ATI’s first STP in Thailand
1. The first American TESOL Institute (ATI) organized Special Thai Project started on the 5th of May 2008 at the scenic location of Phuket, Thailand. Classes were held at The all seasons Hotel in Naiharn overlooking the azure waters of the Naiharn beach. The group included 30+ trainees mostly from the USA and UK but there were also students from Australia, Canada and South Africa.

Classes were held from 9:00 am to about 4:00 pm from Monday to Friday for 3 weeks. Apart from teacher training inputs the trainees also had sessions on Thai culture, food and music which was a novel experience for them. Most of the trainees were fascinated by the Thai schools that they visited and taught during the teaching practice sessions and all of them voted this part of the course as the highlight of the course.

Accommodation for the trainees was at the Naiharn Villa, a 5 minute walk from the beach beside a huge natural lake. The villa had its own swimming pool too.

On the whole the course was a huge success and ATI received very positive feed back which gave them the confidence to conduct such programs in the future.

Summer 2009
The Summer STP of 2009 in Phuket by ATI was a great success. The mammoth task of conducting four programs back to back required a great deal of organization and man power. But the staff handled the arrival, pick up from the airport, allocation of accommodation, arrangement for transport and liaison with schools quite well. There were 30+ trainees in each batch. The first program began in April and the last ended in June.

The highlight of the program was teaching at an orphanage called Football Youth Center. The institution had autographed Jerseys of well known international footballers all over the school as an inspiration to the inmates. The young boys all belonged to particular football teams and each had a football to themselves. The boys seemed happy and well adjusted and for the ATI trainees it was an amazing experience interacting with these students. The fact that they had very little yet were so happy made the trainees reflect on their own lives.

May 2009, Phuket, Thailand
The practice teaching for the last week of May 2009 was a novel experience for all the ATI STP trainees. Instead of a school the TP was held at an orphanage. The trainees were pleasantly surprised as they drove out of the Phuket town into a picturesque setting where the orphanage was situated amidst the hills and the meadows. Our trainees had a day worth remembering as they bonded with the little ones through the young learners lesson module. The classrooms at the orphanage were neatly done up with colorful mobiles and craftwork, and the children seemed happy and well adjusted to their surroundings. The children enjoyed themselves as our trainees interacted with them through interactive lessons full of activity, songs and loads of fun. For our trainees it was an exposure to teaching children who may have lacked the requisite vocabulary to express themselves in English, but who proved that they can make up with enthusiasm, whenever they fell short of communication.

24th April 2009, Chiang Mai, Thailand
As a trainee I shall always cherish my first day of teaching practice at The ChiangMai Christian School , which is the oldest missionary school at ChiangMai, in north Thailand. It was again a young learners lesson and I was prepared with a lesson on “Body Parts”. The children though were exposed to spoken English, weren’t ready to open up with someone new. The warmer received a lukewarm response as I tried to reach out to them and connect with them at their level. The lesson however picked up its momentum as it progressed. The recap for the lesson was through a song…. “ My two little eyes go blink, blink, blink……..” As I completed the lesson and all of us (the trainees) trooped out of the class and out of the earshot we suddenly heard a chorus singing….“ My two little eyes go blink, blink, blink……..” and then I realized I have been actually able to get across these little ones and touch their lives in my own special way!

9th September 2009, Bangkok, Thailand
The second day of the teaching practice was held at Thaiprasital School, close to the Bangkok port on 09.09.09. The Thai government had declared that at 09.09hrs on that day there should be programs held to honour the King Thailand and pray for his long life as the time was very auspicious. Accordingly, all the trainees along with the students of the school stood to attention at the designated time while the Prime minister on the nation addressed the people which were broadcast live over the television. The children sang the national anthem and a couple of patriotic songs. The function ended with the children and the teachers bowing to the portrait of the King. It was a moving experience for all of them to observe little children from the age of 4 upwards singing the national anthem with such fervor and enthusiasm. There were in total 11 trainees- 4 from USA and 1 each from Iceland, India, Vietnam , Macedonia, Czechoslovakia ,U.K. and Australia.