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sigmoid
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 1276
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EFL Educator
Joined: 17 Jul 2013 Posts: 988 Location: Cape Town
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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So does that mean no more amazing Thai Baths....?? |
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suphanburi
Joined: 20 Mar 2014 Posts: 916
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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฿2500 will get you a Thai Bath complete with the trimmings.
www.anniesbangkok.com/ (not worksafe)
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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General Ministry aims to cut foreign English tutors
By Dumrongkiat Mala, Bangkok Post | 13 November 2015
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/763348/ministry-aims-to-cut-foreign-english-tutors
The Education Ministry plans to recruit its first batch of 500 Thai teachers who teach English in state-run schools nationwide to undergo a "train-the-trainer" programme in a bid to reduce the cost of hiring foreign English teachers.
Deputy Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said those Thai English language teachers will be selected from public schools across the country to undergo the six week intensive programme from the British Council's English specialists who have experience in English-language teaching management on a global scale. Mr Teerakiat said the selected teachers will receive advanced instruction in teaching both written and spoken English and some new methods for effectively teaching English. "A group of teachers to join the programme will be selected from all over the country. They have to be very good in English because after the six-week training programme, they must be role models and trainers for other English teachers in their schools or schools near their area," he said.
Speaking at an event entitled "The Role of Education and Innovation in Thailand's Future" organised by the British Embassy in Bangkok on Tuesday, Mr Teerakiat said he was certain this initiative would help state schools reduce the cost of hiring foreign teachers in the future as many schools currently spend millions of baht a year hiring foreign English teachers. "We cannot rely on foreign English teachers to improve our English learning forever. You can see that almost all schools are hiring foreign teachers for English classes. Even cash-strapped schools that can't afford to hire native English speakers still hire non-native speakers like Pakistanis or Filipinos," Mr Teerakiat said. "So we need to stand on our own feet in the future and use foreign English teachers only as much as necessary." He said the ministry recently conducted a survey of the capability of Thai English-language teachers across the country and found more than 43,000 Thai English language teachers in public schools, but only six of them have been found to have the ability to achieve native-like fluency in English. "That's a big problem [for the ministry],'' he said.
To expect better English skills from Thai students, the ministry needs to improve its teachers' English skills first, Mr Teerakiat said. He also said the ministry will, in the near future, partner with Poly Plus Entertainment Co and GMM Grammy to use their artists and celebrities who can speak English fluently to promote English learning among Thai youth. "Students need role models to motivate and inspire them. If they have good examples to follow, they will have a positive attitude towards learning English," he said.
Paul Bute, Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy in Bangkok, said the British Embassy, in cooperation with the British Council and Cambridge University, is trying to help Thailand boost its students' language proficiency by developing a standardised test of English language proficiency for both Thai teachers and students. The embassy has continually encouraged English graduates from Britain to come to Thailand to teach English here because it is important for Thai students to have the chance to learn from native speakers, he said.
(End of article) |
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EFL Educator
Joined: 17 Jul 2013 Posts: 988 Location: Cape Town
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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THAINGLISH EFL teachers receiving amazing Thai Baths...WOW!!!!! |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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What does this mean for those expat teachers who are already working in Thailand? How will this proposed plan impact them? |
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suphanburi
Joined: 20 Mar 2014 Posts: 916
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Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 1:09 am Post subject: |
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nomad soul wrote: |
What does this mean for those expat teachers who are already working in Thailand? How will this proposed plan impact them? |
For those who properly qualify for a visa and work permit (have a degree and can speak English) there will be no significant impact. You get your 4 years and then get pushed out.
For those who want to stay longer then professional development is now becoming a requirement with a post grad qualification (certificate or diploma) in education or master's in education leading to Thai licensure now needed.
For the backpackers who don't qualify and have used EFL as a means to extend their stay in the tropics the whole process is getting much more difficult with changes by the MOE/TCT, immigration, and labor offices.
Running off to neighboring countries to work will also become more problematic with the AEC coming into force in about 6 weeks.
The writing has been on the wall for years and people have been warned to qualify-up or lose out. The days of the backpacker-teacher are numbered and soon they too will go the way of the Dodo bird.
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plumpy nut
Joined: 12 Mar 2011 Posts: 1652
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2015 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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suphanburi wrote: |
For those who want to stay longer then professional development is now becoming a requirement with a post grad qualification (certificate or diploma) in education or master's in education leading to Thai licensure now needed.
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This clearly is designed to take advantage in some way of those who are receiving stipends from their governments at home and enjoying the good life in Thailand with extra money from teaching. Very few others are going to advance with post graduate degrees after teaching for 4 years for the privilege of a base salary of 30,000 Baht and getting worse by the year. I would maybe consider teaching in Thailand if the salary was a little higher, however that is not my main concern. My main concern would be using my post graduate work only to have to deal with the appalling Thai education system? Nobody but the desperate to stay in Thailand will do that.
As for the backpackers, many people with English degrees, and some additional training in English and ESL both, could make a huge difference in the education in Thailand. It is now, and always has been the Thai Educational system secondary to Thai Culture that makes it difficult for Thai students to learn English or anything else Western for that matter. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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A excerpt from an article similar to the one above:
Thailand looks for locals: initiative to reduce the country’s reliance on overseas English language teachers
By Matt Salusbury, EL Gazette | January 2016
Source: www.elgazette.com
The chief of the Crime Suppression Division of Thailand’s national police force warned the nation’s English language schools of another hazard of hiring expatriate native speaker English teachers back in November 2014. Police colonel Thiradet Thamsuthi alerted school principals, students and parents to the ‘perils’ of ‘hiring a native English tutor’ after the arrest of a US national and EFL teacher wanted in both Thailand and the US for alleged multiple rapes, had taught in several Thai schools and set up his own language school there. He was able to evade detection for so long by applying under false names using forged US and British passports, and by only holding down any teaching job for a short time.
Late last summer Minister Teerakiat urged Thailand’s school administrators to perform ‘vigilant’ background checks on all foreigners applying for work after the British embassy informed Thai authorities that some UK nationals with known criminal records for child abuse crimes had arrived in Thailand to work as teachers. The British embassy then advised schools, which traditionally have responsibility for background checks but often lack the resources to do them, to check the backgrounds of British nationals on the UK police’s Acro website. Some Thai embassies overseas appear to have already tightened their requirements for background checks from applicants for work visas as a result of the tip-off.
(End of excerpt) |
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EFL Educator
Joined: 17 Jul 2013 Posts: 988 Location: Cape Town
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Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 8:12 am Post subject: |
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Recently I have noticed a lot more Thais and Filipinas (mostly women) teaching EFL here in the Land Of Smiles...especially in government schools...me thinks this trend is here to stay due to ASEAN integration...EFL teacher salaries in Thai Baths are also on the fall! |
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