Inside the Black Box

By Khunying  Kasama Varavarn

Presented  at  the 30th Annual Thailand TESOL  International Conference on ELT in the Next Decade: Sharing, Caring and Daring
 

It is an honor to have been invited to speak in the Thailand TESOL International Symposium on the theme of “ ELT in the Next Decade: Sharing, Caring and Daring”.

I would like to congratulate Thailand TESOL for successfully organizing  international conferences for many consecutive years, illustrating English teachers’ commitments  to  professional development.

In this symposium, we would have the good opportunity to learn about the latest policy development and advancements in knowledge and technology relating to the teaching of English. Within recent years, the Thai government has devoted considerable efforts and financial supports for training of English teachers. It is a credit to all English teachers and the supporting agencies that the outcomes have been most gratifying. Because of your hard work, the government seems encouraged to continue providing the necessary supports. I am fully confidant that within the next few years, we shall witness marked improvement in English proficiency among Thai students and hopefully, their O-NET scores as well.

However, progress achieved in the past does not guarantee our success in the future. Having read Professor Michael Fullan’s book on “The  Six Secrets of Change”, I try to assess our current strategies in terms of his proposed conditions for successful transformation of a large scale educational system.

He begins by reminding us that even though we must focus on our customers, we must “love our employees” as well. If we apply  his recommendation to our child-centered approach to education, it means that we have to take good care of our teachers to insure that they are well motivated and well supported. They should have opportunities to improve their competencies and benefit from meaningful interaction with fellow teachers.

I have always taken pride in our efforts to assist our teachers from recruitment, training to career advancements, but coming to this symposium today and learning that many basic education teachers are unable to attend this important symposium due to lack of funds makes me wonder whether we have loved our teachers enough.

Professor Fullan further recommends that in order to bring about changes, we must help to “connect peer with purpose”, “build their capacity” , recognize that the most effective learning must be related to their work  and continuously develop our system in support of these changes.

I was most interested in his emphasis that “transparency must rule”,namely,we must open the “black box” of instruction to analyze what works and what does not works in order to help our teachers more effectively. 

Being a retired government official and a full-time grandmother, I am in no position to help you explore your “black box” but I have tried to look back to my own teachers and analyze their black boxes from the learner’s point of view.

I remember most vividly three teachers who have transformed my perception of  the English Language. What were in their black boxes?

The first box came from Khun Kru Pin Hitasakdi who was well known and much loved by all Wattana Witayalai students. Khun Kru Pin  passed away  8  years ago at the age of 96  after having been an English teacher for more than 50 years.

Kru Pin was not trained professionally as an English teacher. She was fluent as a native speaker because the missionaries who taught her used English as the medium of instruction, not unlike the Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Approach!  In addition, in those days all students were required to speak English to each other even after classroom hours.

Kru Pin would only use English in her class even when we were very young. Her English was so beautiful and so clear that we could understand every single word as if it was printed before our eyes.

I cannot remember whether Kru Pin used any textbooks. But, we all cherished the stories, the poems, and the jokes she shared with us in her lessons. Kru Pin gave us the confidence to communicate in English. In every lesson, we were required to write something on our own, beginning with one sentence, gradually expanding to one paragraph and finally to short stories. We could write anything as long as it was grammatically correct.

It was evident that Kru Pin loved the English Language and enjoyed teaching. Through her, we all discovered the joy of learning English, even among those who did not do so well.

The second black box belonged to Mr.Roger Hawkey, an English teacher at Triam Udom Suksa School. Mr.Hawkey was and still is a master English teacher in every sense of the word, but he was best remembered for his assignment on “Thought of the Day”

It is amazing how such a simple homework could influence one’s thinking process and language development. Every day we had to rack our brains to think of something creative and meaningful to write. Our work would be assessed not only in terms of grammatical rules but also in terms of the quality of the messages. Every single “thought of the day” was responded with Mr.Hawkey’s  reflection on our work to encourage and challenge us to go on further.

Ever since, my perception towards English language evolved from a subject that we enjoyed and had fun to become a powerful tool to express our inner thoughts.

Little Lulu was my third black box. Most of you would not be old enough to know Little Lulu, a little girl from the famous comic series some fifty years ago. Every night my mother would read a story from Little Lulu comics to me. Through Little Lulu, I discovered a completely new world of experiences, humor, imagination and culture. I would later learn to enjoy reading many other great authors but I never forget Little Lulu, my first window beyond the classroom walls.

In my career, I have had the good fortune to meet many more “Kru Pin’s”, “Mr.Hawkey’s” and “Little Lulu’s” among our English teachers. Through them, I have come to the realization that in all teachers, there exists a wealth of wisdom hidden within their black boxes, accumulated from years of experiences with success, failures and continuing challenges.

We must dare to open these black boxes. We must dare to learn from the treasures within. But we must take care that the process is a meaningful learning experience to help the teachers improve their competencies for the benefits of the students, not a threatening or punitive measure. Through such opportunities, we will become better prepared to meet the challenges of the Future. 

This symposium provides a unique opportunity to learn and inspire our English teachers to open their black boxes and share their accumulated wisdom.

I wish to convey our sincere gratitude to Dr.Ubon Sanpatchayapong .President of Thailand TESOL, and the organizing committee for providing continued professional supports for our English teachers.

I wish you all every success in your deliberations.