The one question I hear the most this time of year is, "Can you teach me English?" You see, the school year has just started after the long summer holidays, which means the students don't have much of a study load yet, there's not a lot of extra school activities yet, and the students are feeling enthusiastic. Teachers, too, are looking at the new school year and thinking about how they can meet their English language goals for their students.
This year there is a greater emphasis on learning English. Recently the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to open their borders to each other in 2015. This will allow people from one ASEAN country work or study in another ASEAN country without the need of special visa or work permit. In order to facilitate this arrangement, English was chosen to be the universal language of ASEAN.
This agreement leaves Thailand at a disadvantage. Having never been colonised by a Western country (a point of pride in Thailand), Thailand's overall English language ability lags behind that of many of its neighbours. Malaysians, Singaporeans, Filipinos and the people of Myanmar all speak much better English than the Thai.
Hence the big push to improve the level of English proficiency across the country. Unfortunately, language study is not always easy. Like anything worth doing, it takes effort and perseverance - something that many of the kids in my neighbourhood are unwilling to invest. Often they study for a month, feel they are not making progress, then give up.
I sometimes ask prospective English students whether they would prefer an English language "vaccination". One quick jab and they are able to speak, read and write in English. They look at me and wonder if what I'm talking about is true. I then inform them that, sadly, it's not.
Wouldn't it be nice, though! Thai language fluency without the four years of struggle and effort. No embarrassment, no feeling stupid, no misunderstandings and no need for endless memorisation of vocab. But then the language leaner would be able to communicate without ever really entering into the world of the people whose language they are studying. And without entering into the other people's world, there still wouldn't be true understanding. So maybe the slow language learning process is better after all.
"Can you teach me English?"
"Sure", I reply, "as long as you're willing to work hard and put the effort in. "
This year there is a greater emphasis on learning English. Recently the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to open their borders to each other in 2015. This will allow people from one ASEAN country work or study in another ASEAN country without the need of special visa or work permit. In order to facilitate this arrangement, English was chosen to be the universal language of ASEAN.
This agreement leaves Thailand at a disadvantage. Having never been colonised by a Western country (a point of pride in Thailand), Thailand's overall English language ability lags behind that of many of its neighbours. Malaysians, Singaporeans, Filipinos and the people of Myanmar all speak much better English than the Thai.
Hence the big push to improve the level of English proficiency across the country. Unfortunately, language study is not always easy. Like anything worth doing, it takes effort and perseverance - something that many of the kids in my neighbourhood are unwilling to invest. Often they study for a month, feel they are not making progress, then give up.
I sometimes ask prospective English students whether they would prefer an English language "vaccination". One quick jab and they are able to speak, read and write in English. They look at me and wonder if what I'm talking about is true. I then inform them that, sadly, it's not.
Wouldn't it be nice, though! Thai language fluency without the four years of struggle and effort. No embarrassment, no feeling stupid, no misunderstandings and no need for endless memorisation of vocab. But then the language leaner would be able to communicate without ever really entering into the world of the people whose language they are studying. And without entering into the other people's world, there still wouldn't be true understanding. So maybe the slow language learning process is better after all.
"Can you teach me English?"
"Sure", I reply, "as long as you're willing to work hard and put the effort in. "
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