PM urges Thais to improve English skills

[djayz]

In all fairness to everybody involved, teachers aswell as students, but until the pupils have a chance to PRACTICE the newly acquired language OUTSIDE the classroom in real-life situations, not much is going to improve.

Many of us studied a foreign language at school, but unless we were actually able to use it on a daily basis, it was extremely difficult to master it.

I learned French at secondary school in Ireland, but couldn't reproduce it outside the classroom.

Then I moved to Germany where I studied German and as soon as I walked out of the classroom, I was able to speak and use what I had learned. It goes without saying that my German improved dramatically in a relatively short period of time. Same goes for my Portuguese when living in Portugal.

Point is, they can introduce as many apps as they want to, urge students until the cows come home, but until pupils have an opportunity to communicate on a day-to-day basis in English, not much is going to change.

Edited July 10, 2016 by djayz

[djayz]

...duhh....as I recommended 12 years ago.....change all cartoons to English with Thai subtitles to begin with.....

I'd go one step further: do away with subtitles, too.

[kaorop]

Surely there has to be somebody in a higher position than this man, this is like sesame street, pushing messages with puppets.

Afraid not he is the Top Dog.

regards worgeordie

well actually there is a someone way more "topdog" than him, how much say he has these days is debatable and just who are those 12 pack?

anyway this is just this weeks annual blow hard on about English and will be blown away by next weeks annual blow hard on about (insert your own idea here)

[djayz]

If you want the Thais to learn English then it starts in the education system.

You have to employ teachers who are native English speakers ie (English/Irish/American/Australians/NZ etc) to teach the kids English.

NOT Thais, Filipinos, Indians etc. as they will only teach them 'Tinglish' and not English. The kids would benefit so much by just listening to and talking to native English speakers.

I'm sure there are lots of native English speakers over here who would volunteer their time and language skills if asked. To learn English you have to experience different dialects and accents. You cannot learn that from a text book or a none native English speaker.

Why can't the Thai government create a 'Native English speaking volunteer teachers' association' similar to the foreign 'volunteer police'?

You would obviously have to vet them etc, but teaching qualifications wouldn't be necessary as they would be supervised by a qualified teacher. Their role would be to let the kids experience English spoken by a native English speaker and learn from them how to converse in "real life" English.

This would be better solution than any text book.

As a multilingual, I would have to respectfully disagree. The #1 problem is and will continue to be the lack of English radio and TV, in addition to lack of practice. It's a fact that Thais in general can read and write English a lot better than they can speak it, and one of the main reasons their English is lacking is that they don't hear it and/or get a chance to speak it often enough.

Another major factor that your post neglects, is that Thai teachers normally speak Thai constantly during their English classes, while writing English on the Black Board. Had they been forced to speak more English to their students (and had the English skills to do so), the general population would have far better English skills.

+1 Spot on!

I had the "pleasure" (for want of a better word) of teaching Thai teachers in Korat who, in turn, taught English to young Thai children... Many of these (predominantly female) teachers couldn't get past

"How are you? I'm fine, thank you. And you?". I'm not exaggerating...

How in the name of God they "taught" their students English is beyond me.

Edited July 10, 2016 by djayz

[Stardust314]

Good from Thai PM Globalist neonazi from eu http://English will not be an official EU language after Brexit, says senior MEP Marxist and maoist barrosso and eu is dumb as hell . It is also fun to watch when Thais speaking only english as a foreign language. And tourists from france and germany must adapt...

[PaullyW]

This country is funny. Most of you have it wrong. The biggest issues are the following:

A) Thais are, in the majority, exceptionally insular. Nearly nobody is interested in the world outside Thailand except for in the most superficial ways. In a country where they've built their economy on mass tourism (of mostly NES) over 40 years, somehow Thailand manages to be among the very worst in the world among ESL countries. Look at the rankings.

How many Thais have shown you guys genuine, non superficial interest in your language, culture, etc.? They don't care.

related to the first point, most Thais, it seems, dislike English speaking foreigners and 'farang' culture. And, this arms length dislike is reinforced everywhere, all the time. How can they mobilize the country to learn if they constantly reinforce their dislike of farangs?

C) the Thais who do speak English reasonably well seem to talk only among other Thais of the same class. Ever notice that? Again, they are NOT interested in communication with NES. They are most interested in showing their status TO OTHER THAIS by speaking in the same broken English their grandparents probably learned.

Hopeless country

Sent from my R7plusf using Tapatalk

Edited July 10, 2016 by PaullyW

[smotherb]

Hire a sexy blond native english teacher with big headlights, give her a sexy dress and much make-up and put her on Thai Tv 24hrs with english conversation lessons. Not to forget the Western manners which come with speaking english!

Have you heard the english lessons on the radio? It can't get worse then that.

That may be a great idea to get the NES to learn proper English, but why place it on Thai TV?. Most NES can't put together anything but the simplest of sentences without errors in grammar, spelling or word choice. And, what are the "Western manners" to which you refer, knowing several ways to use the "F" word in each sentence?

[Srikcir]

By the way the travel industry looks he should have included Russian and Chinese also.

Especially Chinese with all the so called deals he's doing with them. Unless the Billion dollar submarines comes with user intructions in Thai!

Russians and Chinese use English as the International language.

Infact, everyone does nowadays

Recently I was in a 7/11 and noticed three women perhaps in late twenties in the store wearing motorbike gear (sans helmet). They all wore leather jackets with the logo Biker Queens. They had similar appearances that were definitely not Thai or Chinese and more similar to India. So I asked them if they spoke English. Yes they all did and fluently so. They were from India doing a tour of SE Asia on dirt bikes. None spoke Thai.

[sanukjim]

Bravo Mr. Prayut

There is much miss-communication between Thai and farang and missed a lot business.

It is a pity you are already far behind Cambodia, Vietnam

Get people from the Philippines, because they had at school all their lessons in English, can read, write and speak...and are cheap... so you can get many teachers.from a good quality.

Many Thai can only speak, but not write or read English.

You are joking right? Many Filipino teachers here have appalling English skills. Sure, maybe better than a lot of Thais, but certainly not suitable to teach a reasonable standard of English.

Many cannot explain English grammar, make copious spelling mistakes, speak with heavy accents causing Thai kids to emulate that, and choose the wrong English words and expressions in written prose.

My daughter's old school replaced almost all the native English speakers with Filipinos in their English program. The standard plummeted and several children have left for other schools.

The so called "English Teachers" were not educators but pack packers from Khao San road. So the school replaced phoney teachers with other phoney teachers. Big deal

[Rhys]

YADA YADA YADA...

[selftaopath]

If you want the Thais to learn English then it starts in the education system.

You have to employ teachers who are native English speakers ie (English/Irish/American/Australians/NZ etc) to teach the kids English.

NOT Thais, Filipinos, Indians etc. as they will only teach them 'Tinglish' and not English. The kids would benefit so much by just listening to and talking to native English speakers.

I'm sure there are lots of native English speakers over here who would volunteer their time and language skills if asked. To learn English you have to experience different dialects and accents. You cannot learn that from a text book or a none native English speaker.

Why can't the Thai government create a 'Native English speaking volunteer teachers' association' similar to the foreign 'volunteer police'?

You would obviously have to vet them etc, but teaching qualifications wouldn't be necessary as they would be supervised by a qualified teacher. Their role would be to let the kids experience English spoken by a native English speaker and learn from them how to converse in "real life" English.

This would be better solution than any text book.

I taught a couple of classes English in Nakhon Sawan Province. Only as a visitor. But when I spoke to the Actual English Teachers (Thais) at the school their English was appalling to be polite bout it

Years ago before I moved here my wife went all the local schools in Nakhon Sawan province looking for a good English teacher, she is reasonably educated. Not one even came close to her English which was then far from proficient. I fear that without "educated" native English speakers as teachers this will not change.

That is "food for thought." I've heard many individuals from various countries, where English is not their first language, speak English exceptionally well. I wonder if countries like China, Germany, etc. have/use native English speaking teachers -mainly- to teach?

[Barnet]

For once this is where attitude adjustment" is really needed.

It doesn't matter who is teaching or where they are from Thais consider English as a joke. The minority take it seriously and try to improve but the overwhelming majority don't. TV stations and commentators all speak in pathetic accents when speaking English and make no effort to pronounce words correctly. Store-BeLLLLLEEEEEEE. Its a frigging strawberry so say it as such not immitating a 4 year old child. When football is played the Thai commentators pronounce the names and teams in the wrong way also. Steven Geh-LARD, Wayne LOONEY.

University students consider English to be a feminine subject so opt for subjects such as Engineering instead. This is passed onto the kids and so on.

They'll never change.

[CantSpell]

Libido must be very strong... He has so many urges...

[Gweiloman]

They need NES to teach. There are things in the English language, like in the Thai language, that only a native speaker will understand. Training Thai's to teach English is very much a non-starter. Thailand has to hire proper NES teachers if they genuinely want the country to be on a level footing with the rest of the world

See this argued a lot and I disagree especially up to quite advanced levels. What is essential is strong teaching skills. As well as growing speaking some form of English NES teachers would be much better if they can demonstrate they have a strong capability in a second language so that they will understand what is involved in learning a foreign language rather than just acquiring it over tens of thousands of hours of immersion growing up. They would also be better if they have a reasonable knowledge of Thai so that they can understand the differences from that language which students will need to come to grips with. Also farangs beginning to learn Thai or foreigners starting to learn pretty much any language almost always elect to have a teacher who can explain concepts in their own language and use bilingual learning materials. Very few NES teachers in Thailand can do this. Someone who has learned English as a second language is also more likely to understand and be able to explain odd features and exceptions in the language as they will have struggled to learn them. NES will never have given them much thought and probably will only be able to say "we say this we don't say that".

Yes, it isn't essential to have NES to teach English up to a high level. Just look at Malaysia and Singapore. English is spoken fluently and is taught in schools by native Malaysians and Singaporeans. I doubt very much that a NES would be able to make a living teaching English in these countries.

You would be incorrect. Many NES teachers are making a living teaching English in Malaysia at least. I was one of them myself. English is at a higher level in these 2 places due to the fact they were British colonies and had a great head start. But many people from the outlying provinces and also a large part of the immigrant population from South Asia (India/Sri Lanka), Indonesia and China still require English instruction in schools.

I partly agree with you. What I meant was that in public schools, the English teachers are locals. I would imagine that NES teachers are teaching in private and international schools.

The standard of English in Malaysia has definitely dropped due to the politics of the UMNO government. In their efforts to try and tighten their grip on the country after independence, they progressively changed the education system by requiring all subjects (apart from English) to be taught in Bahasa Malaysia. That is why you will find that better English is spoken among the older generation compared to the current younger generation, unless these kids also had extra tuition outside of their normal schooling. You will also find that in general, the Chinese and Indian speaks better English that the Malays.

[Gweiloman]

They need NES to teach. There are things in the English language, like in the Thai language, that only a native speaker will understand. Training Thai's to teach English is very much a non-starter. Thailand has to hire proper NES teachers if they genuinely want the country to be on a level footing with the rest of the world

See this argued a lot and I disagree especially up to quite advanced levels. What is essential is strong teaching skills. As well as growing speaking some form of English NES teachers would be much better if they can demonstrate they have a strong capability in a second language so that they will understand what is involved in learning a foreign language rather than just acquiring it over tens of thousands of hours of immersion growing up. They would also be better if they have a reasonable knowledge of Thai so that they can understand the differences from that language which students will need to come to grips with. Also farangs beginning to learn Thai or foreigners starting to learn pretty much any language almost always elect to have a teacher who can explain concepts in their own language and use bilingual learning materials. Very few NES teachers in Thailand can do this. Someone who has learned English as a second language is also more likely to understand and be able to explain odd features and exceptions in the language as they will have struggled to learn them. NES will never have given them much thought and probably will only be able to say "we say this we don't say that".

Yes, it isn't essential to have NES to teach English up to a high level. Just look at Malaysia and Singapore. English is spoken fluently and is taught in schools by native Malaysians and Singaporeans. I doubt very much that a NES would be able to make a living teaching English in these countries.

Possibly if they worked for the British Council otherwise I would very much doubt it

Sorry, but what is it that you doubt? Are you saying that fluent English speakers only worked for the British Council?

[dageurreotype]

Why has yet another topic on speaking English and the need thereof run to so many pages, again. Of course they must learn to speak English, the International bloody Language, Not Russian, Not Chinese, ENGLISH! And that goes for all and every other nationality, including the French German Spanish Swedish Norwegian Finnish Dutch Danish Icelandic, did I miss anyone out? So for all you Thaied up luvvies, get over your silly selves. Jesus H!

[lostinisaan]

Why does he always smile like a monkey on LSD?

[lostinisaan]

Why has yet another topic on speaking English and the need thereof run to so many pages, again. Of course they must learn to speak English, the International bloody Language, Not Russian, Not Chinese, ENGLISH! And that goes for all and every other nationality, including the French German Spanish Swedish Norwegian Finnish Dutch Danish Icelandic, did I miss anyone out? So for all you Thaied up luvvies, get over your silly selves. Jesus H!

Dude, how could you forget the Filipinos? Jesus F Christ, what's wrong with you?

Edited July 11, 2016 by lostinisaan

[lostinisaan]

Why has yet another topic on speaking English and the need thereof run to so many pages, again. Of course they must learn to speak English, the International bloody Language, Not Russian, Not Chinese, ENGLISH! And that goes for all and every other nationality, including the French German Spanish Swedish Norwegian Finnish Dutch Danish Icelandic, did I miss anyone out? So for all you Thaied up luvvies, get over your silly selves. Jesus H!

I wake up silly......Mrs.Trans tells me so.............

She's the boss.

Edited July 11, 2016 by lostinisaan

[teacherofwoe]

Hire a sexy blond native english teacher with big headlights, give her a sexy dress and much make-up and put her on Thai Tv 24hrs with english conversation lessons. Not to forget the Western manners which come with speaking english!

Have you heard the english lessons on the radio? It can't get worse then that.

That may be a great idea to get the NES to learn proper English, but why place it on Thai TV?. Most NES can't put together anything but the simplest of sentences without errors in grammar, spelling or word choice. And, what are the "Western manners" to which you refer, knowing several ways to use the "F" word in each sentence?

You're obviously Filipino.

[Winniedapu]

By the way the travel industry looks he should have included Russian and Chinese also.

Especially Chinese with all the so called deals he's doing with them. Unless the Billion dollar submarines comes with user intructions in Thai!

Russians and Chinese use English as the International language.

Infact, everyone does nowadays

Recently I was in a 7/11 and noticed three women perhaps in late twenties in the store wearing motorbike gear (sans helmet). They all wore leather jackets with the logo Biker Queens. They had similar appearances that were definitely not Thai or Chinese and more similar to India. So I asked them if they spoke English. Yes they all did and fluently so. They were from India doing a tour of SE Asia on dirt bikes. None spoke Thai.

That last sentence was exquisite. And savage. Beautifully done. Thank you.

Winnie

[GAZZPA]

But that would require proper english teachers...not the 35k backpacker type.

From my own experience, good teachers come in many different forms.

Some are, believe it or not, backpackers, some earn more or less than ฿ 35,000 per month, some are young or old, handsome or not so handsome, etc. But one thing all "good teachers" have in common is a "genuine desire to help their students to learn, practice and reproduce the language, to reach out to them [the students] and encourage them to try". To teach them something relevant to their lives.

I've met quite a few teachers here with impressive degrees from very reputable institutes in the UK and the USA who either 1) don't give a t*ss about their pupils or 2) don't know how to grade their English to the student's level).

Speaking of "proper English" - it's actually written with a capital "E". No need for you to apply for any of the teaching jobs then, eh? ? Just kidding!

But I've also seen many native speakers with absolutely atrocious spelling mistakes.

I sort of agree with you except I think to be a good teacher you need both attributes.

You need professional qualifications and a strong desire to succeed in teaching the students. There are a lot of people teaching here who have no teaching qualifications, they just happen to use English as their native language and I have also personally met a good few who have completed a 2 week TEFL course and now believe they are qualified teachers.

However, whilst the schools keep trying to save money employing unqualified people on low salaries nothing will really change here.

[jerojero]

Pont... Pont... Pont... Tificate... Tificate... Tificate. Keep telling people what to do, but doesn't facilitate or fund necessary education to to do. BS BS BS....

[soalbundy]

But that would require proper english teachers...not the 35k backpacker type.

From my own experience, good teachers come in many different forms.

Some are, believe it or not, backpackers, some earn more or less than ฿ 35,000 per month, some are young or old, handsome or not so handsome, etc. But one thing all "good teachers" have in common is a "genuine desire to help their students to learn, practice and reproduce the language, to reach out to them [the students] and encourage them to try". To teach them something relevant to their lives.

I've met quite a few teachers here with impressive degrees from very reputable institutes in the UK and the USA who either 1) don't give a t*ss about their pupils or 2) don't know how to grade their English to the student's level).

Speaking of "proper English" - it's actually written with a capital "E". No need for you to apply for any of the teaching jobs then, eh? ? Just kidding!

But I've also seen many native speakers with absolutely atrocious spelling mistakes.

I sort of agree with you except I think to be a good teacher you need both attributes.

You need professional qualifications and a strong desire to succeed in teaching the students. There are a lot of people teaching here who have no teaching qualifications, they just happen to use English as their native language and I have also personally met a good few who have completed a 2 week TEFL course and now believe they are qualified teachers.

However, whilst the schools keep trying to save money employing unqualified people on low salaries nothing will really change here.

even the best teachers cant make you learn a language, you have to like things connected to that language,its people, its history and to see a use for yourself in learning it. Learning a new language needs personal dedication and hard work. I learnt to speak German fluently from scratch,teaching myself from books before i went to live there, i love the country. I taught myself Thai but cant identify myself with the people in the same way so it has always been an uphill struggle in fact i have stopped reading Thai now.

[petedk]

But that would require proper english teachers...not the 35k backpacker type.

From my own experience, good teachers come in many different forms.

Some are, believe it or not, backpackers, some earn more or less than ฿ 35,000 per month, some are young or old, handsome or not so handsome, etc. But one thing all "good teachers" have in common is a "genuine desire to help their students to learn, practice and reproduce the language, to reach out to them [the students] and encourage them to try". To teach them something relevant to their lives.

I've met quite a few teachers here with impressive degrees from very reputable institutes in the UK and the USA who either 1) don't give a t*ss about their pupils or 2) don't know how to grade their English to the student's level).

Speaking of "proper English" - it's actually written with a capital "E". No need for you to apply for any of the teaching jobs then, eh? Just kidding!

But I've also seen many native speakers with absolutely atrocious spelling mistakes.

I sort of agree with you except I think to be a good teacher you need both attributes.

You need professional qualifications and a strong desire to succeed in teaching the students. There are a lot of people teaching here who have no teaching qualifications, they just happen to use English as their native language and I have also personally met a good few who have completed a 2 week TEFL course and now believe they are qualified teachers.

However, whilst the schools keep trying to save money employing unqualified people on low salaries nothing will really change here.

I have a BA in English and have been teaching English at a university for 20 years, so I consider myself qualified and experienced.

Yesterday, I was told that the university needs qualified teachers and now all teachers need to have a MA, so I won't be able to continue working there.

I wonder how many foreigners with MA will be willing to teach for 28K a month.

Sometimes I really don't understand Thais.

[Thian]

Have a look, or should i say , listen to this.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAisJIV4fiw

Is that the big General speaking to a farang lady in small bikini?

She makes him soo nervous that he started stuttering and doesn't know where to look.

Thailand does have many english speakers but you won't meet them, thai who do speak english get a good job and don't hang on the streets to meet farang.

[smotherb]

Hire a sexy blond native english teacher with big headlights, give her a sexy dress and much make-up and put her on Thai Tv 24hrs with english conversation lessons. Not to forget the Western manners which come with speaking english!

Have you heard the english lessons on the radio? It can't get worse then that.

That may be a great idea to get the NES to learn proper English, but why place it on Thai TV?. Most NES can't put together anything but the simplest of sentences without errors in grammar, spelling or word choice. And, what are the "Western manners" to which you refer, knowing several ways to use the "F" word in each sentence?

You're obviously Filipino.

Why, because I can write three sentences without errors in grammar, spelling or word choice?

[smotherb]

But that would require proper english teachers...not the 35k backpacker type.

From my own experience, good teachers come in many different forms.

Some are, believe it or not, backpackers, some earn more or less than ฿ 35,000 per month, some are young or old, handsome or not so handsome, etc. But one thing all "good teachers" have in common is a "genuine desire to help their students to learn, practice and reproduce the language, to reach out to them [the students] and encourage them to try". To teach them something relevant to their lives.

I've met quite a few teachers here with impressive degrees from very reputable institutes in the UK and the USA who either 1) don't give a t*ss about their pupils or 2) don't know how to grade their English to the student's level).

Speaking of "proper English" - it's actually written with a capital "E". No need for you to apply for any of the teaching jobs then, eh? Just kidding!

But I've also seen many native speakers with absolutely atrocious spelling mistakes.

I sort of agree with you except I think to be a good teacher you need both attributes.

You need professional qualifications and a strong desire to succeed in teaching the students. There are a lot of people teaching here who have no teaching qualifications, they just happen to use English as their native language and I have also personally met a good few who have completed a 2 week TEFL course and now believe they are qualified teachers.

However, whilst the schools keep trying to save money employing unqualified people on low salaries nothing will really change here.

I have a BA in English and have been teaching English at a university for 20 years, so I consider myself qualified and experienced.

Yesterday, I was told that the university needs qualified teachers and now all teachers need to have a MA, so I won't be able to continue working there.

I wonder how many foreigners with MA will be willing to teach for 28K a month.

Sometimes I really don't understand Thais.

Faculty at fully accredited universities in the states require a graduate degree to teach at the undergraduate level. Special consideration may be given if the faculty member has an undergraduate degree and substantial course-specific practical experience--generally, teaching is not considered practical experience. Many universities require substantial practical experience in addition to a doctorate in the discipline to be faculty-eligible.