Pulse! English Education Magazine

In the wake of last year's devastating tsunami, it became clear how truly international Phuket is. Europeans, Britons, Australians, people from the Middle East, Americans, New Zealanders, South Africans; the tsunami knew no nationalities, it had no prejudice and neither did the heroic volunteers who donated their love, strength and compassion to all people in need.

The real heroes were regular people; a hotel porter helping an injured woman and her children to medical care, a university student translating for a Thai doctor, a souvenir seller lending a shoulder to cry on. The local Thai community was remarkably selfless and supportive during that time of crisis, even though most of them had lost family, possessions and in many cases their livelihoods.

Physically Phuket was repaired quickly, but emotionally, many people are still battling the reality of what has happened. One of the worst effects has been on tourism, the main industry on the island. Fewer visitors mean fewer jobs and suddenly the competition for employment has become fierce. To get a good job, English language skills are more important than ever and so, in an effort to help all these local heroes, a couple of teachers decided to create Pulse!, a free English education magazine especially for Phuket's working Thai community.

"Pulse! gives everyone the opportunity to improve their English language skills for free!" Manop Leelaratanaporn, a children's art teacher, is the Managing Director of Pulse! "Phuket is going to get more international in the future and soon everyone will need to speak English for work. Already around 85% of people working here often use English in their jobs. Pulse! can help them deal with the English-speaking customers."

Pulse! Editor, Eva Mooney, an Aussie who has been teaching English in Thailand for seven years said, "I love teaching English; teaching people to communicate. After the tsunami, I was so proud of how my students were able to translate for the victims. They were able to give them understanding and in times like those, understanding is invaluable."

Manop and Eva created Pulse! to be a free, fun and informative way of improving English language skills for all Phuket people. Eva said, "The articles in Pulse! are written with simple language that makes reading a pleasure, not a bore. And every issue has activity pages for beginners, intermediates and more advanced English speakers. We also do tailored business English each issue."

Pulse! English Education magazine is proud to aid in Phuket's recovery by promoting better communication between the local community and Phuket's millions of international admirers.