Eduction Ministry Pushes Chinese Language

[george]

Ministry pushes Chinese language

BANGKOK: -- The Education Ministry has signed an agreement with China to promote the study of the Chinese language, which is expected to be fully integrated into the education system by 2011. Potjana Wongtrakul, inspector-general of the Education Ministry, said the ministry had developed a five-year plan beginning this year to promote the study of Chinese. It is hoped about 500,000 high school students, 170,000 students from vocational institutes and 400,000 university undergraduates will achieve an acceptable standard of proficiency. This represents about 20% of students, respectively, from each group.

The plan also aims to encourage members of the workforce to learn the language as it could prove a useful communication medium and boost career prospects.

Local businessmen, however, say Thailand is years behind other Asian countries in promoting Chinese language learning.

Mrs Potjana was speaking at a seminar on Friday on the promotion of Chinese studies. She said a national panel would implement the plan, which would include people from the public and private sectors and Chinese language experts.

Centres promoting the study of Chinese would open in Bangkok and other parts of the country. Study and assessments would be strictly controlled.

Research would be carried out in collaboration with educational institutions in China, which would include a curriculum developed with the latest learning formats, educational media and technology.

The abilities of lecturers would be evaluated in line with China's standard appraisal of language proficiency. An online curriculum database and language centre would also be made available to the teachers.

An agreement was signed at the seminar between the Education Ministry and Hanban, China's national language institute, to develop the teaching of Chinese. Zhang Xinsheng, China's deputy education minister, witnessed the signing ceremony.

Under the agreement, Hanban will help set the criteria in selecting schools to experiment with its newly-developed textbooks. The copyright on its Thai-language textbook, Happy Chinese, would be transferred to the Education Ministry for use in schools.

Hanban and the Education Ministry would hold an intensive three-month training course, which would reach 1,000 local teachers of Chinese. Participants would spend two months in China, with the remainder of the course being carried out locally.

The institute would also provide 100 scholarships a year to help young teachers further their studies up to bachelor degree level in China. A group of 500 volunteer teachers from China would be dispatched to help teach the language, beginning this year.

Mr Zhang said the country had introduced formal Chinese language learning rather late compared with Japan, South Korea and other countries.

There are about 20,000 Chinese language schools in Japan, 40,000 in South Korea and 10,000 in the United States.

''Although Thailand is relatively late in joining the scene, I'm confident the country has the vision required for developing Chinese language learning, which will help it catch up with other countries or even leapfrog them before long ,'' he said.

Kosak Chairasmisak, president of 7-Eleven Co, said language proficiency itself was not enough. Emphasis should also be placed on other aspects such as culture, beliefs and the value system of the Chinese people, he said.

''There are very few people with a deep understanding of the Chinese language. A lack of in-depth and all-round knowledge could hinder investment and competitiveness.

''Chinese language study here is lagging behind neighbouring countries in the region.'' he said.

--Bangkok Post 2006-01-16

[thaivisitor]

What can I say? A d*** good start to the year 2006.

Edited January 16, 2006 by thaivisitor

[Thai-Aust]

Is this because the PM is a Chinese-Thai and most of the high profile miniters are Chinese-Thai?

What's the benefit of learning Chinese? To be able to learn from the Chinese how to copy stuff?

I don't want to see Thailand as "Little China".

[tavarich]

How far in the worlds airports could a Thai get if they were asking questions in Chinese?????

[astral]

Is this to become another "official" language, like Malay?

A good step towards the United States of Asia.

[PeaceBlondie]

First I'll issue my standard warning: BEWARE, THIS IS YET ANOTHER, RIDICULOUS, UNFOUNDED, GRANDIOSE CLAIM BY THE GOVT. OF THAILAND. IGNORE IT.

Then, I got to thinking. They're actually going to take real money, Thai baht, out of the treasury, start a program through the Ministry of Education, let all the functionaries get higher salaries to plan something that will never happen, and then they're going to select 1,000 local Thai teachers who don't speak Chinese yet? Those teachers will spend two months in China, learning to speak a most difficult language that in place of an alphabet of merely 60 to 75 characters, contains between ten thousand and 25 trillion characters? No way, Jose. No chance, Ponsapance.

[Phil Conners]

TIT. Leave logic at the door.

As someone already said, Chinese already run this country, this merely confirms it.

[Hermano Lobo]

Ah-ha Khun Chairman Thaksin, the man with big politcal ideas, a broad agenda.

He was the man who was going to buy Liverpool Football Club with his own money but had to start a lottery to fund the scheme !

The Chinese, yet another delicate ,refined tourist. I well remember them in a restaurant in Pattaya.

Spitting on the floor, shouting at one another. Putting their feet on the table and picking their noses.

Eating with their hands and throwing food about like Henry VIII !

I remember the Chinese ladies on my Thai Airways flight to Bangkok. Just before take off smoking in the toilet and setting of alarms. Then swearing blind at the steward it was not them.

"What's this then?" Said the steward as he held a spent match up to them.

All bows and articficial smiles.

The steward was annoyed and so was I. We both work in aviation.

As the seats usually don't face each other in aircraft the Chinese were not able to rest their

feet there shoes and all. The seat back table was too close.

Edited January 18, 2006 by Hermano Lobo

[phuketsiam]

yeah the chinese are lovely people, however they will soon be the economic powerhouse of asia and then maybe the world, so thats the reasoning, you you now the chinees have more money everyone is forgetting their human rights record, the environmental damage they do, i'm just glad they don't have any oil else the western nations would have their tongues so far up .....

[Hermano Lobo]

Free Tibet !

[Heng]

It has already been liberated by the PLA.

Thailand has been liberated by the Teochiu and Hokkien Chinese.

Resistance is futile.

[phuketsiam]

Heng is borg

[Heng]

We are Heng.

[jrincon17]

We are Heng.

You think they would try to push the english language .

[englishoak]

If they think learning English is tough.

[penzman]

We are Heng.

You think they would try to push the english language .

I bet you could convince them that morse code will be the "in thing" in a few years.