An Introduction to Teaching English Effectively in Laos Hannah Owh TEACHING ESOL PROFESSOR ROBIN RHODES-CROWELL 05/06/19 1 Abstract Laos has a complicated political, social, and educational history that educators looking to teach here should be conscious of. It was not until 1953 that Laos gained its independence from France and not until 1975 that the civil war ended, leaving the communist party, Pathet Lao, in power. Before this system was put into place, Laos was divided into regions with many dialects being spoken by the various ethnic communities throughout the country with French as the language of the elite. In recent years, there has been an increase in English learning in schools to increase globalization. Anyone interested in teaching in Laos must be prepared to overcome the challenges that accompany the recent political and cultural challenges, as well as the rurally based, underserviced areas within the country. Because English is often taught in many different settings outside of the school system, students will vary in cultural background, age, and religion as English is often a voluntary supplemental activity taken through language schools and at the university level. With the varying demographics, teachers need to be prepared to adjust their teaching based on cultural and linguistic characteristics as, especially in Laos, research has shown that the use of L1 in the classroom can accelerate English learning (Latsyanphone, 2009). All of these considerations should be taken into account by teachers looking to teach EFL in Laos to improve teacher effectiveness. Historical and Educational History In recent years, Laos has undergone many changes that have affected numerous aspects of the Laotian people’s lives including culturally, socioeconomically, and linguistically. As a potential English teacher and especially as an American, it is important to be familiar with the recent history of this country as the American government had a hand in many of the significant events. Some other things that anyone looking to teach here needs to know include some basic 2 knowledge of the educational system, English learning motivations, and the Laotian population and government. To start, let’s begin with a little background of Laos currently as a country. Laos is a landlocked country in southeast Asia with a population of 6.7 million people. The capital city is Vientiane and is a very urban city center, however, outside the capital, much of the country remains quite rural. Approximately 80% of the population works in agriculture mainly growing rice (BBC, 2018). The majority of the population is Buddhist however, there are many ethnic minorities living in Laos who often maintain their traditional folk religions. Not only are there ethnic and religious differences between these minority populations, but also linguistic variations as it is common for each ethnic group to continue to speak in their mother-tongues which are different from the Lao language. It wasn’t until recently that Laos imposed an official language and began teaching Lao in school to boost literacy rates. In 1893, Laos became a colony of the French and belonged to the French until 1953 except for a brief period near the end of WWII when the Japanese occupied Laos. Throughout this time of colonization, French became the language of the elite. Those who learned French were able to obtain reliable and well-paid jobs as housekeepers and servants to the small French population living in Laos. During this time, the French also established a formal educational system in the country. Before French colonization, the only education children received was from Buddhist monks in monasteries and temples. There was no national educational system; the country also a lacked a common language, each ethnicity speaking their own respective languages. Although the French implemented a public school system, the system was based on the French school system which was largely irrelevant to the Laotian people not to mention the 3 fact that due to the lack of transportation infrastructure, the only public schools were located in the urban centers (Zeck, 2016). In 1953, Laos gained independence from French rule which resulted in the separation of Indochina creating the countries of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam that we have today (BBC, 2018). Immediately following independence, a civil war broke out between the communist- backed, Pathet Lao and the democratic-backed, Royal Lao government which is now commonly referred to as the Secret War (Zeck, 2016). It was a devastating time for the Laotian people as their country became the battlefield of the two world superpowers – the democratic USA and the communist Soviet Union. Despite the daily bombing, educational initiatives still persisted, although the school day was usually only four hours long. By 1970, the Pathet Lao had established 43 learning centers and had already published a 3-year educational plan, the first of its kind in the country. They established Lao as the official language of the country in an effort to unify the Laotian people despite their differences in ethnicity, language, and culture. In 1975, the Pathet Lao led a coup against the Royal Lao government and seized control which ended the Civil War and reunified the entire country (BBC, 2018). They continued with their educational plan through reformation, thus establishing a national school system that blended together aspects from both the French and Vietnamese school systems (Zeck, 2016). Laos today is still struggling with literacy rates, especially in underserviced rural areas, but since reunification and the declaration of the Laotian language, literacy rates have risen. 4 English Learning and Cultural Considerations English is not taught consistently in all public schools as there is not currently a large demand for English. It wasn’t until 2013 that Laos joined The World Trade Organization (BBC, 2018). In recent years, Laos has become more focused on becoming a globalized country and is fast becoming a popular tourist destination. These two facts have contributed to the higher demand for English especially among young people. Older people may be found speaking French while the younger generation may speak more English (Zeck, 2016). English learning centers and international schools are emerging especially in the capital, Vientiane. Teachers should expect to teach EFL in the capital as there is still a large discrepancy in the education system between the rural and urban areas (Moir, 2019). This discrepancy can be seen in Fig. 1 below. Vientiane is the capital city with a large, urban, population, while Sekong is a rural province made up of many agriculturally based communities. Public schooling reaches Secondary school and students can then go on to university or trade school, but as we can see from the data, especially in rural areas, student dropout rates can be high. Rural schools tend to be more underserviced and have higher dropout rates than their urban counterparts (Moir, 2019). Many of these rural schools will not be able to offer pay for English teachers like urban schools can. 5 Fig. 1 Urban versus Rural Levels of Education (Education Policy and Data Center Laos, 2018) As an English teacher, you will likely be teaching in an international school or in a language center though the language of instruction varies even within international schools ranging from Lao to English to French (Dorner, Gorman, 2011). Much of the teaching at language centers will likely need to be based less on accuracy and more on fluency by relying more on a Communicative Language approach (Celce-Mucia, 2014). In order to best serve your students needs for communication in English to English speaking tourists, concentrate on English for a Specific Purpose whereas the English taught in international schools and the rare public school will need to abide by the standards of the Ministry of Education. It would be helpful for both you and your students to have at least a basic understanding of either French and Lao as your fellow teachers may switch between these three languages within one lesson regardless of the subject. “The languages of instruction within the education system seem to vary, with English, French and Lao all being used, and it differs across schools. A mathematics teacher in the urban secondary school said all of his teaching was in French, but at times he explained difficult concepts to the students in Lao” (Dorner, Gorman, 2011, pp. 9). This is recent development in the education field commonly referred to as translanguaging where the use of 6 two languages can serve to better instill concepts in student’s minds (Garcia, 2017). This leads to another consideration that is often debated in ESOL circles – should L1 be used in an English classroom? The Use of L1 in the Classroom A cultural consideration to keep in mind is that that the population of Laos is incredibly diverse and is composed of a multitude of different ethnic identities. In the classroom, perhaps more so in rural areas, you may find that there are many different dialects and languages spoken within your classroom though students will use Lao to communicate with each other. Even within the majority Laotian population there are differences in culture and language based on where your students come from and live. “The most important thing that you can do as a teacher is to be aware of these characteristics that have the potential to impact what happens in your speaking class” (Foster, 2009, pg. 14). This idea that the learner is central to the classroom and should be the focus of the teacher is not a new idea. Culturally relevant pedagogy is a widespread idea in education and is an extremely important idea to keep in mind especially as a foreigner teaching abroad. Culturally relevant pedagogy refers to the cultural and linguistic considerations that may affect teacher and student interactions and learning and teaching styles (Ladson- Billings, 1995).