After 13 years in Thailand working in government and private schools, and following the arguments over the years, I have to conclude that government and private sector pressure to teach English in all schools is misplaced.

The only people who need to speak English at all really are those who need to engage with non-Thai speakers frequently and regularly. These people constitute a very small percentage of Thai society, and school may not be the best place for them to learn it.

Most people who are to be placed in occupations that require regular and frequent use of English can attain the necessary language skills in specialized institutions and programs that build on the motivation of these learners to do well and do well quickly. This motivation derives from the fact that English is essential to their present job or their future career and the rewards for competency in the language are clear and substantial.

Institutions providing language instruction for these motivated learners can ensure the availability of well-qualified and competent instructors, state of the art material and digital resources, and they can have a clear mission and focus on necessary and attainable objectives. No time would be lost on all the non-related activities that Thai schools are required to provide. And the cost of providing specialized language instruction under optimal conditions can be met by (1) the government, which will be saving on English teachers’ salaries currently largely wasted in school programs around the country, and (2) the buying-in of these services by the private sector which employs the graduates from them.

Of course a small minority of schools should still offer bilingual and/or strong English programs. In the government sector, these schools can be tagged for special forms of support and the students selected by language competency and/or aptitude tests. The private sector, in turn, will respond to consumer demand, and if the quality of programs offered is not adequate parents can vote with their feet. However, neither the government nor the private sector will be required to conduct programs in response to constant government and business declarations to the effect that all Thai children need to be competent in English. The Minister of Education can take advice as to the number and locations of schools that need to offer solid English programs and ensure that they are supported and maintain high standards. There is no need for other schools to require students to learn English, though some may elect to do so, if they can, as one of a number of language options.

In any case, none of the exhortations of government ministers or industry spokesmen have had any effect anyway. Thailand still has a very poor record of English language development overall. And yet we know there are some schools – elite government schools and some very successful private bilingual schools – that do produce M6 graduates who mostly do have a strong foundation in English and are able to enter higher education courses and then occupations that require English. These schools are a small minority, even in Bangkok and Chiangmai, and they are attended largely by the children of prosperous and/or upwardly mobile families.

Those who place equity, or equality, at the centre of their values criteria for education policy will be asking what happens to the less well off, to the poor and non-urban students in a scheme where only some government schools are tagged as centres of excellence for English, and private schools respond solely to demand. Unfortunately, trying to teach English to all and sundry for the sake of upholding equity ideals is like spreading the contents of a 500-pound bomb over a football field and trying to set it off. It has minimal or no impact. Concentrating its explosive power in a small container, however, has the opposite effect: maximum impact.

The country has to decide whether to continue throwing good money after bad so that everyone can feel good about themselves or to try seriously to attain some objectives in accruing an adequate pool of really competent English speakers. It can only do so by having clear and attainable objectives and by concentrating its resources and efforts on those people and institutions that can attain those objectives.

It’s time to stop throwing good money after bad and to shake off the English obsession and the short-lived slogans and proclamations that go with it. Thailand will do fine as long as it grows enough and has things to sell and a small but competent cadre of good English speakers. The country has more central and important matters to attend to than trying to force English down the throats of unwilling students.

IMO a very short sighted view to a real issue, Thailand boarders are not walled.

I've always wondered why it's considered necessary to teach English to children who are going to finish up working in a 7/11 in Khorat or planting rice and who are never going to meet anyone who they need to speak English to. They should teach English to those who want to learn it in the same way that they teach foreign languages in the UK. Just because we all speak English here doesn't mean that the rest of the world needs to.

Didn't one Thai official suggest not long ago that girls should marry westerners? They need a foreign language to do that and English is the most widely spoken.

Mandarin has 3 times as many speakers as English and, given the geography, would probably be much more useful.

I've always wondered why it's considered necessary to teach English to children who are going to finish up working in a 7/11 in Khorat or planting rice and who are never going to meet anyone who they need to speak English to. They should teach English to those who want to learn it in the same way that they teach foreign languages in the UK. Just because we all speak English here doesn't mean that the rest of the world needs to.

Teaching children what they want to learn has never been the way to educate and it never will be. Children don't know what skills they will need in the future. They don't know what areas they are stronger in (math, languages, science, etc) that's what school is for IMO...to give them a range of skills and determine what they are good at.

English may not have to be the language but it is the one that offers the best opportunities if the child's future involves dealing with foreigners from a wide variety of counties. Mandarin would be a great choice if the Thai child never expected to leave the region. But that a kid working at a 7-11 in Khorat or planting rice may not need English, but with English skills he will have more options open to him than working at 7-11 in Khorat or planting rice. I certainly don't need to know Mandarin/German/Japanese/Swahili but if I did, I would have more options.

I've always wondered why it's considered necessary to teach English to children who are going to finish up working in a 7/11 in Khorat or planting rice and who are never going to meet anyone who they need to speak English to. They should teach English to those who want to learn it in the same way that they teach foreign languages in the UK. Just because we all speak English here doesn't mean that the rest of the world needs to.

The trouble is, you can't be sure where a child is going to end up. I wouldn't like to see an elite which is elite precisely because it is English-speaking.

In my schooldays, French was compulsory, but that's a long while ago!

Isn't English the main language of ASEAN? If so, Thailand should not be allowed to lag behind the other ASEAN countries.

I agree Mandarin is a reasonable alternative, and that kids (or their parents) should have the choice which. This will only be possible in a limited number of schools, though.

The real problem is the whole Thai teaching attitude.... and this is a major drawback in all but the best Thai schools. Teacher is always right, but as teacher does not speak English well himself, he will only teach grammar, which can be corrected at leisure. The fact that he often gets that wrong too is an ironic comment on their attitude.

I taught English at a Thai university, and then ran a scholarship scheme which involved visiting many schools and talking to many teachers, students, and students' families. Most of this had to be done through an interpreter because even the English teachers would often refuse to speak English. Do you think Mandarin teachers would be any better? Native teacher speakers can help, but are often hampered by the attitude of the Thai teachers working in the same school with them... or the head teachers.

In the university where I worked, I worked hard to get an oral component into their beloved exams. It was tried for a couple of terms, I think, but shouted down by the Thai majority because they couldn't assess it. Exams are so important to Thai teachers that nothing (such as oral skills) will be taught unless it can be examined.

language skills will open the door to opportunity and allow the child to explore places beyound rice fields, gas stations and 7/11 I would go so far as to say a Thai who was a poor student in academics that masters English could do better in business and earn more money than a Thai that only speaks Thai and did well in studies.

Altho i in my youth was complaining & protesting loudly when i was forced to learn english,

i'm happy they did force me through that shit now that it turned out i ended up in a foreign country.

Yes, the 'teacher is always right' attitude desperately needs to go out the <deleted> door.