English to be second language

[JimboPSM]

From Bangkok Post:

The Education Ministry plans to declare English the second language for teaching and learning in schools with an aim to enable Thai people of the new generation to communicate with other people in Asean and world communities in English, Chinaworn Boonyakiat said on Thursday.

The education minister said he had discussed this matter with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij.

A plan to develop learning and teaching in English is being drafted by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), he said.

Mr Chinaworn said in order to successfully carry out the plan it is necessary to have foreign teachers from countries using English as the mother language for all schools for Mathayom 4-6 level (Grades 10-12).......

Full article: http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... in-schools

Thailand may be looking to emulate the international success of Singapore where, in my opinion, much of it was due to high educational standards, particularly in English, during the "benevolent dictatorship" of Lee Kuan Yew (Prime Minister 1959 to 1990).

Well to do middle class Thai families have been sending their children to schools and universities in the UK, US and Australia for many years as they recognised how big an advantage that a good grasp of English was for progress in the business world.

[nkstan]

English has been a compulsory subject for Thai students for quite awhile.I believe the ''stated'' goals were always the same.The problem lies with how they teach it in a system of no fail,no incentive to learn environment!At least once or twice a year the gov't talks about improving the education system for as long as I have been here and my daughter is now in her 12th year of school and there has been no changes that we can notice,They throw a little money around building thingd,setup a special ''trial type'' school here and there,but nothing changes!

My daughter is the only student that has ever been able to communicate well in English,although she never ranked higher than 10 in her classes,because students are allowed to cheat on tests,copy her homework etc. etc!It has been that way for 12 years in 6 different schools,private and gov't.!This year ,in her present school,in over half her classes,the cheating goes on ,noticed by the teachers that still don't say anything,but they have been grading the cheating students down to a just above passing level,so my daughter has now risen to #1 in those classes by 20-30 percentage points.Nobody has talked about it,except some students,by there has been no policy declaration!

I don't think that anything will change ,here,in my lifetime,Singapore will never be challenged as the hub,in that sense!

[fallenlocks]

Mr Chinaworn said in order to successfully carry out the plan it is necessary to have foreign teachers from countries using English as the mother language
[/quote]

this is good news for the thousands of unemployed graduates in the uk .
around 250.000 of them .

[Khun Paul]

Read the latest Bangkok Post, about the turn-around by the M of E, interesting . Bear in mind also that the offical English taught in Thai Schools is British English not some other form of the language.

[parrot]

" British English not some other form of the language"

Know I know why I can't understand what most of them say!!

[Khun Paul]

Know I know why I can't understand what most of them say!!

Well that is as clear as mud then isn't it.

[Aardvark]

Let's face it, why would you teach American English. Surely it can't be any harder to say or spell ZED than it is to say or spell ZEE. I think the Cotton Labourers have taken over the Country

[Cheers]

British English? Like how the Scots speak? Hmmm...can't see that happening in Udon. So, American and Australian English is out then. Really?

[jingjai]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/20 ... 39791.html

Country not ready for English language instruction
By Wannapa Khaopa
The Nation

It's too soon to declare English the second language for teaching in schools, Office of the Education Council (OEC) secretary-general Tongthong Chandransu said recently.

News reports late last week said the Education Ministry planned to declare English the second language in schools on October 22.

But Tongthong denied there would be declarations related to the issue on October 22, as reported by the media.

"The education reform policy committee, chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has discussed improving or upgrading English language teaching in educational institutions. But the committee has not yet reached a conclusion of how to develop the teaching," Tongthong said.

He was not sure if there was confusion caused by initial news reports on the issue.

He said the issue to be announced on the 22nd would be about developing students' quality by providing 30 per cent of their study time to activities outside classrooms.

"To initiate a nationwide English language teaching improvement scheme is a big issue. We need to prepare enough basic structure, like instructional tools, technology and qualified teachers as well as arrange funds, which will take a long time."

He said the PM and Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij agreed in principle to upgrade teaching English and would support the scheme.

"We need to clarify clearly the term to be used to call the language teaching improvement scheme to prevent confusion. I'm not sure if the committee will state that English will be taught as the second language for teaching in schools or not, but I can now tell that it is considering the language teaching improvement scheme. And, it will be able to give an answer on how it will move this project forward within the next one or two months," he said.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Education Minister Varakorn Samkoses said he agreed with the idea of declaring English the second language in schools, as Thailand will be part of the Asean community in 2015.

However, he said, most Thai people were not ready for communication in English despite the coming Asean community. So, other sectors of society should prepare for the change, as well by seek strategies to help improve their personnel, especially the government and private sector.

"To move the education sector, we should start with training our Thai teachers along with importing foreign teachers," Varakorn said.

"The Basic Education Commission's English Resource and Instruction Centre should be the main agency responsible for the scheme. It should collaborate with universities to share their knowledge and train and certify teachers in each region.

"Schools should create an English learning atmosphere by placing boards in English with language vocabularies around the schools, having students perform English language stage dramas, teaching maths and science in English and having foreigners meet and talk to students," Varakorn said.

English is used as an official language in the Philippines and Singapore, but used and spoken in Malaysia as a second language, according to Wikipedia.

[FrazeeDK]

and how many expats live in Udon who possess at least an undergraduate degree and are "native" speakers of Enlgish.... How about a special visa for "volunteer" english teachers who adopt a local school and assist in language instruction..??

[Khun Paul]

[quote]So, American and Australian English is out then. Really?

Cheers
New Member

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo, it would apear that the Thai Ministry of Education in their magnanimity decided that Australian English was OK as was British English, personally I think the English spoken by Australasia countries is superior to other English speaking countries with the exception of some of the smaller islands. But thai Govt only recognises Australia and Britain.

[nkstan]

and how many expats live in Udon who possess at least an undergraduate degree and are "native" speakers of Enlgish.... How about a special visa for "volunteer" english teachers who adopt a local school and assist in language instruction..??

Why bother,unless the student is motivated,they will not seek out or find,easily,opprotunities to practice the instruction and w/o practice there will never learn it enough for effective communication!
So the volunteer work,doesn't benefit anybody with the possible exception of the volunteer,and it is not about the volunteer,is it?

I swear,the cynicism I have developed here amazes me,but it is as it is!

[Cheers]

Quote: But thai Govt only recognises Australia and Britain.

Any chance of getting a factual source about this? Is it stated officially somewhere...or is it just a random thought cropping up in the minds of Brits?

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Yes, that is a dubious claim at best that the Thai Government only recognises Britain and Australia. They have diplomatic representation in Canada, for example, and I am sure that they do so in the United States too; however, I am not sure about North Korea.

[trubrit]

It would appear reading this and other topics that English is a second language already to some contributors .

[old-timer]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo, .

Nice bit of English there Paul.

OT...........

[Khun Paul]

IN response to the obvious question Why Aussies and Brits for the teaching of the Queens English, it was institgated by the Ministry of Education here in Thailand, who also brought in the new 55 year old rule, but what is not commonly known is that any foreign teacher currently in post ( employed ) can remain but moving schools could risk imposing the new regulations.
Some schools poo poo this but others have implemented it across the board.
Contary to belief it is NOT in the minds of Brits nor was it welcome when announced ,however it is a fact despite what other people say.
This applies only to Government Schools, but in practice the qualification requirement is basically standard across all spectrums of the educational system, many private tutorial schools flout many requirements but the onl`y people who lose are the students themselves.
Any further questions please PM me.

[bamakmak]

Quoting from the Bangkok Post:

The Education Ministry is pushing ahead with its proposal to make English Thailand's second official language.

The plan calls for English classes in about a third of 3,000 public and private schools nationwide to be taught by native speakers or local teachers who have graduated with a major in English.

Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat announced details of the plan at a meeting with directors of education service area offices from 225 zones nationwide in Bangkok yesterday.

Pupils in public and private junior secondary schools which are regarded as meeting "international standards" will learn English with local teachers who graduated in English.

Maths and science classes will also be taught in English.

The ministry also plans to hire retired English instructors from the US to teach pupils in senior secondary schools. US authorities have agreed to invite retired teachers to work in Thailand, he said.

Kuhn Paul has never provided ANY link to ANY reputable site that supports his belief that only Australians and British can legally teach in Thailand's public schools. His position is not only refuted by the thousands of Americans and Canadians teaching in Thailand public schools but also by statements made by Thailand's Education Minister.

[Khun Paul]

Ok gloves off, my information comes direct from the Ministry and I do not feel I have to justify what I said to anyone.
The statement by the Bangkok Post has been further complicat4d by a later statement which some obviously forgot to read was that it has further been stated that Thailand is not ready to adopt English as a second language.
The British council in their wisdom funds 50% of English teaching here in Thailand, now that may be a blow for those who are against anything British but I do suppose that they do ha some say on what is taught and by whom.
As for stating that I do not have to provide any link, I am good friends with an English porfessor who just happens to be on the body of the British Council and my sources are from him, Call me what you want but not a person who spreads untruths, ever since the story about American and other teachers came out, as with all things here some adhere some do not, any changes take time, and again you BANAKMAK did not read what I said, all those currently employed are ok but new and those who move schools may have a problem. In Government schools. Do try reading English please , thankyou.
Oh and for your information as for thousands of American and Canadian teachers, that is a statement I find hard to believe.

[Khun Paul]

Further to the above it stated that the Ministry is looking to recruit retired American teachers unfortunately as the English acceptable in Thailand is British English then that will cause some problems. British English is the Curriculum standard laid down by the Ministry of Education, so even contemplating employing teachers whose grammar,spelling and many a other facets are completely different would be counter productive wouldn't it. But then as with many things some speak before engaging brain. This includes Thai politicians and others.