Sustainable Development Goals
The Project
The Diocese of Nakhonsawan has requested an English Teacher/Mentor to work in collaboration with the Xaverian Fathers Mission on the Thai/Myanmar border. The English Teacher/Mentor will be based at Nuseplo Primary and Junior Secondary school [P – 9] teaching English to students whilst building the local teaching capacity of English teachers. Whilst the person will be based in Nuseplo, they will be working to further build teaching skills across three other small rural/remote public schools [Thi Po Chi School; Nupo School and Soh Meht School] within the area. The age range across schools is 4-15 years. Teaching will include developing proficiency in English phonics, grammar and conversation.
The Location
Nuseplo Village is in the Mae Chan sub-district of Umphang District, Tak Province Thailand. Nuseplo school is approximately 60km [1 ½ hrs] from Umphang town. Umphang is on the mountainous border between Thailand and Myanmar, in Thai territory. The area straddling the two nations is mostly inhabited by the Karen people, one of the majority ethnic groups in Myanmar.
The Challenge
The Karen-Burmese conflict has been ongoing for seventy years, and in February 2021 a coup d’état in Myanmar saw a democratically elected members of the country’s ruling party, the National League for Democracy, deposed by the Tatmadaw—Myanmar’s military. Many Karen families, who have been victims of violence, have sought refuge in Thailand and have been welcomed in the nine Temporary Shelters for Refugees and Asylum Seekers along the border. Nuseplo school welcomes students from Nupo Refugee Camp. Students come from various faith backgrounds, Buddhist, Muslim and Christian. The opportunities for quality and comprehensive education are limited in the border region, especially for those in the neighbouring Nu Po refugee camp.
About You
The successful candidate will have:
- Bachelor or Graduate Diploma in Education
- 1-2 years teaching experience
- Experience mentoring teachers or other adults will be beneficial.
- Ability to incorporate cultural elements in your teaching and use of culture-sensitive pedagogies
- Personal attributes that will be vital include flexibility, patience and a sense of humour
- Able to accommodate simple, basic living and travelling conditions
- Willingness to attempt local language learning
How You Will Help
First you must be willing to learn from the local community.
Over the first six months you are asked not to change anything or suggest a change to operations. During that six months you will take the time to learn language and cultural mores from a local counterpart willing to mentor you. You will also start a register of the strengths of the current personnel and the assets in the community/country that might be used to achieve the goals of the assignment.
You need to commit to clarifying why things are done the way they are rather than presuming from your own cultural lens to outline what is missing. So, you need to ask questions to enable you to learn from your hosts, rather than in ignorance make suggestions about how things can improve. Palms training will prepare you for this approach.
In the second six months you will be ready and better know which of your skills and what of your knowledge applies to:
- supporting greater equity in access to education for four rural/remote schools in the mountainous region, better enabling all students to pursue higher education and employment opportunities into the future.
- developing proficiency in English phonics, grammar and conversation.
- providing professional development assistance to Thai teachers.
A two year placement will enable the Palms participant and colleagues to assess the strengths of the faculty, the resources available, and the challenges faced by each of the schools and to implement informed and long-lasting strategies for improvement. In addition, teachers will develop improved self-confidence and skills in their English language teaching.
Note: The monthly living allowance enables you to live a modest local lifestyle. Based on the cost of living in a particular country, it covers food, your daily commute, communication and other local costs. It is not set to enable you to meet financial commitments at home, such as a mortgage or a personal loan. It will not cover the costs of eating out and other entertainment. Read more about what is covered in our FAQ. All applicants will be required to complete a Working with Children and Police Check.