Chiang Mai: Foreign language teachers replaced by a high-tech pen!

 

Thai caption: Hi-Tech machine reads three languages

 

Ban Muang reported that foreign language teachers at a school in Saraphi, Chiang Mai, had been replaced by a thick pen.

 

Chinese nationals and native speakers of English used to teach the primary kids at Wat Welujan school but since the pandemic they have had to do without. 

 

Now they used the pen that is held over words and can announce the pronunciation and translate using Thai, Chinese and English.

 

P6 child Jantharawimon said it was fun and easy to use. 

 

Source: Ban Muang

 

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That´s great! Finally they are going to learn some English.

Say good bye to that teaching visa...Curtains now.  Time to leave.

31 minutes ago, webfact said:

Now they used the pen that is held over words and can announce the pronunciation and translate using Thai, Chinese and English.

As that is basically a translation device and unlikely to teach anyone to learn a foreign language to the point they can function in it with any degree of fluency, I think the foreign language teachers can rest easy...they aren’t being replaced yet. 

Hope the pen does a better job than the English Teachers did; because let's face it, the pen couldn't do any worse could it !

39 minutes ago, Dagfinnur Traustason said:

That´s great! Finally they are going to learn some English.

Don't count on it!

wife bought that toy years back for son

What a bunch of tools.. ????

1 hour ago, Dagfinnur Traustason said:

That´s great! Finally they are going to learn some English.

I wonder what the accent will be like, will it be Asian English/American English or English English??

 how come English is actually thought at every school, but 99,9 percent don't understand or can even speak a sentence ?

 

we did not have thai as a second language in our schools at home

 

lol

 

well, at least I speak 3 languages fluent + understand german

23 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

I wonder what the accent will be like, will it be Asian English/American English or English English??

You are just too demanding. It will be something they will call English.

Can it mark your card as well as it looks a bit like a Bingo pen .. 

 

 

Will this pen teach them to speak English proper like wot I do....

52 minutes ago, Dagfinnur Traustason said:

You are just too demanding. It will be something they will call English.

3 hours ago, Dagfinnur Traustason said:

That´s great! Finally they are going to learn some English.

Didn't see any mention of conversation or discussion practice which also connects to listening and comprehension skills. 

2 hours ago, BEVUP said:

wife bought that toy years back for son

He must have a degree in Engrish by now after using it?

2 hours ago, PatOngo said:

3 hours ago, Dagfinnur Traustason said:

That´s great! Finally they are going to learn some English.

Don't count on it!

You're thinking of maths.

49 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Didn't see any mention of conversation or discussion practice which also connects to listening and comprehension skills. 

Nope, they are the only population in the world that do not need such things.

54 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Didn't see any mention of conversation or discussion practice which also connects to listening and comprehension skills. 

A Trump Enterprises product, free when staying at one of our resorts or hotels

Just have them use their cellphones to translate then.  Google translate works ok for words and short phrases but sentences and paragraphs are another thing.

"My hovercraft is full of eels"

So there is no need to learn english anymore - the PEN is smart and the people can stay stupid !

Works with all SMART devices - a good way to dumb down the population.

 

 

in 6 years I've met maybe three Thais who can REALLY speak English.  I've "taught" at one school years ago.   Three out of tens of thousands of people I've met.....

 

schools charge money if they have teachers from countries like UK, USA, etc......and they can't charge too much because they have a pen.  lol

 

a talking dictionary will NEVER teach you how to learn a language.   

 

but a backpacker or non-native will never teach you how to speak English, either

 

enjoy

6 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

I wonder what the accent will be like, will it be Asian English/American English or English English??

Probably Strine....they are screwed lol

1 hour ago, mrfill said:

"My hovercraft is full of eels"

'I want to fondle your buttocks'

 

While I can only claim to speak and understand my native language fluently, I have been introduced to the study of 6 other languages. In order to learn a different language you need a human, knowledgeable in both the word translation but also in the culture. Some words do not translate on a one to one basis and needs the cultural context to be comprehended. Language translation has improved tremendously but, interpretation is a bit different ...

14 hours ago, Mike Rodik said:

 how come English is actually thought at every school, but 99,9 percent don't understand or can even speak a sentence ?

 

we did not have thai as a second language in our schools at home

 

lol

 

well, at least I speak 3 languages fluent + understand german

I hope that English is not one of the three that you claim to speak fluentLY (adverb).

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Ban Muang reported that foreign language teachers at a school in Saraphi, Chiang Mai, had been replaced by a thick pen.

The pen is only a "direct translation tool" it cannot explain things so children understand like a real teacher.

18 hours ago, Mike Rodik said:

 how come English is actually thought at every school, but 99,9 percent don't understand or can even speak a sentence ?

It goes something like this - we pretend to teach, and they pretend to learn. 

20 hours ago, Mike Rodik said:

how come English is actually thought at every school, but 99,9 percent don't understand or can even speak a sentence ?

 

Teaching conversation is one type of English instruction.  There is also study of grammar, reading and writing.  Thai school English instruction focuses on the later.  It is like the guy I knew who took 3 years of university level German, got all A grades but could not speak a word because speaking was not what they studied.  He was reading scientific stuff in German.