SURVEY: Is Thailand prepared to effectively teach English without Foreign Teachers?

[Scott]

The Ministry of Education plans to reduce the number of foreign teachers and replace them with Thai Teachers. Do you believe that this reliance on foreign and native English speakers is a good and effective move?

Please feel free to comment on the subject.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/870424-thai-officials-to-slash-number-of-foreign-english-teachers/

[carstenp]

I don't think there will be a difference, as long as the student don't see why they need to speak it.

They has to learn why they have to speak English and I think this is the missing brick

In our part of the world we don't use native English speakers as teachers

You can pull a horse to the water, but you can't force it to drink

Edited November 22, 2015 by carstenp

[ukrules]

Of course they're not ready but they're going to do it anyway.

The results will be hilarious.

[willyumiii]

No, this will not work.

They may as well give up teaching English.

Most Thai English teachers do not know the language well themselves!

The current system of hireing anyone who can speak English to teach the languaage, is a poor system as well.

To teach English, they need to spend the money needed to hire qualified English teachers who are actually teachers.

If you only offer $1000 USD a month for teaching, you will only get unqualified "backpackers" and retired people who need a little extra money.

Most teachers in the world are underpaid as it is.

Why would any come to Thailand to work for a fraction of the low pay they earn now?

[Jingthing]

The level is low now.

But it can get even lower.

[nev]

Resentment of English Teacher's being paid double what a Thai teacher receives is coming to head.

[Loaded]

They plan to introduce an affordable alternative for poor Thai schools (temple and government) to expensive foreign teachers. Currently these schools cannot afford foreign teachers so they need Thai teachers who they can afford. I don't think this alternative will be successful anyway.

[Seastallion]

Yes it's a good idea to try to rely less on foreign teachers, but NO Thailand is not yet ready to do it.

The initiative is a good idea in the sense that the motive is right, unfortunately it will take a lot more than one 6 week course. The effort should be on student teachers and be a dedicated English teacher course of 3 years, the last year of which is total immersion and conducted by NES professionals.

Run that for a few decades and we should be seeing Thai English teachers emerging who are capable of taking over the teaching of teachers.

[MRDave]

They are fools.

[NongKhaiKid]

Anyone who has been / is involved in teaching knows from their Thai colleges and students that the Thai teachers are simply passing on the bad English they were taught themselves and don't dare suggest they're wrong.

Conversation, pronunciation etc is rarely used in class because the teachers aren't able to do it so it gets ignored.

The way forward isn't easy because of the opposition to change which means it's an admission things are being done wrongly and the teachers skills lacking.

[z42]

Hard to tell just now. It ia hard to recall on the governments here (current and past ones) actually following through on anything it sets out in words and some huge fanfare at the beginning.

[simon43]

In our part of the world we don't use native English speakers as teachers

Sorry if the truth hurts, but that statement is quite evident from your post.

[carstenp]

In our part of the world we don't use native English speakers as teachers

Sorry if the truth hurts, but that statement is quite evident from your post.

Thanks

[lovelomsak]

I don't think there will be a difference, as long as the student don't see why they need to speak it.

They has to learn why they have to speak English and I think this is the missing brick

In our part of the world we don't use native English speakers as teachers

You can pull a horse to the water, but you can't force it to drink

You are absolutely right. It doesnot matter who teachs them english. At the present time few care to learn it and donot bother to learn it no matter who is their teacher. The students know they donot need to speak english to pass so they play and donot study.

The beautiful part about the english language is a person can make many mistakes well using it and others still understand what is meant.

By the way the quote is

You can lead a horse to water,but you cannot make it drink.

[aussieinthailand]

You you, satop satop, Thai good for sapeak ungit, no ploblem, you think to mutt, now satuden back to wyolin lesson.

So my wife has great English, but as for teaching anything but the very basic stuff, no. Now these blokes want to have 500 teachers to learn English and then to teach it to Thai students ok, but at what level??? how many teachers out there have already been through this exercise and had great success?

[trogers]

Post this same question to the Thais - Can a Brit effectively teach Thai to his countrymen in the UK?

[SoilSpoil]

Post this same question to the Thais - Can a Brit effectively teach Thai to his countrymen in the UK?

Why not? Fluency is not the main goal of ESL (or TSL) teaching. Fluency is what you pick up yourself after you reach a certain basic level.

Only natives who never mastered a foreign language would not understand this.

[Jessi]

It dosnt matter too much.

Nothing will be good for the children of this country until they do something about the corruption in the education system.

[wirat69]

It is a bit like a Thai Restaurant with Mongolian chefs who learned their trade from the Inuit!!! Somehow, the Tom Yum just does not taste the same

[kaorop]

Its quite obvious when you see how students or many Thais in general react to a foreigner, they are often very keen to interact and communicate.

That is often much less so with a Thai teacher, and there in lies the result.

I experienced it yesterday, met a group of Thai guys out riding their bikes, I was invited along, all of us bumbling along with my Thai and their English, the point being, they were enthusiastic about me joining and talking.

I believe the current powers are closing to doors with this country and this is just one more, and I expect more.

[trogers]

Post this same question to the Thais - Can a Brit effectively teach Thai to his countrymen in the UK?

Why not? Fluency is not the main goal of ESL (or TSL) teaching. Fluency is what you pick up yourself after you reach a certain basic level.

Only natives who never mastered a foreign language would not understand this.

Then all they need is Google translation...

[JDGRUEN]

I hope that anyone chosen to teach the teachers will just flatly refuse ... and I hope other teachers will put social pressure on those who are silly enough to join a program to teach the teachers. This reminds me of the callus method that that many American corporations use - demanding those workers who are being replaced by foreign import workers to train their replacements ... asinine and mean spirited ... These corporations even threaten to cut off severance pay to be normally awarded if the workers do not train their replacements...

Stand together English Language Teachers ... just don't do it ...

[animatic]

Recipe for utter failure, not just low level incompetence.

No other possible way to see it.

This is naught but jingoistic claptrap masquerading as policy.

Increasing the quality level of existing native English speaking teachers is the only viable choice.

[Jeremy50]

Its quite obvious when you see how students or many Thais in general react to a foreigner, they are often very keen to interact and communicate.

That is often much less so with a Thai teacher, and there in lies the result.

I experienced it yesterday, met a group of Thai guys out riding their bikes, I was invited along, all of us bumbling along with my Thai and their English, the point being, they were enthusiastic about me joining and talking.

I believe the current powers are closing to doors with this country and this is just one more, and I expect more.

This is just cycling camaraderie, cyclists are friendly and approachable anywhere in the world.

[JoeLing]

Of course they are ready to teach Engelish.

Might not be the Engelish the rest of the world sapeaks but I'm sure,
Thais will understand each and after the centel of world eco-no-mics
shifts to Thailand, it will even become the hub of Engelish language
sacools.

I see huge potentials for the Thai economy, could even patent and
copyright Thai Engelish and evelyone who writes or sapeaks it, will
need to pay royalty fees. Clarifications will cost extra.

The future is blight, the future is Thai

Edited November 23, 2015 by JoeLing

[NongKhaiKid]

It dosnt matter too much.

Nothing will be good for the children of this country until they do something about the corruption in the education system.

Corruption is everywhere ranging from parents paying to get their children into schools and then for good grades to teachers paying tea money to get jobs and the major scams over the purchase of equipment etc.

Who can change this in a country where people are obsessed with making money no matter what or how ?

[kaorop]

Its quite obvious when you see how students or many Thais in general react to a foreigner, they are often very keen to interact and communicate.

That is often much less so with a Thai teacher, and there in lies the result.

I experienced it yesterday, met a group of Thai guys out riding their bikes, I was invited along, all of us bumbling along with my Thai and their English, the point being, they were enthusiastic about me joining and talking.

I believe the current powers are closing to doors with this country and this is just one more, and I expect more.

This is just cycling camaraderie, cyclists are friendly and approachable anywhere in the world.

Dirtbikes actually and I've never found cyclists particularly friendly, but thats not the point.

[Emster23]

I want to hear from the 3 (so far) that voted it would be better to have just Thai teachers. Perhaps miscue on poll?

[phuketrichard]

there are plenty of qualified english speakers ( just call support for ubc, BBB, TOT,Banks, AIS etc),

the problem is they must pay for those english speaking thai's to become teachers.

[canathai]

No Thailand is not ready to teach English, firstly the students don't want to learn English as they do not understand the need for it as the government today has no concept of world business, my Thai wife's uncle is the English teacher in a small village he knows the days of the week the months and a few memorized phrases he does not speak English but yet is paid as an English teacher.