(I've decided to write this entry as a diary entry to my new diary, who/which I've called Stig. My first topic is teaching, as - Stig - you're probably wondering, like me, what I've really been up to for all of three months. Photos are intermittently dispersed within, starting with...)

The intermediate students in a moment of studious study. Yes, I will have words with the one who's combing his hair

Dearest Stig,

Hi there! Just how are you hanging? A little grubby, I heard, but still out there making your own individual, indomitable way through life… Stride on, Stig – may you find the rickety path ahead fruity and full. Today I’ve decided to write to tell you about all things Burma-border-teachery. So here goes:

Upon arrival in Thailand, my ELT experience was such that the crevaces behind my ears were unashadedly putting the livingstone falls in the shade, as they gushed forth the liquid of my newly-qualified, new-world teaching apprehension. But, with a photocopy of my gleaming new CELTA certificate by my side (coupled to a few choice words from my course tutor), I knew – if I could only chill and not get-all-het-frett – things would work out okay. And so it is, here among the chickens, cherubs and cheroots: things are okay.

My first lesson with the adults was trepidacious… getting to know you games enjoyed, expressive face-feeling self-portraits put to canvas, smiles exchanged – things went fine. A good bunch of students: interested and enthusiastic, and the same too with the pre-intermediates. With the first lesson over, I guess I'd passed the first test.

The second was to actually forge together some kind of English teaching which was at least a little bit coherent and gave a whopping big space for the students here to relate their incredibly specific experience to (most text books don’t have too many sections on refugee camp vocabulary…). Without books or resources this brought a few moments of fever to my perfectionist’s brow – and perhaps luckily, engaged in too much work, the brow did indeed become fevered – allowing a rubbish truck escape to hospital freedom and the chance to purchase some reassuring guidance and view my efforts with more perspective.

Armed with various books I returned 10 days later and, with a more permanent classroom now available, more self-preserving attitude now in tow and the enveloping blanket of literature locked securely beneath me, it was time to spread these new-born teaching wings…

Here's my old (new) classroom (I've moved on again since) - an old school building near the dormitories which was more or less abandoned after the cliff above it began to landslide significantly. It was big and spacious and allowed for lots of movement, but alas has now been demolished to make room for the new store.

Because the course books are often wholly inappropriate, and because the students have their own strengths, weaknesses and needs as learners, I get to exercise that most important teaching skill – being creative. In the past ideas haven’t been too much of a problem, organisation has proved the tricky thing. But not so here – I’m really enjoying thinking up, testing out and altering all those little nitty-gritty essential things of teaching that allow a teacher to be successfully creative and give the students a sense of stability and direction - registers, ways of recording and marking homework, how we use time in lessons, methods used for explaining work, procedures for student’s feedback (etc – woah it sounds exciting, I know). As far as the planning of things goes, this usually happens early in the morning (from 5am, by candlelight), and I’m usually slightly unsettled until I’ve finished it - but when I have I’m happy and looking forward to trying things out in the lesson. There isn’t a perfect correlation between time spent planning and the success of a lesson, but without the clear time for thinking things through in your head, lessons do tend to turn out all half-baked or just thoroughly burnt.

One of my activities for the students. Just who is this bearded wonder? You can guess... but you can only use WH-questions, wouldn't you know, and the grammar's gotta (ahem) be right

I’m teaching four classes at the moment, but none with the actual students of Yaung Ni Oo because I haven’t been able to get to the school for the past two months (the Thai army sits inbetween the school’s boarding area and the school, and I can’t go past during the time I don’t have permission to be in the camp – about three-quarters of the time I’m around). So there’s elementary and pre-intermediate classes in the afternoons after school (as many of the students are teachers) for a couple of hours, an extra grammar class on a Sunday to help those with specific problems and to make folks used to an all-grammar method of learning a little more comfortable and accepting of some of my more alternative methods in the week – and finally four hours teaching a day to Oo Ni Kay and Htwe Yee – the two students hopefully bound for scholarships on Western shores this year or the next. This class is probably the most demanding, challenging (and rewarding when I/we get it right) – lessons have to be more varied, the relationship is closer so I have to be extremely patient, I must be extra-receptive to their needs (when I arrived they knew of no study skills other than bleating out words written on a page until they knew them by heart), and have to always think of ways to boost the girls’ speaking confidence daily.

As Oo Ni Kay and Htwe Yee are outward-bound, a fair bit of what we do is centred around what they might meet in the future, and comparing / contrasting it with their here and now. Here, Oo Ni Kay brushes up on her geography. Mr Greenwood would be proud.

Anyway Stig, because the focal point of most education inside Burma and in the camps along its border is the teacher (as the supreme knower and giver of knowledge, the students lone sinks for swallowing all that is told them), a lot of my work is oriented towards enabling students to work for themselves and work together – so they can continue to learn once I am long gone, and possess skills to enable them to learn whenever they get (or create) the chance. This means I’m not just teaching language points (grammar, vocab etc), but am placing heavy emphasis on language skills (speaking, writing, listening and reading), study skills (brainstorming, summarising, planning, analysing etc) and teaching skills (so the teachers’ learning benefits the students no matter what their subject). I love thinking up ways to help the students improve – be they for example (1) students being sent outside when they speak in Burmese (only being allowed to return once they have thought of the translation for what they said, or if they can’t the class together has done so), (2) my visiting different student’s houses around the Section for breakfast or dinner so as they get a once-a-week opportunity to speak and practice English outside of class with a native speaker, (3) using a tape recorder to allow students to analyse how they speak the language (ensuring I focus on both areas to improve on and positives) or (4) thinking up a library system which gets students to work together (they must read in pairs) and think about what they are reading (they must do all the activities associated with the book as a condition for using the library).

The front of my new classroom - complete with pictures, student's work, classroom rules (decided upon by them), and extremely handy collapsible white board...

The collapsible white board does exactly what it says on the tin after the girls charge at it, sit on it, and hold it prisoner while they savagely scribble on its shiny white exterior, poor thing.

My wall calendar complete with (in pink) whose houses I'm hot-footing it to for chats or chowder after classes or before the day begins proper...

The ‘library’ is essentially a few books I bought in Chiang Mai – and is proving popular with the students, who are all working really hard on understanding the books they choose and doing lots of work on them.

A selection of the 'reader' titles (popular novels made suitable for different levels of language learner) available... these are not only great insights for the students into other worlds, they mean I get to read great books (as I mark their work on them) kindly summarised for me - brill!

This particular bibliotechque has in the last week however received a phenomenal boost with the arrival of Walter’s new collection - it’s now two full rows of story books, poems, really interesting reference books, language books and dictionaries. I’ve just bought some extra English to Burmese dictionaries for each dormitory so the students can actually go ahead and have a go at reading them with confidence, too. While Walter was here I also took the opportunity to hand this burgeoning library over to the New Generation Student’s Organisation to run and control – so as to encourage them to take responsibility for it, be able to make important decisions (these are usually made by others), and ultimately enable as many students as possible to use it. To complement the books, I’ve also set about recording some of the stories onto audio tape so they can listen as they read – this is bloomin’ enjoyable for me, and gives me the opportunity to extend the acting and vocal ranges (dormant for many a year) that I’ve known have lay within me.

Here's the site of my early morning industry (the desk-come-old-sewing-machine-table on the left), with the new pre-Walter library on the right. The clock was purchased by me as a (very useful it turns out) teaching tool, the blue chair has a nasty habit of slipping through the bamboo and sending me slumping to, er, bamboo.

Here's the state of the old (new) library before walter's books showed up - in fabulous close-up!

The NGSO's library as it is now - with superlative amounts of input and a warm golden glow all of its own

So things on the whole are going very well with the teaching: I’m discovering cliché no. 117 – a lot more about myself by doing this, and (no. 118) am feeling myself get better at things – which is a really good feeling. The most important thing I need to deal with is not having too high expectations of the students and what they can do (I often forget about their rote-learned schooling, etc), and ensuring I remain positive throughout and not let my frustrations seep out as they sometimes (but only sometimes) can do. Hopefully the two-and-a-half-month summer will bring a return to teaching youngsters again once they are released from school duties – thus far the two months of adult teaching has seen a slightly disheartening dwindling of numbers – yet each for pretty sound reasons (malaria, pregnancy (2), building the section 13 store (2), moving out of the camp (4), the resumption of school (3) and other such things – hmmm maybe I was too leniant on the person with Malaria, I should’ve made him come…).

Almost forgot - one last hugely important thing about my classes is that, in this enormously male-dominated society, the gender balance of the classes (particularly elementary) is much more in favour of women – usually consigned to sit in a separate group apart from all decision making, but here placed at the centre of it. It’s great, the fact that everyone is at the same language level, and I determine how people interact, means everybody starts from the same point! (Of course the same is sadly not true in terms of how much time people have for homework, how much access they can get to come to the library because of the kids - but it is a start.)

Group work... the dynamics are interesting, most mix well, but there isn't the biggest tradition of male and female integrating together (except late at night), less still an ethos of helping each other study - but things changing slowly but positively

My biggest hope for the near future is that I get a little more insight into the actual school, and so be in a position to be better able to help in a way it needs before I shoot off later in the year.

Anyway, I think that’s more than enough info for you to be digesting, Stig, I’ve gone on long enough. Sorry not to have focused very much on your needs. If you can, please write back, though I realise you might well be a figment of my imagination.

Hope the dump’s well,

Your friend, Ben

Students running free with the new books...

The view from my old classroom - stupendous, as the last rays of sun wink their farewell to the day just gone (and the language just learned).