Van Tu Phan (OT 2019) spent her Summer completing the Venture Award in Vietnam, teaching English in rural areas. Her report is as follows.
Firstly, I would like to thank Mr Harding and Mr Leighton for supporting me in my two years at TC and helping me to achieve the Venture Award!
Secondly, I would like to do a little report on how my trip to Phu Yen was. It was such an amazing journey! Thanks to the Venture Award and the TEFL Certificate, I was able to come to An Hai village and see what life in the countryside was like. The people there were very hospitable and the children were absolutely lovely. Since there are not many English teachers, the children really appreciated that some other friends and I could come and teach them.
We taught a total of about 70 students from year 1 to year 9. There were four classes: two in the morning and the others in the afternoon. Some of our students loved studying English so much that they came to both the morning and afternoon sessions. We taught them essential things such as numbers, how to introduce yourself and how to give directions. I must say that they were very smart and hard working.
Normally, after class in the afternoon, my friends and I would have some of the local snacks that they sell on the beach and we would play with the students. Sometimes, we went swimming or played football. At night, the students would come to our homestay to play UNO with us or sing karaoke together.
Besides teaching English, we also did some lessons on sex education and how to avoid being tricked by strangers. Moreover, we were able to help the students there to create a small library. It actually just a shelf filled with books that we brought from our city but the children loved it.
I was so sad when I had to leave. The children even wrote me a bunch of letters telling me how much they love me and they want me to come back next year. I am actually thinking about coming back and continuing my work there. I am very appreciative for the opportunity I had. Thank you again!
