Summary and Suggestion

🍀 Purposes of practicum 

The SEATEACHER program aims to improve the quality of education between Southeast Asian countries through student exchange activities. This program directly supports the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education by fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange between Southeast Asian countries through student exchange activities. I feel that this teaching practice has provided many benefits and experiences for me. I have the opportunity to learn about learning methods, curriculum, and culture in other countries. Not only that, through this practice, we can improve teaching skills and communication skills (English). Overall, this program not only strengthens my competence as a teacher, but also hones the ability to adapt, think critically, and work together in a cross-cultural environment. This experience is important in the journey to becoming an educator.

🌷Procedures of Practicum 

The implementation of SEATEACHER activities consists of several activities, namely:

a.  Teaching activities

Observation and Orientation                 : 7-8 November 2024

Class Assistance                                     : 11-12 November 2024

Actual teaching                                      : 14-19 November 2024

Evaluation teaching                               : 15 November 2024

b. Visit a foundation school in rural areas       : 13 and 20 November 2024

c. Cultural exchange and trip activities       : 3, 9, 16, 23 November 2024

💐Outcomes of practicum 

After a few days of this program, I gained a lot of experience. Through the opportunity to teach in Udon Thani, Thailand. I not only gained valuable international teaching experience, but also developed various things such as classroom management, make a lesson plan, and teaching techniques. This program also broadened my insight and understanding of cultural diversity because I had to adapt to a new environment. Besides, my English skills also improved, both in terms of communication skills and confidence when speaking in public. Despite facing challenges such as language barriers and differences in learning systems, I tried to learn and find a way to solve the problem. The success of this program is also from the support of various parties, both from Indonesia and Thailand, who have made positive contributions throughout the implementation of the program.

🌹The challenges of practicum 

Adapting to a new country certainly presents various interesting challenges during this exchange program. In terms of food, we have to get used to the new taste which is different from Indonesia, trying various new foods that we may have never encountered before. Cultural differences are also seen from the presence of stray dogs in the streets, a sight that is quite surprising for us who are used to seeing stray cats (not dog) in Indonesia. The biggest challenge is of course the language barrier, where communication does not always run smoothly and often raises doubts whether the message delivered or received is correct. In teaching practice, I face difficulties, such as in building connections with students because of differences in cultural backgrounds, making it difficult to relate learning materials to they (student) life. This is a special concern because it is feared that the examples or analogies used may not be relevant to the life experiences of Thai students, and maybe can affecting the effectiveness of delivering learning materials.

Overall impression 

As a participant of SEA-TEACHER Batch 10, my impression from this program is that it is an amazing opportunity, and I know that this will be a new challenge in my life, which I have to face and learn. I gained various experiences and lessons from this program, covering various fields such as teaching, education, culture, and many more. Some of my main experiences include, learning how to communicate with students despite language barriers to deliver lessons effectively, observing different classes and learning systems compared to Indonesia, learning about other countries' cultures, and of course learning to improve my ability to be a good teacher. These experiences have improved my teaching skills and provided valuable suggestions for improvement. In addition, of course, the hospitality of Udonpitt, UDRU (Udon Thani Rajabhat University), and the supportive environment made this experience enriching and memorable✨