Bantatprachanukoon School
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Bantatprachanukoon SchoolFrom the bottom up: A case study of teacher training for primary school teachers of English in a Thai school in north eastern Thailand
For this case study to be productive, it was important to have a school that would be classed as a typical example of a rural educational establishment. This is not an easy task, as the idea of conducting research and applying new innovations is intimidating to many school directors. What was needed was a school director with vision and leadership who wanted to be part of innovation and not a bystander.
Through constant networking and an element of luck, contact was made with Mr. Channarong Rachbuanoy at the 12th English in South-East Asia (ESEA) conference at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Bangkok during December 2007, who was completing his Master of Arts degree in the field of Applied Linguistics. He is employed at a school in Udon Thani province, about 75 kilometres from Udon Thani Rajabhat University and was prepared to speak to his school director, Mr. Sa-neh Boonsaeng of Bantatprachanukoon School about the possibility of conducting research into a transitional phase of communicative activities and learner centeredness in the classroom. Full scale change from teacher centred to learner centred learning has not successfully taken place across Thailand, so a transitional phase is what this project is offering.
Have a look at a slideshow detailing some of the classroom activity: http://www.steves-english-zone.com/photo-gallery/category/9/asSlideshow.html
Bantatprachanukoon School in Ban Phue district in Udon Thani province, north-eastern Thailand has 347 students from nursery to grade nine. The project was to focus on grades 1-3 (Prathom 1-3) with the hope that if it were successful, then there would be the possibility of extending it to the rest of the school and beyond.
The video shows the area around the classrooms of Bantatprachanukoon School where teachers and students can sit and relax (if that is at all possible). The sounds you can hear are the teachers and students busy working in their classrooms.
The Original Team
The teachers taking part in this project are from left to right:
Mr. Channarong Rachbuanoy – Coordinator Mr. Manop Yasoonthorn – Prathom 2 Ms. Sasicha Pawasri – Prathom 3 Ms. Pranee Boonsaeng – Prathom 1 Mr. Nikom Jaidee – Prathom 3 (not in picture)
Click on their names to take you to their classrooms and activities.
The materials used for this project are called "Smooth Transitions" which include video, audio and scripts. They can be accessed below:
New Prathom One Slideshow
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