English skills provide opportunities for Filipinos in Thailand

By EUNICE BARBARA C NOVIO

 

Long before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was conceived, which established treaties, the ancient kingdoms of Siam and Luzon had been engaged in trading as well as sending troops by the latter to fight the Burmese during the Sukhothai Dynasty. But it was only on June 14, 1949, that the the Philippines and Thailand signed a Treaty of Friendship formalizing their bilateral relationship.

 

The Philippines was a popular destination among Thais before World War II, since the country’s education system was patterned after the US curriculum aside from cheap tuition and low living costs compared with the United States and England.

 

Among the popular Thai personalities who were Philippine-educated is the popular band Kalabaw. Its members studied at the Gregorio Araneta Foundation (now De La Salle Araneta University). The band’s name is from Tagalog kalabaw (water buffalo). Adamson University, Central Luzon State University and the University of the Philippines are other institutions where Thais often studied.

 

Full story: http://www.atimes.com/english-skills-provide-opportunities-for-filipinos-in-thailand/

 

ASIA TIMES: 2018-11-24

Thailand needs to get serious about improving its English abilities...The thai language should be in a museum with many of its old fossil politicians,dusted and brought out to be paraded around on cultural days

Edited November 24, 20187 yr by mok199

The full article appears, in a nudge nudge, wink wink manner, to be encouraging Filipinos to come to Thailand as tourists and get a job teaching once in country. 

 

“Filipinos have admitted to this author that they were tourists upon their entry and later found employment as teachers in different provinces in Thailand. Such people are given a one-year Non-B (work) visa and a work permit. The contract is renewable for another year depending on the performance of the employee and the ability of the employer to pay. Thus these tourists become teachers.”

The Thai based English language system of teaching seems to be Read English convert to written Thai and Read Thai and convert to written English.

 

I think this is basically because the TEACHERS themselves either speak very poor English or none at all, and on the whole most of them have no conversation skills.

Getting the Teachers to be proficient in conversation English MUST is a priority and this should start with the smallest children at Kindergarten level and Up.

 

As a FREE teaching aid Duolingo is an App that can be downloaded on to the kid’s phones and they can practice as much as they like.   Note: - With headphones on they don’t disturb anybody.

 

This is FREE system and it has many languages besides English for Thai speakers, the more the system is used it will get refined and get better.

This English learning App is just a starter but better than all the promises been hacked around to improve English in Thai schools.

Unfortunately the Universities fare no better with their English conversation skills.

 

(Note: - For all the negative guys, I have no financial or other interests in Duolingo)

Not many things better than calling a business in Thailand to have the call picked up by a young Filipina. Not only can they speak passable English, they are far more genuine, warm, and, by comparison with their Thai counterparts, can think. 

59 minutes ago, Siam Bruce said:

The Thai based English language system of teaching seems to be Read English convert to written Thai and Read Thai and convert to written English.

 

I think this is basically because the TEACHERS themselves either speak very poor English or none at all, and on the whole most of them have no conversation skills.

Getting the Teachers to be proficient in conversation English MUST is a priority and this should start with the smallest children at Kindergarten level and Up.

 

As a FREE teaching aid Duolingo is an App that can be downloaded on to the kid’s phones and they can practice as much as they like.   Note: - With headphones on they don’t disturb anybody.

 

This is FREE system and it has many languages besides English for Thai speakers, the more the system is used it will get refined and get better.

This English learning App is just a starter but better than all the promises been hacked around to improve English in Thai schools.

Unfortunately the Universities fare no better with their English conversation skills.

 

(Note: - For all the negative guys, I have no financial or other interests in Duolingo)

 

The proof of the poudding is in the eating. To assess the effectiveness of Thai teachers teaching English, onew only has to look at successive surveys of the ability of Thais to speak English.

 

Beating one's breast is all very well, but I've seen 10+ years of that with little actual change or improvement.

 

"If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got. If you want something different, you have to make a change."

 

Thais aren't very good at making positive and effective change - it's much easier to just shrug, blame someone else, and carry on with doing what you've been doing. Changing stuff is someone else's job anyway...

 

 

Edited November 24, 20187 yr by HalfLight

1 hour ago, HalfLight said:

Thais aren't very good at making positive and effective change - it's much easier to just shrug, blame someone else, and carry on with doing what you've been doing.

So true and a defining characteristic of the country. It's too bad really because prosperity in the next couple decades will be tied closely to how well countries can keep pace with the alarming rate of change. 

 

Huge strategic weakness of Thailand 

13 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

So true and a defining characteristic of the country. It's too bad really because prosperity in the next couple decades will be tied closely to how well countries can keep pace with the alarming rate of change. 

 

Huge strategic weakness of Thailand 

 

Indeed, and they don't take advice well, they already know it all sio why would they need advice? Especially from despised foreigners. I recall being told by a hi-so Thai of my acquaintance that a (now dead and gone) high and mighty personage said a century or so back 'Take everything from foreigners and give nothing back'. It seems they took him to heart because that's seems to sum up the national psyche rather nicely.

 

Thais know best so my approach has lately been to just smile and let them get on with it. They'll learn sooner or later. Or not.

 

 

Edited November 24, 20187 yr by HalfLight

21 minutes ago, HalfLight said:

 

Indeed, and they don't take advice well, they already know it all sio why would they need advice? Especially from despised foreigners. I recall being told by a hi-so Thai of my acquaintance that a (now dead and gone) high and mighty personage said a century or so back 'Take everything from foreigners and give nothing back'. It seems they took him to heart because that's seems to sum up the national psyche rather nicely.

 

Thais know best so my approach has lately been to just smile and let them get on with it. They'll learn sooner or later. Or not.

 

 

Yeah, I follow a similar strategy which is detachment. 

 

An educated person who cares about quality and correctness would go absolutely insane dealing with many Thais if he didn't practice avoidance and detachment. 

 

I will will wait in anticipation of the highly skilled foreigners they are trying to attract. Should be fun to watch these expats quickly fall into the disbelief and retreat that characterizes the experiences of so many here. 

 

'chokdee' to all

Was there not a push to get rid of foreign English teachers when the boys in green set up in government house ?  I have met Filipinas that have taught in Thailand for more than 18 years.  Then there was a move to remove then and others just after the coup.  Am I wrong ?

Lowest English speaking skills in SEA. So, how's all those Philippineo English teachers working out? 

I would bet there are more English speaking Filipinos in Thailand doing work other than teaching.  I went to Saint Louis Hospital in Bangkok for some blood work and at the registration desk, there was English speaking Filipino staff. I have also stayed at hotels in Bangkok with Filipino reception staff.  

Filipinos do have good oral skills. But English language is not one of them.

I really struggle to understand what they are talking about. Feel sorry for any Thai kid that ends up with a Filipino accent.

Edited November 24, 20187 yr by Time Traveller

And yet, they continuously resist the base ideals of integrating native-English speakers into the systems.

Always skirting around in one form or another...

4 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Yeah, I follow a similar strategy which is detachment. 

 

An educated person who cares about quality and correctness would go absolutely insane dealing with many Thais if he didn't practice avoidance and detachment. 

 

I will will wait in anticipation of the highly skilled foreigners they are trying to attract. Should be fun to watch these expats quickly fall into the disbelief and retreat that characterizes the experiences of so many here. 

 

'chokdee' to all

Lets face it, who want's a Thai as a boss.

F- that. No way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited November 24, 20187 yr by stanleycoin

Highly embarrassing loss of face by the Thai government to basically admit that their own English teachers are not up to scratch. To call upon fellow south East Asians to do the job.

 

Could only be worse for them if they had to ask the Burmese, Khmer or Viets to come across to teach. THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN OF COURSE.

 

I have worked with many Filipinos. Apart from their great English I really love their zest for life and fun loving spirit, both males and females. Fascinated by their love of Air Supply love songs! 

 

Thailand. Som nam naa! 

4 hours ago, Dodgydownunder said:

Highly embarrassing loss of face by the Thai government to basically admit that their own English teachers are not up to scratch. To call upon fellow south East Asians to do the job.

 

Could only be worse for them if they had to ask the Burmese, Khmer or Viets to come across to teach. THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN OF COURSE.

 

I have worked with many Filipinos. Apart from their great English I really love their zest for life and fun loving spirit, both males and females. Fascinated by their love of Air Supply love songs! 

 

Thailand. Som nam naa! 

The Thai government haven't had to call on Filipinos to come from Thailand because their 

teachers are not up to scratch. In fact the government were not mentioned at all in the post.

 

What I took from the article (not a Thai publication) was that many Filipinos are having to

travel abroad for employment due to the economic hardship at home. And many are working

as teachers in Thailand.

 

It seems that they are being used by their employees as cheap labour, being paid far

less than a native English speaker doing a similar job.

 

 

 

I've worked for years with teachers from many countries, the majority of them Filipinos. Their command of the English language is basic at best. The exams they wrote had inconsistencies, poor logic, multiple possibilities for an answer to a question that required an absolute, and so on. Why are they so prevalent in Thailand? They work for 2/3 the pay of a native speaker and will do ANYTHING they are told to, regardless of how ridiculous the order was because they can be fired for no real reason and forced to leave Thailand within 24 hours. I would ask them why they would work in a country for low pay and poor conditions when neighboring countries pay more and treat them better. I never COULD get a clear answer to that question.

21 hours ago, mok199 said:

Thailand needs to get serious about improving its English abilities...The thai language should be in a museum with many of its old fossil politicians,dusted and brought out to be paraded around on cultural days

Totally agree - the main reason Filipinos are better than Thais at English is that they read in a Western script despite having their own language.  If Thai hieroglyphics were phased out & replaced by the English alphabet, great leaps forward will be made - despite what Prayuth says.

Many Thai parents are seemingly unhappy that their child or children are being taught English by Philippine citizens.

 

Although clever people, I tend to find most have a pushy nature with a poor command of English grammar both spoken and written.

 

I was once told by a Philippine, that Philippine citizens in general are very competitive in thier own culture and sadly I've witnessed that behaviour spill over in Thailand, on many occasions in the past.

 

Most are employed at a cheaper rate by the Thai education authority and sadly students are receiving a sub standard lever of education.

 

Education compromised by greed .

 

Sad.

 

 

I'm very happy with the Filipino teachers at my 3 year-old's Montessori kindergarten.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

After teaching in Thailand for a few years I noticed the influx of Filipinos into the schools? In the teachers study rooms the conversation went something like this..."I know that the parents don't like the Asian teachers because they have to pay as if they are foreigners but the directors love them as they'll work for 15K up to 25K where the foreigners from outside want 35K-45K"!

Edited November 25, 20187 yr by TPI
PC rule

10 minutes ago, TPI said:

After teaching in Thailand for a few years I noticed the influx of Filipinos into the schools? In the teachers study rooms the conversation went something like this..."I know that the parents don't like the Asian teachers because they have to pay as if they are foreigners but the directors love them as they'll work for 15K up to 25K where the foreigners from outside want 35K-45K"!

Interesting insights. 

 

What strikes me as well is just how little they are paying on average. Even 45k is a rather pathetic sum for a western teacher of any subject. And what experienced Westerner (from a developed country) would come to a place like Thailand to live on a lower middle class Thai salary? It's outrageous and kind of embarrassing.

 

The kinds of people who usually end up in these jobs are young kids or people maybe who were already here and just needed a job. These westerners are still better than locals of course but the low pay is a sign of the Thai attitude.

 

Bad system all around

15 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

Lets face it, who want's a Thai as a boss.

F- that. No way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tried it once. Never again. With, can but for CANNOT. Thankfully those years behind me now.

 

If faced with an ultimatum, I'd rather ship off to work in an active war zone. 'jing jing' 

Edited November 25, 20187 yr by Fex Bluse

On 11/24/2018 at 9:32 AM, mok199 said:

Thailand needs to get serious about improving its English abilities...The thai language should be in a museum with many of its old fossil politicians,dusted and brought out to be paraded around on cultural days

It is getting serious... it's cutting the teacher training period from 5 years to 4 years !!!!

16 hours ago, Sonhia said:

Many Thai parents are seemingly unhappy that their child or children are being taught English by Philippine citizens.

My daughter previously went to a blingual school with flippers as English teachers. Had the full score of 4 for English. I tested her with EF's online test, she got 52% (I got 94.5% myself, just to give a reference point). Around CEFR 7-8. So "top score" here means you're able to converse about everyday matters. If I was graded for my crappy Thai in the same system I'd probably get a 4 too.

 

She's now at an international school with British teachers and curriculum. The improvement in her English abilities has been nothing but dramatic, on a good day she's able to describe in fine detail the classes she's taking without missing a beat. That's the difference between the wannabe kids playground Thai schools with flippers and the real deal. Not to mention the lack of "thainess" brainwashing. The price is obviously far higher but well worth it.

 

https://englishlive.ef.com/en-gb/learn-english-online/your-results-and-certificates/

Edited November 25, 20187 yr by DrTuner

On ‎11‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 6:11 PM, stanleycoin said:

Lets face it, who want's a Thai as a boss.

F- that. No way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Edited November 25, 20187 yr by mok199

7 hours ago, DrTuner said:

My daughter previously went to a blingual school with flippers as English teachers. Had the full score of 4 for English. I tested her with EF's online test, she got 52% (I got 94.5% myself, just to give a reference point). Around CEFR 7-8. So "top score" here means you're able to converse about everyday matters. If I was graded for my crappy Thai in the same system I'd probably get a 4 too.

 

She's now at an international school with British teachers and curriculum. The improvement in her English abilities has been nothing but dramatic, on a good day she's able to describe in fine detail the classes she's taking without missing a beat. That's the difference between the wannabe kids playground Thai schools with flippers and the real deal. Not to mention the lack of "thainess" brainwashing. The price is obviously far higher but well worth it.

 

https://englishlive.ef.com/en-gb/learn-english-online/your-results-and-certificates/

...how old is your daughter??....What language are you speaking at home?...and when she is out and about with her friends ,what do they speak ,and where are her friends from..??  thanks

Please send thousands of Phillipino's to ALL Thai hotels and restaurants...even in Pattaya nobody speaks english or has good manners.

 

Thailand is far far behind the rest of the world...education seems to be a dirty word for the Thai....

I have always enjoyed working with Filipinos, far more than Thais. All the TAs at my place are Filipino and are literally streets ahead in their English.