BACK TO SCHOOL & GRAMMAR... PLEASE SEND TYLENOL!!

We have now completed 2 weeks of the 4-week TEFL (Teaching English as a Second Language) course in Chiang Mai.  To say I’ve been stretched (pulled, dragged, twisted, distorted) during these 2 weeks would be a major understatement. I am so far out of my comfort zone it actually hurts.

We are a class of 21 students, mostly from English speaking countries (U.K., U.S., Canada), plus a Russian, Singaporean, and 2 Italians (a man walked into a bar …). What we are learning can roughly be divided into 3 sections: Grammar Basics, Preparing/Delivering Lessons and Thai 101. For this update, I wanted to share my thoughts (pain) re: grammar.

Before arriving in Thailand, I naively thought I was totally proficient in all things English. English is my first language after all, I was great at English in school, and I have been communicating complex marketing concepts professionally for over 30 year.   NOT SO MUCH ….

I humbly ask you to consider the following sentences. a)  My head aches.      b)  My head is aching.      c)  My head ached.      d)  My head was aching.      e)  My head will ache.

Can you tell me if the above sentences use:

- a present simple verb to describe an action that is a) a fact? or b) happening around now? or c) a routine or habit?

-  a present continuous verb to describe an action that is a) happening now? or b) around now? or c) a future arrangement?

- a past simple verb to describe a) a completed action or event?  or b) a discontinued routine or habit?

-  a past continuous verb to describe a) a completed ongoing action from the past? or b) 2 ongoing past actions that happened over the same time?

- a present perfect verb to a) describe past actions with results now? or b) unfinished past actions?

- a future simple verb that is a) a prediction? or b) an agreement? or c) a promise?

- and are my various headaches referring to countable, uncountable, or gerund nouns?

Any way you say it, it hurts my head!   Note: for any grammar geeks reading this, PLEASE DO NOT send answers.

The one guy in the class who is sailing through all this is the Russian!!! This is how he learned to speak English.  He knows the grammatical name of words/phrases/contexts, and he knows all the rules & exceptions that apply to each. Most of the rest of us native English speakers are feeling very humble.

And now that we are clear on all things grammar, we’ll spend the next 2 weeks teaching these concepts to Thai students GO!😊 😊

We will each be teaching 6 unique lessons, to classes of 25-40 students, ranging from kindergarten to college level/age - using lesson plans, whiteboards, worksheets, games & props we develop from scratch. And while we are teaching, we need to be over the top entertaining, relevant, culturally aware, and on time, with outstanding classroom management.

Hmm ... can someone remind me why we aren’t lying on an exotic beach in Southern Thailand right now!?!  Despite all of this, I am (and I think Peter is too) totally excited by this massive challenge & opportunity for personal growth.  As the saying goes ...”Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward!!!”

Take care. Love to all,

Susan & Peter