GRASS ISN’T ALWAYS GREENER In the special report in the Bangkok Post about the launch of the Asean Community (AC), a student is quoted as having said that after studying further in Switzerland she would then “like to work in Singapore because the salary over there is better than here in Thailand”. Yes, that is true, but her thinking is sadly naive because she seems unaware that the cost of living, such as accommodation, food and transport etc, can be as much as three or four times that of Thailand. Before rushing to work overseas, I suggest that people first do a little homework; they might find that although overseas salaries appear higher, their take-home pay goes further in Thailand. And, as also mentioned in the report, Thais should be aware of the requirement for strong English language skills in most of the AC. These skills are often lacking with Thais. To improve this is the often mooted but never carried out idea of permitting expatriates residing here, whose first language is English, to teach and pass on their language skills — a possibly win-win situation.

Just as no one learns to play football or the piano by watching matches on TV or listening to CDs, no one learns any skill, including language, without regular, dedicated practice. Given the woeful lack of competent ESL teachers, it’s an open question when or whether Thailand can ever fully participate in the Asean Economic Community. Note: Although the caption of the photo mentioned above says it was an English language class, a close look at the texts the students were using indicates it probably was not an English course, but a business course taught in English. In an "English programme," much of the student's coursework is in English.

We see no one talking, only listening to a lecture most likely in Thai (given the speaker’s Thai-language papers) and taking notes.

(Caption from the Bangkok Post story) An English language classroom at Chetupon Commercial College, which is preparing students for the Asean Economic Community.

YOU’VE GOT TO TALK THE TALK The photo accompanying your page one special report perfectly captures everything wrong with English as a second language (ESL) instruction in Thailand and much of Asia.

TEACHERS TOLD YOU SO Re: “Thais fear AC English barrier” ( BP, Jan 2). The only surprise about your front page “special report” headline is that anybody could possibly be surprised by it. In fact, right across Thailand, English teachers and educationalists will be stifling a yawn and muttering: “Told you so.” For some years I was the director of the language institute at a well-known vocational college. I ran tutorials for college executives, management and teachers on the Asean Community (AC) and its implications for Thailand. I always emphasised the opportunities that the AC could bring to Thailand, rather than the threats. But the opportunities, I told them, relied on accelerating and upgrading everybody’s English language skills, particularly the students, who would be graduating into a competitive AC world. We had a good balance of native speaking and Thai English teachers, and I recruited a native English speaker to create and coordinate extracurricular English language activities to take English out of the classroom and put into the everyday lives of the students. Unfortunately since my retirement there is now not a single native English speaker employed by this college and the English language activities officer has also long since left.

Today our Post Bag (Letters to the editor) section published three letters from readers commenting on the article, all from foreign residents. You might find them interesting. Feel free to agree or disagree on our Facebook page listed above.

Bangkok Post readers were quick to express their opinions on yesterday's story detailing the challenges Thailand faces in competing in the Asean Community where English is the official medium of communication. It appeared in the newspaper, the main website and also on our own learning channel ( AC English barrier ), so it was widely read and commented on.

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Bangkok Post readers were quick to express their opinions on yesterday's story detailing the challenges Thailand faces in competing in the Asean Community where English is the official language.

One thing our readers may not have realised is that students in English programmes, like the one at Chetupon Commercial College shown here, study many courses in English, not just the language itself. From looking at the texts, this class, in particular, is likely to be a business course. (Photos by Panupong Changchai)

Click "play" to listen to Readers comment on Thailand's English language woes and "Download" to keep this file for educational purpose.

Vocabulary:

accelerating : happening at a faster rate - เร่งให้เร็วขึ้น

accommodation : a place for someone to stay, live, or work - ที่พัก

activities (noun): things that you do for interest or pleasure, or in order to achieve a particular aim - กิจกรรม

aware (adj): knowing that something exists, or to have knowledge or experience of a particular thing - ทราบ, รับรู้

caption : a short piece of text under a picture in a book, magazine or newspaper which describes the picture or explains what the people in it are doing or saying - คำบรรยายใต้ภาพ

challenge : something that needs a lot of skill, energy, and determination to deal with or achieve - สิ่งที่ท้าทาย, การท้าทาย

competent : satisfactory or effective; good enough for the purpose but not especially good - อย่างเพียงพอ

competitive : involving competition - มีการแข่งขัน

coordinate : to organise the different parts of a job or plan so that the people involved work together effectively - ประสานงานกัน

cost of living (noun): the amount of money that people need to pay for ordinary goods and services such as food, clothing and a place to live - ค่าครองชีพ

coursework (noun): work that students do during a course of study -

dedicated : used only for one specific thing - ที่กำหนดใช้ในทางใดทางหนึ่งโดยเฉพาะ

detail : to give a list of facts or all the available information about something - อธิบายโดยละเอียด, ชี้แจงรายละเอียด

director (noun): the head of a school or organisation - ผู้อำนวยการ

educationalist (noun): a specialist in theories and methods of teaching - ผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านการศึกษา, นักการศึกษา

emphasise : to stress something such as an idea, fact or detail; to explain why something is important - เน้น

employ : to have someone work or do a job for you and pay them for it - ว่าจ้าง, จ้าง

executive : a senior manager in a business or other organisation - ผู้บริหาร

expatriate (expat) : a person living in a country that is not their own - คนที่อาศัยอยู่ต่างประเทศ (เป็นเวลานาน)

extracurricular (adj): not part of the usual course of work or studies at a school or college - นอกหลักสูตร

given : because of a particular fact - เนื่องจาก

headline : the title of a newspaper story that is printed in large letters - ข่าวพาดหัว

implications (noun): the effects that an action or decision will have on something else in the future - การเกี่ยวพัน,ความหมาย,ความเกี่ยวข้อง

improve : to make better - ทำให้ดีขึ้น

indicate : to show that something is true, exists or will happen - แสดง, ทำให้รู้

institute (noun): an organization that has a particular purpose, especially one that is connected with education or a particular profession; the building used by this organisation - สถาบัน,องค์การ,วิทยาลัย,สถาบันหนึ่งของมหาวิทยาลัย

instruction : teaching, education - การสอน

lack of : when there is not enough of something - ขาด

lacking : not having much or enough of something - ขาด

launch : starting something - การเริ่มต้น

management : the people who run and control a business or similar organisation - คณะผู้บริหาร

medium : a method or way of expressing something - สื่อ

mention : to refer to someone or something in speech or writing - กล่าวถึ, เอ่ยถึง, พูดถึง

moot : to suggest an idea for people to discuss - เสนอความคิดหรือหัวข้อเพื่อการอภิปราย

mutter (verb): to speak or say something in a quiet voice that is difficult to hear, especially because you are annoyed about something - บ่น, บ่นอุบอิบ

naïve : believing things too easily or tending to trust others too much - อ่อนหัด ไร้เดียงสา

native speaker : someone who has spoken a particular language since they were a baby, rather than having learnt it as a child or adult - เจ้าของภาษา

open question (idiom): a matter which is undecided; a question that still has not been fully answered -

opinion : your feelings or thoughts about somebody/something, rather than a fact - ความเห็น, ความคิดเห็น, ทัศนคติ

opportunity (noun): a chance to do something, or a situation in which it is easy for you to do something - โอกาส

overseas : in another country - ต่างประเทศ

participate : to take part in something - เข้าร่วม

permit (verb): to allow someone to do something - อนุญาต, อนุมัติ, ยินยอม

practice (noun): doing some activity to improve at it and become more skillful - ฝึกซ้อม, ซ้อม, ฝึกฝน

quote : to repeat the words that someone else has said or written - ยกคำพูดมา

recruit : to get someone to work in a company or join an organisation - จ้างงาน จัดหาเจ้าหน้าที่หรือบุคคลากร

relied on : needed something in order to continue living, existing, or operating - อาศัย, พึ่งพาอาศัย

requirement : something that you must have or do in order to do or get something else - ข้อกำหนด, ข้อบังคับ

reside : to live in a particular place - อยู่อาศัย

resident : a person who lives in a particular place - ผู้พักอาศัย

retirement (noun): the time when you stop working, especially because of old age - เกษียณอายุ, การอำลาวงการ

rush (verb): to work quickly to do something - รีบ, รีบเร่ง, เร่ง, วิ่ง

salary : a fixed amount of money that you earn each month or year from your job - เงินเดือน

single : one only - เดี่ยว

situation : all the circumstances and things that are happening at a particular time and in a particular place - สถานการณ์

skill : the ability to do something well, usually as a result of experience and training - ฝีมือ, ทักษะ

stifle : to stop something from developing normally; to make something difficult for someone - ระงับ

the grass is (always) greener on the other side (of the fence) (idiom): said about people who never seem happy with what they have and always think that other people have a better situation than they have -

threat : a danger - อันตราย

tutorial : instructions on how to do something - การเรียนพิเศษ

unaware : not understanding or realising something - ซึ่งไม่รู้ตัวมาก่อน

unfortunately : making you sad or disappointed, or getting you into a difficult position - น่าเสียดาย

upgrade : to make a project, a piece of machinery, computer system, etc. more powerful and efficient - ยกระดับ

vocational college : a school that focuses on providing the skills necessary for particular jobs - สถานศึกษาวิชาชีพ วิทยาลัยอาชีวศึกษา

win-win : a win-win situation; a situation in which everyone gains or "wins"; not some win but some lose -

woeful : extremely sad - เต็มไปด้วยความโศกเศร้า

woes : great problems or troubles - ความเสียใจ, ความทุกข์ร้อน

yawn (noun): an act of yawning, opening your mouth wide and breathing in deeply through it, usually because you are tired or bored - การหาว