Thai schoolboy who taught himself English shares his learning tips

By The Nation

 

 

Thanachote Pimelapthanabrun, 14, started learning English by himself before he started school. He has since won many English speech competitions including Triam Udom Suksa School's the TU Open House 2019 in January , beating contestants older than him.

 

He is now studying in class 8A at Assumption College Thon Buri. He has written an essay for The Nation's online readers about how the young generation should learn new things including languages to prepare themselves for the "Thailand 4.0” campaign.

 

“Thailand 4.0 brings with it many things, but one of the biggest aspects of this drastic disruption to our country is its focus on the education and mental growth of Thais, both young and old. Other elements include the innovations in technology and with it, new ways to learn and master new skills, especially another language, namely English.

 

“I was sitting in front of my computer munching on potato chips, when it struck me that the best way to learn something is to enjoy it. I’m sure you all have had an experience similar to the one I about to describe: “You’re sitting in class, listening to your teacher talking about a boring subject.” There’s something in that last sentence that should be of note -- the word “boring.” Why is that class so boring to you? Many other people in your class enjoy it, so why not you? Maybe because you’re not good at it? Then find ways to enjoy that lesson, to remove the loop, find ways of learning on your own, in your free time. This also applies to English. There are many tools online you can use to learn and while some of those methods are probably not advisable for adults, for Thai youth, there are highly enjoyable.

 

"Movies and music are things you can relate to and find inspiration in. How can you learn from these things? For movies, I’d also include documentaries as you can use them to learn about a certain subject, but for the big budget Hollywood blockbusters, I’d have to turn to language, specifically learning to copy a foreigner’s accent and pronunciation. Grammar can be learned from reading novels and even comics, tailored to your style. And if you like video games, those are good too, you can use them to your advantage for learning slang, which is sometimes vital to communication, and also to learn to type faster. You wouldn’t want to get shot in-game while you’re communicating with your teammates, who keep throwing games, right? Well, it’s a matter of perspective.

 

"There are many ways to learn a new skill, especially one as in-demand as a new language, but the most importing thing is to take it at your own pace and to find things you enjoy that have an undeniable affiliation with the skill you’re learning."

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30367475

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-10

congratulations to the young fella, he should pass he's learning technic to the TAT & IMO people, that would help a lot

Well done that Lad; if only more young Thai's would be that interested and dedicated then the country could start moving forward.

Full recognition to this smart and self-educated boy. And this confirms that where there is a will, there is always a way, no matter what the obstacles may be.

Edited April 10, 20197 yr by observer90210

This boy can easy get a job in ANY mall in BKK, ANY restaurant, ANY bank, at the police, the hotels, immigration, real estate brokers , car dealers and ANYWHERE else in Thailand where foreigners are spending money!

 

Well done boy! You're far far ahead of all the professions i mentioned above!

16 letter surname.

That's a pretty good effort.

The skill to learn by yourself is even more valuable than English. He's on his way to success, well done.

And I bet this story is not showing to other Thai kids so they can learn from him good on you young man

"beating contestants older than him"

 

don't you love this ... I thought they all had English in school, but nobody pays attention to it, being TIT, center of the universe

 

you might think they excel in other subjects by only knowing one language ...well, were are the thai inventors, nobel price winners ?

 

good for the boy, he is better than average, but average in this country is like education till year 6 in the rest of the world

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

I was sitting in front of my computer munching on potato chips, when it struck me that the best way to learn something is to enjoy it.

The kid is absolutely right, and smart to realise it by himself. Best way to become functional in a new language is to start with and build on what you want to know and communicate, in an area you're genuinely enthusiastic about. If it's related to your interests or needs you'll make the effort and it'll stick. 

44 minutes ago, justin case said:

I thought they all had English in school, but nobody pays attention to it, being TIT, center of the universe

I don't think so....i haven't been in a restaurant where the staff can speak 1 word english (in central bkk) for a year....

 

Everywhere in every mall/shop/restaurant there are plenty young Thai working but not 1 word english is spoken. 

If the Thai television stop dubbing movies and use subtitles like in my homecountry. It would  improve the knowledge  of  foreign languages a lot. I, like many of my countrymen did  learn speak and reading English, German and French that way. I never studied those languages in school.

I imagine there are a few TVF posters that lack even a basic Thai street level ability. Take what this bright boy said and use it to pick up some Thai.

This young man exemplifies what I concluded back when I was a teacher in USA:

"If someone doesn't want to learn, no one can teach him (or her). If someone wants to learn, no one can stop him"

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“Thailand 4.0 brings with it many things, but one of the biggest aspects of this drastic disruption to our country is its focus on the education and mental growth of Thais, both young and old.

I suspect he hasn't memorized Prayut's 12 Values.

As a former educator, having taught in five different countries at international schools ( not local). It can be difficult for the teacher  to always make the required curriculum exciting or interesting to everyone due to different nationalities, English language levels, and learning styles. This kid has the right attitude....and with the outdated teaching methods of rote-learning & not thinking outside the box with many of the outdated public schools in Thailand, a motivated student will need to be creative and find other ways to learn content and broaden his/ her knowledge. 

2 hours ago, Emdog said:

I imagine there are a few TVF posters that lack even a basic Thai street level ability. Take what this bright boy said and use it to pick up some Thai.

This young man exemplifies what I concluded back when I was a teacher in USA:

"If someone doesn't want to learn, no one can teach him (or her). If someone wants to learn, no one can stop him"

With regards to learning Thai I'm finding this app helpful that I discovered last week: https://languagedrops.com

 

It's fun to me, like language learning should be.

 

Sadly would have to pay some money if wanting to use more than 5 minutes every day. But might be worth it at some point.

Edited April 11, 20197 yr by wolf81

Was it against the rules to show his essay to some random native English speaking backpacker to correct the obvious errors? 

 

As I'm trying to learn Spanish, I was hoping to find some tips from him on language learning in general. 

 

He seems to mostly be saying to watch videos.

 

I agree that's a good supplement but it's doubtful just doing that alone has led anyone to fluency.

 

I do have my own tip. Watch the videos and turn on the subtitles of the language as well. Just looking at subtitles in your own language is a crutch and the actual learning is reduced.