Tefl..in The Beginning

[Rinrada]

Having absolutely No interest in the fine art of Teaching (dont particulary like the little baskests) I still find it interesting on the where and why-where-alls that drives otherwise sensible individuals to go for what appears to be the the only foreigner friendly slightly secret survival industry.

Little bit of info on a recent "thingy" by the founder of magic wand in LOS.

FROM LAST WEEK'S MEETING (Pat Ex Pats) -

Roger introduced Mr. JAMES PARMALEE, an American who has lived in

Thailand for almost 30 years, and is the creator of the Text and Talk

TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course which prepares

English speakers to teach English to Thai students.

His course is uniquely designed to help the English speaker understand the problems Thai students will have when they try to learn English, and to

incorporate that understanding with a (usually very needed) review of

English grammar, all in a complete set of books and lesson plans for

the TEFL course.

His TEFL course is the only course certified by the Thai Ministry of

Education for such instruction. A certificate of completion from a

TEFL school or a similar course is a requirement for most schools in

Thailand which have an English language course for Thai students.

Mr. Paramalee, with some pride, advised that his is the first language

teaching academy outside of San Francisco to put together a

teacher-training programme using all the concepts included in the

TEFL course.

Previously, learning a foreign language was always

associated with a University, as in the case of the Cambridge House

Literacy Course in England.

The difference in the TFEL course is that it takes into consideration unique problems faced by the Thai’s, especially their tendency to take English words and remember them as the might be spelled in Thai – with the result that the English words have Thai tones..

The TFEL course teaches them to remember English words using the English alphabet – thereby preserving the English pronunciation

(a concept that took 14 years to fully develop).

Most Thai or other University language courses teach students who

will be working in International Schools or Universities – those with

an academic background who already understand the rules of speaking

or writing in their own language with some level of competence.

The TEFL course includes instruction in the construction of English

grammar, and how to explain the structure of sentences.

Also within the course is a comparison, and contrasts in the way that Thai and

English languages operate.

For example, in Thai there are no verb conjugations, no verb subject agreement, no prefixes or suffixes, etc.

The TEFL course as devised for the Text and Talk Academy is aimed at

serving the needs of Asian people who learn their language by use (as

the general population does in most countries), rather than by

extensive academic exposure. One other difference with this

particular course is that Mr. Parmalee and his staff have developed a

series of six books with which the prospective Thai teachers will

work their way through the six week TEFEL course.

The six TFEL books also provide a reference source should the English teacher be away from teaching for a while, and need to refresh his teaching talent.

Similar programs such as at, the Cambridge University course, use

books the prospective Thai teacher has to buy at a local bookstore,

many of which are not as complete as the TEFEL course books.

The Text and Talk schools are open to anyone who wants to take the

course; no elimination screening is undertaken - any candidate can

take the course. Roger, as a graduate of the Text and Talk Academy,

was best able to speak about the success of the academy and his own

gratitude for the teaching opportunities their TEFL certificate has

created for him.

Since 1999 when James founded the Academy some 1400 people have

graduated. These students are from over 30 different nations, and

include 24 PhDs, many Master’s degrees - and people who have had no

further formal education beyond High school.

In response to a question as to how much Thai a prospective teacher needed to know, the answer was that one did not need any Thai, but in explaining and

making the student feel more comfortable, a little survival Thai was really essential.

[Ijustwannateach]

What the...? Um, is there a point or question here somewhere? People have been teaching English various countries for at least 100-150 years (for example, James Joyce was an English teacher in parts of Italy). English teaching has been going on in Thailand since long before TnT.

"Steven"

[PeaceBlondie]

Yes, and while I enjoyed Mr. Parmalee's course when I took it, I think Anna Leeouwens was an ajarn from England, who taught a youngster named...eventually....Rama V. Now, whether or not there were courses other than CELTA in Thailand before Mr. Parmalee started his course, I don't know.

CELTA does not train its teachers to teach adults.

[joe beets]

I guess we can stamp that one PAID IN FULL.

Yow.

jb

[mijan24]

Rinrada Yesterday, 2005-03-11 11:40:39 Post #1

A good read not the usual bag em @ all costs that seems to surface when any of the "many" "we teach U how to teach english" businesses are mentioned.

Of course James paints his institution as "rosy" its like applying for a job only the not so wise highlight faults (I am not saying T&T or James has faults).

Maybe a few more constructive posts such as this would give potential students a better understanding of what is available when they are making the decision of where to spend their hard earned cash.

Mijan24

[Bluffer]

....

Little bit of info on a recent "thingy" by the founder of magic wand in LOS.

FROM LAST WEEK'S MEETING (Pat Ex Pats) -

Roger introduced Mr. JAMES PARMALEE....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Er yes, what meeting? where? magic wand? why are you posting this?

[kenkannif]

What meeting?:

FROM LAST WEEK'S MEETING (Pat Ex Pats) -

Pattaya Ex-pats club I think!

Where?:

Pattaya.

Magic wand?:

and is the creator of the Text and Talk TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course which prepares English speakers to teach English to Thai students.

I'm guessing this is the 'magic wand' referred to?

Why?:

I still find it interesting on the where and why-where-alls that drives otherwise sensible individuals to go for what appears to be the the only foreigner friendly slightly secret survival industry.

I assume this is why?