Wesley's thought on ICT

3/23/09

Based on the few opportunities I’ve had to observe the ICT program in action, I’m extremely excited about the potential that this program has. Even looking back at the Nan Jung Teacher’s English class a few months ago provided a lot of insight into what this program could achieve. Granted, it will take a lot of effort from all sides – and not to mention a considerable amount of brainstorming, but simply observing the vision and enthusiasm that the Nan Jung faculty already have, is a real indicator to me that this program could make a major impact.

Some of the ideas that I’ve heard tossed around include: creating a drama, utilize an English book library time, and setup an online chat experience with students from other countries. I believe that each one of these concepts is worth the time to tap into further.

Personally, I think some sort of drama could be extremely beneficial for the students, as they’ll get the opportunity to really practice boldness and really speak out their English. Regardless though, of what takes place, I know that even with these ideas alone, all of us American teachers would be thrilled with the chance of working together with not only the Nan Jung students, but with the teachers as well.

I would like to add though, that my primary concern would be that we don’t add too much to the Nan Jung Teacher’s activity plate. From what I’ve observed and heard, the teachers at Nan Jung are extremely busy preparing other programs, and not to mention just teaching their basic classes. So I would hope that we could make this into a smooth transitional class that could either supplement what they are already doing, or take the place of something else.

I’m sure we all realize that the ICT program, not unlike any other program, will continue to require a lot of diligent research, especially now as we seek to build a solid foundation. I’m looking forward to observing the student’s response as these ideas continue to catch fire.

Overall, this is something that I believe could really enhance the English education at any school, as well as further the teacher/student relationship. It’ll be neat to see how things progress in the near future.

-Wesley M. Dudley
English Village Staff Director
wesley.englishvillage@gmail.com