ESL Project
Note: Due to Covid19 Global Pandemic we have had to put our in country projects on hold as the Australian Government has closed our borders, so international travel has been suspended until further notice. Plus, funding we had applied for to progress our projects in Laos has been put on hold for the same reasons.
The Lao Government aims to enable students to communicate in a foreign language once they finish secondary school. The new educational policy is designed to assist Laos to fully integrate itself into the Asean Economic Community, which uses English as the official communication language.
The policy has not been easy to implement for many primary schools in Laos, as there is a lack of qualified teachers and teaching aid materials.
According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, about 30 per cent of primary schools around the country are now teaching English since the programme began in 2008. Most of the primary schools that are participating are located in the main cities.
Many primary teachers in rural or remote areas have not had access to higher-level training in delivering English language classes. Plus, they often lack access to much needed teaching aids and materials. Their own knowledge of English comes from reading the same primary school textbooks used by their students. So, their pronunciation skills can be very limited. The method of teaching is still based on the old “rote system” and lacks activities that engage children in “active” learning.
We are not trying to be critical of the efforts made by the existing primary school teachers, because they do the best they possibly can with the resources they have available.
Lao Oz has a long-term goal to provide English teaching training, resources and ongoing support to primary school teachers in rural and remote areas in Laos. Our ultimate goal is to establish a sustainable means to support Lao Primary School teachers into the future.
Volunteer Teaching Ban Tarn Pieu - April 2018
After many months of planning, Lao Oz took a team of volunteers to a primary school at Ban Tarn Pieu in April 2018. Our aim was to deliver a week long program of English classes to years 1 to 5, plus discuss ideas with the local teachers about lesson plans, teaching aids, resources and active learning activities.
The planning team included education experts and project leaders. The team met regularly developing ideas on how to deliver the lessons and activities, plus information we needed to gain from the local teachers. We sought volunteers from within the Lao Oz team, plus a group of locals who wanted to be involved, including members of a local NGO - Hand in Hand.
During the planning we also got much needed help and advice from the Australian Embassy in Laos, the Lao Embassy in Australia, and the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The group from MOFA also gave us invaluable support while in Laos. To run any project in Laos it is always vital to have the approval and co-operation of the Lao Government.
Once on the ground in Ban Tarn Pieu, our weeklong program included:
- English classes morning and afternoon
- Daily meetings with the local teachers
- Hygiene classes
- Sporting and craft activities (including cricket, bead making and a slime class)
- Daily lunch with the teachers and various parents and village leaders
At the end of the week the locals held a Baci ceremony and we provided a lunch for the teachers, parents and students to thank them for their involvement. Our closing activity was dubbed “Tarn Pieu’s Got Talent” where the children performed a number of songs in English they had been taught during the week.
We learnt a great deal from the teachers about how we could assist improving lesson plans and activities, plus access to teaching resources. The children had a fun week of learning and our volunteer team came away with a great many new friends and a lifetime of memories.
The representatives from the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs where also fantastic, assisting with transport arrangements and other logistics, plus getting in and helping deliver the lesson plans.
At the end of the project the Lao Oz Executive team got the opportunity to brief the Lao Prime Ministers wife, Madam Nali on our activities and plans. Madam Nali was very interested in our work in Ban Tarn Pieu and our longer term aims.
What’s next?
We are now working on developing active learning activities and resources that can be integrated with the Lao primary school English curriculum. The feedback and suggestions the teachers gave us at Ban Tarn Pieu are setting the direction for this work. More details will follow.
Future volunteer opportunities
If you are interesting in being involved in our future volunteer opportunities, here in Australia or in Laos drop us an email. We would particularly like to hear from people with backgrounds in education planning and delivery. Enthusiastic volunteers who want to share other skills with us are also very welcome.
