sit and silent

a small girl in WU.
I learn good English
but not good speaker.
shy and fear.
I’m not confident,
sometimes sit and silent.
It help me safe.

a little voice from one of my students
edited from her narrative

my student's dream

Road of my dream

i ask myself. why i walk alone in this road?
why i must study hard?
i don't know, what am i doing? i don't know, who am i?

i close my eyes. i saw my dad, he smile to me.
i saw my mom, she say love with me.
they are waiting for me.

i found the answer. this road is the road of my dream.
i know, i have to go to my dream. i found the answer,
why i walk in this road. Because this road is the road
of my dream.

i look at the road
someone walk slowly
someone run quickly.
but they want the same thing.
that is destination.
that is their dream.

written and sung incredibly great by one of my students, English freshmen.
may:14:09

when you believe in you

Flying high
In turquoise sky
Hold hands
with the prince
Dreamy day

in yesterday writing workshop, i showed students the power of imagination
and told them that everyone could be a creative writer
...if they're honest with their feelings, any feelings.

in the end, each student composed a sweet song, resonating their ultimate dreams
some danced crazy steps

in that afternoon, the sky welcomed many freshy stars.

my idol

I came back to school in the middle of the 3d semester. My school applies a quarter academic system. It thus seems normal to feel real hectic here! It took me a while to catch up things in addition to getting shocked with some little things in my home turf. Sometimes I wonder if I return to the same country where I am so proud of.

With a business background, I found it a bit intimidating for the first time I walked into my first English classroom. With luck, I however survived the first semester. On a positive note, marketing experiences helped me see space to play with language and teaching. I think i am fortunate to bring some different perspectives to classrooms. Funny enough, sometimes i asked myself while i was teaching, 'am i teaching English or business'?

Next semester, I'm going to have a concert--to teach a fundamental English course to a huge class. I have no idea what my show with 300 students will be like. My first trick seems like i have to pack theories i have learned back into my suitcase. Instead, i need to contextualize lesson plans as much as i can. The world has changed a lot in terms of English communication and its input. In other words, English is almost everywhere. Yet it's really crucial to not expect the students here to be capable like CU or TU English major students. However, the students, i do believe, have a potential if we teachers do help. We just need to work harder(and pray louder) to foster these folks. Without a doubt, to be an English teacher in a countryside campus is really challenging.

At the end of the day, I just keep telling myself that my very first humble mission is to create a southern idol, not the Thailand one.