Thai officials to slash number of foreign English teachers

[Blindside]

LoL! What a joke. Better to give up on the language than continue the farce. Costs.... Amongst the worst pay in Asia for teachers....

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[miamiman]

I think it would work. Many Thai teachers do really want to learn English. The real problem is the teachers who are teaching them. Solve that problem and it would work.

[laislica]

Why is everyone so upset?

TiT and so nothing should be taken seriously!

The wind soon changes direction and everything will bend the other way.

Years ago Taiwan would hire English backpackers with no teaching qualifications just to have their kids listen to genuine English.

Maybe that's what needs to happen here?

[Jim walker]

We all know that Thais know best because of their superior intellect and this just shows it in action.

[retsdon]

"Under the "train-the-trainer" program, a group of 500 Thai teachers who teach English in government schools nationwide will take part in an intensive six-week training course taught by English specialists from the British Council."

Fundamentally,it's the right idea. The problem is that 6 weeks is nowhere near long enough.

[Just1Voice]

Just when you hoped that Thai English Language skills would start to go up on the international ranking scale, they do something that is going to drop them even lower down the scale. I can't count the number of Thai English teachers, with MASTER DEGREES, that are incapable of carrying on a simple conversation.

[tomacht8]

Is there a survey?
Who speaks better english:
a. thai english teachers, or
b. thai gogo girls, or
c. thai tourist police, or
d. thai politicians ?

[phantomfiddler]

There used to be a thai teacher around the corner from me who taught english to thai students, and I couldn,t understand a word he said, lunacy indeed

[kennypowers]

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.

Hmmm, I met a group of 6 Filipino teachers at a cafe a while back and all of them spoke excellent English. In fact, much better than most English people I know. They taught at private schools though.

[bkk75]

Thai tea char sapeak inglit awelly goot - no nee tea char ingrit mor.

Wat? you no kau jai mai?

Blank stare...

Arai waaaahhh

[bark]

Fair enough. If the current bunch of farang rejects scraping a living on the English teaching circuit were any good, Thailand wouldn't score so poorly for English speaking. Let the locals have a go.

Most schools only allow one hour per week for English study. 30 - 35 kids per class. You could have Mr. English Dictionary teaching the students,

and it would make no difference. The school system needs to get serious about wanting the students to learn English.

Nation wide program, written for them by a Western university professor. All schools study the same course. Even one new word a day. After 10

years of schooling. They would know 2,000 -2,500 words. More then enough to get by !

[nikmar]

As an Everton supporter I often get called "deluded" but this beats all.

Six weeks is enough?

I can understand the need to be self-sufficient and not to rely on western teachers. But there's a lot more to it than a short "intensive" course for a few Thai teachers.

How about instilling a desire to learn in students.

[Gulfsailor]

Fair enough. If the current bunch of farang rejects scraping a living on the English teaching circuit were any good, Thailand wouldn't score so poorly for English speaking. Let the locals have a go.

I completely agree. Those native English speaking 'teachers' managed to make Thai kids the worst in English. My Thai girlfriend has an English degree and is nearly fluent in English, but I bet her grammar is far better than most native speakers as she had to learn the rules, not just relying on what sounds right. She was asked many times to teach at prominent Thai schools, but the salary on offer is no more than 30,000 baht per month, as that is what the NES is willing to work for. Get rid of these unqualified NES teachers and salaries will have to rise for qualified local teachers. This will entice a lot more Thais to choose a future career as English teacher. And trust me there are plenty of (near) fluent English speaking Thais in this country. But right now they can make much more money in a non teaching job.

Another advantage Thai English teachers have over foreigners is that they speak Thai! Who would be able to learn a completely unknown language from a native teacher who cannot explain anything to you in your own language? Would you be able to learn Thai from a Thai teacher that can't speak English at all?

[erobando]

This is a pretty good idea. As if the British Council is doing the intensive 6 week training course I'd imagine that it'll be CELTA or similar that the Thai teachers are going through. Not only will it improve their English significantly, but it'll teach them how to teach more effectively.

As it's meant to be for the best English teachers at each school it'll likely be heads of department, or teachers who have the full support of the head of dept, and so they'll have the authority/status required to teach the other teachers.

"Slashing" the number of foreign teachers wouldn't be a good move at this stage, but long term that's where Thailand needs to head to. Also they didn't say if by foreign they meant NESs or non-NESs. As they need better Thai teachers, they can't rely on every school having foreign teachers, there simply aren't enough to go around, and so it just increases the inequality between the rich & poor schools.

My personal view is, and has been for a long time, that Thailand needs to spend money on teaching the teachers if they want to be successful. Foreign NES teachers are more expensive and often only stay teaching in Thailand for a few years. Comparatively Thai teachers start on less than half of the salary most foreigners are paid & can increase their ability over a career of 30-40 years, rather than just 1-5.

The current problem is though, that they start at such a low level that even after 30 years they're usually not as effective at teaching as a NES is after 3 years experience. Which is why the teachers need to have their level increased, courses like this one will help, but it's only (hopefully) the first step, the next step being reassigning foreign teachers from high schools to universities where they can teach the teachers. Thailand needs to look forward to the next generation, as it's already too late for this generation.

Yeah, to the NES point... I don't know the percentage of native English speakers among foreign English teachers at Thai public schools, but I do know that in recent years Thailand actively recruited teachers from the Philippines. So this could be a change from that that direction rather than basic anti-foreigner policy.

[Sparkles]

Do you seriously believe anything COCONUTS publishes ?

[whatproblem]

I understand why ,that way there will be no one to correct the Thai teachers ,no loss of face

[Ulic]

Well it is obvious to me they are trying to find jobs for older bar girls. Not the best move to

improve regional English rankings, but the young ladies arriving at a bar and looking for

bar work will be well served.

[jamstock]

6 weeks? That's plenty of time to get their English up to speed

[SoiBiker]

Another advantage Thai English teachers have over foreigners is that they speak Thai! Who would be able to learn a completely unknown language from a native teacher who cannot explain anything to you in your own language? Would you be able to learn Thai from a Thai teacher that can't speak English at all?

I've had Thai lessons from two different teachers - one Thai, one Farang. I learnt a hell of a lot more from the Farang.

[swissie]

DEAR INTERNATIONAL INVESTOR:

Are you still interested to make an investment in Thailand?

If the answer is "yes", consider yourself even crazier than the morons that came up with this. Good luck.

Cheers.

[tomacht8]

6 weeks will be enough.

Hello.
Welcome.
You pay now.
Thank you.
Bye Bye.

[ratcatcher]

Another advantage Thai English teachers have over foreigners is that they speak Thai! Who would be able to learn a completely unknown language from a native teacher who cannot explain anything to you in your own language? Would you be able to learn Thai from a Thai teacher that can't speak English at all?

I've had Thai lessons from two different teachers - one Thai, one Farang. I learnt a hell of a lot more from the Farang.

Totally agree SoiBiker. I would enjoy learning Thai from Andrew Biggs. He's fluent and a damned good teacher.

For those unfamiliar.............

[razer]

British Council got a FAT contract ... didn't they?

[Si Thea01]

I wonder who had this brain storm. And no, I am not Thai bashing but to teach someone English in 6 weeks, what takes most westerners, whose first language is English at least 18 years to become profficient and the another 6 years or University to qualify to teach the subject, if they put their mind to it, beggars belief. I do not care how good a Thai is able to speak English, to learn grammar, vocabulary, spelling, what a noun, pronoun, adjective, participles are, etc., etc., and then articulate soundly, will just not happen.

I have deaiings with some highly educated, well spoken Thais, who despite their English skills, still have trouble understanding many avenues of speech and, on occasions, have difficulty in sentence construction. And some bright spark expects teachers to learn in 6 weeks. Admittedly, by hiring foreign teachers, who are extremely profficient in the English and Thai language, pay them an above average wage, and not some of the so called people who are now here teaching the basics, they will go a long way but for Thais to teach Thais, at this time, will be an exercise in futility.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Si Thea01

[kblaze]

This is a pretty good idea. As if the British Council is doing the intensive 6 week training course I'd imagine that it'll be CELTA or similar that the Thai teachers are going through. Not only will it improve their English significantly, but it'll teach them how to teach more effectively.

As it's meant to be for the best English teachers at each school it'll likely be heads of department, or teachers who have the full support of the head of dept, and so they'll have the authority/status required to teach the other teachers.

"Slashing" the number of foreign teachers wouldn't be a good move at this stage, but long term that's where Thailand needs to head to. Also they didn't say if by foreign they meant NESs or non-NESs. As they need better Thai teachers, they can't rely on every school having foreign teachers, there simply aren't enough to go around, and so it just increases the inequality between the rich & poor schools.

My personal view is, and has been for a long time, that Thailand needs to spend money on teaching the teachers if they want to be successful. Foreign NES teachers are more expensive and often only stay teaching in Thailand for a few years. Comparatively Thai teachers start on less than half of the salary most foreigners are paid & can increase their ability over a career of 30-40 years, rather than just 1-5.

The current problem is though, that they start at such a low level that even after 30 years they're usually not as effective at teaching as a NES is after 3 years experience. Which is why the teachers need to have their level increased, courses like this one will help, but it's only (hopefully) the first step, the next step being reassigning foreign teachers from high schools to universities where they can teach the teachers. Thailand needs to look forward to the next generation, as it's already too late for this generation.

1) No way its CELTA intensive - to qualify for that you have to have a C1 CEFR score. That's almost the highest level of English understanding, near native.

2) You speak like someone who has no experience in a Thai school system. You naively believe Thai English teachers can improve their English teaching skills significantly IN 6 WEEKS

3) As explained in other posts, foreign English teachers are NOT more expensive. Look at your math, if you have Thai teachers staying on for 30-40 years, imagine what their salaries balloon too? Vs. a foreign teacher who gets paid 50k a month with minimal benefits.

Edited November 13, 2015 by kblaze

[Antifreeze]

Excellent corrective action to move up on the English proficiency scale.

- My friend is going to join us for dinner!

- Oh my friend coming?

- No, my friend is coming.

- Yes, my friend.

- No, my friend.

[DM07]

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

BKK- Post reports the same!

[Lunchbob]

Let's be honest, a lot of the farang teachers here are not really teachers. If it's a job that requires no special experience then so be it, but it really it is not that way now. Degrees and teaching experience are not perfect measures, but they are all we have, so I am not surprised by this news at all.

[miamiman]

Look at the experience level of many EP school teachers here. 100% at many schools are still working to finish the degree, and have had NO experience in any classroom.

They are here for one year and gone because its part of their degree requirement plus it's fun to be in Thailand.

Why you ask are they allowed to do this?

Very simply, the school has an agreement with the foreign university with the new one year teacher. They pay the teacher 30000 a month for the years "contract".... Take a look at the classroom they are teaching in. The kids are playing games. The new teacher says this is learning because this is either what is expected to "make it fun" or they don't know what else to do.

Why does the school owner agree to this?

Very simply... The owner enjoys a very good profit at the year end in those EP or Int schools were the parents are paying big bucks Dollars or Bahts but it all about money, and paying for that house and the Benz.

Most parents don't know that the teachers are very inexperienced, but when they "get it", the kids are taken out and put into another school.

[spidermike007]

The same rocket scientist who designed the third stage boosters for the Space Shuttle program, must have been the one to come up with this plan. All one can surmise is that they are deliberately sabotaging the future prospects of the Thai people. When some theorize that many in charge, and the Thai elite, are deliberately trying to dumb down the nation, and restrict the ability of the people to become smarter and wiser, a policy like this one certainly comes to mind. Not sure if this is based on pure, ignorant, blind nationalism, or if there is a heinous agenda at play here, like the one I suggested. But regardless, it has to be one of the most pig headed, silly, inane, churlish, and misguided policies to come around, in quite some time. To expect Thais, who have little command of English, to teach other Thais how not to speak english well, and expect that to somehow have a positive result, requires people in positions of power, to have tremendous ignorance.

One can only hope and pray that someone comes along, at some time in the near future, who has competence as a leader, and can lead this country into the future. The current crop just do not quality to run a 7/11, much less the country.