Fulbright FLTA Newsletter

A Note from Fulbright FLTA Staff

Each month, we will present a new theme for future articles.  You can write about these themes and present your insights and perspectives, illustrated by your experiences.  The themes will include such topics as: culture shock, adjusting to U.S. student behavior, social media and American pop culture.  Fulbright FLTA alumni can also share their post-Fulbright perspectives on the themes. 

We encourage you to be actively engaged with the Fulbright FLTA community by contributing your articles for potential inclusion in the newsletter.  You have the power to make the newsletter an entertaining, exciting and informative publication.  Your articles and high resolution photos (300 dpi or above - with captions) will illustrate the brilliance, creativity, humor and talent we know exists among Fulbright FLTAs.

As alumni know, Fulbright FLTAs attend U.S.-based orientation programs over the month of August designed to help new grantees acclimate to U.S. academic and social life.  This year, new Fulbright FLTAs will have the opportunity to meet each other in dorm rooms in Mississippi (at Jackson State University), lecture halls in Indiana (at Notre Dame University), a student center in Rhode Island (at Brown University), classrooms in New York (at Syracuse University), a campus lawn in Wisconsin (at University of Wisconsin, Madison) and at a cafeteria in California (at Stanford University).

Columbia University hosted the first orientation group from July 27-31^st.  During the five-day event, Fulbright FLTAs learned effective teaching techniques as well as U.S. social expectations and common language department demands.  Highlights included the micro-teaching session, where Fulbright FLTAs taught their peers, and an exciting bus tour of New York City.  Throughout the event, Fulbright FLTAs were able to form friendships and establish support networks that will be invaluable throughout the year - and beyond.  Our alumni know how helpful friendships and networks can be. 

We look forward to seven more orientations and an exciting year ahead!

Fulbright FLTA Columbia University Orientation Attendees, July 30, 2009

The Fulbright FLTA Program: from Theory to Practice

Siriporn Lerdpaisalwong, 2008-2009, Thailand, at the Songkran Beauty Contest held in Chicago's Wat Dhammaram (Dhammaram Temple)

During fall semester, I took TESOL and discourse analysis courses.  They have both been beneficial to me as a language teacher and learner.  In the TESOL course, I learned how to use technology effectively when teaching.  It was great to share ideas and knowledge about language teaching and learning, and a good opportunity to be in contact with scholars in the TESOL field, such as Nellie Muller and Nina Liakos.  Also, I can now apply what I have learned to my own classes: designing interesting activities, using technology and other new teaching methodologies.

In my discourse analysis class, I learned about aspects of typology such as spatial relations, referential density and motion event.  I also learned about Thai serial verb constructions.  The course itself was really good and challenging and the teacher was great.  However, what impressed me the most was that all of my classmates and I became good friends by the end of the semester.  That might be because we shared our anxieties about demanding assignments as well as joy from accomplishing tasks. 

Over winter break, I attended the Fulbright FLTA mid-year workshop in Washington, D.C. where the 2008-2009 Fulbright FLTAs from all over the world gathered.  It was such an exciting and memorable event.  Beyond the applicable information I obtained from each session, I made new friends from countries such as Argentina, the Philippines, France, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.  Moreover, I had a chance to travel to many places including Madison, Chicago, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Philadelphia, and Oahu Island in Hawaii.  I visited many wonderful tourist attractions, historical sites and museums.  I was so impressed by the warm welcome I received from the Fulbrighters I met.  Living, teaching and traveling in the U.S. has made me appreciate and better understand not only Americans, their language and culture, but also Thai people, language and culture.

When spring semester began, I had a chance to experience another aspect of student life by enjoying some extra-curricular activities offered by the university.  I attended Zumba and belly dance classes regularly, which are great ways to exercise and meet people from other departments.  I also had a chance to perform my duty as a cultural ambassador as a Thai representative from Milwaukee in the Songkran Beauty Contest 2009 held in Chicago.  The event took place at Wat Dhammaram (Dhammaram Temple), which is under the patronage of HM the Queen, and was organized by the Thai Nurses Association of Illinois.  The Thai Consul-General of Chicago graciously presided over the ceremony.  Although I did not win any prizes, I had lots of fun and made new friends.  It was such a good experience for me.

In my Thai class, I gave my students a chance to celebrate Thai New Year.  A few other Thai teachers and I organized some Songkran activities in the classroom.  We included a presentation, a basic Thai classical dance, Rabum Krida Phiniharn (which I performed), the Bathing Rite for the Buddha Image, and a quiz to win prizes.  I was so happy that everyone enjoyed the activities and glad to give an in-depth presentation about our beautiful culture.

Last but not least, I would like to express my appreciation and say thanks to everyone involved with the Fulbright FLTA program and to those who have been supportive and helpful throughout: my family, who have always supported me from the very beginning; Kasetsart University, for their support and permission to take a sabbatical; the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, College of Letters and Science at UWM for allowing me to introduce my beloved country, language and culture and for providing much valuable information and many experiences in the U.S.

I would like to thank my supervisor, Associate Professor Dr. Garry Davis, and all the instructors who have been very supportive and encouraging; the Thai and international friends I made in Milwaukee, as well as the Fulbrighters I visited, for their warmth and friendship; the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE) for organizing wonderful workshops and taking good care of us during our stay in the U.S.  Finally, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation to the Thailand-United States Educational Foundation (TUSEF).

To comment on Siriporn Lerdpaisalwong's article on State Alumni, please click here.