Salithsay English Developing Centre

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Saw a flyer in need of a Native English speaker to volunteer in Phonsavanh, Laos. The ad was for volunteers to interact with kids who are learning English. Technically, I'm not a native English speaker, but close enough. I got in contact with Salithsay and arranged a volunteer date. I'd contemplated teaching english overseas the last couple of years. This was me dipping my foot in the water for the first time. The kids were very polite and greeted me with "Sabaidee." We spent a couple of hours going thru workbooks. Every now and then. I'd try to get interactive with them by acting out scenarios in the workbook. For the short amount of time these kids have been learning english, they actually understood what I said very well. I was quite surprised. Forming sentences were a bit more difficult for them, but I think they will be fine. Teaching english to a group of students who does not speak a similar language as you is a challenging task. Ms. Salithsay was awesome for giving me an opportunity to stop by. Dinner was also great.


"I am having more doubts that my life will be stationary back in the U.S....I taught English for the first time yesterday. It was challenging because of the language barrier and being in front of the class. Definitely outside of my comfort zone."
Journal Entry: 03.14.2014

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