English Version / Englische Version

Sawatdee ka!

12.12.2012: ~1500€ donated already! THANK YOU!

I am Julia, a student completing a teaching degree (English, Social Studies and Philosophy/Ethics) and an M.A. in English Education at Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) Munich, Germany. My final exams are happening in summer/autumn of 2013 and I am planning to work in the educational field afterwards – preferably linking  teaching and research in higher education or working in foreign development assistance.

I’ve been interested in English education in Thailand for over five years now. Everything started with a volunteer stay in Phato in Chumphon province, southern Thailand – an area not open to many tourists. I taught kindergarten and primary school children English for the Thai Child Development Foundation and organised English language holiday camps for the older students.

Back home in Germany I had already collected funds for the small library in Thor Tang school which we refurbished together and equipped with many new Thai and English books. It is still great to see the students use the facilities :).

During this time, I made various observations regarding English schooling in Thailand and got interested in the topic. I stayed in touch with local teachers and went back for research in 2009 to film lessons for my final thesis that dealt with the quality of English language teaching in Thailand. During this stay, I was able to exchange experiences with English teachers and talk to local education authorities.

Primary school children of Thor Tang and I :)

Now, I am incredibly proud and happy because my university nominated me as an exchange research student meaning that I can attend Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok for research on my M.A. thesis from January to May 2013. Chula is the oldest and most reputable university in Thailand and it is an honour to conduct research on "Communicative English Language Teaching in Thailand" there. In addition, I could count on the support of local scholars whereas previously it was quite difficult to find data particularly on English teacher training in Thailand from Germany. In Bangkok, I could use all the facilities available at the university, conduct interviews … it would be awesome :)!

I’m planning to use this research as a foundation for a PhD in Education Studies at LMU. A professor has already accepted me as a research student in this programme. My research is intended to change the future of English language schooling and inquire whether certain teaching methods can simply be taken from one cultural context to another. In Thailand, for instance, it is not clear whether communicative language teaching, which requires interaction and active participation of both teachers and students, might not clash with the traditional method of stimulus response (“call and answer”) schooling rooted in the Thai culture.

In the small library

Fortunately, I was awarded a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service and the Bavarian State Government. However, it is too small to cover all expenses and I won’t be able to get a work permit in Thailand with my education visa. In addition, I already have two jobs in Germany because I mainly fund my studies myself and cannot save up any more money. There are no other scholarships I could apply for and student loans are not an option. My last hope was a scholarship from the Thai Ministry of Education but I was unlucky and it was given to students in Economics and Management instead.

Currently, I am lacking around 2000 Euros or $2500 dollars to make Thailand happen. A lot of money if you don’t have it – but actually not that much either! I already searched all scholarship databases, checked LMU’s International Office, looked for loans – nothing applies to this research stay.

The whole situation is really exasperating. I do not want to accept that I will have to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because of 2000 Euros. An acquaintance of mine suggested starting a crowdfunding blog: "Maybe people will donate something, 100 persons with 20 Euros each would do! I’ll start with giving you 50 Euros!". To be honest, I didn’t know what to think of it at the first. But hey, why simply give in just like that? If even internet acquaintances I have never met want to support me, it might even work out!

Well, the blog does exist now and it might even get somewhere. With your help, I could make this research stay happen and in the best case scenario a lot of people could be helped by this in the long run. Any amount  gets me a little closer to Bangkok. Think about it :)!

Khop khun maak na ka,
ขอบคุณมาก, 
many many thanks!

Julia 

 

If you do not want to use Paypal, please drop me a line and I’ll mail you the bank account details: pasing.massive@googlemail.com

If we are not able to collect enough money to send me to Bangkok, you will get your contribution back. However, hopefully this won’t be necessary :)!