Learning Curve

I began my ethnography project as a way to teach university students basic research skills while practicing English. In Thailand, it is common for students to copy material without guilt, and essays are usually cut-and-paste directly off the Internet.  Therefore, I decided to have them research something that they wouldn’t plagiarize – their own family backgrounds and village life. Based on ethnographic principles, I requested that my students interview Thai elders (using my own list of questions) and write reports on the results. I edited this material later to create inexpensive mini-textbooks to use in other English classes.

In this first installment, I had students interview elders about their family origins. Where did they come from? When did they move to the Ayutthaya province? What was life like in their village decades ago? I wrote two ethnography reports of my own for this section, which I used in class to model how the research needed to be done.  

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In my second ethnography project, students were required to interview a Thai elder about education in their village. I wanted my students to learn how Thai schools, teaching methods, and classroom equipment have changed over the decades. I followed up this activity by having students make “then and now” comparisons. This list is comprised of the best 10 reports (as paraphrased and summarized by me).

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 In the third installment of my ethnography project, I had students interview elders in their Thai village about the local environment. How has it changed over the years? What was life like for their grandparents during previous decades? What animals existed then, and how has the city grown? The best 15 reports are included here (as paraphrased and summarized by me).

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This brief introduction to Chapter Four explains why it is vital to understand the history of fraternities before making conclusions about the type of male bonding that goes on inside of them. (more…)

This section focuses on fraternity history at the Oregon State University, where I was enrolled as a graduate student from 1994-1997. It follow fraternities from their origins as humble “student societies” to their powerful financial investments in prime real estate. Locally, there has been many struggles by the university institute to control fraternity growth via housing policies and social codes. (more…)

This travel article was an attempt to understand the boom in Thailand’s tourism industry, and how tourist ghettos such as “Khao San Road” originate. This research involved tracking down decades-old Lonely Planet guidebooks, and then physical visiting the locations mentioned to see the impact and change. (more…)

This chapter outlines the origins of tourism, and how it has evolved over the years. (more…)

This article was my first attempt to research the history of education in Thailand. It explores some of the first modern schools in the country, early issues about curriculum development, and the role of English. This material traces the path from the first Western educators in Thailand to the rise of the modern TEFL industry. (more…)

This article explores the maddening process of researching temple ruins in Ayutthaya. Maps are full of contradictions, names are spelled 4-5 different ways, and many historical records were destroyed. Despite this fact, I persuade my class of tourism students to visit little-known, countryside, temples in the northern and eastern parts of the city. Together,  we try to sort it out. (more…)

Ayutthaya was destroyed by Burmese invader in 1767. The new capital was moved to Thonburi, and then later to Bangkok. Most Thai textbooks ignore Ayutthaya after 1767, and Western historians too often forget that it is still a thriving city today. I wrote this article to explain the rebirth of Ayutthaya, and how it became repopulated once again. In order to remind my students that history can be found everywhere, I required them to interview their grandparents about how the environment of the city has changed over recent decades. Their data was incorporated into this material. (more…)

This chapter explores Korea’s xenophobic culture and its anti-American sentiment. (more…)

Decadent Karaoke singing is one hazardous drawback to Korea. This article examines how excessive alcohol and dried squid can open doors to hidden talent. (more…)

The Roots of Asia’s EFL industry… (more…)