English teacher with poor pronunciation sparks online storm

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, OnTheRun said:

Agreed, also when Thais mispronounce English most of us can get the jist of what they are saying. The other way round not so, which I find both funny and frustrating at the same time.

  18 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

Many people fail to understand that Thai people are learning English as a second language and NOT first language.

 

It's perfectly normal not to speak perfect English as long as people can understand them.

 

I've known many foreigners who still can't speak perfect Thai after many years of studying Thai.

 

 

 

Sorry I cannot agree. My family pays good money for the kids to get good education. For the cost we expect that the kids learn correct English, to give them better study and career opportunities and give them the capability to interact in society, anywhere, in correct English.

 

As a comparison, would anybody accept that a Thai teacher teaches science in English (very poor English) and the result is that the kids learn things which are not correct? Cannot be OK.

Edited May 20, 2020 by scorecard

[beau thai]

17 hours ago, Metropolitian said:

 

 

Years ago there was a streetfoodvendor not far from here selling pasta food.

On its boothbanner in big letters.

SAPAGETTY

 

To this day missus still speaks of Sa Pag Het Tee Why

 

I gave it up and cooking macaroni instead ????

 

Why not just cook pattaa??

[Stevemercer]

18 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I guess she is old and/or important and nobody ever dared to tell her that her English is not perfect.

I also hear all the time compliments about my Thai language skills...

 

Yes, I can barely speak Thai, but strangers compliment me on my Thai as being 'so good'. I assume that everyone is just being polite.

 

It's a different matter with my singing at karaoke (when there are subtitles in Thai/English script). Nobody says anything that might be construed as encouragement to ever sing again.

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, Orac said:

I couldn’t get past the “Do you have breakfat this morning” and “Are you furring hellty”.

if I had to watch the whole 1 hr 50mins of it i would probably need therapy.

Living in a hard water area we had the same problem with our kettle furring up.

[SwampyThai]

If the Thai schools want to teach fluent English it can only, in the majority of cases, be taught by a qualified English person.

The same goes for learning Thai, I did not learn Thai from a English person, I learnt from a Thai that was very fluent in English.

I read a few of my daughters English books and in some instances the grammar was appalling, when I pointed this out to the school head mistress I was basically told "this is how we teach English"

If I teach my daughter to speak fluent English the so called English teacher tells her it is wrong !

Welcome to Thailand. 555

[Phil McCaverty]

2 minutes ago, beau thai said:

Why not just cook pattaa??

My wife refers to Covid-19 as "carbonara virus"

[SubicHasher]

Would you accept a maths lesson from a teacher whom said 2 + 2 = 5?

[phantomfiddler]

About 30years ago I had a business a few doors away from an English Language School in Pattaya. and on several occasions the head teacher came into my establishment. When he spoke English no-one could understand him, so what chance does any pupil have in being able to learn usable English ? The only way to learn a language is from a native speaker, and one qualified to teach also !

[visacrack]

(Will this one pass through 'moderation'? It's not 'hateful' - it's just 'inconvenient truths'. Maybe time to make 1st amendment principles prevail over 'community rules'?)

 

While those criticising certainly have a point, I myself as a non-native speaker reject any criticism (tips are welcome though) by people who won't 'waste time' to learn a foreign language themselves. (Not to elaborate on why she as a thai is in an extremely difficult position, as there is no linguistic link there - figure learning thai!) Most of you don't even master your own language to even a basic degree - or does anyone here know what the 'great vowel shift' (see WP article) was? And not just was, because it continues to condition our mutual communication to an extent you haven't even started to grasp. 

 

After decades of watching and studying your habits, I now call you anglo-autistic fools, and ultimately it's all a consequence of your substandard edusys. I know you have some strong points, but guess what: All civilised nations do. The trouble is your uber-alles attitude, based on your despicable acting/feigning and mythmongering - easily comparably to J-ry's 'chosen people' myth (still they use you as tools in their global, oriental religion-driven supremacy game). 

 

You're welcome, do have a nice day  .)

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by visacrack

[SupermarineS6B]

Velly good !    Nearly as good as the rabbit i once saw on the khazi wall with "Labbit" written underneath it.........  

[Artisi]

6 minutes ago, Orac said:

 

I couldn’t get past the “Do you have breakfat this morning” and “Are you furring hellty”.

 

if I had to watch the whole 1 hr 50mins of it i would probably need therapy.

 

 

 

at least she trying -- very trying.

 

Luckily, Thailand being the hub of all things, there is no need to employ native speakers to teach English. 

[uncleP]

Nah me old china

[Expat Tom]

First, let me say that I am an experienced English teacher and a Farang from the USA. I currently teach online and formerly taught at KMITL Katkrabang where I was the head of the foreign English teachers program and hired and fired a lot of teachers. I also taught specialized classes for Thai English teachers at Assumption School in Bangkok. 

 

There is no reason for me to critique this teacher. Watch the video for yourself. 

Let me point out a few facts about all language learning. There are four skills in learning any language; 

in order of acquisition, listening, speaking, reading and writing. 

Listening and speaking are acquired organically through modeling. If you learn from a native of England you will likely acquire and English (British) accent. If you learn from an American or Canadian, you will acquire a North American accent. If you learn from a native Indian speaker, your English will be as understandable as the average Indian. 

 

If you learn from someone who has a "Thinglish" (Thai-English) accent then you will learn "Tinglish" and not "English". The reason that Thais and Filipinos are used as English teachers is that they can be paid less. The Filipinos are far better than Thais but the learner will still acquire a Filipino sing song accent.  As an online teacher, I am paid more than a GREAT Filipino. I don't want to learn Thai from and American and a Thai should not want to learn English from another Thai. The bottom line is this....you will get what you pay for.

[n00dle]

10 hours ago, MaxYakov said:

Even native English speakers don't really know the language's grammar, probably mainly due to deteriorating education levels and a dearth of pride in the language. Like the Thai, they have problems selecting the correct personal pronoun, don't now how to deal with gerunds (words that can be either a verb or a noun) and are not aware that English has a "subjective mood" that controls what words accompany an "if it" (was or were). And this is just for starters. So if you're living in a glass house ...

Yeah, I believe the term you were looking for there was subjunctive tense.

 

Furthermore the notion of native fluency would indicate understanding of the rules is innate, second nature, with no conscious thought required. 

 

Literacy and education are other issues.

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by n00dle

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, Phil McCaverty said:

I have a big problem with it when my son's homework comes home with some spellings corrected from English to American English. Who on earth calls corriander "cilantro"?

I love cilantro dressing, what is coriander??

[Surasak]

18 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

For a European to learn another Indo-European language is much easier than for a Thai to learn a European language which is so different from theirs and vice versa.

 

Furthermore, there are much more opportunities for you to practice English back home than Thai people.

 

A Thai teacher should have 'good' pronunciation but one shouldn't expect her to have perfect pronunciation as a native speaker. Anyway, there are so many different English accents such as American, British, Australian so which one is considered 'good'?

 

 

No need to spread different English accents around the world. I am English and have difficulty understanding some 'native' English accents.

[JGV]

Online standards are hit and miss = same as the employment of so called native speakers fro Russia or France - basically the government have no interest in the population speaking English and becoming more aware of matters with an English speaking Internet so low standards is ignored by Education departments = priority is get rich

[fredwiggy]

Just now, EVENKEEL said:

I love cilantro dressing, what is coriander??

Coriander is the plant, the leaves and stems are the cilantro, the seeds are coriander and used in sauces, spice rubs and soups.

[Pilotman]

22 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Except Thai pilots from Air Asia...

ALL qualified international ATPL pilots must have ICAO 5 level English, or the EU equivalent, no exceptions. Internally, countries make up their own rules but normally, in advanced countries, Level 4 is expected. Level 6 is a native English speaker. 

[miamiman123]

Don’t believe this???

i suggest you peer into a P6 science class at a “Well known EP school” right here in Bangkok..., watch then playing games and running around in the classroom.... then ask why they don’t understand RNA vs DNA at the M1 level??????
this is why!  

[scorecard]

17 minutes ago, Stevemercer said:

 

Yes, I can barely speak Thai, but strangers compliment me on my Thai as being 'so good'. I assume that everyone is just being polite.

 

It's a different matter with my singing at karaoke (when there are subtitles in Thai/English script). Nobody says anything that might be construed as encouragement to ever sing again.

Had the same thing with my work colleagues in Japan, after my first attempt at singing at Karaoke I was never invited again. 

[brian2f2f]

16 hours ago, Retarded said:

All of you are wrong for every aspects. 

 

First of all the English is mandatory as a second language starting at certain age, and it is impossible to have native English speaking teachers at every school. Some one has to teach English for class at all schools country-wide and the only way is having local teachers whose major is English as specialty in education. 

 

And to communicate efficiently with anyone whose native language is not English, someone who speaks local language will have advantage to teach any subjects including English. 

 

The language is acquires as soon as we are born, and it is not learned through class. Native language is learned by facial expression, posture, motion, sounds, etc. by mother and families surrounding babies. Once any human being is isolated after birth and pass a certain age, it is impossible to learn any language because the brain function loses the ability to acquire the language. The native tongue is not learned by studying the grammar. 

 

But the second language is completely different from learning the native language. 

It is similar to metaphysical process of thinking. We learn the second language by logical process of brain. So one must learn the alphabet first and then the grammar. The speech is the last. It is completely opposite to learning native language. 

So the not-so-perfect accent teacher is not a significant problem. 

 

And the action and movement of our mussel of our body is formed immediately after birth which will determine certain way of making our sound as involuntary brain function. So the accent or making a certain sound by different ethnic people are unique and it will stay in certain way for life time. There is no way you can acquire the perfect accent in second language even your spouse is a native speaker of your second language and have lived together for 99 years. 

 

Last, different ethnic people has different physical structure which results in distinct characteristics by ethnicities. You can tell whether someone is African or not no matter what language they speak by the distinct way making sound. Even an Asian who is born and raised America and speak only English, anyone can tell he or she is an Asian by sound. The lung capacity is different and the resonance of the nasal sound of Asian body is not same as Caucasian or African. 

 

So the perfection of speech by the second language teachers shouldn't be a priority for qualification. 

English is my second language and I still get laugh by others for my wrong grammar and funny accent.

But I manage to live without that much difficulty and don't even try to imitate perfect English. 

As long as I am able to communicate, that is all matter I am concerned about. Not so perfect, so what.     

 

 

Wow you clearly have never heard adam bradsaw speak thai. He has a perfect thsi accent amd speals far better thai then most thais even do. I know so many thais that envy him do to his thai speaking ability. 

[Europeanguy]

I have 3 very very good friends who are English teachers in good schools. Bless them, first I stop drinking to see if it improves my understanding then I start drinking again to see if that makes it ...

[Daniel BanPhe]

Yes, I have noticed that since Monday on DLTV1, my daughter Yuki is only every day for learning at home. I like the Thai Accent and I know Teachers here have an extreme low salary. But for teaching online on a national TV program is a shame 

[n00dle]

1 hour ago, Phil McCaverty said:

I have a big problem with it when my son's homework comes home with some spellings corrected from English to American English. Who on earth calls corriander "cilantro"?

Given coriander is derived from french and cilantro spanish neither are truly english words. So what difference does it make?

[n00dle]

5 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Coriander is the plant, the leaves and stems are the cilantro, the seeds are coriander and used in sauces, spice rubs and soups.

No.

[elgenon]

I remember reading in the Post about a French person teaching English. Not to say that person wouldn't be good but it would seem there would be plenty of native speakers they could hire. That said, Thais should learn American English not English English so I could understand them. 555555

 

* Before you jump on me please note the 555555.

[watthong]

2 hours ago, Phil McCaverty said:

5 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Actually the owner is a well respected English  teacher himself, and known all over Thailand. His is the best school in the province. My work is totally voluntary, and I'm there because I  speak fluent English.

"and I'm there because I  speak fluent English American." How do you spell "favour"? What is a tap? What do you call the bonnet of a car? I could go on endlessly. You don't speak English, you speak "American English". Different language pal.

 

 

And thank god for that. Go around the world and see how many people speak or write the "Queen's" English? Not many, except maybe in India, and to the relief for the rest of us. Being a few doesn't necessarily means you're the elite, look at what happened to the native Americans. So keep going.

[fredwiggy]

Just now, n00dle said:

No.

You disagree with everything don't you? Are are wrong every time too. Best if you stay away because your comments aren't helping others. Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. It is also known as Chinese parsley, and in the United States the stems and leaves are usually called cilantro. All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most traditionally used in cooking. Wikipedia

[Pilotman]

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

You disagree with everything don't you? Are are wrong every time too. Best if you stay away because your comments aren't helping others. Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. It is also known as Chinese parsley, and in the United States the stems and leaves are usually called cilantro. All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most traditionally used in cooking. Wikipedia

Hasn't this all gone a bit off topic?