STUDENT P ROFILES
STUDENT P
ROFILES
Written by John Irvin No. 4 July 1, 1999
|
My New Students
Name: Panuporn Oariyakul Jenny first came into my class after the summer break was over, around the beginning of June. She impressed me right away with her ability to understand what I wanted out of the students; and she was very conscientious about doing her work. Jenny is a quiet person who has good study habits, and she always is a benefit to have in the class. Jenny is a graduate of Chiang Mai University in economics. She told me she was planning to go to Australia to further her studies. "After I study in Australia, I would like to return to Chiang Mai and get a job," she said. Jenny lives with her family in Chiang Mai. Her parents owns a drugstore near Worarot Market, one of the oldest markets in town. She has 2 sisters and one brother, all of them living together with her parents. When I asked Jenny about the economic situation in Thailand today, she replied that she was not happy with what she saw. "The economy is very bad right now," she said. "I think Thai people use a lot of money, and they end up putting us all in debt," she continued. "This is very bad for Thailand." Jenny is in the intensive English program at the school where I now teach. She is very busy, but In her free time, she likes to use the computer, including the Internet. For exercise, she likes to go swimming. I asked Jenny why she was studying English. "I would like to be able to talk with people in English, and to understand them when they talk," she told me. "Speaking English is really necessary for a good job in Thailand today." I asked Jenny what kind of job she would like to have in the future, what she saw herself doing. She wasn’t sure exactly what kind of job she would end up with, but she said that a job involving economics or business would suit her. "I would like to be a business woman," she told me. Jenny takes her studies seriously, and she is always a good student in class. I wish her success in the future, and hope that she can achieve the goals she wants, either in Thailand or elsewhere.
Name: Garn Chaipongpun "I think the Thai economy is very bad now. I think it’s the government – bad people, money – bad for Thailand." Garn Chaipongpun was soft-spoken but earnest as he explained this to me. I asked if he could help his country. "I don’t know," he answered, "but I want to help Thailand because the money in Thailand is down." Garn is 21 years old, and a graduate of Payap University in Communication Arts. His mother and father own a garment business in Chiang Mai. He has two older brothers, one of whom studies in Australia, the other at Chiang Mai University. I asked Garn what his plans were for furthering his education and his career. "I want to go to Australia," he replied. "I want to study and get a master degree in tourism." With one brother already living in Australia, it looked to me like he might have a good idea of what it is like to live overseas. I asked Garn what he would like to do with his master’s degree from Australia. "I want to have a guesthouse in Chiang Mai," was his reply. Although he doesn’t have any farang friends now, this will probably change if he studies in a master’s program overseas. Garn has been in my class for about two months. He has a nice, pleasant disposition, and since he has been coming to class regularly, he has shown good progress in his studies. In his free time he likes to play football. I asked if he had any other hobbies, such as music or art. He replied that he has been playing the piano for about six years. "I like to play pop music," he said. I asked if he played in a band, but he does not seem to have that ambition. When I asked Garn how he liked studying English, he replied, "Sometimes it’s fun – reading and conversation – but grammar is very serious." When I asked if anyone in his family spoke English, he replied that both his parents do. Garn has a good disposition and a good basic understanding of English. I’m rooting for him to get into the master’s program in Australia, and hoping that he does well there. This will be a great benefit to him, whatever he decides to do in the future. I wish him luck.
Name: Ronnakorn Suwannaprom Kob is probably the student I have known the longest at my school. I first taught him around the end of April. He is easygoing, confident, and seems to enjoy his surroundings at school. He also has a good knowledge of English vocabulary, which may have come from his two months spent in a study program in the U.K. during high school. He has also visited France, Switzerland, and Italy, as well as Hong Kong. His next stop, in just two weeks, will be Australia. Kob was born in Chiang Mai, and lives in Lamphun, a small town about half an hour away by car from Chiang Mai. He says he feels "so-so" about going to Australia, which I took to mean that he is already very used to living in foreign countries. I asked him if he was going to miss Thailand. "No," he said succinctly. "I’m not going to miss Thailand." What about Thai food, I asked. How had he fared without it when he went to England a couple of years ago? "We had lots of Thai food there, because there were many Thai people in the program," he told me. This is one of the benefits of being in a program with lots of other students. Kob will first be in an English program for eight months in Australia. After that, he would like to stay there and get into a diploma program in engineering, which takes two years. His long-range goal is to own a garage and repair cars. Kob’s father and mother own a petrol station in Lamphun. He works there also, and drives to Chiang Mai to attend classes. He has no brothers or sisters, so helping his parents is very important. I asked him about his experience living in the U.K. "I went to Stonehenge, and I learned to ice-skate," he told me. He said that he liked living in the U.K., and that he had lived with a host family there. He thought that English people were friendly, and he had a good experience there. He said that the weather during springtime in England was cool, but very pleasant. When I asked Kob to comment on life in Thailand, he addressed the economy first. "In Bangkok it’s good, in Chiang Mai, not so good," he said. I asked what he liked about Thailand, and he mentioned the food and the friendliness of people. Then I asked if there was anything he didn’t like. "Traffic jams," he said. Anything else, I asked. He thought for a moment, then said, "The weather – very hot." Kob said that he liked studying English, and that he didn’t think it was difficult. "It’s fun," he told me. "I like the other students, too, everybody," he added. Kob seems like an outgoing person, and I can see that he likes to socialize. All the other students seem to like him. Kob is out of my class now, because he is preparing for his trip to Australia. He is about to start a new life, and now I have new students. But I’ll miss Kob and his easygoing, friendly manner. I wish him well in Australia.
Name: Kamonphan Sununtasilp Tare grew up in Nong Hoi, a district of Chiang Mai south of the night bazaar. "You know Nong Hoi?" she asked, eagerly ready to give me a lesson in Chiang Mai geography. "You know the Westin Hotel? Near there," she told me. "But not in same house – now I have a new house." Tare’s parents are both in education. "My father is a faculty director," she told me. "And my mother teaches Paw 1 – children (first grade)." I asked about brothers and sisters. "I have one brother and one sister," she replied. "I am the youngest." I asked about the brother and sister. "My brother and sister are not married," Tare said. "My sister is a teacher too, at a primary school, and my brother is a paramedic." Tare previously went to Payap University, where she studied accounting. I asked her how she liked studying English. "Yes, very much," she told me. Tare is an enthusiastic student in class. She is not afraid to speak, which is sometimes a problem with Thai students. She has a lot of personality to add to the class. "My mother likes English, and my sister likes it, too," she told me. "I don’t know why, but we do." When I asked Tare what her plans were after leaving school, she replied that she might like to go to Australia. "Maybe I’ll study law, maybe study applied economics," she said. She got good grades in accounting, mostly As and Bs. I asked why she would like to study law. "The personal side in law is less important," she said, adding that she would like to get into international law. Would Tare like to go to any other country outside of Australia? "England, but it costs more money than any other country," she replied. She herself has visited England with her sister. "I stayed for one week. I liked everything – shopping, buildings, taxis, and streets," she said. "Other countries have streets in block by block, not like Thailand, where the streets are very confusing." What about western food? "I didn’t like the food in England," she said, laughing. "It made me put on weight." But she added that she enjoys eating western food as much as Thai food. I asked Tare what she liked about living in Thailand. She replied, "In Thailand, I have my parents. I love my parents." Food? "I can eat everything, hamburger or namprik (chili sauce), if I’m hungry." She added that one of her favorite foods is a Mac burger gai, a chicken burger. "The Thai economy has fallen down," she said. "I don’t like some of the Thai parents, who have teens or children who don’t know how to help themselves. The parents take care of them, do everything for them. In other countries, they teach the children to work, and they learn to be adults in high school, but not so in Thailand."
Tare works hard in school and is proud of what she has done. She pushes herself, and she demands more from the
teacher. She has aspirations to work in international law or business. Here’s hoping that her dream comes true.
______________________________________________________________________ |
Get your own Free Homepage
