Education Ministry to push for coding as third language for Thai students

[KiChakayan]

Cannot believe this, "coding as a third language" ! Total joke, they should teach algorithmic as part of the Math curriculum, and dedicate a large chunk of time to IT topics.

This quite revealing of something I have been suspecting for a long time the Time language claims an unnecessary amount of time, especially in the earlier grades. And later is a poor medium for science, technology and business tuition.

[Nowisee]

2 hours ago, PhonThong said:

Which is the second language?

 

Ingrish

[buanmeerugsaa]

Thai logic!

it would be helpful if schools simply started teaching something about the rest of the world instead of how Thailand is at the centre of the universe, and everything revolves around it. 

[SoilSpoil]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

Yes, I have, but her objective is coding. You are saying that coding.org focus on how to operate machines and not on coding. I was talking about coding which was the core in the news. All that makes your comment totally irrelevant.

Maybe you dont understand what modern day coding is. Coding was and is nothing more than instructing machines. Toys, such as Lego Mindstorm, are making the link with machine operating comprehensible for children. 

 

I advise you to take the Code.org beginners training and then tell me again what is relevant or not.

[MartinKal]

1 hour ago, StayinThailand2much said:

If they are as successful with "coding" as they are with English, then they better save their money...

The great things about coding are that it tesches logical straight-line thi king, persistence in the face of frustration, attention to detail and respect for facts (test results).

Any language will do.

[SoilSpoil]

13 minutes ago, buanmeerugsaa said:

Thai logic!

it would be helpful if schools simply started teaching something about the rest of the world instead of how Thailand is at the centre of the universe, and everything revolves around it. 

Kids in 'the rest of the world' are all learning coding. Traditional and especially block coding, and most of you seem to miss this point, is the new lingua franca.

[SoilSpoil]

1 minute ago, MartinKal said:

The great things about coding are that it tesches logical straight-line thi king, persistence in the face of frustration, attention to detail and respect for facts (test results).

Any language will do.

But most information about specific coding solutions are to be found in English. 

 

 

[tompelli]

The good thing is "every kid at school" has a tablet from the Thaksin era....or do they?

[kingstonkid]

When are they going to teach Thai or is that number 4

 

[Matzzon]

35 minutes ago, SoilSpoil said:

Maybe you dont understand what modern day coding is. Coding was and is nothing more than instructing machines. Toys, such as Lego Mindstorm, are making the link with machine operating comprehensible for children. 

 

I advise you to take the Code.org beginners training and then tell me again what is relevant or not.

And I advise you to learn what coding is. Have been programming and writing code for all from games to administration systems.

[fxe1200]

Thais can start learning C++ here, and it is totally free!

 

http://www.ubreymann.de/stlbe.pdf

[holy cow cm]

Says the high and mighty Khunying. Solve the English dilemma first and then move on. The third style of language is actually Lip Service..

[fishtank]

Most Thai school kids I know cannot even speak Engarish let alone anything else.

[SpaceKadet]

This will never happen. As all the programmers know, programming requires use of logic. And this, unfortunately, is sadly missing in Thailand.

[Puccini]

2 hours ago, WeekendRaider said:

it doesn't make sense to me.  but hey, I'm a farlang.

What is a farlang?

[sammieuk1]

They should be able to code for Nigerian princes at embezzle my arse .com when qualified ????

[NCC1701A]

Thailand 2030. "You want massage app? 300 baht. Where you go? I go with you."

[bluesofa]

7 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

Thailand 2030. "You want massage app? 300 baht. Where you go? I go with you."

Hey mister, you download very fast. Installed already.

[Orton Rd]

look at the state of Thai websites, even the major cineplex one hardly ever works and as for the government ones better not comment. Looks like the teachers will need to be taught first, the kids of course will have to go to Saturday morning private tutor School if they hope to get anywhere, just as they do now for the other subjects. This is the ministry trying to run run before they have learned to crawl.

[tominbkk]

Let's spend a bit more time on first and second language please.

[Caldera]

It's a great idea, I just don't think it will work. It's almost impossible to find Thai English teachers who can actually speak English (let alone teach it), and with coding it will probably be worse, because there's real money in using that skill commercially instead of teaching it.

[plfomylo]

6 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I see a major flaw in her planning. Coding is generally done in English, and as we know the schools here are totally incompetent at producing students with even a modicum of ability in it. How on earth are they going to be able to write flawless code, if they can't write the language involved? Another pipe dream thought up by someone without the wits to think it through.

 

I love you ❤️

 

 

[fondue zoo]

Someone will accidentally create ThaiNet and then the Thaiminators will rise.

[wotsdermatter]

7 hours ago, bluesofa said:

I see a major flaw in her planning.

I see another major flaw in her planning.  As others have pointed out already, without having a proper understanding of English, or the prime language the programming is to be written in, no programming will be done.  However, what programming language is she wanting students to learn - Basic (which one), C, C++, Java, an SQL, etc?

'nuf sed.

[JAG]

8 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

Gonna be hard to find teachers who can teach Scratch, Javascript and Phyton, preferably in English. The ministery will have to come up with a curriculum and sets of learning resources, as most schools dont have a clue what coding is and how to chunk it in motivational lessons.

 

They will just hire a load of Phillipinos, at 20k a month, who will read it out of the textbooks to the students. Sorted.

 

Cynic, moi?

[Slip]

7 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

Never heard of coding.org?

Coding for toddlers is picture and block based and teaches the concept of movement and looping. 

 

Code.org uses Frozen and Starwars in their curriculum. The future of coding is block based coding and starts indeed at Kindergarten level. You can take free teacher courses at Code.org, which is founded and supported by companies such as Facebook and Disney.

The objective, however, should not be how to create apps , but how to operate machines.

 

 

But does real life also not teach the concepts of movement and looping rather well?  

[PingRoundTheWorld]

Completely impossible considering most people aren't suited to coding, and there's no way they could find enough people to teach it. Even if they could get over these "small" hurdles - what's the point of teaching coding to kids who are going to grow up to be plumbers, doctors, receptionists, etc? Completely useless skill unless you're going to use it, and if every kid codes then guess what - only the top will find jobs in the field.

[Number 6]

You'd think officials would know better than to make such pronouncements.

 

So much wrong here, where to begin?

 

It takes a certain type of person to bang decent code out. This is not the Thai temperament in the least. I've worked with thousands of Thai students perhaps 75 had interest in high levels of technology. Remove the programming club, Robotics club it's down to ten.

 

I can barely hack a WordPress site together. Imagine I could put together a learning environment but I can't code, teach coding and which language do you start AND there will be zero Thais interested in training kids bc they're out making money - programming. That leaves foreigners and English and that's a non starter.

 

Best thing is what one of my kids did on graduation. Go to a good IT based polytechnic in India.

[Number 6]

4 hours ago, Caldera said:

because there's real money in using that skill commercially instead of teaching it.

This.

 

All they can hope for is farangs that want to be here and earn a bit of money or as stated before Filipinos who know nothing about programming taking it because if they could program they too would be working at home with their families not in Thailand at a school for 18k a month.

[StayinThailand2much]

2 hours ago, JAG said:

They will just hire a load of Phillipinos, at 20k a month, who will read it out of the textbooks to the students. Sorted.

 

Cynic, moi?

And give the students high scores for just turning up and nodding to what they hear, hardly understanding a word... The diplomas of the then "engineers" will be as good as toilet paper. Go, Thailand!