The following post is by Jenny Nguyen ’19. Nguyen used part of her AMS grant to return to her home country of Vietnam and work as a tutor at an English teaching center.
This summer I applied for AMS funding to work as a tutor for the Junior Program at YOLA Institute, an English teaching center in Vietnam. Over the course of three months, I had the chance to teach English to over forty kids, all middle-schoolers with various levels of English proficiency. I instructed them in any lesson for which they were absent in class, trained them in any lacking skills, and prepared them for upcoming standardized tests when necessary.
Classroom at YOLA Institute: Before…
It felt quite surreal to teach something you are still learning yourself. English being my second language, I’m used to struggling with the fast and boisterous speech pattern of native speakers. Now I found myself slowing down, using simple phrases and clear pronunciation so that my students could keep up. I would explain to them basic concepts that I had taken for granted, would wait while they haltingly read a paragraph full of errors, or when some refused to speak altogether because they were frustrated with their own limitations. I like to remind them that they can accomplish anything with patience and constant practice (though I would change the subject if they asked whether I followed my own advice).
It was also an interesting professional experience. Though not quite new, the Junior Program underwent a lot of changes this summer with regards to organization and personnel. A lot of the people I worked with were still figuring things out themselves. This led to no small amount of confusion and misunderstanding. As we worked together to sort out the kinks in the system, however, we started to meet one another halfway and resolve our conflicts.
…and after
Being back in Vietnam after a year abroad definitely afforded me a different perspective. There are many things I used to know instinctively that I had to relearn all over again, like the bus schedule or the location of my favorite restaurant. I almost had an accident multiple times crossing the street (traffic culture in Vietnam is very different from Hamilton; if you ever visit our country, stick to the traffic lights). I also consumed an unhealthy amount of traditional dishes and spent the first month in strictly air-conditioned environments. Being away from home for the first time makes you appreciate everything old and familiar, as any college student knows. But the new experiences I gained in college also constitute a part of me that I treasure. (I held the door for my entire friend group, which had about fifteen people. They thought this was very strange, but I kept doing it anyway.)