The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic several years ago prompted Ei Thazin Tun to re-evaluate her career path. Having experienced a setback in her career as a language teacher at an international school teacher during the pandemic, Thazin established her own education business in her home country of Myanmar. Seeking to further develop her business, she pursued a master’s degree at the University of Macau (UM). Now, having completed her studies and returned home, Thazin is leveraging the academic skills and international perspective she gained at UM to fuel the growth of her education centre.
Starting a business during the pandemic
Thazin’s connection with UM began during the pandemic. In 2020, the pandemic brought the whole world, including Myanmar, to a standstill, leading to the closure of schools nationwide. Thazin and her twin sister Cherry, who were both teachers at an international school, were affected, as were their parents, whose business suffered a significant loss of income. The pandemic plunged the entire family into a difficult financial situation.
In the face of adversity, Thazin and Cherry demonstrated remarkable resilience. Instead of remaining passive, they developed a new learning model by offering online English lessons. The sisters initially launched a Facebook page to recruit students, but the response was lukewarm, and only 35 people signed up. Therefore, they adjusted their strategy, reaching out to all parents they knew and offering trial lessons at half price. Gradually, their business began to take shape.
Thanks to their hard work, Thazin and Cherry quickly built a reputation for high-quality teaching, and the number of participating students increased to over a hundred. As the pandemic eased, they transitioned from online lessons to a physical classroom, and established the ‘Thazin & Cherry English Training Centre’ in 2022. In the following year, the student body rapidly expanded to nearly 500.
Although the business was gaining momentum, Thazin realised that further development would require improvements in the training centre’s teaching quality and management system. After careful consideration, Thazin and Cherry came to an agreement: Cherry would remain in Myanmar to oversee the centre’s daily operations, while Thazin would pursue further studies abroad to explore strategies for developing the business.
Pursuing further education
For Thazin, pursuing further study was a deliberate decision. Driven by a strong sense of purpose, she carefully considered her options when applying for a master’s programme. Her goal was clear: she wanted to develop the ability to conduct independent research, and enhance the training centre’s teaching quality by conducting research aligned with its actual needs. This ultimately led her to the Master’s programme in Curriculum and Instruction (English Language Education) offered by the UM Faculty of Education (FED). The programme, which emphasises both research and practice, was a perfect match for Thazin’s problem-oriented approach to research. ‘Another key factor in my decision was UM’s reputation,’ she recalls. ‘At that time, UM was already ranked among the top 200 universities worldwide. What appealed to me most was its English-language environment, which helps international students settle in more easily, and its international faculty.’
After researching the FED website, Thazin discovered the profile of Prof Barry Lee Reynolds, a US scholar who specialises in English language education and has extensive international resources. Prof Reynolds seemed the ideal mentor for Thazin, who wanted to align the Thazin & Cherry English Training Centre with international standards. ‘After comparing various options, I decided to study at UM,’ says Thazin. In autumn 2023, she enrolled at UM on a full scholarship and became Prof Reynolds’ student in the FED programme.
Finding a theoretical framework for teacher training
During her studies at UM, Thazin balanced her roles as a diligent student and a remote consultant for her training centre. Driven by her desire to promote the professional development of English teachers in Myanmar, she decided to focus on this subject for her thesis. ‘I confirmed my thesis topic in the second semester of my first year at UM, with guidance from Prof Reynolds,’ she explains. ‘It was not just an academic assignment, but also the kind of research that our training centre urgently needed.’
Prof Reynolds’ coaching proved pivotal to Thazin’s research capabilities and development. During a meeting, he observed that Thazin was reluctant to openly discuss the challenges she had encountered in her teaching career. He encouraged her to confront these difficulties, sharing his experiences with setbacks in his research and how he had overcome them. ‘Prof Reynolds made me realise that genuine teaching improvement begins with the courage to acknowledge one’s own shortcomings, followed by an understanding of stakeholders and the regional and global education system and context,’ says Thazin.
Building on this reflective perspective, Thazin focused on the ‘onion model’ developed by Fred Korthagen in her thesis literature review. She examined the complexity of teacher development through the model’s six levels of reflection: environment, behaviour, competencies, beliefs, identity, and mission. ‘We should not just focus on “what teachers do” at the behaviour level and “how they perform” at the competency level, but also explore “why they do” at the mission level,’ she explains. ‘At the belief level, education is a people-oriented profession that integrates rationality and sensibility.’
To verify the model’s application in a cross-cultural context, Thazin employed a duo-ethnographic approach to compare the professional journeys of teachers from Myanmar and the US. She analysed how socio-cultural factors—such as family expectations, social norms, and institutional policies—interact with teachers’ behaviour and thoughts to form an iterative process. Throughout the study, Thazin learned how Prof Reynolds had navigated challenges in his teaching career while working in different education systems in the US, Taiwan, and Macao. She also learned how to elevate her empirical findings to a theoretical level.
Unexpected gains beyond the classroom
Studying at UM meant far more than just attending classes. Eager to contribute to the UM community, Thazin joined several societies and participated in various campus activities. She joined the International Students’ Association to help international students adapt to campus life. For two consecutive years, she served as the English host for the live stream of the UM Open Day, showcasing the university’s vibrant campus to a global audience. She also took part in the UM Reporter Programme, covering interesting people and events at the university. These experiences provided Thazin with valuable opportunities for personal growth.
When talking about her experience hosting the Open Day live stream, Thazin recalls having to balance her demanding thesis research with scriptwriting and late-night rehearsals. Although the process was challenging, she thoroughly enjoyed it. ‘It was a rare opportunity to introduce UM to the world as an international student,’ she adds.
What most moved Thazin was the enthusiastic support she received from her peers in Myanmar. During the live stream, the comments section was flooded with heartwarming messages such as ‘Love from Myanmar’. After the event, she was recognised on campus by students she did not know. ‘At that moment, I really felt like a celebrity,’ she says, smiling.
In addition to being a host, Thazin dedicated herself to the UM Reporter Programme. After a year of professional training, her photography and writing skills had significantly improved. In 2025, she was selected as one of the ‘Top 10 Outstanding UM Reporters’ and given the opportunity to join an exchange trip to Beijing.
These experiences broadened Thazin’s horizons in the field of education and made her realise the importance of brand management. She explains, ‘The training centre’s social media channels were previously managed by friends, and the content lacked organisation. Now, I have learned how to convey value through high-quality content. I work with my team on every social media post, and decide what images and text to include. This is crucial for developing the “Thazin & Cherry” brand, as it helps more people recognise our values.’
Plans after returning home
Last April, while fully immersed in her studies at UM, Thazin received exciting news: her training centre had been accredited as a Cambridge English Authorised Centre. This accreditation not only recognised the training centre’s teaching quality but also provided a booster for her education business.
Now equipped with a deeper understanding of teaching, Thazin has returned to Myanmar with plans to integrate the academic knowledge, international perspective, and cross-cultural experience she gained at UM into her training centre. Her goal is to establish a comprehensive teacher training system that will improve the quality of English language education in her country.
A bigger plan is underway. To expand the talent pool for future development, Thazin has sent a teacher from her centre to UM to pursue further studies in the 2025/2026 academic year. ‘Just as I came to UM two years ago with the goal of upgrading my training centre, this teacher will study with a passion for education and bring new knowledge back to benefit more students,’ she says. For Thazin, UM has been a springboard for her education business, contributing to her personal growth and dramatically improving the professional quality and overall success of the Thazin & Cherry English Training Centre.
Chinese Text: Kelvin U, Senior UM Reporter Wang Chuyue
Chinese Editor: Gigi Fan
English Translation: Winky Kuan
Photo: provided by interviewees
Source: My UM Issue 145