English As A Second Language At Thai Kindergartens

[MikeWill]

English teaching in private Thai kindergartens for children ages 3 to 6.

My 3 y.o. daughter is in Thien Prasit School (Thienprasitsart) located at Soi 1 off Sathorn Tai Rd. To be a bit more specific, my wife is Thai and since we speak mostly English at home, my daughter is speaking both Thai and English. She is also watching UBC TV and a lot of English cartoons on DVDs.

It's a first year that the school has introduced english lessons: 5 times a week, 1 hour lessons by the native speakers from England and US. As far as I know, they didn't hire english teaches directly, but through some "middlemen" agency.

Anyhow... I had observed several lessons and was much surprised (mainly by the absence of communicative contacts, touches with the children and with Thai staff as well)... especially, since it's a common knowledge that it is the best to learn languages starting from the early ages.

Are there any guidance, modus operandi of sorts or some curriculum of teaching English as a foreign language for children at the age of 3 and above..

Any examples of how it's done in other schools, any guidelines and info on teaching materials and on that subject as a whole would be much appreciated.

[MikeWill]

I want to make some corrections to my previous post and add a question:

The other day I observed an English lesson given by another teacher. The outcome was also different (much much better) to my great satisfaction.

Are there any special requirements for being a qualified English teacher at the kindergarten level, for children age range 3 to 6 and above?

Edited November 25, 2005 by Condo_bk

[otherstuff1957]

Well, here are a couple of points:

Telf courses rarely address how to teach young children. Unless you are lucky enough to get one of the rare teachers who actually taught young children back in their native country, your child's teacher will probably be looking at that sea of uncomprehending little children and wondering "how the )&)( am I going to teach these little kids English!"

To compond this problem, Thai school administrators usually assign teachers to teach different grades according to their English abilities, so, the P6 teacher will speak the best English and the P1 or Anuban teachers will actually speak little or no English. While this kind of assignment may make sense for Thai English teachers, it really should be reversed for Farang teachers, as it can be more difficult to teach younger students that it is to teach older ones.

Finally, your child is probably light years ahead of her classmates in terms of her knowledge of English and her ability to use and understand English. While this will probably be to her advantage now, she may get bored in English class in the future. You might want to try to find an opportunity to introduce her to her teacher so that her teacher will know that her English is more advanced. That way, her teacher could occasionally call upon her to help explain games or assignments or could give her extra work that could give her a real challange.

Good luck!

[mijan24]

Have a look at ABC Asia Pacific they have programs such as "playschool" also Montessori have many ideas hints on the way to develop/encourage learning in youn-uns. Just google Montessori and there are plenty of sites such as:

www.montessori.com

Edited November 26, 2005 by mijan24

[MikeWill]

Thanks for the replies and good wishes, guys.

Actually, I have already spoken with my daughter English teacher who BTW is also an English program coordinator and an excellent teacher as far as I can see.

My dauther looks like a little farang, it's easy to see and her name isn't a Thai one. But she is very shy, and till recently don't open her mouth in the class too much. The other problem is the number of children in the English class: it's over 30. And also the ages are from 2 and half till 3 years - it's a big difference at that age bracket.

Not sure what I (as a parent) can do to be a helping hand.

Maybe to ask the teaches to reorganize the classes upon children's development and knowledge stage.

P.S. mijan24, I didn't find much info on the links you're referring to.

Edited November 26, 2005 by Condo_bk

[MikeWill]

Would it be right (and helpful) to suggest to the school principal to assemble the English classes upon children's progress. There are all together 4 nursery classes in the school, ~100 children that are assembled in 3 English classes (over 30 children per class).

Any other suggestions?

[Neeranam]

Actually, I have already spoken with my daughter English teacher who BTW is also an English program coordinator and an excellent teacher as far as I can see.

My dauther looks like a little farang, it's easy to see and her name isn't a Thai one. But she is very shy, and till recently don't open her mouth in the class too much. The other problem is the number of children in the English class: it's over 30. And also the ages are from 2 and half till 3 years - it's a big difference at that age bracket.

Not sure what I (as a parent) can do to be a helping hand.

Maybe to ask the teaches to reorganize the classes upon children's development and knowledge stage.

P.S. mijan24, I didn't find much info on the links you're referring to.

Man, I think you are worrying too much.

You say that you speak English at home, well then you're daughter will be fluent in English.

I say to my 3 year old - Thai at school, English at home - simple.

I would say not to get involved with the running of the school. I know what I would feel if the farang father came around asking to obseve my classes, when I was a teacher.

Stop and think about the pittance these English teachers are getting.

[Tarragona]

Man, I think you are worrying too much.

Agreed.

Your daughter is doing fine with what she's getting. For her, English is one of her first languages - it's not being acquired as a second language. Rather than trying to organize classes by abilities, what she might benefit from is playing and being with other kids who have English as a first language - though if they have a Thai parent the kids themselves might choose Thai. You can get together with other parents to work that out.

it's a common knowledge that it is the best to learn languages starting from the early ages.

That's not necessarily true. A little bit later than nursery age is regarded as better for second/foreign languages, especially if there's limited exposure to the language.

Edited November 28, 2005 by Tarragona