Assignment 1: Introduction

Hi! My name is Cecilia Ilori. I study PPE (that is, Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Warwick University. I am used to travelling, as with my orchestra I had travelled all over Europe. Being dropped in a new environment engaged parts of my mind that are not engaged in the UK – understanding new customs, languages, food, culture and lifestyle. This merely will be exemplified in such a different culture such as Thailand. I can increases my empathy and understanding of myself – that there is so much more in the world than just me and my bubble. And this comes from speaking to new people, exploring new places, living in different climates and overall being forced to break out of my routine. I can come back home renewed and 10x smarter and more open minded, and this kind of experience can only, I believe, be achieved through travelling.
I can anticipate issues such as insecurity of the language barrier, culture clashes and making new friends. However, I plan to improve on my language and learning about the culture, which can be only done through experience. Engaging in group activities, too, should ease the progress in making new friends.
I am to travel and develop my soft skills which will be incredibly useful in my future endeavors.

Hello im Khadija, im 19 from Birmingham in the UK. I decided to travel to Thailand to enrol in the TESOL course and enhance in the culture here. The challenges I’m expecting to face are the language barrier and being able to communicate with others. I hope to get a better cultural understanding of Thailand and the importance of teaching English as a foreign language.

Hi! My name is Connie, I’m 19 years old from England, however i currently live in Cardiff where i study English Literature. i decided to join the gotoco program in Thailand in order to gain experience in teaching, but more importantly, to travel and share language and culture. I believe that as our world becomes more integrated and globalised, it is imperative (for young people in particular) to share in each other cultures in order to make a more tolerant and accepting global society. The language barrier may prove to be challenging, however i hope that with the time spent here and the knowledge gained through practising Thai customs, this will be easier to overcome. I can’t wait to meet new people, locals and other members of the program alike and believe that this will be an experience that stays with me forever.

Hello everyone!

My name is Randy. I am 33 years old and I’m from the United States. While this will be my first time teaching abroad, I do have nine years of experience in the classroom. I taught special education in the middle and high school grades. My passion with special education has always been in “transition”. This particular category in special education deals with preparing students for independent living as an adult. My role mostly dealt with helping students develop their career or college plans, gain strategies for self-determination and self-advocacy, and building their communication skills (in the workplace especially and amongst their co-workers and employers). After teaching, I took about a two-year hiatus. During that time, I worked as a lead generator for a residential solar company. Basically, I was a door-knocker. Of course, as you can imagine, I had lots of adversity to overcome, but similar to when I was a teacher, my success in this industry revolved around being honesty, reliable, willing to be uncomfortable, and building rapport with my clients. I want to bring these character traits with me to the classroom in Thailand. I also hope to instill some of these core values in my students while teaching in Thailand because I do feel they are paramount when communicating as a global citizen.

My wife and I visited Bangkok back in February and fell in love. We got to see ad experience the temples (in one temple we both were completely overwhelmed by the reverence and holiness–it was like nothing we had felt before and we knew it felt very real), rode in a water taxi, rode in a tuk tuk, visited 7-eleven repeatedly, and of course, ate lots of street food and Khao Soi became a dish we HAD to consume on a regular basis. My wife and I are both excited about this journey. We really want to immerse ourselves into Thai culture.

I do feel my absence from the classroom will at the very least temporarily be an obstacle for me. I do hope it is “like riding a bicycle” and the feel for being a leader among students and working with a curriculum is second nature and I can pick it back up easily. Regardless, I know that I want to put a lot of effort into my craft and be the best I can be for my students!

Hello!
My name is Valentina, I am a third year student at Manchester Metropolitan University. I study Sports Coaching and Development and absolutely love my area of study and study area!

I have decided to take part in this programme as I have a great passion for teaching and coaching, I love passing on my knowledge to help develop others understanding and perspectives. I want others to develop their creativity and freedom of thoughts. I also have always wanted to travel to Thailand, so therefore getting a brilliant experience and inspiring my dissertation idea at the same time is an amazing opportunity for me.

I believe the main barrier I will have to overcome is the language barrier and the understanding of their concerns and questions. However, I am going to use my coaching skills to assist me throughout. I believe I will be able to come out of this experience with much higher confidence, a passion for Thai culture and community and hopefully some Thai language to bring home my teach my family too!

I am going to immerse myself every step of this journey, allowing me to gain the most out of this experience.

I am very excited to meet new people and experience amazing opportunities.

Hi everyone,
My name is Asha Lama and I am from the UK. I am a university student currently on a summer break. The reason I am travelling to Thailand is to participate in a teach English programme for 5 weeks. Whilst I am very excited to be in Thailand, I am extremely nervous about the responsibility of teaching. This is the first time I will be stepping out of my comfort zone however, I am open to learning and having new experiences so I am certain I will be fine. I can’t wait to start the programme and meet new people and learn about the culture and life of Thai people.
I have lived quite sheltered life so far. Therefore what I am hoping to get out of this programme is adventure and new experiences which will help me grow as a person.

Hello! My name is Karen. I’m a 29 year old psychology student from Spain, but I have been living in the north of Scotland for the last 7 years.
I’ve been interested and linked to the study of languages from a very young age and it has been a long time goal of mine to be able to travel abroad and help other people, who may not have the resources I once had, learn the English language. Thus, as the opportunity came along I did not hesitate to join this programme.
I believe the biggest challenges will be being in a complete different country and culture and teaching English which as exciting as it is, it is also something I have no experience in doing at all. However, I believe having an open and curious mind, positive attitude and an interest in learning as much as I can from the country and culture I will be living in, are a great base to approach any obstacles that may come up my way.
The things I’m most excited about are meeting lots of people from different backgrounds of life and explore and soak up as much as I can this beautiful country and its culture with the addition of gaining a qualification whilst learning and hopefully helping others learn as well.

My name is Gina, I’m a teacher in Special Education in Eastbourne, England. I studied languages at university and love travelling and experiencing new cultures. I am lucky to have 6 weeks of holiday in the summer and wanted to use the opportunity to travel to a different country and experience a different way of life. I have been to China before but nowhere else and wanted to try out a different Asian culture. I am being placed in the jungle for my school placement and it will be a new experience for me being so rural. I hope to learn about Thai culture, eat lots of different foods and learn some language. I think I may struggle with the difference in accommodation in the jungle but it is temporary and I will gain lots from the experience.