Thailand volunteer - Teach English in Thailand at a Temple school

known as novices, are actually part of the Buddhist temple and therefore receive free accommodation in the temple and food from the town’s people during Alms giving. Nearly every single pupil I taught had at least one parent who was a farmer. Unfortunately this means that most do not really see the point in English as many imagine that they will just end up back in the fields, rice paddies do not speak English so why bother trying? As a consequence it is important to really try hard to find a way of teaching that is fun and interactive. When we first started I started I was lucky to get 6 or more students by the end I had 15 or more, once engaged and comfortable in your presence they monks will really try hard to learn even if at first they find it frustrating.

Supposedly monks are not allowed to sing, dance, play musical instruments or take part in sports. How ever on the first day I watched a group of novices scatter in all directions as a senior monk attempted to disband a game of football. Such behaviour is not just a traite of the novices, monks should not drive cars or motor bikes but there was great hilarity when one monk attempted to drive the school pickup truck come bus. As he made disastrous attempts to co-ordinate the clutch and gear change the truck bucked and jolted like a disgruntled donkey. It appears that all rules of Thai etiquette go out of the window as well; rather than being the placid and serene miniature Buddha’s I imagined they are as mischievous as any bunch of young farm hands anywhere in the world, which is what they are really just with shaved heads and orange robes. They took great delight in tying each others robes together on the bus, this meant that when one jumped off he also dragged the person stood next to him off as well. Of course to get your revenge for such a trick there is nothing better than to whack your aggressor over the back of the head. I could tell that I was popular when I was poked for the entire journey home, unfortunately I never found the culprit as they all fiend innocence, this left me little choice but to poke everyone as I left the bus.

Most of the older monks were very friendly; though it did take a little while for me to be fully accepted as members of the teaching staff but by the end I often had the other teachers wanting to read my lesson plan even though couldn’t read or speak English and as a result they didn’t actually understand what I wanted to do. Despite the pressures of his job Tarabun the principle did try very hard to be involved in my lesson plans, though being at the beck and call of the abbot did mean he spent most of his time rushing between meetings and writing reports. Fortunately I was able to call upon the amazing, self styled “crazy monk”, Phoushon, who would happily sit there for hours and answer my various questions about Buddhism or help me explain things in Thai to my students even though he was supposed to be the science teacher. He was exceptionally helpful and I will miss him immensely as a friend, especially his odd ball sense of humour.

The temple its self was not at all what I imagined, I had this idea that due to the age of Buddhism as a religion the temples would also be exceptionally old, similar to those around Angkawat in Cambodia. Most of the temples in Nongkhai are made with cement and re-enforced concrete. It is possible to see very old temples in Thailand but due to the sheer numbers of monks they are constantly building new temples to accommodate them. The inside of all temples are beautifully painted, depicting the life story of the Buddha and local legends, the main temple in Nongkhai has incredible battles scenes of the various wars between what is now Thailand and Laos. Due to the humble and simple lives of the monks I was under the impression that the temples would be as equally plain and understated, I could never in a million years have predicted such decadent artisanship.
People must realise that you do not go to Nongkhai for its party life, if you want to help people and see the real side of Thai life away from the well trodden back packers route you go to rural Isan, if you want to drink yourself stupid every night go to Phuket or Patayya Beach. That is not to say the Thai staff did not try their best to entertain us, taking us to karaoke bars and a now some what infamous night club. I do not think I have laughed quite as hard as at the weekly welcome dinner / freak show. Seeing what Isan people can do with their fingers is quite an eye opener, its also a good idea to find out if you have any hidden skills or tricks. For the rest of the time the staff were exceptionally friendly and always ready to share in a giggle or sit and watch a film. After the initial shyness was broken down I felt welcomed with open arms; I was very sad to leave and felt like I was leaving behind some really good friends who I will never forget.

Written by Thaweesilp L.
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Thailand volunteer - Teach English in Thailand at a Temple school By Tom Richardson Teaching at the temple school was nothing like I even remotely imagined, from the monks to temple everything was a surprise. All temple schools are non-fee paying schools and set up to allow even the poorest of children a chance at receiving a basic education. For starters the young monks, otherwise known as novices, are actually part of the Buddhist temple and therefore receive free accommodation in the temple and food from the town’s people during Alms giving. Nearly every single pupil I taught had at least one parent who was a farmer. Unfortunately this means that most do not really see the point in English as many imagine that they will just end up back in the fields, rice paddies do not speak English so why bother trying? As a consequence it is important to really try hard to find a way of teaching that is fun and interactive. When we first started I started I was lucky to get 6 or more students by the end I had 15 or more, once engaged and comfortable in your presence they monks will really try hard to learn even if at first they find it frustrating. Supposedly monks are not allowed to sing, dance, play musical instruments or take part in sports. How ever on the first day I watched a group of novices scatter in all directions as a senior monk attempted to disband a game of football. Such behaviour is not just a traite of the novices, monks should not drive cars or motor bikes but there was great hilarity when one monk attempted to drive the school pickup truck come bus. As he made disastrous attempts to co-ordinate the clutch and gear change the truck bucked and jolted like a disgruntled donkey. It appears that all rules of Thai etiquette go out of the window as well; rather than being the placid and serene miniature Buddha’s I imagined they are as mischievous as any bunch of young farm hands anywhere in the world, which is what they are really just with shaved heads and orange robes. They took great delight in tying each others robes together on the bus, this meant that when one jumped off he also dragged the person stood next to him off as well. Of course to get your revenge for such a trick there is nothing better than to whack your aggressor over the back of the head. I could tell that I was popular when I was poked for the entire journey home, unfortunately I never found the culprit as they all fiend innocence, this left me little choice but to poke everyone as I left the bus. Most of the older monks were very friendly; though it did take a little while for me to be fully accepted as members of the teaching staff but by the end I often had the other teachers wanting to read my lesson plan even though couldn’t read or speak English and as a result they didn’t actually understand what I wanted to do. Despite the pressures of his job Tarabun the principle did try very hard to be involved in my lesson plans, though being at the beck and call of the abbot did mean he spent most of his time rushing between meetings and writing reports. Fortunately I was able to call upon the amazing, self styled “crazy monk”, Phoushon, who would happily sit there for hours and answer my various questions about Buddhism or help me explain things in Thai to my students even though he was supposed to be the science teacher. He was exceptionally helpful and I will miss him immensely as a friend, especially his odd ball sense of humour. The temple its self was not at all what I imagined, I had this idea that due to the age of Buddhism as a religion the temples would also be exceptionally old, similar to those around Angkawat in Cambodia. Most of the temples in Nongkhai are made with cement and re-enforced concrete. It is possible to see very old temples in Thailand but due to the sheer numbers of monks they are constantly building new temples to accommodate them. The inside of all temples are beautifully painted, depicting the life story of the Buddha and local legends, the main temple in Nongkhai has incredible battles scenes of the various wars between what is now Thailand and Laos. Due to the humble and simple lives of the monks I was under the impression that the temples would be as equally plain and understated, I could never in a million years have predicted such decadent artisanship. People must realise that you do not go to Nongkhai for its party life, if you want to help people and see the real side of Thai life away from the well trodden back packers route you go to rural Isan, if you want to drink yourself stupid every night go to Phuket or Patayya Beach. That is not to say the Thai staff did not try their best to entertain us, taking us to karaoke bars and a now some what infamous night club. I do not think I have laughed quite as hard as at the weekly welcome dinner / freak show. Seeing what Isan people can do with their fingers is quite an eye opener, its also a good idea to find out if you have any hidden skills or tricks. For the rest of the time the staff were exceptionally friendly and always ready to share in a giggle or sit and watch a film. After the initial shyness was broken down I felt welcomed with open arms; I was very sad to leave and felt like I was leaving behind some really good friends who I will never forget. 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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 March 2008 )