PRD opens English language camp for its officials

[webfact]

PRD opens English language camp for its officials

NAKHON NAYOK, 23 June 2016 (NNT) – The Government Public Relations Department (PRD) has organized an English language camp for its personnel stationed in Nakhon Nayok province.

The training camp was a collaboration between the PRD and Thammasat University Research and Consultancy Institute. The camp was organized as part of a wider English communications training initiative for PRD executives and staffers.

The training session consisted of an Online Advanced English for Business and a Preparation Course for Presentation. The program was scheduled for June 22 - 23. A total of 31 PRD executives took part in the activity.

PRD Director-General Apinan Juntarungsri said Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha attaches great importance to the development of English language skills among government officials. The PRD chief said the Ministry of Education was assigned to organize special curricula for state officials.

In response to the government’s policy, the PRD has launched a series of training sessions to enable its officials to handle an English-speaking environment and provide coverage on international events.

The department previously launched two English programs aimed at familiarizing its personnel with conversational English and English-learning applications available on smart devices.

-- NNT 2016-06-23

[smutcakes]

I hope they had a nice hotel, entertainment, wines and some exciting activities planned for the 31 PRD executives to enjoy to assist in their English learning.

[PatOngo]

Wely goos idea

[WhizBang]

No one is going to be learning much from a 2 day course.

[johncat1]

I hope they are not being taught by Thai teachers

[toybits]

Any reason to "spend" money is a good enough reason.Those very people spent years at school trying to learn English. Just imagine what 2 days work of seminar can do to "Improve" their English language skills. Amazing Thailand!!!

[Winniedapu]

Sweet Jesus.

I wish them every success, but I'm not even a little bit hopeful they'll actually learn anything. All forgotten in a week.

W

[rkidlad]

No one is going to be learning much from a 2 day course.

And this is the problem. Quite often adult students who want/have to learn English will do so for about 4 hours a week. Not all year round, but for maybe 10 weeks of the year here and 10 weeks there.

Students often complain that they're not developing, that their English is not improving. The question I have is always; "Well, how many hours do you put in outside of class?" None? You don't practise at all? Well, how do you expect to improve? Simply by attending a class every few days for a couple of hours? Not gonna happen.

The idea here is that you attend English class - that's it. You go, you study for a couple of hours and you're literally 2 hours better than you were before. No chance. If you don't use the language, you forget it. Like anything in life. Don't know any foreigners? Your problem. Too shy to speak to foreigners? Your problem. Don't have enough time to practise in your free time? Your problem. Most people who teach English here are not teachers - they're 'instructors'.

But as often is the case, the onus is on the teacher. Teachers have to motivate. They have to magically implant information into people who've quite often been told to listen and not ask.

It all boils down to the individual. Sure, there are many bad teachers, but there are also lots of good ones who try very hard for a pittance. I was never good at maths. Why? Not because my teacher was bad, but because I didn't like it. Wasn't interested in it. History? I was excellent. Loved learning anything about history and my teacher was no better nor worse than my maths teacher in her field.

Hard to teach a culture which has so many people who have an obsession of image over substance.

Edited June 23, 2016 by rkidlad

[Mook23]

"Black is ugly" ... The man is black. The man is ugly.

[Winniedapu]

No one is going to be learning much from a 2 day course.

And this is the problem. Quite often adult students who want/have to learn English will do so for about 4 hours a week. Not all year round, but for maybe 10 weeks of the year here and 10 weeks there.

Students often complain that they're not developing, that their English is not improving. The question I have is always; "Well, how many hours do you put in outside of class?" None? You don't practise at all? Well, how do you expect to improve? Simply by attending a class every few days for a couple of hours? Not gonna happen.

The idea here is that you attend English class - that's it. You go, you study for a couple of hours and you're literally 2 hours better than you were before. No chance. If you don't use the language, you forget it. Like anything in life. Don't know any foreigners? Your problem. Too shy to speak to foreigners? Your problem. Don't have enough time to practise in your free time? Your problem. Most people who teach English here are not teachers - they're 'instructors'.

But as often is the case, the onus is on the teacher. Teachers have to motivate. They have to magically implant information into people who've quite often been told to listen and not ask.

It all boils down to the individual. Sure, there are many bad teachers, but there are also lots of good ones who try very hard for a pittance. I was never good at maths. Why? Not because my teacher was bad, but because I didn't like it. Wasn't interested in it. History? I was excellent. Loved learning anything about history and my teacher was no better nor worse than my maths teacher in her field.

Hard to teach a culture which has so many people who have an obsession of image over substance.

Good post, and largely true.

However I think you are wrong when you say that "The idea here is that you attend English class - that's it. You go, you study for a couple of hours and you're literally 2 hours better than you were before."

My experience of the Thai education system is that they believe that paying to attend the classes should result in a pass. End of story. If you pay, you get, like buying a pound of sausages.Thais have trouble getting the hang of 'passing if you have learned'. And the government is happy that Thai education is good if all the students have a certificate, and have never cared if they actually learn anything. 'Appearance is better than substance' has always applied in Thailand, perhaps even before it was Thailand..

The problem is that company's coming to Thailand wanting skilled staff who have 'learned how to learn' will be disappointed. Because overseas companies are not Thai, they do the research first and won't come in the first place.

It seems that Thais have trouble understanding why companies are leaving and replacements are not coming. The skills shortage (especially the lack of learning as a skill in its own right), will make Thailand not only the sick man of SE Asia (which it is now, as we speak) but also the poor man of SE Asia. Then all the moneyed class parasites will look for someone else to blame. The problem is that they cannot blame the person who is most to blame. because to do that is to blame themselves.

W

Edited June 23, 2016 by Winniedapu

[Rhys]

They call it educational tour....waste or reward? use the money or lose it... Only on paper.. with everything... expecting something to change that is a proven loser... well, they seem to use it for other things.

The mindset is hours per baht then the pretty certificate...DONE.. I can speak English..

[scorecard]

Any reason to "spend" money is a good enough reason.Those very people spent years at school trying to learn English. Just imagine what 2 days work of seminar can do to "Improve" their English language skills. Amazing Thailand!!!

I wonder if;

- It's taught by Thai teachers from the old mould of explaining everything in Thai and in reality the amount of time actually speaking English is less than 5% of the total time. and even worse that 5% is just sitting and listening to English?

- There's a 5 day European tour included?

[oldsailor35]

No one is going to be learning much from a 2 day course.

And this is the problem. Quite often adult students who want/have to learn English will do so for about 4 hours a week. Not all year round, but for maybe 10 weeks of the year here and 10 weeks there.

Students often complain that they're not developing, that their English is not improving. The question I have is always; "Well, how many hours do you put in outside of class?" None? You don't practise at all? Well, how do you expect to improve? Simply by attending a class every few days for a couple of hours? Not gonna happen.

The idea here is that you attend English class - that's it. You go, you study for a couple of hours and you're literally 2 hours better than you were before. No chance. If you don't use the language, you forget it. Like anything in life. Don't know any foreigners? Your problem. Too shy to speak to foreigners? Your problem. Don't have enough time to practise in your free time? Your problem. Most people who teach English here are not teachers - they're 'instructors'.

But as often is the case, the onus is on the teacher. Teachers have to motivate. They have to magically implant information into people who've quite often been told to listen and not ask.

It all boils down to the individual. Sure, there are many bad teachers, but there are also lots of good ones who try very hard for a pittance. I was never good at maths. Why? Not because my teacher was bad, but because I didn't like it. Wasn't interested in it. History? I was excellent. Loved learning anything about history and my teacher was no better nor worse than my maths teacher in her field.

Hard to teach a culture which has so many people who have an obsession of image over substance.

I can only remark from experience. Last year a couple of school kids in uniform started talking to me on the beach, they wanted to converse in English, so i helped them with their questions. Within ten minutes, i was surrounded by 12 yr old's with their notepads all trying to learn from me. I really enjoyed it and would have liked to carry on, but their time was limited. I could happily do this on a regular basis, but it would then involve work permits etc. I am not a trained teacher, but went to grammar school and could see the bad mistakes which their Thai English teacher was teaching them.

Edited June 23, 2016 by oldsailor35

[mikebell]

Agree totally with Oldsailor above. I am a retired Head of English at a large UK Comprehensive school with 38 years service including sixth form 'A' level. I visited my step-daughters' school in a village in Surin where I was called on to do an impromptu lesson. I loved it & would gladly go into local (Sattahip/Pattaya) schools for free but the powers-that-be won't wear it. So much for -

'Prayut Chan-ocha attaches great importance to the development of English language skills among government officials. The PRD chief said the Ministry of Education was assigned to organize special curricula for state officials.'

[selftaopath]

Yep. Thailand the hub of learning.

[TPI]

No one is going to be learning much from a 2 day course.

On the first day they spend 2 hours signing in and opening the seminar, after break they learn to sing a song! Lunch for an hour and a half then they are broken up into teams of, say, 10 people. A very short lesson rotation of about 20 minutes then afternoon break witha chance to buy uniform accoutraments at the stall which is located just outside the hall! Another 20 minute rotation then home at 4 o'clock!

Next day,opening speeches again until 9 o'clock, then 20 minute rotation and so it goes until 2 pm when we have certificate delivery, 200 photos and away we go!

The books they're given are as useless as the speeches given to and recieved from the director of what ever branch of government is hosting the seminar!The books are useless because they're English translations of Thai conversations which include all of the polite restateing of position, class, status and job requirements of the speech giver to the speech reciever with a quick statement of the course outcome (It's presented as a text book), not forgetting to say they're learning English so that they can communicate with all ASEAN countries!

The main lesson is "The procedure of and how to act in a meeting!"

Useless!! Bah humbug!

[Winniedapu]

No one is going to be learning much from a 2 day course.

On the first day they spend 2 hours signing in and opening the seminar, after break they learn to sing a song! Lunch for an hour and a half then they are broken up into teams of, say, 10 people. A very short lesson rotation of about 20 minutes then afternoon break witha chance to buy uniform accoutraments at the stall which is located just outside the hall! Another 20 minute rotation then home at 4 o'clock!

Next day,opening speeches again until 9 o'clock, then 20 minute rotation and so it goes until 2 pm when we have certificate delivery, 200 photos and away we go!

The books they're given are as useless as the speeches given to and recieved from the director of what ever branch of government is hosting the seminar!The books are useless because they're English translations of Thai conversations which include all of the polite restateing of position, class, status and job requirements of the speech giver to the speech reciever with a quick statement of the course outcome (It's presented as a text book), not forgetting to say they're learning English so that they can communicate with all ASEAN countries!

The main lesson is "The procedure of and how to act in a meeting!"

Useless!! Bah humbug!

I see you've been to one of these as well. I couldn't believe the first one I went to was real. That was the first and last time I taught 'English' to grown people who couldn't be bothered to learn it themselves.

The way their 2-year-old children learn Thai. By immersion.

W

ps. You forgot the interminable photo sessions. Photograph anything that moves* for posterity. Especially if there's anyone powerful or famous that you can claim you met and became immediate best friends with, even thought they only talked at you for a while from a speech someone else wrote for them. Fame and reputation by proximity, like osmosis. Great.

*And many things that don't move of course... pretty ribbons, notices (all in Thai), the hotel (if it's famous or expensive so you can pretend you paid for the overnight room and therefore, must be rich and powerful).

Edited June 25, 2016 by Winniedapu