Thai education shambles
Postbox letter from Ajarn Jim
Outside of MEP and EP programs, why are government schools fixated on NES teachers doing so much conversation? From what I understand, the English section of the university exams covers reading, comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar.
Keeping foreign teachers
Postbox letter from Paul
How will Thailand prevent their slide towards last place in the ASEAN economic community when they can't keep foreign teachers? The Government in Bangkok make the request, but many educators can't seem to accept the help that they are given.
The communists helped me learn English
Childhood memories of Thai village life
I must have been eight when the Communists came to our village, because that was the first year my grandmother told my father that I must stay in school. I had six older brothers, I was the first girl in the family, and there was a lot of cooking and dish-washing to be done in the morning. My father thought that girls who stayed too long in school would just get pregnant.
Is Thailand taking it seriously?
Postbox letter from Marvin
It seems the only thing required in most schools right now is to be a young “fresh face”. Experience is not appreciated (or paid for) in most cases.
Age limit by Ministry of Education?
Postbox letter from Richard
I feel like I've been spinning my wheels here for weeks sending CVs and emails and not getting any results.
Where will the money go?
Postbox letter from Cliff
I retired from my job in the States last year and decided to spend my retirement here in Thailand, teaching Thai people to speak better English among other things. I knew beforehand it would be an uphill battle. I have spent 4 years of my life here, plus another 11 working at a Thai church near my home in the San Diego area, so I was well aware of the difficulties Thai people have with our language. In fact, most of the few Thai people I know who speak it fluently have a very heavy Thai accent.
Fear of change?
Why the reluctance to adopt English as an official language in Thailand?
In Thailand the government has set 2012 as English Speaking Year with a goal of encouraging students to converse in English every Monday. Such policies are useful but the major leap of enacting legislation to make English an official language for Thailand is also needed
Soaked during floods
Postbox letter from Jimmy
I am not surprised some teachers are being told by Thai schools that they will not receive money for the time they didn't work during the floods. The safety net is for the Thais, not the falang. If you've been there long enough, you should know the pecking order by now.
Too old at 60?
Postbox letter from James
In the end Thailand, as disillusioned foreigners leave, your tourist industry collapses and the current crop of teachers grow older and are replaced by smiling backpackers, or recession refugees happy to join the treadmill for their 30k pay, you will stay a developing country.
The chalkies need a real change
Postbox letter from Mr Grumpy
Nothing can prepare the foreign teacher for the employee-to-management-to-admin staff life. Dealing with these matters can drive the most experienced teachers up the wall and can turn a normally friendly teacher into a paranoid wreck!
