Council set to test all English teachers

**Hans Mann** · 02-06-2016, 08:52 AM

Thai and native teachers of English language will have their knowledge certified by the Khurusapha Teachers Council under a plan to assure students they have teachers with "real" English-language abilities.

The move was unveiled Wednesday by deputy permanent secretary for education Chaiyot Imsuwan, referring to a proposal by a working group looking at ways to increase Thai students' English-language skills.

The group has suggested Khurusapha issue certificates to Thai and native speakers of English who can prove they are qualified for English teaching jobs across the education sector.....

Council set to test all English teachers | Bangkok Post: news

**nidhogg** · 02-06-2016, 09:03 AM

Originally Posted by Hans Mann

Thai and native teachers of English language will have their knowledge certified by the Khurusapha Teachers Council under a plan to assure students they have teachers with "real" English-language abilities.

The move was unveiled Wednesday by deputy permanent secretary for education Chaiyot Imsuwan, referring to a proposal by a working group looking at ways to increase Thai students' English-language skills.

The group has suggested Khurusapha issue certificates to Thai and native speakers of English who can prove they are qualified for English teaching jobs across the education sector.....

Council set to test all English teachers | Bangkok Post: news

This will be fun.

**Pragmatic** · 02-06-2016, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by Hans Mann

Thai and native teachers of English language will have their knowledge certified by the Khurusapha Teachers Council under a plan to assure students they have teachers with "real" English-language abilities.

Are we talking Queens English or that Disneyworld American English?

**Passing Through** · 02-06-2016, 09:09 AM

I recently saw the TOEIC scores for a graduating cohort of 33 English BEd students. They ranged from 195 (pretty much no knowledge of or ability in English) to 410 (probably equivalent to a shitty O level in a modern foreign language) with a median of about 300. When big companies specify TOEIC scores for non-specialist staff (seccies, etc.) they will require a score of 500+ so none of these graduates would be qualified. They are, however, qualified to teach English in Thai high schools.

**aging one** · 02-06-2016, 09:14 AM

One thing to really keep in mind is the the TOEFL is used to test your ability in English in a academic setting. While the TOEIC is used more to test ability in a work environment.

a 450 on a TOEIC exam is quite low but you should be allowed to use the copy machine.

Its always the easy way here, and that cant even be accomplished.

**Passing Through** · 02-06-2016, 09:19 AM

the TOEIC is used more to test ability in a work environment.

It's a shit exam which doesn't really do that but the fact that no BEd student managed to get close to 550 (which itself is a terrible score and only marks the boundary between A2 and B1) is deeply, deeply depressing.

**sabang** · 02-06-2016, 09:22 AM

Some serious attitude adjustment will be necessitated.

**PeeCoffee** · 02-06-2016, 09:39 AM

Oh well, spelking and gramhar shud be fun.
Conversational English...I've met professional (not that kind of prossie) Thais that can converse on several subjects at a high level. Sadly few were involved in educational disciplines towards undergraduates.
Medical and business professionals that have traveled abroad tend to converse on a variety of subjects (their spelling I'd have no clue).

Look at Facebook and you'll understand the subjects that most Thai teachers become interested in.

**Maanaam** · 02-06-2016, 11:20 AM

As long as they hold the NES to a higher standard, and that the standard for Thai teachers is itself high enough to realistically expect better outcomes for students, I think it's a good idea.
Sadly, though, it would be like sacking every corrupt cop: You'd end up with one cop per province, half the NES teachers, and one Thai teacher per province.

**BobR** · 02-06-2016, 11:29 AM

It will almost certainly test the important stuff, like knowing what a gerund is.

**forreachingme** · 02-06-2016, 11:44 AM

Once me secretary let her ex university english teacher translate a page...

Google translator is doing a muuuch better work, was quite incredible that the guy submitted the document. She was trying to save some of the 500 Thb a page normally cost...

**Maanaam** · 02-06-2016, 11:55 AM

Originally Posted by BobR

It will almost certainly test the important stuff, like knowing what a gerund is.

Yeah. I've seen tests where it's clear the person who set the test is simply trying to show his or her "superior" knowledge and the questions don't really relate to the subject or the expected level.
At my wife's college, exams are set (by the teachers) and then reviewed by the Academic Head, who's English is not the best, and he is always impressed with Mrs Nam's colleagues' tests because they're gibberish, and he almost scoffs at Mrs Nam's, which are diligently and labouriously crafted and totally apt for the level of the students she teaches.

(I say labouriously because this Academic Head git insists that any multi choice questions have to be arranged with the choices given in order of length ("Because it looks nice").

I guess your point, though, was about the over-emphasis on grammar rules.

**beazalbob69** · 02-06-2016, 12:20 PM

Well they speak and read English like shit, but at least their penmanship is usually pretty good.

What's the point of only being able to write in English? They can't even read what they write and most certainly don't understand what they are writing.

**Dragonfly94** · 02-06-2016, 01:10 PM

I thought they already tested the 47000 Thai English teachers last year and decided only 6 were fluent?

**Maanaam** · 02-06-2016, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by Dragonfly94

I thought they already tested the 47000 Thai English teachers last year and decided only 6 were fluent?

Yeah, I recall reading something like that. Obviously the wrong 6 were fluent.

**thaimeme** · 02-06-2016, 05:23 PM

All well and good, yet who monitors and "test" the Teachers Council????

**Neverna** · 02-06-2016, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by Dragonfly94

I thought they already tested the 47000 Thai English teachers last year and decided only 6 were fluent?

That's a misunderstanding on your part.

**Neverna** · 02-06-2016, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by thaimeme

All well and good, yet who monitors and "test" the Teachers Council????

Indeed.

Who will test the teachers?

The British Council, which organises English courses and tests, may be asked to provide advice on ways to test teachers' proficiency as well as their teaching skills, said Mr Chaiyot, also acting secretary-general to Khurusapha.

I'm surprised the acting secretary-general to the Teachers' Council of Thailand (or anyone in TCT) doesn't know.

But whatever the test, here's the weakness ...

Jirachaya Jaranai, head of Phyathai School's foreign language department, said she believes the move could help raise the standard of English teachers, especially those who have not graduated in education and may not be as skilled as English majors. "But the government must give them [non-English majors] time to improve themselves," she said. "If they fail the [skill] tests, they should be given a chance to try again."

And again, and again, and again, and again, and ....

In the meantime, they will still be teaching. In the long run, I doubt many will improve much. But they will still be allowed to teach. And so the cycle continues.

**DJ Pat** · 02-06-2016, 05:43 PM

Why don't the British council ever intervene and take charge of situations like this? Or an embassy representative? You'd think it was taken more seriously so as to weed out the teachers who aren't really in it for their advancement. After all, it is their common language.

Shame on the BC and embassy.

**Passing Through** · 02-06-2016, 05:50 PM

^^ The problem is not that non-education majors are being given an opportunity to teach when they are not up to the standards, which is what the article says this is aimed at. That may be a problem but it's a minor one. After all, what's the point of bringing a graduate with a degree in, say, community development up to the standards of the education majors, when the education majors have no basic ability in English? Teachers colleges (as in my post above) churn out thousands of 'qualified' English teachers every year who struggle to express the most simple of ideas in English. That's the problem. I mean you've got a cohort graduating with a median TOEIC score of 300. That's fucking ludicrous; you may as well put piwanoi in front of a class and ask him to teach Arabic.

**Passing Through** · 02-06-2016, 05:54 PM

Why don't the British council ever intervene and take charge of situations like this?

Intervene in what? The Thai education system? What do you expect them to do? Storm the Ministry of Education and dictate recruitment policy?

**baldrick** · 02-06-2016, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by thaimeme

yet who monitors and "test" the Teachers Council????

get real - they have bought and paid for the positions so as they can extort more money from those who need their stamp of approval

**Farang Ky Ay** · 02-06-2016, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by DJ Pat

Why don't the British council ever intervene and take charge of situations like this? Or an embassy representative? You'd think it was taken more seriously so as to weed out the teachers who aren't really in it for their advancement. After all, it is their common language.

Shame on the BC and embassy.

Wow wouldn't this be considered as foreign interference in the thai educationnal system?

It may be possible to set up a partnership on Thailand's demand, but this would have a cost as I'm sure UK won't do it for free (considering they are more like in a "selling family jewels" period )

**Eliminator** · 02-06-2016, 08:17 PM

I find it so FUNNY, shit is going to hit the fan. SO many English teachers are No.1, NOT NATIVE speakers, No.2, NOT proper teachers. There is a group of those that are native speakers that can teach and there are even non native speakers that can still teach English but I would NOT like to take a bet on their ACCENT.

**Pragmatic** · 03-06-2016, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by Eliminator

I would NOT like to take a bet on their ACCENT. __________________

Up until a year or so ago the English teachers at the local high school here were from the Cameroon and spoke with a French accents.

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