Getting a teenager to learn English in Korat

[surreybloke]

Hello all   , As above I have agreed to sponsor a 16 yr old doing some English learning.    Her school are errr let us say ineffective.    She live about 30 mins drive up route 2   so not far from Korat.     

Her mother looked at the Shaneenglish school.      Anyone aware of any decent  tutors or classes.   Even getting her started would help.   

 

Any thoughts  pls

[Olav Seglem]

First question :

is she motivated herself and REALLY want to learn ??

If not-waste of time (and money)

I know... :-)

 

[norfolkandchance]

Try the Isaan section on here or try this on Facebook.

[surreybloke]

15 hours ago, Olav Seglem said:

First question :

is she motivated herself and REALLY want to learn ??

If not-waste of time (and money)

I know... :-)

 

She is keen.   So question,   independent tutors  ?  native or thai ??   .    

[Pumpuynarak]

10 hours ago, surreybloke said:

She is keen.   So question,   independent tutors  ?  native or thai ??   .    

I would recco a Thai professor and you can check that their English capabilities are as sound as a pound. My wifey could'nt speak a word of English when i met her 17 years ago. The lady professor came to our apartment in Pattaya every day Monday to Friday for an hours session and charged 400bht per session.

With my help also wifey could converse with me albeit obviously not up to a high standard 4 weeks later, we continued to have the professor for a further 2 weeks before we moved accomodation and now she is very proficient. 

 

I should add wifey is not stupid and applied herself to the task in hand.  

Edited October 2, 2023 by Pumpuynarak

[cdemundo]

On 10/1/2023 at 9:40 PM, surreybloke said:

She is keen.   So question,   independent tutors  ?  native or thai ??   .    

IMHO...Try to find a native English speaker (NES).

She will model her pronunciation on her teacher's pronunciation.

Also, if she can understand one NES teacher that is one variation of English accent she will be able to understand without difficulty.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by cdemundo

[kingstonkid]

On 10/1/2023 at 2:37 AM, surreybloke said:

Hello all   , As above I have agreed to sponsor a 16 yr old doing some English learning.    Her school are errr let us say ineffective.    She live about 30 mins drive up route 2   so not far from Korat.     

Her mother looked at the Shaneenglish school.      Anyone aware of any decent  tutors or classes.   Even getting her started would help.   

 

Any thoughts  pls

What's she looking for conversation or grammar and writing 

[surreybloke]

4 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

What's she looking for conversation or grammar and writing 

All of the above    my view is that she needs to mix with english speakers once she gets started

 

Sadly the little town where she lives might be a challenge.       

[HappyExpat57]

Find some English speaking TV shows. I've known several people who did this to supplement their lessons.

[kingstonkid]

15 hours ago, surreybloke said:

All of the above    my view is that she needs to mix with english speakers once she gets started

 

Sadly the little town where she lives might be a challenge.       

sent you a pm

[kingstonkid]

1 hour ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Find some English speaking TV shows. I've known several people who did this to supplement their lessons.

TV shows can be part of it but they have to be able to comprehend and speak also.  The challenge for a lot of them is not just speaking but speaking grammatically correct and using the right words.

 

Consider that most THAI universities are now demanding a minimum of 500 toeic score and most thai teachers are unable to attain that 

[cdemundo]

On 10/1/2023 at 9:40 PM, surreybloke said:

She is keen.   So question,   independent tutors  ?  native or thai ??   .    

The quality of any type of provider will vary, some schools/tutors are good, some... not so good.

Tutors are more likely to play it by ear as far as a systematic study of English, schools usually use course books that implement a plan.

 

In my opinion, avoid a teacher/school that concentrates on memorizing grammar terminology and technical aspects of grammar.  You are a proficient English speaker, do you apply your knowledge of grammar, or your knowledge of the language without thinking about grammar?

 

But people learn languages if motivated, and any help with her studies will advance her level of English.

Best of luck to her.

Edited October 4, 2023 by cdemundo

[surreybloke]

YES thanks  to all particularly   "Kingston Kid"    for his detailed pm.     Interesting the comment about toeic   scores.    

[surreybloke]

Just had a look at toeic scores       .    500 is very basic.     Surprised at that.   

 

BTW  I was talking to a dentist at St Marys hospital in Korat recently.   She was telling me that she wanted her 2 year old daughter to go to an international school.   We both agreed that language learning needs to start young.      

In my case the lady is 16  and i suspect writes better than speaks . Lacking in confidence IMHO. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by surreybloke

[grain]

On 10/3/2023 at 5:51 PM, surreybloke said:

All of the above    my view is that she needs to mix with english speakers once she gets started

 

Sadly the little town where she lives might be a challenge.       

Yes, that is so true. I taught English to Thais for about 25 years. The big problem is they only use English in the classroom, for example 1 hour a day M-F, but the second they exit the classroom English stops and it's 100% Thai until next English lesson. My students were from a wide range, some business people, uni and high school students, military and gov workers, and the only students who showed any real progress were the bar & hotel staff, reason being they had access to English speaking foreigners and the opportunity to converse with them.

[grain]

On 10/4/2023 at 7:48 AM, HappyExpat57 said:

Find some English speaking TV shows. I've known several people who did this to supplement their lessons.

That was something I always suggested to my students, watch as much English TV as possible, go to the cinema and see a movie with English soundtrack. 

[mrwebb8825]

in the mean time she could try Babbel (phone app)

[youreavinalaff]

On 10/6/2023 at 12:57 PM, surreybloke said:

Just had a look at toeic scores       .    500 is very basic.     Surprised at that.   

 

BTW  I was talking to a dentist at St Marys hospital in Korat recently.   She was telling me that she wanted her 2 year old daughter to go to an international school.   We both agreed that language learning needs to start young.      

In my case the lady is 16  and i suspect writes better than speaks . Lacking in confidence IMHO. 

It's down too the style of teaching in Thai schools. The students are rarely encouraged to speak in class.

 

I taught in Thai schools for many years. Each time I started at a new school I attempted to teach outside of the curriculum and with out text book. My arguement being, if the students have a book they will read but not listen or speak. Most of the time the directors agreed with me and gave me a free reign.

 

Those that were eagar to learn loved it. I had some telling me they were grateful to " get the vocabulary and grammar in their brains to come out of their mouth". Their improvements let to many requests from them and their parents for me to teach extra classes after school.

 

To the OP....if the young lady in question really is keen, try to find a good Native English speaker to teach one on one or, if she has equally eagar friends, get a group together. Insist on no text books.

 

Ultimately, if possible, send her to an English speaking country on a student exchange. 6 moths there will do her more good that 10 years of classroom study.