The media used headlines like ‘Officials to slash number of foreign teachers’ and most publications focused on the woeful English skills demonstrated by most Thai English teachers.
Yet within those same stories was promising evidence that suggests most foreign teachers have nothing to worry about and that the move represents progress.
According to the Bangkok Post,Deputy Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin himself stated the initiative would help, ‘state schools.’ While there are foreigners who work with general programmes at government schools, they’re not the most desirable positions for most foreigners.
Also, an overwhelming majority of Thais who pay for English classes insist on native-English speakers. They scoff at the idea of being taught by fluent non-native teachers and they out-right reject the idea that a Thai can teach English, therefore securing jobs for native-speakers within English programmes and language centres for decades to come.
Outside of the fact most foreigners’ jobs are secure, cynics focus on the oft-quoted number of only six Thai English teachers (out of 43,000 tested) who speak English at the Mastery Level C2 (as per the widely recognised CEFR standard).
The naysayers asked: How can the MoE expect those who can’t speak English to teach it?
Answer: according to The Nation, 900 Thai teachers obtained a score of at least B2 and this means that these teachers can, “interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party,” as per the CEFR’s summary.
That’s more than enough to make progress considering these B2-standard teachers are teaching students who struggle to decipher, “How are you?” from, “How old are you?”
Observers also neglect to recognise that the MoE is finally increasing the level of foreign help and input at its top levels. The announcement of this project comes only two months after hiring Michael Selby as a consultant.
While Mr Selby isn’t an educator, he is an accomplished corporate executive who may just have the ideas needed to help bring the MoE and its outdated administration into modernity.
According to the Post, Selby indicated training would focus on promoting higher levels of ‘student engagement’. Reading between the lines, that’s a move away from rote learning which is a much needed improvement.
Ultimately, 500 teachers will benefit from six weeks of intensive training from one of the world’s best ELT organisations: the British Council.
That’s 500 teachers who will inevitably improve their English and their teaching.
The programme definitely won’t be perfect and there’s certainly potential for failure. However, considering the initiative represents nothing short of a sea change in the MoE’s approach to teaching English, we should be giving credit where it’s due and refrain from a rush to judgment.
A TEFL trainer since 2007, Eric Haeg welcomes all questions and comments and can be contacted through TEFLcampus.