Education for a 6 year old in Udon Thani

[designer]

Hi there , I wish to know if there is a good school in or near nongbualamphu for my wifes child he has been in south africa for 4 months and can have a conversation with me in english ,we wish to spend a year in thailand early next year (dont want to be here for the world cup) as my wifes mother lives in Nong Sang he will stay with her for a while as we want to check out where we want to settle but would like for him to learn thai and english , Thanks

[laphanphon]

if going to live here, he will learn thai quickly. english, good luck, even the private schools are lacking. NBLP, not optimistic for you. couple private schools in udon are ok, but the schools here really are lacking proper training and simple supplies. if lucky, he'll get a few good teachers and apply himself. without the self motivation and parents constant input, students don't have a chance here.

good luck

[designer]

Thanks for the heads up ,my wife is teaching him thai and english script at this time,his granny never sent him to school in thailand he is now in pre school and already speaking english,all in three and a half months by the time we get over to thailand he will speak english quite well and will have made a start on the grammer ,What is the best school in nongbua , he will be seven at this time.

[BKKSTAN]

Thanks for the heads up ,my wife is teaching him thai and english script at this time,his granny never sent him to school in thailand he is now in pre school and already speaking english,all in three and a half months by the time we get over to thailand he will speak english quite well and will have made a start on the grammer ,What is the best school in nongbua , he will be seven at this time.

There has been alot of research about the ability of children up to the age of 7 being able to learn two languages as easy as most people learn one, although the closer they get to 7 before starting ,the ability diminishes.There fore ,if you allow the boy to go to Thai schools,and you want him to be bi-lingual,it might be wise to allow his Thai to end at the doorstep ,other than homework,and converse only in English at home,allowing his school and peers to develop his Thai as he will have plenty of practice with other Thai kids!

[designer]

Thanks Bkkstan I will keep that in mind,

[laphanphon]

agree with Stan, as that was the rule of the house, english only in house, as she picked thia in school. made a huge difference compared to her peers and higher grades, as she has competed in a couple english public speaking competitions, always finishing at least 2nd place, even with older kids. of course english in the house means i'm quite illiterate in thai. which isn't a priority, her education is.

i personally am not familiar with NBLP schools.

[papaguido]

Unraveling how children become bilingual so easily
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, Ap Medical Writer Tue Jul 21, 3:08 am ET

WASHINGTON – The best time to learn a foreign language: Between birth and age 7. Missed that window?
New research is showing just how children's brains can become bilingual so easily, findings that scientists hope eventually could help the rest of us learn a new language a bit easier.

"We think the magic that kids apply to this learning situation, some of the principles, can be imported into learning programs for adults," says Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington, who is part of an international team now trying to turn those lessons into more teachable technology.

Each language uses a unique set of sounds. Scientists now know babies are born with the ability to distinguish all of them, but that ability starts weakening even before they start talking, by the first birthday.

Kuhl offers an example: Japanese doesn't distinguish between the "L" and "R" sounds of English — "rake" and "lake" would sound the same. Her team proved that a 7-month-old in Tokyo and a 7-month-old in Seattle respond equally well to those different sounds. But by 11 months, the Japanese infant had lost a lot of that ability.

Time out — how do you test a baby? By tracking eye gaze. Make a fun toy appear on one side or the other whenever there's a particular sound. The baby quickly learns to look on that side whenever he or she hears a brand-new but similar sound. Noninvasive brain scans document how the brain is processing and imprinting language.

Mastering your dominant language gets in the way of learning a second, less familiar one, Kuhl's research suggests. The brain tunes out sounds that don't fit.

"You're building a brain architecture that's a perfect fit for Japanese or English or French," whatever is native, Kuhl explains — or, if you're a lucky baby, a brain with two sets of neural circuits dedicated to two languages.

It's remarkable that babies being raised bilingual — by simply speaking to them in two languages — can learn both in the time it takes most babies to learn one. On average, monolingual and bilingual babies start talking around age 1 and can say about 50 words by 18 months.

Italian researchers wondered why there wasn't a delay, and reported this month in the journal Science that being bilingual seems to make the brain more flexible.

The researchers tested 44 12-month-olds to see how they recognized three-syllable patterns — nonsense words, just to test sound learning. Sure enough, gaze-tracking showed the bilingual babies learned two kinds of patterns at the same time — like lo-ba-lo or lo-lo-ba — while the one-language babies learned only one, concluded Agnes Melinda Kovacs of Italy's International School for Advanced Studies.

While new language learning is easiest by age 7, the ability markedly declines after puberty.

"We're seeing the brain as more plastic and ready to create new circuits before than after puberty," Kuhl says. As an adult, "it's a totally different process. You won't learn it in the same way. You won't become (as good as) a native speaker."

Yet a soon-to-be-released survey from the Center for Applied Linguistics, a nonprofit organization that researches language issues, shows U.S. elementary schools cut back on foreign language instruction over the last decade. About a quarter of public elementary schools were teaching foreign languages in 1997, but just 15 percent last year, say preliminary results posted on the center's Web site.

What might help people who missed their childhood window? Baby brains need personal interaction to soak in a new language — TV or CDs alone don't work. So researchers are improving the technology that adults tend to use for language learning, to make it more social and possibly tap brain circuitry that tots would use.

Recall that Japanese "L" and "R" difficulty? Kuhl and scientists at Tokyo Denki University and the University of Minnesota helped develop a computer language program that pictures people speaking in "motherese," the slow exaggeration of sounds that parents use with babies.

Japanese college students who'd had little exposure to spoken English underwent 12 sessions listening to exaggerated "Ls" and "Rs" while watching the computerized instructor's face pronounce English words. Brain scans — a hair dryer-looking device called MEG, for magnetoencephalography — that measure millisecond-by-millisecond activity showed the students could better distinguish between those alien English sounds. And they pronounced them better, too, the team reported in the journal NeuroImage.

"It's our very first, preliminary crude attempt but the gains were phenomenal," says Kuhl.

But she'd rather see parents follow biology and expose youngsters early. If you speak a second language, speak it at home. Or find a play group or caregiver where your child can hear another language regularly.

"You'll be surprised," Kuhl says. "They do seem to pick it up like sponges."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090721/ap_ ... ngual_tots

I have a 7 and 4 year old. My 7 year old was just learning to speak English in the US. He came to live here when he was 2 in a half (I remained in the US). Eventually starting preschool here he quickly replaced Thai for English and forgotten most of what little English he learned. But he's doing better now and can he understand most of what is spoken to him, but has some trouble in his responses.

My 4 year old is still grasping the spoken language. However, what she has picked up I've noticed that she can easily switch from English to Thai depending on which parent she's speaking with. She fully understands when I speak to her in English and understands my wife completely in Thai.

I missed about a 18mos (2.5 to 4) of my son's young life while I remained in the US and he didn't have the benefit of a natural English speaker at home. Whereas my daughter has had the full benefit of being spoken to in English.

......................................

Now if I can just get them to stop say "----, ----, and damn it"

[parrot]

A long-timer resident of Udon has a Thai step-daughter and a daughter by birth in Thailand. His rules with his children have been: in the house, you speak English. You can watch TV as long as it's in English. When you speak with mom, you speak in Thai (not isaan). The dad speaks absolutely no Thai (he can't), so it's English only with dad. When mom talks with the kids, it's English only. Talk with the pets? Yep, English only. Tough rules, and at first I thought maybe the guy was too strict with his kids. As time went on, his step-daughter, who couldn't speak word one when he first married, and his daughter by birth spoke far far far better English than other half-falangs in Udon....IMHO. Their Thai doesn't suffer because they get their fill of it at school and when out alone with friends/mom.

We raised our daughter in the US, English only. Now that she's grown and would like to speak a few words of Thai, we realize we should have taught her Thai when she was young.

Sometimes it's a tough choice for folks. You want the Ms. to learn English, but you want to learn some Thai. Your kids will revolt because none of their friends have to speak English at home. And on and on. If I had to do it all over again, having seen the experiment play out here with a hundred or so half-falang families that we've known, I think I'd play by the English-only-at-home rules. As with lots of things in life, it's up to you.

[laphanphon]

they are little sponges at that young age, retain everything they learn. Gem could speak isan/thai/english before age 5, understand what she knew and had no problem, simply building her vocabulary as time went on, as rito says, using the appropriate language with the appropriate family members wasn't a problem, simply amazing. and me, still trying to perfect my english.

Gem missed half of kindergarten here, as it was a routine of go to school, get sick, stay home a week, back to school for a week, then repeat cycle, since thais apparently don't keep their kids home when sick. didn't think she was learning anything so i stopped sending here. at home she was taught the thai and english alphabet, and numbers. so when applying for st mary's, they questioned her ability to start at the grade level for her age. coincidentally the teacher for her class was in the office at the time, and since school break, she went to the teacher's house for tutoring and evaluation, couple times a week, for few weeks, until teacher realized and prepared her for entry into her appropriate level/grade for age. so she missed nothing, and actually was better prepared by not going to local kindergarten and simply learning the basics at home.

after completing 1st grade, nobody in family or immediate neighbors could assist her in her homework, and these people, if schooled, made it to at least 6th grade, if not 9th. her village friend was still trying to count to 100, then Gem was doing multiplication and division in 2nd or 3rd grade, both same age and grade. gov't school are far behind the private, if good school. at latest english competition, she took 2nd, and a don bosco/private school studen took 1st place just last week. it was mixed up grades and gov't/private schools.

[NongMeeInBoston]

I went to public school in Thailand all my life. I think you must put your extream effort in order to be good. I won't say much about it but I knew I have worked really really hard since I was young.

My mother taught me to read and write when I was younger than 5. I didn't go to kinderkarten. However, when I first started my school, I seemed to be the best girl in there. I could even read the newspaper! I love love love reading. I'm just trying to point out to you that how important the parent role is to the learning of your child. School is just part of it. If you can find a good school, then good for you. I know you want the best for your kids.

In my opinion,school is the place where kids practice thier social lives, improve their EQ and IQ and other physical abilities, and as parents, you can some how help improve thier learning.

Good luck!

This is my first post and I just wanted to say Hi to you guys.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Sawasdee khap khun Mee sabai dee mai

Thanks for the nice post and good advice.

I hope you enjoy Boston, and be careful not to wear a Derek Jeter jersey and Yankees cap in Beantown.

Sohk dee der

[BKKSTAN]

I went to public school in Thailand all my life. I think you must put your extream effort in order to be good. I won't say much about it but I knew I have worked really really hard since I was young.

My mother taught me to read and write when I was younger than 5. I didn't go to kinderkarten. However, when I first started my school, I seemed to be the best girl in there. I could even read the newspaper! I love love love reading. I'm just trying to point out to you that how important the parent role is to the learning of your child. School is just part of it. If you can find a good school, then good for you. I know you want the best for your kids.

In my opinion,school is the place where kids practice thier social lives, improve their EQ and IQ and other physical abilities, and as parents, you can some how help improve thier learning.

Good luck!

This is my first post and I just wanted to say Hi to you guys.

Welcome Nong Mee.great share,hope you continue posting!! =D> =D>

[Marmite The Dog]

I think even a Thai Uni would be struggling to keep up with the standards set by a Euro/Us junior school, so good luck.

[BobHelm]

My mother taught me to read and write when I was younger than 5. I didn't go to kinderkarten. However, when I first started my school, I seemed to be the best girl in there. I could even read the newspaper! I love love love reading.

Welcome to the Forum also NongMee.
Many,many years ago when I was 5 years old I was in school in UK. Every night I had to come home & 'read' a small passage out of my school book to my mother as 'homework'. This went on fine for many.many weeks. Then I went down with a childhood illness (measles or the like) & had to have a week at home. In order for me not to fall behind my mother decided to keep me up with my reading. It took her 2 seconds to realise that I could not read a word & had no conception of how to either. My school reading consisted on me remembering 'parrot fashion' passages under pictures & reciting them when requested. Needless to say, I had a very different concept of reading & how to do it by the time I went back to school. From then on my reading homework consisted of a couple of sentences out of the newspaper every night.
A parent is undoubtedly one of the most significant influences in a child's education. With a disinterested parent only the exceptionally talented will succeed.

[laphanphon]

With a disinterested parent only the exceptionally talented will succeed.

why thank you for that compliment.......

dysfunctional family that it was, parents were stone alcoholics, and feeding the kids seemed to be the only responsibility they accepted, and we ate rather well. another story. but i actually enjoyed learning, strange kid, not a book nerd or extremely intelligent, but if interesting, i paid attention and applied myself. i enjoy numbers and complex questions, so math came natural, and growing up in Philly, it was hard not to pay attention and appreciate history, since surrounded by it. luckily had a few excellent teachers, and one of the better schools, though most were there for an easy job, and the extras, such as counseling for your future, didn't seem to exist, as being so poor, i probably could of got a free ride at college, but was completely ignorant of grants and school loans. i was also a complete arse and a teacher's nightmare in classes or teachers that i didn't identify with, or they shouldn't of been there, little too much alpha personalities to be teaching. which was fine, as i usually got thrown out of the class, and continued my education at the library, reading every current monthly/weekly subscription of time, newsweek, national geographic, whatever was available at the time, and not just for the african culture articles, though i may of studied them a bit longer than necessary.

the system has completely changed since those days, and participating parents and teachers are essential now, for decent education. i paid attention, as best i could with Gem's schooling, which i think made a considerable difference, if only to check her homework book, to make sure she was actually doing it, along with english and math. then she improved greatly when Ree came into the family, as now someone to help with thai and other subject taught in thai. so she got off to a good start in her formulative years, and developed decent study habits, which needed to be enforced, as one of the very smart cookies in class, but just a lazy as i was. we'll see how well it sticks, as she is on auto pilot now.

Ree got a decent education, though no parental input, as passed at a young age and she got bounced from sibling to sibling, but i'm surprised at times what she knows, and what is over her head. just wasn't taught.

NongMeeInBoston. very nice post, and should be mandatory reading by all parents. they definitely make the difference, along with communicating and having a relationship to talk about social issues, which my mother and i did have, thankfully, save me from being a complete arse. there are a few of us, that manage to fall thru the cracks and fall standing up, but i think i was lucky, or as bob says...........

welcome to the forum, and your input is very important, as we don't get many female posters, and their viewpoints.

[tom1941]

Thanks for the heads up ,my wife is teaching him thai and english script at this time,his granny never sent him to school in thailand he is now in pre school and already speaking english,all in three and a half months by the time we get over to thailand he will speak english quite well and will have made a start on the grammer ,What is the best school in nongbua , he will be seven at this time.

There has been alot of research about the ability of children up to the age of 7 being able to learn two languages as easy as most people learn one, although the closer they get to 7 before starting ,the ability diminishes.There fore ,if you allow the boy to go to Thai schools,and you want him to be bi-lingual,it might be wise to allow his Thai to end at the doorstep ,other than homework,and converse only in English at home,allowing his school and peers to develop his Thai as he will have plenty of practice with other Thai kids!

I do agree that at 7 years up the thai boys mainly get lazy and want to play, but I have a group of kids at udon who I teach at weekends and they want to learn as that is their spare time I also teach at my village school 2 afternoons a week to kids that want to learn noty because they heve to , more info email me tom65forster@yahoo.com

[iono]

There is a Christian pre/kindergarten to 1st grade school in Nong Bua, many non Christians attend due to the excellent teachers, they do have a period of English at least three times a week....let me know if you're interested and I can get you good directions.