Doing the TEYL course right now.

Cuisenaire rods are FUN!

Masterpieces by Ion, Tom, Eric and myself. Ion can draw so well. Did I mention that I love crayons?

Elvampirilla

Mr. Pickles

Norris

Barface

So smashed on a Tuesday, need to hit the shower and go to bed now.

All is well over here, please let Pa and Mummy know and tell them not to worry.

Golden Sweat has been very accommodating with my nonsense and makes sure I get to school on time every day. He is very smart and helps me a lot, especially on grammar and phonetics. When I get too stressed with school, he encourages me. He also packs food for me when I am rushing for my assignments and makes Milo for me every morning.

I bought a new Paul Frank bikini on Saturday and have been swimming every day since. (Splurge, I know.) The pool water is cleaner after the rain, or maybe I can’t see too well at night.

The Pool - Day & Night

My classmates are awesome. I think it’s the Western culture. They’re very friendly and generous with compliments and encouragement. I’d love to say the same to them, and I truly mean what I say, but somehow I just find it hard to express myself.

I taught a new pre-intermediate class and got an “above standard” for my lesson today! It was probably my lesson plan that scored. I had a good warmer leading in to my context for teaching comparatives and superlatives and I used my students as examples. My little “invention” of a bigger or smaller game where they form sentences like “A cat is bigger than a rat,” or “My eraser is smaller than a rat,” went quite well even though I was running a little late into the lesson. The pre-intermediate students took a little longer than I’d anticipated for a worksheet they had to complete. I miss my students from the intermediate class!

Origami dice

Kenji visited us over the weekend and they helped me with these origami dice. I got the instructions off this YouTube video. School’s been absolutely exhausting and I have 3 lessons and an assignment due this week! Kenji and Golden Sweat went to Ayuthaya on Saturday but I didn’t join them. Just gotta tide over this week and the next two weeks will be more relaxed!

Working hard and healthy!

Love,
Jie

I got an “above standard” grade today for my lesson! Wasn’t expecting it thoughI know that I did do better today than all my previous lessons. I guess my improvisation using a student in my class to elicit and teach the first conditional scored me some points. However, my instructions for the activities still came out in a mess as before.

I took John’s advise yesterday about doing the lesson plan and language analysis before preparing the lesson materials and it really did work. He mentioned the lesson is only gonna be as good as our analysis of the target language and wise words indeed. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to do my impromptu grammar clarification before my lesson proper that I didn’t plan for.

Jinhan got his 3rd “above standard” today! I’m thrilled for him! Hope he’ll get a Pass with A at the end of CELTA. I’m aiming for a Pass with B.

Oh, and my classmate, Tom (Thomas), gave me a mixed tape of songs with Gloria or Glory in them (except for one song – I will survive by Gloria Gaynor, which technically doesn’t count)! That was sooo sweeet and it really made my day!

I’ve only been getting an average of 6 hours’ sleep every night and am suffering for a bit of a migraine since yesterday. Need to persevere! Assignment 2 due tomorrow! Damn, this blog is starting to get really wordy. Gonna go 拍照，拍照 with Kenji this weekend!

CELTA Dress Code
It is fine to dress smart casual on non teaching days. We have eight teaching days so that’s the amount of formal wear you need to bring (suits and ties not required for guys). I was surprised to find out that ladies are not supposed to expose their shoulders in Thai culture, so keep your sleeveless tops at home or for the weekends. Bring a jacket too because the classrooms can get really cold at times.

Clubbing in BKK
My Singaporean friend, Alan, dropped by with his customer and I managed to grab a couple of drinks with them on Saturday. We went bar hopping and clubbing till late and here’s a tip: carry your passport with you. Some places do not welcome Thais and they may check your identity if you are or look Asian like me (they may mistake you for a Thai). After much persuasion, we managed to get “exceptional approval” to enter Zaleng (a club in Bangkok) even though we were in shorts and slippers. A bottle of Johnnie Walker red label goes for only 900baht! It’s weird but they serve popcorn for 60baht to go along with your drinks. They usually serve peanuts in Singapore.

Update: After chatting with my classmate, Greg, I found out that they serve popcorn in some parts of the States too!

Got a “Standard” pass for my teaching today. It’s not “Above Standard” but I’m happy because I know I still have plenty of room for improvement. Things like pairing/grouping students or “chesting instructions” seemed easy to execute while observing classes, but they turned out really awkward and unnatural when I actually did them.

Despite planning my lesson, scripting my instructions, ICQs and CCQs (Instruction Checking Questions and Concept Checking Questions), anxiety got the better of me and I didn’t carry out some of the stuff I intended to do. I am glad the class wasn’t a complete failure even though I did my gist task and introduced one vocabulary after my detailed reading task (because I completely left them out).

My tutor, John, was surprisingly very encouraging and positive; quite different from all the nightmare stories I read online about CELTA trainers. My group mates, Aaron, Brian and Laura were also very supportive, especially Laura. Oh, and of course my roomie, Jinhan, too.

Even though it’s been barely a week, I feel that I have learned and benefited greatly from my trainers. Like what you’ll Google from ex-CELTA trainees, this course is truly helpful for anybody who wants to teach English as a career. The pedagogy is excellent for teaching any language in fact, and I noticed some similarities to the PBL (Problem Based Learning) pedagogy I practised while teaching Republic Polytechnic.

Workload is gradually building up and I can see now, why they say the CELTA course is very intensive.

Some tips on what to bring

• Big A4 ring folder with dividers and clear pockets
• Stationery (pens, pencils, eraser; hole punchers, staplers, glue and scissors are available in the school)
• A notebook or writing pad
• Color pencils (to add color to the black and white printouts used for your lessons)
• Jacket (as warm and humid as Bangkok is, classrooms can get pretty cold at times)

Everything is conveniently and cheaply available at the supermarket in Big C where ECC is located if you don’t want to bring your own.

I reaaally should be preparing for Friday’s lesson or sleeping right now instead of blogging but I’m afraid I’d forget all these by the time weekend comes. Besides, my weekend’s probably burnt too with a 750 – 1,000 words assignment due on Monday. Heck, I’m gonna treat myself to a beer and get a cheap bikini so I can chill by the pool after Friday’s class!

The answer is simple, time and money.

Thailand is one of the cheapest countries to take CELTA, considering it costs about US$3,800 at the British Council in Singapore and only US$1,660 at ECC Thailand (after early bird discount, if you apply 45 days before the course commences). Do some simple calculation and you will realise that it is cheaper to do it in Thailand even after adding your (budget airline) tickets, accommodation and living expenses. We’re talking about budget guesthouses to mid-range apartments and simple meals of course.

CELTA at the British Council in Singapore is offered on a part-time basis, or so they claim. It is two days per week, from 9am to 5pm over a 10-week period. That hardly sounds part-time to me since I’ve got to be extremely fortunate to have a very understanding employer who’d allow me to take two days off every week, or quit my day job. Over at ECC Thailand, you will complete the full-time course in four weeks.

Did I mention that they also throw in a locally (Thailand) recognised TEYL at no charge?

Application

After a lengthy application form and a 45-minute phone interview, I have been accepted for the CELTA course! Here are a couple of tips for filling up the application form:

1. Do your research, Google is your best friend.
2. Borrow relevant books to read them before, during and after applying.
3. Double check for grammatical and spelling mistakes.
4. Answer the question. Not all of them require you to define or give textbook answers.
5. Keep your extended writing task short and sweet (but stick to the 300-word minimum)

Regarding the phone interview, you won’t need to fret too much if you’ve done your homework and completed the application form on your own.

Visa

ECC Thailand does not provide an official admission letter and they will advice you to apply for the 90-days Tourist Visa instead of the Non-Immigrant Visa-ED. Contact your country’s Thai Embassy for more information.

Start the day with the infamous Chatuchak, and start early! We had a map but we still didn’t manage to navigate so heck, just go with the flow! Stuff here aren’t exactly cheap what with the hordes of tourists that visit, their sense of fashion is not in sync with mine either. How about adding Mr Sun to the picture? Nonetheless, it is an experience to window shop this labyrinth of shops amidst sticky shoulder rubs. I left empty handed.

Sky Train

Shopping with Kenji & Suya

Fancy some airconditioning? Try Emporium Thailand for Propaganda and the Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC). In fact, Propaganda alone is reason enough for me to shop there, look at what I found:

Letterpress by Bold Ideas

Expression dish by Surasekk

Emergency wedding ring by Propaganda

I regretted not buying a couple more emergency wedding rings! My friends love it!

Got money? Go burn a hole in your pocket at CentralWorld. I love what they sell in here but everything is in hundreds of (Singapore) dollars. I was greeted with so many dresses that caught my eye even though I’ve never heard of labels like Heidi’s Secrets & Paradiso, De Pil, KIDDING AROUND and Sara’s Wand.

When the sun sets, head over to Suan-Lum Night Bazaar for dinner, some REAL shopping and a massage! Suan Lum has a lot of shops that sell designer housewares and nice apparels. Things are cheap here but you can still bargain up to 30% off! It’s much better to shop at night when the sun is sleeping, and the crowd is not as thick as Chatuchak. I scored a denim short-overalls for less than SG$20!

Suan-Lum Night Bazaar

Rendezvous point

On the first night, we ate at a Hawker Centre and ordered many different Thai dishes. I love the Tom Yum Soup in Thailand! <3 <3 <3 There was a soccer match going on, though we didn’t catch it, I think it’d be exhilirating for soccer fans to rahrah with the crowd over sausages and beer.

臺灣的朋友

Soccer fans in Suan-Lum

We liked Suan-Lum so much that we revisited it two nights in a row! On the second night, we had dinner in a slightly upmarket Thai restaurant – Relax. Enjoy the laidback way of life, dine indoors or alfresco with old English love songs in the background.

Relax

I think I’ve more photos in my Vivitar, shall update again once I’m done with the roll tomorrow… in Penang! Heh!

You can’t hide from the sun unless you’re shopping indoors (and they have a few good ones too).  Asian countries like Thailand and Singapore have high humidity levels so you’ll perspire easily. Oh, and wear your most comfy pair of sneakers or slippers.

River boat with Kenji's Olympus Trip 500

Note to self: Beer and KTV the night before + 3 hours of sleep later, still looking fresh! Lol!

Take a ride along the Chao Phraya River

Lazy afternoon

Buy a One-Day Pass from BTS to take the Sky Train to Saphan Taksin station and transfer to the Chao Phraya Express Boat. Drop at stop 9 instead of 8 and walk to Wat Pho (to see the HUGE reclining Buddha) because there’s an interesting flea market en route selling lots of amulets and nick-nacks (Kenji and I “discovered” it because we missed a stop with me dozing peacefully). I spied another tourist eying a pair of vintage, pirate’s telescope that I’d love to own (just so you’ll know what treasures you may find)!

Alm bowls at Wat Pho

Monks at Wat Arun

You’ll need to take the river boat to cross the river and get to Wat Arun. Magnificent temple with steps so steep, my knees turned jelly when I was descending. It was quite fun to climb and picturesque too! Ladies: please don’t wear skirts unless you’d like to showcase your panties, and don’t wear stuff that’s too revealing or you’ll need to rent a shawl.

Khao San Road

Last stop, take the boat to Khao San and forget you’re in Asia because in this ghetto for backpackers, it’s like 95% non-Asians. Littered with backpackers’ inns and bars, I swore I’d re-visit Bangkok just to chill here with a book in one hand and an ice-cold beer in another.

Related links:
Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (BTS)
Chao Phraya Express Boat
Wat Pho
Wat Arun
Khao San Road