Is anyone aware of official standards for English proficiency for primary grade students? I'm trying to educate myself to what exactly they are expected to know, year by year, for grades P1 to P6.

I have seen some general standards such as the ability to describe their family, however these are mostly too broad to measure, and not tied to the grade level at which that skill should be mastered.

I'm interested in standards that are specific enough that proficiency can be measured.

For example:

a standard which said a Pratom 1 student should be able to understand and appropriately answer the question, "How are you?"

or a standard which said by Pratom 2 a student should be able to count to 100 in English without assistance.

Thanks very much for any help you can offer.

As far as I am aware standards as you suggest don't exist in Thailand. The more cynical might say that is because something as transparent as clear referenced criteria, a kind of progression, could never work here, in any subject. I think there might be more practical reasons - general cognitive development in this age group is extremely uneven and patchy, some learn quickly, some very slowly. The teaching of English can also be quite primitive in a lot of schools - they love learning vocabulary here devoid of any contextual consideration plus a lot of what might be regarded as conversational English consists of conversations learned by heart.

There are very clear guidelines of what is to be covered for all subjects. The problem is that they are written in Thai and no one is going to translate them for you. Most teachers are lucky to get an overall criteria of what the curriculum covers.

"Pratom 2 a student should be able to count to 100 in English without assistance."

That is a pretty low standard. If you are getting the majority of P2 to read and tell simple stories in English, then you just wasted a year.

What is it at all levels: Access to education....

As far as I am aware standards as you suggest don't exist in Thailand. The more cynical might say that is because something as transparent as clear referenced criteria, a kind of progression, could never work here, in any subject. I think there might be more practical reasons - general cognitive development in this age group is extremely uneven and patchy, some learn quickly, some very slowly. The teaching of English can also be quite primitive in a lot of schools - they love learning vocabulary here devoid of any contextual consideration plus a lot of what might be regarded as conversational English consists of conversations learned by heart.

Suspect you might be correct, although I question why individual learning differences should be a rationale for not setting standards. Standards are a goal, some will achieve the standard, some will not. At least everyone has the marker to shoot for.

I frankly don't know how one can reform the system without widely disseminated and clearly understood standards.

There are very clear guidelines of what is to be covered for all subjects. The problem is that they are written in Thai and no one is going to translate them for you. Most teachers are lucky to get an overall criteria of what the curriculum covers.

"Pratom 2 a student should be able to count to 100 in English without assistance."

That is a pretty low standard. If you are getting the majority of P2 to read and tell simple stories in English, then you just wasted a year.

Thank you, zeichen. I would be very interested in seeing the standards for English study, even if they are written in Thai. Do you have a citation where I can find them?

BTW, I was just making up a sample standard for clarity, not suggesting counting to 100 as an actual P2 standard, however most P2 students I have seen can't tell a simple story in English.

Actually the fact that you and I might have a different take on when a student should have that ability is exactly the issue I'm after here. When is it reasonable to expect a student to tell a simple story? What list of words should students be able to read and understand by P1, P2, etc.? A set of detailed standards would settle the question and set a uniform goal for all teachers.

Thanks in advance for any help pointing me to the standards written in Thai.

Attached below, is a copy of the English version of the Thai Curriculum, this is for all subjects, and the Learning Standards & Indicators are at the end. My boss gave it to me when asking us to design our own course outlines etc, as a guideline on what we should be teaching the students.

Hope it's of some assistance.

thai curriculum.pdf

Attached below, is a copy of the English version of the Thai Curriculum, this is for all subjects, and the Learning Standards & Indicators are at the end. My boss gave it to me when asking us to design our own course outlines etc, as a guideline on what we should be teaching the students.

Hope it's of some assistance.

thai curriculum.pdf

Thank you very much, SlyAnimal. Very helpful indeed!

Any chance you know where to locate the word lists that are referenced in the English section at the end?

The standards state students should be able to use the following levels of vocabulary at different times:

Grade 3 graduates - 300-450 words (concrete words)

Grade 6 graduates - 1050-1200 words (concrete and abstract)

Grade 9 graduates - 2100-2250 words (words of higher abstract quality)

Grade 12 graduates - 3600-3750 words (words with different levels of usage)

Attached below, is a copy of the English version of the Thai Curriculum, this is for all subjects, and the Learning Standards & Indicators are at the end. My boss gave it to me when asking us to design our own course outlines etc, as a guideline on what we should be teaching the students.

Hope it's of some assistance.

thai curriculum.pdf

Thanks Slyanimal now I understand the origins of the obsession with vocabulary!

I'm not sure where the vocabulary lists are, as we were given the curriculum primarily with the intention of designing our courses for English Maths and English Science, as opposed to just English.

I'm not teaching at the moment so it's not that easy/convenient for me to find out what the word lists are, but maybe someone else can ask their Thai colleagues if they have a list? as it's be interesting to see.

Otherwise I might ask my old boss when I next bump into him.