A Thai Learner in the Learning Context Essay

1. IntroductionThe Cambridge Certificate in slope Language pedagogy to Adults (CELTA), offered by the University of Cambridge (ESOL Examinations), is run in oer 120 centers around the humanness and it is considered by many authorities as the most important conformity of training in the TELF (Teaching side of meat as a Foreign Language) industry. betwixt 30th of August and 24th of September 2004 I attended the Cambridge CELTA bunk at position and Computer College (ECC) from Bangkok.Cambridge ESOL is a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge. It is part of the Cambridge sagacity Group, Europes largest assessment agency. Cambridge Assessment was established in 1858 as the University of Cambridge local Examinations Syndicate (UCLESS). Cambridge ESOL provides exams and tests covering a large range of subjects and levels with to a greater extent than 8 million assessments taken every year in over 150 countries. English and Computer College was established in 1990 and is the largest private nomenclature school from Siameseland, with to a greater extent than 50 branches spread all over the country. It runs a wide variety of courses from general conversation and grammar to specialized test preparation. It similarly provides pre-service and in-service teacher training programs for native and non-native speakers of English.During the CELTA course that I attended, the trainers exposed the pupils (most of them teachers of English themselves) to the principles of effective commandment while the students acquired a range of practical skills for article of belief English to adult savants. The course included theory sessions, teaching dedicate with real students, observation of experienced teachers and completion of a range of corporations focused written assignments. The present paper was strengthened upon one of these assignments. It is a case study of a Thai young woman who was a student in my CELTA teaching practice lessons. The paper f ocuses on the learner in the education context and identifies specific problems and recommends ways of dealing with the lecture problems that the interviewed student encountered . The paper ends with the rationalefor the recommended activities and an overall conclusion.2. Profile of the learnerThe student I chose to observe and interview was Miss P.R. Her nickname is Nun, and she comes from Thailand. She was 24 historic period old at the time of the interview in 2004 and graduated from Busayarat commercialized School from Bangkok, with a degree in Computers in 1998. She had been studying English ever since primary school, when she was taught the basics of the English verbiage. In high school, her English teachers focused mainly on vocabulary work, and during her university studies she had a few classes of English every week. She had been studying English by herself and had taken different language courses intensively since 2003. She joined the CELTA English classes at English C omputer College in Bangkok on the 30th of August 2004. She attended all the classes, connexion her 15 classmates five times a week.Miss P.R. had an outgoing ainity. She was ever willing to take part in the activities that the teachers prepared for the CELTA English lesson at ECC. The materials used by the teachers during the lessons varied, ranging from visual aids to worksheets, tape recorders, books, and game boards. each lesson she took part in different writing, reading, listening, or speaking activities, but she also played fun games.When asked, she said that she believed the focus of the English lessons was mainly on speaking skills. She considered the lessons at ECC relaxed, and the students had and wanted to have a lot of fun. She felt that the foreign teachers were friendly and that they all had interesting personalities, which were reflected in their teaching styles. She noticed that the teachers have different accents too. She confessed that some of the teachers talke d too fast, and sometimes she had to submit or explain the activities to her classmates.In her opinion, a good teacher should be kind and listen to all the students in the class. She would like teachers to pay more attention to the weak students and have in sound judgement the fact that Thai students are shy and do not like to express their personal feelings. She thought it was a good idea for the teachers to force them the students to speak if they the students were reluctant to speak up in English.One of the main reasons why she was so outspoken was the fact that she had the chance to speak English outside the schoolroom with other foreigners too. Her educational background and her motivation were also important factors that built up her confidence.3. Specific problemsHer nationality was also important in her English learning context due to the fact that Thais have a specific mind set regarding languages. During my observations and interview I had noticed that she made frequen t mistakes in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.