Do You Agree The English Program In Some School In Thailland?

[pimmie]

following the topic. Do you agree the english program in some school in thailland? thank you for your comments.

[mr_hippo]

Do you agree the english program in some school in thailland?

Pardon? What language are you speaking?

[Ijustwannateach]

OP, your question is unintelligible.

[Naam]

OP, your question is unintelligible.

OP, that means nobody knows what you are talking about.

[PeaceBlondie]

I will guess the question is "Do you agree WITH the English program(s)...?"

Which English program, in which schools? One hour of conversational Angrit? The formal EP's that teach all core subjects in English that is well spoken by well-trained native speakers? The English taught by native Thai teachers?

[DP25]

I think the English programs might need some work. But before jumping on the OP too much I'd hope we could all ask the same question in Thai, or at least some language other than English.

[saraburioz]

I think the English programs might need some work. But before jumping on the OP too much I'd hope we could all ask the same question in Thai, or at least some language other than English.

Quite. Let alone write it on Thai.

To answer the question - EP programs are usually scam by Thai directors to make money. They hire farang that are mostly not experienced in the subject they teach, or any subject for that matter.

They are not worth the money - I've had experience with my children.

Some in Bangkok are OK but the ones upcountry are ALL a scam.

To the teachers here that work in such programs - be honest, tell the guy that your a fake Science/Sociology/Math teacher.

[mmushr00m]

Depends on the school and program.

Had the opportunity to visit afew of the top schools (govt) in BKK with advance english programs. The kids were actually pretty good. Teachers were mainly farang with a Thai assistant. The Thai assistants, the older ones, spoke excellent english.

The only problem was that they lacked an opportunity to speak the language more often, so are shy and the lack confidence makes them look like they cant speak. But once out of their shell, they were all quite good.

But these were advance english programmes where the kids had to pass an entrance exam. Granted there are always a few kids who got in 'cos of connections....these are always almost useless

And No I am not an Ajarn and I based my observations on how easily I can understand the kids and how they can understand me, their grammar and vocab.

[teacup]

May be the OP is one of the victims, and quite bitter w/ the result?

[mrtoad]

I think the English programs might need some work. But before jumping on the OP too much I'd hope we could all ask the same question in Thai, or at least some language other than English.

Quite. Let alone write it on Thai.

To answer the question - EP programs are usually scam by Thai directors to make money. They hire farang that are mostly not experienced in the subject they teach, or any subject for that matter.

They are not worth the money - I've had experience with my children.

Some in Bangkok are OK but the ones upcountry are ALL a scam.

To the teachers here that work in such programs - be honest, tell the guy that your a fake Science/Sociology/Math teacher.

[t.s]

I think the English programs might need some work. But before jumping on the OP too much I'd hope we could all ask the same question in Thai, or at least some language other than English.

and if we couldn't, one would hope we didn't post regardless.

[ruddick]

Firstly I can't really understand your question, so I will guess that what you want to know is "what do we think about English Programs (EP) in Thai schools.

My eldest son is attending an EP at a big Thai government high school in Chonburi city. He is now in his third year and to be honest I don't really understand what he is doing. From what I can gather he does the normal "Thai education program" then does the same or similar all over again in English.

This results in him doing two sets of exams for each subject one in Thai for the Thai program and one in English for the EP.

All the parent teacher communication that I have seen is in Thai only and as my Thai reading is at a very basic level I don't understand much of what's going on.

When I asked my son why he had to do two sets of lessons and two sets of exams for nearly every subject his reply was "because we have to". I am far from sure if my eldest son is getting any benefit from the EP or not and I am seriously thinking of taking him out of EP at the end of this school year.

Most of his teachers are not native speakers of English and are Indian and Filipino. He also doesn't speak much English in school and now he has almost stopped speaking English to me and when he does he winds me up by speaking with a very Thai accent. Now using words like satop, sachool etc. but I guess that has nothing to do with the English program and more to do with his age.

I think that for the development of Thailand it is very important that the level of English, reading, writing and speaking has to be considerably higher then it is at present. The only way I can see this happening is if there is a well thought out government plan in place with enough funds to do it correctly.

While only a very small minority of Thai people are able to communicate in English at an effective level it will be a draw back to Thailand's development.

[beammeup]

Lets hope he isnt one of the teachers.

My oldest boy has been going to an EP for 3 years now. At first I was very disapointed, he had an advantage over the other Thai kids so the standard was quite low, but they have caught up and they are teaching a good standard of english now. I do think it depends on the school and the teachers though.

[Scott]

There is a huge amount of variability between programs. It would probably be wise if the Ministry of Education set some minimum standards as to how many hours of instruction, type of teachers (native speakers or non-natives with a measurable proficiency), they might also want to set some level of achievement for students for a school to qualify as having an English program--some type of annual test of reading, speaking, listening writing).

Of course there are many pitfalls to this, but it might add some integrity to the programs and give parents a measurable choice in what program to choose.

[dave111223]

I think the English programs might need some work. But before jumping on the OP too much I'd hope we could all ask the same question in Thai, or at least some language other than English.

Maybe that's why we post on an English language forum instead of a Thai language forum...

[Tod Daniels]

I had the chance when I first moved here to visit several schools in both the private and government sectors. There is a wide disparity between schools even one's that are relatively close in location to one another.

I would say the private schools were staffed by more fluent english speaking teachers, although in the government sector I met several teachers that were both motivated and determined to teach their students with the extremely poor study materials they had at hand. Then again, some schools I visited were only going thru the motions of teaching english, and there was little beyond the "Hello, how are you?" - "I am fine thank you, and you?" dialog.

The main problem I see in thais learning english here is there is very little out of school practice. It is and can be especially in rural areas non-existent. That makes further language acquisition and proper usage out of the class very difficult. There is no short cut to learning a second language, and practice as they say makes perfect. Factor in the ever present concept of saving or not losing "face" and you have a country full of people who are reticent to speak for fear of speaking with the wrong word order, or improperly.

I have met thai people who speak great english and learned only in government schools, just as I have met thai uni-students whose english skills are appalling. I think more than anything it is the inner drive in a particular student that makes the difference.

I do concur that the bar seems to be set extremely low in the hiring of qualified english teachers in the glorious "Land 'O Thais". Being a native english speaker, having no degree, or a completely unrelated degree in say; 'underwater basket weaving' (however difficult that degree may be to attain) doesn't make someone a qualified english language teacher.

[mrtoad]

The point is why would you teach here for a lot less then you would earn in the USA? Most likely a background you do not want others to know about. And Please don't give me the crap about your love for Thailand and it's people.

I can't see your point in reply to waytoomuchcoffee. He has given you an example, and you have tried to twist the argument to support your crass assumptions.

I think you really should keep your hands in your pockets and away from the keyboard, although you're probably multi tasking using a hand for each task at present.

[Ijustwannateach]

Since there is yet no topic (AFAIK) and the aimlessness of this one appears to have attracted a troll (who will be removed), I am closing it. If the OP can contact me and clarify his intentions, I will re-open and edit as necessary.

'S"