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Practicing Third Person PresentBy CRAIG ABERNATHY from Wat Nuan Noradit School, Tha Phra, Bangkok
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One difficulty encountered when teaching English as a foreign language is properly training students to use third person present. This problem is somewhat compounded here in Thailand. In Thai, the letter “S” cannot exist as a final consonant. When English words with “S” as a final consonant are transcribed into Thai, a character is used to tell the reader not to read the last letter. For example, “fuse” in Thai is spelled “¿ÔÇÊì”. Did you ever wonder why McDonald’s is pronounced the way it is? This relationship between the two languages deepens the need for effective classroom activities reinforcing the use of third person present.
I have taught in Thai government schools for the past four years. These schools present unique challenges and opportunities. For me, the biggest challenge is the number of students in the classroom. Utilizing peer based learning can help increase the effectiveness of a lesson plan. One of my favourite ways of achieving this goal is through the use of an information gap activity. For this activity, I researched opening and closing times of temples, as well as their costs. This is easily achieved using the Internet. After finding all of the information I needed, I created two identical documents that had different missing information. For example, if student A has the information about the opening time of Wat Arun, student B doesn’t have it. Student B asks, “ What time does Wat Arun open?”, and Student A answers, “It openS at eight o’clock in the morning.”. This activity could be extended to movie schedules, bus schedules, business invoices, etc, depending upon the interests of the students.
*Wat Phra Kaew is free for Thai people. Getting There By Bus From Wat Nuan Noradit, you can take bus numbers 9, 80, 91, or 157. All of these buses are air-conditioned, and they all go to either Ratchadamnoen Klang Rd. or to Sanam Luang. By Boat The Chao Phraya river express boat is a good way to avoid the traffic in Bangkok. From Bangkae you can take the number 84 bus to Klong San market. Walk through the market to the river, where you can catch the river express boat. Place / Pier Wat Pho Tha Tien pier Wat Phra Kaew _________ pier Banglampu Tha Phra Athit pier Wat Ratchanada _______________ pier Yaowarat (Chinatown) Place / Hours / Cost Wat Traimit ____ a.m. to ____ p.m. 20 Baht Getting There By Bus For Wat Traimit take the air-conditioned bus number 7 or the micro-bus number 5. By Boat For Wat Traimit get off the boat at Tha Ratchawong pier. Thonburi(Fang Ton) Place / Hours / Cost Wat Arun 8:00 a.m. to ____ p.m. 20 Baht The Royal Barges Museum ____ a.m. to 4:30 p.m. _______ *Wat Kalaya Nimit, Wat Prayonn Wong, and Wat Suwannaram are all free. Getting There By Bus For the Royal Barges Museum take the 81 or the 91 to Arun Amarin bridge. Wat Arun is best reached by boat. By Boat From Rattanakosin you can take the ferry across the river for two baht at the Tha Tien pier.
Things to do and see in Bangkok Student B Koh Rattanakosin
*Wat Phra Kaew is free for Thai people. Getting There By Bus From Wat Nuan Noradit, you can take bus numbers 9, 80, 91, or 157. All of these buses are air-conditioned, and they all go to either Ratchadamnoen Klang Rd. or to Sanam Luang. By Boat The Chao Phraya river express boat is a good way to avoid the traffic in Bangkok. From Bangkae you can take the number 84 bus to Klong San market. Walk through the market to the river, where you can catch the river express boat. Place Pier Wat Pho ________ pier Wat Phra Kaew Tha Chang pier Banglampu ______________ pier Wat Ratchanada Klong Saen Saep pier Yaowarat (Chinatown) Place Hours Cost Wat Traimit 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. _______ Getting There By Bus For Wat Traimit take the air-conditioned bus number 7 or the microbus number 5. By Boat For Wat Traimit get off the boat at Tha Ratchawong pier. Thonburi(Fang Ton) Place Hours Cost Wat Arun ____ a.m. to 5:30 p.m. _______ The Royal Barges Museum 8:00 a.m. to ____ p.m. 30 Baht *Wat Kalaya Nimit, Wat Prayonn Wong, and Wat Suwannaram are all free. Getting There By Bus For the Royal Barges Museum take the 81 or the 91 to Arun Amarin bridge. Wat Arun is best reached by boat. By Boat From Rattanakosin you can take the ferry across the river for two baht at the Tha Tien pier. |
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