Should I Send My Daughter To Bilingual Or International School?

[KikiKookoo]

My 8-year-old daughter and I will move back to Thailand (from US) in a year or 2. She can speak Thai just a little, fluent in English. I have contacted a couple of international schools. I found that I might not be able afford that much. I read some posts about bilingual school in the forum. Do you think that someone that can't speak Thai so well will survive a bilingual school? How many percentage of the communication is in English? Can you recommend any good one in Bangna or close by area? Thank you for any advice.

Edited September 1, 2009 by KikiKookoo

[geovalin]

Bilingual schools are very good.

In the one of my daughters there are some kids in the same case than yours.

The point is: in which class they'll take her?

In not bilingual: she'll be obliged to begin in P1 with 6 - 7 years old kids.

In bilingual: needs to be negotiated. I guess they'll take her in P2 or P3 as she has a very good level in English but I suggest she takes extra lessons in Thai (reading) to catch up with the other kids.

[ctira]

I was in the same predicament as yours. I ended up sending my kid to a Thai school with "English Program". They teach 50% Thai and 50% English. It costs about 50K per semester without any other fees such as enrollment fee, donation fee, the guaranteed-your-kid-will-get-in-for-sure fee---a lot cheaper than international schools. It was only half a year before she was able to speak Thai fluently. The only thing is the school might make your kid repeat a grade to catch up on Thai, if you don't think it's a big deal...

If you send your kid to an international school, chances are your child will never learn Thai. But if you think you'll not be in Thailand that long or your kid will never live in Thailand then it's nothing to worry about. IMO it doesn't hurt to know multiple languages.

Try St.Joseph Bangna โรงเรียนเซนต์โยเซฟ บางนา (English program). Not sure if your child needs testing to get in.

Edited September 1, 2009 by ctira

[aussiebebe]

If you send your kid to an international school, chances are your child will never learn Thai.

That's so true!

I'm studying Thai at a language school called UTL near Asoke during the mornings and one of my fellow students is a friendly Chinese kid in his early twenties. When I got chatting to him, he revealed that he's actually been in Thailand for 16 years! He's clearly a member of the lucky sperm club as his parents forked out a small fortune sending him to ISB yet you'd never guess, when meeting him, that he's been living in Thailand for most of his life. His mother tongue is Mandarin, his English is excellent, but it's like he's just stepped out of a bubble and is finding that the place he knows as home is, well, it's all greek to him.

[optimistvik]

yes you are right

[ArranP]

If you can afford it sent your child to an international schoool, otherwise you do not have the choice. Your child will learn Thai from you.

[ctira]

If you can afford it sent your child to an international schoool, otherwise you do not have the choice. Your child will learn Thai from you.

Yes, she will learn to talk. Even though I know some Thai parents who sent their children (who were born and raised in Thailand) to international schools and them kids speak very little Thai...Parents ended up having to speak English to them. Thai grammar, reading+writing is very difficult to teach & needs to be taught in school, unless you're a dedicated parent who will homeschool your child during her free time. The new school curriculum, the EP program, is quite decent. Here's an example of my kid's school EP curriculum:

In Thai by Thai teachers: grammar, language arts, religion, math, science, social studies, art, home-ec

In English by native English teachers: grammar, language arts, science, math, physical education, computer

However the EP program doesn't reinforce English as much as the international school program, so you can't expect the English part to be as good as the international schools. Since your child already has a strong English skill, she should work on her Thai (once again if you think it's necessary...)

[TheBigC]

Bilingual schools still teach the Thai curriculum. Less of a problem for younger kids, but not 8+. If you're really serious about your daughter's higher education and employment prospects, would suggest either an international school or, preferably, remaining in the US.

[optimistvik]

If you can afford it sent your child to an international schoool, otherwise you do not have the choice. Your child will learn Thai from you.

I agree with you totally

Edited September 3, 2009 by optimistvik

[asia_pilot]

Remain in the USA for your duaghter. After she has finished her education you can still move to Thailand. We are going back in 1 year for my son's education. You cant get the same here in Thailand. Even not the very expensive International schools are on the same level as western schools. Big money for nothing.

[KikiKookoo]

Thank you everyone for the advice. It's still a while before I have to make a decision. I will definitely do more research and weight all of the pros and cons.

One of the reasons I want to go back to Thailand is......I am afraid for my daughter to turn teenager in the environment that is too free. I hope she will absorb some Thai believe and culture, if we move back. However, I hear that Thai teenagers now don't behave themselves as well as before. How true is it?

[scorecard]

Remain in the USA for your duaghter. After she has finished her education you can still move to Thailand. We are going back in 1 year for my son's education. You cant get the same here in Thailand. Even not the very expensive International schools are on the same level as western schools. Big money for nothing.

My comments:

- Don't agree that it's automatically / totally true western schools are always better. Many kids from US, and many other countries, are poor at math, etc., and I see the selish / arrogant behaviors which seem to come out of many western schools are dangerous for the future of civil society.

- Don't agree that International Schools in Thailand are the best option. Some are excellent and charge outrageous fees. Some have a discrageful picture of teaching and learning and are expensive, etc etc.

- Some bilingual schools in Thailand are just money machines - that's true.

- In the case of the poster I believe it's critical that the child gets quickly into some form of catch up Thai classes, both conversation and reading and writing.

- I did the whole search for a school for my Thai granddaughter. I can't afford international schools and I'm less than convinced of the qaulity/value anyway.

- One school came up way ahea, Amnuay Silpa bilingual school on Sri Ayuthaya Road (Bkk). They follow an accredited Thai / British curriculum. Granddaughter has been there now for about 6 months and so far I'm quite impressed. And it doesn't break the bank. No tea money payments whatever.

- I realize that the OP mentioned Bang Na area. Just wondering whether it's exploring available tollways etc. There is an exit ramp within 1 kilometre of Amnuay Silpa.

[Scott]

Thai teenagers are not much different than teenagers in the USA, overall. The same problems exist here, but in general, probably to a lesser degree, than in the states.

Private schools are rather quick to kick out kids with questionable behavior, in or out of school. So if your daughter is a bit rebellious, she might end up getting the boot. It has more to do with 'appearance' than reality.

Your daughter may be beyond the age when she will absorb as much of the culture as you wish for her too.

I can assure you of one thing, I would certainly not bring a child to Thailand for education only. Especially coming from the States. Much better options exist there than here. The ones that do exist are expensive.

Best of luck to you.

[PattayaParent]

If you send your kid to an international school, chances are your child will never learn Thai.

That's so true!

I'm studying Thai at a language school called UTL near Asoke during the mornings and one of my fellow students is a friendly Chinese kid in his early twenties. When I got chatting to him, he revealed that he's actually been in Thailand for 16 years! He's clearly a member of the lucky sperm club as his parents forked out a small fortune sending him to ISB yet you'd never guess, when meeting him, that he's been living in Thailand for most of his life. His mother tongue is Mandarin, his English is excellent, but it's like he's just stepped out of a bubble and is finding that the place he knows as home is, well, it's all greek to him.

I disagree, my child is in an International school where the kids with a Thai parent speak fluent Thai, and they also have Thai lessons geared to them learning Thai to a proper level.

Probably your 'Chinese kid' had Chinese parents that never spoke Thai? Sh1t, I've been in Thailand 14 years and can't speak Thai as well as some of the kids in my kids class.

[WhiteShrek]

My views:

Generally international schools are better than bi-lingual schools, which in turn are better than Thai schools. Will come down to what you can afford to pay. International will be THB 300k upwards per year (double that for the "top" ones), bi-lingual around THB 80-100k ball park, Thai schools not much. That's not to say that a THB 300k school will always be better than a 100k one as there will always be exceptions, but the categories above generally hold.

If you want your kid to be brought up with the choice to become either whitey or Thai in their life, then schooling at International school or bi-lingual school will give that option. Intl school will probably make an overseas university education later easier than bi-lingual. If you're worried about Thai not being good enough at age 8, and can't afford Intl school, then extra Thai lessons plus both parents support with schoolwork would be my choice over a pure Thai education.

Personally children's education would not be a reason for me to movee to Thailand. If anything it would be a reason to move away from Thailand. Think twice if that's your main reason. I would also prefer an all English education over an all Thai education any day.

It's incorrect for someone to say that your kid wouldn't pick up Thai in Intl school. They teach Thai, although most lessons are in English.

In addition we enjoy and make big efforts as parents to get involved in our children's education, and make it fun to learn languages. Mrs Shrek and I helped teach ABC and "gaw gai khaw khai" by reading, playing singing, watching DVDs and basically just having fun, alongside school efforts from a very early age. We also each speak both languages to the little ogres. We'd do this whatever country we live in. It's not difficult to teach and play with kids, and is great fun. Even 8 is not to late to start.

Some people say the Thai parent should always speak Thai and whitey should always speak English. Personally I don't find that as much fun, and I enjoy actually improving my own Thai at the same time as the kids are learning. Start with the basics and go all the way thru - together. You all learn and you spend time together sharing experiences - win-win-win. Bottom line I speak, learn and teach Thai and English with the kids, and Mrs Shrek does the same. If you're own Thai isn't good start now...for your own benefit as well as your family's...and encourage the Mrs to do the same with English. The best and most rewarding Thai lessons I've ever had, are the ones I've given to the kids...

Edited September 8, 2009 by WhiteShrek

[tonititan]

Some people say the Thai parent should always speak Thai and whitey should always speak English. Personally I don't find that as much fun, and I enjoy actually improving my own Thai at the same time as the kids are learning. Start with the basics and go all the way thru - together. You all learn and you spend time together sharing experiences - win-win-win. Bottom line I speak, learn and teach Thai and English with the kids, and Mrs Shrek does the same. If you're own Thai isn't good start now...for your own benefit as well as your family's...and encourage the Mrs to do the same with English. The best and most rewarding Thai lessons I've ever had, are the ones I've given to the kids...

FYI: "Some people" include experts in the field of bilingual education. That method, while definitely not the only one, is usually referred to as "One Parent, One Language" - meaning that each parent speaks only one language (usually their native tongue) to the child. That way, the child gets approximately the same amount of input from each language, AND just as importantly, they do not get poor models of either language. Kids learn language from listening to others speak it.

I'm not saying that what you're doing is wrong, but I really hope that you have put some thought and research into finding the best method for your children...and that might not necessarily be the way that is the most "fun" for you.

[WhiteShrek]

FYI: "Some people" include experts in the field of bilingual education. That method, while definitely not the only one, is usually referred to as "One Parent, One Language" - meaning that each parent speaks only one language (usually their native tongue) to the child. That way, the child gets approximately the same amount of input from each language, AND just as importantly, they do not get poor models of either language. Kids learn language from listening to others speak it.

I'm not saying that what you're doing is wrong, but I really hope that you have put some thought and research into finding the best method for your children...and that might not necessarily be the way that is the most "fun" for you.

Thanks for the heads up. Have put some thought into it, and have some background in that area. There are always pros and cons, not unlike the "people" who argue among themselves whether a prescriptive approach to language or even linguistics is "better" than a descriptive approach.

Personally I think the approach you mention has some good merit but, it also gets overhyped too much with theory. In practice I probably speak more English and my wife more Thai, but I'd rather just let situations flow and be natural than stick to prescriptive linguistic theories. A couple of simple examples where the theory breaks down for me:

- In reality kids learn language from many people not just mum and dad, such as the Thai grandaprents speaking only Thai as suggested, and the English grandparents speak English simply because that's their only option. So they already have the role models mentioned.

- There are certain specialised areas of vocab where both my English and Thai is better than my wifes and vice versa, or certain topics one particular gender talks about more than others. Our kids will here me shout "lam naa" or "offside" when watching fooball, whereas if I have to admit I rarely get enthusiastic about initiating discussion about whether sanitary towels or tampons are more comfortable for the vagina during a menstrual cycle

- In a 3 way conversation where we are all sharing time together, it can get a bit artificial or sometimes if mum speaks Thai to child who then speaks Thai back and daddy wants to chip in, in English. I've seen situations where the child has turned round and said daddy mai phuut paasa Thai, and so dad gets excluded from what's happening.

Should we pronounce scones as sconz or scowns. Doesn't really matter. Just get on and enjoy eating the cake!

Bottom line for me, it's much better to share experiences, time together, and have fun, than seriously worry about what's technically the best theory. I believe kids in particular learn most when they are enjoying themselves and are having fun. The technically most competent teacher in the world is useless if a kid thinks the subject is boring and not interested in learning. That's a mistake many Thai institutions make. They assume the best language graduate from the top university will naturally make the best Thai teacher, compared to the great teacher with average language abilities who actually motivates the kids to learn. I want to encourage them to enjoy learning. If the kids bring me a book on "gaw ghai, khaw khai" and says "daddy read", I'm not going to be a whitey ogre and turn them away saying sorry daddy only does ABC, or go ask mummy. When the times comes, if it will help my children, I'll learn any language alongside them and better still if we all enjoy it.

Last small story: Funnily enough my wife's view was our kids should learn ABC first and not bother with gaw ghai until later. We did that for a while. Going to pre/nursery school so she could play with other kids (again emphasis on play not learn) she spotted the English letters and numbers she'd learnt on the small yellow signs in taxis . So we she used to enjoy reading those on the way to school as a game. Eventually she gets a bit bored. One day I taught her "taw taharn" - the first Thai letter she learnt. Most Thai taxis have this, from there we moved on to gaw ghai etc. I'm proud to say I also bought her first gaw ghai book as well as DVD Thai song to teach the Thai alphabet. The result is she loves reading books and even her playschool teachers commented that. She enjoys playing and spelling letters etc because it was a game and fun. When the time came to start "formally" learning the Thai alphabet in school, there were some kids there with two Thai parents who speak, read and write better Thai than I ever will. Yet our little ogre-kreung knew Thai letters better than them, having a head start but more importantly was enjoying learning them more.

Back to OP. If you're worried about your 8 year old's Thai not being good enough, seriously give some thought to improving your own Thai to help fill in the gaps, even if in Us. It can be very rewarding, fun and everyone learns. A willing volunteer is worth 10 hired professionals. Ask your kid would they rather spend time with dad or a teacher. If the answer is the teacher, maybe they're getting a great formal education, but probably missing out on life... I see language as a shared fun journey, rather than a destination for appraisal. A supportive environment is worth more than formal instruction in Chomsky's theories on linguistics or ability to recite Shakespeare. Besides if the kids see dad making mistakes, but having a laugh and enjoying it, they'll feel OK about making mistakes too. My wife sometimes takes the rip out of my Thai mistakes particularly mispronunciations - I just join her in laughing about it...

Edited September 11, 2009 by WhiteShrek

[63Tommy1]

Remain in the USA for your duaghter. After she has finished her education you can still move to Thailand. We are going back in 1 year for my son's education. You cant get the same here in Thailand. Even not the very expensive International schools are on the same level as western schools. Big money for nothing.

My comments:

- Don't agree that it's automatically / totally true western schools are always better. Many kids from US, and many other countries, are poor at math, etc., and I see the selish / arrogant behaviors which seem to come out of many western schools are dangerous for the future of civil society.

- Don't agree that International Schools in Thailand are the best option. Some are excellent and charge outrageous fees. Some have a discrageful picture of teaching and learning and are expensive, etc etc.

- Some bilingual schools in Thailand are just money machines - that's true.

- In the case of the poster I believe it's critical that the child gets quickly into some form of catch up Thai classes, both conversation and reading and writing.

- I did the whole search for a school for my Thai granddaughter. I can't afford international schools and I'm less than convinced of the qaulity/value anyway.

- One school came up way ahea, Amnuay Silpa bilingual school on Sri Ayuthaya Road (Bkk). They follow an accredited Thai / British curriculum. Granddaughter has been there now for about 6 months and so far I'm quite impressed. And it doesn't break the bank. No tea money payments whatever.

- I realize that the OP mentioned Bang Na area. Just wondering whether it's exploring available tollways etc. There is an exit ramp within 1 kilometre of Amnuay Silpa.

Very interesting!

How did you do your search?

Are there any good website for comparing schools in the Bkk-area?

We just put our 3,5 year old son in the Lerthla school on Nawamin road, does anyone know if this school is good, we only had a short time to check some schools, and this one is close to hme and looked good, but we are having doubts, now after approx 3 monts.

Prices are Ok, around 120.000/year + Books and food.

Regards Tommy

[KikiKookoo]

Thank you WhiteShrek for you advice. I am trying to speak Thai to her more and more. I have been giving her around-the-house vocab, like table, chair, bed, etc. She can now remember up to Nor-Nooooh. She knows most to the color and days of the week. We will keep it going.