Staff Interview with Saranya Khamma

You’ve been with MediaKids since the beginning. What inspired you to join the team so early on and what has inspired you to stay with the team?

I am Thai, I grew up in Thailand so I’ve been surrounded by Thai people and traditions my whole life. When I heard about MediaKids and the opportunity to work with foreigners, I was really inspired by the idea of meeting foreigners from all different types of backgrounds, ages, nationalities, etc.

I love speaking English, so the opportunity to speak with and learn from foreigners every day excited me, and still excites me to this day.

Have you been surprised by any of the developments of MediaKids over the years from a truck-based operation with seven teachers, to a nationwide entity that includes 250 teachers, 70 schools, and close to 100 staff members?

When I started, I could not have imagined that this project, which started as a small dream from the CEO, would ever become as big as an organization as we are now. And it’s been an inspiring thing to be a part of.

Can you walk us through the developments that have occurred over time?

Logistically, we have dramatically improved our processes to accommodate the growth we have experienced. Like I mentioned, we started very small. So we had to adapt our processes.

But most importantly, we had to learn a lot about foreigners and their culture. We hope that teachers come to Thailand and learn about our culture, too. But because we are here to support foreigners, we have had to do a lot of adapting ourselves, too.

What challenges have you faced in your position, and how have you overcome them?

Thai culture is very different from “western” culture. So one of my biggest challenges is trying to help our foreign teachers adapt to and understand Thailand, Thai culture, and Thai people, without coming off like we are forcing our values on them. Teaching in Thailand does take a great deal of patience and understanding, so I devote a lot of my time to being a support system for teachers throughout their time here.

Why should prospective teachers choose to work with MediaKids over other organizations?

From what I’ve heard from our current and alumni teachers, MediaKids is a great organization especially for first-time ESL teachers in Thailand or abroad. This is largely due to the Thai consultants that we have as part of our staff.

Our first priority is always our foreign teachers, and we do a lot to support teachers throughout their stay with us.

Picking up your life and moving abroad to teach English in a foreign country with a culture that is very different from your own can be difficult for many. But we have devoted our company to reduce the stress of the process and actually make it a really enjoyable experience for our teachers. A happy teacher makes for a happy student.

What qualities make a successful teacher and MediaKids team member?

Teaching in Thailand is very different from teaching in other countries around the world. Thailand is more focused on building confidence in Thai students so they feel comfortable speaking. So the most successful teachers are the ones who are not afraid to be silly in the classroom for the amusement the students. If you are happy, your students are happy. And that’s really what we are trying to achieve.

Why do you think it is important for individuals to travel and experience new cultures?

Because it’s fun! Over the years, I’ve seen so many foreigners come to Thailand who have seen even more of my country than I have! Not only do they get to travel around, but they also make so many friends with people from around the world. I’ve kept in touch with lots of teachers even after they’ve left Thailand, and they all say they are better people for having taught in Thailand.

What impact do the teachers have on the communities in which they teach?

Like I mentioned before, teaching English in Thailand is mostly about building their confidence to speak. Thai people study from textbooks and often just memorize the language, but when it comes to actually speaking it, they are so shy and really struggle with it. The teachers have impacted their students and communities so much, because the more they speak with the foreigners, the more confidence they have to get better and better with the language.

What is your favorite part of your job and working for MediaKids?

My favorite part by far is just the people in general. I love our foreign teachers, and I love the staff of MediaKids. Rather than being co-workers, we really are like one big family.

Are there any new developments that MediaKids is undergoing?

Thailand is still a developing country, and in many ways Thailand is 20 years behind the western world. So recently we’ve been learning about new technological advances to implement that will make our work faster and more systematic. This will help us better support our teachers and continue to grow. We even have an Instagram account now through which we feature some of our teachers on a regular basis, and an online portal for the teachers to easily access the curriculum.