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Royal teaching experience offered up to students

Professor Thomas Knutson (left) and Sacramento State student Dwight Turner.

Calling all students: if you enjoy teaching and are interested in traveling, Sacramento State has a program for you.

Sacramento State professor of Communication Studies Thomas Knutson is seeking students who are interested in teaching English to K-12 students in Thailand’s prestigious Chitralada Royal Palace School on King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s royal grounds.

The program prefers Communication Studies majors, English majors or graduates with a TOEFL or English Education emphasis, but all applicants with different academic backgrounds are welcome to apply.

Students who are selected for the program will receive round trip air fare, a $450 monthly salary, single accommodations, free lunch on days that students teach and transportation to the school. Students can also travel within Thailand, meet Thai people and learn Thai culture during their free time.

An informational meeting about the program will be held Tuesday, Oct. 4 in Shasta Hall, Room 250 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Application materials and additional information will be available.

Communication Studies major Dwight Turner, who participated in the program in its first year in 2006, recommends it to anyone interested in a invigorating experience.

“It was very challenging. Anything else easily done I would have been bored with,” Turner says.

The program was a fun and exciting experience for Turner, who says he didn’t become too homesick.

“There were times I missed my family, but you’re there so long,” Turner says. “You’re going from a broke college student eating ramen to being a prestigious Thai school teacher.”

Knutson, who has visited Thailand more than 30 times, says that the experience can be life changing.

“They’re such a welcoming and accommodating culture,” Knutson says. “This program is something that the University can be proud of.”

And in an age where students are interacting with foreigners more than ever, learning about Thai values of communication is invaluable, he says.

“Thai people focus more on the people they are speaking with and communicating with them on a level they will understand,” Knutson says. “This promotes ‘social harmony’ which is the number one cultural value of the Thai.”

For more information on the Chitralada Royal Palace School Student Teaching contact Professor Thomas Knutson at 278-6941 or e-mail thomasknutson@comcast.net.