Teaching Vocabulary Workshop
On the 24th of November we – Kerstin and Pauline – held a workshop for our primary school teachers from both primary schools at Sikeud Primary School. We chose the topic “Teaching Vocabulary – Variety in methodology for diversified English lessons” because during the lesson observations we noticed that vocabulary is one of the main contents in Lao foreign language lessons. Our aim was to give the teachers theoretical background about how to teach vocabulary effectively in order to support their ability of self-assessment and to offer a variety in methodology. Therefore, we created a handout with several mind maps, diagrams and a collection of vocabulary games. Every input was supported by examples and hands-on activities.
Group picture: Mittaphone (Mit), Kerstin, Phovang (Noy), Latsamy, Pauline, Bounpheng
We introduced the topic by demonstrating a short lesson sequence in German. Here, we brought real material (typical Lao fruits), used different kinds of chorus speaking and introduced two games. During this activity the teachers had the chance to put themselves into the position of the pupils learning a foreign language, and, therefore, to reflect on the reasons of what helped them exactly to understand the content, i.e. gestures, realia, etc.
“Ba-na-nen”
Then, we discussed the first input question, “How can I motivate my pupils?” At first, we had to explain the word “motivation”. Then Bounpheng demonstrated how she motivates her pupils and how she creates a positive atmosphere, e.g. by jumping like a frog through the classroom (relating to the vocabulary to be taught). The results were written down in a mind-map with the following headlines: Teacher, comprehension, atmosphere, and meaningful content.
Group discussion
Mind map: Motivation
Afterwards, we talked about the amount of new words and “chunks” that can be taught in one lesson (five to ten words, one to two “chunks”, depending on the learner group), and that it is important to consider different learning styles and intelligences: Aural, visual, and haptic. Therefore, one should offer a variety of activities in each lesson.
Individual work
The next topic we discussed was “What possibilities of communication do I have in the classroom?” We talked about conversational English, communication strategies, routines, classroom English, e.g. asking for permission, and searched for examples for each one of those.
In order to offer to our tandem-teachers an impression of how English lessons can be held, we played a short video lesson sequence of Ms Nold, a German Montessori teacher Prof. Martin had worked with in Karlsruhe. We prepared an observation exercise and reflected on how the teacher repeats vocabulary and what means of communication she uses. Our teachers seemed to be very interested in the video and we had an inspiring discussion about different classroom methodologies.
Sample lesson
To finish the workshop, we explained the “Seven Stages of Learning a Word” in order to underline that listening comprehension should always be taught before speaking, and that reading should be instructed before writing.
Seven stages of learning a word (our diagramme, based on S. Richards & S. Villiers, Oxford Primary Teachers’ Academy – Methodology Booklet)
At the very end, we advised our tandem-teachers to reread our workshop folder on their own at home and to try out at least two activities a week. We will be anxious to see if our workshop was successful when we observe their lessons over the next weeks.
Text by K. Petter & P. Kern
Pictures by S. Stöhrer, S. Schäfer, K. Petter & P. Kern
Two Lao weddings
Is there a better way to get to know the Lao spirit of trust, love, and intimate togetherness than being part of a traditional Lao wedding ceremony? We were the lucky ones who got that chance. There was a lot of excitement when we came back home from a long day at school and found nine invitations to a Lao wedding on the table. Two days later, we got another invitation. November is the month in which most Lao weddings are celebrated – the monks calculate the best time.
One invitation was from the daughter of the school’s karate teacher, Mr. Thavixay, and the other one was an invitation from close friends and neighbours of Madame Gerlinde Engel, i.e. the family in whose villa Team I had stayed. Traditionally, wedding invitations are printed on golden paper, which symbolizes the splendor and glamour of the event.
Invitation cards: Two weddings on one weekend
Is there a better reason for shopping than getting ready for such special events? During that week we talked a lot to our teachers about the procedure of a Lao wedding and what elaborate robes we could wear. They suggested we get nice blouses tailored, but there wasn’t enough time to get them made. So on the following weekend we drove to Vientiane to the That Luang Festival and looked at the hundred stalls filled with colourful traditional Lao blouses. After one hour of trying on many blouses we finally found very beautiful ones that matched our sinhs.
Denise, Silja, Anika, Juliana and Julia visit the That Luang Festival
Stalls filled with blouses
Trying on blouse number 100
Silja’s and Anika’s final decision
Wedding No. 1:
Saturday, the 12th of November, 2016, or: The day of the first wedding. At 7 p.m. we arrived at the wedding of Mr. Thavixay’s daughter, Thaviphone. We were overwhelmed by the decoration and the flower arrangements in front of the restaurant. The outside area was decorated with a lot of plastic flower arrangements. When we walked into the restaurant, we were welcomed by the groom and the bride, who we were honoured to take a photo with.
Happy wedding
The invitees from AfC (Denise, Lena, Anika, Johannes, Sara, Silja)
Inside, we got a table right next to the bridal couple with food served to us by a waiter. This was a very nice treat because most of the 400 guests had to go to the buffet, which was always crowded. Another benefit was that we sat directly in front of the dance floor.
“VIP” table
Traditional Lao food: “Spicy pork“
During dinner, we had a good time listening to a Lao singer and watching various Lao dances. We were so impressed by the performances that we almost forgot to eat. After dinner the groom and the bride danced the first dance. Later that evening, we were invited to dance, too.
Groom and bride
Lao dance
Hmong dance
Wedding dance
Getting involved
Johannes Zeck has the honour of dancing with the bride, Thaviphone
Our first traditional Lao wedding came to a close at 11.30 p.m. We left the wedding with big smiles on our faces, a lot of new impressions, and feet that hurt from dancing.
Wedding No. 2:
The next morning, we had to get up early to get our make-up done and to get dressed.
This ceremony took place in the bride’s family house in our village, Sikeud, i.e. the villa which had been home to Team I. We picked up Madame Gerlinde Engel and entered through an “arch of flowers“, which is a typical decoration in Laos to welcome people on important occasions. The flowers often have evocative meanings and symbols. They symbolize love, longevity, cheerfulness, and brilliance.
The arch of flowers
Inside the house, the family and the closest friends sat down in the living-room and waited for the bridal couple to arrive. Being a part of this ceremony was a great honour for us. As part of the Baci ceremony, the groom had to drink a purifying whiskey before entering the house. Once he had entered through the front door, a respectable elderly woman accompanied him to his spot in the living-room by a nice flower tree. Linda told us later that this woman has had a long, successful marriage and is a role model for the community.
Waiting for the bridal couple
The oldest woman of the community
The groom enters the house
The groom sat down in front of the so called “Pha khuan“, which means “spirit enhancing“. It is a handmade marigold pyramid made of banana leaves with food and drinks put around it. Then “the baci“, an old spiritual ceremony of blessing, started. The ceremony can take between thirty minutes and two hours and is performed by a elder from the village who was a Buddhist monk at some point.
He started to talk to the bridal couple (in Lao, of course). We were very happy to have Linda translate for us. She told us that he advised the bride to fulfil her duties as a good wife and the groom to fulfil his role as a good husband. Then he gave one end of the white threads that are connecting the two “Pha khuan“ to the groom and the other to the bride.
Pha khuan
The spirit of love
The bride
White threads
Then the master of ceremonies and all loved ones tied white strings called “Phook ken“ around the wrists of the groom and the bride. The white threads are symbols of two spirits joining, they wish good luck and also bless the couple. This is the beginning of a joyful start into their new lives together. It is believed that if the receivers of the blessing (the bridal couple) want their wishes to come true, they should keep the white strings tied around their wrists for at least three days.
Phook ken
Phook ken close up
The happy couple
This weekend was just incredible. We were so proud to be a part of such a special occasion and to value the Lao tradition, to experience Lao culture, and to get to know a little bit more about our neighbours’ religion and beliefs.
Text by A. Broghammer & S. Schäfer
Photos by A. Broghammer, S. Schäfer, S. Stöhrer
The “Tooth-Brushing Project” of Ban Sikeud Primary School
Every year, Ban Sikeud Primary School runs a tooth-brushing project from October to April. The same is now established at Ban Phang Heng Primary School and started this year.
Tooth-brushing project of Ban Sikeud Primary School
The project was initiated by the Lao Ministry of Education in order to accomplish improved hygiene in the country. Therefore, two posters were hung up in the school: “Steps how to brush your teeth” and “Steps how to wash your hands”.
Steps how to brush your teeth
Steps how to wash your hands
If one observes the children, one can immediately notice the need of this: Many children have rotting teeth. This might be due to many reasons such as lacking hygiene opportunities in combination with a lot of sweet drinks and food which are easily available in many shops. In addition to that, this could be attributed to a vitamin deficiency passed on through generations. Anyhow, it seems to be very important to convey the importance of taking good care of both your primary and permanent teeth.
However, unfortunately, not every Lao school has the means to realise this project. In Ban Sikeud, everything that is needed is provided by the foundation Angels for Children. There is always enough toothpaste and soap, and every pupil receives a toothbrush which is cleverly kept safe when it is not needed.
Storage of toothbrushes
The project is carried out as a ritual. During the first break, at 10 o’clock, everyone gathers near the long water supply pipes which are installed around the school yard.
Water supply pipes
The activity starts with some morning exercises.
Morning exercise
Afterwards, drops of water run out of the water pipes. The children wash their hands with soap, which is stored in little bags hanging from the pipe – the bags were sewn by Mrs Engel. Then, some teachers walk along the rows of children and distribute toothpaste.
A teacher distributes toothpaste
Finally, the children brush their teeth.
The children brush their teeth
After the activity, the water is retained in buckets and used to water the plants.
Some pupils water the plants with the retained water
To me, the project seems to be a lot of fun and very successful at the same time.
Text and photos by K. Petter
Workshop on 20 November 2016 – “Assessing and enriching teaching material”
It has been ten weeks now since we started to work at Ban Phang Heng Lower Secondary School. During our daily work we were confronted by course book-centred lessons in nearly every classroom. The “Authors’ Preface” to the (mandatory) Lao English state course book already points out that the book was written under time pressure and explicitly asks for helpful feedback. Well, to begin with, it is printed in black-and-white, and it wouldn’t do from our perspective to teach the vast majority of the lessons without the use of extra material.
According to the authors, some of whom we had the pleasure to meet in person, there is extra material that comes with the book. However, it is not their job to distribute this material, so they could not tell us why our school neither has it nor even knew about it before we asked.
Then, the “Grammar notes” are sometimes incomplete, or the introduction of vocabulary does not follow a certain sequence but is only translated into Lao. Many instructions for the exercises (not tasks) emphatically rely on extra material that is not given, as it either does not exist for all the course books in the series or it simply has not reached our school. All in all there are many reasons for implementing extra material into the Lao English classroom.
Our main concern was and is to help the Lao teachers to help themselves and teach them how they can support the Lao state course book series with self-made extra material like handicraft templates, listening material, flashcards, word cards, conversation cards, and other requisites which activate speaking. So we started our workshop by using Unit 10/Lesson 1 of the grade 1 Lao English course book as an example of how to enrich the given material with simple and cheap self-made material.
German volunteers with their motivated “tandem-teachers” (from left): Bonleud Sengsavangvong, Souvanh Navong, Anika Broghammer, David Schrep, Donekeo Keositthivong, Souksakhone Sindavan
To give our Lao teacher-students ideas about how to make the lesson more “colourful” we introduced some self-made material for this lesson. Our aim was to show how easy and cheap it can be to create one’s own material. Starting with flashcards that simply feature the colours, we went on to rolling a dice with surfaces in different colours while asking questions, and ended with a game on the topic “colours & animals” plus two “colour” songs.
Lao English textbook for secondary school, grade 1, topic “colours”
After our short introduction to the wider range of possibilities and more variation, it was time for a hands-on phase for our partners and to brainstorm about teaching material. Therefore we equipped them with a pouch filled with stationary.
Honestly, we were impressed by the range of the Lao teachers’ knowledge about what kind of extra teaching material could be used to support the books, as we had rarely seen any examples of this in the classrooms.
Our teaching material
Donekeo Keositthivong explores our self-made teaching material
As already agreed before, every teacher was to choose one particular lesson in their course books which they would want to spice up, so now we went over to the active part of the workshop. We provided some English didactic, grammar, and course books and (sadly) relied on our two mobile wifi-routers that then promptly let us down. Luckily, our friend and helper Bouangeun Hanthavong a.k.a “Linda” helped us out with a working device. Meanwhile, Anika and the group talked about the various uses of the “offline material” we had prepared, i.e. two templates for a dice and a clock. When we were theoretically eventually connected to the Internet, we discovered that the Lao teachers’ laptops could not receive any wifi-signal. After 15 minutes of trying in vain, we finally re-organized ourselves and let them use our own laptops so that we could start to work on the chosen lessons.
“I am packing my bag and I am taking with me…”
Anika introduces the mind map
Group work
Souvanh Navong presents the Lao teachers’ mind map
With high expectations of a successful afternoon, everybody started to work right away. Nonetheless the tandem-teachers realized quickly how challenging it can be to come up with your own ideas and to think outside the box. In turn, we German teachers saw ourselves confronted with the time running away, realizing that the scheduled 3 hours were not going to be enough. Laos is not Germany, and we regularly face the realization that the German efficiency we are used to cannot be imposed on or imported to our daily Lao lives.
Souksakhone Sindavan looks up flashcards
David explains how to work with the laptop
In total our workshop took over 5 hours, but at the end of the day we were proud of our tandem-partners and their self-made material.
Proudly presenting the results of a long day of hard work
After a long day we went to a restaurant nearby which is owned by a friend of Souvanh Navong’s. Tired, hungry and overwhelmed by the impressions of the day we ate together, talked about the workshop, made jokes and just had a good time.
Having lunch at a Lao restaurant nearby our house
As David will stay until the mid of January and Anika even until the mid of February, we are planning to do two follow-up-workshops in which we will go on working on the course book together. For the future, we look forward to seeing our teacher-students carry on with these meetings, even after our departure.
Text by D. Schrep & A. Broghammer
Photos by A. Broghammer, D. Schrep & P. Kern
Introduction of volunteers: Team III
Most of the members of Team III have been here for a good while now, but our Team was only completed a month ago with the arrival of the last of the 11 volunteers, Sara, who had had to wait for her final oral state examinations until the end of October and left for Laos three days later.
Before we started our exciting journey halfway around the globe to experience an entirely new culture, each one of us had had different thoughts about our stay in Laos. Today, we want to share these thoughts and expectations with you and tell you a little bit about ourselves in the following introduction of our team. Accompany and follow us through our pre-expectations to our first impressions, some of which we already published here, and then on our way to a whole new mindset!
Hello! I’m Pauline Kern, I’m 25 years old and I have lived in Karlsruhe since the beginning of my studies at the PH. I studied French and home economics in the primary education degree. As I love languages and cultures I’m looking forward to spending some time in Laos.
In my free time I like to do creative things, to meet friends, and to dance.
Pauline Kern
My task in Laos is to be the “stand-in” or “flexi” teacher. This means that I do the “Mopsy” classes with the preschoolers and that I teach English to the “Non- English” teachers – the total beginners. For the preschoolers, I went through the Mopsy course book and the weekly reports of Team I & II to get an idea of what had already been done and how to prepare. I exchanged experiences with the previous teams and by this I could write lesson plans for the preschoolers. With Silja I worked together to write a course plan for the Straightforward Beginners English book, with which the “Non-English” teachers will work. Moreover, for the first lesson I prepared a PowerPoint presentation with information and photos of my family, my town, my country, typical German food and drinks, etc.
I’m looking forward to sharing some of the cultural experiences I made on several trips and long-term stays with the people in Laos!
The special task I volunteered for is housekeeping. As I lived in a students’ residence for a long time I am familiar with planning how to organize the cleaning and the cooking for many people. Following the idea of Jule (Team II) I made a Cleaning Clock with photos of each volunteer to have a better organization as soon as we arrive in Laos. This means that everybody has his/her special task in housekeeping for one week which changes every week. I read a little bit about culture and food in Laos (to get an idea of what could be cooked) and in my travel guide I found some recipes to cook with typical Lao food (e.g. amok = coconut curry with fish). When I arrive I still have to get an idea of the situation and plan exactly how to use the Cleaning Clock and how to write the shopping list for 9 people but I think we are prepared very well so far!
Hello, I’m Kerstin.
Kerstin Petter
I finished my studies in the field of “European Teacher Course for Primary Schools” at the University of Education Karlsruhe in July 2016. I am very pleased to work in Ban Sikeud Primary School and am looking forward to meeting the Lao teachers Mittaphone (Mit) and Phovang (Noy). In addition to that, I will continue establishing Ban Sikeud’s “English Lending Library”.
This will be my first stay in Laos and I am very excited about what awaits me.
Hi, I’m David
I’m 25 years old and live in the beautiful village of Königsbach, about 30 minutes away from Karlsruhe. I just finished my studies and now call myself a teacher for secondary schools (Werkreal-, Haupt- und Realschulen) for English, Catholic religion and physical education. I like to go fishing, diving, travelling, and to do sports. I’ve never been to Laos before, so I’m pretty excited about what’s coming up to me.
David Schrep
As the teacher traineeship period (Referendariat) following university education only starts once a year, i.e. in February, I was wondering about how to use this half year off (after my graduation in the summer) meaningfully. During this time I met Prof. Martin, who told me about the project, so I applied. For my preparation I worked together with Anika and Silja. We searched for appropriate books, games and teaching material that can be used in Ban Phang Heng Secondary School, where we are about to set up a new “English Lending Library” for the Lao teachers. For this, aided by Prof. Martin, we first set up a small library of didactic reference books for ourselves, to guide us along the way.
Hello, I am Anika Broghammer,
Anika Broghammer
I am 24 years old and in my 5th semester at the PH Karlsruhe. My major is secondary education with the subjects physical education, English, and Catholic religion. As from October 2016, I will be teaching English at the Ban Phang Heng Secondary School in Ban Sikeud. I am looking forward to implementing modern teaching techniques including various media as well as preparing workshops for the right use of media in a language-learning classroom.
One of the goals of my stay in Laos is to set up an “English Lending Library” at the Ban Phang Heng Secondary School. For this reason my pre-attendant responsibility was to do some research on English secondary didactics literature, schoolbooks, games and other English-learning material which we deem useful and usable for teaching English in Laos, and then to archive them in the new Lending Library. In cooperation with David and Silja, I categorized the books according to publishers and subject area. At the end of July we completed our work by sorting appropriate books into a wish list, which Prof. Martin then edited and passed on to Johannes Zeck for the final order.
In Laos, we will archive the books and also introduce a new learning tool, the “Talking Pen”, for use in five different English language classrooms.
Furthermore, my special task will be the organization and management of the registration of school holidays (not as easy at it may seem to Western readers) and the creation of a clear schedule for our work, which has to be fitted around the normal school routine.
I look forward to working in a dedicated and professional team, to accomplishing my tasks in the teaching project in Laos.
Hello,
Lena Wink
my name is Lena Wink and I’m 26 years old. Like most of the team members I finished my first state exam in July 2016. Soon, I’m going to teach at the Lao German Technical College (LGTC) in Vientiane from 27th September 2016 until 15th January 2017. My special task and that of Denise involved doing research to find an appropriate course book for the college. The main focus was basic technical English. With the great help of Prof. Martin and Mr Fuerst we were able to find suitable books for the different groups. The books will be used for the teachers’ lessons and for the teaching of students.
At the college I will be responsible for the team of the English teachers. It will be my task to teach them with the new book and also to support the teachers in the field of didactics and methodology. I am sure that the task will be challenging, however, I am really glad that I am a member of the new team. I’m looking forward to the new experiences that I am going to gain at the college and in an Asian country.
Sabai dii and hello,
Denise Burkhardt
I am Denise and part of Team III in the project “Teaching English in Laos”. I took interest in this project when I attended the information session on 27th January 2016. This project is a chance to teach English to teachers and students without the possibility of switching to my mother tongue when difficulties arise, which in turn helps to build up my pedagogical repertoire and expertise.
During my studies at the University of Education Karlsruhe, which I completed in October this year with the first state exam, I had the chance to gain knowledge in the didactics and methodology of early foreign language education. The project now offers me the great opportunity to put all the theory of motivating and fun opportunities to support language-learning into practice before I start with my teacher traineeship in February 2017, which finishes with the second state exam after 18 months. As I love to travel and the best way to really get to know another culture is to stay there for a good while, this internship also offers a way for me to get an insight into a different way of life.
I am really looking forward to spending the next few months in Laos as I have heard many fantastic things about the Lao people and culture. I am sure that Lena and I will have a great time teaching English to the teachers and students at the Lao-German Technical College Vientiane.
Hello,
Thorsten Feldmann
My name is Thorsten Feldmann and for the last 4 years I studied at the PH Karlsruhe to become a primary teacher. My majors are English and mathematics. When I graduated in the summer, the question arose as to how I could spend the fall and winter of 2016 until the teacher traineeship period begins in February 2017.
Before I decided to become a teacher, I graduated as a chemical-technical assistant and worked as a CTO (chief technical officer) in a big science laboratory at the KIT (Karlruhe Institute of Technology) for 9 years. Beside the scientific work, I also managed the technical and environmental keep-up of the laboratory. After work, I used to be on stage as part of an ensemble in a cozy theatre in Karlsruhe.
As Prof. Martin knew about both my history in the laboratory and my theatrical work, she stopped me in my tracks on a cold winter’s day in Germany at the PH, to update me on her work in Laos, because the recent acquisition of a new laboratory in the secondary school had made her think of me. She asked pointblank if I could imagine working there, to breathe life into the laboratory with chemistry lessons. That took about 30 seconds before she had to run off to her lecture. Startled, I started thinking about it and remembered that my friend Tobi (Team I) had told me about the project, too. At home I opened the “Laos Experience Blog” and started to read. Immediately I was overwhelmed and wanted to join this experience.
Several months and auditions later, I was finally chosen to be a member of Team III and am now very excited in anticipation of what the stay will bring. I will teach English to the natural sciences teachers in Phan Heng Secondary School and will also introduce them to the practical work with students in a laboratory. As far as I know, they do not speak or understand English, so this is going to become really exciting.
My special task is the maintenance of this blog. Tobi already told me that this will be a lot of work, but we’ll see what it brings with it.
My name is Silja Schäfer and I am one of the lucky ones who are going to be part of this great project. I am 25 years old and from the picture you can see what I look like.
Silja Schäfer
MY LIFE BEFORE LAOS: I studied to become a primary school teacher at the PH Karlsruhe. My subjects are German and English, music and arts. After a long time of studying, I finally got my first state exam degree this summer. Alongside my studies, I used to do sports such as yoga or swimming. I worked and spent some quality time with my friends. Besides, I travelled a lot, but I have never been to southeast Asia before, which raises my curiosity even more. The project caught my attention because I think working mainly with the teachers is very sustainable. Moreover, I can be sure that other well-educated students will pick up and continue my work when I leave.
MY LIFE IN LAOS: From mid-September on, I will be working in Laos together with the other members of Team III. There I am going to have different tasks. During the first weeks I am going to work with two lovely teachers in Primary School Bang Phang Heng until Sara arrives who will continue. From then on I will give special support to Thorsten, who is going to work with the physics and chemistry teachers in Secondary School Ban Phang Heng. My “Special Task” is to set up a new “English Lending Library” for the secondary school. Together with Anika and David I already collected a lot of useful books which will help us to create suitable material for the library. To get prepared for this journey in a more mental way I read a lot about the country, the Laotians and their way of life. In general I think the most important thing is to have an open mind to all the new exciting but doubtlessly also sometimes difficult experiences which are awaiting us. I am really looking forward to this journey and I am curious about what I will experience and how these experiences will influence me as a person, how my life will be after Laos.
Hi everybody!
Sara Stöhrer
My name is Sara Stöhrer and I’ll be going to Laos at the very end of October. Right now I am in the middle of my oral state exams, which is also why I’ll be leaving so late. I’m already very excited to be serving and working at the primary school of Phang Heng as it’ll be my first time in Asia. My special task will be “documentation and archive”, which means I’ll be in charge of collecting all the handouts, files and documents that Team III is going to produce, as well as the photos and videos that all the team members took, to sort and store them on one external hard drive. And of course I’ll be taking photos and videos as well for you all to see on the blog.
Hello,
Julia Keßner
my name is Julia Keßner and I am 23 years old. I have wanted to become a primary school teacher ever since I was little, so I started my studies at the “Pädagogische Hochschule Karlsruhe” in 2011. My main subjects there were English and history and I also studied one semester abroad at the University of Birmingham in England. In my free time I love to ride my horse Nanuk (in the photo), singing, dancing, and meeting friends.
Now that I have finished my studies, I am looking forward to bringing my knowledge, methods, and material … to the Sunshine School in Laos and to gauge it all against the lessons and teaching methods there. Juliana and I were invited via Prof. Martin to join the Sunshine School team in Vientiane by “Didi” (which means “Sister”) – the head of the school, for an internship for approximately three months, and I am sure that this is going to be a great time for us!
Sabai dee!
Juliana Kase
My name is Juliana, I studied primary school education with the main subjects German and English at the ”Pädagogische Hochschule Karlsruhe”, where I graduated in spring 2016. I always planned to go abroad for some time after my graduation, so I took the great opportunity which presented itself to me through Prof. Martin to volunteer for three months at the Sunshine School in Vientiane, Laos.
Laos is one of the least known countries in southeast Asia, which makes it all the more attractive for me to live and work there for a few months to get to know the country and its people. I am really curious about how the school system works in this Communist state and I cannot wait to face some challenges and gain great experiences which will bring me further in my life, not only with respect to my teaching profession, but also for my personality.
Souvanh Navong – my life as a Lao teacher
Mr Souvanh Navong is one of my two Lao teacher-students. We have been working together for 9 weeks. In our “teacher lessons” we mainly work on pronunciation, listening, and writing. During our “tandem teacher lessons” we try out some new teaching techniques, games, and methods. Additionally to our joint work, we also spend our free time together, going out for a Beerlao or two, working together in his rice field, or we just meet and have a chat. We are not only teacher and teacher-student, but also became friends – I feel very lucky to work with him.
The following short essay was written by Souvanh himself. He writes about his daily life as a Lao teacher, his hopes, wishes, and dreams. To keep the text authentic, I did not do any editing on it.
Hello my name’s Souvanh navong , I am a teacher I teaching at Sekeud Secondary School for six years ,English subject , so that I want to teaching with students ,because the students want to study English ,but I think all the student study finished at primary school want to come to study at this school ,but( they don’t know How to read and write? ) I think this way we must improving from primary school . before come to study at Secondary School.
Teacher Souvanh Navong
Sine 2014 and 2015 I went to Germany the first time of my life ,I think all Germany people very kind , when I lived . I when to Germany by Anger for children .i think never forget it ,I have been training English in Weiden .i interesting for the student ,they can do homework by them self and read the long story book,
Souvanh Navong, Mr. Khamsing Nathavongduangsy with his wife Mrs. Souksada Nanthavongduangsy & the director of the secondary school, Mr. Khampheng Boun Tha Lavong meet Christian Engel, the managing director of BHS Corrugated
Souvanh Navong visits a German classroom
If who come to be the director in this school I things the director should learning along time for coming to be a director and should have experience of working after the director must know English language because in this school so have many English teacher’s come from Germany or foreigners and is very important for working to getter or communication we can get the knowledge
School manager Souvanh Navong and his mentor Mr. Khampheng Boun Tha Lavong
On the future I am want to be director ,because at this school so many English teacher from Germany come to visit at this school ,if I am come to be director is Good for communication and working together , I will make new I dear for the students want to learning English.
Teacher Souvanh Navong with his class 4/3
After that I want to learning English more five year ,at university ,and lawyer, after finish ,than come to work at this school .thank you very much for reading . I love what we do but you know what I mean .
From souvanhnavong
“I love what we do, but you know what I mean”
Souvanh Navong and the director Mr. Khampheng Boun Tha Lavong have a chat with their pupils
Text by S. Navong
Photos by D. Schrep & J. Zeck
Mopsy and me – in Ban Sikeud Primary School
I have been in Laos for a while now and I really enjoy the life here in the hot Asian sun. Every day I wake up and look forward to seeing the smiling faces of the pre-schoolers, and today I will tell you a little bit about my work with Mopsy, the dog, in Ban Sikeud Primary School.
The whole Mopsy class and me
We already start teaching English at pre-school because it is a perfect opportunity for the pupils to dive into an English-speaking atmosphere, which enables them to adopt the foreign language intuitively and emotionally with all senses. In addition to that, they do not have any English curriculum yet, which is why the lessons in pre-school do not need to follow any specific guidelines or course book.
I work with the pre-schoolers every day from Monday to Thursday in the morning. In the beginning, I had to transcribe every Lao name into English and I made name signs for every child because – since I have 60 pre-schoolers in 2 classes – it was impossible for me to remember every name. This was very interesting because I got to know many unknown names such as Ponsavane, Mitmisai, Soubandith, Sivilai, Lianelong, Sonmaniyam, Khankam, Tippasone…
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
When I enter the classroom in the morning, all the children stand up and shout “good morning teacher!”, which makes me smile each time because they do it with so much enthusiasm and love that I know it will be a good day. Then I read out the names of the children of the first group and they line up to go into the pupils’ library room, where I work with them for 20 minutes. Teaching English to the pre-schoolers means to sing, mime, dance, and draw a lot. Every word needs to be contextualised, semanticised, and underlined with a special facial expression or move.
I work with the course book Mopsy and me written by Leonora Fröhlich-Ward and Gisela Schmid-Schönbein. In my opinion, it is perfect for “English beginners” of that age because talking with the small dog-shaped hand puppet Mopsy motivates the children to speak English. During our morning ritual we make a circle and sing a good morning song together. Here we greet everybody in the group by putting our hands together (respectful Lao greeting = nop). Then we start with our lesson. I try to talk about a new topic every week, and in between we do a lot of repetition so that the children remember what they learned already.
Colour dictation
It’s a hand – it’s a foot! MY foot!
My highlight in the second week was when most of the pre-schoolers could answer my questions about their names. Because they are used to repeating after the teachers all the time in their Lao lessons, it took some time for them to understand the difference between repeating after me and answering a question. I experienced just the same as Tobi from Team I when we met on a Monday morning and they could name all the body parts we learned last week. That made me proud and happy.
Up to now, the children cannot only introduce themselves and tell me how they are; they can also sing and perform the “Hokey Pokey” song, which is about body parts, and the “Head and shoulders, knees and toes” song. The children love to sing and to dance – but what they love most is when they are allowed to act and speak with Mopsy on their own. It is impressive how fast the pre-schoolers learn and how good the pronunciation of some children is. I really enjoy the work with the children even if it is hard sometimes to make myself understood. However, in this case I have Kathong (a young Lao woman), who helps me and translates in difficult situations because my little Lao knowledge is often not enough.
Kathong introduces herself
At the end of every lesson it is time to say goodbye. We sing a song and shout “bye-bye, Mopsy, see you tomorrow!”, and the children run back to their classrooms.
Excited Mopsies
The wide laughing faces of the children create a feeling of deep satisfaction, happiness, and joy in me – every single day.
Text and photos by P. Kern
The fun of learning a language – welcome to the “English Conversation Club”
Every Tuesday and Thursday from 15:15 – 16:00 o’clock some pupils from grade 3 & 4 get together with two English teachers from Germany to enjoy some extra language-learning-time in our new “English Conversation Club”.
We are the English Conversation Club
In the beginning, we faced the problem of how to “acquire” pupils in the schoolyard during “Activity time” who would be interested in doing an English activity. Either the pupils took part in one of the numerous sporting activities that range from volleyball over sepak takraw to Lao dancing, table tennis, pétanque, or karate, or they simply were too shy to speak to us. So after some consultations we decided to make the option less open and to start an “English Conversation Club” (ECC).
The idea was to meet in a classroom, which offers a safer and quieter learning atmosphere than the busy schoolyard. With the help of Souvanh Navong and Leud Sengsavangvong, two of our English teachers at Ban Phang Heng Lower Secondary School, we put posters up in every grade 3 & 4 classroom to call their attention.
The ECC poster
The next step was to draw up a list of names of the students who want to participate, and to hand it to the director Mr. Khampheng Boun Tha Lavong, to get his permission. As is usual in Laos, before implementing a new idea at school, we were dependent on his written agreement.
Finally, on Thursday, 13th of October 2016, we turned our plans into action. The first ECC class took place in a small classroom with 43 students who had all come to improve their English.
The first lesson
One month has passed by since we started with this latest addition to our Lao-English learning adventure. There are 20 students who come regularly to every lesson. Up until now we have covered the topics “This is me”, “My Day”, “My hobbies”, “The weather”, “Animals”, and “Clothes”. We also competed against each other in various English language-games, for example Chinese Whispers, Jeopardy, a classroom version of Pictionary, “Who is it?”, and other interactive activities.
Focused on winning
“If you’re happy and you know it raise your arm”
One of our “Singlish” activities
The main aim of the ECC is to let the students speak. Sometimes it was quite challenging to get the students to come out of their shells. But with time the ECC turned into an easy-going and relaxed environment where the pupils feel comfortable speaking and do not have to be afraid of making mistakes. For the next weeks, we want to extend our range to real-life conversations, debates, students’ blog entries, and more fun games & songs.
We are very proud of our pupils. It is very rewarding for us to see their motivation every lesson, to see how thankful they are for everything we do, and to see their progression over time.
Playing Chinese Whispers
Introducing ‘The place to my right is free’
Squad Goals
Thorsten introduces hobbies
Special guest Silja
Can I have your Facebook name?
Text by A. Broghammer & D. Schrep
Photos by A. Broghammer, D. Schrep & S. Schäfer
My first impressions of Laos, its people, and schools – by Sara Stöhrer
I have been here for 10 days now and would like to share some of my first impressions with you.
Laos is a very beautiful and green country. When you fly from Bangkok (Thailand) to Vientiane (Laos) it is super interesting how the landscape changes from accurately planned streets and fields, set up in parallel lines, to a green country of just a few streets and houses. There are, indeed, not a lot of good streets here as far as I can tell. The street to our house, for example, is very bumpy and dirty. When it is dry, the street brings a lot of dust that makes it hard to breathe without coughing, and when the street is wet, the road is filled with puddles and it gets very slippery and muddy.
When I first met the teachers at Ban Phang Heng secondary and primary school, I had a hard time understanding them. They were all very happy to meet me and wanted to ask me all kinds of questions, but because I wasn’t used to their pronunciation yet, I could not really understand them. I could see the disappointment in their faces and felt bad for not understanding them. The teachers mostly struggle with the pronunciation of final consonant sounds, so if they want to say “Nice to meet you” it sounds more like “Ni to mee you” ([Nai tu mi ju]). The Laotians I have met so far are very friendly: They invited me to their house, their wedding, or to have dinner with them and they even secretly paid for the meal at a restaurant.
Pictures of the wedding
Before coming here I was told that Laos is a very poor country, so I thought that I had to watch my belongings all the time so they would not get stolen. However, here in Sikeud, you can leave your bike or scooter in front of a shop without locking it and it will still be there when you come back again. The same goes for our house: It is almost never locked and thieves would have an easy job stealing from us. This part of not having to worry about your things being stolen is definitely something that I am going to miss.
Laos is a country that is very different from Germany. When greeting a person, for example, you do not shake hands, but you bow down with your hands put together in front of you. What is interesting and weird to me is that students at school that are taller than me bow down very low to make themselves shorter than me. This is one of the many cultural customs that I have to get used to. Another one is that the Laotians in Ban Sikeud take off their shoes when entering a shop. But not only that is different: In school, teachers and students all wear uniforms. The teachers have a brown uniform and the students a black skirt or black pants and a white shirt. Whenever they have a school break the pupils are allowed to take off their uniforms and put on street wear. The lunch break here is extraordinarily long and goes from 11:30 to 13:30. In that time some pupils go to the market nearby or their parents come to school to bring them food. Others go to the cafeteria on campus where one can get noodle soup, rice and curry, all kinds of candy, and sodas. The food in Laos is usually very spicy and often you cannot really tell what you are eating or you can tell what it is and therefore do not want to eat it, like roasted grasshoppers, toads, or a chicken claw. At least I don’t want to eat it – but other team members are more courageous and try eating it.
The elementary school children are very cute and some try to put into practice what they have already learned to say in English. They come up to us volunteers and say “hello”, “good morning”, “good afternoon” or “what’s your name?”
Two primary school children posing for the camera
…another primary pupil
Silja looking out of the teachers’ office
…another primary pupil
Every (English) lesson Lao-style here is pretty much the same: The teacher introduces words and makes the pupils speak after him/ her many times, which creates a very loud noise in the classroom when there are 60 pupils shouting and repeating after the teacher. After that, the teacher writes the new English words or something in Lao on the board and the students have to copy it into their exercise-books. End of lesson.
I am very surprised how calm the pupils remain during those lessons because in German elementary school classes the children would probably not be able to sit through all their classes like that if they were held in that way. When playing a language game in class, though, you can tell that they are very happy to be doing something different and fun.
A typical classroom at Ban Phang Heng Primary School
Every day I teach a Lao elementary school teacher from Ban Phang Heng school in English. I took a long time to realize how very different Lao and English are. There are next to no accordances! Obviously they differ in letters or signs and also in sounds. Moreover, Lao does not even use punctuation at all. Things like a period/full stop, comma, or exclamation mark are simply a mystery to them, let alone capital letters. What makes communicating with non-English speakers difficult, too, is that Laotians do not use gestures or body language to talk. Consequently, talking with one’s hands and feet does not help them understand what I am trying to say. In school this makes teaching English to the children very challenging as they are not used to discovery learning and cannot try to figure out what the other party is saying. Instead they just repeat after you. It takes a lot of patience to keep on trying to make them understand and still use gestures. But I must say that after a while the children usually understand what I am trying to communicate to them. So I am very curious to see where this project is leading us and I am looking forward to seeing the teachers and the children improving their English more and more as well as getting used to new teaching methods.
Text & photos by S. Stöhrer
My first impressions – by Anika Broghammer
My trip to Laos started with one backpack full of clothes and chocolate and a second big travel bag packed with folders, Christmas cookies and teaching material. Coming from Germany and only knowing very little about Laos, I had low expectations that probably say more about me than about the reputation of the country. I expected that there would be no supermarkets and that you need to drive out of town to find the next ATM. In my mind I thought of classrooms without air condition and no technical equipment. Today I view these things differently and so I want to tell you about my first impressions.
Surprisingly – and this was great to see – in the closer surroundings of Ban Sikeud you can find everything you need and even if the people do not speak English they try to communicate with you using gestures and facial expressions to help you.
I was told that it is important to be nicely dressed as a teacher, especially in an Asian country. This means clothes that cover knees and shoulders. For this reason, I brought lots of long cotton pants and T-shirts.
And as far as classrooms are concerned, Ban Phang Heng Secondary School is a pioneer: Thanks to AfC, it has a new physics room with a Whiteboard and a beamer and a computer room with 50 computers to work with.
Backpack at Frankfurt Airport: Starting-point of my Lao-German experience
People
When I landed on Lao ground, I was warmly welcomed by my teammates Silja and David. After the inspection of the gigantic house in which I am granted to live during my time in Laos we sat on the balcony with a bag of Lao iced coffee and my teammates told me about our plans for the weekend. In the afternoon David showed me around Ban Phang Heng Secondary School in which I will be teaching over the next five months. While walking around in the school, he introduced me to the Lao teachers. They were all very kind and open-minded towards me.
This, honestly, is the point where I was the most surprised. I realised that when a teacher walks by a student, the student bows his head with his hands folded in front of his upper body, like when praying. Later that day, I learned that the “nop“ is a traditional gesture to show respect and social standing. There are three different folding positions, depending on the social standing of the counterpart. The higher the social standing of the counterpart, the higher the hands will be folded. The older the counterpart, the higher the hands are folded as well, i.e. in front of the nose. When you greet a monk, your hands are folded in front of your forehead.
In the evening Silja and I went to see Mrs Gerlinde Engel to say hello and to introduce myself, and also to discuss the next steps in building up the new “Lending Library” in Ban Phang Heng Secondary School. There I got to know that when entering a temple or a house, you have to take off your shoes. The students also take off their shoes before entering a classroom.
My first Lao “Coffee-to-go”
Lake Nam Ngum
The weekend was quite eventful. On Saturday morning at 9 o´clock Pauline´s “non-English” teachers came to the villa to pick us up, to spend the day at the lake Nam Ngum. With six people squeezed on the back of a pick-up and a huge sound box, we drove to the lake for two hours. We listened to Lao songs, singing out loud while driving through the dusty roads.
On our way to Lake Nam Ngum
Typical Lao road
At the lake, we met the director of Ban Phang Heng Secondary School and his family. All together, we went on a boat which had a big slide down to the water on the roof. We had a delicious lunch on the boat, where they served roasted cashew nuts, fish, curry, and a lot more. The highlight of the day was the slide: We had a lot of fun going down the slide and spending time in the beautiful warm lake. Unfortunately, it is not normal for Laotians to be able to swim, so we were very pleased to have teachers with us who had swimming skills. By the end of the day I had not only seen one of the nicest places in Laos, but also enjoyed the very kind and generous company of our partner teachers which they had offered from the very first day.
“Non-English” teachers and German teachers by Nam Ngum Lake
Enjoying the nice view
View from the car to Lake Nam Ngum
The very delicious Lao buffet
The brave ones on the slide
Splash!
Vientiane Boat Race
On Sunday, all volunteers joined up with the teachers of LGTC and Sunshine School to go to the Boat Race on the Mekong River (Boun Xuang Heua). The streets to and along the Mekong River bank were very crowded with thousands of spectators. The Vientiane Boat Racing Festival is held the day after the “Lhei Heua Fei“ Festival (“floating boats of light downstream”) and commemorates the defeat of the neighbouring Thai army by the Lao in a boat race. The festival is held after the monks’ three-month fast, and rain retreat has ended.
When we strolled through the markets, I saw many Laotians carrying little flower arrangements with candles on it. We had a lot of fun at the side shows, which were all over the place, such as “pop-the-balloons”, where small prizes can be won. In the evening we went to a Korean restaurant and I tried sticky rice with the traditional green curry. In the evening, hundreds of colourful flower arrangements decorated with candles were brought to the Mekong River. People put their decorated floats into the water and then let them float downstream – a symbol of paying respect to the river spirit.
Flower arrangements for sale at the market in Vientiane
A woman brings her present
Floating flowers on the Mekong
Pop-the-balloons
Crowded streets
My first day at a Lao school
For my first day at school, I wanted to get an overview of how things work and who takes care of what. The day started at 8:00 am, and I accompanied David to his “teacher lesson” with Mr Souvanh. On entering the staff room, the Lao teachers I had got to know over the weekend welcomed me very kindly and invited me to sit with them. Mr Champasong taught me the days of the week and showed me how to write my name in the Lao language.
My name (Anika) in Lao handwriting
During my first days at school, I explored the traditional Lao dancing during “Activity time”. I must say I was pleasantly surprised! At first I thought this would be a bit boring: Repeating easy step sequences for two minutes, the duration of the song. But I really wanted to check it out and dive into something entirely unknown to me. Lao music is very different from European music to start with, but the movements look pretty easy. After dancing for ten minutes, I realised that they are more complicated and precise than I thought. Seysamone, one of our Lao teachers, taught me how to bend my hands and stretch my fingers and then the different step sequences for every song. The pupils could see that I had big problems memorising the steps but they smiled at me and were very proud to show me their dancing skills instead of being sceptical or critical.
1,2,3, forward and back
Who can find me?
In the big break my teacher-student Ms. Donekeo, a little well-dressed woman, ran straight towards me and introduced herself. Due to the fact that she had an hour off, we took the time to talk to each other and get to know one another a little. We had a good time talking about family and the differences of life in Germany and Laos. As is typical of Lao women, Donekeo likes to wear make-up and a beautiful Sinh. She told me that she had worked as a teacher at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School for four years and that she likes to learn English.
From the left: Ms. Saysamone, two pupils, myself, Ms. Donekeo (in the hallway)
I told her that I am just as excited, that I also look forward to starting work with her, and that I am highly motivated to help to further improve the English learning situation at Ban Phang Heng Secondary School by creating a good learning atmosphere with my English teacher-students and by helping with their classroom management and performance as well as by implementing new teaching methods. Let’s get started!
Text by A. Broghammer
Photos by A. Broghammer, D. Schrep & P. Kern
Honoured and proud: German Federal Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation visits BHS/AfC in Weiherhammer (13 October 2016)
The private German NGO (non-governmental organisation) Angels for Children, the University of Education Karlsruhe, the machine-producing company BHS Corrugated, and the transregional training centre of East Bavaria in vocational eduation (“UeBZO”) have united forces and thereby now operate as stakeholders in global development aid, local and international vocational and teacher training, economic success, and regional development. The model character of this constellation was confirmed and honoured by the high-ranking visit of the German Federal Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation, Dr. Gerhard (Gerd) Mueller, on 13 October 2016.
In a short but diverse programme of 1 ½ hours, Dr. Gerhard Mueller was introduced to the company BHS Corrugated and to the training centre UeBZO at their headquarters in Weiherhammer, Germany. Also, the project leaders of the “Teaching English in Laos” project Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin (University of Education Karlsruhe) and Bernhard Fuerst (Angels for Children) presented the developments of the cooperative new project in Laos, together with the director of the Lao-German Technical College Mr Somlith Virivong.
Following the last project meetings in Vientiane, BHS Corrugated had invited Mr Virivong to Germany in order to plan future steps of the “Recruitment and Training Programme” together.
The delegation and 150 guests finally went on a short tour through the “Innovation Centre“.
Discussion of the “Recruitment and Training Programme”
Donations for Angels for Children are always welcome
More than 150 guests in the BHS “Innovision Centre”
The programme in more detail: After a warm welcome by Mr Christian Engel and Mr Lars Engel, managing directors of BHS Corrugated and board members of the Angels for Children foundation, project manager Mr Johannes Zeck presented an overview of the history and mission of Angels for Children and the project “Teaching English in Laos”, which now involves the University of Education Karlsruhe, the Lao-German Technical College, the Recruitment and Training Programme with BHS Corrugated, and the UeBZO.
The delegation then signed the visitors’ book of the town of Weiherhammer, after which the Minister addressed the audience with a speech himself. He delineated the connection between our work and aims with the work and aims of his Ministry.
In his view, our project deals with global challenges: Education, migration, food safety and transportation, environmental problems, increasing consumption in the Asian part of the world. The last few years have seen the continuous growth of the global population and severe migration crises, which highlights once more the importance of international cooperations.
The crucial factor in tackling these global issues is education. Fostering education in underprivileged communities and countries by training and supporting the teachers, skilled workers, and decision-makers is the key to solving our global problems and for shaping a better future. From a European perspective: Helping to make life easier in less fortunate parts of the world also means stabilizing Europe by reducing global reasons for migration.
Christian Engel and Dr. Gerhard Mueller
Workshop in the UeBZO
Lathe machine in the UeBZO
Journeyman’s piece made in the UeBZO
… and some more…
Thus, the Minister warmly welcomed the projects of the partners, who are determined to offer their skills and knowledge to a lesser developed part of the world – Laos. He accepted an invitation to come and visit us there, praised the general role-model character of the “Teaching English in Laos” project and invited Prof. Martin for further talks.
At the end of a fruitful visit
Johannes Zeck (AfC, BHS), Albrecht Ruprecht (MdB, member of the German Parliament), Ludwig Biller (mayor of Weiherhammer), Somlith Virivong (LGTC), Dr. Gerhard Mueller (Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development), Prof. Dr. Isabel Martin (University of Education Karlsruhe), Lars Engel (board member of AfC, managing director of BHS), Prof. Dr. Erich Bauer (UeBZO)
After the visit: Prof. Bauer, Lars Engel, Christian Engel, Prof. Martin, Johannes Zeck
We would very much like to thank Minister Dr. Gerhard Mueller for the honour of his visit in Weiherhammer, and we are looking forward very much indeed to his next visit – in Laos!
Planning the next steps…
… and more planning
Corrugated art made by Paul Roier, head of the Project Department of BHS Corrugated
Corrugated art made by Paul Roier
Corrugated art to celebrate 50 years of innovation at BHS, by Paul Roier
Press coverage:
- Oberpfalz TV 14 October 2016: “Bildung ist der Schlüssel” (“education is the key”).
- Onetz 14 October 2016: “Damit die Probleme nicht nach Deutschland kommen” (“To prevent the problems from reaching Germany”)
- BHS Corrugated 14 October 2016: “German Development Minister visits BHS Corrugated“
Text by J. Zeck
Photos by I. Martin
Teachers’ Sports Competition Day at Naxaythong High School
Wednesday, the 5th of October, was a very sunny morning. Instead of going to school as usual, the teachers of Ban Sikeud Secondary School picked us up at our home, to take us along to Naxaythong Upper Secondary School. On this day the pupils had a day off, because their teachers were invited to the annual “Teachers’ Sports Competition”.
Every year the teachers of the local Upper Secondary and Secondary Schools meet on the school grounds of Naxaythong High School to find a new proud owner for the “sportive bragging rights”. As part of the staff, we were asked to help our Lao colleagues win some trophies for our school, and we were happy to oblige. On our way we stopped by at Mr Khamsing Nathavongdouangsy’s house, where his friendly wife Mrs Souksada Nanthavongdouangsy gave every one of us a blue team shirt with the school’s logo on it. We were happy about this present and wore it with pride.
At our arrival, we saw that lots of teachers of different schools already competed against each other in several disciplines: In Pétanque, a kind of national sport in Laos and one of the remnants of French colonial times, in table tennis, and tug-of-war. Our ladies Pauline, Silja, and Kerstin joined the women’s tug-of-war team, whereas Thorsten and David were cheering for the team.
Tug-of-War
After 3 exhausting rounds the Ban Sikeud Secondary women’s team reached the final round against Phonthong School. The team now joined their best forces and won the trophy in an exciting final with 2:1.
Everyone was full of joy and finally hungry for lunch. We went into a small restaurant where we had the time to chat and laugh together. After that we returned to Naxaythong High School to watch our teachers’ Pétanque team and to play table tennis for fun. The time spent on the Pétanque grounds was also a time of socializing with the English teachers of the other schools taking part in the competition.
Pétanque team of Sikeud Secondary School
In the evening after the competition we celebrated the victory of our Mr. Thavixay Salichanh and the third place of Mr. Sackbong Boulaphan in the men’s table tennis contest in a restaurant, with food, Beerlao, and karaoke – in Lao and English, of course.
Mens’ table tennis competition
The teachers of Ban Sikeud Secondary School
When we finally went to bed – completely exhausted from another day full of interesting encounters and excitement – we were happy to have been part of the school’s team. We were (and continue to be) astonished by the teachers’ team spirit, which cannot only be seen in sports, but which we also witness during daily life at school.
Text & photos by D. Schrep & P. Kern
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