Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Vacation is Over

Tomorrow begins the next term of school. I don't know exactly what classes I'll be teaching, but have been told they're going to try to keep us with the same students we were with last term. I do know I have been assigned to teach a new course that has never been taught at my school. It's got me excited because it's more than just an English class. The subject will be 'The English of ASEAN' (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). See, in 2014, the ten member nations of the organization will be forming a new economic community, similar to the EU or NAFTA. Tariffs, immigrations restriction and other boundaries between these countries will be removed and the region is going to be a lot more integrated. 

With nations like Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines as part of this group, English will be even more of the lingua franca than it is today.


This class I am going to be teaching will be about customs, culture and employment opportunities of the ASEAN nations. It will be a social studies course as much as it is an English class. Cool! I've thought in the past that I would excel at being a social studies teacher, and know I get a chance!


As vacation winds down, I looked for an inexpensive activity to have one last adventure before work starts again. My Handy Atlas of Thailand was kind to me as I used it to pick a random place to visit...
Enjoy the video. 

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4 comments:

  1. MerikayOctober 23, 2013 at 8:37 AM

    That class sounds very interesting. It will be one inwhich you will have to be on your toes, probably learning some of your material the night before teaching it. Will you have a curriculum or lesson plan guide? advice, be sure to keep good daily notes, they might be very handy in the future if you teach it again without plans given to you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JokoOctober 25, 2013 at 9:58 PM

      My agency gave me a rough outline, but its entirely up to me to come up with the materials from which to teach! Yes, I'll be compiling it all in an organized manner, maybe for me, but for whoever else might be teaching this class at this school in the future.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 25, 2013 at 7:52 PM

    Cool. Good for you. Sociial Studies was one of my favorite subjects in school. All the best! J. in Seattle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JokoOctober 25, 2013 at 9:58 PM

      Thanks, John! I've already got the first week planned out. Lots of charts and graphs.

      Delete

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