The Road to Home

I have not written on this blog for months. This is because I am still working hard to reach my home. I am still on the same road, and the abstract below should support that I am still trying to get there.

Therefore, if you have any comments or suggestions please do so. Who know your comments might help me reach my destination faster. Thanks for your time and suggestions to come.

M. Kansa

May 31, 2015

Abstract:

ASEAN  Economic Community, An Opportunity for English Teachers to Do and Share More

By: Metee Kansa Ubon University, Thailand.

Key words: ASEAN Community, English Teaching

        English teachers’ main job is to teach English. However, when Asian countries become one big community, the language becomes more significant, and English teachers can really contribute more to the community.

        After having completed his doctorate degree, the researcher decided to go back to his hometown, Ban Lua Sue Kok, a village in Ubon, Thailand.  This was to do something to pay back to the researcher’s  village. The work began after a meeting with village leaders and some friends. Free tuition on weekends have been offered , and this has been on for many years. Then an opportunity was open and a teacher could do more when the AEC is coming soon; English is more relevant than what  it seemed to be in the past. More students were interested in joining the free courses. This meant that there were more occasions that parents and teacher met and talked. The researcher learned about their everyday life, problems and attitudes about education and village development. To understand students, a teacher needs to understand their background including having some information about the students’ parents. Consequently, the researcher also learned to know about local politics and economics. Meanwhile, having visitors to an English class is a good way to motivate the students to learn English. That’s why some scholars from ASEAN countries who were at Ubon University were invited to go to the researcher’s village and talk to the students there. The result was positive: Both villagers and students now see how  English will probably bring them a better future. Reflecting on the projects in the village, the researcher finds that an English teacher can really have more important roles in bringing ASEANs together. To do that he or she needs to learn about both his or her country and all neighboring countries.  In addition to that, we all  need to share and plan how to make our country look better than in the past to welcome our potential guests. The fact that villagers in the village have raised some money to support my next projects really made me confident that English teachers have a lot more to share in AEC.