Fluency In English Necessary For A E C

[sirchai]

if they have their heart in the right place, plus some training, especially in classroom management, the can be successful. There certainly is no need for western teacher qualifications to teach conversation, or even basic grammar, for that matter.

I think that's probably true (I have worked in the past as a TEFLer and still do on occasion so I know a little about this) but the problem is that you still need a way of weeding out the perverts, the alcoholics and the incompetent and the current regulations do do that to a certain extent. They're not perfect but I'd rather have the current set up than some kind of free-for-all. Actually, given the choice, I'd use far more Filipinos who, in my experience, make an excellent replacement for the overpaid white face at the front of the class.

If you want to learn Thai, wouldn't you prefer to learn it from a Thai? There are already too many Filipinos in Thailand, working as English teachers.Some of them- just in my own personal opinion- are not very good at English, in spoken and written form.

Don't you think it's changing everything, when you're going to another country, to make money for your poor family?

Haven't seen many of them "teaching" kids how to speak English. You could also hire some cheep Burmese guys to let them color some stuff. Many of them are racist and do not have a problem to let you white face know that.

Many "white faced, not really overpaid" guys are actually doing a very good job and they spent their salaries here, while the others are sending most of it back to their country.

Too many are only in for the money, while those with Thai wives and kids live a similar life like Thais do.

Edited December 5, 2012 by sirchai

[richard10365]

Perhaps Nation University can demonstrate their commitment to an English Education by putting their website in English.

http://www.nation-u.com/2554/

[NeverSure]

Teaching is not something everyone can do. It is a profession and requires professionals. The countries that top the education rankings, like Finland and South Korea recognise this.

There is a lot of truth to this, but teaching is a talent. Regardless of education, some people can't teach.

For instance, could you teach someone to be a concert pianist just because you had a degree in music? No, but a concert pianist with no degree might. He'd have a better chance, especially if he had a gift of, and loved teaching. He might have learned his skills from other accomplished pianists who also had no degrees. He might just have two big gifts; one on the piano and the other to teach. Some highly gifted people in history were concert level pianists by the time they were early teenagers, learned from a parent or family friend who knew.

I know the example is extreme, but I make the point that you need both; the knowledge of the subject and the gift of teaching. Where we have a gift (talent) we tend to have a love.

[sirchai]

Teaching is not something everyone can do. It is a profession and requires professionals. The countries that top the education rankings, like Finland and South Korea recognise this.

There is a lot of truth to this, but teaching is a talent. Regardless of education, some people can't teach.

For instance, could you teach someone to be a concert pianist just because you had a degree in music? No, but a concert pianist with no degree might. He'd have a better chance, especially if he had a gift of, and loved teaching. He might have learned his skills from other accomplished pianists who also had no degrees. He might just have two big gifts; one on the piano and the other to teach. Some highly gifted people in history were concert level pianists by the time they were early teenagers, learned from a parent or family friend who knew.

I know the example is extreme, but I make the point that you need both; the knowledge of the subject and the gift of teaching. Where we have a gift (talent) we tend to have a love.

Honestly, some good points. Being a native speaker of a language alone, doesn't do the trick. Best example is my wife. Her Thai is very good, but she could never teach her own language to others, including me. I prefer to learn it somewhere else.

[Rhys]

Perhaps if the Thai English teachers noted the comment made by Michael Swan and David Baker regarding grammar their students might just actually start to comprehend and actually start to speak English.

Remember :grammar is not the only part of a language that has to be learnt and practised; it is not even the most important part. Don't get obsessed with correctness; otherwise you will just end up learning grammar instead of learning English.

page vii Grammar Scan: Micheal Swan and David Baker.

The main object for me and my or rather our teaching staff is to get people actually communicating in English with confidence then we can start to polish up the grammar side of things

While I'm not an english teacher, I would say that a major problem is that Thais don't read enough, even in their own language. Kids who learn to read from an early age, and every day, will have far fewer problems with learning grammar rules later on...on top of that they also need to be listening to a lot more english - not some Thai teacher blabbering on in Thai for 95% of their English class. My 9 year old son makes occasional grammar errors when speaking, but not too many...he never learned the rules, he just learned normal grammar structures from listening to english in use.

If the government is serious, they should relax qualifications and teacher licencing requirements for native speakers to work in government schools. Who needs to be a qualified teacher from the west to teach conversation? Put them through a TEFL course that will teach them how to teach conversation; that should be enough. That's a short term solution, but in the long term, the Thai education system needs some substantial work to train its Thai teachers to teach English properly - perhaps some financial incentives for talented Thais who are naturally competent in English, to become teachers. After all, most Thais fluent in English don't work in schools - they head for greener pastures.

Correct assessment: Now this AEC ball of wax, provides justifications and incentives for the already egress of Thailand's medical professional: MDs and RNs with superior English Communication skills.

Edited December 15, 2012 by Rhys

[jambco984]

if they have their heart in the right place, plus some training, especially in classroom management, the can be successful. There certainly is no need for western teacher qualifications to teach conversation, or even basic grammar, for that matter.

I think that's probably true (I have worked in the past as a TEFLer and still do on occasion so I know a little about this) but the problem is that you still need a way of weeding out the perverts, the alcoholics and the incompetent and the current regulations do do that to a certain extent. They're not perfect but I'd rather have the current set up than some kind of free-for-all. Actually, given the choice, I'd use far more Filipinos who, in my experience, make an excellent replacement for the overpaid white face at the front of the class.

If you want to learn Thai, wouldn't you prefer to learn it from a Thai? There are already too many Filipinos in Thailand, working as English teachers.Some of them- just in my own personal opinion- are not very good at English, in spoken and written form.

Don't you think it's changing everything, when you're going to another country, to make money for your poor family?

Haven't seen many of them "teaching" kids how to speak English. You could also hire some cheep Burmese guys to let them color some stuff. Many of them are racist and do not have a problem to let you white face know that.

Many "white faced, not really overpaid" guys are actually doing a very good job and they spent their salaries here, while the others are sending most of it back to their country.

Too many are only in for the money, while those with Thai wives and kids live a similar life like Thais do.

Well said.

Im with you on this one.

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