Learning English Language In Thailand: Hype Or Necessity?

[webfact]

Learning English language in Thailand: Hype or Necessity?

Kuldeep Nagi

BANGKOK: -- Lately there has been increasing debate about the status of English language in Thai society. Many arguments are made for and against the relevance of English language and its usefulness. Arguments made by Thai politicians take us back and forth about the role of English language and distracts us away from the realities of this new century. This nationalistic faction believes that imposing English language on Thai people is against their culture,heritage and their unique identity.

The same group also argues that Thailand was never colonized so why bother to learn English. For them English is the language of the British colonies. It has no place in Thai society. Some others with a myopic vision believe that Thai people should not be made to feel insecure and inferior because of all the hype about importance of learning English.

It is an historical fact that in the 17th century the British did not go around the world to impose their language; they went places with an intention to do trade. Later, they forcibly occupied many countries in Africa and Asia.And of course they occupied North America and USA as well. In their more than 300 years of history in Africa and Asia they conquered many countries. It was followed by the creation of their own system of education, transport, communication and governance. British necessarily did not force people in the colonies to embrace English. In many cases, the rulers of princely states and elite in the colonies willingly adopted English language to have better relations with their new rulers. Spread of English language in colonies did not drastically change the native culture and identity. Stretching from India, Malaysia to Indonesia and Hong Kong the English language became an alternate way for communication. It was always used as other language along with several local languages and dialects.

In Europe the British did not impose their rule on neighboring countries. Scandinavian countries were never colonized but they learned to do business with England. They willingly adopted English as another language so that they could have better economic ties with England.

Days of colonization are now history. Every country that was part of the British Empire is now free. The whole landscape is changed by rapid expansion of communication technologies, transportation and financial markets. Colonization is now replaced by much more powerful forces of globalization. English language is no longer a cultural imposition; it is the language of the Internet, Facebook and Twitter. It has become the language of the global markets.

In this context, a common language can become a powerful tool to succeed in globalized economies. So the old argument that language is integral to a culture identity does not necessarily lead to separating it from others. Language is just one part of a culture.

To be able to migrate to other countries and be able to find a better paying job requires knowing more than one language. Knowing English is even better especially when a person wants to go to England, Australia or America to have higher education or explore new options for a better job or a career. Proficiency in English becomes an essential requirement. One's culture is not going to help to survive in a foreign land. Besides manners, work ethics and life style issues the language should also be seen as an essential survival tool.

Well, in Thailand English teaching and learning problems cannot be solved by employing the "native speakers". As mentioned earlier, Switzerland, and many other European countries where teaching and learning English is a big success, do not rely on what my colleague Dr. Sorin, call as "na (t) ive" speakers but on their own teachers of English.

In Asia, a good example is India. Although colonized for more than two centuries India does not employ foreigners to teach English. Yet, it has a huge population that can speak and write English. It has grown its own crop of English teachers. They are all graduates of Indian universities majoring in English. Singapore and Malaysia also followed the same model. It created its own pool of excellent English teachers.

If the Thai Ministry of Education is genuinely interested in improving English education, then they have to do the following:

Improve the quality of Thai English teachers. The teachers of English have to be good; they have to be an inspiration for their students. It would be very natural for young Thai students to say "if my teacher could do it, I can do it too". A white hillbilly native speaker from Texas, USA without a degree in English literature can never be an inspiration for Thai students.

If Thailand really wants to employ a foreign teacher, then he/she must be a real qualified language teacher, not just a na (t) ive speaker. It has to be one who has a high degree in language or linguistics, and who has also learned at least one or more foreign languages.

Although there may be some similarities between ASEAN and the European Union's Bologna Process which seeks to harmonize the region's higher education system. But in comparison to Europe the diversity in education systems and economic development across ASEAN presents many more difficult challenges. There is still hope that both the Thai politicians and the civil servants realize that in an emerging Asian Economic Community (AEC) English language can become a common language and act as glue that can bind the region together. It is very clear that English language is playing a major role in the process of globalization.

Another area of improvement that requires some urgent action is the Thai popular media. There should be more and more English language based news papers, magazines, radio stations and television shows focused on creating sights and sounds that can immerse the learners in an environment that facilitates learning of English language. Language learning is based on the sights and sound surrounding the learners.

So instead of wasting time on deciding what to call English, (English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or English as Second Language (ESL) and for what reason, the Thai Ministry of Education should really be engaged in and concerned about improving the quality of English teachers and of English teaching in Thailand.

Kuldeep Nagi is a Fulbright Fellow from Seattle, WA, USA, and is currently working at Assumption University, Bangkok. He can be reached via e-mail DrKuldeep [at] Live.Com.

-- The Nation 2012-04-02

Edited April 2, 2012 by Scott
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[pipo1000]

If Thailand really wants to employ a foreign teacher, then he/she must be a real qualified language teacher, not just a na (t) ive speaker.

So true,but here in Thailand everyone who is tired of living in his homecountry or has other reasons to leave,but hasn't the financial resources to do so,will be a teacher in Thailand the very next day.

I have met many " Native English teachers " here in Thailand who weren't able to write proper English themselves.

[AZBill]

I agree that the reasons behind learning English should have nothing to do with these archaic colonization arguments. It is about globalization, and English is the language that is most used in this new world. It is astounding that the Thai leadership doesn't get this - third world thinking is their problem. I also agree that most of the foreign English teachers in this country are not well qualified, nor are the local teachers. The problem is that well qualified teachers of English have no interest in working for 40 or 50 thousand baht a month in Asia. Most of the expat teachers here become teachers because they can't do anything else to make a living here but still want to enjoy the cheap lifestyle of Thailand. Thus you get the hillbillies and the lower levels of foreign society getting passed off as teachers. (Note: Texas doesn't have many hills nor hillbillies). Also Thai students are not the most motivated nor easy to teach students in the world and it takes a true professional who knows how to both teach and motivate. I just saw my young brother-in-law's english lesson plan from his school and it's pathetic. Half the sentences are grammatically incorrect, and numerous words are not even spelled correctly.

[David006]

I agree that the reasons behind learning English should have nothing to do with these archaic colonization arguments. It is about globalization, and English is the language that is most used in this new world. It is astounding that the Thai leadership doesn't get this - third world thinking is their problem. I also agree that most of the foreign English teachers in this country are not well qualified, nor are the local teachers. The problem is that well qualified teachers of English have no interest in working for 40 or 50 thousand baht a month in Asia. Most of the expat teachers here become teachers because they can't do anything else to make a living here but still want to enjoy the cheap lifestyle of Thailand. Thus you get the hillbillies and the lower levels of foreign society getting passed off as teachers. (Note: Texas doesn't have many hills nor hillbillies). Also Thai students are not the most motivated nor easy to teach students in the world and it takes a true professional who knows how to both teach and motivate. I just saw my young brother-in-law's english lesson plan from his school and it's pathetic. Half the sentences are grammatically incorrect, and numerous words are not even spelled correctly.

ran into a Thai English teacher at the local library the other day..spoke good English like what I do...asked would I come to her school and help teach English? I said I cannot without work permit...(phew).... says oh yes and took my phone no..maybe I can come visit anyway it would be good for children because they never get to use it....that is the crux with rural kids.

Did not we all get taught a second language at school and then forgot it unless we actually traveled to a locale where it was needed?

I learned French in a British school and several years later ended up in rural Quebec ...(largely non anglophones)..amazing what you learn quick smart.

Think at one time the air traffic controllers in Montreal wanted to use Quebecois French..that got knocked on the head of course.

[nurofiend]

screw english, i'm learning mandarin

[timber]

I think the need to speak and understand English is simple. English is but a tool to

make you a global person, both in business and knowledge. It broadens opportunities

in a large way. If you have a narrow perspective of your future and a rich dad you

don't need to learn English. There are many rural schools outside of Bangkok where

the school doesn't take English seriously. I am not sure how set the curriculum is, so

that there is a flow from one grade to the next. When I taught in Bangkok a few years

ago there wasn't much input into what was taught in the current year from what was taught

the previous year. What was being taught was not orientated to who was being taught>

[lovelaos]

Why would a qualified teacher go to work in Thailand when they could work in other Asian countries for 3x the salary?

[whybother]

The problem isn't necessarily that all Thais should learn English.

It's that the ones that do decide to learn English should be able to learn from better qualified English teachers.

[MaxLee]

It is DISCIPLINE that is the major problem with students these days. Students don't care and rather play iPhones and online games every day and are disrespectful to their farang teachers 'cause he or she can't speak Thai anyway.

If the Thai education ministry doesn't care about instilling Internarional social behaviors first, Thai teachers and students will fail to co exist and the chaos continues.

Like one of my former university professors from England said before, Thai students are one of the most unwilling species to study, it's just horrible. And the classrooms are packed with 30-40 plus students in a room, and most of the home room teachers don't care and beat the hell out of the children every day.

There can't be effective learning without discipline first.

[Thai at Heart]

Debating whether knowledge or a skill is a good thing.

[jerrysteve]

A statistic I read a few months ago mentioned that approximately 80 of international business is performed in Englsih. Thats a fairley good size percentage.

How revelant the ability to read, write, and speak English means that Thai people would no longer be locked into the limited opportunites in the job market within their own country and would be far more competitive in the job market. That is a mute point. One hardly needs to debate that issue.

The educated English speaking Thais that are schooled in western Universities where they become extremely fluent in the English language are

able to command higher salaries if and when they come back to Thailand.

A friend of who is Thai born in Thailand and who was educated in the West, has stay in the West because his salary at what he was educated in simply cannot be matched in his own Native Thailand. Give the fact to that the cost of living is higher in the west in many areas, as opposed to the cost of living in Thailand, he still makes far more that his Thai counter parts educated in the same field at Thai Universities.

And do not believe this to be an isolated case. There is a whole big world out side the confines of Thailand for those who have a good command of English. Thats the bottom line.

In my view and it is only my view, Thailand is still about 50 years behind the curve.

[toybits]

I went to Big C (Chiang Rai) yesterday, picked up three cans of APPLE JUICE (Treetop) which was in a can. The counter clerk refused to check out the three cans and I could not understand why. She said alcohol. ALCOHOL? I said in Thai "That's Apple JUICE". Said it a number of times - three to be exact. The person ahead of me was also somewhat perplexed - and then after a moment understood what I was trying to say. The can clearly showed APPLE JUICE. But apparently, the check-out counter clerk assumed those were beer cans without even reading the label.

That's English proficiency.

[lovelaos]

"Thailand was never colonized so why botherto learn English. For them English is the language of the British colonies. It has no place in Thai society. Someothers with a myopic vision believe that Thai peopleshould not be made to feel insecure and inferior because of all the hype about importance of learning English"

This attitude says it all. Whilst Thais hold on to this rather pathetic argument it will forever be the poor relative of Asia.

[Sing_Sling]

A white hillbilly native speaker from Texas, USA without a degree in English literature can never be an inspiration for Thai students.

Oh, how very true

[Sateev]

What Thailand DOESN'T need is more professors like the author of this inane article. First he outlines the spread of English as a means of improving trade and relations with a colonial power, then he uses India (where English has been part of their education for CENTURIES) as an example of using indigenous teachers of English, instead of "na (t) ive" (whatever that clever grouping of letters is supposed to signify) speakers. So, just where is Thailand, who proudly has never been colonized, and hence has never had English (or French, or Portuguese, or Dutch) imposed on them, going to find these indigenous English teachers? Most supposed Thai English speakers in Thailand could not pass a 6th grade competency test in English, let alone teach others.

I do agree, however, that English teachers should be just that: educators, with training in how to teach English to foreign learners, and not merely native speakers. The same holds true for Thai language teachers: merely being a native Thai speaker does not in ANY way qualify you to teach Thai to foreigners. Unfortunately, qualified Thai language teachers are like hen's teeth...

In any case, with Thailand sliding closer to China, Mandarin seems a good idea. Hope they get what they wish for.

[IMA_FARANG]

Why would a qualified teacher go to work in Thailand when they could work in other Asian countries for 3x the salary?

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

Surely you must know the answer to that question.

Try this:

they are mostly young, Male, unmarried, relatively wealthy (or so assumed to be as farangs), and living in Thailand.

[Scott]

Off-topic posts removed. The thread is about English, not a debate about colonization in Thailand.

[WhizBang]

Thai thinking says Thais are so very special that they are above everyone else. So why should they learn anything foreign. Well, when the world has passed Thailand by, and they are stuck in their self inflated bubble of insulation, maybe they will wake up and realize the truth. The world has gone global, and english is the language of international business. But by then, it will be a major uphill climb. (not that it isn't now)

[DocN]

Germany was never occupied or colonized by Mathematicians...still I had to learn Maths (and 99% of it I never needed...the remaining 3% I need to count my salary!)

If Thailand and its citizens want to compete on an international level, they simply need English! Closing your eyes will not make the problem dissapear!

[Mosha]

I agree that the reasons behind learning English should have nothing to do with these archaic colonization arguments. It is about globalization, and English is the language that is most used in this new world. It is astounding that the Thai leadership doesn't get this - third world thinking is their problem. I also agree that most of the foreign English teachers in this country are not well qualified, nor are the local teachers. The problem is that well qualified teachers of English have no interest in working for 40 or 50 thousand baht a month in Asia. Most of the expat teachers here become teachers because they can't do anything else to make a living here but still want to enjoy the cheap lifestyle of Thailand. Thus you get the hillbillies and the lower levels of foreign society getting passed off as teachers. (Note: Texas doesn't have many hills nor hillbillies). Also Thai students are not the most motivated nor easy to teach students in the world and it takes a true professional who knows how to both teach and motivate. I just saw my young brother-in-law's english lesson plan from his school and it's pathetic. Half the sentences are grammatically incorrect, and numerous words are not even spelled correctly.

ran into a Thai English teacher at the local library the other day..spoke good English like what I do...asked would I come to her school and help teach English? I said I cannot without work permit...(phew).... says oh yes and took my phone no..maybe I can come visit anyway it would be good for children because they never get to use it....that is the crux with rural kids.

Did not we all get taught a second language at school and then forgot it unless we actually traveled to a locale where it was needed?

I learned French in a British school and several years later ended up in rural Quebec ...(largely non anglophones)..amazing what you learn quick smart.

Think at one time the air traffic controllers in Montreal wanted to use Quebecois French..that got knocked on the head of course.

I agree that the reasons behind learning English should have nothing to do with these archaic colonization arguments. It is about globalization, and English is the language that is most used in this new world. It is astounding that the Thai leadership doesn't get this - third world thinking is their problem. I also agree that most of the foreign English teachers in this country are not well qualified, nor are the local teachers. The problem is that well qualified teachers of English have no interest in working for 40 or 50 thousand baht a month in Asia. Most of the expat teachers here become teachers because they can't do anything else to make a living here but still want to enjoy the cheap lifestyle of Thailand. Thus you get the hillbillies and the lower levels of foreign society getting passed off as teachers. (Note: Texas doesn't have many hills nor hillbillies). Also Thai students are not the most motivated nor easy to teach students in the world and it takes a true professional who knows how to both teach and motivate. I just saw my young brother-in-law's english lesson plan from his school and it's pathetic. Half the sentences are grammatically incorrect, and numerous words are not even spelled correctly.

ran into a Thai English teacher at the local library the other day..spoke good English like what I do...asked would I come to her school and help teach English? I said I cannot without work permit...(phew).... says oh yes and took my phone no..maybe I can come visit anyway it would be good for children because they never get to use it....that is the crux with rural kids.

Did not we all get taught a second language at school and then forgot it unless we actually traveled to a locale where it was needed?

I learned French in a British school and several years later ended up in rural Quebec ...(largely non anglophones)..amazing what you learn quick smart.

Think at one time the air traffic controllers in Montreal wanted to use Quebecois French..that got knocked on the head of course.

I've never been asked to teach, I've been ordered to teach but never asked. Reasons like "I'm an engineer not a teacher." just don't seem to work. The visa one is the only one that does.

[mackes]

There can't be effective learning without discipline first.

What about motivation?

[noitom]

Thai university students never learn to "organize their thinking" - They never learn to properly analyze the writing and then develop an intelligent approach to respond. They aren't taught to think. So the English skills they are taught by rote and rules don't mean a thing when they deal with the real world. Many of the university students are fairly competent at reading English. They understand much of it, but they don't "comprehend." Thai society, educators, and government officials are merely repeating the same thing expecting the results to be different.

In response to this editorial, "linguistics" is the study of language form, meaning and context. Thai teaching focuses little or nothing on true meaning and context. Therefore Thai students never really grasp how to put English into practice. This "thinking" gap is a Thai cultural deficiency. Thais are not encouraged to explore and understand anything outside the Thai experience. It is the culture of "Thainess" that blocks their advancement in English. Of course, Thai teachers and foreign teachers should be upgraded. They should hire more people with practical business and organizational experience and not just English grammar and literature education, but rather what did they do with it in real life. Current Thai English teaching standards in Thailand are abysmal. Compensation needs to be upgraded as well.

[scorecard]

The problem isn't necessarily that all Thais should learn English.

It's that the ones that do decide to learn English should be able to learn from better qualified English teachers.

Agreed and I add some further points.

We all hear again and again:

- It's very difficult for Thai English teachers to teach English, etc etc.

Let's make a few quick comparisons:

- The Phillipines learned decades ago how to itegrate English into early development and by the end of Primary School 95% of the population speak pretty good English (with an accent but that's not the real point here), and it's all pretty painless.

- Plus there are dozens of other countries who use the same model. Just one more example is Colombia in South America - integrated into early learning and by the end of primary school a large percenateg of the population speak pretty good English. All pretty painless.

- China. I spent many years going in and out of China on projects. A large school complex close to my Shanghai office was been 'redeveloped' probably 15 years ago, to focus on the development of English listening and speaking skills. There are dozens of class groups, every day of the week, daytime and well into the evening, and they have redeveloped some of the methodology to incorporate mass practice sessions and it brings quick and good results, plus some fun, and pretty painless, and close to free. China is also quickly intregarting English into early learning (similar to the examples above).

Thailand needs to urgently get past the mental road block of 'it's too difficult'.

Edited April 2, 2012 by scorecard

[Om85]

Honestly I don't care, but I would prefer that Thais stop learning English(I speak Thai thought) at all because it will increase my chances to get a good and nice payed job

Edited April 2, 2012 by Om85

[dominique355]

If any of you readers would like to DO something, rather than complain and know it better, here is an idea:

For a couple of years I have been organizing and raising funds to support English teachers from rural Tahiland to come to Bangkok and follow an intensive, 3-week course at the Language Institute of Thammasat University (LITU).

For this year I have been able to collect funds for 84 English teachers. (84th birthday of HM)

The OBEC also supports this program by supplying lodging, food, transportation and a per diem.

My group pays for the language course, THB 8,000 per teacher or about THB 700,000 in total.

Anyone who is interested in supporting, please PM me. Everly help, no matter how big, is appreciated.

[Scott]

A troll post has been removed.

[Scott]

Post critical of spelling and grammar deleted.

Please stay on the topic of the OP.

[trainman34014]

Well; I can only relate to what my Thai wife has told me about how and why she learned English. Firstly; she wanted to travel outside of the Thailand/Laos/Cambodia region and was aware that she would not be able to do so, other than escorted tours with dozens of others. At School, back in the 70's she had not been taught one word of any other language than Thai and, she says more than half of the kids that came out of School, including her own Sister, could not read or write properly. Indeed; some could not read or write at all. Working in a Hospital environment she had picked up some bits and pieces of English from patients and also listened to English music and watched English speaking movie's a lot. This gave her the impetus to go to proper lessons but she soon found that the Native Thai teacher was only interested in taking all the money for the course up front and then handing out pieces of paper with a few questions on and telling the students to come back the next week with them filled in. He would then tick or cross the answers but would hardly discuss any mistakes and would not hold 'talking' sessions. After a month of getting almost nowhere she signed up with a British teacher who taught her more in a month than the first guy would have done in a year.

In all it took her about two years to be able to communicate reasonably well and feel confident enough to travel to Malaysia, Korea and Hong Kong. Since we met she has, of course, been able to travel much further afield and is now a very confident English speaker. All her family and friends are proud of her for what she has achieved but jealousy shows through as well, and she is constantly asked by friends who want Farang Husbands to 'fix them up'. She always tells them to learn English themselves and find their own. Her view of Thai people, when it comes to education, is that the majority of them are lazy and do not have the mental strength to study properly. Many sign up for lessons but drop out after a few weeks because they seem to think they should be able to learn all they need to know very quickly. She believes that by now Thai Schools should be teaching small children the basics of English from the first day at School and follow what is being done in China and other nations. However; she is fully aware that education is powerful and that the Thai Elite are determined to keep the masses where they want them !

[MaxLee]

There can't be effective learning without discipline first.

What about motivation?

That anyway. Students' motivation for learning is zero for most of them, from the day they were born because they are spoon fed by their parents. That way kids don't learn how to think and solve problems.

Edited April 2, 2012 by MaxLee

[mackes]

There can't be effective learning without discipline first.

What about motivation?

That anyway. Students' motivation for learning is zero for most of them, from the day they were born because they are spoon fed by their parents. That way kids don't learn how to think and solve problems.

Maybe it could be a good idea to start with building up motivation, I was educated under the disciplinary era (50: 60:s) and I my experience is that discipline does not work without motivation. The good thing about disciplin is that you give the already motivated kids a fair chance to study and don't let the unmotivated spoil the class.