It was what I heard on the radio news on the way to my friend's house. . By comparing with Chinese students who study Thai for several years in which they are able to write and speak thai fluently, Thai government would like to reestablish Thai education system due to a result that Thai students fail to study English after 10 years of study.

This is true that most Thai people have been studying for more than 10 years and we still fail to use (incapable) English properly which means we couldnt actually communicate really well in English. I mean I have seen this problem for ages. Why would the government just see and realize that this is time to change Thai Education?!

I do not agree the fact that they say Thai teachers are bad teachers. They are not. I love all my English teachers and I think they're all qualified to teach English. I really enjoy all my English classes except when some of my teachers can sometimes be really annoying lol

When they say we fail to communicate in English after 10 years of study, I am not that surprised. Lets say how many Thai people actually use English in their daily life. Not many. To me, I think in order to learn forenign languages successfully you need to use and practice it, know what i mean? To be honest, I was terrified and really scared to speak with foreigners when i was a little girl. I thought they were like some sort of alien who we wouldnt be able to talk with and the language was some weird accent lol My US citizen uncle even wanted to adopt me and ask me to move to the us with him. I said No because of all above reasons. If only he would ask me now, I would (I think) definately say yes lol.

Like some other Thai ppl who can speak English fluently, I learn English through those media like tv, music and movies. its about motivation methink. As u see, ppl choose to study foreign languages for different motives. I was firstly scared of foreigners but then when i became to be so crazy about some boybands (back then - plz dont laugh) i wanted to understand what they're trying to say or send a msg to us. Same as many teenagers who like Asian bands (Korean & Japanese for example) they tend to study Chinese or Japanese. See what i mean?

So if the government blames the education, i just think its really not fair as its not all about that. it also relies on students who want to learn and enjoy it really. No matter how well our education is, if students dont feel like they are eager to learn, it woudnt be 100% working. oh well we'll see right!?

If the government fixed the English-teaching problem it would put tens of thousands of farang out of work! Yes, I agree it's fine as is!

At the end of the day, there are far more factors in the question of "why do Thai students not learn well?"

>it also relies on students who want to learn and enjoy it<

Actually, teachers should be able to motivate even those laziest students who are unwilling to study.... [provided that those lazy students make it to the classroom]

I attended a graduation ceremony yesterday, and to see former students collecting their diplomas was really something special. As the students left the hallway they passed their instructors. Even the students with poor English skills were able to convey their thanks to their teachers. The big problem is that most of them will never need to use the English language ever again, so it will be quickly forgotten.

It's been obvious to several thai governments during the past 15 years that the Thai education system is a poor one and is failing the students and the country. Many economists have warned that if the education system isn't reformed, Thailand will eventually lose out economically to Vietnam, China and others with better education systems. It's starting to happen.

Fixing it is hard, though, and will take time. They should have started a long time ago. The Ministry of Education is an enormous, corrupt bureaucracy. Teachers are also used by political parties during elections to try and influence voters, as they are respected in the community.

Teachers don't want to change. Change is threatening. So the political powers that be don't want to upset the teachers, whom they use, by forcing them to change.

If students aren't motivated to learn, part of the blame rests with teachers and their methods.

The results speak for themselves. The education system, and teachers, need fixing.

By the way, thanks for a thoughtful journal.

I totally agree with you and that i had the same motivation to speak fluent english because of boy band ( dont be shy!) but i still truly believe that Thai people would speak english better not would just from the better education background but also about how themselves can get involved with english in diary life... let alone the people who have desire to learn, they will eventually learn it but talking about those people who have no motivation or anything... i guess the more they have to be involved with english everyday the more they can develope to be able to speak english... so lets start talking english when order somtums and polices start giving us tickets in english?? how about that? haha jk

I agree with you that part of the problem is the motivation of the student or students in question.

The other part of the problem can be attributed to the teacher/s and the lack of an environment for students to practice their english skills.

When I was at university, I met a Thai friend who was studying english at Melbourne. When she started her schooling, her english was very poor. But when she completed her course in 3 years, her english was excellent.

She was so impressed with our system that when she got back to Bangkok, she and her friend started a business in finding appropriate schools for Thai students intending to study in Australia.

The last time I heard from her, she told me it has become a booming business because many Thai families are choosing to send their kids to study overseas.

As a school principal,i would like to say we..teachers well most of us would do anything to help the students to learn both in lesson and in life.Unfortunately,we are not the only ppl,there are the parents and of course the students themselves who have a lot to do with how well students study too.

Do agree on "its really not fair as its not all about that. it also relies on students who want to learn and enjoy it really" It has a lot to do with the person. I've lived abroad not for a long time but long enough to improve myself on many thing including my english. A friend of mine who's been living in usa for over 10 years still couldn't speak, listen nor write well coz she doesn't care and doesn't really fancy of knowing better english.Many people are like that,they don't care if they can speak or not as same as some students.Unfortunately me and all the teachers will still have to teach them as much as they can take from us and still trying to give them inspiration to like english class each day. Will it work? Well....i'm still working on it.Wish me luck!

i think the crossover from thai to english should be looked at more, i mean the buliding blocks for any new language comes from your native tounge, thai itself is a beautiful language, but when you start learning english through thai language, mistakes come in and motivation goes out, which then turns into frustration, maybe they should both be married up so we all speak Thailish!

First of all, I have to disagree that Thai people have poor English. I am always surprised at how well Thai people communicate with the English they have learned. I was raised in Canada, and all of us on the west coast study French for years -- yet you won't find many Canadians who can use it, in spite of being a "bilingual" country. So please don't think that the problem of a flawed language education system exists only in Thailand. Indeed, Thais speak English much better than many countries I've visited.

Having said that, however, there is room for improvement. First, younger students need to be encouraged to use English and challenge the teacher in class. At the moment, the prevailing classroom environment encourages students just to learn and memorize.

Second, the Thai government should become the first to regulate language schools. At the moment, language schools are run by business people, and they tend to employ native speakers with no qualifications, pay them crap wages, and treat them like crap. All the business people want is money. No thought is given to education. And the teachers often lose motivation due to the poor working conditions. This is the worst possible situation for English education.

Finally, the universities and colleges need to raise their standards and pay. I know at least 6 qualified and motivated teachers here in Japan who would love to live and work in Thailand, but don't want a 10X drop in their pay -- which is what happens when you work in Thailand. But it's not just about more pay -- the universities should insist that their teachers contribute to the curriculum, and should insist they learn Thai. Research clearly shows that billingual teaching is superior to monolingual teaching -- so if a teacher is not willing to take the first step and learn Thai, then the universities and language schools should fire their asses and keep looking.

Sorry for the long post -- but this is a topic that is rather close to my heart.

you know my motivation

I've been told by a lot of my farang friends who work as a kindergarten teacher that all the kids in the class really enjoy studying English. They even try to greet "hello teacher, whats your name" and stuffs all the times! I'm just wondering how we could lose the pleasure of learning foreign languages when we were young.....u know the excitement we have everytime we try to speak to our farang teachers and wonder if we could be wrong gramartically hehe

Don't really know about the Thai system, but having taught English in Hong Kong many years ago...I think it's about motivation and also commitment too. Getting the opportunity to frequently converse with natural English speakers is an inherent problem. Good jounal May

Im da one who too lazy to study

welcome back may. thanks for this journal. at least its not about 3 somes etc

i agree that a lot of thais are scared to practice their english. my wifes 2 kids have been going to english classes for years and they are scared to speak to me in english. maybe its got something to do with the different accents. i definately don't speak "english" english and americans don't speak "english" english also. and i also agree with you that some people are too lazy to practice it. its far easier just to speak in thai than english. once you have your certificate, why do you need to practice it? my sister-in-laws 2 kids aged 6 speak perfect english and they love to practice it, but are a bit shy about it. i agree totally with what andrewnakrab has written. my wife speaks english and i am too lazy to learn to speak thai, except for what i need to know. but if i am going to live there, then i will quickly get motivated to learn thai.

Ronan Keating for Minister of Education...problem solved.

My cutie, not that they just realised but it can't be changed in a month or even a year.. and it's not easy thing to do. It's about motivation of each person, hell yes!!! Me compared with my friends from high school or college, they study same english classes as I did, some even took a course(s) at some language institutes or whatever.. but they rarely use English to communicate.. so you know it never going to be improved..

In my company, those who educated from abroad speak english very well, of course,, but half of all staff in co' can understand but rarely speak english..

i dont know how we can improve if we aint practice.. i dont blame government tho'

hmmm just hire a young cutie as an english teacher. im sure that at least 1-3 students will try harder to communicate with the teacher.

Yes smartass I know what ya mean and that was I had always been dreaming of but u know what i ended up having a FEMALE teacher!! damn!

Smartie Sweetie : hmmm just hire a young cutie as an english teacher. im sure that at least 1-3 students will try harder to communicate with the teacher.

P' Riya : .... how about get a young cutie english BF ..... problem solved ... ; )