are not supposed to choose a game or activity to match the lesson content with, but use their lesson goal as a starting point to then pick suitable activities with which the student’s learning can be fostered.
Consequently, this means that communicative activities cannot be included into each and every English lesson. When they do match with the goal given by the coursebook, however, our tandem-teachers make sure to include communicative tasks and activities. Throughout the workshop, we kept in mind that the Lao coursebooks remain compulsory, therefore we made sure that all communicative activities can be embedded into the topics which are covered in the coursebooks.
All our workshop participants
Text by N. Wickmann, M. Frahm & M. Weis
Photos & videos by N. Wickmann, M. Frahm, M. Weis, P. Faix & A. Chandavong
Notes
1 Part of the compulsory course books are monthly test, which the teachers have to conduct. This is usually done in written form and the pupils have to work through grammar and vocabulary exercises that have been dealt with in class. The monthly tests are graded by the teacher and are part of the “final score” of each student.
2 In English didactics, one can differentiate between”speaking” and “talking”. As the English Oxford Dictionary defines, “speaking” means the action of conveying information and/or expressing feelings through speech whereas “talking” refers to actively involving and engaging in speech and conversation. Thus, students in primary school who start learning English mostly speak because they do not engage in real conversations yet. However, communication – and “talking” – are the defined long-term goals which should be kept in mind at all times.
3 Vygotsky’s “Social Interactionist Theory” is only one out of many in the vast field of Second/ Foreign Language Acquisition research. We go along with it, as it corresponds with our own experiences from internships.
4 An example for incoherent sentences or communication would be answering the question “How are you?” by saying “I like rice”. Grammatically, both sentences are correct, however, the content does not match, meaning it is lacking coherence.
5 IPA is the acronym for “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For every sound (or phoneme), there is precisely one phonetic letter with which it can be transcribed. As is hinted in the title, the IPA can be used to transcribe the pronunciation of any given word, in any given language.
6 The activity Kugellager, “Onion” (also known as “Inner circle, outer circle”) is conducted by two circles consisting of an equal amount of students. The pupils forming the inner circle face their partners forming the outer circle. Usually words and phrases or rhymes are given for them to use, or for more advanced students a topic is given for them to discuss. After a certain amount of time, one or both of the two circles move on into opposite directions (cf. Klippel 1983, 9).
7 We volunteers and our Lao tandems use social media, esp. Facebook, differently. The Lao seem to be much more active, liking, sharing, and commenting on contributions by their friends or pages that they follow. Therefore, we cannot be all too sure if those pictures are really used to learn English, or if they just found it funny or interesting at that moment.
8 Especially all the English workshops have built the basis for our workshop: “Classroom English” by Svenja and Julia (Team VI), “Creating and using teaching material” by Hanna and Lara (Team V), “Teaching Vocabulary” by Venetia (Team IV), “Teaching Vocabulary” by Kerstin and Pauline (Team III), “Assessing and enriching teaching material” by Anika and David (Team III), “Games for the Classroom” by Jana, Isabella & Jule (Team II).
9 Learning by doing is a theory by the American philosopher and educationalist John Dewey. He is convinced that learning needs relevant and practical contexts rather than passive and theoretical ones. This goes along with Konfuzius’ famous quote: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
10 This is coherent with the didactical concept of scaffolding – the teacher scaffolds the classroom in time, space, and task to provide support for the pupils to understand the lesson content in a foreign language. In the beginning, a lot of this support is needed; however, the aim is to reduce the scaffolding gradually. Scaffolding can take on different forms, e.g. using flashcards for pre-teaching vocabulary before telling a story, or providing lists of vocabulary, or – like here – structures for speech production.
References
Ellis, Gail, Jean Brewster & Denis Girard (eds.) (2002). The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. Harlow: Penguin Books.
Klippel, Friederike (1983). Keep Talking – Communicative fluency activities for language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge Handbook for Language Teachers. (10th ed)
Legutke, Michael K., Andreas Müller-Hartmann & Marita Schocker v. Ditfurth (eds.) (2017). Teaching English in the Primary School. Stuttgart: Klett Lerntraining.
Massler, Ute & Sophie Ioannou-Georgiou (2010). “Best practice: How CLIL works”. In: Massler, Ute & Petra Burmeister (2010). CLIL und Immersion: Fremdsprachlicher Sachfachunterricht in der Grundschule. Braunschweig: Westermann, p.61-75.
Read, Carol (2007). 500 Activities for the Primary Classroom. Immediate Ideas and Solutions. London: Macmillan Education.
Websites
Wikipedia. “Learning by doing”. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning-by-doing. (accessed: 16th Dec, 2018)
Wikipedia. “Social Interactionist Theory”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_interactionist_theory. (accessed: 22nd Dec, 2018)
“Language education and global citizenship” (1) – Reentry shock: an explanation of an underrated phenomenon (by L. Malchow)
Editor’s note: “Reentry shock: an explanation of an underrated phenomenon” by Lara Malchow (Team V) is the first research article in the new series “Language education and global citizenship” edited by I. Martin (University of Education Karlsruhe). It is a summary of Ms Malchow’s term paper submitted in the “Global English(es)” seminar (summer term 2018).
More and more people are going abroad because they are considering our increasingly globalised world. With this, they take on the challenge of a new indistinctness of personal, national, and cultural boundaries.
The various advantages of a stay abroad are always emphasized by the people that went abroad. By contrast, the negative consequences are rarely discussed. One of these negative effects is the “reentry shock”. Reentry shock, reverse culture shock, counter culture shock, reentry adjustment – these terms are all synonyms for the same phenomenon. This phenomenon involves the process of coming back home after working or studying in another country and not being able to connect to one’s own culture again.
Reentry is preceded by an immersion in another country or culture and is therefore not a side-effect of simple travel like going on vacation. People who work abroad for a while are particularly affected, also students in a semester abroad or those doing volunteer work in another country.
Despite the increasing amount of people working abroad the importance of the topic is often still overlooked. Most people do not deal with the symptoms of reentry or know nothing about them.
This article explains the meaning of reentry shock and how it occurs, describes its symptoms, and finally lists strategies for coping. To help readers understand the issue of reverse culture shock in its entirety, I will describe the process by detailing the “W-curve” (Gullahorn & Gullahorn 1963) and by elaborating its difficulties compared to culture shock as well as the symptoms and also the ways of surmounting reentry.
The W-curve
Individuals returning from abroad go “through a predictable series of stages in transferring from a domestic to an international assignment and back home again” (Adler 1981, 342). The “W-curve hypothesis” (Gullahorn & Gullahorn 1963) describes these stages. It is an extension of the “U-curve hypothesis” (Lysgard 1955). The U-curve is a model to explain the process of culture shock in the host country. In the beginning, the sojourner is excited and has a very positive feeling towards the new country and culture. This “honeymoon phase” is followed by a low. This low is the so-called culture shock. The volunteer is confronted with cultural, linguistic, and social differences that make him or her lose ground. This is particularly the case when home and host countries display significant differences.
After a certain period of shock, the process of recovery and adaptation begins. One gets used to the cultural differences, which is followed by one’s integration into the host country. The second U completes the W-curve and follows the same pattern as the U-curve. It describes the process of adaptation and integration back home.
The pace of a reentry process can vary immensely. One person feels good after a month, others need more time to readjust. In the initial phase, the average of the mood of the repatriates is on a high level for about one month after coming home. From the second to the fourth month after arrival, the returnees are at their lowest point in terms of their mood. Feelings of sadness, alienation, and loneliness are predominant. In addition, there are other symptoms, which will be discussed later. Around the fifth month, the returnee has recovered and is able to reintegrate into the home culture and procedures. Ideally, the skills learned abroad can now be incorporated into his or her daily life.
Difficulties of reentry
“Re-entry into the original culture was found to be a more difficult transition than was the move to the foreign culture” (Adler 1981, 341). The main difficulty here is that the problems of reverse culture shock “which arise upon returning home, are largely unexpected” (Szkudlarek 2010, 2). Considering the expected culture shock, the sojourners normally prepares him- or herself in matters of culture, climate, food, etc. of the host country they are going to live in. One primes oneself for one’s time abroad because one expects it to be new, unfamiliar, and challenging, but there seems to be no need to prepare for coming back home afterwards. The returnee does not “expect anything unfamiliar when returning home.
The present study indicates that returnees did not anticipate culture shock or trauma. Some planned to “‘just slip into’ their previous life styles […]” (Adler 1981, 350). Another unexpected difficulty is the delayed start of the reentry shock. Reverse culture shock only begins around one month after one’s return. In the beginning, the repatriate feels wonderful about being back and is excited, but after this “honeymoon phase” it might feel like losing ground in the environment that should feel most homely: “[…] the returnee is caught between the two cultures of home and host country” (Gaw 2000, 86).
Reverse culture shock is a personal process. The individual has changed, consciously or unconsciously, in the months of his or her stay abroad. In addition, it is possible that people in the home country have also developed further. These changes have happened independently of each other and especially the changes of the returnee are often difficult for the others to understand.
As normal as changes are, they are not expected to affect the returnee so strongly. For someone who has not had the same experiences, it is difficult to understand the intensity of the effects of the stay abroad. Moreover, it is often incomprehensible to the others why it causes such problems for the returnee. “If culture shock feels like an expansion, reverse culture shock can feel like an implosion” (Rybol 2016, ch. 1).
The unexpectedness of the problems during re-integration might cause a strange feeling. It is expected to be easy – not only by others, but also by oneself – and it is hard to accept that coming home is harder than expected. Family and friends should be sensitive and open-minded towards the returnee in this phase.
Symptoms of reentry
There are many symptoms that can occur in the process of returning home – this is experienced differently by everyone. With regard to time and appearance, it can occur for various lengths of time and intensities. “[…] [S]ome individuals may experience few, if any, effects of reentry, while others appear to have problems ranging from a few months to a year or longer” (Gaw 2000, 84). A reentry shock often occurs when the person was very integrated in the host country.
However, the absence of reentry shocks is no proof that the person was not completely immersed in their life abroad. Reentry may appear in various ways. Returnees might feel disoriented or frustrated, and growing boredom, insecurity, and tiredness is not uncommon. Some returnees might experience a sense of alienation and loneliness and a phase of withdrawal. In addition to that, a decreased sense of belonging regarding family and friends can occur.
Against the odds, going abroad does not only have a positive effect on students, but also a negative impact during the reentry process. “Their time reintegrating into their home environment and continuing their education was often marked by sadness, a sense of loss, and practical problems” (Porsch & Lüling 2017, 259).
It is not only the affective part of coming home that makes re-entry difficult. Also, the practical part that has to be mastered in one’s environment, like home, work, university, or any other tasks can now be more challenging than before, which leads to individuals closing themselves off from them. Students may lose (or “lose”) an entire term to get back into their old routines.
Many returnees experience “reverse homesickness”, a feeling of not wanting to be in the home country but a serious need to go back to the host country. They feel overstrained and overwhelmed even by simple tasks.
Another aspect that makes alienation even more intense is the communication in the returnee’s L1 (first language). The person might have spoken another language while being abroad or even learned a completely new one. Consequently, the returnee is not as fluent in their L1 as before and has to get used to it again. The “continuum of reaction to reentering the home culture” is wide and this diversity makes it even harder to react to the symptoms (Gaw 2000, 84). The reactions are individual and it is almost impossible to categorise them. In many cases, it is “difficult, uncomfortable, hard to live with and a lot of times hard to understand” (Rosenberger 2017, 95). Therefore, the possibilities to cope with these symptoms are multifaceted, and it is helpful for returnees and their relations to know them. This is a way to make reentry a smoother process.
Coping with reentry
There are different ways to make reentering one’s home country easier and to cope with one’s reentry. The returnee possibly made friends in the host country and misses them a lot. These might be the people one lived and worked with or one’s fellow-returnees from the same or other countries. It is important to stay in touch with them.
These people understand the process the returnee is going through, and together they can exchange experiences about their problems and find solutions together. Keeping track of news about the host country in this phase can also help. The returnee then still feels involved in the life there to a certain extent, and it is also a good basis for continued communication with host-country individuals.
Trying to counteract one’s feelings in any way is ineffective. Contrary to all expectations, one may feel alienated and uncomfortable, and it is important to understand that this is part of the process. It takes time to get used to one’s environment, culture, and lifestyle again.
Reflecting on one’s experience abroad can be very profitable for the process of re-entry. This reflection can be conducted in written or oral form. One can write a final report about one’s experiences, support the next outgoing team, contribute to closing conferences, pass on one’s experiences in interviews with the project leader, or give lectures in seminars, libraries, or at international conferences (as we do in our project). Preparing others for similar situations can advance one’s own personal and academic progress and reduce the sense of loss.
Moreover, it is important to use the new knowledge one acquired in the host country. It makes no difference whether this happens in a social, cultural, or scientific context. “Living in another culture means you’ll absorb some of that culture and you’ll incorporate it into a new version of yourself” (Rybol 2016, chap. 5). In the larger context, turning away from one’s own experiences and looking at them and evaluating them separately from oneself does not bring any added value for the returnee. These experiences are part of one’s system now and can be processed most successfully if they are integrated.
Dealing with one’s reentry shocks does not work for everyone in the same way. The way of handling this also depends on one’s assessment and evaluation of one’s stay abroad and on which which relation attitude the homecomer has to his or her return.
Impact by volunteers’ characteristics
“Re-entry has been identified as a major personnel issue” (Adler 1981, 343). As described above, every repatriate experiences the reentry process in a different way, and with varying intensity.
A substantial number of studies related to the reentry phenomenon focuses on sojourners’ characteristics and situational factors of repatriation. Research shows that a number of factors can influence the distress experienced upon return, as well as psychological readjustment and overall satisfaction with the transition (Szkudlarek 2010, 5).
How versatile are these influences in relation to reentry shock?
The characteristics and situational variables used for a more detailed description are taken from Szkudlarek’s article “Reentry-a review of literature” (2010). According to Szkudlarek, there are seven characteristics that have an impact on the reentry process: Gender, age, personality, religion, marital status, socio-economic status, prior intercultural experience(s), and previous reentry or reentries.
Gender
Various empirical studies have confirmed that men and women experience reentry shock differently. “In general, females are seen to have more problems with re-adaption to family than males” (Brabant et al. 1990, 390). It is precisely because of gender that predictions are made and therefore this is one of the most important characteristics in connection with re-entry.
“Gama and Pedersen (1997) describe family challenges experienced by returning women and their struggle to fulfil their relatives’ expectations of their roles upon return” (Szkudlarek 2010, 5). Sussman on the other hand noted that the alleged correlation between sex and reentry did not confirm shock, so no impact is recognised. According to Martin and Harrell, there is a need for further investigations into this aspect of research.
Age
“Age is the second most frequently researched reentry variable” (Szkudlarek 2010, 5). Different studies have shown that there is a correlation between returnees’ age and the intensity of their reentry shock.
With increasing age, the extent of reentry shock decreases. Accordingly, younger returnees experience it to be stronger. This is explained by the process of finding one’s identity. Older volunteers already have a stronger, more stable identity. Despite immersion in another culture, older volunteers no longer adopt as many values and behaviours as younger volunteers. The appropriation of cultural aspects and the ability to adapt is more educated among younger volunteers. This leads to even more substantial changes in their identity during the stay abroad. The transformations can make it difficult to re-enter one’s own country.
Personality
“Several empirical attempts have been made to explore the influence of personality traits on different aspects of repatriation” (Szkudlarek 2010, 6). According to Martin and Harrell, there are different relevant factors that appear in relation to reentry shock. One is openness, which enhances the ability of acceptance or receptiveness to change or new ideas. The individual personality strength of a returnee is influenced by another factor, the positivity of a volunteer. Based on their own studies, Black et al. are convinced that a strong self-image has the greatest influence on the process of re-entry.
Religion
The fourth researched characteristic is the impact of a volunteer’s religion. It can play an important role in dealing with the affective and psychological aspects of re-entry after a stay abroad. “[R]elationship difficulties might be a result of newly acquired liberal behaviours and values, which conflict with those of family members back in the home-country” (Szkudlarek 2010, 6). In this case, conflicts in this respect would make it difficult for the returnee to reintegrate.
Marital status
Szkudlarek’ s article discusses marital status as the fifth characteristic. In the process of returning home, single returnees are more susceptible to these symptoms. Social difficulties are also more frequent, as well as greater identification with the culture of the host country. The immersion takes place more intensively and the re-entry into one’s own country becomes more complex.
By contrast, married volunteers or those who have a stable relationship have fewer problems. This may be since the strong bond is also maintained during the stay abroad. Thus, the immersion does not happen as intensively or the partner is able to understand the repatriate’s situation in a better way. Therefore, re-entering the home country is easier for married returnees or returnees in stable or long-standing relationships.
Socio-economic status
Socio-economic status is a characteristic that cannot be fully associated with the reentry process due to a lack of research. The research available revealed a decline in social status after the re-entry. As this is a characteristic that is important to many returnees, Szkudlarek believes that further research should be done in this area to achieve valid results.
Prior intercultural transitions and re-entries
In relation to cultural transition, Martin and Harrell conclude that previous intercultural experiences should have a positive influence. So far, studies have confirmed this. However, too little research has been carried out to obtain meaningful results.
Impact by situational variables
Regarding the situational variables, Szkudlarek also lists various extrinsic factors that influence the intensity of the reentry shock. The seven mentioned in her article are the length of the intercultural stay, the cultural distance, the time since return, the contact with host-country individuals, the contact with home-country individuals, the attitudes of home-country individuals towards the returnees, and the housing conditions. Supervision was added later because it was seen to be important.
Length of stay
The current results from different studies are inconsistent. Black et al. argue that the longer the repatriate spent time in the host country, the longer the readjustment process is. The major reason for this might be the deeper immersion when the stay was longer. Other researchers could not find any correlation between the length of the stay and reentry shock.
Of course a stay of three weeks is not enough time for immersion. A reentry shock therefore only occurs after a time of a few months paired with a deep immersion of the volunteer in the host country.
Cultural distance
As several studies have shown, cultural distance of home and host country can have an enormous influence on the process of returning home. The larger the cultural differences are, the more complicated is it to adjust to one’s home culture again.
Possible reasons for this are external influences such as weather and food, but also changes in identity caused by an intensive time abroad. One adopts the norms and values of the new culture into which one has integrated oneself and thereby change one’s perspectives and character. These cultural differences differ for each person – each individual initial situation influences the reentry.
Persons from different parts of the world do not return to the same set of circumstances nor do they face the same set of family obligations. One’s culture, or nationality, has long been recognized to be a significant influence in a person’s life (Brabant et al. 1990, 393).
Time since return
Some researchers, such as Gregersen and Stroh, found out that the longer it takes for a returnee to get used to his or her homeland, the harder it will be to get back to the old daily routine. Difficulties arise in relation to work or study. It takes more time to acclimatize. In contrast, Cox, for example, found no significant link between the two factors. Such contrary results make the validity of the W-curve appear questionable.
Contact to host-country individuals
“Researchers argue that the frequency and quality of interactions with host-country nationals are directly related to the expatriation adjustment” (Szkudlarek 2010, 7). An increased contact to the nationals can aggravate the reentry problems because it means a deeper immersion into the host-country culture. Others were not able to find any correlation and therefore there is a need for further investigations in this part of reentry.
Contact to home-country individuals
Contact with home-country individuals is seen as a major influence in the acclimatisation process. The empathy of these people is increased because they were continuously informed about the sojourner’s experiences. “Research shows that maintaining personal relationships with home-country individuals during foreign sojourns can have a substantial influence on reducing the distress of reentry” (Szkudlarek 2010, 7).
Attitude of home-country individuals towards the returnee
Research shows that there are also negative reactions towards returnees such as lack of interest. While the repatriate was abroad, the home-country individuals might have changed as well, or they minded their own business – and envy has an impact on the reactions as well. Support, sympathy, and understanding are often missing, which makes reentry harder than it would have to be.
Housing conditions
Adjusting back to one’s home-country life is also connected to the housing conditions. A higher or lower standard of living means that you now have to get used to the conditions in your home country again.
Supervision
Supervision in the pre-, while- and post-phase can be helpful in the process of coping reentry. Problematic aspects are constantly discussed, processes and possible problems are monitored. In many cases, supervision and reentry training are often missing. (This is luckily not the case in our project, where returnees have ample chances to communicate with both fellow-returnees or the project leaders for as long as they want).
Reentering with no reentry training often means that the intercultural sojourn becomes encapsulated, tucked away in the mind of the sojourner, and the opportunity is lost to integrate the personal growth and professional knowledge into the sojourner’s current life (Martin and Harrell 2004, 311).
According to Martin and Harrell, returning home can best be mastered with the help of supervision and training. The process is most successful if it is supported by courses or trainings provided. These trainings should take place before and after returning home to prepare the volunteer, but also to support him or her in the processing and evaluation of the stay abroad.
Further research was conducted, and it turned out that participation in reentry workshops was very positively received.
To sum it up: Reentry is an underrated phenomenon, which is often not dealt with enough. The urgency to continue dealing with the topic scientifically prevails. Former and further investigations can help to react to this negative aspect of going abroad.
In the age of globalisation, the decision to go abroad is becoming increasingly normal. With the world losing its borders it is possible for almost everyone to integrate into foreign societies and cultures. The more people are affected by this the more the relevance of this phenomenon increases, so it is worth investing more time and effort in the processes of reentry shock.
Text by L. Malchow
References
Adler, Nancy J. (1981). “Re-Entry: Managing Cross-Cultural Transitions”. Group & Organization Studies 6 (3), 341-356.
Black, J. S., Gregersen, H. B., & Mendenhall, M. E. (1992). Global assignments. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Brabant, Sarah, Palmer, C. Eddie & Gamling, Robert (1990). “Returning home: An empirical investigation of cross-cultural reentry”. International Journal of Intercultural Relations (14), 387-404.
Gaw, Kevin F. (2000). “Reverse culture shock in students returning from overseas”. International Journal of Intercultural Relations (24), 83-104.
Martin, Judith N. & Harrell, Teresa (3/2004). “Intercultural reentry of students and professionals. Theory and practice”. In: Landis, Dan, Bennett, Janet M. & Bennett, Milton J. (eds.). Handbook of intercultural training. California: Sage Publications Inc. 309-336.
Porsch, Raphaela & Lüling, Sebastian (2017). “Reentry-Erfahrungen durch Lehramtsstudierende mit einer modernen Fremdsprache nach einem Auslandsaufenthalt”. Zeitschrift für Fremdsprachenforschung 28 (2), 259-283.
Rosenberger, Ellen (2017). Ending Well: Advice for successful re-entry after living abroad. California: Create Space.
Rybol, H.E. (2016). Reverse Culture Shock. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services LLC.
Szkudlarek, Bettina (2010). “Reentry – A review of literature. “International Journal of Intercultural Relations (34), 1-21.
Lookahead to 2019 – German students represent the Lao PDR at National Model United Nations in New York
2018 – a cornerstone year for volunteer Shirin Ud-Din (Team VI)
2018 was an exciting year for me with lots of new impressions. At the beginning of this year I had the chance to do an internship abroad, in a small village in Laos, as part of Team VI. This opportunity enriched my life in many different ways, personally and academically. From then on, this experience continued to stay on my mind.
In September, I was very happy to visit Laos again and to help Team VII settle in their new sourroundings. At that time I already knew that I would participate in the National Model United Nations¹ in New York in 2019 in the role of a Head Delegate. The National Model United Nations in New York is the largest simulation of the United Nations in the world.
A Head Delegate leads a delegation and organizes the framework for the delegates. He or she supports the delegation in every aspect of the project: Organizing the journey, booking hotel rooms, finding out about entry requirements to the United States of America and much more. In my case, I will also work in a committee during the conference, namely the General Assembly Third Committee. This committee deliberates over topics such as social and humitarian affairs and human rights issues.
This enterprise would not be possible without my scholarship from the Stiftung der deutschen Wirtschaft (Foundation of the School of German Business), which supports this work experience financially. The other 14 delegates also have scholarships from the same foundation. For good preparation beforehand, we hold three big meetings in our 8-month preparation time, in which we talk about the current phase of the project, e.g. fundraising, committee work, finances, embassy visit, and much else. On top, we also carry out mock debates to get to know the rules of procedures during such a conference. As we live all over Germany, we decided to meet in the “middle” of Germany, in Frankfurt, so that the journey is not too long for any of us.
While still in Laos, I was waiting for the announcement of the allocation of the country which my delegation and I would represent. Fortunately, my wish became true: We will represent the Lao PDR at the Model United Nations in New York in 2019. Most of my delegates have not had any experience of the world of the Model United Nations, and neither have I. Because of this, we participated in different smaller-scale, German Model United Nations conferences that lasted for two to five days.
In my case, I visited the KAMUN, which is a small simulation of the United Nations in Karlsruhe and takes place every year with around 200 student participants. At the KAMUN I also represented the country Laos to grow into my new role a little ahead of time. I saw KAMUN as an opportunity to take a closer look at the country of Laos before the simulation in New York, especially from a political, economic, and social point of view, so as to feel thematically more secure.
At the KAMUN 2018 I (Shirin Ud-Din) represented Laos…
… in the Human Rights Council
2019 – What is to come next
By now, we are all very excited in anticipation of the big event, and our next adventure before going to New York will be a visit to the Lao Embassy in Berlin in January 2019. There we will meet His Exellency Mr Kaseumsack Saysouriya, who has offered to answer all of our questions about his country.
For February, we have another invitation for a preparatory workshop, this time by Prof. Isabel Martin in Karlsruhe. We already realised that diplomatic language is very different from our everyday language, so we still need some advice from persons who have experience in diplomatic circles.
Some members of the Lao Delegation for the National Model United Nations 2019
On the 13th of April 2019, we will take the plane to New York City. I hope we will have fruitful discussions and develop some suggestions for solutions for current issues in the world, i.e. environmental issues, climate change, international security, economic growth and international trade, human trafficking, the inclusion of people with disabilities, and peace-keeping operations. Normally, accepted papers during the conference are not taken into consideration by the real United Nations, but sometimes some students make a positive impression on the conference staff, which can open unknown doors.
The primary focus and goal, however, is the academic development of the students as well as the development of competencies like critical thinking, leadership abilities, and team work.
If you are interested in following our adventure at the National Model United Nations, you are invited to visit our homepage!
Text by S. Ud-Din
Photos & videos by S. Ud-Din & S. Ritter
Note
¹The “National Model United Nations” is the largest simulation of the United Nations in the world and takes place in New York every year. Around 6,200 students from all over the world annually participate in this event. The NMUN wants to “prepar[e] university students to be better global citizens and the next generation of international leaders. Participants in our United Nations simulations propose solutions to global concerns while gaining skills in debate, conflict resolution, and compromise” (nmunny).
Reference
NMUN NY.”New York”.https://www.nmun.org/conferences/new-york.html (accessed December 28, 2018)
New series: “Language education and global citizenship” (edited by I. Martin)
Editor’s note: Starting in January 2019, the new series “Language education and global citizenship” on this blog will feature the research conducted in the “Teaching English in Laos” project, which started in 2015 and quickly grew to encompass and explore other subjects as well as the larger context of teaching globally.
Finding new research topics – or being found by them
In 2015 we were newcomers to the Southeast Asian world of education in general and Laos in particular. We did not know what to expect. Our group – consisting of Mr Johannes Zeck, Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin, and Team I – first needed to learn about our Lao partners’ cultural, linguistic, educational, socio-economic, religious, political, and historical background before we could begin to understand which teaching approaches, methods, and techniques might bear fruit in this part of the world at this point in time, or whether we would even be up to it. This also meant that we had to question, revise, and re-theorize our own western-European assumptions about education and teaching.
I had understood even before setting out that this process would take a considerable amount of time and demand considerable effort.
Our observations and ongoing learning experiences over the next three years were recorded in countless notes and files and complemented by the weekly reports of the volunteers (55 so far). We wrote minutes of team meetings and final reports, held final closing conferences and did pre-, while- and post-interviews with volunteers. Last, but not least, individual topics were investigated and researched, and then presented in posts on this blog (243 to date).
All project documentation is collected on a CMS (Content Management System), namely alfresco, for two reasons: First, so that the respective new team(s) do not have to start from scratch when they are passed the baton, and second, so that the project leaders can build a “library of Laos-learning” as a database for future research.
After around two years of finding our feet and walking a mile in our new shoes, we started researching the literature about related academic fields – there is not much literature on language education in Laos.
Two tenets had manifested themselves in realiter long before I started to read more postcolonial theory and (inadvertently) came into contact (this summer) with the writer who coined those tenets:1
1. Power is “cocooned” in language.
2. We need to “decolonize” our minds.
This widened my research interests. So, after my sabbatical in the winter term, the new “Global English(es)” seminar held in the same summer was to provide the frame for researching some of the implications of those two tenets in more detail. As always, in the first session, I asked the course participants about their particular interests and motivation for joining this class, only to find out that almost all of them needed the credit for a (=any) culture seminar at advanced level in their Bachelor degree and that there was no alternative course on offer. Obviously, this meant that I had to draw up a course syllabus without taking students’ interests into consideration, because apparently they had none.
I therefore posted an extra-large list of topics in the course wiki. The participants started identifying topics that raised their interest and formed “expert groups” to prepare short presentations as a basis for class discussions. At the end of what quickly developed into a highly animated summer semester, I asked the participants once more about their interests and motivation. This time, a dozen or so announced that they wished to join the Laos-project at some later date, and ten students signed up to present their research findings in our new series. The fact that no more credit points could be gained for any of this extra-work did not seem to be a matter of interest any longer.
Article preview for 2019
from the “Global English(es): Teaching English in Asia” seminar (2018)
“Re-entry shock: An underrated phenomenon” (Ms Lara Malchow)
“Global mobility and the role of native speakers in Asia” (Ms Julia Knecht)
“Comparing German and Lao English textbooks” (Mr Siegried Hadatsch)
“Thai English” (Ms Iris Birautiu)
“A culture-critical comparison of travel guides to South East Asia” (Ms Lena Koch)
“Multiculturalism in the EFL classroom” (Ms Rebekka Schnitzler)
“Hybrid identities in the EFL classroom” (Ms Marie Isabel Amorosi Mangas)
“International and intercultural awareness in Global Education with a focus on Asia and Europe I” (Mr Nico Eckhardt)
“International and intercultural awareness in Global Education with a focus on Asia and Europe II” (Ms Anna-Sophia ten Brink)
“Global Mobility programmes” (Ms Lejla Mujic)
from the volunteer programme (2017)
The first comprehensive term paper was submitted last year:
“Language games for the Lao classroom” (Ms Jana Brecht, Team II)
The first state exam thesis was also written last year:
“Teaching English to Lao Adult Beginners: Intercultural barriers to language learning in Western General English course books by the example of Straightforward Beginner“ (Ms Rebecca Dengler, Team IV & V)
from the volunteer programme (2018)
Six more returnees wrote their state exam thesis or Bachelor thesis on a Laos-project-related topic:
“Teaching English to young learners in Laos: An examination of effects and challenges” (Ms Jessica Porscha, Team V)
“Lao weaving as cultural heritage – a cross-curricular storytelling project for primary school” (Ms Ariane Kummetz, Team V)
“30 years of teaching English in East Asia: An Appraisal” (Ms Laura Jakob, Team IV)
“Types of exercises to introduce the cardinal aspect of numbers – theoretical foundation and exemplary comparative analysis” (Mr Fabian Stober, Team VI)
“Health and education: First steps in medical awareness concerning health issues in Lao schools” (Ms Shirin Ud-Din, Team VI)
“The benefits and challenges of study-related global mobility programmes in teacher education: A case study” (Ms Veronika Golla, Team IV & V)
from the university cooperation between the PH Karlsruhe and Savannakhet University (2018)
“The pilot-teaching project of the PH Karlsruhe and SKU Savannakhet: A quantitative and qualitative study” (Dr Sitha Kemmarath, Dr Isabel Martin & Mr David Schrep)
from the editor (2018)
A “frame” article on my editing and blogging experience:
“The functions and impact of the academic blog www.thelaosexperience.com” (Dr Isabel Martin)
from work-in-progress (2019)
The following cultural-linguistic topics are currently being researched:
Global English(es),
Global Citizenship2 & global citizen education,
teacher mobility,
English as a “distant” language,
culture-clash into cross-cultural learning,
Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) & cultural frame-switching, and
TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) in Asia & global justice.
Conferences in Applied Linguistics with a focus on language education, global justice & global citizenship in Germany
This spring saw the first International Conference on this field of study in Germany, which drew many international participants:
“Focus on Language. Challenging Language Learning and Language Teaching in Peace and Global Education: From Principles to Practices” was held at the University of Education Freiburg from 22 to 24 March 2018.
Next spring will see the next International Conference on “Educating the Global Citizen: International Perspectives on Foreign Language Teaching in the Digital Age” at the LMU Munich from 25 to 28 March 2019.
Happy New Year!
The Laos-team wishes all our readers – from over 200 countries – a happy and peaceful New Year!
We hope to “see you all again” in 2019 on our WordPress blog statistics tool – and we hope to engage in more direct communication with you as well in the not-too-distant future.
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“[Have a] good slide”, as the German saying goes in anticipation of New Year’s Eve – “guten Rutsch!”
Text by I. Martin
Notes
1 Visiting family in Heidelberg, Germany, one fine Sunday in June 2018, we decided to attend an afternoon lecture by one of my son’s professors on Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (b. 1938), a prominent postcolonial contemporary. I was still marvelling at the entrance fee when Mr wa Thiong’o – a professor of literature, too – walked onto the stage himself. The lecture by the German professor opened and framed the Kenyan professor’s readings and deliberations on postcolonial literary theory. His talk focused on precisely those two tenets.
2 The “World Citizen flag” designed by Garry Davis:
Reference
The featured image (tag cloud) is from cognita.com (Ian Thorpe).
A day in the life of… a PH Karlsruhe volunteer
6:30 a.m.
The alarm in Natalie’s and my – Anja’s – room goes off for the first time… one quick move to switch it off and here we go… five more minutes of sleep before we have to make our way out of bed. Being used to sleeping until 8:30 a.m. in Germany, we did not find it easy to adapt to this new rhythm and waking up so early, which, however, seems to be expected of a future teacher in any country.1
Leaving Natalie a couple of more minutes to snooze, I sneak into our bathroom, which is directly attached to our bedroom. Before taking a shower – what a privilege to have hot water here2– the first thing I do is to watch out for our flatmate, the cockroach. Whereas in Germany you might find a tiny silverfish in your bathroom from time to time, insects here come in different dimensions. The quite monstrous cockroach with which we have been sharing our bathroom from week one onwards measures about 5 cm, not including the feelers. Except the cockroach there are many more “flatmates” in our villa: Ants, geckos, spiders, and all sorts of small insects. They have become a part of our life here and I am sure that, in some way, we will miss them back home.
My two roommates: Natalie and the cockroach
7:05 a.m.
Like every day, I am not the first one to head for breakfast. Malin is already sitting at the table and finishing her oats. Lucky me, because we still need a few minutes to talk about our final plan for the “Mopsies“. While she teaches them twelve hours a week, I only have a two-hour block with them during which I join her – definitely one of my highlights every week!
While preparing my breakfast – mashed bananas with milk, other fruits, and oats – we plan how to introduce the vocabulary for today and practise pronunciation with the 5-year-olds. We also sing the song “Bear, bear, is the animal I see” (an adapted version of the song “Blue, blue, is the colour I see”) one last time to make sure that we are on the same page when it comes to melody and movements.
Not so talkative in the early morning
Everyday breakfast at the villa
7:50 a.m.
Dressed in our traditional sinhs and ready for the day, we climb onto our bikes and turn left onto the bumpy road heading towards Sikeud Primary School. I do not think the potholes on the way have ever been counted, but there would be hundreds of them if not thousands, after every new rainy season making the way to school quite an adventure. Avoiding those craters automatically makes you drive in zigzag manoeuvres on the one hand while still looking out for dogs, (dead) snakes, or vehicles passing by on the other if they do not happen to drive on your side at that moment avoiding other potholes…
On a not so bumpy stretch of the road
7:58 a.m.
We arrive at school in time and get ready for the “Mopsies”. Since it is not so hot today (around 28 degrees), and even a tiny bit windy, we decide to go out and have class in the shade of a big tree.
The first group of “Mopsies” is already lined up inside their classroom, greeting us with sunny smiles and happy “good mornings”. Silently holding on to the shoulder of the child in front, the children follow us to the big mat which is rolled out in the shade. We form a circle, starting our lesson by singing our “Good morning” song (other examples). I am still a bit uncertain about some of the names, which is why Mopsy – the dog handpuppet which comes with the Mopsy learning programme for pre-schoolers3 – is handled by Malin, greeting all of the children individually. “Good morning, Phonmany” is replied with a shy, yet excited “Good morning, Mopsy”.
For the next twenty minutes we read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See by Eric Carle,4 talk about the different colors and animals, play “What’s missing”5 with the help of animal flashcards and sing the song. The children love to do the different movements and sounds – bark like a dog, fly like a bird, swim like a fish – and to be honest – Malin and I enjoy it at least as much!
After saying goodbye to one another, the “Mopsies” line up again. We bring them back to their classroom and welcome the next group, which is only the second out of five for today.6
The Mopsies with teacher Anja
Where is the…. yellow duck, white dog, green frog?
I see a white dog looking at me!
The Mopsies on their way to English class
9:40 a.m.
I climb back on my bike and head towards Ban Phang Heng Secondary School for my next lessons, which is only a short ride away. In contrast to crossing the main road at 8 a.m. in the morning, which can be quite adventurous in itself, there is less traffic now, which makes it easier and less stressful to get to the other school. At the gate, I am welcomed by a friendly “Sabaidee” by the gatekeeper and make my way through the crowd of children on the schoolyard.
Some of the other volunteers are already in the “Didactics Room“, where I will be teaching the next two lessons, too. Since the next class does not start before 10.10 a.m. there is time to relax for a few minutes, prepare material, and chit-chat.
Welcome to the Didactics Room, where we prepare flashcards for Natalie’s ABC-Club
10.10 a.m.
Mr Noy Sibounhueang, one of my tandem-teachers, and I use the time to plan a two-hour lesson for tomorrow morning, which I will be observing. It is a grade 3 lesson and the topic is the Pythagorean theorem. As always, we try to adapt the content of the one mandatory set coursebook to the individual needs of the students, choosing suitable material and involving various activities.
One of the latest additions to our new collection of maths material in the “Didactics Room”, which we were able to set up with the help of friends and family in Germany,7 are complete sets of triangle rulers for each student as well as for the teacher in front, which are used by Mr Noy almost every single day now. It is great to see that he comes up with his own ideas about how to use the material and get all students actively involved in his lesson.
After a bit more than one hour, we are both happy about a lesson plan which includes the intended goals of the lesson, a list of material needed, a structure of the different phases of the lesson, and a short game to activate the students and practise their mental maths skills.
Since we have a few minutes left in the end, he teaches me how to calculate the square root of any given number. At first I am quite confused, but the more I practise the algorithm, the better it gets and Mr Noy seems happy with my new calculation-of-roots skills.
Proud to present some new material
Noy explains to me how to calculate roots by using an algorithm
12:00 p.m.
After a very busy and rewarding morning at school, my empty stomach is longing for food and I walk over to the cafeteria. Our almost daily lunch in school – rice and vegetables – is made freshly by Ms Soutsada Nanthavongdouangsy (Mr Khamsing‘s wife) and her helpers. While waiting for the food, I get to catch up with the other volunteers and some teachers. Behind the fence, which separates the primary from the secondary school, there are several “Mopsies” having quite a lot of fun hiding from us. Whenever we wave at them, they get really excited and giggle a lot.
We enjoy the delicious lunch in the school cafeteria
Ms Soutsada Nanthavongdouangsy and her helping hands
12:35 p.m.
On the way back to the “Didactics Room”, two of the teachers, Ms Nalee Vonkhamsai and Ms Malaitong Louxai, approach us with some interesting-looking food. Not knowing what to expect, we dare to try. The small green fruits – called star gooseberries – are dipped into a chili-salt mixture and the extremely sour taste of the fruit is mixed with the very spicy one of the chili. It leads to an explosion of taste in my mouth and I fail to resist squinching up my face. Happy moments with lots of laughter!
The real Lao food experience
1:30 p.m.
As the afternoon classes start, I begin my second preparation lesson with Mr Noy Vienglakhone8 the year 4 mathematics teacher. He has some questions about the content of the next unit – all sorts of roots – and we work on them together. Since I did not study secondary education, I do not feel as comfortable with the mathematical content of the higher grades as with the lower ones, but together we make a great team and are able to answer the open questions.
Roots, roots, and more roots to solve
3:15 p.m.
Like every afternoon from 3:15 pm to 4:00 pm, the children get the chance to join a club – offered by teachers and volunteers – during “Activity Time“. About twenty children are waiting in front of the classroom where Pauline’s and my “Maths Club” is going to start any minute.
We are eager to start with today’s “Activities” – working with the tangram and calculating frames which we brought from Germany.9 We also encourage the children to practise their mental maths – they are more used to solving problems on paper – and introduced several games for doing so already.10 Even though in our lessons we focus on mathematical problems and strategies, it is always our main goal to show the children that maths can be fun!
Highly concentrated on solving that tangram puzzle
Calculating frames
4:10 p.m.
Done with school for today, the next stop is the market. As I did not know any numbers in Lao in the beginning and the Laotians did not know them in English, it was quite nerve-wracking until some days ago. With the help of the tandem-teachers, especially Ms Saysamone Singhalath, I am now “fluent” in Lao numbers and counting and am always proud when the market communication succeeds.
On the shopping list for today: Vegetables for dinner, fruits for the next morning, and most importantly – fried bananas and banana bread. This makes us drive back to the villa in joyful anticipation.
Where did I put my wallet?
It is always helpful to underline the communication in Lao by using gestures and signs
Got everything? Then let’s go home!
4:30 p.m.
As soon as I enter the villa, my bag finds its way into some corner, while I myself relax on the couch and ease my mind. Luckily, it is not my turn to cook today, so I have plenty of time to write my weekly report and prepare my lessons for the next day11 until the much awaited call is heard: “Dinner is ready!”
10:30 p.m.
After a round of playing the card game “Wizard” and chit-chatting with the others I head to bed, knowing that the alarm will go off early in the morning again, as usual. I need to get eight hours of sleep to manage my workload on the next day – therefore I put my mobile phone away, jump into my pyjamas and switch off the lights. When I go back to Germany I will definitely miss hearing the crickets chirping at night while falling asleep, just like seeking out my other flatmate Mr Cockroach in the morning.
Text & photos by A. Schuler & P. Faix
Notes
1 Many of our tandem-teachers get up as early as 4 or 5 a.m. for doing their household chores and cooking breakfast.
2 Team III apparently had no water at all for a few weeks, until the plumming got repaired.
3 Fröhlich-Ward, Leonora & Gisela Schmid-Schönbein (2004). Mopsy and me. Lichtenau: AOL Verlag.
4 Carle, Eric & Bill Martin Jr (1996). Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? New York: Henry Holt and Company.
5 For this game, it is best to use real objects or flashcards which are presented to the pupils. The children then close their eyes and one (or several) objects or flashcards are removed. By guessing which one is missing, the pupils revise the vocabulary.
6 There are 170 Mopsies in total at the two primary schools. Classes normally consist of 50-60 children each, as there are many children in Laos and not enough teachers, and we divide them up into groups of ten for our English Mopsy classes, to guarantee enough speaking time for each child.
7 A special thank you to all the donors who enabled us to bring a lot of new material over for the maths lessons: Calculating frames, triangle rulers, compasses, tangrams, several books, geoboards, and many more.
8 Mr Noy Vienglakhone, who has been teaching English lately, is now the mathematics teacher again for grade four. Although he studied mathematics at university, he had to fill in and teach English last year because one of the English teachers unexpectedly left to go back to university.
9 Our special thanks go to Wissner GmbH, who generously donated twenty calculating frames and six sets of multi-system blocks.
10 The pupils love to compete against each other. We introduced a game in which we divide the group into two teams and let them both line up. We give them oral problems to solve, mostly in Lao because we want them to focus on the mathematical solution of the problem rather than having to deal with the language barrier as well. The pupil standing in front of the team will compete against one pupil of the other team. As soon as the first knows the answer, he/she writes the result onto the blackboard. If it is correct, he/she earns a point for his/her team.
11 All of us volunteers teach around twenty hours per week at school, and in our other twenty working-hours we prepare lessons, workshops, material, blog posts, weekly reports, and other project-related files back in the villa, where we use the living-room as our communal teachers’ room in the afternoons and evenings, complete with our own printer, laminating machine, and well-equipped teachers’ library, which was stocked bit by bit with each new team arriving from Germany.
<References
“Carle, Eric & Bill Martin Jr (1996). “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” New York: Henry Holt and Company. Cf. version set to music, with many more examples.
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