From what I have seen as an English teacher working in government secondary schools here in Thailand over the last 10 years I must say that I'm not surprised and actually relieved that someone else is aware of how bad the situation here really is. But it begs the question: with all the emphasis and effort on employing native English speakers to teach English language lessons throughout Thailand, why then is Thailand so far down the ladder?
It's interesting that at a time when we are inundated with messages about how Thailand is "Ready for ASEAN" every other ASEAN nation ranks above Thailand for English proficiency, even countries that Thai people look down their noses at, such as Myanmar and Laos
How can this be? Are these countries all achieving something superior to Thailand with their limited budgets? Are they attracting "better" English teachers by offering higher salaries and better ‘perks'? The answer, I believe, has more to do with how students learn in Thailand and not the teaching being offered by foreign teachers.
I am constantly amazed at how many year 12 students (Muttayom 6) find it almost impossible to speak even the simplest English sentences. These young people who have been ‘learning' English for approximately 10 years are unable to even answer the simple question, "Where are you going?"
Obviously I am making an enormous generalisation here but it seems that the older a student is in Thailand, the worse their English language proficiency is. A stroll around any Thai government school will reveal why this is.