Thailand's education to be uplifted ahead of the AEC

[BrianCR]

"Thailand's education to be uplifted ahead of the AEC" - right! that has uplifted that now, time for lunch!

[Suffinator]

Just read this article - they should clean up their act if they want to improve education.

Foreign Teacher Scam in Thailand

[The Usual Suspect]

The education minister is promising to accomplish this monumental task in less than two years. How typically Thai. And just how does he intend to implement this program? Perhaps he will appropriate all of the crystal meth that the police confiscate in their drug busts to fuel the effort. I have the feeling that the Thai Ministry of Education is going to lose a major piece of face on this one.

[bangon04]

It's quite simple.. the rich and powerful will continue to educate their kids overseas . The Thai policy of protectionism and anti-foreign competition will be maintained regardless of any ASEAN requirements. Thai kids will continue to be taught that Thailand is superior to all its neighbours. oh and there will be 10 minute ASEAN propaganda slots on TV every day.

What is the problem?

[thaicbr]

We heard all this a few months back in a previous post by the Education Minister.

And I suppose in a few months time we'll hear the same again.

Which one there have been 4 or 5 in the last 2 years of Phua Thai and ALL of them have been 'The RIGHT people" for the job...... for a few months.

[allan michaud]

Absolutely hysterical on so many levels. I am lost for words.

Oh look it's a flying pig!

[hellodolly]

Well he was right about needing improving. But I fail to see where

"In his speech on the kingdom's readiness for the AEC in terms of education, Minister Jaturon said that the move crucially needs to promote understanding about ASEAN among the personnel in the education field."

Is going to teach any one how to add 1+1=2 with out a calculator.

In fact I saw nothing about basic education. Like teach the student how to use logic how to find out information on his own instead of just memorizing a lot of stuff. Teach them the basics.

I find this article to be repulsive considering the previous minister said the system needed an over haul and this one agreed with him and look what he proposes.

[Nooky2]

I'm afraid that this is a dream that would never come true in this lifetime.

Consider the following;

1. The chosen neutral language for the AEC is English.

2. One would have to change the whole curriculum.

3. 70% of the Thai teachers cannot speak English.

4. 20% of the Thai teachers speak grammatically wrong English.

5. 10% of the Thai Teachers speak acceptable English, but have no logic.

(Theoretically this means that over 90% of the Thai teachers would have to be replaced.)

Now comes the difficult part

Would it be an American or British Curriculum?

You say its almost the same! No it isn't

1. word pronunciation is different.

2. Spelling is different, i.e. Words ending in our in British end in or in American so do re, ce, in British, become aer and ase in American. and many more.

3. the word stress is different.

5. the same words have different meanings

6. etc., etc., etc.

Actually there is a vast difference in American and British when it comes to education, so much so that they can be considered as two different languages.

One must ask oneself in the AEC do the majority follow the British or American curriculum

Excellent point. I haven't seen any discussion on that topic.

But if Thailand or the AEC should decide on one or the other, then the teachers coming from the unselected country would not have much use here. I have seen Brits teach from an American curriculum/books and completely reject it as improper.

There is no American language, they use a version of English called "American English" why is beyond me, most of the rest of the world are content with the original, some of the grammatical errors would not be made in an English Primary school, but thats the route the former colonists have taken and from what I have observed here many Thais seem to have followed blindly down this route as well, they will probably end up with a new version which will be called "transpacific English" Just what the world has been waiting for!

Thank you for making my point of the Brits point of view.

"most of the rest of the world". Could you please identify the most of the rest of the world?

Edited September 2, 2013 by Nooky2

[kirk0233]

I'm afraid that this is a dream that would never come true in this lifetime.

Consider the following;

1. The chosen neutral language for the AEC is English.

2. One would have to change the whole curriculum.

3. 70% of the Thai teachers cannot speak English.

4. 20% of the Thai teachers speak grammatically wrong English.

5. 10% of the Thai Teachers speak acceptable English, but have no logic.

(Theoretically this means that over 90% of the Thai teachers would have to be replaced.)

Now comes the difficult part

Would it be an American or British Curriculum?

You say its almost the same! No it isn't

1. word pronunciation is different.

2. Spelling is different, i.e. Words ending in our in British end in or in American so do re, ce, in British, become aer and ase in American. and many more.

3. the word stress is different.

5. the same words have different meanings

6. etc., etc., etc.

Actually there is a vast difference in American and British when it comes to education, so much so that they can be considered as two different languages.

One must ask oneself in the AEC do the majority follow the British or American curriculum

Excellent point. I haven't seen any discussion on that topic.

But if Thailand or the AEC should decide on one or the other, then the teachers coming from the unselected country would not have much use here. I have seen Brits teach from an American curriculum/books and completely reject it as improper.

Sounds like British self-importance. A slight deviation from British English is considered another language? I suppose the Thai should thoroughly debate the "fries" or "chips" issue before immersing themselves in the study of English. One wrong word would end in a different language.

[Nooky2]

I learned something interesting. I heard a Thai teacher state to Thai students that there is American accent, British accent, and Thai accent. These are all English accents. So what they were saying was the Thai English with all it's errant grammar and mispronunciation is merely a Thai English accent.

Amazing.

[umbanda]

I'm afraid that this is a dream that would never come true in this lifetime.

Consider the following;

1. The chosen neutral language for the AEC is English.

2. One would have to change the whole curriculum.

3. 70% of the Thai teachers cannot speak English.

4. 20% of the Thai teachers speak grammatically wrong English.

5. 10% of the Thai Teachers speak acceptable English, but have no logic.

(Theoretically this means that over 90% of the Thai teachers would have to be replaced.)

Now comes the difficult part

Would it be an American or British Curriculum?

You say its almost the same! No it isn't

1. word pronunciation is different.

2. Spelling is different, i.e. Words ending in our in British end in or in American so do re, ce, in British, become aer and ase in American. and many more.

3. the word stress is different.

5. the same words have different meanings

6. etc., etc., etc.

Actually there is a vast difference in American and British when it comes to education, so much so that they can be considered as two different languages.

One must ask oneself in the AEC do the majority follow the British or American curriculum

Why this differences are important to teach English to Thai students?....They will speak in Thanglish anyway! Try to make them to say RICE in proper English...

[NeverSure]

I'm afraid that this is a dream that would never come true in this lifetime.

Consider the following;

1. The chosen neutral language for the AEC is English.

2. One would have to change the whole curriculum.

3. 70% of the Thai teachers cannot speak English.

4. 20% of the Thai teachers speak grammatically wrong English.

5. 10% of the Thai Teachers speak acceptable English, but have no logic.

(Theoretically this means that over 90% of the Thai teachers would have to be replaced.)

Now comes the difficult part

Would it be an American or British Curriculum?

You say its almost the same! No it isn't

1. word pronunciation is different.

2. Spelling is different, i.e. Words ending in our in British end in or in American so do re, ce, in British, become aer and ase in American. and many more.

3. the word stress is different.

5. the same words have different meanings

6. etc., etc., etc.

Actually there is a vast difference in American and British when it comes to education, so much so that they can be considered as two different languages.

One must ask oneself in the AEC do the majority follow the British or American curriculum

Excellent point. I haven't seen any discussion on that topic.

But if Thailand or the AEC should decide on one or the other, then the teachers coming from the unselected country would not have much use here. I have seen Brits teach from an American curriculum/books and completely reject it as improper.

There is no American language, they use a version of English called "American English" why is beyond me, most of the rest of the world are content with the original, some of the grammatical errors would not be made in an English Primary school, but thats the route the former colonists have taken and from what I have observed here many Thais seem to have followed blindly down this route as well, they will probably end up with a new version which will be called "transpacific English" Just what the world has been waiting for!

You have it backwards. American English is the language of international trade. America has the world's 3rd largest population behind only China and India. American English is the language of the internet which is what will really render British English obsolete. The internet is what will guarantee that English will be the international language.

The internet and by far most common web sites are in American English. Google, Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube, Wikipedia, Amazon, MSN, Ebay, Twitter, Bing, CraigsList, Wordpress, AOL, Ask, Linkdin, plus software such as Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, anti-virus programs, Office - All American. And I could go on and on.

Some things do become obsolete over time you know, even if they were at one time "the original." We no longer use ice boxes. We use refrigerators.

[Scott]

A discussion of which country's brand of English is best, is completely off-topic and will result in your post getting deleted.

[Emdog]

I am an American, and have no problem whatsoever understanding British English. I have learnt (learned-American) the few differences, but none of them amount to a hill of baked beans on my English breakfast. Don't recall who said it, but struck me funny: "USA and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language" or something like that. Back to subject.... as long as exposing teachers and systems that are incompetent, unskilled and ignorant is unacceptable due to loss of "face", nothing will change for the better.

[nong38]

Just read this article - they should clean up their act if they want to improve education.

Foreign Teacher Scam in Thailand

Meebal, I saw another report of thers about amazing Thailand and in the related bits and bobs further revalations about the worlds most successful education system. Its all very sad really, the students suffer, people who want to help are fleeced and the repuation of the country gets dragged through the dirt. Its strange that we know about this but the authorities apparently dont or turn a deaf eye to it.

[culicine]

Most are missing the point here - the style of english adopted is completely irrelevant. I'll be happy to see Thais speaking competently in ANY form of english in the next 20 yeas or so. Forget 3 years to AEC. Totally impossible - start teaching kids as young as possible by fluent english speakers - in all subjects, not just english language; Thai Japanese, American, whatever.....By 6th grade students will be much more competent than nearly all university students currently are. That's my observation after 12 years teaching here.

[UbonOz]

What do they say, "too little, too late".

They should have realized the importance of this years ago, but unfortunately due to the lack of foresight from all past and present governments this never happened.

What do they say:

"Better to be two years too early than a second too late."

[Bagwan]

Thailand = Fawlty Towers.

I am from Thailand. I know nothing.

[Sunderland]

And first thing they did was changing the start date of the semester. What a great start.

They are so disorganized that they can't even make up their mind if they have done that yet. Should take a maximum of 2 hours to sit around a table and agree dates for next year. They still haven't made a firm decision on this as of two weeks ago.

[Sunderland]

Another hopeful statement made by people with long names and titles. Means nothing without any real planning or action.

Feel sorry for many of the kids who would benefit if only their 'masters' would allow their education system to flourish.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed.

[nong38]

Most are missing the point here - the style of english adopted is completely irrelevant. I'll be happy to see Thais speaking competently in ANY form of english in the next 20 yeas or so. Forget 3 years to AEC. Totally impossible - start teaching kids as young as possible by fluent english speakers - in all subjects, not just english language; Thai Japanese, American, whatever.....By 6th grade students will be much more competent than nearly all university students currently are. That's my observation after 12 years teaching here.

What would be of immense value to Thai students would be to practice conversational English to overcome their tradtional shyness, they are afraid of making a mistake and losing face. I have offered to go to many schools to sit and converse for an hour or two, but it I never get the call because the "English Head" is afraid of losing face, how do you change this part of the culture?

[Bosse137]

I was once introduced to a member of my wife`s family,who is an "English teacher".I was asked to have a conversation with her,but could not understand a word she said.Through my wife I told her so (a bit rude of me..).Her answer was:My students understand when I talk to them in English.

[rametindallas]

Non of this matters as Education Minister Jaturon won't be around after the next cabinet reshuffle. No minister is allowed to even try to change the system. Even if he were to stay around long enough, the embedded bureaucracy won't implement the changes. A couple of years after the AEC is installed and Thailand is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is falling behind, maybe, just maybe some serious action will be taken. As usual, it will be too little, too late. Until that time, all statements are just good PR.

[Anon999]

I'm afraid that this is a dream that would never come true in this lifetime.

Consider the following;

1. The chosen neutral language for the AEC is English.

2. One would have to change the whole curriculum.

3. 70% of the Thai teachers cannot speak English.

4. 20% of the Thai teachers speak grammatically wrong English.

5. 10% of the Thai Teachers speak acceptable English, but have no logic.

(Theoretically this means that over 90% of the Thai teachers would have to be replaced.)

Now comes the difficult part

Would it be an American or British Curriculum?

You say its almost the same! No it isn't

1. word pronunciation is different.

2. Spelling is different, i.e. Words ending in our in British end in or in American so do re, ce, in British, become aer and ase in American. and many more.

3. the word stress is different.

5. the same words have different meanings

6. etc., etc., etc.

Actually there is a vast difference in American and British when it comes to education, so much so that they can be considered as two different languages.

One must ask oneself in the AEC do the majority follow the British or American curriculum

From personal experience going back to 1987 when I met my Thai wife in England, her spelling and written English were reasonable, however, her spoken English was non-existent. After he finished High School her son came to join us in 1991 and the same applied. However, both of them were quick to pick up English to a very good level and by the time he took his exams prior to leaving school her son wondered why the natives were so stupid as many failed their English. My wife who was head chef in a Thai restaurant often had to correct the English and the spelling of the South African couple who were the managers. Certainly all of the Thais, many, many, I know who have lived in England for a while, speak good English. It does not take them long when they are confronted with it every day.

Currently her younger daughter is studying for a BEd in English, having won a place in a BKK Uni and her spoken English is very good, with still 3 years to completion. We do not have any conversational problems when she is at home. However, her tutor is a native English speaker.

The major problem apart from the above covered by Mampara is that a when Thai speaks English everything is back to front, cart before the horse syndrome. They often find it difficult to overcome it.

Given the will to hire native English speakers for an attractive salary the problem could be partially resolved quite quickly. However, 35k even up here in Isaan is not enough. The money could be made available as borrowing a couple of trillion doesn't seem to present a problem! As the saying goes you only get what you pay for.

[Bagwan]

I am an American, and have no problem whatsoever understanding British English. I have learnt (learned-American) the few differences, but none of them amount to a hill of baked beans on my English breakfast. Don't recall who said it, but struck me funny: "USA and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language" or something like that. Back to subject.... as long as exposing teachers and systems that are incompetent, unskilled and ignorant is unacceptable due to loss of "face", nothing will change for the better.

Winston Spencer Churchill, also attributed to Oscar Wilde and GBS.

For separated read divided.

[culicine]

Most are missing the point here - the style of english adopted is completely irrelevant. I'll be happy to see Thais speaking competently in ANY form of english in the next 20 yeas or so. Forget 3 years to AEC. Totally impossible - start teaching kids as young as possible by fluent english speakers - in all subjects, not just english language; Thai Japanese, American, whatever.....By 6th grade students will be much more competent than nearly all university students currently are. That's my observation after 12 years teaching here.

What would be of immense value to Thai students would be to practice conversational English to overcome their tradtional shyness, they are afraid of making a mistake and losing face. I have offered to go to many schools to sit and converse for an hour or two, but it I never get the call because the "English Head" is afraid of losing face, how do you change this part of the culture?

Face is one issue and it will take a long time to overcome that....having native speakers teaching kids is the way forward as then the face issue (at least for the teachers) does not exist. Teaching methods can then be used to reduce face loss of kids. get them to do small group work rather than present something to the whole class. When Thais see learning english as more important than the issue of face, then maybe we can move forward. Learning english has been considered as minor in educational circles (math/thai have much higher credit weightings, in schools). This needs to change. It's obvious that one period a week with a Thai teacher who can't speak english is close to useless. Some say they can teach grammar - maybe some can, but a lot are not good at that too. The government really needs to get serious about this, but I just don't see it happening just yet. In the meantime, Vietnam are shooting along happily and might well surpass Thailand in terms of english skills.

[Dennisdob]

I am an American living in Thailand. I have taught at a private university that has a international division as well as a Thai division. My daughter attends a Thai school in Chiangmai, and some of the things I have seen at the University as well as at the Thai school is Incomprehensible. After completing several years of teaching at the University I was excited to leave. The entire curriculum as well as the instructors at the University and the Thai public schools are intolerable and totally unqualified to become successful teachers. They have started to recruit extremely young unqualified people to take these positions For a short period of time. Mostly are backpackers looking for a position to basically be able to tour around and to pay for their living expenses.

My qualifications are I have been a teacher in the USA, received my Masters Degree and was a principal for 12 years, and received my Doctorate and my PhD in Technology and Curriculum. When I taught a course in conversational English I implemented American English as well as pointing out the British English language. My English books basically contained both types of curriculum for the several years that I have taught English at the University. I personally felt both types were extremely important and to be aware of the different spellings and the pronunciations. I guess one could say that I implemented my own curriculum when I taught conversational English, grammar, reading, and writing.

Referring to the Thai curriculum is a basic curriculum, so all the courses implemented were not necessarily beneficial to the students. The problem as I see it with the curriculum as well as the Thai schools are basically " private ownership." That gives them total autonomy over the schools curriculum, students, and faculty.

Personally I do not wish to be pessimistic, however I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel for the Thai students.

[Thai at Heart]

If these universities are any good then this guy has a pretty good education "Chaisang earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics at the State University of New York at Buffalo in the United States, as well as a Master of Arts in economics from The American University in Washington, D.C.; and is^[when?] an A.B.D. graduate student of economic development and public finance at The American University."

But yes too little too late. If it happens in 2015 Thailand will have to be dragged kicking & screaming into the AEC as there is no chance they will be ready whether it be in education or all the other aspects.

Hmmmm. Bachelor of ARTS in economics

[VBF]

Thailand = Fawlty Towers.

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