10-year Plan Really Needed, Says Minister

[NextStationBangkok]

10-year plan really needed, says minister

SIRIKUL BUNNAG

Cha Am _ A 10-year strategic plan to improve students' English-language ability is needed because studies show Thais perform poorly in the language, Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng said. The ministry would ask academics and language experts to revamp language courses, teaching methods and provide more interesting textbooks, the minister told an education seminar.

Education permanent secretary Kasama Voravan na Ayutthaya said the short term aim was to create positive attitudes among children towards English. Teachers would have a good curriculum, books and teaching materials, and class sizes would be cut to 30 students each or less.

English teaching events would be held nationwide to encourage schools to improve their standards, and local administration organisations would be asked to hire English-language teachers at secondary schools in their areas.

A specific organisation would probably be set up to supervise the overall standard of English-language teaching.

The strategic plan would also allow schools to hire foreigners to teach English.

Khunying Kasama said English might not have to be their mother tongue because finding native speaking English teachers was difficult.

Schools might target Indian teachers as Indians tended to know English well, she said.

Mr Chaturon argued against a bid to designate next year as the Year of English, saying primary school children in many areas were not even good at their national Thai language, not to mention English.

He also reiterated the policy on ending the requirement for primary schools to start English courses from Prathom 1.

Schools had the freedom to make their own decision when they will introduce the language to pupils, to make it suitable for learners, he said.

``About 80% of our 100,000 English-language teachers did not major in English-language teaching.

``More than half must improve their English knowledge.

``An uncompromising approach to the teaching requirement is unlikely to work,'' he said.

[Abandon]

I guess that Stalin and Mao had their 5 year plans.

[chownah]

Well at least someone in the Thai gov't knows that some new 6 week teachers' training plan won't do it. Seems like 10 years is a more reasonable length of time to make a change of this magnitude....but keeping the gov't focused on anything for 10 years seems a difficult task.

[sleir]

Haha, the indian language teachers made me laugh.

I just imagined a cute thai girl asking me in typical indian sing-song

"excuse me kind sir, may i know your good name ?"

[johnh101]

Haha, the indian language teachers made me laugh.

I just imagined a cute thai girl asking me in typical indian sing-song

"excuse me kind sir, may i know your good name ?"

I am not knowing Sir.

[PeaceBlondie]

80 percent of Thailand's English teachers didn't major in English? And what of the 20 percent who did - how well do they teach, most of them by rote, in classes of 52 bored students, teacher sitting or standing in front of room, using a 20-dollar amplifier and a 6-dollar microphone that's held together with cellophane? I've seen it, countless times, by Thai ajarns of English who can't hold a conversation. It's not entirely their fault; they are doing what they were taught to do, in 1970 and 1990.

Yes, it will take at least ten years for the dinosaurs to retire, and thirty more years. Meanwhile, the modern world will pass Thailand by as Thais speak and write Thai without English skills.

[Vit42]

10 year plan to learn english??? C'mon, mandarin is becoming and will be the language that everyone will be desparate to learn.

Edited September 21, 2005 by Vit42

[astral]

Aren't there a few other areas that also need 10 year plans?

The Economy, Poverty, Housing etc

[sadman]

Khunying Kasama said English might not have to be their mother tongue because finding native speaking English teachers was difficult.

Is that right? I thought every English-speaking traveller wanted to teach English.

[mrbojangles]

Aren't there a few other areas that also need 10 year plans?

The Economy, Poverty, Housing etc

Absolutely.

Beach road in Pattaya has nearly finished it's first 10 year plan and is now about to move onto it's second

[Neeranam]

Haha, the indian language teachers made me laugh.

I just imagined a cute thai girl asking me in typical indian sing-song

"excuse me kind sir, may i know your good name ?"

biggrin.gif

or "I sorry, I am not understanding you"!

I watched a news program on Thai tv last night where this subject was talked about.

It was agreed that a 10 year plan is a good, realistic time to sort things out.

I worked in Thai primary and secondary schools for a couple of years. Many of the English teachers couldn't speak English, especially the older ones, and this was in Bangkok!