1. During the first two weeks of October ’12 I co-taught
two courses for students enrolled in a BA TESOL
program at Thongsook College in Bangkok, Thailand.
My co-teacher was Dr. Hemanta Dahal, President of
NELTA (Nepal English Language Teaching Association).
Together we taught
two separate (but
connected) week-
long 45 hr. courses:
Intro to Linguistics
! &
Teaching Grammar
My main areas of focus during the first week
were lexis, morphology, and pragmatics. I also
emphasized ways in which developments in
linguistics led to the field of SLA and, in turn,
affected and in large part determined the
various ways in which English has been taught
to speakers of other languages and what we
can learn from historical trends in TESOL.

2. I tried to make my part of the two
I taught the basics of IPA to develop the classes as interactive,dynamic,
teacher-learners phonological awareness student-centered and focused on
and support pronunciation instruction as specific objectives deemed key for
a more integral part of ESOL instruction. our particular group teacher-learners.
During the second week’s class I focused on the
integration of grammar into the communicative
curriculum, grammar awareness for teachers, error
correction basics, and the “unpacking” of grammar
structures for lesson planning. Whenever possible, I
attempted to describe academic concepts in ‘plain
English’ and emphasize practical classroom applications
the teacher-learners could use ‘on the job’.

3. Our class schedule was 9 to 6 Monday-Friday. We gave students reading
tasks, presentations, final exam, and a basic field research project.
Particularly during the
first few days of jet-lag
this schedule seemed
grueling. The program
also suffered from a lack
of basic organization!
Nevertheless, the group (teacher-learners and
instructors) bonded, falling into a productive
rhythm as we worked closely together during the
two intensive weeks. My co-teacher will teach a
third class (SLA) alone, followed by a Thai class.

4. During the first week there were
15 attendees and the second
week 18. They were all currently
employed as ESOL instructors in
Thailand. They were American,
British, Belgian, New Zealander,
German, and Australian,
Canadian, and South African.
From my PPT for class #1:
“What is Language?”

5. A snapshot of our whiteboard (an
overturned table actually - we weren’t
as well-resourced as we could’ve
been!) during an afternoon session:
Is Krashen’s approach complete?
How can/do you make input
more comprehensible in your
classrooms?
How can/do you notice and
assess the ‘affective filter(s)’ of
your students?
How can/do you lower their
affective filter(s)?
DISCUSS IN GROUPS

6. Dr. Hemanta’s lectures were
grounded in a solid academic
background of linguistics and
SLA. His portion of both
classes assured that our
teacher-learners came away
with a very thorough sense of
the academic side of things.
He also brought the
invaluable perspective of a
NNEST to the table and
made the issue of ‘Englishes’
Additionally,
insights into
the workings
and functions On my final day we were treated to a banquet lunch and
of professional ceremony where I was presented with a Thongsook College-
organizations emblazoned pottery piece.
in ELT helped This experience was a humbling challenge, an adventure, and
round out our a unique learning experience for me and it was only made
classes. possible by the support and kindness of my BU professors Dr.
Marnie Reed and Dr. Steven Molinksy. Thank you from the
bottom of my heart for allowing me to take part in this.