Do You Have Infants In A Thai Infant School

[slippery when wet]

Hello all.

Perhaps you can help me with this little problem

The school that my son goes to teach the alphabet by saying Aye, Bee, Cee and so on and not the phonics system.

Now my son has almost learn't the alphabet by this method but I am seeking advice on what to do next.

I am tempted to teach him the phonics of the alphabet by saying the name is Aye but the sound is a but I dont want to confuse him but I see no connection with Cee, Aye, Tee to spell cat as an example.

You advise would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks....slippery

[Scott]

How old is your son? What grade is he in? Can he read at all? What kind of a program is it--Thai, bilingual etc.

Is he exposed to English at home or is a Thai speaker?

Lots of different theories about this sort of stuff.

[gosompoi]

Phonics are not taught until brattom, infant school is too early to teach phonics in Thailand where Thai primary language.

[slippery when wet]

How old is your son? What grade is he in? Can he read at all? What kind of a program is it--Thai, bilingual etc.

Is he exposed to English at home or is a Thai speaker?

Lots of different theories about this sort of stuff.

Thanks for your reply.

I should have provided more details:

My son has just turned 5 years so is in a Thai government school in the second year of Ahnubaan.

At present he cant read as he has just learnt (and still struggling with a few letters) the names, and not the phonics of the letters in the English alphabet.

He unfortunately does not have much english at home as I am temporarily living in the UK away from the family due to financial reasons.

My wife does speak some pigeon english with him but it is very limited.

Prior to moving to thailand he was living in the UK so understands a lot of english but cant read or write just yet. Unfortunately he left the UK at the crucual time, just when he would have started to learn the alphabet in the UK school using the jolly phonics system.

Any further advice would be appreciated.

Thanks ...slippery

[SoftWater]

Thanks for your reply.

I should have provided more details:

My son has just turned 5 years so is in a Thai government school in the second year of Ahnubaan.

At present he cant read as he has just learnt (and still struggling with a few letters) the names, and not the phonics of the letters in the English alphabet.

He unfortunately does not have much english at home as I am temporarily living in the UK away from the family due to financial reasons.

My wife does speak some pigeon english with him but it is very limited.

Prior to moving to thailand he was living in the UK so understands a lot of english but cant read or write just yet. Unfortunately he left the UK at the crucual time, just when he would have started to learn the alphabet in the UK school using the jolly phonics system.

Any further advice would be appreciated.

Thanks ...slippery

Difficult one this...depending on how long your son has been in the Thai school and what he had learned prior to coming to Thailand...but I'm sort of tempted to say - change the school! By which I mean, my son is three and a half, has being going only to the local Thai anubarn (not International) and can read all the letters in both English and Thai, and write his name in both English and Thai alphabets. He's no genius: so can all the other Thai (not luuk-kreung) kids who go to his school.

I have to say I was pretty amazed when I visited the anubarn at how much the kids were reading and writing - I think in the UK most kids start a lot later than this. However, I suspect it is in part to do with the competition for places in pra-tohm schools when they get to six (believe it or not, most of the good schools have 'entrance exams' for 6-year olds, and if you can't afford to 'buy' your way into a prestigious school you can hope to get in through the entrance exam.) Indeed, the anubarn principal told me they start preparing the kids straight off from nursery (anubarn zero, if you like), for the test for Bangkok Christian, St. Joseph's Convent and other local reputable schools.

So, I guess I would suggest that if your son has been in the Thai school for more than two terms, and he's still only just learning A, B, C, I'd switch to another one if you can. If your wife lives anywhere near the Sathorn area I can recommend the school my son (and soon my daughter) goes to. PM me for details if appropriate. Fees are B17,000/per term (x two terms per year). They do have a mini-bus collection and delivery service, but I'm not sure how far out of Sathorn they go (and I think they charge and extra B400/week for that).

[Firelily]

My experience is that Thai teachers of English as well as Thai parents still (mostly) teach "see-ay-tee cat" kind of reading. I would say you probably only stand a chance of proper phonics instruction based on the sounds of the letters if your son has a farang teacher, whether in a government or a private school.

In the meantime, starfall.com is the best online resource that could be used to plug the holes until better arrangements can be made (it uses American pronunciation, though.)

[Scott]

I wouldn't worry excessively. If your child is exposed to English from you, he can learn to speak clearly. It's always good for parents to help their kids, it gives them a great deal of motivation, but don't push him too much.

It's also important that they learn to spell C-A-T. A little bit difficult to spell your name if you only have the phonetic sound of letters. Of course, there is plenty of time for all of this.

Changing schools can be traumatic for everyone concerned and you may be trading in one negative for another.

Best of luck.

[Niranut]

Agree that there's no need to do anything to formal or serious at this point. I homeschool my kids who are a little younger than yours, but I've found the following resources to be quite good.

Starfall (free online phonics program)

www.starfall.com

* This is a great online phonics program that is designed for kids to use on their own. So just help him with it the first day or so and then let him have fun with it. Lots of great stuff from the very basic up to elementary reading.

I don't think the Leap Frog videos are available here in Thailand, but I could be wrong. I ordered mine from Amazon, and they are great supplement to the Starfall if you have the budget. I Just have the "Letter Factory" and "Talking Words Factory" right now and both are good for beginners; both are just 30 min. so perfect to watch every day or so. Your son will be singing his letters AND the sounds they make in no time.

Leap Frog Letter Factory

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Factory-Roy...6920&sr=8-1

Leap Frog Talking Words Factory

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Talking-Roy...0/ref=pd_cp_d_1

Leap Frog Talking Words Factory 2 (Code Word Caper)

http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Frog-Talking-Wo...U/ref=pd_cp_d_3

Leap Frog Learn to Read at the Storybook Factory

http://www.amazon.com/Leap-Frog-Learn-Stor...d_bxgy_d_text_c

Hope that helps.