A Zun Mo, student and Burmese teacher for foreigners in Yangon

A Zun Mo is a smart and dynamic 21 years old girl from Yangon. She is graduated in Russian language from Yangon University of Foreign languages and she is now doing a pre-master course in English. She has been my Burmese teacher for few months now. I was really happy to interview her and take time to discuss about her life, her dreams and her country.

How did you start your Burmese classes?

After high school, I went to the American Center in Yangon in order to study English. One of my teachers wanted to learn Burmese and asked me to teach him. He became my very first student. At that time, I had no idea on how to teach and I learnt by myself with textbooks. He told me that I was good at it and encouraged me to teach to more foreigners. As I was really enjoying teaching Burmese, I kept doing it. Now I developed my own curriculum and I have different levels classes.

Why do you think it is important to learn Myanmar language for foreigners?

Actually if you work for an international organization, Burmese people will speak English. But basic communication for everyday life is important. Not many people speak English in Myanmar. Moreover, Myanmar people like when foreigners can speak their language so it is easier to engage with them. For example, it is useful for people working for NGOs and going to field trips. It can be difficult to communicate with local people. So if a foreigner speaks little Myanmar language, local people would be happy and more comfortable.

You have a Bachelor degree in Russian, why did you choose to learn Russian?

Actually, I did not really choose… haha. I wanted to go to medical university but my matriculation exam score was not high enough.

Can you explain a little bit about the Myanmar Educational system?

We have 10 grades and at the end of high school we take a matriculation exam. Our matriculation exam score determines which University we can go to and which major we can study.  Many people want to go to Medical University so it is the most difficult to have. Nowadays, Yangon Technological University and Yangon University of Foreign Languages are also highly demanded.  

Finally are you happy to study Russian?

At first, I was really disappointed because I did not know anything about Russia. I did not even know where Russia was… haha. But I found a native teacher who got me very interested. I am also speaking with some Russian friends on internet. At the University we don’t have native teacher and we don't speak Russian during classes, so it is very hard to practice.

I also had the chance to go to Russia last October with the University. I loved it. I found people very nice. Before going, I was scared because I heard Russian people were very cold. When we arrived we could not understand and speak Russian. But after few days I was feeling more comfortable and managed to discuss with them.

Now I am also part of the Russia-ASEAN Youth association. In 2016, I went to the ASEAN-Russia Youth Summit in Cambodia to represent my University. After that Summit, we established a Russia-ASEAN Youth association because in ASEAN we don’t have easy access to information about Russia. Very few people know about Russia, especially in Myanmar.

I am also working for the Russian Embassy. They give me some translation to do for them. I help for events organization and information sharing with the University like for scholarships.

Learning Russian gave me a lot of opportunities! I can learn English everywhere but Russian is a unique language here.  

You also have a very good English, how did you learn?

I studied at the American Center after high school. I did not speak English at all at that time. I could understand but was not able to speak that much. We learned English at school but mainly writing and reading. At the American Center, I had to speak English all the time and improved a lot.

In Myanmar, we have to know English if we want to have a good job. You can have higher position and more opportunities. So everyone wants to learn English and go to private schools after high school. But it is expensive. If you parents can’t support you, you can’t go.

What are your future plans?

I would like to do master in US. So now I am preparing for English tests to get a scholarship. With a master from a US university, I could get a good job in Myanmar. Last year, I did an internship at UNDP Myanmar as communications intern and I got really interested in international relations. So I want to do a master in international relations and after may be work for an INGO or UN agency.

I got this internship at UNDP thanks to one of my Burmese class student. He was working for Proximity Designs and he helped me to get an internship there and after he introduced me to one of his friends who was working at UNDP.

Myanmar classes seem to bring you good opportunities….

Definitely! I can meet many people from many different backgrounds. It is very interested to meet people from different culture, especially westerners as we have very different cultures. I learnt from them and got many insights. It opened my mind. I was just a University student, so it also helped me to grow my network. A lot of my students supported me, like helping me finding internships.

It is not very common in Myanmar to work and do internship at my age. The majority of my friends are not working. I can see a difference between people who already work and others. If you work, you feel more mature.

Now I would like to speak about Myanmar. We say that Myanmar is in a transition period and changing a lot. What do you think of it? How does it impact you?

Actually I have not seen a lot of changes since the new government arrived 2 years ago. Before we expected a lot. But we don’t see any impact yet. And maybe it got worst in some areas. For example, the commodities’ prices are rising up.

So you would say that people are disappointed?

Yes, people around me are because their exceptions and the reality are so different.

I can especially see that students are disappointed. They promised a lot for education like more native teachers for language classes to improve our level without having to go to private school. But nothing happened yet. I don’t know much about others fields but there is no change in education yet.

Few weeks ago, some students from Yadanarbone University demonstrated to ask more budget for Education. In 2015, the minister promised to rise the budget up to 20% but so far they have not. The University dropped them off for demonstrating. They are really upset about that because they are supposed to be able to demonstrate…

Teachers are still teaching in an old fashioned way. Here, we are really weak in critical thinking. Teachers don’t really make us think. In class, we just have to listen most of the time. We can see that most of our teachers don’t like questions.. However, there are few teachers now who encourage us to think critically and focus on student-centered teaching method. But you can only find one, maybe out of 100, in typical Myanmar schools and universities.

Which impact do you think this education style has on Myanmar society?

During my grandparents’ time, education was good. For example, they speak good English. The system changed in 1988 after the students’ protests. The military government took control of the schools. They did not want people to think critically, speak out and criticize. So people will just do what they say. It is a way to control.

Are you optimistic for Myanmar's future?

It is difficult to answer… I am not really sure yet. I am waiting to see the 5 years term. For now the government is more focused on peace, which is not really improving, and the other areas are decreasing. The new government does not have complete power because military still controls 25% of the parliament seats and of some ministries.

If there is no change in 5 years, I am scared they will get no support for the next election.  Now people don’t care about politic anymore because they don’t believe in it anymore. Many people say they will not vote for anyone. They say that whoever rule the country, it is the same.

Last question, what is your favorite place in Yangon? What do you like to do?

I have always lived on Nawaday Street. I love this area. It has changed a lot in 10 years and became a trendy and foreigner place. There are a lot of coffee shops and restaurants. My favorites are Shan kitchen and Craft. I also like rooftop bars. The new bar at Pan Pacific hotel is very nice.

But I can’t really go out at night, usually. In Myanmar, parents are strict. It is cultural. They don’t like their kids to go out at night, especially for girls. If you go to club or bars, some conservative people think you are a bad girl.