English literacy just the tip of the iceberg

Published: April 21, 2018  at 04:00 AM

Writer: Daniel Maxwell and Peerasit Kamnuansilpa

Newspaper section: NEWS

https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1449762/english-literacy-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg

An ambitious initiative being planned by the Thai Ministry of Education to place thousands of young foreign teachers in rural schools across Thailand has the potential to dramatically improve English-language abilities. However, quality control is likely to prove problematic, as is culture shock. In addition, students in rural communities face myriad educational challenges far beyond foreign language proficiency, which restrict equality of opportunity.

During a mid-March meeting which discussed this initiative, the ministry expressed its intentions to work with Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) organisations and international schools to recruit the young teachers, most of whom would be gap year students or recent graduates. If successful, the project would begin implementation during the 2019 academic year.

There is clearly a dire need for better English skills nationally. English is the most important international ""gateway language"", opening up opportunities to students from depressed socio-economic backgrounds. Yet, national standards in English remain shockingly low. Annual reports from the Swiss-based education company English First and Thailand's national assessment, the O-Net, provide compelling evidence that English-language ability has stagnated while the ability of students in neighbouring countries, such as Vietnam, is improving dramatically.

At elite university demonstration schools, well-established English programme schools and other large urban schools in the most economically advanced provincial centres, the majority of students have reasonable levels of English, sufficient to communicate. In contrast, Thailand's rural schools are rarely able to employ qualified English teachers, and despite foreign languages being a core curriculum subject, rural students usually lack the ability to hold even basic conversations in English.

Giving these students the opportunity to study with native English-speaking teachers would be an important step towards raising these standards, and it is encouraging to see an ambitious project being designed specifically for these oft-neglected learners. Still, sourcing thousands of low-paid native speakers who are truly committed to improving the English skills of their students and who are equipped with the skills to implement syllabuses and teaching plans will be problematic.

Fundamentally, teacher recruitment and turnover at small rural schools are huge challenges. School leaders find it extremely difficult to fill teaching vacancies, often relying on inexperienced new graduates who only serve as temporary teachers. They are usually required to teach a full range of subjects, often covering academic content which they are unqualified to teach, such as foreign languages.

Introducing native English speakers into rural schools may help level the playing field so that rural students can compete with urban students in English. However, ensuring that these foreign teachers are comfortable operating in rural Thai areas -- a challenge for even urban Thais -- will be difficult. In addition, racial stereotyping of non-Causasian native speakers of English, some of whom may come from fellow developing countries, may mean that villagers will not get the most qualified or most adaptable candidates. Furthermore, qualified expatriate retirees who are used to living in Thailand may chafe at being prohibited from the opportunity to teach in their local village schools for small compensation. A slow, careful rollout of the scheme, building in flexibility, will be essential.

Unfortunately, the dire standards of English-language teaching in rural schools is not the only burden disadvantaging these children. In fact, an over-concentration on English skills masks a more worrying issue: the vastness of Thailand's educational inequalities in terms of basic skills. English skills are not the main determinant of success -- Thai language ability is. Yet, the Unesco Global Education Monitoring Report clearly indicates that urban students significantly outperform rural students in literacy, mathematics and education completion rates. Meanwhile the World Bank's report, ""Thailand's Economic Monitor"", has described the disparity between education in rural and urban areas as a national concern.

The 2015 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results indicate increasing, not decreasing, inequality. Thai children in small rural schools are falling further behind students in urban schools. In science, students from large urban schools are over one year ahead of children from rural schools, and in literacy the gap is even wider. It is estimated that half of the students in rural schools are functionally illiterate in Thai.

Furthermore, poor early childhood development has a detrimental impact on the 1 million children attending small rural schools. Due to poor economic development in the regions outside of Bangkok, particularly in Northeast Thailand, parents move to Bangkok and other large cities for work, leaving their children behind with grandparents who are often ill-equipped to provide the necessary care.

The lack of provision for cognitive development at children's homes -- most of which lack sufficient toys or books -- is compounded by a lack of access to quality early childhood development centres in rural areas, leaving thousands of children ill prepared to begin formal learning by age six. Not only this, but thousands still remain at home when they should be starting formal education, with only 65% of six-year-olds from poor rural areas beginning school in Primary 1.

There is a genuine need to enhance the cognitive functions of rural Thais. Providing better Thai-language training by leveraging the mother tongue works with Thai-Malay children. Expanding basic access to quality early childhood development services is critical. Early childhood centres must provide families with information and guidelines on nutrition, including minimum requirements for iodine and vitamins; healthcare, including deworming; and child development. The Integrated Family-Based Early Childhood Development programme, introduced in the 1990s to holistically address childhood inequalities, should be strictly implemented.

Rural schoolchildren across Thailand have long been neglected by policy makers. Raising the standards of English proficiency is a welcome start, but these students require much more than a few lessons with a foreign English teacher. They are not being given opportunities to develop skills which will enable them to find meaningful employment. Neglecting the needs of children in rural areas increases inequalities, widens socio-political cleavages, and undermines the progress that the country's leaders hope to achieve from their ambitious Thailand 4.0 economic model.