Bilingual schooling planned to boost English proficiency

[Bangkok Barry]

14 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

 

Pretty sure I read about 4 years ago the govt did a survey of all Thais teaching English and found only a handful were actually fluent in it, many cannot actually speak it at all. Just a guess but that might be a bit of the problem.

 

It's not a problem for the PM, who said: “The most commonly used language today is of course English. If it was Thai, we’d be a great power already. Is there a chance? Yes. If you do what I say, one day Thai will be the world’s lingua franca,”

[CM Dad]

As long as Thai schools and educators insist on using a grammar-focused approach to teaching English, they will never succeed.  Languages are learned by listening and speaking followed by reading and writing.  Only basic grammar is needed for the development of the first two skills.  The latter two skills are where grammar should be refined.

[donnacha]

57 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

I like the Romanian version better. The first one sounds belittling. 

Well, you have to give the Thai printer the credit, the Romanian only seconded it ????

I compressed the story a bit. We actually had two matching slogans, one for the boys range and one for the girls:

"You are Only a Little Boy Once"

"You are Only a Little Girl Once"

Differentiating by gender made sense in terms of how they presented the two ranges and somehow sounds a tad cuter too, which is what this ridiculous brand is all about.

I do not know if you are a native speaker but, ideally, a slogan in English should convey the idea as a native speaker would currently say it, as simply as possible, no frills, no archaic sentence formation. The problem with saying "You are Once Only a Little Boy" is that, to a native speaker, it conveys a radically different idea.

Now, of course, as simple word sounds, it may sound better and, clearly, to Thai ears it did. If they wanted, however, to put potential buyers in mind of that perfect photo moment, my version conveyed that specific idea.

 

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by donnacha

[Kurtf]

As retired American (US) and a graduate of the online TEFL course and having taught conversational English for two years at local schools here north of Chiang Mai, I feel I have an informed prospective on this subject. First of all the TEFL course is geared towards teaching senior HS and young adults. Worthless when it comes to teaching grammar school kids. Secondly if a native Thai teacher (that understands and speaks English) isn’t in the classroom with the English Teacher to explain what the English teacher is talking about, it will all go right over the heads of the kids and the English teacher is just wasting his/her time. Thirdly, getting the kids to shut up and listen and concentrate and to raise their hands to ask questions about anything they don’t understand goes against everything the Thai schooling system teaches. It is a losing battle when the kids are only getting one lesson a week and being taught to never question the teacher the entire rest of the week.

 

 

 

 

[Longcut]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Bangkokians ranked highest for English proficiency, followed by residents of Nonthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri and Khon Kaen.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with Khon Kaen. If they know English, they are too shy to use it.

[Expat Brad]

An impossibility!!! A billingual curriculum across all subjects would require Thai teacher's to be proficient in English to start with. 

[Srikcir]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The English Proficiency Index puts Thailand 74th in the world following declines for three consecutive years. It’s marked as having “very low proficiency”.

This was predictable.

Three wasted years.

And still de facto the same government.

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, donnacha said:

The great danger is not that Thais cannot speak English, but that they do not realize how bad their English is.

As a native speaker surrounded by Thais running various small businesses, I am often asked for help in coming up with a brand name, slogan, or simple content that will appeal to an English-speaking audience. I write for a living, went to a fancy university and, of course, people see me reading all the time, so, they tend to conclude that I am literate in my own language. What blows my mind, however, is how often my suggestions are then later second-guessed by other Thais who, literally, cannot string a sentence together in English.

One example. My girlfriend's sister wanted to launch a brand of cute clothes for young children, nostalgic stuff such as sailor suits and butterfly nets for boys, frilly dresses and hats with ribbons for girls. It turns out that many Thais will dress their kids up in these specifically to take photos to post on Facebook and Instagram. The clothes are then packed away and never worn again. My girl's sister, already had a brandname, but wanted a slogan, so, I spent a while pondering something that would convey this idea of capturing that golden moment, while being short enough to fit on a clothes label.

I came up with the slogan "You are Only a Child Once", and I was pretty pleased with it. Job done.

Off they went to the printer to order 10,000 labels. The box arrived the following week but the slogan had changed to "You are Only Once a Child". Not a huge difference, but I was crestfallen because it simply wasn't right.

"What happened?" I asked. Well, she explained, when they got to the printshop, and the printer felt the slogan was incorrect. He was quite insistent, and she was now unsure. So, they settled the matter by asked a passing white guy who was obliging enough to give his opinion. He was from Romania but turned out to be an English teacher, which everyone was terribly impressed by. He agreed with the printer, so, the matter was settled and that became their slogan.

 

Good that you are genuine about helping or you could have an amusing life if you weren't. 

Sometimes even native speakers naming websites don't seem to think it through.

Remember the company I think promised a sketch style image from a submitted photo with a promise of very quick service?

They ended up calling it

Speedofart    dot something or other.

Edited November 9, 2019 by overherebc

[TKDfella]

Well, while one might blame the school programs etc. there also has to be some motivation on the student's side too. I have friend's with children but in two cases while the parents have told me the children have their English Language homework to do, never once in several years have they asked to practice on or with me. Having said that, I have never offered either.

[Chongalulu]

I doubt this individual has ,or is even able, to think holistically. Poor English is a specific issue but part of the intrinsic problem of their education system. Has he looked at this in context of the similarly dreadful (and worsening) position of Thailand  in the PISA educational tables? He likely has no intention of really improving anything ,nor the understanding of how to if so. He’s actually part of the problem.

I took my 9 years old Thai stepdaughter to UK for her education where she included English and mathematics in her A levels and obtained a first class honours degree in Economics walking straight into a graduate job paying the equivalent of 1.5 million baht per annum. If you want your kids to have an education it won’t be achieved here.

[trainman34014]

18 minutes ago, Kurtf said:

As retired American (US) and a graduate of the online TEFL course and having taught conversational English for two years at local schools here north of Chiang Mai, I feel I have an informed prospective on this subject. First of all the TEFL course is geared towards teaching senior HS and young adults. Worthless when it comes to teaching grammar school kids. Secondly if a native Thai teacher (that understands and speaks English) isn’t in the classroom with the English Teacher to explain what the English teacher is talking about, it will all go right over the heads of the kids and the English teacher is just wasting his/her time. Thirdly, getting the kids to shut up and listen and concentrate and to raise their hands to ask questions about anything they don’t understand goes against everything the Thai schooling system teaches. It is a losing battle when the kids are only getting one lesson a week and being taught to never question the teacher the entire rest of the week.

 

 

 

 

Agree; and i've been told by a Thai Teacher recently that no matter how hard she tries the Kids just don't have any interest and don't want to learn.  She says many Thai parents tell their kids not to bother with English becuse they arn't going anywhere they will need to use it !

 

I recall Prayut telling School Kids... ''You are Thai and you don't need to go anywhere '.

 

With these sorts of attitudes it's a long way up from 74th !

[Chazar]

surprised  they  dont  think  the  rest of  the  world  should  speak Thai

[SunsetT]

2 hours ago, newnative said:

I'd like to see more broadcast shows with English subtitles-

Yes. A recent study has shown that countries using subtitles develop higher english ability than those using dubbing.

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The aim is to develop children’s language skills so the country can be more competitive in international fields, he said.

So stop employing Thai teachers who have no capacity for teaching English after leaving University training.

Stop employing foreign teachers whose language skills are less than adequate.
Start by raising the standards of teachers and the students may have half a chance at a decent education.

Past years have seen an endless supply of the no-fail Thai system passing off new teachers as qualified, and an endless stream of foreign teachers who cannot speak the English language enough to teach it.

[johnarth]

put it simple my granddaughter was supposed to be tort English every year she is almost finished school and still can not say a word of English unless she copies me

[Cadbury]

2 minutes ago, Chazar said:

surprised  they  dont  think  the  rest of  the  world  should  speak Thai

And I am amazed you don't know there is one person who thinks it should be.........that great visionary Prayut Chan-o-cha.

A part transcript of his speech at the Excellent Youths Awards in 2017.

“The most common language is English for sure. If Thai was a world language, we would have been a powerful country,” Prayuth said as the entire room burst into laughter.

“Is there a chance Thai will become a world language? Yes, if you do what I say! In the future, Thai may become a world language......" 

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/prayuth-thai-will-become-world-language/

[SunsetT]

2 hours ago, Cadbury said:

A year or so ago I kept company with a female English teacher at a vocational school. She spoke good English except for a few common pronunciation errors.

She was telling me the story of how her school director got rid of the qualified foreign English teachers so she could replace them with Filipino teachers. Reason being that she personally received a healthy commission from the employment agency for new Filipino appointees. 

Someone pointed out that the imported Filipino English teachers are the rejects from the call centres applicants.

Corruption and greed is top priority and is killing the education system. 

When I first came here 13 years ago and completed TEFL training, I was told that it was govt. policy that every school must have at least one native english teacher. It rarely happened because the head teachers received funding to pay the salaries required but employed Philipinos and non-native english speakers because they could pay them much less and pocket the difference!

[TEFLKrabi]

6 hours ago, EricTh said:

It seems that the private schools in Thailand have been churning out TEFL teachers from USA, UK, Canada etc and they don't seem to be able to get a job.

 

Maybe the city center has an oversupply of native speakers while the rural area is lacking them because most foreigners don't like to live in a rural area.

 

I can only say from my experience in the big city center and not elsewhere.

There is a huge difference between TEFL trainee teachers, who can simply teach English, and having teachers who can run a class where they need teaching skills in maths, science, social studies, English etc. This plan needs a gear deal of investment financially, in curriculum design and good recruitment.

[chuck holmes]

17 hours ago, Fred white said:

Hope they do better than some of these private schools I've got grand kids that go to a school that advertises English in all classes and there's a sign when you drive in that says English only . They can barely hold a conversation

Some of the best teachers l have met did not have a degree for teaching but are very good with students. Not all teachrrs w

Ith degrees ca

N teach. 

[chuck holmes]

16 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

When I first came here 13 years ago and completed TEFL training, I was told that it was govt. policy that every school must have at least one native english teacher. It rarely happened because the head teachers received funding to pay the salaries required but employed Philipinos and non-native english speakers because they could pay them much less and pocket the difference!

Good to see someone really understands how the school system works when it comes to payments.good on you mate.

[lensta]

2 hours ago, Number 6 said:

Looking on ajarn dot com you'll see literally hundreds of Filipinos looking for work as teachers. Most, judging by appearance I would not hire. Pretty much all the westerners I would not hire.

Pay 30 to 35,000 Baht which is the same salary offered 15 years ago and you are not going to get many people wanting to work for this type of money.

 

In my opinion, Teachers from the Philippines are great "Early Years" teachers" They are diligent and take the job seriously, probably because they are earning a lot more money than they could back home. I think that they are ok up to 4th year in Pratom (Primary School), but their English Skills are just not good enough to teach year 5 and above. This is a generalization and I have  met a few that are very good but most that I have met and worked with are not.

[spiekerjozef]

english is a language of the past

[lensta]

58 minutes ago, Chazar said:

surprised  they  dont  think  the  rest of  the  world  should  speak Thai

I am sure that the Pocket General made some statement about Thai becoming a world language within 20 years

[lensta]

2 hours ago, Kurtf said:

Ohh how wonderful. But there is one small problem. 95% of Thai teachers cannot speak English. So how the hell are they going to teach it to the little kids? When they stop giving out teaching credentials to Thai teachers that are not proficient in English, then and only then will English be taught in Thai public schools.

My Ex sister inlaw graduated from Uni with a B+ in English. Couldn't string 2 words together.

[saminoz]

18 hours ago, Momofarang said:

On the Subcontinent obviously, there there are as many English speakers as in the rest of the World.

Yeah.  You really want your child to speak English like a Bangladeshi curry stall waiter?

[Sydebolle]

Just in case somebody reads this ........

Thais love cartoons and watch them daily for hours; specially kids to keep them quiet. Instead of voice-overing this cartoons let them run in their original version of Japanese and English.

 

Once the kiddies hit 10 years of age they are fluent in English and Japanese spoken and understanding English. 

Rocket science? 

[marin]

50 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

english is a language of the past

Thank you Plato, its also spelled with a capital E.  

[The Preacher]

"He said 2,000 district schools initially would have to provide bilingual lessons in the first semester of 2020."

 

What a <deleted>' joke.  All they need to do is stop buying expensive military equipment and hire competent native speaking English teachers (Americans, not Brits, who have too much accent) to teach at all levels, and Thai kids would be reading writing and speaking English fluently in no time.  Right now, the Thai "English teachers" can't even speak English.  <deleted>?  Of course nobody can learn English.  Blind leading the blind, it is.  And the alternative is they hire non-native speakers to save money, but get nothing for it.

 

Those 2,000 schools will follow the rules and install the program and will use the same teachers they use to teach English in the schools around me; the ones that can't even tell you what they had for lunch.  Gimme a break.  Knowledge is power and the world's knowledge is in English.  The powers that be do not want Thais to be able to read and understand English.  That would be their worst nightmare.  Aside from politics, how would Thais feel if they learned that they had to pay twice as much as an American for a Makita tool or a Brother printer, or five times as much for an Australian bottle of wine?  And that the profits were going into the pockets of the wealthy few that hold import license monopolies (or, in the case of the wine, prices are jacked by ridiculous taxes designed to protect the in-country liquor monopoly)?  

 

Yeah, sure, they want all the kids to learn English.  Anybody want to buy a bridge?

[The Preacher]

52 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

english is a language of the past

I think you meant French.   But as somebody else noted, your grammar is deficient so maybe you are illiterate anyway.

[The Preacher]

17 hours ago, Slip said:

In fairness it is only in the last 5-10 years that the the native speakers have been squeezed out.  I'm not sure it was working that well back then either.  Those were the days that any Tom, Dick or Harry could work as a teacher just because they were white.  SSDD.

All native English speaking teachers should be required to have teaching degrees and licences in their home countries, and, yes, they would have to be paid at least 50-60,000 a month.  At 60,000 baht a month, the money spent on those submarines would have paid for 13,888 teachers for one year -- or 1,389 teachers for ten years!

 

Backpacker teachers were rarely anything more than a bad influence.