I guess one of the biggest challenges I have as an English teacher is remembering how special the label of Native Speaker is. I have been here in Indonesia so long that sometimes I feel as though I have lost my American appeal. I can speak the Indonesian language so lots of my interaction here is of course conducted in Indonesian. One thing that I have to remember is that when a person chooses to study with a Native speaker of any language, he/she wants to really feel like they have a friend from the country/countries with that language as a first language. I have to remember to be me and not change too much no matter how long I have been in Indonesia. It is the American in me that pays my bills thus I need to strive harder to protect that side of me. Just some food for thought guys.
One way to to overcome this is to continuously develop yourself professionally as a Native English speaking teacher. I attend workshops and even plan my own. I try to join communities where I can get ideas about lessons and programs from other Native speakers. My current project is branching out into public speaking. I have decided to try and make a seminar on how to make effective presentations in English. Guru Datang is great and all, but it is these public speaking gigs that will really inspire me to stay fresh and current or innovative if I may. Wish me luck guys!
As you can see from my picture, the location is Bamboo Shack Resto which is located in the Dago area of Bandung. I reason I picked this place is because the owner is my friend. His name is Bob and he originally comes from Australia. He is such an amazing fellow. He has literally climbed every mountain in Indonesia. Going back to finding a community or Native speakers, Bamboo Shack is the place to go because it is like the headquarters for all us foreigners. Not all are native English speakers but all of them speak English. Please like my facebook page!
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