Mrs. Sirilac Boonma

Thai Scholar

Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University

During her six-week program, the MSU College of Education, Health and Human Development will host Sirilac Boonma. She is the first recipient of the JEEM Memorial Scholarship, which was established by the family of Dr. James G. Hauwiler to support international educational exchanges. While in Montana, Sirilac will experience a home stay with Yvonne Hauwiller in Bozeman.

Brief Narrative Biography

I have been in Thailand for all of my life. I graduated with a B.S. in English from the
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and M.Ed. in TEFL from the Faculty of Education, Chula. Also, I was granted a scholarship from the Australian Government for diploma in TEFL from the University of Sydney. Last year I took a short course in Business English at Christchurch College of English, New Zealand. I have traveled to Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia, China, and Vietnam. This is the first time that I have an opportunity to come to the United States to study.

My present position is Director of the Language Center and Chairperson of the Office of
International Relations at Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University. We are located about
40 km. North of Bangkok, not far from Ayuttaya. While in Bozeman, I am interested in learning more about curriculum design and development, teaching supervision, and program management. I hope to identify effective English teaching methods and organize the in-service training program for our primary and secondary school teachers.

With the recent promotion of my institute to that of a full-fledge university, there is a need to enhance both our teaching materials and methodology. We need to improve our courses to assure that the content is relevant for our students and applicable to the ever-changing needs of society. Also we need to provide students with instructors who have a more broad knowledge of the world around them. My university is located between two vast industrial estates and many of the companies are American owned. By living and studying in Bozeman, I wil learn about the American way of life.

In my personal life, I enjoy reading, watching television, shopping, being with my father, and travels with my family. My father is a retired businessman. He lives in a house on the banks of the Chao Phya River. I am having a second house built near his house. My husband is the senior director in charge of the Thanachart Bank branches. I have three children. My eldest daughter has received the M.A. in Language and Communication from NIDA. She has been teaching English at Srinarindrarawiroj Prasarnmitr. My second son has a B.A. in Law from Thammasart University. He has studied for the Bar Exam. Unfortunately, I lost my youngest and beloved daughter because of illness three years ago, when she was the first year student at the Faculty of the Social Welfare, TU.