Some Tips For Learning English, As Demand For Speakers Is Set To Rise

[webfact]

Some tips for learning English, as demand for speakers is set to rise

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- With the Asean Economic Community only three years away (2015), it is imperative that Thailand prepare itself linguistically for this highly interconnected regional environment with so many opportunities and challenges.

There has been discussion suggesting that Thai could become the language of Asean. While Thai is an elegant and beautiful language, it is totally wishful thinking to think that it would be adopted as the Asean lingua franca. Clearly English will be the common language of Asean.

Thus, it is imperative for Thailand to enhance the quality of its English language teaching and learning.

The approach presented here is not from linguistics but derived from the Kalama Sutra of the Lord Buddha and its call for learning from direct experience.

Thailand cannot afford to import thousands of native speakers to teach nor send thousands of Thais abroad for intensive English training. Thus, the strategy here emphasises selfstudy and informal education.

I am in no way a linguist but in studying 14 different languages have encountered nearly all major ways of teaching and studying other languages. From those rich experiences, I will draw out some suggestions that may enable Thais to enhance their communicative competence in English without undue pain and cost.

The first strategy relates to vocabulary development. While escaping the French colonial police and hiding in Northeast Siam, Ho Chi Minh apparently learned a great deal of Thai. His basic strategy was to learn 10 new words of Thai every day. Using this approach during the course of only a year a person will add 3,600 words to their English vocabulary contributing significantly to their proficiency.

The second strategy relates to the need to improve pronunciation. Here I have two suggestions. First is to make active use of the free Internet resource, Dictionary.com, which provides perfect pronunciation by clicking on an icon for each English word as often as needed.

Second, the two major pronunciation problems of most Thai and Lao speakers are to 1) give English words tones, and 2) to employ very soft consonant endings. The result can be English that is neither clear nor easy to understand. These basic mistakes can be easily corrected.

Apart from using an online dictionary, the Thai could find a native speaker of the target language (person from the UK, or person from Canada and read several passages to them from The Nation, for example) and then have the native speaker note all major pronunciation problems for the learner to work on in the future.

A third strategy related to both pronunciation and listening comprehension is to devote considerable time to listening to English in different forms (radio and TV broadcasts, movies, YouTube speeches and music, even karaoke) and for learners to register sounds in their mind as they hear them spoken. Media such as CNN, BCC, Radio Free Asia, or ABS provide ample listening opportunities. Nearly all persons in the Kingdom now have access to both radio and TV.

Also all the new modern technological tools such as tablets and iPads can be used effectively to engage in plearning (play learning concept of Ajarn ChaiAnan) of English or other languages. It's amazing how young children can be to start using these potentially valuable tools.

A fourth strategy is to seek out actively opportunities to communicate in English. There are countless ways to do this through social networks such as Facebook, modern pen pal systems such as postcrossing, attending events frequented by English speakers, joining multicultural sports teams/events, and becoming friends with diverse English speakers (of different ages and nationalities, for example).

The fifth strategy relates to what has been termed English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Given the huge number of words in the English language, individuals should focus on the kinds of words they will need relevant to their particular profession and interests. A nurse or pharmacist will need medical/health English, for example.

The dynamic and innovative Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, emphasised learning words that are the most important to individuals' daily real world lives.

These strategies suggested here can be used for learning any language.

Language learning can be a delightful experience. It need not be painful and costly. Learning other languages has been one of my greatest joys in life. May it be yours as well.

Gerald W Fry

Distinguished International Professor

Department of Organisational Leadership, Policy, and Development, University of Minnesota

-- The Nation 2012-02-13

[scorecard]

What is missing from the list from the professor is immersion from a young age, and more.

It is well established that young children can easily and quickly learn several language just by immersion. (Example, many Europeans speak two, three, even four languages fluently, and in many cases this is simply through immersion from birth.

Immersion, as children, can happen through at least two processes:

- Born into a country / culture where, from birth, there is regular immersion in multi languages (the European experience).

- KIndergarten, starting at say three years old, perhaps even 2.5 yrs old, with many hours a day spent just on language immersion into a second language (using properly trained teachers who speak English at an advanced level and have the necessary knowledge of teaching young kids. It can be done). There is something like this already in the Philippines. Childen learn Taglog at home through immersion from birth and some immersion inot English, but the first several years of Kindrgarten focus many hours a day on English development including listening and speaking skills. It can be done.

Another form of immersion, and this is highly applicable to Thailand, is immersion through reading what's around us all day in English, at least to develop a big vocabulary and regularly see and read correct construction. Example, make it law that certain types of advertising, government documents, signs etc., must be written in both Thai and English.

This would of course mean the government must, in various ways, sponsor / support the resources needed. There's already an example of this. In Malaysia there is a government office which provides quick and correct translation to English (obviously there are some boundaries).

If Thailand really wants to get serious about English language development all of the above could be implemented and taken seriously. And of course there must be organized English development for those already past the kinderarten immersion age group.

It's unfortunate that the biggest current barrier to English development is in fact the Thai education ministry and its' various agencies, what a shame.

Edited February 13, 2012 by scorecard

[khaowong1]

I agree with the idea of making advertising and business signs in both English and Thai. I think it would help with learning English much easier, a word association.

[IAMHERE]

I agree with the idea of making advertising and business signs in both English and Thai. I think it would help with learning English much easier, a word association.

Especially those signs that quote two different prices depending on your native language. Thailand will not need to learn English because they'll always be willing to do business the old fashioned way.

[scorecard]

What is missing from the list from the professor is immersion from a young age, and more.

It is well established that young children can easily and quickly learn several language just by immersion. (Example, many Europeans speak two, three, even four languages fluently, and in many cases this is simply through immersion from birth.

Immersion, as children, can happen through at least two processes:

- Born into a country / culture where, from birth, there is regular immersion in multi languages (the European experience).

- KIndergarten, starting at say three years old, perhaps even 2.5 yrs old, with many hours a day spent just on language immersion into a second language (using properly trained teachers who speak English at an advanced level and have the necessary knowledge of teaching young kids. It can be done). There is something like this already in the Philippines. Childen learn Taglog at home through immersion from birth and some immersion inot English, but the first several years of Kindrgarten focus many hours a day on English development including listening and speaking skills. It can be done.

Another form of immersion, and this is highly applicable to Thailand, is immersion through reading what's around us all day in English, at least to develop a big vocabulary and regularly see and read correct construction. Example, make it law that certain types of advertising, government documents, signs etc., must be written in both Thai and English.

This would of course mean the government must, in various ways, sponsor / support the resources needed. There's already an example of this. In Malaysia there is a government office which provides quick and correct translation to English (obviously there are some boundaries).

If Thailand really wants to get serious about English language development all of the above could be implemented and taken seriously. And of course there must be organized English development for those already past the kinderarten immersion age group.

It's unfortunate that the biggest current barrier to English development is in fact the Thai education ministry and its' various agencies, what a shame.

Another point: Why not make it policy that all content in the PC tablets about to be handed to P1 students must have written English subtitles (perhaps even include spoken English subtitles as well as written).

Sure it would need some professional resources to achieve, but surely on a cost benefit analysis the benefit would way outstrip the cost.

The translation work (Thai to English) completed by one professional would be seen and read by hundreds of thousands of kids, and in many instances seen (heard) again and again, so there is some chance some of the English words and construction would get 'locked' into the kids own memory.

Further, many Thai English teachers cannot speak English and are even hesitant to try to pronounce English words.

If English lessons are well planned the kids could listen to the spoken English words and sentences coming out of the tablets (assuming they have audio capability).

This wouldn't automatically mean a sudden lift in the ability to speak English, but it would have some positives to build listening skills. And the development of listening skills comes before the development of speaking skills.

Better than nothing.

[Roj]

`While Thai is an elegant and beautiful language`. Even after 23 years, to my ear it isn`t and the Bangkok/Nonthaburi accent is far from that description - you only have to hear some fish wife screeching away at her kids. If ASEAN did plump for a member language it would be one that used Roman characters because the Thai alphabet takes more than a while to learn. Thais are locked inside a language which although virtually grammar free is a puzzle to most foreigners and it was only after 2 years here that I could converse fluently. Business Thais realise that Thailand isn`t the centre of the universe and that there is a need to understand the global language which is English.

[KIWIBATCH]

Perhaps 1 or 2 TV english language channels would go a long way and assist the "learning english" process.

Pre 8am in the morning...english targeted at the younger groups.....3 year old to Secondary.

Post 8am until 4pm....adults targeted..

Post 4pm until 9pm ...younger groups again....9pm until close....adults.

Just an idea......

[lungmi]

I'm not an English native speaker (40-60% in Thailand are not Thai (standard level) native speakers), but professional for language teaching (German and Roman languages, Latin included (passiv)).

1. Children up to 6 years can learn 3 languages easily.

2. The phonemes (about 120 wordwide) every baby has the potential to hear and to pronounce.

3. The native language reduces this potential to 25-35 phonemes.

4. A second or third language can limit this reduction significantly.

------------------------------

Hill tribe children with Hmong, Karen and Lisu native language and Thai as second language can learn English quickly.

I can certify, I'm English teacher in a Kindergarden project in a Hill Tribe School.

[MaiChai]

Singlish is more likly the language to be used in ASEAN, which is based on English. Singlish is pretty much the English spoken by Malays, Singaporeans and Indonesians. Typically it misses out the small link words found in English and makes it more mono sylabic with different word emphasys.

[lungmi]

The best Teacher for education is wordlwide known, but not in Thailand.

The Teaching of P.A.Payutto is part of modern educucation psychology, translated in English and even in German. My daughter is teacher with special training for handicapped children.

Training was at the University of Konstanz, they use the Teaching of P.A Payutto.

She practised in an Orphans Home in Chiang Mai (two times).

Thailand has the best and the worst. The worst is more attractive

http://www.scribd.com/doc/27373656/Vision-of-the-Dhamma-Payutto

[moonbarman]

Singlish is more likly the language to be used in ASEAN, which is based on English. Singlish is pretty much the English spoken by Malays, Singaporeans and Indonesians. Typically it misses out the small link words found in English and makes it more mono sylabic with different word emphasys.

We call that pigeon where i come from.

[skeptikd]

@moonbarman:

I assume you mean pidgin English (a common mistake). Spelling aside, you are right, this is what Singlish is, more or less.

Regarding the article:

"There has been discussion suggesting that Thai could become the language of Asean."

That's just hilarious. This is probably coming from Thais realizing that there is no way they could actually learn English so why not force Thai onto others (another part of the Thai delusion that the Universe revolves around them). I can't see any other ASEAN country even considering Thai as a common language.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

"There has been discussion suggesting that Thai could become the language of Asean." That's just hilarious.

The professor was saying the same thing, just more politely. I think his suggestions are very good, and obviously although improving Thais' level of English is indeed **imperative** that doesn't mean it's going to actually happen. I think the larger point between the lines, is that any progress toward this goal is realistically only going to happen at the level of individual Thais, their families and at the community level, perhaps even within individual schools. Those TV members that would actually like to help with this goal should work at that level and just ignore the macro policy issues, that's just a waste of energy, IMO there is absolutely not going to be any effective solution coming from those parts of various government levels responsible for education.

In fact as someone pointed out, the incumbent system is a major barrier to any change being possible. I'd even go so far as to say that the real powers that be not only have no interest in furthering true education among the common people, but they most likely realize that this would be **against** their interest in holding on to their family / network's position as far as possible into the future. As long as they can afford to send their kids to international schools and overseas for their education, why should they expend any energy on the huge overhaul needed to make the public system more effective?

[BigJohnnyBKK]

The best Teacher for education is wordlwide known, but not in Thailand. The Teaching of P.A.Payutto is part of modern educucation psychology, translated in English and even in German. My daughter is teacher with special training for handicapped children.Training was at the University of Konstanz, they use the Teaching of P.A Payutto. She practised in an Orphans Home in Chiang Mai (two times). Thailand has the best and the worst. The worst is more attractive

Note your link goes to an inconvenient source - the whole book can simply be downloaded from here: http://www.culture.go.th/thart/book/30.pdf

Since it's an official government site (ministry of culture) I imagine there aren't any IP issues with distributing it freely.

But a quick scan showed me little that has anything to do with methodologies of language learning, I suspect an area that the Buddha didn't concern himself with much.

Hill tribe children with Hmong, Karen and Lisu native language and Thai as second language can learn English quickly.

Any children with multiple languages are able to learn further ones more easily than monolingual ones. But the key is normal usage at an early age, and usually this means within the family or close community, by the time they start "learning" via the officially approved "methods" found in most schools, it is too late.

I also believe intelligence is generally higher among those of mixed parentage, just as mutts make better pets. And don't discount the motivating effects of extreme poverty, those from communities that have been "living off the fat of the land" in warm climates for centuries are at an extreme disadvantage compared to those that have had to struggle to survive, especially in colder climates.

Hence the usual northern/southern stereotypical differences regarding "laziness", the higher "work ethic" of Europeans and Chinese as opposed to others - equating ambition and diligence (sacrificing today in hopes of a better tomorrow) with morality, as opposed to the more relaxed live-for-today value system of country Thais.

[WunMoneyBunny]

As the author of the article, Prof Gerald W Fry says:

(a) The two major pronunciation problems of most Thai and Lao speakers are to 1) give English words tones, and 2) to employ very soft consonant endings. The result can be English that is neither clear nor easy to understand.

So true! The Prof also claims that "These basic mistakes can be easily corrected." If they were so easily corrected, why do the majority of English-speaking Thais that I have met, not resolve this problem? I would suggest that it's not quite as simple as the good Prof implies.

By no means am I claiming to be a linguist, not even remotely so. However, I do remember when I was learning French at school many, many years ago. I always performed relatively poorly in my spoken French tests, that is until I adopted a certain technique. My technique was to pretend to be mimicking a French accent, something which I had been doing quite frequently outside of the classroom, when telling a joke in English which involved an English-speaking French person. Suddenly, my marks for spoken French improved dramatically!

What I had done was not rocket science, but it's a process that does not come naturally. As such, I believe that individuals who teach the English language to Thais, should discuss & emphasise the fact that the student needs to consciously think that he/she is mimicking an English-speaking farang while they are saying each English word, or speaking each sentence. Eventually that conscious effort of mimickry will become second nature, so the process will then be completed subconsciously, without the need to constantly think about it.

The Thai student may feel somewhat reserved about doing this initially, because mimicking is often used as a form of derogatory humour. It is therefore assumed that it could cause embarrassment to any native English speakers in the room. This of course, is a totally false notion, & the student needs to be assured of that.

I would be interested to hear if any English teachers have used this simple technique in the past & what the results have been. If you do use it in the future, please also post the results. Good luck!

[Scott]

WunMoneyBunny, you have a point. We had a student who was born to Thai parents in the US. He returned to Thailand sometime around G. 1 or 2. By grade 6, he was speaking Thinglish. He was often reprimanded by the Thai-English speakers for his pronunciation!

His parents asked some of the foreign teachers if he could spend time in our office etc. just chatting. We agreed. Eventually, they sent him back to the US to school. His parents were good Thai citizens, but they were exasperated with the education system.

The poor kid was routinely dressed up for every event in traditional Thai costumes--something he really didn't enjoy.

[pramaprow]

Prediction: The cynical pessimist in me (after 35 years in Thailand) says the situation will not change one iota for this upcoming event in a couple of years...this is Thailand...there are three languages spoken here: Thai, (minute amounts of...actually it's basically none) English, and (butchered)Thai/English...it just ain't gonna happen, sorry...and the thought of making Thai the lingua franca leaves one speechless (no pun intended...people from the North haven't a clue what the people from the South are saying when spoken to (and add several more areas and dialects into the mix, who does what with that?)...good luck...wish I were wrong...

Many good suggestions though, no offense towards anyone...although, once again, TIT...

Edited February 15, 2012 by pramaprow

[sandpaper]

@moonbarman:

Regarding the article:

"There has been discussion suggesting that Thai could become the language of Asean."

That's just hilarious. This is probably coming from Thais realizing that there is no way they could actually learn English so why not force Thai onto others (another part of the Thai delusion that the Universe revolves around them). I can't see any other ASEAN country even considering Thai as a common language.

This surely helped me wake up and LOL this morning, thanks guys! Next thing we speak about, let's make Thai global language XD

[sirchai]

Apart from using an online dictionary, the Thai could find a native speaker of the target language (person from the UK, or person from Canada and read several passages to them from The Nation, for example) and then have the native speaker note all major pronunciation problems for the learner to work on in the future.

Could the people from the UK be Scottish and the Canadians from Quebec? Americans can't do it........

Edited February 15, 2012 by sirchai