Thai officials to slash number of foreign English teachers

[loogkreung]

Touched a nerve there. Okay, an ex sexpat! In truth I've not met a single 'teacher' in Thailand who'd meet the requirements to teach in the UK, but that said, there are very few students here that deserve them. Everyone knows a qualified native teacher, having spent years studying at uni, wouldnt come and teach here for 30k, and even if they did, it wouldn't change matters. English to the Thais is seen as something akin to woodwork class back home. A doss!

[EyesWideOpen]

Funny stuff, as the march towards lunacy continues..... I spend three months traveling in China.

Nearly every white person I met there was an English teacher . Then it dawned on me that

China had quietly imported umpteen thousand English teachers to teach the Chinese students

English. A clever idea, as in essence English is the language of commerce.

Thailand seems to be going in the opposite direction. Which sort of makes sense, as my opinion

is that the Thai government wants to keep the populace uneducated so they are easier to

manipulate. Glad I got out, and my half Thai daughter is now going to an excellent free public

school in America..........

[brewsterbudgen]

Touched a nerve there. Okay, an ex sexpat! In truth I've not met a single 'teacher' in Thailand who'd meet the requirements to teach in the UK, but that said, there are very few students here that deserve them. Everyone knows a qualified native teacher, having spent years studying at uni, wouldnt come and teach here for 30k, and even if they did, it wouldn't change matters. English to the Thais is seen as something akin to woodwork class back home. A doss!

Most native speaker teachers teach TEFL in Thailand. The same requirements to teach TEFL in the UK (i.e. teaching English to people whose first language is NOT English, such as immigrants and asylum seekers), are required in Thailand, i.e. a TEFL qualification and, sometimes, a degree.

Edited November 13, 2015 by brewsterbudgen

[Dumbastheycome]

Hopefully they will get rid of the trashy teachers trying to teach English when English is not their first language. Half the time I can't even understand when the Filipino English teachers at my son's school try to talk to me in English.

As a wholesale slashing of foreign teachers this would appear to be a retrogade move. If instead it was aimed to remove foreign teachers who were ineffective at teaching good English it would make more sense. It may just be that this is the actual plan.

However the headline and minimal details as presented can only provoke incredulous response.

[mercman24]

and they will all say "good night i'm" "tried" like all of my college educated friends lol !!

[selftaopath]

Never met a Thai teacher yet that has above average English language proficiency! Sheer madness!

Yes and the current approach has led Thailand to be last. Can not get any lower than last. So hell what's the difference and they'll save money. lol It's always about the money in Land of Scams eh?

[mikecat]

Well this should come as no surprise really, in fact nothing surprises me anymore when these idiots open their mouth. It is all about money and the prevailing anti foreign sentiment in most government departments. They don't want foreigners here full time, come for two weeks spend all your money and go away. Some bright spark thinks that by getting rid of foreign teachers and using Thai teachers they will save money. Never mind the kids who already suffer from a totally inane education system. And truly, how many teachers do you know who can communicate in English at a reasonable level let alone deliver English lessons adequately. I venture to say most of us would be lucky if we knew one. If the students are not interested now and if the Thai teachers show their normal level of interest it should be a match made in heaven.

[mikecat]

Hopefully they will get rid of the trashy teachers trying to teach English when English is not their first language. Half the time I can't even understand when the Filipino English teachers at my son's school try to talk to me in English.

As a wholesale slashing of foreign teachers this would appear to be a retrogade move. If instead it was aimed to remove foreign teachers who were ineffective at teaching good English it would make more sense. It may just be that this is the actual plan.

However the headline and minimal details as presented can only provoke incredulous response.

They wouldn't have a clue about who is ineffective, they are totally uninterested in what happens in the classroom only that someone is in the room and that they dont fail anybody at the end of term.

[Asheron]

Hopefully they will get rid of the trashy teachers trying to teach English when English is not their first language. Half the time I can't even understand when the Filipino English teachers at my son's school try to talk to me in English.

The filipinos are light years a head of any randomly picked thai teacher.

[SunsetT]

Hopefully they will get rid of the trashy teachers trying to teach English when English is not their first language. Half the time I can't even understand when the Filipino English teachers at my son's school try to talk to me in English.

This could be the core problem.............Govt. School Headmasters, or whatever they call them here, claim the govt. salary for a native English speaking teacher but employ a non-native English speaking teacher, pay them peanuts and pocket the difference......Result.....no progress/improvement in Thai English language ability.......No incentive to employ a true native English speaking teacher.........Corruption rules!!!

The only Thais who speak anything close to reasonable English are those who have been sent abroad to study or have been working abroad or working in Thailand where there is a high concentration of foreign tourists.

[mikecat]

Where are they going to get all these Thai teachers who are proficient in speaking English, let alone teaching it?

The school I teach in has about 10 that would qualify.

People go on and on about no Thai English teachers speak English well.

There are many who do. Most of my co-teachers are fine with English conversation. Only a few lacking.

I dont know what school you go to but it certainly isnt the norm as I am sure you are aware.

[safarimike11]

Has the "teacher" in the picture had his arse surgically removed?

[mikecat]

Hopefully they will get rid of the trashy teachers trying to teach English when English is not their first language. Half the time I can't even understand when the Filipino English teachers at my son's school try to talk to me in English.

The filipinos are light years a head of any randomly picked thai teacher.

So are the Chinese. We have a Chinese teacher come for a year each year and each one of them can out English every Thai teacher in the school.

[Dumbastheycome]

Well this should come as no surprise really, in fact nothing surprises me anymore when these idiots open their mouth. It is all about money and the prevailing anti foreign sentiment in most government departments. They don't want foreigners here full time, come for two weeks spend all your money and go away. Some bright spark thinks that by getting rid of foreign teachers and using Thai teachers they will save money. Never mind the kids who already suffer from a totally inane education system. And truly, how many teachers do you know who can communicate in English at a reasonable level let alone deliver English lessons adequately. I venture to say most of us would be lucky if we knew one. If the students are not interested now and if the Thai teachers show their normal level of interest it should be a match made in heaven.

I do not disagree withmost of the above. Sadly however discretion is difficult to incorporate in a sweepclean plan.

[duanebigsby]

Where are they going to get all these Thai teachers who are proficient in speaking English, let alone teaching it?

The school I teach in has about 10 that would qualify.

People go on and on about no Thai English teachers speak English well.

There are many who do. Most of my co-teachers are fine with English conversation. Only a few lacking.

I dont know what school you go to but it certainly isnt the norm as I am sure you are aware.

I don't work in an exceptional school. My objection is with the "there are no decent Thai English teachers anywhere " mentality.

Are they few and far between? Yes, but they do exist more than people on this site give any credit for.

[Wilsonandson]

Hopefully they will get rid of the trashy teachers trying to teach English when English is not their first language. Half the time I can't even understand when the Filipino English teachers at my son's school try to talk to me in English.

The filipinos are light years a head of any randomly picked thai teacher.

English is the first language of the Phillipines and teachers are also fully qualified. The Thai's pay them less money because of the color of their skin.

[safarimike11]

But seriously,

What would be more helpful to the "selected" group of Thai English teachers would be to send them on a 4-week TEFL; at least they could learn to speak to the students rather than at them. (However, maybe not - as I really don't know what I am talking about, do I?)

[smotherb]

Lunacy

Not really, makes sense for once. If you want the Thais to learn English, it is going to have to be a permanent part of their curricula. Other subjects, not just English, need to be taught in English and not just for an hour or two a week. I think teaching the Thai teachers to speak English and then have them teach most subjects in English is a better way to have Thai English competency improve.

However, there will be problems with this approach. Many Thai teachers will not want to take the English courses and many who do will struggle to learn English. The result could be a long time before enough Thai teachers speak English well enough to make a difference. In the meantime, what little English the Thai school children are currently learning will diminish considerably due to the lack of foreign English teachers.

They need to hire more foreign English teachers, and allow the best foreign teachers teach the Thai teachers. However, that would be logical, and you know how logically things operate here.

[safarimike11]

I'm glad the source of this article was Coconuts, it has eased the Mind-Blown experience at least a little bit.............

D​ont want to rain on your parade its headlines in the Unmentionable other English language paper

Still its utter madness!

Both articles make it pretty clear it's a long-term plan and it is something that should be aimed for. Of course it is better to use well-trained local teachers than rely on foreign teachers forever. The headline that Coconuts uses is typical of the sensationalism of gutter rags.

Sorry, but not on the right lines at all. Native speakers of foreign languages have always been used all over the world - at grammar school in England in the late 1950s we were taught French by a most attractive young French lass - rather too attractive as it turned out as more attention was given to her legs than to French conjugation ! It doesn't matter which country teaching which foreign language - native speakers are always needed - why do you think Thai parents are so willing to pay more for a farang in the classroom ?

I've got a luverly bunch.

[tuanku]

I wonder what the results would be if they surveyed 43,000 Thais with native English speaking partners. They'd do a lot better than the teachers I would guess, particularly amongst those who have lived and worked abroad for a time. Of course they would never get a teaching job as they mostly do not have university degrees, or even in many cases a graduation from high school. Still that is the section of Thai society where English is probably most widely spoken, along with mixed race children with Western fathers (or in a few cases mothers)

speaking a language and teaching it are not the same.

Teaching a language and not being able to speak it is even harder!

[arrowsdawdle]

Day Dreamers...............

Nightmarers.....

[safarimike11]

Hopefully they will get rid of the trashy teachers trying to teach English when English is not their first language. Half the time I can't even understand when the Filipino English teachers at my son's school try to talk to me in English.

The filipinos are light years a head of any randomly picked thai teacher.

So are the Chinese. We have a Chinese teacher come for a year each year and each one of them can out English every Thai teacher in the school.

There is only one problem associated with Filippino teachers teaching English in Thailand; this is that Thai students don't understand what they are saying.

[mikosan]

I saw the Deputy Education Minister speak at the FCC in Bangkok a while back. He seemed like a really smart guy, who I thought could really do some good in transforming the Thai education system.

Then I read this....

Oh dear.

When I was 'teaching' English here 5 years, the school I was at ran 'Teach The Teacher'. Once a week one of the farang teachers had to 'teach' the Thai teachers English.

That lesson teaching the teachers was more problematic than even my lowest ranked pratom class.

The Thai teacher had absolutely no interest in learning and often just sat their talking among themselves, playing on their phones and would almost never participate for fear of losing face.

Well, with respect, I am most concerned that you were teaching English in the first place, given the inadequacies in your English, as seen above. Maybe the Thais have the right idea. Train and employ people who can actually teach English properly?

[Jingthing]

The best of all worlds for teaching English to Thais would be teachers who are very fluent in both Thai and English.

[smotherb]

Hopefully they will get rid of the trashy teachers trying to teach English when English is not their first language. Half the time I can't even understand when the Filipino English teachers at my son's school try to talk to me in English.

The filipinos are light years a head of any randomly picked thai teacher.

English is the first language of the Phillipines and teachers are also fully qualified. The Thai's pay them less money because of the color of their skin.

The Filipinos get paid less money because they will work for it. You won't see Japanese or Koreans working for that kind of money--of course, you may to want them to teach something other than English.

[arrowsdawdle]

I wonder what the results would be if they surveyed 43,000 Thais with native English speaking partners. They'd do a lot better than the teachers I would guess, particularly amongst those who have lived and worked abroad for a time. Of course they would never get a teaching job as they mostly do not have university degrees, or even in many cases a graduation from high school. Still that is the section of Thai society where English is probably most widely spoken, along with mixed race children with Western fathers (or in a few cases mothers)

speaking a language and teaching it are not the same.

Teaching a language and not being able to speak it is even harder!

Not if the people judging you cannot speak it either.

[arrowsdawdle]

The reverse side of this coin would be to have foreigners teach Thai language.

[DaveinAsia]

The funny thing as well is they think they are going to save money by not hiring native English speakers. Well I guess that means most schools with a MEP program will have to shutdown their "cash cow" as parents will not pay the money schools demand for non-native speakers. A double shot in the foot!!

Of course schools with an MEP program will continue with their farang teachers. They are only talking about slashing foreign English teachers in the lower government schools. I guess after trying to teach the kids English for 20 years without success they are throwing in the towel. Perhaps they see it as a waste of money

[safarimike11]

I saw the Deputy Education Minister speak at the FCC in Bangkok a while back. He seemed like a really smart guy, who I thought could really do some good in transforming the Thai education system.

Then I read this....

Oh dear.

When I was 'teaching' English here 5 years, the school I was at ran 'Teach The Teacher'. Once a week one of the farang teachers had to 'teach' the Thai teachers English.

That lesson teaching the teachers was more problematic than even my lowest ranked pratom class.

The Thai teacher had absolutely no interest in learning and often just sat their talking among themselves, playing on their phones and would almost never participate for fear of losing face.

Well, with respect, I am most concerned that you were teaching English in the first place, given the inadequacies in your English, as seen above. Maybe the Thais have the right idea. Train and employ people who can actually teach English properly?

I remember my first experience of one of those "teach the teacher" activities; I was "teaching" around 10 Thai lady teachers, the idea/aim being more of an informal Q&A session on things (stuff) that the ladies came up against and didn't really understand. One question that was asked (chucked at me) was: "What is a thong"? (honestly - no bs). I was tempted to throw it back at the lady in question: e.g. "what do you prefer..." but resisted the temptation. I chickened out with the Australian version of flip-flops.

[Wilsonandson]

Are you paranoid now? Xenaphobia is at its highest now. A week ago the PM was taking of a closed country and now this. Stay alert, what will be tomorrows news? Watch this space. All expats need to be wary.

Stay safe people, nerves jangling, butterflies in your stomach, just remember your not alone. If your affected by todays news don't worry, you can seek guidance from your embassy or they can point you to people who can help. Don't suffer in silence, you maybe not wanted here but elsewhere your loved. Someone has to say this. Be strong expats.