Assignment 1: Introduction

HI! My name is Katy, I am 22 years old and I’m from the United States. I graduated from the University of Arkansas in December with my Bachelor’s Degree in International Marketing. I studied abroad last spring semester in Granada, Spain and knew I wasn’t ready to join corporate America quite yet. While in Spain I was an English tutor and found a passion for it. I’ve always wanted to visit Thailand, so to have the opportunity to live there is a dream come true.
I think my biggest struggles will be the language barrier and adapting to the culture that as far as I can tell is a lot more relaxed than what I am used to, which I am very excited for! I plan to overcome these challenges by remembering to be patient with myself and learn as much as I can! I am so excited to meet people from all around the world and get to improve my teaching skills!

My name is Donald Greengrass, I prefer Don, I am from the United States. I studied business management and marketing at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. I enjoy playing sports, started out playing American football, switched to track and field in university, and since I have picked up football. I find sports to be a great way to connect and immerse myself in new communities. Even without speaking the same language, there is an understanding of the game. During university I opened a breakfast/brunch restaurant. After the pandemic, things didn’t work out as hoped and I took some time to reconcile the experience but it freed me up to do some traveling. Now I have been traveling around Oceania and more recently South East Asia for about 2 years.

I am taking the course in Thailand because my employer in New Zealand was unable to sponsor me with the rule changes. Thailand has long been in my top three travel destinations, behind New Zealand and Greece. Since I was in this part of the world I was not going to skip it! The TEFL certification appealed to me as it opens up opportunities to continue exploring the world. I get a feeling of fulfillment while I am coaching and teaching others about sports and while traveling I get asked about the English language. I believe that obtaining a certification will give me the confidence to properly advise those questions and teach people looking to learn. I am looking forward to connecting and working with you all!

My name is Donald Greengrass, I prefer Don, I am from the United States. I studied business management and marketing at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. I enjoy playing sports, started out playing American football, switched to track and field in university, and since I have picked up football. I find sports to be a great way to connect and immerse myself in new communities. Even without speaking the same language, there is an understanding of the game. During university I opened a breakfast/brunch restaurant. After the pandemic, things didn’t work out as hoped and I took some time to reconcile the experience but it freed me up to do some traveling. Now I have been traveling around Oceania and more recently South East Asia for about 2 years.

I decided to enroll in the course in Thailand because my employer in New Zealand was unable to sponsor me with the rule changes. Thailand has long been in my top three travel destinations, behind New Zealand and Greece. Since I was in this part of the world I was not going to skip it! I think the challenges I will face will be the language barrier, but with direction from the these modules, some practice, and the understanding from the welcoming people, I feel I will be able to overcome this barrier. The TEFL certification appealed to me as it opens up opportunities to continue exploring the world. I get a feeling of fulfillment while I am coaching and teaching others about sports and while traveling I get asked about the English language. I believe that obtaining a certification will give me the confidence to properly advise those questions and teach people looking to learn. I am looking forward to connecting and working with you all!

Hello, my name is John and I’m from the United States. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands, from repairing cars to making art. I was looking into buying a house and settling down in my city, but realized it’s not time for that yet, maybe ever. There’s so much left to see in the world so I decided to pursue teaching abroad since it’s always been a goal of mine. I have studied abroad before in Spain and France and loved it. Those are western cultures and I expect Thailand to be its own unique experience.
I have been taking some Thai lessons, but I know the language barrier is going to be my biggest challenge. I feel I won’t really get the best experience if I can’t speak and learn from the locals. I’m trying not to place a big expectation on my trip. I want to let it unfold and I’ll be along for the ride. This is the biggest thing I’ve done on my own so I hope to be challenged and continue to grow as a person. If I can learn about a new culture and make new friends along the way then I’ll be a happy camper.

Hello everyone
My name is Hanifa I work in mental health services currently in the UK. I decided to travel to Thailand as I have been here before as a tourist and want to experience as someone who want to move and live here. I expect the challenges of seasons and adaptation to the weather, language barriers. I hope to over come then by travel a few weeks before to adapt to the weather changes and take some classes in Thai.
I really hope I can make a difference to the childrens lives and I hope to achieve some level of deep understanding within myself

Hi! My name is Emily, I am 25 years old and originally from South Africa but I have lived in the UK for the past 10 years. I studied Law and Anthropology, completing my undergrad degree in 2021. Since graduating, I have lived and worked in London, with most of my professional experience being as an Executive Search Associate.

I made the decision to have a career change and try something outside of this as I was feeling unfulfilled professionally and have always been interested in teaching. I am very excited to be starting to teach in Thailand as I think it is the perfect way to immerse myself in a new culture, which having studied Anthropology, is something I am passionate about. I am also drawn to the beautiful nature in Thailand and the opportunity to explore the country during my time teaching.

I think the biggest challenges I will face will be adjusting to living away from family and friends and navigating a completely new culture. I plan to overcome this by pushing myself to embrace every new experience and putting myself out there to meet as many people as possible and hopefully create a strong sense of community.

I hope to gain valuable experience teaching as well as making new friends both from Thailand and other countries around the world. I am also very excited about travelling around Thailand and other countries in the region!

Hello! My name is Maddie. I am 22 years old and from London. I have recently graduated from the University of Cambridge, where I studied Natural Sciences, but it ended up being mostly biology by the end. I have always wanted to visit Thailand, especially after hearing about my friends’ experiences and so I am very excited to be moving so soon! I can’t wait to get stuck in with teaching and I feel very grateful for the opportunity to share some of my own knowledge and experiences of a subject I love. I am nervous about moving to a new country and starting a new job at the same time, and I think some of my biggest challenges will be adapting to a new culture and very different climate, as well as the language barrier. To overcome these challenges, I plan to try and immerse myself in the culture as much as possible from the beginning and keep updating my family and friends back home whenever I feel homesick. I am so excited to meet lots of new people and learn as much as I can.

Hi, my name is TJ, I’m 25 from Australia. I studied Film Production at SAE University in Brisbane. I have worked as a Learning Support Assistant/Teachers Assistant for children with disabilities, Autism, ADHD and behavioural issues in the London for 10 months through Slingshot Education Agency. In 2023 after working in insurance I decided to go overseas. I made this decision because I had never done much travelling especially solo. I always wanted to see the UK, parts of Europe and Asia learning different cultures and ways of life and to grow as a person while doing it. I signed up with Global Work and Travel and moved to London where I worked in Primary Schools as a Teachers Assistant. While I was working in London I went for a week long vacation in Bangkok and really enjoyed my time. After being in London I decided I needed a change and decided to work in Thailand. I’m ready to learn more about the culture and language as well as to partake in English teaching because I want to give back and help children on their learning journey. The challenges I face will most likely fall in line with cultural/ language barriers as well as remembering new information. I hope to overcome these challenges by being open and asking for help as well as a positive attitude. I think this will be a good opportunity to learn about the culture and meet new people. Looking forward to it :))