Chula relaxes English proficiency score for engineering programme

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Chula relaxes English proficiency score for engineering programme
Chuleeporn Aramnet
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Engineering has lowered the required English proficiency score from 550 to 500 in an attempt to attract more students to its International School of Engineering programme.

The ISE's four fields of study - automotive engineering and design, nano-engineering, information and communication engineering, and aeronautical engineering - will be launched in the 2015 academic year with the goal of producing good quality-engineers with English proficiency.

Faculty dean Bundhit Eua-Arporn said many students were interested in studying the international programmes but the current English proficiency criteria to recruit high school students was too high, resulting in a limited number of students passing.

Bundhit said the science and mathematics proficiency requirement remained the same.

He said the labour market wanted a large number of top-notch engineers who not only had engineering skills but also had the ability to communicate well in English.

But many engineers still struggled when communicating in English so the faculty wanted to address this issue and help the country.

Bundhit said that at the recent ISE Chula Open House 2014 event it was discovered that many students, with their parents' support, were interested in doing a bachelor's degree at the ISE.

The ISE programmes would also teach students multi-engineering discipline integration so they could have the option of working in a wider range of jobs and would have the engineering logic to create innovations for the country.

ISE will open for applications from January 5-30. For more details visit www.chula.ac.th.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Chula-relaxes-English-proficiency-score-for-engine-30247893.html


-- The Nation 2014-11-17

[Somtamnication]

Typical. Lower the test score to get more graduates. Only in Thailand!

[Suriya4]

A move in the wrong direction. Might as well just abolish the English requirement.

[zydeco]

Sure, lower the English requirement in order to "help the country." Well, it's not "the country" who is being helped, here, is it?

[HeijoshinCool]

Typical. Lower the test score to get more graduates. Only in Thailand!

.

Not so different from California, who has done it for years to enable "stupid" and/or lazy people to get into their universities. California is worse actually, because the stupids take the slots of those more deserving.

[Somtamnication]

That has more to do with race relations, rather than English proficiency. Apples and oranges.

[BSJ]

"But many engineers still struggled when communicating in English so the faculty wanted to address this issue and help the country." So lower the score....yes let's lower the score!

[NongKhaiKid]

All part of the grand preparation for the AEC ?

[Crazy chef 1]

in my home country is not such thing like english for engineers...for what? they work domestic and if they want to work international they will learn it...

C'mon guys don't take your language too serious!

as next you'll require english proficiency from every street vendor to make it more comfortable for you and you don't have to learn another language...

what is the old saying:if in Rome do as the Romans do....haven't met many english speaking ppl there..

[casualbiker]

"But many engineers still struggled when communicating in English so the faculty wanted to address this issue and help the country." So lower the score....yes let's lower the score!

I'm hoping that they lowered the score because they are including more English lessons into the course!

probably not though!

[siampolee]

Ah well it could be worse I suppose.

[ChrisY1]

Typical. Lower the test score to get more graduates. Only in Thailand!

No...not just in Thailand.....western countries are also lowering their standards too......to get more students!

[Thai at Heart]

Still have never worked out why they can't take the Thai language engineers and give them intensive English tuition alongside their courses.

[DP25]

This is the requirement to enter the university. Not to graduate. They will be taught English at university.

Many Thai high schools have horrible English language programs. It is not always the students fault if they have bad English, because their teachers could not speak the language.

[chainarong]

They sure are going to be helpful putting the next generation fighter jet together a MacDonald Douglas , nobody will be able to understand what they are saying.

[Johnnie99]

Bahahaaaa

[finnomick]

Yes, no , OK -- is that enough ?

[culicine]

Typical. Lower the test score to get more graduates. Only in Thailand!

Not necessarily more graduate, but more first year students and lots of money in the purse. It's typical to lose 50% or more of the students in their first year as they cannot cope with the content. I bumped into one of my past students recently. He did engineering in an International program, and said how important english and maths were to his studies. But it seems there are more engineering graduates than their are available jobs.

[h90]

Typical. Lower the test score to get more graduates. Only in Thailand!

No they make exactly the same in my country, just the call it different....

[gandalf12]

I hate to say it but at least there is a minimum score required. In Saudi if a local goes to University he is not allowed to fail.

On the other hand a proficiency in English should be a high priority as most of the technical literature is published in English

[maidee]

way to go thailand, lower the expectations

lower also the need of those so called thai with english profiency engeneers in the rest of the world

[worgeordie]

Maybe they cannot get teachers that do not have proficiency in English,

anyway its all about money,

regards Worgeordie

[Fiddlesticks]

Who needs English when there is such a plethora of technical books, journals, papers and other educational assets available to students in their native Thai language. One can readily find at least 2 good engineering books that have been printed in Thai! I believe they were translated from the original "Engineering for Dummies". Should be sufficient to educate and train Thai engineers to build one of the tallest buildings in the world.

Yup, lowering the level of English skills is definitely a good idea!

[bendywire]

It's a simple problem to fix. Lower the entrance score but make the graduation score higher. I teach many students from Chula, I have to say that most are quite proficient in English. We are overplaying the importance of English in my opinion. Who is to say that these graduates will ever work outside of Thailand? If they understand the technical wording without being fluent in English then I see no issue. There are many forms of English that we forget about. For example, how many native speakers of English understand aviation english? Or medical english?

[harryfrompattaya]

A move in the wrong direction. Might as well just abolish the English requirement.

Not a bad idea everyone knows USA England etc finished

They should learn only Chinese and Yiddish ( the language of Bankers and Diamond merchants )

[konying]

Why would international program need English , screw then all, they can learn thai

[NongKhaiKid]

This is the requirement to enter the university. Not to graduate. They will be taught English at university.

Many Thai high schools have horrible English language programs. It is not always the students fault if they have bad English, because their teachers could not speak the language.

I once worked at a rural uni and some of the stories from students about their high school English classes were shocking, eg. no conversation practice because the teachers couldn't handle it plus so many other examples that most members will be familiar with.

Incidentally some of my Thai colleagues made it it clear they did not see why native speakers were needed as their English was just as good but they never hesitated to ask one of us to check their lesson plans etc.

The requests were politely declined, well they were supposedly good enough but the real reason was that previously a lesson plan had been checked but when the Deputy Head of Faculty wasn't happy the Thai teacher promptly blamed the native speaker.

The Deputy Head had only been reminding the Thai teacher exactly who he was not realising a foreigner was involved and since nothing was wrong with the lesson no more was said.

[richard10365]

While their enrollment will go up for sure, their graduation ratio will go down....unless they lower the standard and start acting like a diploma mill.

[Robby nz]

Makes perfect sense, if you relax the standards then you can say more students have met the proficiency standard.

Immediate improvement for all concerned.

[NongKhaiKid]

While their enrollment will go up for sure, their graduation ratio will go down....unless they lower the standard and start acting like a diploma mill.

They are more or less anyway which is great until these ' graduates ' go for job interviews where their supposed particular degree is a requirement.

Many employers in other fields will hire an applicant just because they have a degree, any degree, as having been to uni is enough ?