Issue date: 9/19/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: Jocelyn McGregor

For the third year in a row, Sacramento State students have been invited to participate in a paid teaching program at the Chitralada Royal Palace School in Bangkok, Thailand.

Communication Studies Professor Thomas Knutson said he believes the experience is invaluable for students, as it will prepare them for life in the "global village." He said students will not only learn to appreciate other cultures, but will gain a new understanding and appreciation of their own.

"Students today will meet more people from other countries than anyone in the history of the world," Knutson said. "It's important that they learn to get along and relate with people from different cultures."

Knutson said that if accepted, students will be expected to teach English at the school for at least one year. He said students will receive a monthly salary of $400, plus room and board.

Students will receive all necessary teaching equipment and supplies, as well as a personal translator.

Knutson said a student participant can apply six workable units toward his or her degree. He said he believes Thailand is a special country and an excellent place to study global communication.

"The paramount of Thailand is social harmony…a condition that can benefit anyone who visits," Knutson said.

Knutson said students will also receive diplomatic protection from H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which is seen as a huge honor in the Thai culture. He said King Adulyadej is the longest reigning monarch in history and is as loved by his people as Queen Elizabeth was during her rule in England.

Knutson said this is significant, as the Chitralada Royal Palace School was previously open only to royalty.

Communications Studies senior Dwight Turner, who was part of the first group to go in 2005, recently returned from Bangkok.

Turner said he enjoyed the experience so much he stayed in Bangkok for an extra five months. He said his experience in Thailand was "incredible and eye opening" and he suggested that students take advantage of the program, especially those who have a desire to study abroad but cannot afford to do so.

"It was kind of hard at first to be away from family and friends, to start from scratch in a foreign country, but now I can put on my resume that I've taught a year of English," he said.

Turner said he is almost fluent in both reading and speaking Thai, and although he does not have plans to return to the school to teach he would love to visit.

English major Megan Lane said she is serious about applying and thinks it would be an excellent decision to join the program next year. She said her dream is to teach English in a foreign country.

Lane spent two weeks in Costa Rica in a Spanish immersion program and said she was able to pick up the language rather quickly.

"You can learn more about a culture and language by being in that country for two weeks than you can by studying it for four years," Lane said.

Another reason Lane said she was going to apply is because it is completely paid for, a quality that sets this experience apart from other abroad programs.

"I think this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity," Lane said. " It's hard when you really want to study abroad but you don't have $4,000 to do so. This is different… it would allow me to teach and study at the same time."

Knutson said each Sac State group has displayed great success at the school, which is a key reason the Chitralada officials requested their return.

"The successes of our Sacramento State students in Thailand genuinely display the value of a Sacramento State education," Knutson said.

Adina Zerwig can be reached at azerwig@statehornet.com.

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