English Teaching – Page 3 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2010-07-142010-07-14

Monthly Goducate English camps in Batam, Indonesia

Our English camps were held with students coming from Tunas Baru Secondary school in Batu Aji, Batam. We had over 45 students for each month of May and June. Their ages are from 14 to 16 years. The purpose was to teach them conversational English through games and drama. Some of these kids are presently attending our Goducate center in Batu Aji which is about 15 mins from the campsite.
On the first day, Saturday, we had 4 to 5 youth volunteers from Batam and Singapore to play games with them. The purpose was to use English as the medium in giving instruction so that they can practice speaking English. We had sack race, passing the rubber band through drinking straws, dog and the bone, tug-a-war, walking on clogs, etc.It was so much fun as they began to break from their shyness to speak English. Next we had about 4 to 5 adult volunteers to teach drama. You name it we have it. We made costumes and props from whatever we can lay our hands on, like trash bags, newspapers, cardboard, masking tape and marker pen.

It was so much fun to see all them participate and speaking and acting their part in English. They were tired out after the 2 days of activities but really enjoyed themselves.

Our English camps are monthly affairs and our helpers are all volunteers from Singapore and Batam.

2010-01-182010-02-02

Goducate Team Leaders from China arrive for training

The first team leaders to arrive for the Goducate Training (Jan 18-22) were our North China team leaders, K and M (names withheld for security reasons). This dear couple have served in north China for 6 years.

K and M meeting with Goducate Leaders in Singapore

They presently lead a team of almost 50 foreigners from US, Philippines and Singapore and about a dozen local Chinese. Most of the foreigners serve as teachers in different universities, colleges and polytechnics. The local Chinese serve as support staff to these teachers and in various important roles in our Goducate training programs.

China is progressing so fast. When we first started our projects in China in 2004 there was great need for English teachers. Today, the supply of foreign English teachers often exceeds the needs of China’s universities. China is indeed becoming an attraction for young foreigners seeking a “China experience” to add to their resumes!

At our strategy meeting last week with K and M, we decided to concentrate on training Chinese students to be leaders. Most Chinese students come from one-child families and lack the social skills necessary for team work and leadership. Furthermore, the Chinese school system emphasizes rote learning rather than creative thinking. As personal study is emphasized over project work, most graduates do not know how to work with others or how to lead others.

Before K went to China he was a branch director in one of Singapore’s largest real-estate firms. While his wife M was a manager in one of Singapore’s largest travel firms. They bring with them a wealth of managerial and leadership skills. In the past few years they have successfully mentored many young live who have since shined in their careers, pursuits and lives.

Goducate plans to start a more structured and effective leadership training program in 2010 to train Chinese to be leaders who will be able to impact the lives of thousands of other Chinese.

2010-01-012010-01-01

English – the key into every Asian country!

As I travel through the different countries in Asia, I realize that Asia is amazingly diverse. Yet there seems to be a common thread that runs through the different countries, in spite of their different cultures and levels of development. And that is the fact that in almost every Asian country there is a desire to learn English. This desire is both top-down and down-up, ie, it is a desire of the leaders for their people and a desire of the people to their leaders. In other words, it is a real desire that seems to be printed on the minds and hearts of this generation of Asians.

I grew up at a time when most Asian countries were determined to promote their national languages, at the expense of the language of their colonial masters. Today, even the most nationalist Asian country is determined to promote the use of English.

I grew up in a time when being a doctor meant that one would be welcome into almost any Asian country to serve the poor. Today, my medical degree will not allow me to practise medicine in almost every Asian country – thanks to Asian medical authorities protecting their professional “turf.” However, today an English teacher (especially one that is a “native-speaker”) will easily find a job in almost any Asian country. Thankfully, the term “native-speaker” is being expanded to sometimes include Singaporeans, Filipinos and Indians.

While most Asian countries include English as a subject (often a compulsory subject) into their national curricula, the reality is that almost every Asian country does not have enough competent teachers. In fact, in my experience most English teachers in Asia can hardly string a grammatical sentence together or carry out even a basic conversation. In other words, almost every Asian country needs help – and they know it and are not ashamed of it! More importantly, many Asians realize that the ability to speak English is often the passport to a better job.

Ironically, it is often the poor who need to learn English to survive rather than the rich because the poor often have to find work in factories owned by foreigners, or work in service industries serving foreigners or even work as domestic helpers where English is the “common” language. In fact, for many poor Asians knowing English is often the only way out of poverty because with their own people they might need “connections” to get a job but with foreigners all they need is an ability to speak English.

Goducate believes that teaching English is one of the best ways to help poor Asians help themselves.