20 Topics
20 topics is my way of organizing English conversation into sections. I also want the children to have rounded understanding about simple subjects. For example, the 5 steps to science are not difficult, but students don't learn them tilt they are in 10th grade. I see things different, and have many years experience seeing students understand concepts in English that most people don't know in Thai It actually might be more beneficial to understand these things in English anyway, because when you search for example "the phonetic alphabet" or "the branches of government" you will get lots of different things, and diagrams and pictures to help us understand better, that you might not get in Thai So you might say, well, if they wont use it, why learn it. First, they will, the kids don't forget because, second, they are interested. I taught my students about animal classification, and they were interested because they were classified as a mammal the same as a rat or a cat. It is the interest, the shocking, surprising point that allows them to remember the words, maybe they forget mammal, but they remember cat and rat for sure. They might forget more specific language, but don't worry, because 1. they still remember the concept, and 2. they were able to learn other things, through the channel I showed them, even if that channel is later forgotten. When I was in 5th grade, my teacher, who was almost as strange as me (all the ADHD kids were assigned to her class) had me take off my shirt in class and showed all the kids my bones, and then she taught the names of the bones... the scientific names, that even my dad, who the CIA tried to hire, and Boing Wichita did hire as a computer programmer, did not know. Now, I have taken that knowledge and put it into a song. The kids in my classroom, 3 and 4 and 5 year olds, know the scientific names of all the bones in their bodies, and University Proffessors of science might have to look at their book first. So I assure you, my methods work, and the kids don't forget, and you will be satisfied if you give me a chance. I never planned to be a teacher, or a preacher, but my mom knew I would when she saw me standing on a box in my bedroom preaching to my teddy bears when I was 3, she knew I had a calling, a gift. Click on the icons below to see resources about each topic, songs, games, etc.
