Thai Teacher Can't Speak English

[Sir_Sanuk]

After 3 years in BKK I've decided to learn Thai properly and have shelled out 15,000 baht for private lessons 3 times a week after work. Because I can speak, read and write a little bit, the school presumed that I'm better than I am and they've given me a teacher who refuses to let me speak English.

At first I thought this was a good thing as it will force me to learn and speak faster, right? But now I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time and money. I've realised that the reason she won't let me speak English is because she can't speak it herself... if I have any questions or want to ask WHY something is said a certain way, I'm just met with a blank look and an awkward silence.

Like I said, being forced to speak Thai is good if you are capable of doing it, but there are times when I really need to be able to discuss things in English. I'm paying for someone to teach me, not to be 'immersed' in Thai language - I am surrounded by Thai people all day at work already.

Another cause for concern is that she has no lesson plans so it's pretty much up to me to decide what we are going to do during the lesson. I'm wondering whether I should speak to the school about it and request a new teacher... I don't want to get her into trouble / lose face, tho...

Anyone had a similar experience? Did you request to change your teacher?

Cheers.

[meadish_sweetball]

By the sound of it, you should definitely request a change of teachers, or maybe try a different school altogether.

When you pay good money for instruction and your teacher does not plan lessons, nor is able to reply to your questions, then it is time to move on.

As for 'why' questions, although potentially interesting in some cases, they are usually not productive and the answer is often just 'because that is the conventional way of saying it'. It is better you save those questions for forums such as this, and ask your teacher 'how' questions instead.

[Briggsy]

You said there are no lesson plans. Does that mean prior to the lesson you have no idea what the lesson will be about? If so, you would be unable to prepare. This sounds very lax to me. The non-speaking of English may be a good idea. It depends on how you learn. If that is the case you need to research uncertainties (new vocab, unfamiliar constructions) yourself. Also you should learn how to ask language questions in Thai. e.g. What is the difference between a and b? Can you spell that? Can you give me an example sentence?

If you decide to change the teacher or language school, ask for a full syllabus before the course starts and preferably before you pay.

[farangconnection]

After 3 years in BKK I've decided to learn Thai properly and have shelled out 15,000 baht for private lessons 3 times a week after work. Because I can speak, read and write a little bit, the school presumed that I'm better than I am and they've given me a teacher who refuses to let me speak English.

At first I thought this was a good thing as it will force me to learn and speak faster, right? But now I'm wondering if I'm wasting my time and money. I've realised that the reason she won't let me speak English is because she can't speak it herself... if I have any questions or want to ask WHY something is said a certain way, I'm just met with a blank look and an awkward silence.

Like I said, being forced to speak Thai is good if you are capable of doing it, but there are times when I really need to be able to discuss things in English. I'm paying for someone to teach me, not to be 'immersed' in Thai language - I am surrounded by Thai people all day at work already.

Another cause for concern is that she has no lesson plans so it's pretty much up to me to decide what we are going to do during the lesson. I'm wondering whether I should speak to the school about it and request a new teacher... I don't want to get her into trouble / lose face, tho...

Anyone had a similar experience? Did you request to change your teacher?

Cheers.

That's nothing compared to us. We got our step-son an English teacher here in Surin, and it was all book stuff. She could only speak a couple of words of english herself

[thithi]

as khun meadish_sweetball said

u had better request for the new teacher who can speak English ... and she will not be in the trouble for sure.

and u should ask for the course syllabus bfor taking the course

Edited June 22, 2008 by thithi

[Tod Daniels]

Most definitely talk to the school !! Ask about a concrete lesson plan, get a text or lesson book, and let them know you need someone who can speak english as well.

Some people prefer a teacher that can't speak english when learning thai, (I was and am NOT of that group). They felt it "helped" them with their thai language acquisition. I sat in on two hours of a class taught that way. The students sounded like retards trying to ask questions about word usage, similar sounding words, etc. Even the teacher (who was thai) couldn't understand the questions the students were trying to ask because they didn't know enough thai words to even form coherent sentences. I finally walked out, but it was fairly enlightening.

Initially when learning thai you don't have the vocabulary to ask complex questions, nor the vocabulary to "work around" words you don't know. Heck most people can barely tell a taxi to 'stop up there on the left ', how would they begin to ask about correct usage of a particular word?

I made sure my school knew ahead of time my teacher needed to understand and speak english very well, so that I could get answers to questions I couldn't yet ask in thai. I actually 'interviewed' three different teachers, and sat in on their group lessons to see how they taught. This language it is all about vocabulary and structure, the more words you know, and the more you understand word order, the better you speak thai.

As far as your comment: "I don't want to get her into trouble / lose face, tho...", my question to you is; <deleted> are you talking about? What would you rather do, continue wasting your money until the lessons run out, being unable to have basic questions answered, all the while with no lesson plan, OR would you prefer to actually talk to the administration staff of the school about the very valid issues you have concerning where your money is going in terms of educational value?

Hmmm, I know you've been here three years, as have I, but it doesn't seem like that tough of a call to make... Then again I am a foreigner, and can't lose face, which is something I remind the thais of when the situation demands.

เป็นคนต่างชาติ, เสียหน้าไม่ได้...

(edited for clarity & spelling... )

Edited June 22, 2008 by tod-daniels

[Sir_Sanuk]

thanks everyone for the replies... the school did show me a syllabus before I signed up but because I can already read basic Thai, the teacher has decided to jump ahead and ignore the first 4 books (which use phonetic Thai). The problem is I really need to review and learn the basic material covered in those books - with a teacher that can speak at least some English. The school has a good reputation and seems to be highly spoken of by members here so I'll try to discuss it with them and see how it goes...

cheers.

[kriswillems]

Why don't you ask your teacher to review the first 4 books? It can't be that hard to ask.

Don't the books have a translation of the important words to English after every chapter?

Why don't you use a dictionary for the words you don't understand?

Since you're talking about 4 books with phonetic script, I think you're studying in a school with a union based program, right?

Because you can't ask simple questions, you should be studying the first 4 books again. After studying these books you should be able to ask some questions. If you study the books in order and after each other I think you don't need an English speaking teacher because in every chapter very few new words are introduced.

Most Thai language teachers are really bad in English. If you're not happy with your teacher you better try to change now. In the school I went to (also a union based school in BKK) there was one teacher that couldn't speak English at all and she was also not very good in teaching Thai. All the other teachers were excellent in teaching Thai but not in speaking English. It's hard to get private lesson from the best teachers because many regular (daytime) students try to follow private lessons with them. If you just walk into the school and you're not a regular (daytime) student you might end up with one of the less popular/good teachers.

Personally I think it's not necessary for the teacher to speak English if you prepare/reverse the lessons at home and you use a dictionary. The other students in my class were mostly Korean and Japanese so speaking English wouldn't be useful for them.

Some of the students asked very detailed questions about very little things (in English). They were frustrated the teacher didn't understand them. But in many cases the question was too specific for that level of education and very often the student didn't even understand the main line so asking questions about little details just seemed to block everyone (even the student that asked the question).

Edited June 23, 2008 by kriswillems

[Sir_Sanuk]

The other students in my class were mostly Korean and Japanese so speaking English wouldn't be useful for them.

Thanks... good point - I didn't think about that!

[withnail]

I was going to say, it sounds like you're using following the Union system (or similar) and therefore the problem is likely to be that you have been incorrectly level tested, not that the teacher can't/ won't speak English. If you want a teacher to explain Thai to you in English, I would say prepare to be disappointed because there are very few of them about. More importantly if you have picked a school whose system doesn't involve grammar discussions in English why should the teacher be able to speak English?

As far as lesson plans go, again I wouldn't expect much here if what she does at work is follows a certain system and what you are asking her to do is a private class designed for you and the way you feel you should be taught. This is not what she does for a living, nor what they have trained her to do.

I would say pick a system and trust them with it or find a bilingual Thai person who has had some training in teaching a foreign language that can help you with grammar. The chances of you finding such a person, though, are slim to none.

Also, as I've said previously, stop asking 'Why?', it's a fruitless question to ask in a language classroom.

Good luck.

Edited June 23, 2008 by withnail

[kriswillems]

And now one of my most stupid replies ever:

I don't want to have skinny female Thai teachers with a pale skin. And I prefer male teachers.

I already has 2 female Thai teachers that looked like they were on drugs because they didn't eat enough. They couldn't concentrate on anything. They were tired after 10 minutes teaching. They were very skinny. Their skin was very pale and they didn't had enough iron in their blood. Still they felt like they shouldn't eat too much because they thought they might get fat.

I like male teachers because I am sure they are not chosen for their pretty face.

[mangkorn]

And now one of my most stupid replies ever:

I don't want to have skinny female Thai teachers with a pale skin. And I prefer male teachers.

I already has 2 female Thai teachers that looked like they were on drugs because they didn't eat enough. They couldn't concentrate on anything. They were tired after 10 minutes teaching. They were very skinny. Their skin was very pale and they didn't had enough iron in their blood. Still they felt like they shouldn't eat too much because they thought they might get fat.

I like male teachers because I am sure they are not chosen for their pretty face.

[thithi]

And now one of my most stupid replies ever:

I don't want to have skinny female Thai teachers with a pale skin. And I prefer male teachers.

I already has 2 female Thai teachers that looked like they were on drugs because they didn't eat enough. They couldn't concentrate on anything. They were tired after 10 minutes teaching. They were very skinny. Their skin was very pale and they didn't had enough iron in their blood. Still they felt like they shouldn't eat too much because they thought they might get fat.

I like male teachers because I am sure they are not chosen for their pretty face.

oiiiiiiiii what a though ! hahahahha !

[desi]

... or find a bilingual Thai person who has had some training in teaching a foreign language that can help you with grammar. The chances of you finding such a person, though, are slim to none.

I agree with you on the difficulty of finding trained teachers (I eventually backed out of two without). Luckily I found a teacher trained in grammar who speaks decent English. But here it's a matter of my doing her teaching skills justice.

I'm thinking of adopting her.

[THAILIBAN]

And now one of my most stupid replies ever:

I don't want to have skinny female Thai teachers with a pale skin. And I prefer male teachers.

I already has 2 female Thai teachers that looked like they were on drugs because they didn't eat enough. They couldn't concentrate on anything. They were tired after 10 minutes teaching. They were very skinny. Their skin was very pale and they didn't had enough iron in their blood. Still they felt like they shouldn't eat too much because they thought they might get fat.

I like male teachers because I am sure they are not chosen for their pretty face.

when I did inquire at many language schools in BKK and CM, it seemed that male teachers are extremely rare to come by. even at very reputable schools. my inquiry in person at AUA CM a few days ago produced that statement: "yes we have....... we have ONE...... but he is.....errmmmm...... seldom available......"

[withnail]

I know at the school I studied at they wouldn't accept male teachers. The reason they gave me was something about them wanting to chat up the students.

[desi]

I know at the school I studied at they wouldn't accept male teachers. The reason they gave me was something about them wanting to chat up the students.

Like they don't realise it works both ways?

[midasthailand]

I know at the school I studied at they wouldn't accept male teachers. The reason they gave me was something about them wanting to chat up the students.

Good luck and Kudos to you for making the effort. When I was learning (formally) If I ever asked the teacher Why? He would write Cough, Bough and Rough on the board and smile at me..... I soon stopped asking why. My class had both male and female teachers and I found the female was a little more patient. I can't think of a reason to hold one gender over the other as long as you keep your mind on your studies...

Good luck.

[appleman]

When I studied Thai in Peace Corps training we studied 6 hours a day for 3 months. Our teachers, most of whom had advanced degrees from American universities, never once used a word of English in the class. You don't have to speak English in order to be a good Thai teacher.

[joy2]

Could you please change the teacher ? If you want to have holiday in Chiang Mai, try to study with teacher Lah...when you are hear....you will amazedddddddddddddddddddddd good luck man.