Anh Linh Love School English Club
It has been two years after I first taught English to 7 and 8 year old kids in Malaysia. The school which I fortunately get to work with is in Vietnam. To be more specific, it's a school called, "Anh Linh Love School". According to its foundation, it's purpose is to serve children who do not have families or who live in with a single mother or grandmother. Many of the families cannot afford to pay public school fees and many of the children have no birth certificates. These abandoned children can have hope through this school.
After I got to know the purpose of this organization, I felt just so empowering and surreal for the fact that I can be a part of this organisation although we only meet about once a week for 2 hours approximately. The picture above is taken when i first visited the school and I am introducing myself. I told my age, school, hobbies, favourites subjects, and so on. I tried to speak in a way that the students could understand. As I could see from their eyes, they eyes on me and they nodded as they listened to me. I felt respected.
On the very first day, we learned about, "subjects" such as Geography, History, Chemistry, Biology, and so on. By using those words, we taught them how to create sentences. Such as, "What is your favourite subject?" "What do you like?", "Why ___ is your favourite subject?"
The first day was very inserting because the students seemed to be shy but I am the one who is really enthusiastic about meeting them. I am pretty sure they will get used to me and learn something useful in the future.
After I got to know the purpose of this organization, I felt just so empowering and surreal for the fact that I can be a part of this organisation although we only meet about once a week for 2 hours approximately. The picture above is taken when i first visited the school and I am introducing myself. I told my age, school, hobbies, favourites subjects, and so on. I tried to speak in a way that the students could understand. As I could see from their eyes, they eyes on me and they nodded as they listened to me. I felt respected.
On the very first day, we learned about, "subjects" such as Geography, History, Chemistry, Biology, and so on. By using those words, we taught them how to create sentences. Such as, "What is your favourite subject?" "What do you like?", "Why ___ is your favourite subject?"
The first day was very inserting because the students seemed to be shy but I am the one who is really enthusiastic about meeting them. I am pretty sure they will get used to me and learn something useful in the future.
31/01/2015
This was my second visit. Today, I woke up in the morning as I was filled with excitement to see the students. At 9:00 AM on Saturaday morning, Ryan, Ben, me, and Hoy all gather in front of the year and depart to the school. I mean, waking up early in the Saturday morning to me is really a big thing because it allows me to sleep early the night before (Friday) and spend my weekend more efficiently. Therefore, before I met my crews, I went to the gym to exercise. It would not have happened if I did not go to Anh LInh Love School. I am thankful for this opportunity and changing my bad habit of sleeping in on Saturday.
Today, we learned about how to write a letter to someone never met before. Ben led the teaching as he asked questions such as, "What do you want to know from someone you have never met before?". Writing a letter is just a review for them because the students already know basic sentences that are needed for introducing oneself. Examples are, "What's your name?", "Where are you from?" "How old are you?" and many other phrases.
Once we finished writing all the essential sentences on the board, I stood in from to the class and I began to write an example letter on the board. So that the students are able to understand the format of writing a letter. Once I finished writing not the board, I asked the students to write a letter to someone. Interestingly enough, they wrote to me! I felt extremely happy. I read out the letters and began to answer their questions such as how old i was, my name, age, school, and other private details.
Today was a successful day, full of laughters and enjoyment! I am looking forward to see them next week again!
Evaluation
Q.1 Would you propose this project to your fellow students as a valuable CAS experience? Why or why not?
To be honest, I think this project is an experience in which it allows to reflect on our lives. When I first entered the class, there was no A/C, no proper lightning, and lack of facilities compared to my current school. I realised that I am just a privileged kids living with my parents. Teaching at this school allowed me to think about how ignorant that I had been. To some extent, I felt selfish for asking for more and more. For example, the other day, I complained to my parents because my phone was so slow and I wanted to get a better phone. Then, I realised that these students do not even have phones... How selfish I am. Therefore, I would recommend my friends to join this type of project where we can acutely experience and get to know the lives of the unprivileged people and start to be thankful for what we have.
Q.2 How does this project fit into the “Spirit of CAS?”
I put this project under the category of, "Service" because it is basically a direct service, as a form of teaching. Apparently, we were not paid (I am just kidding). It required lot of direct communication since we had to teach the students almost one on one because there are 4 teachers for 6-7 students depending on the day. Also, there is an indirect service because we had to prepare for each lesson prior to meeting them.
To be honest, I think this project is an experience in which it allows to reflect on our lives. When I first entered the class, there was no A/C, no proper lightning, and lack of facilities compared to my current school. I realised that I am just a privileged kids living with my parents. Teaching at this school allowed me to think about how ignorant that I had been. To some extent, I felt selfish for asking for more and more. For example, the other day, I complained to my parents because my phone was so slow and I wanted to get a better phone. Then, I realised that these students do not even have phones... How selfish I am. Therefore, I would recommend my friends to join this type of project where we can acutely experience and get to know the lives of the unprivileged people and start to be thankful for what we have.
Q.2 How does this project fit into the “Spirit of CAS?”
I put this project under the category of, "Service" because it is basically a direct service, as a form of teaching. Apparently, we were not paid (I am just kidding). It required lot of direct communication since we had to teach the students almost one on one because there are 4 teachers for 6-7 students depending on the day. Also, there is an indirect service because we had to prepare for each lesson prior to meeting them.