Teaching Teachers Is The Crucial First Step: English Speaking Year Policy

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Teaching Teachers Is The Crucial First Step: English Speaking Year Policy

Wannapa Khaopa,
Jitarpa Suwanatat
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- To force teachers who haven't spoken English to speak it without giving them any assistance is not a good idea - but to help train them to speak simple sentences that can be used in their classrooms will provide them with a good start.

Late last year the Education Ministry announced its English Speaking Year policy -but no clear guidelines to assist teachers to speak English have been seen so far.

Two teachers who have never had any conversations in English with their students at a Bangkok private school told The Nation recently they felt more confident after being trained to speak simple sentences, which they could use with their students in classrooms.

"I realise that I have to improve my English because the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is coming - and especially as the ministry has launched its English Speaking Year policy in preparation for the AEC. But, I don't know how I should start speaking this language," said Suwannee Junyananta, 56, a mathematics teacher at Joan of Arc School.

She and around 50 teachers at this school attended the training on English usage in class provided by Fun Language International (Thailand) recently.

Two English native trainers and two Thai trainers taught them how to speak English in class with their students. They learned language structures for use during their time at school - when greeting, when giving commands or instructions to students, during mealtime, when interacting with students outside classrooms, and when saying goodbye to students at the end of the day.

The trainers taught and encouraged them to speak out in English without nervousness during the fivehour training. At first, the participants were shy to speak out, but the trainers tried to make them more confident. They looked more relaxed and eager to learn and also dared to speak after they their activities and played games in English for one to two hours. This made them laugh and helped them bring down barriers in their minds, said Duangchai Tangsanga, founder and president of Fun Language.

Promporn Tangsanga, special activities and communications director of Fun Language said her company had analysed what conversations were necessary for teachers and designed the training course especially for them.

In addition, they could adapt the lessons and games they learned from the training to teach their students, Promporn added.

"I will speak the basic English sentences learned in the training to my students when the school reopens," Suwannee said, adding that she felt better with her English. "It's not that difficult."

"Teachers should try to improve our English or else we won't be able to catch up with our students. I myself have tried to listen to news in English," said Somwang Garin, 58, a science teacher who also attended the training.

Somwang said she assigned each of her students to find an English word per day and explain the meaning of the word to their classmates. She also told them to search for information in English to describe scientific charts, so they would learn vocabularies from each other and from the charts.

She added that teachers of every subject at her school would have to start speaking English with their students soon.

"If teachers do not use English regularly, they cannot speak at all. The use of English everyday is the deeprooted problem for Thai people. They have to learn conversations that they can use and adapt them to their everyday life," Promporn urged.

She pointed out that the policy was good, but the ministry should also guide schools on how to improve teachers' English or provide them with training and evaluation of how the training works.

Meanwhile, Suwannee and Somwang admired their school director for providing the training, which was helpful for them.

Somwang also said she wanted directors of other schools to make a move towards improving the English skills of their teachers.

According to Promporn and Duangchai, the company has provided the training free of charge to 15 private schools in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces. Five more schools will be trained during this summer vacation. While offering the training, the company is improving its curriculum to better suit teachers' learning behaviour.

"If the government wants our company to provide the same training to state schools, we are pleased to offer the training with low fees," Promporn added.

The Nation 2012-05-14

[isanbirder]

I notice this is in Bangkok and nearby.  Some of the big urban schools up-country will have no problem.  What about the more distant provinces?  Often the person who is teaching English is not an English major, and not even the English majors speak English with any willingness.  I can call to mind one Headmistress who has an MA in English, and won't willingly speak, and the English teacher in her school whom I knew for several years (as Counsellor at the school) before I knew she taught English.

Outside the bigger cities, the best school I know in this respect is, believe it or not, Umphang Wittayakom... which is also the most remote.  It has an excellent HM, who insists on his students speaking English, and many of his teachers, even Science and Maths teachers, speak English well.