Since Thailand is
joining the ASEAN community in 2015, many policies have been proposed to help
Thailand to get ready for a big change. One of the important aspects Thai
Government is focusing on is education. The program “English Speaking Year
2012” was initiated by the Ministry of Education to encourage Thai students and
teachers to interact in English through activities once a week at school. (For
more information: http://thailand.prd.go.th/view_around_thailand.php?id=6053)
I really do agree with
the idea of encouraging Thai students to speak English. However, my main
concerns are, “Is the exposure to English once a week is enough?” and “Do we
have any other supporting channels that Thai students can use to practice their
English skills?” For me, personally, I don’t think that is enough. I could tell
from my own experience. I have been working in an international school for
almost eight years. I have been exposed to English at least five days a week
for all those years and I am still struggling with my English. On the first
year of working there, I realized that all those years in English classes at
school and University were not enough. The varieties of English which come with
different accents and the cultural differences played much more important roles
in the international communication than I could have expected. Two-way
communication, direct interaction, and regular practices are the keys that help
bridge the gaps. Thai students need to be keeping motivated and encouraged to
learn English in the enjoyable and interesting ways. For example, the primary
students would enjoy watching English cartoons and singing songs instead of
just reading and repeating words after the teacher. One more important factor
is the teachers. Many of Thai English teachers are still shy and not willing to
talk to native English speakers. Last month, my school was visited by a group
of teachers from a school in Lamphun. Instead of observing several classes in
small groups and interacting with native English teachers, those Thai teachers
preferred to be in one big group talking only to each other or Thai personnel
from my school. Needless to say, if the teachers are shy and still not willing
to interact in English, how could they be good examples for their students? In
order to prepare Thai students to be ready for ASEAN community, the Thai
Government needs much more than one day a week of English activities.
