JAG

https://goo.gl/images/UGz7cm

32 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

Do they need to ?

Thought they were given 50 baht by village headman and told to vote

for who they said ?

Or has something changed from the last time there was a free vote !!!!!!! 
 

They may or not have been given a sum of money - B50 or B500?

They then went and voted for whoever they wanted.

The probability this time round is that the freedom of choice will be removed, by the time various parties have been dissolved at the last moment, and their replacements found themselves, for various beaurocratic reasons, unable to stand.

1 hour ago, robblok said:

I guess you and I have a different idea of what violence is.

 

actual violence and the threat of violence are not the same. 

 

Do you think me telling you im going to smash your face in and me doing it are the same ? (no real threat intended just making a point here).  

 

So there was no actual violence and later the coup was made legal (don't ask who we cant discuss that)

 

So i don't feel i support violence

 

furthermore.. the coup put en end to violence.  (important)

Back along there was a joke on the lines of "Fighting for peace is like <deleted> for virginity!" Other gently aging hippies (I've always struggled with the contradictions inherent in being a "military hippy" - a boss of mine once used the phrase in the pen picture part of my annual report) may remember it. It was an ironic and wryly amusing comment on the slogan, I believe, of the US strategic bombing arm! Anyway, excuse my rambling, but Roblock old chap, your attempts to claim that the military coup which installed this junta was not inherently violent remind me of that joke

I wonder if he could get my 13 year old daughter to tidy her bedroom?

2 hours ago, Thian said:

And you sound like the one who would rather eat fieldrats than moving to a city with decent restaurants.

McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut are decent restaurants? 

Even the most primitive of rural backwaters that you probably wouldn't be seen dead in will have establishments serving better food...

52 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

If the authorities were serious, the first thing they would ask for would be a proven record showing a minimum of 5 years teaching English at high school level.

 

If you are good enough to teach English in Finland, or Brazil, or Singapore, then you are good enough to do it in Thailand.

 

Yet, serious authorities would also ask the prospective teachers to learn the Thai language, so that they could have a better understanding of the major differences between both languages, and by extension of the obstacles to be met by the students.

 

The average backpacker/teacher will probably assume that his Thai students know what plural, gender, not to mention verb conjugation, are.

 

He or she will thus skip a major obstacle while all his or her students will hit this same obstacle head on, unable to move on.

 

 

A qualified teacher (degree + Post Graduate Certificate), and 5 years teaching experience in a European High School, would command an annual salary in their home country, equivalent to some 1,5 million Baht +. They are not going to come here, learn Thai, and work for 500k Baht a year, which is the maximum that Thailand would/could pay (except for a few very prestigious and expensive schools in Bangkok - perhaps).

I'm afraid that, if you are going to get native speaking teachers in most (all) schools here then you are stuck with TEFL teachers. The published requirements, a degree, TEFL certificate and criminal record check are actually sufficient, if the TEFL teacher is conscientious, enthusiastic and working, as I do, in concert with Thai teachers. The Thai teachers deal with the grammatical rules (largely pointless) and the vocabulary teaching ( jolly useful to prepare for Scrabble competitions), but required by the national curriculum. I try to get them speaking the language. We have, dare I say, reasonable success. Where this system breaks down is when the TEFL component is recruited with, or despite, having essentially nominal qualifications - the infamous certificates gained online - or are non native speakers with limited language skills. Experience is also important, a TEFL teacher, like any other teacher, gets better with experience. Short term "gap year" employees never get that experience.

One final point - ability to handle the classroom. Classrooms are challenging environments, you need skill sets (see previous comments on experience), patience and a liking for and understanding of children to function effectively. A mixed ability class of 34 eleven year olds is a challenging, sometimes scary environment, (and bloody tiring) but a hugely rewarding and enjoyable place when you get it right and start to produce results. A lot of people (especially the short term "backpackers) never stand a chance. 

Enough of my meanderings about teaching in Thailand. The requirements you describe would be great (although I would be out of a job!) but are simply not economically or practically possible. The existing requirements/system can be made to work tolerably well, if the prescribed conditions and standards are followed. That is in the hands of the Thai educational authorities - God and The Buddha help us...

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

Being a native English or being below 40 are NOT qualifications!

I would suggest that they are qualifications, perhaps just not the sole qualifications.

Being a native speaker does presume a depth of familiarity with the language which should (no certainties here you will note) be of help when teaching it. Age not so important, arguably more important to enjoy working with and like children, (one has to be careful what you say here, many look at you as if you were a disciple of Gary Glitter, but I hope that you understand what I mean). I don't suggest that being a "non native speaker" prevents you from teaching the language effectively, but it does mean that such teachers need a very good command of the language, amongst their qualifications.

I entirely agree that the backpacker looking to fund sticking around for a few months, is not the answer, at all.

2 hours ago, Longcut said:

The level of ignorance by some is just so overwhelming.

McDonald's in Thailand is not here for the English speaking population. Neither is KFC, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, etc. They are a Thai franchise for the Thai population. They will not fold if you don't go there regardless of what you think. 

Oh, I don't know - if he regularly spends B1500 on sticky buns in the bakery, as he tells us at the beginning of the thread, he might be described as a man of economic influence.

A big lad too I should imagine!

3 hours ago, malagateddy said:

The English language is hard to learn..just think of all the different verb tenses.

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I don't agree - there are many tenses yes, but frankly, once you have mastered the simple tenses - past, present and future - and you are beyond "I go Big C" and into the realms of speaking simple correct English. Then add the continuous form (verb to be plus the main verb adding "ing") and you are away - "I went/am going/will go to Big C".

3 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

One of the advantages of English however, is that as long as you know vocabulary you can basically string it all together in almost any order.

May sound odd, but unlike a lot of languages where if you get the sentence structure wrong it's unintelligible, English can still be understood.

 

A German friend of mine put it rather well many years ago;

 

"English is an easy language to speak badly"

The main aim must be to get them (child or adult) confident enough to try. Mistakes don't matter - the sun will still come up tomorrow if you get the verb ending wrong, and a good teacher will patiently put you right. Then of course - the dreaded "face" comes into play...

5 hours ago, PatOngo said:

When the majority of the population are destined to a life of mediocrity in the provinces, I guess English is irrelevant to most!

Speaking as someone who rather enjoys a life of mediocrity in the provinces, I am often pleasantly surprised by the attempts by ordinary people in mediocre provincial occupations to speak English to me. Market traders, petrol pump attendants and the like... 

Perhaps it is because, unlike their sophisticated metropolitan kinfolk, they are rather proud to show off their English. Sometimes if they make a particularly grave mistake I will correct them, gently, and both parties go on their way smiling. It does add a bit of fun to buying a bag of stuff in the market.

13 hours ago, HalfLight said:

I spotted someone's member description a while back and immediately adopted his self-description for my sig line. Yes, I'm selectively misanthropic. Over the years I've come to a pretty good understanding of Thais and I have to say I don't like what I've come to understand very much.

"Selectively misanthropic"? 

Your misanthropy sounds pretty universal I'm afraid!

14 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

As good as it gets...

I wonder if you could discuss a domestic political topic from wherever you hail, on Thai TV with a Thai interviewer, in Thai, and be understood by your audience?

Leaving out the schoolboy sniggering caused by an attractive woman mispronouncing "election" as "erection"...

14 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Ah yes..the foreign teachers..they're to blame.

 

Terrible lot..bad English-just as all motor vehicle fatalities in thailand are caused by 'farang' and all bananas are bent by Queenslanders..

How do Queenslanders bend bananas?

On second thoughts no, please don't answer, I'm having a banana milkshake for lunch. Wander into garden, select banana from tree, slice it up (the banana not the tree), pop into blender with a splash of coconut milk, a dash of vanilla essence, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a glass of milk, whizz it up for 10 seconds.

Yummy, and not a Queenslander in sight....

15 hours ago, Thian said:

For her job she works with consultants from London and so and when i tell her those guys must be laughing so hard when she makes silly mistakes she even doesn't care.

Possibly, just possibly, those consultants from London are thinking "That Thai lady tries hard to speak English, makes some mistakes but is comprehensible, and puts real effort into speaking a foreign language, which has virtually nothing in common with her native language. She is doing jolly well isn't she?"

On 11/6/2018 at 10:05 AM, bristolboy said:

So you know that what's great for troop morale is doing something completely unnecessary that takes them away not just from training but from their families as well. And it's a wise commander-in-chief who deploys the troops that way.

The British Army has a long tradition of doing just that.

It is known professionally as "<deleted> the troops about".

I'm sure that if General Mathis asked, we could send him some advisors to show them how to do it with style and flair - we are really very good at it.

,"Thai Cuisine"! I meant of course Thai Consulate.

I suppose it rather depends on what the job is that he intends to take up.

If it is as a teacher then he definitely will need educational records, as well as a letter from the school or institute which is going to employ him. The details are available on the internet web thingy. Your "friend" will need a degree, a teaching qualification, (at least a TEFL course certificate), a criminal record check ( relevant to working with children) and a firm job offer from a registered institute or school.

Frankly, the restrictions on foreigners working are such that he will need confirmation of employment for virtually any job. Very few are likely to be open to someone with the (lack of) qualifications you describe. Basically an employer can only employ you, and a work permit is only issued, if a Thai cannot do the job.

If he intends to come here and look for work, then a tourist visa is a better bet. Once you have a firm job offer, with accompanying documents, off to a neighbouring country's Thai Cuisine to apply for a B Visa...

1 hour ago, bluesea said:

"Quote" In a tweet Wednesday morning, the president said he "received so many Congratulations from so many on our Big Victory last night, including from foreign nations 

Is he all there? he must not understand what has happend or maybe going to happen to his presidency, I really believe this man Donald trump has the IQ of a Peanut!!

Joking apart - given that the House of Representatives election context was held throughout the country, whereas the Senatorial elections were confined to certain states, it is definitely rather difficult to regard it as a great victory for Mr Trump. When one looks at the popular vote, which is reflected by the results for the House of Representatives - sorry, what am I saying - of course the popular vote is irrelevant - it is after all a "representative Republic"?