abel morales cadias

The Indigenization of English to Language Varieties

Nativization and indigenization of a language is an aspect of language change, and study of this phenomenon can be linked to a tradition of scholarly research into the norms of language use in bilingual or multilingual societies, and in particular to the effects of language migration on linguistic change (Richards 1980). Such is the case of the English language that became a second tongue to many countries like the Philippines.

Haugen (1938) was one of the first linguists to locate such phenomenon within the domain of descriptive linguistics. Thus in his studies of language ecology, particularly with reference to the gradual assimilation of Scandinavian immigrant communities into North America, he documented the gradual divergence of the immigrant’s linguistic norms from the language norms of the homelands. Haugen was able to construct a typological account of the processes involved. As a result, code switching, interference and borrowing entered the terminology of bilingual studies.

Another development of research was further expounded by Kachru (1969) when he conducted a linguistic study of the Indian English. Findings of his study had proved useful not only in understanding the formal feature of the texts but also in relating these to typically Indian contexts that has brought into the realization on the study of register variation, style variation, collocational deviation, semantic shifts, and lexical range. His study has proven useful in describing the “Indianness” of Indian English in terms of linguistic manifestations at the level of phonology, lexis, grammar and semantics, of distinct cultural, affective, and situational aspects of Indian society and culture.

This marks the interest of other linguists to study the distinctiveness of the indigenized forms of English in almost all corners of the world like India, Nigeria, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Development of English in Philippine Literature

Tuazon and Medina’s (1974) study on Philippine Literature revealed that Filipino writing may still be truly national although written in different languages. They stated that language does truly its purpose of communication, for no matter what language is used, the Filipino writer produces a strong and rich literature.

In 1951, Jamias, as cited by Gonzales and Alberca (1978), identified a new variety of English by depicting the language of Philippine literature in English as a

…living language…on the lips and minds of an ever growing
number of users, with a modified vocabulary and diction, idiom,
and the sentence structure, and a new cadence … [It] has all the
promise of a new way of thought and talk. Upon this new
or rather newest, English, Filipino writers will ‘erect’ the literary language.

Llamzon (1969) focused on the spoken characteristics of this English variety to explore its nature. He postulated that there is a Standard Filipino English (SFE) which he defined as the type of English spoken by and acceptable to educated Filipinos. His study revealed that there is a considerable number o f native speakers of English and a number who can speak it with near-native control in the Philippines. His various experiments reflected a remarkable Filipino accents, usages, and structures in the use of English. Consequently, both Filipinos and native speakers of English observed the local variety to be discernible.
Similarly, Hosillos (1969) noted that the problem of using a foreign language could be solved by developing a language usage congruous with native experience and material. After some time, Gonzales and Alberca (1978) researched on the use of English in the mass media in the Philippines. They took precise sampling of both spoken and written English to come up with operational criteria on the frequency of a feature’s appearance to embody as a characteristic of Philippine English. Llamzon’s study was confirmed by the findings of his investigation.

According to Llamzon, generally, Philippine English of the mass media is monophasal, i.e., the same variety is used both in speaking and writing, and monostylistic, i.e., the stylistic range for casual and careful/informal and formal is narrow, with the latter prevailing. The value of his work lies in an attempt at systematic corpus gathering and sampling. Data from his study, may be gleaned the characteristic features of an evolving standardized variety.

Development of English in other Languages

Correspondingly, Wong and Yong (1983) examined the status of English in Malaysian fiction. They tried to show Malaysianness in the earlier poet’s use of English – “ a conscious effort to evolve a localized idiom in English called Engmachin (English, Malay, Chinese)”. In drama, they broached Eduard Dorall’s play “A Tiger is Loose in our Community” for its extensive use of the localized English variety. They pointed out the use of particles ah and lah, the exclusion of minor constituents and some colloquial Malaysianisms. In addition, the localized idioms were restricted to the dialogue section while Standard English is done in narration.

Moag (1982) formulated a theoretical construct of the life cycle for non-native varieties based on his research and observation of the ESL situations in the South Pacific and other societies. Four processes were propounded as significant constituents of the life cycle: transportation, involving bringing English to a new environment for purposes of a more or less permanent nature, such as colonial administration in which locals are required to learn English; indigenization, whereby the new variety of English becomes distinct from the parent imported variety and other indigenized varieties elsewhere; expansion in use and function, when English use extends to new domains particularly education, the media, and government services; and institutionalization of the new variety, when local and literary activity becomes regenerative and when the teaching staff as well as the media is localized. The displacement of English by a local official language through processes of language planning in the domains of government activities, education and the media is the fifth process which is not apparent in the South Pacific but which is imminent in the Philippines. English reverts to the status of a foreign language studied and used by a small elite. The language process has come full circle, which suggest that there is both a beginning and an end to the process.
The Indian socio-cultural and linguistic setting has affected features of the English language in India as shown by Kachru (1966). He contemplated, selected and restricted formal and/or contextual aspects of Indian English (IE) collected from English texts written by Indians to show how it has acquired an Indian characteristic which manifests itself aside from the phonetic or the phonological levels.

Bailey and Robinson (1973) quoted Indian novelist Mulj Raj Anand as hypothesizing that all Indian writers using English have more or less to translate from their mother tongue into English and that the intrusion of the idiom and metaphor of the Indian languages makes their writing different from the various styles of English writing in Britain and America.

Accordingly, Indian English (IE) refers to the variety of English spoken by ‘educated’ Indians whose proficiency in the language ranks between the central and ambilingual points in the arbitrary scale of bilingualism that he drew up. He made use of ‘wider situation’ and ‘immediate situation’ as the main criteria for his study.

The wider situation includes the general cultural factors while the individual or personal factors are referred to as the immediate situation. The general cultural factors comprise three investigations. First, the two dimensions of the social status of the individual in the group namely, his/her position in the hierarchy of caste, and his/her political status and economic position. Second, was in religion. In the Indian setting, it is important to know whether a participant is a Hindu, Muslim, and others. The third investigation is the speaker/addressee relationship. Meanwhile, the individual or personal factors are the sex and age of the participants, their educational background – whether or not they have received a formal education or a university education. Finally, some characteristics which localize them such as the linguistic domain like their accent and other language traits, and the non-linguistic domain like their food habits, dress, and the like.

A part of the study accounted the features of three restricted languages of IE use in Indian socio-cultural context: i.e., speech functions, the Indian caste system, and social roles. Kachru revealed that all these yield one or more of the four types of contextual data about which linguistic statements can be made. First, the text of attitudes like modes of address, reference, blessings, flattery, and the like. Second, the text of status and social position such as superiority/inferiority, caste system, among others. Third, the text of social roles, rituals, ceremonies, and others. Fourth, the text of individual habits which of course are not socially determined. He concluded that this Indianness of IE helps maintain appropriate Indian patterns of life, culture, and education. Above all these studies, Richards (1980) explicitly described the linguistic innovations that fall under the process of language change and how one’s culture affects the process as well. (continued)

The English language is owned by the world and not just the natives alone. It has become a part of the culture of every country that uses it. The English language has evolved as a tool of not only communicating one’s ideas but representing one’s distinct culture. It has created a harmony of what is foreign and what is local to the person concerned. And this is what the indigenization of English is all about. What does the ‘indigenization of English’ exactly mean? How could this natural phenomenon shape the teaching of English as a second language and redirect the principles underlying the creation of language education framework in other multilingual countries?

Indigenization of English in the Philippines

The use of the English language started in the Philippines way back in the 20th century. During the Spanish-American War in 1898, English was introduced to the Filipinos by the American fleet of Admiral George Dewey. The American soldiers on off-duty were the first English Language teachers to a small group of Filipinos (Llamzon 1976). Then there were 540 American schoolteachers who arrived on the islands aboard the USS Thomas on August 21, 1901 (Gonzales and Alberca, 1978). Thus, the American colonizers founded the public school system where these Thomasites formally taught the Filipinos the English language. Moreover, English became the medium of instruction and one of the official languages of the country. Consequently, the Filipinos used English in speaking and in writing. However, there were clear indications that the way they handled English is non-native. Filipino teachers and students spoke with it in a variety of dialects mutually comprehensible but distinctly non-American. Kachru (1978) described this aspect of language change as the process of nativization. Moag (1977) and Richards (1978) called it as the indigenization of English.

Since then, Filipinos used English as their second language, that is, where English is widely used for societal interaction. Consequently, internal norms of phonology, lexicon, syntax, and speech acts are used for speech events in English, and the ‘parent’ norms of British or American English are abandoned. As a result, English has a lot of varieties and these varieties depend on how other countries use them. The Philippines is one of the countries where English has been nativized not only in their speech but also in their writings. The Filipino short story writers like Arturo B. Rotor, N.V.M. Gonzales, Hernando R. Ocampo, Consorcio Borje, Delfin Fresnosa among others expressed not only Philippine realities in English but also a consciousness and love of the truth and the beauty of life and art as pronounced by Hemmingway. Moore, an Australian professor at the University of the Philippines in the 1930’s, who strongly supported this development in the use of English declaring that the importance of literature in the country lies in its defining the Filipino image said:

The Filipino writer has to write English without becoming
an Englishman or American. He has to speak as an Englishman
but remain a Filipino … because a Filipino literature must have
its distinctive character. In so doing it may become more than
Filipino. It may become genuine literature.

The Filipinos made changes to suit their convenience in using the language and in doing so, as Gonzales (1976) aptly puts it, they emancipated themselves from American English and have taken the code for their own creative uses of the patterning of English at the lexical and syntactic levels in addition to semantic and phonological innovations. Thus evolved a new variety of English. This variety of English, as described by Kachru, is a product of the processes of which he refers to as contextualization, hybridization, and register extension.

(to be continued)

It’s time to face the truth and the reality…both positive and negative!

The truth is there are many Filipino teachers who are qualified to teach in Thailand but they lack fluency and accuracy in communicating their ideas in English.

The reality is many Filipino teachers accept a monthly salary of 15,000 Baht and even lower.

The truth is many Filipino teachers see each other as enemies and competition resulting to character assassination and endless gossiping that destroy their jobs and camaraderie, worst, their being a Filipino.

The reality is many other foreign teachers view the Filipino teachers as part nuisance and part gem in the foreign teaching industry.

The truth is many Thai employers think that the Filipino teachers are taking away their money back home in the Philippines.

The reality is many Thai employers would rather hire westerners than Asians for two main reasons: they’re good for business and their accent is favored by the community.

The truth is at least to almost all western teachers; their monthly salaries are all spent in Thailand.

The reality is many Filipino teachers are submissive and law-abiding to Thai laws especially concerning to teacher licensure.

The truth is many Thai school employers would prefer hiring Filipinos than other foreign teachers due to their dedication and commitment to teaching.

The reality is many parents would love to see a white than a brown teaching their kids.

The truth is many Thai schools can afford to pay higher than 30,000 Baht to a qualified western teacher but they think it’s too much.

The reality is many Thai school directors or principals would rather ask for a human resource agency to supply them with foreign teachers for two reasons: they could get a cut from the budget and they won’t get disturbed fixing their work permits.

The truth is teaching English as a second or foreign language in Thailand is taken lightly by many Thai schools in the context of their culture on the importance of “fun.”

The reality is there is more chance of getting a teaching job in Thailand than in the Philippines.

The truth is Filipino teachers need to learn any fruitful from their Thai and western counterparts just to keep their jobs.

The reality is the number of cases of Filipino teacher exploitation both by agencies and Thai schools have increased dramatically.

The truth is many Filipino teachers are being exploited because they always feel vulnerable and that the Philippine government is slow in responding to their concerns.

The reality is many Filipino teachers remain grateful to the host country for allowing them to work despite of their demise.

The truth is many western teachers feel superior and secured in the host country for they are treated as special and important.

The reality is many western ‘teachers’ in Thailand are not academically trained as teachers in their respective home country.

The truth is there is more number of Filipino teachers than any other nationalities teaching in Thailand.

The reality is each needs to find his way in and out Thailand regardless of his nationality.

The truth is every foreign teacher is replaceable in Thailand.

The reality is Thai teachers are paid less than a Filipino teacher and far less than a western teacher.

The truth is Thai teachers are the key in developing the English language of their own countrymen.

The reality is everybody seems happy living in Thailand despite of these problems.

The truth is living in Thailand is far much better than living in the Philippines.

….so what’s your truth and reality?

Almost every month, hundreds of Filipino teachers and non-teachers flocked in Thailand to look for any teaching job. Thanks to some airlines that offer a very affordable airfare, there was a big ‘explosion’ of the number of Filipino hopefuls who wish to try their luck in the Land of Smiles since 2006. While they are on ‘tour’ most of them try to fish out some work opportunities. Others go back home unfortunate while some remain hopeful. All these persistent Filipinos need to do is to do a quick VISA RUN (30-day stamp) in the border and then they’re up and running to hunt for a job for another 30 days. And this cycle continues even when they found a job. Why is that so?

The next problem deals on whether or not schools will provide the needed documents and shoulder the fees in applying for work permits. There are schools who are patient enough to be very obedient of the governments’ “confusing” requirements, process them, and luckily pay for them. However, oftentimes in Thailand from schools that employ one or two foreign teachers, either you process your own work permit and pay the fees from your own pocket or you won’t be getting any. But of course some employers still allow you to ‘teach’ without a work permit but it would be at your own cost of money and time doing all the VISA RUN every month. Is teaching with a ‘tourist’ visa legal? Frankly, no but it depends. But is this tolerated by some schools? Honestly, yes.

Acquiring a work permit depends on cases. For instance, a teacher resigned and will work in a new school. Usually, the teacher has no choice but to start all over again from being a "tourist." You need to apply for a new Non-B VISA in order to work as a teacher in Thailand. In Bangkok, before the Immigration office grants you a NON-B VISA, you need to have a 21-day remaining ‘tourist visa’ (usually the 30-day stamp you get from the border). This 30-day stamp is easily granted especially when you’re flying from the Philippines. But if you’re already in Thailand and wish to work as a teacher then first you have to do the VISA RUN in any border and then apply for a NON-B VISA at the Bangkok Immigration.

Others simply go to Thai embassies outside Thailand especially in Vientiane, Laos to get the NON-B VISA. Of course, documents are needed in order to be granted with this visa. And completing all the required documents takes time. Depending on your nationality and how fast the school helps its teachers to complete the documents (or how fast you complete the documents yourself), it usually takes a month or two.

Take my case for example. I’ve been working in Thailand for almost nine years. For the past eight years and a half, processing my work permit and extending my VISA at the immigration is the least of my worries. The schools where I worked for did all these jobs for me.

It was when I moved to Bangkok when I realized how difficult it is to acquire a NON-B VISA and a work permit. The immigration, labor and Ministry of education offices in Bangkok are very strict to private schools, meaning they require more documents especially to Asian passport holders. I volunteered in processing these things because the school already took more than a month without accomplishing anything. You might be wondering if I worked in the school with a 30-day stamp taken from the border: yes, I did. And this is very normal and is tolerated in Thailand as long as you intend to process your work permit as soon as possible. I had my passport stamped three times at three different borders: Cambodia (Banglem and Aranyaprathet) and Laos (Vientianne). There is a need to do this because as I have said processing NON-B VISA and work permit as a teacher takes time and patience!

For instance, acquiring a registration letter from the Ministry of education takes two weeks and before getting that letter, an Asian passport holder needs to achieve a desirable TOEIC or TOEFL score of which will take almost another a week. Added to that is the costly translation of every English document you have in Thai and then have it authenticated at the Philippine Embassy. And the registration letter from the Ministry of Education is just ONE document needed by the immigration officer. It is a lot easier to acquire a work permit when one is working at a public school or in the colleges or universities.

After three months of VISA RUNS at the border, I was able to secure a NON-B VISA at the Bangkok Immigration bureau. I feel sorry for those Filipino teachers whose ‘life’ in Thailand depends on their VISA RUN exits. Sitting almost a day is bearable but paying almost 1,500 Baht every border run, that is if you avail for tour agencies’ services, is already costly to a Filipino teacher.

Now, the processing of a work permit for your 3-month NON-B VISA usually takes a month in Bangkok. Common papers are required like your employment contract, school’s license and registration, etc. Added to this is the teacher’s license (depending on your educational status) which takes in a form of a letter. Applying at the Teachers’ Council of Thailand for a license isn’t that difficult but one should know the kind of letter given to you by the licensing officer. It could be any of the following ( based on the list of the Ministry of Labour) : guarantee letter; permission letter for teaching without a license; receipt letter which shows the license is under process and that the applicant can teach without a license; and a ‘paper of defining exemption of license.’ Getting this “license” from the Teachers Council of Thailand might take you a day to a week depending on the documents you have submitted.

Once you have submitted all the necessary documents for your work permit at the Ministry of Labour, then wait after seven days before you could get your work permit booklet.

And that’s the story of “Mr. NON-B VISA and Mrs. Work Permit.” The next chapter of the story focuses on extending your VISA and work permit. And believe me, when you understand the plot and characters behind the first story, everything will be much easier to take in the pressure and stress you’ll get on your next ‘journey.’

The other story I want to re-emphasize next is the difficulty of not only acquiring VISAS and work permits in Thailand but GETTING A FAIRLY COMPENSATED JOB now that many Filipino teachers are overflowing in the city of Bangkok. Questions like: What future does a Filipino Teacher in Thailand have? How did the big number of Filipino teacher applicants play a big role in the employment arena? What attitudes do Filipino teachers have towards accepting a job in Thailand? How do other foreign teachers view a Filipino teacher nowadays? Find out the answers! Keep on visiting this blog.

Working with Farang Teachers

How does it feel working with western foreign teachers…

…especially when both of you are the only Filipino teachers among a crowd of Caucasian educators?

Miss Maricar and Miss Marianne got something to share. They are both working in a predominant western teaching staff in one of the Christian schools in Bangkok. They mutually agreed that it’s flattering to be employed by a big and exclusive school with the rest of the ‘farangs.’ However, do they experience any indifference in the workplace? Both said no.

“We earned the respect from them by simply “minding our own business.” It’s a working principle and you have to live by it. If you want to get respected then you need to respect them and their opinions. Sharing of ideas, materials and other teaching resources is something you do with teachers you are more comfortable with.”

Asked the difference in working in a Filipino dominated schools, Maricar explained the difficulty in coping with the negative values of some Filipino teachers.

“The ‘crab mentality’ of some of the Filipinos displayed through their constant gossiping that could easily destroy one’s reputation is something that is truly avoided in my current workplace. The western teachers are very supportive of what we do and how we do things. There are some disagreements but we deal with the issues professionally. Thai teachers value unity by working and helping each other; meanwhile, Filipinos are known to be intelligent but lack the ability to work harmoniously without sowing any personal grudges.”

“There are many Filipino teachers working in Thailand. Marianne and I are both fortunate to be here. I’m sure there are many Filipino teachers who also work in an environment where there’s a minimal number of Filipino teachers. If only Filipino teachers focus more on the development of their teaching skills, particularly, in their communication skills by using the English language with discernible accent (pronunciation) and by improving their personal and interpersonal attributes rather than competing and then gossiping with each other, then the perception of Thai and western teachers to Filipino teachers will be more inspiring,” she added.

Maricar and Marianne have their own game to play. Certainly, they could not escape their being a Filipino but they did start a very good impression of an ideal Filipino teacher at their respective job place: more professionalism and zero ‘crab mentality.’

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The Unsung Heroes of the Training on Thai Culture

Now that an affordable training fee on Thai Culture has been laid out to foreign teachers (from 10,000 Baht to an average fee of 3,000.00 Baht) many seem to take advantage of this ‘cheap’ fee while the number of foreign teachers eligible to take this training is at its highest. The reason for this ‘on sale price’ depends on the number of participants. In other words, the more the cheaper. Thanks to the rest of the eight council members of the Filipino Educators ( known as the Filipino Educators Council) who made the right choice by bringing this issue or concern up to the Private School Teachers’ Association of Thailand’s president, Dr. Usira Anomasiri. Recognition is due to Miss Hedda Tan, Miss Lorna Coral, Miss Cecille Orquiola, Mr. Rolly Obedencio, Mr. Jose Tan, Mr. Josephil Saraspe, and Mr. Reuben Budayao. Articles written for Miss Lorna Coral and Miss Heda Tan have already been featured in this blog. The rest of the brain-packed council members shall have their own place in this blog soon.

Nevertheless, it is not the conducting of this training that is challenging; it is the organizing part which is found to be very difficult. Filipino organizers of this training are commonly the leaders in the Filipino teaching community. Originally started by the eight members of the Filipino Educators Council, other leaders are encouraged to do the same thing for one good intention: respond to the needs of their members. But responding to their needs entails a lot of time and effort. First, contact the agency who conducts the said training: fix the schedules and sign agreements in terms of the target quota, venue, food and accommodation. Second, do massive information dissemination: sending announcements through online forums, emails, mobile phones and others. After sending announcements, people start inquiring about the training. Expect non-stop calls and emails. Fourth, make a list of confirmed and unconfirmed participants with the aid of proper pre-registration techniques. Before the training, checking names and verifying payments during the registration period proves to be even more stressful especially a huge number of participants is involved. Finally, ensure that every participant received his/her certificate. Indeed, it is a long and quite rough procedure.

Three Filipino organizers who closely worked with the Private School Teachers’ Association of Thailand deserve a credit of recognition: Ms. Teresita Zarate, Ms. Beverly “Raquel” Balacdao and Mr. Ranulfo “Raul” Millanes.

Ms. Teresita Zarate currently works as an administrator and coordinator in a private school in Ekkamai. She commands a big number of both Filipino and foreign teachers in Bangkok. Her management style is flawless which gives her the edge in organizing the said training. On the other hand, Ms. Raquel’s role is more of like a “filler.” She helps in gathering a considerable number of participants to complete the target quota of any training. She also commands a big number of both Filipino and foreign teachers in Bangkok. She was the former president of the Association of Cordillerans in Thailand (ACT). Mr. Ranulfo Millanes has a very inspiring experience to share. Despite of the ridicules and criticisms he got from his co-officers from one of the associations of Filipino teachers in Thailand, he heed the call for a better and more convenient training for his colleagues and friends. It turn out that the association he belongs to was organizing the same training but the scheduled training dates were not convenient to his colleagues and friends. As an option, he organized his own small group of participants. Unfortunately, as a result of his good motive, he was branded by some of his co-officers as uncooperative and worsts a non-Filipino. It is disheartening to know that some officers of an association of Filipino teachers who supposedly foster unity, humility and show high sense of professionalism instigate the opposite. What is even more hilarious is that some of them are non educators. Just like a real and ethical professional teacher, he gave his own position on the matter and continued to do good deeds. To date, he continues to respond to the needs of his ‘members’ by helping other organizers gather more participants in order to avail the most affordable training fee.

The unsung heroes of this important training among foreign teachers in Thailand are most certainly the most important people in this endeavor. Without their leadership, it would be difficult to vastly implement this particular government educational program.

I spent three hours of my time today from 6:00 o’clock in the evening belting out the pop and slow-rock love songs that I could think of in my small apartment. Thanks to my friend’s “Magic Sing” it does (so I guess) make your voice pleasing to your neighbors’ ears.

And I realized that sometimes and oftentimes we sing songs, sentimental love songs in particular either to fill the loneliness of our hearts or to express what we couldn’t say in words. Added to these reasons is the fantasy of love that you can never have and the longing for genuine cherish moments that come once in a blue moon.

We all have our own love stories to share. Some confidently talk about them without being bothered to be branded “kiss and tell” while others choose to keep inside their heart pretending that they’re innocent of any “love scenes” when dared to divulge such hallowed affair. I do have lots of chapters of my own love stories and I find them all exciting but odd.

They say “age is not a factor of love.” I beg to disagree. Age does matter! Younger people tend to be flirty and oftentimes display acts of immaturity while older people act very wise and almost always quite insensitive to your intimate needs. Despite of regarding that person, regardless of age, as someone whom you love and care for, the story ends in one the same climax: both of you are no longer compatible with each other. And then love gurus tell you to love not only their strengths but also their weaknesses. What if their enormous weaknesses undeniably overshadow their minute strengths?

Then friends give you their own piece of advice: love is a test of patience and trust. Until when is the right time to say ‘enough is enough’? Is it when the damage has already been done? Or is it when the disciples of love preach that those who are truly in love don’t utter the negatives but embrace them instead?

The oddest of them all is when the time when you meet special people and then eventually you would come to know that they’re taken; put your heart a rest and then it starts beating again, and just when you thought you met the right person the ending of the story got even worst….not only are they married but they got kids. And so you start caring for yourself trying to be more inquisitive and watchful of your dates…and the same old story got ‘worsier’, not only are they married and got kids but they’ve got more others! Now, isn’t this odd?

True, there is no ‘perfectness’ in the name of love. But what if you keep on loving people without realizing you’re becoming a slut yourself? Then love ‘psychologists’ automatically reject such idea: it is not love but lust! As a final solution, friends in low places caution you not to allow love to play you rather play love like a solitaire until each card come to its rightful place. And so how long does one of the two, three, four or even five lovers you have at the same time to finally appear to settle down and tie the knots with you?

The odds of love can never changed…and so does the story that comes with every single part of it. As to me, when confronted with these odds of love, I simply sing along and start belting out!

Filipino teachers in Thailand are known to be practical hard workers and undoubtedly flexible in terms of dealing with the intricate situations in their respective workplaces. In fact, one of the Caucasians I personally know kiddingly described a Filipino teacher in Thailand as “someone who has always something to prove.” And in a very subjective point of view, every Filipino teacher in Thailand DOES have something to prove both in a positive and in a negative way that is. There are those Filipino teachers who feel the need to bring themselves up and then brand themselves as ‘somebody.’ Such attitude is obviously self-rewarding, and may appropriately and sarcastically be labeled with my Caucasian friend’s description. However, it is inspiring to know that despite of the unusual social status (lower than the farangs (westerners) we get from the Thai society where in we are placed in a hierarchy, there are those Filipino teachers who truly are able to do something fruitful for the benefit of the Filipino teaching community and for the foreign teaching community as a whole. I have to say that these Filipino teachers do not need to prove something for they already are proven. And I can name a few of the many.

Ms. Hedda Joy Tady Tan

Hedda works in one of the prestigious International schools in Bangkok. She ‘abandoned’ her nursing degree and devoted her time in mastering the arts and crafts of teaching English as a second language. Her informative articles on the techniques and strategies in teaching English as a second language can be found at www.heddatan.com. In her article called “My Game Plan” she wrote:

“Remember, as a teacher, there is tremendous power in you to make or unmake a child, and thus, an individual. Take good care of that power, and use it to shape remarkable minds!”

Teaching in an International school requires ideal standards of teaching. Thus, much time is devoted in preparing, planning and implementation of their lesson plans. An ample time is also self-imposed for their own professional growths. An International school teacher just like any another teacher needs to abreast himself with what are new and effective in the field of teaching. What makes Hedda WANTED in the teaching profession is her desire to learn new things related to her profession and her unselfish sharing of these contemporary bodies of knowledge. She is even more NEEDED in the community due to her undying energy in making herself available for meet-ups with almost all Filipinos with different careers in Thailand; and her strong support to individuals who have potentials to be leaders and supporters is exemplary. Hedda is popularly known as ‘Madam H’ of the Siam Pinoy Online Community. Together with her other half, they started this Filipino online community almost ten years ago. Now, they continue tilling this important cyber abode along with the rest of Filipinos who find it a ‘home away from home.’

As one of the core leaders of the Filipino teaching community, she empowers the Filipino teachers through her intelligent writings, inspirational talks and persistent leadership. In her one of the talks during the workshop for Filipino teachers in April 2008, she challenged each and everyone to continue upholding and safeguarding the image of Filipino teachers in the Kingdom by arming themselves with professional competence and quality teaching performance. She brought a very timely inspiration by retorting:

“Do not be intimated from our western counterparts…instead learn from them for they’ve got something that we can learn from…do not shy away from making yourself and your career better just because a general stereotyped-negative feedback on how we use the English language in teaching echoes around the country especially in the big cities…instead show them that you are brave enough to overcome your single weakness with your numerous strengths in teaching.”

Many Filipinos in Thailand are inspired by her verbal encouragement as well. The motivation of starting this blog came from her and her husband, Master J ( the owner and webmaster of Siam Pinoy) which proves that they do inspire others just like me to harness their potentials.

A few attempted to downgrade their spirits but all of them failed. Hedda and Master J founded an institution here in Thailand…an institution that is far from the grasps of self-motivated individuals! Siam Pinoy – the undoubtedly top online Filipino community in Thailand…a child they bore and others adopted as their own.

Hedda Tan…a caring mother….a hardworking teacher… a community leader…and most of all, a dear friend!

(More to follow)

“I don’t necessarily need to hold a position to lead,” she said. She’s known in Bangkok for her small yet fruitful efforts in helping some Filipino community organizations in Thailand. She arrived in Thailand in 2007 after living for six straight years in Cambodia. Half of her first year in Thailand was spent in involving herself to various community programs. She was first introduced to the Filipino community by the wife of the Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Mr. Antonio Rodriguez. And in just a very short span of time, her accomplishments in the Filipino community are truly remarkable.

In December 2007, she was introduced to various organizations like the United Filipinos in Thailand (UFT), Philippine Ladies Group (PLG), and Association of Filipinos in Thailand (AFT), Association of Cordillerans in Thailand (ACT), Filipino Educators Council (FEC) and Siam Pinoy Aperture Society (SPAS). Much of her voluntary time and unselfish effort was devoted to some known Filipino organizations like the Philippine Ladies Group (PLG), the only Filipino organization registered as a charitable institution in Thailand, having elected as the program officer; the Association of Cordillerans in Thailand (ACT) as an active member; the Filipino Educators Council (FEC) being one of the council members of the core group; and the Siam Pinoy Aperture Society (SPAS) as the group’s treasurer.

“My involvement with the Filipino community in Thailand is motivated with my goal in helping those who are in need. I joined the Philippine Ladies Group because I wanted to reach out with the orphanages in Thailand. With the Association of Cordillerans in Thailand, it is my wish to help my fellow Cordillerans to be more exposed in various activities to help boost their self confidence. My part of share with the Filipino Educators Council came into view because I was and still am a teacher. I worked as a kindergarten teacher in an International school in Cambodia as well. Finally, my hobby is into photography thus my active participation with Siam Pinoy Aperture Society,” she explained enthusiastically.

This huge involvement with “politics” is worth it, and her time and effort with the various organizations are her “precious moments” as she described it. She always set her priorities in order to equally respond to her responsibilities. A few of her accomplishments are credited with her contributions with the “Summer Dance” charity program with PLG; by helping in purchasing native gongs for the first year anniversary of ACT and by facilitating its recognition with the Philippine Embassy; by helping in organizing the Thai Culture training which happened to be the very first meeting of a very big number of Filipino teachers through the FEC; and by allowing her photos exhibited during the Philippine Independence Day with the SPAS and AFT to name a few.

Real success is not an easy thing to achieve and indeed her accomplishments were coupled with challenges. But the challenges paved way to a better understanding of her strengths and weaknesses. She became stronger and more mature in dealing with other sorts of people. She learned to embrace more positive “aura” rather than crying over failures.

This development of her personality was due to her devotion in helping street children in Cambodia for five years. Remarkably, her singing and teaching career in the place gave her the opportunity to establish her charitable connections which provided her the access to help street children and children with AIDS by visiting them every Sunday and providing them with basic necessities of life. In fact, she spent her December holidays distributing food and clothes to orphans.

“The dire situation I saw and experienced with the street children in Cambodia made me realized what ‘poor’ exactly means. People in well to do countries who described themselves ‘poor’ should think twice. To me, being ‘poor’ are people especially young children who have nothing to eat, no clothes, no parents and no place which they call home. I exactly remember joining a group of photographers in Cambodia and we worked with the UNICEF to document the poor situation of the street children. I was truly inspired by a young girl who was taken advantage of by her own father. Despite the problem she’s into, she continued to struggle earning money for her family and for her young siblings by selling whatever things she think could bring food on the table. I saw the courage in her. I became more open and patient, and showed more appreciation to other people’s lives. Every time problem occurs, I just have to remind myself of the story of this 7 year old girl and that gives me the courage to deal with even the most serious problems. She became my inspiration. She is now being taken cared of by the government and it’s very heartwarming to know that she’s in a better living condition,” she divulged.

Her contributions in Cambodia and in Thailand placed her in a position in giving some useful tips to her fellow young professionals who desire to help others. She strongly advised them to set their objectives in a given time.

“All should be time bound. This helps you in prioritizing the WHAT and WHEN of whatever you wish to do. Second, always be yourself and be honest. I hate those who are hypocrites and those who still have the “crab mentality” thinking. I described myself as a “dragon” in terms of my strengths. I am a very kind person and friends tell me that I am easily trusting and emotional but if someone bites me, I burn them. Third, do not expect anything in return. When you help, you help. It doesn’t mean that when you are helping, people will automatically like you. It is difficult to please people. Pleasing people is not an easy task so better stop pleasing them and do what you have to do. Finally, always stay diplomatic, neutral and open. You are always on top of your game when you avoid having enemies. It is always nice to weigh things properly before judging others.”

Something that makes her special to a few people is her values towards friendship and trust. To her friendship is literally through thick and thin. She regards her friends more than her brothers and sisters. Thus it’s not a joke when she utters the word “friend” for she believes that it is a deep camaraderie founded by trust.

“I always tell the words ‘trust me’ to people because when I was given the responsibility and the task to do something, I always make sure to bring the bacon home with me. And my friends understand this value very well. If they can’t trust me then there’s no reason to continue the friendship. I never doubt my friends as well. I will definitely fight for them and so I always expect them to be very supportive and honest at the same time in return.”

To date, she is busy with her hobby in photography. Recently, she made her first solo portfolio called “Lotus” and now aims to come up with more of her crafts of nature, flower and animal themes. Thanks to Michel, who actually gives her the highest form of inspiration and moral support. And in the future, she hopes to have her own business and she sees herself still involved with charity programs.

“….and I’m Lorna Coral, 32 years old and a proud Igorota in Thailand,” she finally said with her brightest smile.

Just sharing a part of me, originally posted at www.siampinoy.com!

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Forgive me for adding more posts to this thread.

Madam H wrote:

But hopefully, as people read more of Siam Pinoy, and the more they understand the true essence of what we try to accomplish here, they will also do their best to look inside a bit more and draw out more of the positive sides of their being, and share THAT with others.

I believe it is high time that our GUESTS and READERS should know HOW Siam Pinoy played a big role in what MANY foreign teachers especially Filipinos are enjoying today: AFFORDABLE THAI CULTURE TRAINING.

It was on January 2008 at Siam Pinoy Discussion Forums, February 2008 on the teacher workshop held in Chiangmai, and in February to March 2008 when many Filipino teachers we met and talked with expressed their concerns about the Training on Thai Culture. They, including me, were worried how the expensive training would affect the many Filipino teachers' financially. During those months, the Thai Culture training costs 4,500 - 10,000 Baht. We (the Filipino Educators Council) were in high hopes that there's a better way to negotiate an affordable training fee. The only problem was WHO to contact and HOW to approach the concerned people.

BTW, the Filipino Educators Council is the very first organization of Filipino teachers recognized by the Philippine Embassy. Even before its recognition, the council members provided series of trainings and workshops to Filipino teachers for FREE! We made the road where others thread to follow.

April 2008 came. It took us almost two weeks planning the best strategy in talking with the concerned Thai individuals. We started searching for the right agency to talk with about the training. Our work paid off for we were able to have a list of those who conduct the said training. While I was enjoying my stay at Madam H and Master J's place, I picked up my phone and called the Private School Teachers' Association of Thailand. I was able to talk to the President herself until we ( Madam H and I) made an appointment to meet her and the Thai Culture training course director on the next day.

To cut the story short, we were victorious for we were able to achieve our objective: an affordable Thai Culture Training. Not only that we were also able to establish the presence of Filipino teachers to them by telling them how humbly they ask for a special consideration. And so they felt the strong presence of thousands Filipino teachers!

The first Thai Culture training to more than 200 teachers marked a history:

- The first biggest gathering of Filipino teachers
- The first most affordable Thai Culture training that opened up the "competition" to those who conduct the said training; and
- The first CONCRETE resolution of a pressing problem among Filipino teachers by a group of independent Filipino teachers called The Filipino Educators Council

Siam Pinoy was used as an instrument to disseminate this good news to the community ( the threads are still found in the announcement and general discussion categories). And we were all and still lucky that Siam Pinoy is still up and going! Obviously, I always used the announcement thread...and so I guess I should place the laurel on top of my head and crown myself, Mr. Announcer of SP!

When I was "invited" in to work with the Private School Teachers' Association of Thailand, I gave myself enough time to weigh my options: Should I choose a very comfortable living and working environment in a lovely town somewhere in the north of Thailand OR should I put myself to the challenge in living and working in Bangkok where I understand the opposite of what I was used to in my "hometown."

I chose the latter. I knew that if I could work with the "provider" of this very important requirement for foreign teachers, I could make things better...from designing the handbook to controlling the cost of this training.

And so here I am presently working with PSTAT. And you have no idea HOW difficult and stressful this job is: Imagine talking in front of 400 foreign teachers a month ( Filipinos included: FYI, 40-50% of participants in all trainings conducted is comprised of Filipino teachers) PLUS dealing with individual concerns related to their teacher licensing PLUS coping with both positive and negative feedback your get from them. And it's all good! I would be even more shocked if ALL expressed POSITIVE and INSPIRING remarks to what you have done. The facts of life won't diminish: You just can't please everybody, and out of jealousy some try to pull you down; others try to keep on pinning you down just to get back at you.

It's so easy to simply resign now and enjoy life just the way it was. But NOW I clearly understand that I should continue to hold on. There are many Filipino teachers out there who expressed support to what I contribute to the community. And this is a no VERBAL expression. Many are silent yet deep inside them they knew WHO IS WHO! And I intend to continue such contribution and nobody can stop me. After all, it is a job...and I dont' want to be jobless...who does?

Detractors who want to see me feel sorry, bad, hurt and out of my present job will no way succeed. The most popular politicians in the world are, in fact, experiencing the worst. Moreover, even the holiest person in the world is being harshly criticized. What does that make me? An ordinary teacher who hails from the Cordillera region of the Philippines who basically has the same reason of being here along with the rest of thousands Filipino teachers: to help his/her own family back home.

But life must go on....an old Filipino adage states: OK LANG KUNG IKAW ANG NAGPAPALAMON SA AKIN. Simply translated contextually: IGNORE!

And it's OK to be repeatedly accused of being UNPROFESSIONAL by a few the same disgruntled individuals because life doesn't revolve around them.

The president of PSTAT promised just recently that she will continue to support of what I am good at, and she exclaimed that PSTAT will support the Filipino community in any terms. And so I kiddingly suggested of donating gifts to be raffled on the Christmas season here at Siam Pinoy and even at the gathering in the Philippine Embassy...and she was all promising to the idea!

None of this disclosure on my career will be worth talking about without Siam Pinoy...the Filipino Educators Council...and of course detractors included.

So, shall we continue pissing off each other? OR shall we rather as Madam H posed:

"turn your eye and your passion to something even more worthy of your ability to write in English well - writing articles that's worthy-of-someone's-time for the teachers who read Siam Pinoy."

I rest my case.

Have a nice Sunday people!

One of the participants of the Thai Culture Training Course on August 24 and 31 gave me a copy of his book called "The Sense of These." It is a collection of his poems.

Mr. Winston Soldevilla wrote:

WORDS ARE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES THAT LURK DEEP WITHIN US.
THEIR FREEDOM IS THE EVENTUAL RESULT OF THE BEAUTY THAT WILL
SATIATE OUR SENSES AND LEAVE US HANGING IN THE WORLD OF RAINBOWS.

It is amazing to know that at the end of a long training comes a very passionate Filipino poet handing out a copy of his book. Winston is currently teaching English in Bangkok, Thailand. I am awed and proud knowing that a Filipino literary artist shares his talent in writing poems and most probably teaches Thai students to express themselves through writing poems and songs. I almost forgot, Winston is a multi-awarded songwriter, composer and lyricist in his hometown.

He received various awards in Iloilo, Philippines with all the inspiring love songs he composed. Not to mention the recognition he earned from The International Library of Poetry.

A winning poem he wrote called "Cascade" is truly remarkable:

Flowing smoothly from the cavern above,
It purveys the fons et origo of life with love.
Filled with defilement of nature,
it is still a break in the clouds of life of human creature.
It quenches the down-and-out's thirst.
It freshens Odysseus's flesh and blood's burst.
The nadir windows the homing pigeon's face
revealing shadow of venality or probity without haze.
It is the silent whistle-blower of turtle dove's shibboleth.
It is the prime reflection of the face of Macbeth.
Oh, giver of life, continue to overflow the weirs
with sweet fastidious Adam's ale that bears
the benison of freshly-earthborn potentiality
to whom this avenue must receive with dignity.

More of his crafts are found at www.poetry.com, www.poetbay.com,www.allpoetry.com and www.poemhunter.com!

Out of the 30 poems found in his book, I was struck with his "Circumstance":

Ah! Circumstance
never missed
to challenge my will
on how to stand still
even how verboten it is.

This is a perfect poem to be read aloud in times of never-ending challenges in life. A perfect inspiration in reminding me to keep going and never looking back!

To Mr. Winston Soldevilla:

You have no idea how many people you are inspiring now with your talent a lot can master but a few can continue to love.

Thank you.

A poster named 'uhav2no' started a thread called: SWINDLER at the following online community forums:

http://www.siampinoy.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1353.0.html

and

http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/the-staffroom/33878-swindler.html

I responded to the accusation at www.siampinoy.com:

Please allow me to copy-paste what I have written in defense of this unfounded accusations:

uhav2no posted:

WARNING!

TO ALL FOREIGN TEACHERS IN THAILAND:

Peace be with you all!

I attended the 20-hour Training Course on Thai Culture and Language, Professional Standards and Code of Conduct for Foreign Teachers conducted by the Private School Teachers’ Association of Thailand (PSTAT) at some time in July 2008. Although the training was pretty fine, still, it didn’t meet my expectations. Unfortunately, the training was spoiled by a number of organizational problems. I explain each of the problems below.

Firstly, I had difficulty in registering to attend the training because I am not sure of who actually to contact since there are a lot of people in-charge or should I say, there are a lot of people trying to take the responsibility because it involves money. Anyhow, I eventually succeeded in registering. That’s what I thought.

Secondly, the training was held in a school’s conference room, if that’s how it may be called. And frankly speaking, the venue was better suited to a small-sized conference than to a medium-sized training. However, it was alright. But, the lack of space led to serious overcrowding in the venue, especially during the group activities.

Thirdly, the training was held in a vegetarian school. I don’t have any complain about that. But should they want to economize the food budget, they should have at least prepared some good food. After all, there are a lot of cheap vegetables in the market. Well, I shouldn’t have the guts to say something about this, as they claim that the food was free. But actually, it wasn’t. The participants exceeded to what is expected, and instead of giving a refund, they just said that, we don’t have to pay for the food. So, was the food really for free?

Fourthly, what’s the training for? Alright, I understand fully that it’s a requirement from the Teacher’s Council of Thailand (TCT) and maybe from the Ministry of Education (MoE). Well, I don’t know exactly the details about this, but since they said that it’s really important, who am I not to abide. Let me say something about the training: It is something that I already know about Thailand! What had been discussed there wasn’t new to me. The 20-hour training didn’t teach me more than what I have learned and experienced for the years that I have stayed here in Thailand.

The final and the most important point I want to make, concerns about X the training coordinator, as introduced. On the first day of the training, X was already rude and unethical! When he spoke upfront, he was very domineering and as if he wasn’t speaking with professionals. I know that some Filipinos are naughty sometimes but still, they need to be respected. The way X behaved was really very unprofessional! During the training, X would come up front and call some names – participants of whom he claimed to have some problems with the registration. Actually, it wasn’t a big issue. If there were mistakes with the spelling, they can just correct it. Anyway, it’s just the first day, and certificates will be given on the third day. There were also some participants who registered as a group, and were under one person’s name only. X, then claimed that they were not registered. As for my case, me and 8 other friends registered together, but unfortunately, X said that me and another friend didn’t register. We wonder how it happened, but it’s only X who would know! So how did X solve this problem? X asked us, for 100 Baht! He said, “You only have one choice, either you pay 100 Baht or you won’t have your certificates!” Although, we complained, still we paid 100 Baht. We didn’t have a choice, and we didn’t want to make a scene and consume our time arguing. Also, X is the training coordinator, so he might have his way against us. There were about 50 of us who paid 100 Baht. 50 unlucky professionals who were deceived by one bad man, X! (Is he really a man? Anyone won’t think so!). On the second day, no shadow of X was seen. We never saw him until the last day. When we asked Y, assistant coordinator maybe, she said that X must have left with the money. She even added that it was X’s personal decision to collect the money and PSTAT and FTAT (Filipino Teachers Association in Thailand) don’t any responsibility for this. Y even asked some attendees to submit complaint letters so that proper action will be done. But until now, there seems to be no action at all. X is still the training coordinator. They were all part of it! I was wise not to tell my name to Y, else, they wouldn’t have given my certificate. Indeed, they were all part of this scam!

I am telling you these so that you can look into these matters - not only on my behalf but also on behalf of other attendees, and in fact on behalf of all the foreign teachers, especially the Filipinos.

Let’s all be vigilant!

========================================================================

And this is my response:

I am the X the poster is referring to. It is a privilege to air my side of the story as a member of Siam Pinoy and as, obviously, the person who is working with Private School Teachers' Association of Thailand (PSTAT) . Should the poster request for an official statement from the PSTAT prior to the enlightenment that I intend to share, then I invite the poster to send us an official letter asking for an explanation ( for whatever motive that poster has) in that way the poster could LEGALLY use our statements for whatever legal purposes the poster serves him/her best. You can address your concerns to the President of PSTAT and FAX it to 02-379-73-44.

Now, please allow me as the X being ACCUSED of a lot of things by the poster to clarify things.

The X he is referring to is Mr. ABEL MORALES CADIAS. (I will take this opportunity to invite you to view my blog at www.abelcadias.blog.co.uk).

I am the training coordinator of PSTAT. My job is to communicate the agreements made between PSTAT and the organizers ( second party) to both parties: making sure that ALL PEOPLE CONCERNED should understand HOW things work. Second, my job is to make sure that whatever FINAL LIST OF PARTICIPANTS that the organizer has provided ( as part of the agreement, the organizers are required to submit FINAL list of participants at least ONE WEEK before the training starts) I have to make sure that ALL have attended and are present considering the prescribed time. Third, my job is to ATTEST that all participants have completed the required 90% attendance with the approval of the speakers ( the speakers, including the training coordinator, have the right to PASS or to FAIL participants who have not successfully met the course requirements). Finally, it is my job to make the Certificates of Completion ( a requirement of the Teachers' Council of Thailand to apply for a teachers' license) as directed by the president of PSTAT ( which means the president decides WHEN to give the certificates considering the ORGANIZATIONAL abilities of the second parties).

As agreed PSTAT shall conduct the training ORGANIZED by the Filipino Teachers' Association of Thailand (FTAT) headed by Mr. Romney Sison and the Association of Cordillerans in Thailand (ACT) headed by Mrs. Theresita Zarate to 193 Filipino teachers ( plus other nationalities) at the Modern International School in Bangkok sometime in July 2008.

Your questions on food, venue and the training fee required by both organizers should be addressed to them ( FTAT and ACT). Please email me at augt25@yahoo.com should you be interested to get the email address of the TWO OFFICIAL ( Mr. Sison and Mrs. Zarate) representatives of their organizations. FYI, we required them to pay only 2,200.00 ( originally 2,500.00) Baht out of the 2, 500 they set as as the training fee they collected from the participants. Of which the additional 300 Baht which they calimed to be paid for the venue and for the lunch and refreshments of the participants. Nevertheless, the decreased amount of training was a courtesy of the President of PSTAT for the Filipino teachers. Please take note that it was the effort of the Filipino Educators Council and other organizations ( who made history by organizing the first affordable and successful Thai Culture to more than 200 teachers at 13 Coins Airport Hotel) that gave an inspiring impression she has to Filipino teachers.

- And so you should thank Mr. Romney and Ms. Tess for negotiating with her. The names of the rest of the "organizers" ( those who were not mentioned aside from the two) whom you always heard of during the training were, the right term would be, unneeded FACADES!

Your question on the LAW required by the Teachers Council of Thailand ( as to why you have to take it) and not the Ministry of Education (MoE) can be addressed to the Secretary-General. Please check their website at www.ksp.or.th. I suggest you personally hand your letter to him in that way you might be convinced as to the reasons of the existence of the LAW. Your personal feelings toward the training though valid are unfortunately irrelevant. ( It is just my opinion).

Now let me clarify matters concerning X ( me) BASED on your statements:

1. The final and the most important point I want to make, concerns about X the training coordinator, as introduced. On the first day of the training, X was already rude and unethical! When he spoke upfront, he was very domineering and as if he wasn’t speaking with professionals. I know that some Filipinos are naughty sometimes but still, they need to be respected. The way X behaved was really very unprofessional!

- I introduced myself as the PSTAT training coordinator and nobody did. It was my job to orient you on what to do and HOW things should be done to facilitate the flow of the program. If you feel that you were violated professionally then I suggest you write a letter to the president of PSTAT, in that way, I could also evaluate myself and provide you with an official letter.

2. During the training, X would come up front and call some names – participants of whom he claimed to have some problems with the registration. Actually, it wasn’t a big issue. If there were mistakes with the spelling, they can just correct it. Anyway, it’s just the first day, and certificates will be given on the third day.

- Trust me I wouldn't want to be wasting my time calling names of participants should there be NO any problems in the registration. Second, identifying a particular participant in group of 193 teachers was not an easy task ( especially if the list provided was 230 teachers when the agreed number of participants was just only 193) and that NO organizer ( Mr. Romney and his other UNOFFICIAL colleague; and Mrs. Tess) claimed that they KNOW the "mysterious" teachers!

And this was WHEN I partly made mistake. I overruled the decision of the President of PSTAT to give the certificates to the participants 2 weeks after the training. Should I followed her decision, NONE of these registration problems occurred. But I did not, at the same time, feel sorry of what I decided upon: 169 certificates were given to the participants out of 198 teachers; 18 errors were made by the verifier and I admit I made 11 errors in encoding all names in a given time from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. I made it to Korat at 2 AM in the morning where I had to do my job as early 7:30 AM on the same day. And never did I complain....it is after all my job. I gave a talk on teacher licensure to less than 70 teachers at 8:00 AM on the same day!

3. There were also some participants who registered as a group, and were under one person’s name only. X, then claimed that they were not registered. As for my case, me and 8 other friends registered together, but unfortunately, X said that me and another friend didn’t register. We wonder how it happened, but it’s only X who would know! So how did X solve this problem? X asked us, for 100 Baht! He said, “You only have one choice, either you pay 100 Baht or you won’t have your certificates!” Although, we complained, still we paid 100 Baht. We didn’t have a choice, and we didn’t want to make a scene and consume our time arguing. Also, X is the training coordinator, so he might have his way against us. There were about 50 of us who paid 100 Baht. 50 unlucky professionals who were deceived by one bad man, X! (Is he really a man? Anyone won’t think so!).

- That's where ANOTHER flaw of the organizers came in. They failed to IDENTIFY those who paid under their so-called "members" form a GROUP registered under one name. It was on my burden of proof to show that the OTHER NAMES existed out of the number on the list were not eligible. And to my surprised, no ORGANIZER claimed that they knew these "extra" participants.

- I invite you to FILE A LEGAL COMPLAINT against me...you and the 50 others you claimed I deceived if you still think that you were ROB. I would be very glad to face you and the 50 others you claimed in the court of law. ( You may want to include GENDER issues in your complaint as well ,of which, I believed is nobody's business).

4. On the second day, no shadow of X was seen. We never saw him until the last day. When we asked Y, assistant coordinator maybe, she said that X must have left with the money. She even added that it was X’s personal decision to collect the money and PSTAT and FTAT (Filipino Teachers Association in Thailand) don’t any responsibility for this. Y even asked some attendees to submit complaint letters so that proper action will be done. But until now, there seems to be no action at all. X is still the training coordinator. They were all part of it! I was wise not to tell my name to Y, else, they wouldn’t have given my certificate. Indeed, they were all part of this scam!

Obviously I was not seen at MISB for the next two days but I was happily seen in KORAT for three days. If you were referring to the Thai lady (Y) whom we requested to take my place as the coordinator then I guess her suggestion of you to submit a complaint was a very wise move. You should have done that. And so, it was a "personal decision" to collect 100 Baht to seven (7) participants as I was given a privilege by PSTAT to make such decisions based on my judgment. You may contend this matter if you wish.

- Now, the Filipino Teachers Association of Thailand ( FTAT) headed by Mr. Romney Sison, TO STRAIGHTEN THE FACT and in fairness to the Association of Cordillerans in Thailand (ACT) headed by Mrs. Tess Zarate, was FOUND to be liable of all the registration problems. It was found that FTAT provided "false names" and did not properly account their so-called "members."

- AS OF TO DATE, the Filipino Teachers' Association of Thailand (FTAT) is "BANNED" from working with PSTAT in conducting future trainings. They were last heard to be organizing another training somewhere in Nonthaburi. I wish them all the best!

5. X is still the training coordinator. They were all part of it! I was wise not to tell my name to Y, else, they wouldn’t have given my certificate. Indeed, they were all part of this scam!

- Yes, I am still the training coordinator. TO DATE, we have conducted six (6) trainings in all parts of Thailand after the unlucky incident at MISB.

- And so to you mr./miss/ms./mrs. poster: it's so easy to make accusations, isn't it?

6. I am telling you these so that you can look into these matters - not only on my behalf but also on behalf of other attendees, and in fact on behalf of all the foreign teachers, especially the Filipinos.
Let’s all be vigilant!

- No comment.

=========================================================================

For any inquiries in processing your license, please feel free to contact me:

Have a nice day!

A very good friend of mine whose hobby is into photography asked me to take a look of his latest artwork called “crossover” and later was asked to give an honest opinion about it. I have no special interest in photography but I could easily tell if a particular photo is something extraordinary or something monotonous to the eye.

And yes, the artwork is indeed extraordinary! The photo was in black and white and partly was ‘digitalized’ in a way that it appears like it has been sketched then painted and yes it was a little bit distorted using a combination of good editing techniques to bring out the effect of the salient movement of the theme. It’s a photo of a woman with curly hair, bright almond eyes and lips that resemble Angelina Jolie’s who appears to be coming out from a densely thick bush of trees.

The ‘crossover’ once shown to an ordinary man might view it as a black and white photo with a little touch of Japanese art called “Anime”. It’s a little bit confusing at first upon seeing the photo of that ‘crossovered’ woman for it illustrates some kind of artwork but seems difficult to exactly pinpoint what made it. To an ordinary man, it is still no doubt a black and white photo.

To a photographer, he might view the ‘crossover’ as a creative technique of enhancing the subject to a higher level where the attributes of an excellent photo is out of the question, instead, adding movement to the subject with the aid of ‘digitalizing’ that affects the whole thematic sense of whatever product of a photo shoot. Simply stated, one can be challenged how to modify what is seemingly a very good photo to make it appear even more a ‘very good’ photo. The ‘crossovered’ woman is a product of creative editing techniques and so to a photographer, though it defies the true nature and essence of photography, might find it an intelligent attempt to bring photography to its next echelon.

To a literary man like me, I define the ‘crossover’ as a photography technique in bringing the theme of death to life, from negative to positive, chaos to peace, hideous to beauty and vice versa. When I first saw the ‘crossovered’ woman, I readily combined all three understandings I know of from being an ordinary man, a tepid enthusiast to photography, and a story teller. I knew that what I was looking at is a product of photo shoot but I was quite skeptic for it appeared to be handily sketched by looking at the ‘crossovered’ woman’s body, and more I thought that her native-like exotic face was perfectly painted. But the background which was surrounded by branches of leaves appeared to be distorted…digitalized. The lightings were still there which were carefully handled and untouched while a circular of grayish brushed-like paint also added to the movement of the theme. I saw the movement of dryness from her body that escalated to a shimmering beauty of a woman perfectly seen in her face…the eyes that sparkle…the lips that allures…and the curly hair that accentuates her beauty.

The technique of ‘crossover’ photography as my good friend explained could bring endless ideas of making one’s interest in contemporary photography even more challenging and exciting. And I believe he’s right. The challenge still remains on figuring out the array of themes and subjects, combination of colors and proper lighting, and options of movement and space that best defines what crossover is all about.

JOSE MARIA TAN'S CROSSOVER:

Please visit Mr. Jose Maria Tan’s photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/josetanphotography/

More than 35 Filipino teachers with 100 other foreign nationalities working in the northern region attended the 20-Hour Training on Thai Culture, Language and Professional Standards on August 1-3, 2008. The Association of Filipinos in Thailand – Northern Region Chapter (AFT-NRC) headed by its newly elected officers Mr. Art Elbinias and Ms. Gigi Narrido helped in disseminating the information on this important teacher licensing requirements in the northern area. After the training, the Filipino participants expressed their appreciation to the speakers especially to the speaker on Thai culture and language, Ms. Puthachad Sucharitakul. Her impressive presentation skills changed the negative perception the training is getting from the foreign teaching industry…at least to the Filipino teachers’ community. Miss Gigi Narrido shared her honest views on the said training at www. aftnrc.wordpress.com.

It is estimated that Filipino teachers comprise almost 50 percent of the foreign teachers working in Thailand. Almost 40-50% of the number of participants in all trainings conducted by the PSTAT in all parts of the country consists of Filipinos alone. It is safe to assume that the Filipino teachers are indeed one of the strong backbones of basic education in Thailand.

Worth mentioning was the training held on July 24-26, 2008 at Assumption College – Primary Bangkok where a small group of united Filipino teachers has a special bonding of helping each other. Mr. Pompeyo Samaniego, one of the pioneer teachers at Assumption Commercial College, explained that it is important that all Filipino teachers need to help each other especially in the workplace in maintaining a certain high level of professional standards that will continue to ensure high confidence of the Thai community to the Filipinos’ teaching capabilities. Truly, this is something that all Filipino teachers need to emulate.

Abel Morales Cadias

The licensure for foreign teachers is now the talk of the town. The Ministry of Education is in no doubt enforcing its long delayed rules and regulations not only to Thai teachers but to foreign teachers as well. Some foreign teachers find its rationale disturbing and its procedure confusing; while others, as usual, simply have to go with the flow and hoping that this would bring better recruitment services and employment benefits to foreign teachers.

Here are some facts about the licensure for foreign teachers which might help you understand what’s exactly going on in Thailand’s foreign teaching industry:

Q: Who is responsible in formulating the regulations on teacher licensure?

A: The Teachers Council of Thailand which was established in 2003 by the Ministry of Education (MoE). It is comprised of the Board, the Professional Standards Committee, the Welfare Promotion for Teachers and Educational Personnel Committee, and the Members. Specifically, it is the Professional Standards Committee who drafted the regulations on teacher licensure. The office is located at 128/1 Ratchasima Rd., Dusit Bangkok 10300 with tel. numbers: 02-282-48262 and 02-280-6226. You may visit its official website: www.ksp.or.th

Q: When did the Teachers Council of Thailand (Professional Standards Committee) formulate the rules on teacher licensure?

A: 2004. And it is gradually being enforced to the foreign teachers since 2006. It is expected that all foreign teachers who have been working in Thailand regardless of their working years who intend to continue working as teachers should apply for teaching licenses at the Teachers Council of Thailand, and almost the same rules shall be applied to all incoming foreign teachers.

Q: Who should apply for a teacher license?

A: Those who are working in the public, private and International schools. Only those public and private instructors at the higher education level (colleges and universities) and non-formal education teachers in any learning centers (i.e. language centers) are exempted.

Q: What are the requirements in applying for a teacher license?

A: The Regulation of the Teachers Council of Thailand on Professional Practice License (2004) Clause 5 enumerated the qualifications and prohibited characteristics of the applicant. In summary (rephrased):

Qualifications:

a. 21 years or older
b. education degree or with education units ( from 18-24 units)
c. pass the 20- hour Training on Thai Culture and Language, Professional Standards and Code of Ethics
d. application form ( the application form contains other required documents)

Prohibited Characteristics:

a. improper behavior or immorality
b. incompetent or quasi-incompetent
c. been sentenced to imprisonment in any case

Q: What if I don’t have any education degree nor education units?

A: Either take the 4-set professional education exam at the Teachers Council of Thailand or take a 24-unit of education subjects in authorized universities in Thailand or in any Ministry of Education (MoE) recognized universities abroad. The tuition differs depending on the university’s set tuition.

Q: How much is the testing fee for the professional education exam?

A: Each set costs 1,000 Baht. A total of 4,000 Baht for the 4 sets.

Q: Can I retake the exam?

A: Yes. You can apply for a retake until you have passed all 4 sets.

Q: Who are authorized to conduct the 20-hour training on Thai Culture and Language, Professional Standards and Code of Ethics?

A: One of them is the Private School Teachers Association of Thailand (PSTAT). The office is located at:

4/516 Sahakorn Village Soi 21, Serithai Rd. (Soi 57), Klong Kum, Bangkok 10240 Thailand
(+66-2-379-7239; +66-2-379-73-44 (FAX); +6686-7090873; +66-81-650-0047)

Q: When and where is the next training date?

A: The Private School Teachers Association conducts the training four times a month in Bangkok and in other provinces. The training usually takes three consecutive days. Call the office for more information.

Q: How much is the training fee?

A: Depending on the number of trainees, and the venue and food costs for three days, it may range from 3,500 – 6,000.00 Baht.

Q: What can I get after the training?

A: You will receive a CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION at the end of the training day when you have successfully passed and completed the training requirements.

Q: What are the training requirements?

A: 90% attendance, practical test, one on one interview, group skill/knowledge presentation and participation.

Q: How long am I given to complete the requirements in order to apply for the teacher’s license?

A: If you’re currently working in Thailand, you are given until 2009 to apply for the teaching license. Basically before your Non-B Work VISA expires.

Q: How much is the application fee?

A: 500 Baht.

Q: When can I get my license?

A: Upon application, the Teachers Council of Thailand will provide you with a letter stating that you have already applied for a teachers’ license. The permanent teacher license (license card) will take some time before its issuance. It expires after five years and it can also be renewed.

Q: What is the “temporary teaching license” issued by the Teachers Council of Thailand?

A: The Teachers Council of Thailand issues a two-year permission to teach while completing all the requirements for the teacher licensure. The applicant can get the letter of permission on the same day of application.

Q: What if I can’t complete all the requirements for teacher licensure in one year time?

A: You may appeal your case to the Teachers Council of Thailand and may get another one-year permission to teach. However, the Teachers Council of Thailand is decisive in having all foreign teachers apply for a teacher’s license until 2009.

Abel Morales Cadias

Thanks to Siam Pinoy Forums, the Filipino teachers’ community is continuously updated with the latest information on teacher licensing activities conducted by the Teachers’ Council of Thailand of the Ministry of Education.

The Association of Filipinos in Thailand Isan Chapter headed by its officers and active member organized the training on Thai Culture and Language, Professional Standards and Code of Conduct for foreign teachers at St. Mary College in Nakornratchasima on July 17, 18 and 19 2008.

“We were able to gather 76 Filipino teachers including a few other nationalities to join this important training. This is a big help to us since we don’t need spend a lot just to attend this training in Bangkok,” Mrs. Ma. Linda S. Jenkins, AFT- Isan former president, explained.

The training on Thai culture is the hottest buzz in the foreign teaching industry for all foreign teachers are required to apply for teaching licenses should they wish to work as professional teachers in Thailand.

“AFT- Isan organized this training with the Private School Teachers Association of Thailand (PSTAT) in order to help our fellow Filipino teachers and not to gain profit from them,” Mrs. Monaliza Sangvoranit, AFT-Isan adviser, divulged.

The Association of Filipinos in Thailand – Isan chapter was formally registered at the Philippine Embassy –Bangkok last year though the Filipino community in Nakhonratchasima which started many years ago in Korat. It is headed by its present officers: Mrs. Eva Apa (President); Miss Kristine Gempesala (Vice-president); Miss Jovie Gerarman (Secretary); Mr. Ryan Rey Domopoy (Treasurer); and Miss Jonavy Lozada (PRO).

Miss Heda Tan popularly known as Madam H at the Siam Pinoy Forums recalled that it was Father Filomino Mahusay, one of the coordinators of the training, who called her up to find out more about the said training. Miss Tan also recognized the effort of Mr. Abby in introducing the Siam Pinoy Filipino Online Community in Korat. The Siam Pinoy founders and friends shortly attended the second day of the said training.

Abel Morales Cadias

History proves that in order to establish a strong foundation of a notable cause all should partake in the arduous process of forming one. The Filipino Educators Council is living proof of another significant history in the making.

In the early part of 2007, active online forumers at Siampinoy.com discussed issues related to foreign teaching in Thailand. These posters shared their teaching experiences, debated back and forth many unresolved concerns that affect the Filipino teaching community. Emotions ran high and not a few conflicts ensued in a desire to advance each one’s perspective. Many teachers realized that this cyber information tool was an effective medium of communication
and ideas exchange, and for threshing out issues and articulating concerns; while others were slow to join the bandwagon of these exciting online discussions.

Toward December of the same year, active online forumers of SiamPinoy joined forces to produce a series of Filipino educators conferences all over Thailand. The purpose of organizing these conferences was to gather information on the needs, issues and resolutions of the Filipino educators. On 23 February 2008, the first Filipino Educators’ Conference was held in Anuban Chiangmai School in Chiangmai City; with the theme: “Empowering the Filipino educators in Thailand with renewed commitment, courage and competence”.

With the participation of some officers of the Association of Filipinos in Thailand – Northern Region Chapter (AFT-NRC), members of the FFC, some Siam Pinoy forumers and co-organizers of the conference, the aims of conference was successfully achieved. On March 16, 2008, the second Filipino Educators’ Conference at Ruamrudee International School in Bangkok was held; this was attended by 40 teachers from 16 different International, government and private schools. These educators and professionals in the country joined the cause for the empowerment of the Filipino educators in Thailand through professional development programs.

The Council added more milestone activities: the Filipino educators’ conferences on April 13, 2008 with the ACT at the Philippine Embassy, and on May 10, 2008 with the Federation of Boholanos and Friends in Thailand at St. Theresa Inti College in Bangkok. It is expected that more conferences will soon be organized wherever Filipino teachers in the Kingdom are located.
On March 17, 2008, the Mandate, Structure and Profile of the Filipino Educators Council or FEC were drafted based on the data and input gathered from the participants of the first two conferences. Prior to the second Filipino educators’ conference, eight committed professional educators in Thailand were already brainstorming to design the philosophy and direction of the Council. It was determined that the primary aim of the Council is to provide professional development programs to advance Filipino educators in the state.

On March 19, 2008 a letter to the Philippine Ambassador to Thailand, with the final copy of the Council’s Mandate, Structure and Profile, was submitted for approval.

On May 25, June 1 and June 8, the very first meeting of more than 200 Filipino teachers who attended the training on Thai Culture and Language, Professional Standards and Code of Conduct for Foreign Teachers gave another boost to this group of Filipino educators. It was the first in Thailand which was successfully organized despite of big challenges and intrigues.

Later in June 2008, the group decided to reset the group’s priorities for the legal registration of its name. Now, it’s just a matter of time when this group of Filipino educators will soon rise stronger than before.

Abel Morales Cadias

…the Filipino educators in Thailand heed the call of COMMITMENT

enable us to move forward in truly realizing our goal to establish a federation of Filipino educators in Thailand. Once and for all to dispel the doubts of our intention in building this strong community, we opted to reach out to our co-Filipino teachers at the grassroots levels through a series of conferences and meet ups, and by utilizing a varied system dissemination and gathering of information. On February 23, 2008, the very first Filipino educators’ conference was held in Chiangmai and was attended by a few yet concerned teachers from Chiangrai, Chiangmai and Bangkok. Such desire came from the principle of life that by doing rather than by merely talking about an idea makes the difference. Thus the Second Filipino Educators’ Conference on March 16, 2008 in Bangkok is about to kick off, thanks to the concerted effort of our fellow teachers who are sacrificing their time and resources in coming up with these fruitful activities.

The main reason of conducting these series of conferences is to gather much information that represents the general status of working and living conditions of Filipino educators all over Thailand. We don’t want to assume the conditions faced by the common instead we want to back our claims and resolutions with accuracy and truth. Thus we prepared a comprehensive survey questionnaire that gauges our needs, issues and resolutions. It also aims to identify potential leaders who can truly represent the voice of the mentors. Forming an organization is not an easy task. We believed that it should not be founded with indifference or hatred, and it should not be a hasty decision of a few but it should be founded from a natural process and unconditional commitment of the many. In achieving this, another survey questionnaire is planned to determine the sentiment of our fellow educators on the need for representation. We hope to transmit the impression to all Filipino educators in Thailand that we are doing this for all of us. We don’t have any interest in taking over other existing Filipino organizations in Thailand or in competing with them. We all want the same thing: to promote the welfare of our countrymen. Collaboration is what we need and not collateral damage.

Furthermore, the commitment to be one in time of needed cooperation in uplifting our competence as professional and skilled workers is something that every Filipino educator in Thailand should voluntarily impart to the cause. The commitment to open our mind and heart to the essential changes in helping the development of Thailand’s quality education is one of the priorities that will prepare the next ladder in making ourselves known as dedicated, desirable and delighted workforce. The good side of such commitment is that we can take it with us anywhere in the world.

ONLY WHEN

…the Filipino educators in Thailand exude the needed COURAGE

enable us to fortify our commitment in attaining our professional-related needs. The courage to accept constructive criticisms, share our success and failure stories, stand for what we believed in and allow ourselves for professional growth are probably the most important factors that affect the future status of Filipino educators living and working in Thailand.

Constructive criticisms are needed in the workplace. For instance, we Filipinos are known as hardworking individuals but sometimes we work hard that we forgot to be sensitive with the local dictates of Thai customs. We are appreciated of our efforts in doing more than what we are required to do but we should not brag about our efforts. These may not be true to all but the point is we need to be courageous enough to humble ourselves especially when we hear negative criticisms. Instead of counterattacking these “unwanted” criticisms, it is best that we should reflect on them.

Our inspiring or heartbreaking stories in the workplace are also pieces of information that needed to be shared so that others will become more aware. One of the problems that affect us so much in the workplace is lack of information. For instance, there are many incoming Filipino teachers who wish to work in Thailand who agree to a certain negotiation with their employers believing that such agreement is most probably legal or common. Only to find out that in the end, they are among those who are unfortunate. Recently, a Filipino teacher in Chiangrai told her sad story of receiving less than 15,000 Baht a month with no salary increment yet she is required to teach more than 20 hours a week and she provides for her teaching materials out from her pocket. She also agreed to pay for the processing of her own Non-B Visa and work permit just to get the job out of desperate needs. Such situation could have been avoided if she was equipped with the proper information and negotiation skills in availing for better employment terms. Moreover, to have the courage to say “NO” without necessarily being impolite when offered with a 15K job should something that we all need to learn to address. It is strongly advised that we should learn to sell our qualifications and experiences, and should not be satisfied with “because you are not a native speaker” cliché reasoning of some schools. Now, with the new requirements of undergoing a Thai culture training and professional education exam in the near future, one may wonder how she will afford to pay for the expensive training and examination. The good news is, just like the processing of your Non-B Visa and work permit, it is the school employer who should legally pay for these expensive training and examination. On the other hand, one Filipino teacher who just arrived in Bangkok to work ended up with a desirable contract for he was equipped with proper information; and thus he was ready to expect that “ins and outs” in working here.

The “15k” for qualified and experienced Filipino teachers should not be tolerated when negotiating with our expected salary. We should feature our abilities and skills as teachers, and what we could offer to the school in helping develop quality instruction in order to justify a much better remuneration and other benefits. When confronted with reasons of nationality and low-school budget, then as always, we should learn to approach them with good negotiation skills and with the confidence in pointing out the advantages of hiring us with more justified contract agreement based on our qualifications and experiences, and not by the color skin or accent. If the negotiation seems dim, learn to say “NO” in a positive way, and for sure there are schools in Thailand that offer more reasonable remuneration and benefits that need your qualifications and experiences. This is the only way to break the cycle of unfortunate labor situations.

Equally important, is when we also allow ourselves for professional growth in improving our classroom instruction, improving our English speaking skills and our professional relationship with the local community. We are also bound with the realities of life. We may not be able to change the color of our skin but we can learn how to “speak” the English language like them by gradually lessening the interference of our first language through practical ways like constantly talking to our “native” colleagues and friends. Better yet, attending a phonology class makes possible in achieving a near-native control of the English language. The point is, we Filipino teachers should help ourselves and the others in making our “weaknesses” become strengths. When we have the courage to speak out, accept constructive criticisms and change for work-related reasons only then could we truly enhance the impressions we are getting from the local community. It is heartwarming to know that many of us are doing something about these needs.

ONLY WHEN

…the Filipino educators in Thailand foster the cause with COMPETENCE

enable us to be in a better position to formally take part in helping solve some of the issues affecting foreign teaching in Thailand. We have many ideas and suggestions but first we need the blessings of the concerned government agencies in order that they will embrace our resolutions. We can achieve this by making ourselves professionally competent in our respective workplaces. As long as our schools listen to our ideas, implement these ideas; and when these ideas bear fruitful results, we already are helping the system. Hopefully, in the near future, they will allow us in tackling issues that directly affect our community. We should also continue abiding to our schools’ rules and regulations, and to Thai laws in order that they too continue to respect us. Let’s not forget that we should always be forever grateful in allowing us to work and live in this amazing neighbor of our country. We all hope for the good of all though sometimes we need to strive harder and reach for a higher goal to make our working and living conditions here in Thailand the best.

We are in a situation where we need to ask the government what we can do for the improvement of Thailand’s quality of education since we are already part of the community. Meanwhile, the best way in helping them is by making ourselves always prepared with their challenges and demands. For all we know, sooner or later, our Filipino community of teachers will be served with a better standard working and living conditions here in Thailand.

One can not stand alone. We need to be united in this crusade with full of good intentions. It is for this cause that we implore to all of our dear fellow Filipino educators throughout Thailand to join us in our journey in “empowering ourselves with renewed commitment, courage and competence.”

Abel Morales Cadias

The “no fail” policy has become an unending topic among online ‘forumers’ in the teaching industry. Some foreign teachers fear that this policy is lowering Thailand’s quality of education; others believe that it is killing students’ motivation to aspire for competence, and to strive harder in mastering the skills needed in preparing themselves for the next level of learning. On the other hand, there are those who think that this policy actually brings more psychological benefits to the learners in parallel to their culture. Thai teachers, meanwhile, as always are very loyal and obedient to their superiors. They are expected to follow what they’ve been told no matter how difficult the process could be.

Surprisingly, it appears that the so-called “no fail” policy created confusion and indifference to foreign teaching staff, and brought negative impression to Thailand’s educational system. Is this a result of the Ministry of Education’s poor information dissemination to the foreign teaching staff? Does this policy truly exist? And if it does, is the name of the policy just a terminological glitch? Or Are the controversies behind the policy a product of unprofessional opinions and culture shock?

One of the problems that Thai schools especially public schools need to be more sensitive about is the need to include their foreign teaching staff in any information dissemination and discussions on new MOE policies. Many foreign teachers are just told what to do and never given valid reasons why the need to do them. Naturally, some foreign teachers question its processes; and unfortunately, Thai teachers later find themselves wondering as well. The MOE has probably provided some measures to properly implement any of its policies. If the “no-fail” policy is real, the MOE might have provided its rationale and implementing strategies. Sadly, due to lack of information, the term “no fail” policy served as the rationale itself and teachers regard it as very self-explanatory; thus, they assume all possible implementing strategies aiming at one goal: no elementary or secondary student shall fail. This situation is a result of poor communication protocol. To avoid misunderstanding and misinformation between foreign and local teachers, the MOE needs to extend the courtesy of furnishing English copies of its policies that directly affect the foreign teaching staff.

Many even doubt the existence of this policy. Some Thai teachers believed that this was in fact a policy way back in the late 1990’s; others believed that it was first promulgated during former PM Thaksin’s administration; and still a big number of Thai teachers believed that there was no exact written policy but such is a constant topic in local, regional and nationwide seminars until it had become a tradition among Thai schools to ensure all students pass to the next level. With or without any official document to prove its authenticity, one thing is most certain, Thai schools practice a very lenient educational system. Above all, it is the question of HOW is the policy being implemented that raised some eyebrows and brought defiance to its implementation at the school level.

The “no fail” policy is most probably a product of erroneous terminology. Not realizing its impact to its readers, Thai educators probably conveniently translated a sensible Thai terminology to a dreaded English translation. Many Thai teachers reason out that the idea of this policy is to help the “weak” learners cope with the lessons. If this is so, they are most probably utilizing some sort of a remedial class as a strategy where the teacher needs to sacrifice some time to review, re-teach and re-evaluate “weak” learners until they are ready to proceed to the next lesson. This is most likely the process that every teacher undergoes. “Remedial class” policy may be the appropriate term and not the controversial “no fail” policy.

However, whatever term the policy would be, it is the practice of the school which is more evidently important. In relation to language education, test or evaluation should be properly selected and well described. Some foreign teachers experience situations where they are not required to evaluate and grade their students. Others are later told to fill up a grading system right after the school term is about to end. There are schools that have well-written grading system but they fail to give solutions to the common problems of students affecting their classroom performance resulting to low or failing grades. One clever solution teachers and coordinators do is to simply make grade “adjustments”. Some schools give “failing” students a second chance by simply requiring them to re-take the final test. Others provide “review” tests a week before the “real” examination comes to facilitate high number of passers. All of these are utilized to secure 100% passing rate.

In contrast, there are schools that painstakingly follow the “lesser evil” way of helping the students pass the required school competencies. It goes back to the realities in the classroom instruction. In language education particularly teaching EFL or ESL, it is important that the language teacher clearly understands not to treat EFL or ESL a subject matter or a content subject. Otherwise, the language teacher is concerned on the “academic” achievement of the learner. To exemplify, a learner who cannot do language tasks will most probably get a zero score. And if the language teacher continues to give more weight on grades, there is no doubt a long list of failed students is waiting to be submitted. However, a language teacher who sees the learning process as more important than its end result will do anything to help the “weak” learner cope with the lessons. Thus a remedial class is set in place. Moreover, designing a suitable activity based on the learners’ needs and language proficiency will also help in encouraging and boosting their confidence. Normally, a language learner feels more comfortable if they are not threatened with scores or grades. The focus lies on the accomplishment of language tasks rather than the achievement of a passing grade. Having this attitude on the part of the language teacher makes the “no fail” policy a no threat to language learning. In principle, a language teacher needs to demonstrate to the learners the many practical reasons in learning the target language and not just simply for the purpose of finishing a “subject” or getting a passing score in national tests.

In retrospect, there are foreign teachers who insist that this “no fail” policy has become a deterrent to Thailand’s language education. They claim that it affects learners’ motivation, and so failing “undeserving” students may help them realize the importance of education. Furthermore, it paves way to laziness, unchallenging tasks, and tedious teacher work. Students with low motivation feel safe that they can earn a high school diploma with ease without necessarily striving. Schools taking advantage of this policy would result to the poor attainment of academic standards. Teachers who find easy ways to pass the students corrupt the proper evaluation system. Meanwhile, over-loaded teachers who provide remedial classes sacrifice more time and effort. And “weak” learners may cope with the lessons by attending remedial classes but still it does not guarantee if they’re all meeting the academic standard. Some believe that this “policy” is the culprit of low number of passers in national tests, and the cause of much stress of incoming first year university students since they were not trained to improve their study skills during the early years of their education. There are research studies that reveal how unsatisfactory the English language proficiency of many degree holders in the workplace. In fact, some international companies seek Thai applicants with master’s degrees for clerical positions. These are some of the major issues raised by concerned foreign teachers which until now highlight any debates and discussions.

The negative manifestations, however, may be the consequences of hiring foreign teachers with no background in education; foreign teachers who are still strongly attached to what is norm in their respective countries; foreign teachers who are having difficulty relating the learner’s culture to educational policies; and foreign teachers who strongly oppose what is educationally and philosophically different from their own.

A language teacher who doesn’t have any background in education may find himself confused and unmoved to the rationale of the so-called “no fail” policy. Even with the aid of good discussions and readings, he couldn’t muster his thoughts in allowing himself to adapt to changes but still his only choice is to follow. As a result, he vents his dismay by opposing it. Little did he know, his attitude toward positive language learning in the classroom is also undermined. There are others who are not comfortable to what is different. For instance, in the Philippines, the “no fail” policy is non-existent. A student need to satisfy all grading criteria by earning passing scores with a certain level of difficulty; and so an average student who gets a passing grade is considered lucky, whereas an average Thai student expects higher than a passing grade since the “weak” ones get all the passing demarcation lines. These language teachers find the evaluation system unacceptable but they forget to constantly remind themselves that they are in a different country with a different educational system.

This highlights the importance of one’s culture which not only affects lifestyle but even education. It is assumed that the so-called “no fail” policy has been thoroughly discussed and it fits Thailand’s culture. Foreign teachers buzzed culturally-embedded reasons that the policy is an act of not “losing one’s face”; or “kreng-jai” which values consideration and courtesy. Still, some argue that this is an act of over use of cultural reference to their policies without considering global perspective towards education. However, a language teacher who can not do anything but to follow the norm is given all other opportunities and freedom to set his own standards of classroom instruction to reassure that the learners are learning something fruitful with or without a grading system. This brings us to the reality that a language teacher should focus on using other means of motivating the learners to learn the target language instead of feeling remorse of not having a strict grading system.

In conclusion, the so-called “no fail” policy or “remedial class” policy should not kill the language teachers’ devotion to language education. This is a challenge to one’s being flexible, creative, innovative and global in the field of language teaching. Even the qualities of a language teacher or any teacher for that matter also require tough challenges to test their “authenticity”.

Abel Morales Cadias

I would like to share my views on the questions raised by buddhistpunk, a member of the Siampinoy.com discussion forum, on the NO FAIL policy program of most if not all Thai schools in the primary and secondary levels.

HOW do you ensure that children with learning disabilities, or who are simply slow learners can keep up/cope with the demands of even the most basic skills and get promoted ON TIME so that they are not left behind?

Ideally, children with learning disabilities are taken cared of by SPECIALIZED teachers. Since they are regarded as learners who need MORE attention, the learning competencies that they are hoped to achieve is different from that of a regular school curriculum.

In a heterogeneous class, it is assumed that the classroom teacher is well-prepared and trained to handle this type of learning environment. The curriculum and evaluation processes are flexible that a combination of these two ensures helping the learner cope with the lessons.

With the complex theories and unexplained occurrences to learning and its processes, a slow learner may not be achieving ideal academic standards NOW but may show gradual improvement as he progresses to the next level of his schooling. In Thailand, teachers are given the benefit of the doubt that they are helping slow learners cope with their learning difficulties. In fact, some classroom teachers in the province of Chiangrai are required to re-teach their “weak” pupils until 7 in the evening. This entails sacrifice and much effort from the teachers and the learners.

The “no child left behind” policy does not necessarily mean taking the child to the next level whether or not he is ready and prepared. In general, it means easy access to education...to educate ALL children.

The idea of ‘ON TIME’ is very subjective. It is expected that they will eventually be allowed to finish their studies as soon as they are prepared to face the next level.

HOW do you ensure that they are at par with academic standards when DIFFERENTIATION [oops, there's that word again, please refer to my post on differentiation] is used as a technique/method to help ease the burden of these students. Are we doing them a favor or disfavor by catering to and adjusting OUR TEACHING AND STANDARDS to their level?

This was how you defined “differentiation”:

“Differentiation is wunna 'em newfangled pedagogical techniques to support the no child left behind, and other similar policies.”

“Differentiation means we design chunks of learning and tests around what the child can grasp and how s/he can perform.”

You are probably referring to the use of an ECLECTIC and LEARNING-CENTERED approach to teaching. For learners with “special” needs, they are NOT expected to be at par with what is standard to ALL types of learners. Otherwise, there is no sense of identifying and classifying learners according to their levels IF they are required to achieve THE SAME academic standards.

A classroom teacher is expected to know WHAT to teach; and WHEN is the need to increase learning tasks. The main goal of using different approaches and strategies to different types of learners is to help them cope with the lessons in order to achieve sense of accomplishment. In comparison, even a doctor prescribes different proper medicine dosage to his patients though all were diagnosed with the same illness.

And when che1959 mentioned the word ‘CULTURE’ in relation to designing school policies, he/she probably meant to highlight the importance of culture as a deciding factor to the interest of every country’s thrust toward its education. Thus, USA strongly believed that its “no child left behind” policy is culturally adequate to its citizens. In the case of Thailand, its “no fail” policy which would probably better termed as “remedial classes” is also culturally based.

Even a classroom teacher CANNOT force a student to do something that is beyond his comprehension. And so we make ADJUSTMENTS. It shows one good quality of a teacher: BEING FLEXIBLE. With this strategy, will the student be able to finish the required competencies in due time? Well, it depends on how resourceful and “helpful” the teacher is and how aware the learner is with the teacher’s intention.

What's a teacher to do if the child does deserve to fail or be kept back a year? Remedial classes? Best of luck if the student can afford either.

There really are students who don’t deserve to pass to the next level because of tardiness, laziness, absences and other unacceptable alibis. They are provided with an option though: attend remedial classes.

The remedial classes given during school days are free. Students who cannot afford for special classes should be required to attend remedial classes instead.

And if they fail to do so, I’m sure the Ministry of Education in Thailand has some other plans for them.
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Many foreign teachers in Thailand are ‘fighting’ the system of the schools’ leniency to their ‘clients’ in the sense that they find ways to dispel the negative outcome of this NO FAIL policy system. Some teachers require their students to take remedial classes while others leave the decision and paperwork to their employers on what lesser evil ways they can do to pass these lucky students to the next level.

Abel Morales Cadias

One of the co-curricular activities that an ESL/EFL teacher can integrate to its reading and writing course syllabus is the introduction of the basic concepts of campus journalism and its application. 

This “added” interactive course is suitable even to a heterogeneous classroom setup in the upper secondary level of the Mini-English Program (MEP) and the English Program (EP). Lecture and training will most probably take 8 to 16 hours depending on the course plan and other factors like number of students and their level of English proficiency, teacher’s background, and school’s support.  The first publication will most probably take at least 6 hours a month for its completion starting from the distribution of topics and work to student-writers, the gathering of information through interviews, readings and research, the writing of news/literary/feature articles, the editing and revising of articles until the publication’s reproduction and distribution. As usual, beginners need time to get used to the tasks given to them but after three to four issues, they will surely learn the tricks and master the processes, and so teacher’s minimum supervision in the “field” and in the classroom is all just what they’ll need next. 

The main goal of the course is to come up with a “class newsletter” similar to that of a school paper be it monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly publication.  A monthly issue is found to be more productive in terms of students’ mastery of micro-language skills although it entails more time and effort.  One doesn’t need to be very ambitious in coming up with a class newsletter. You can always start with a 2-page 8.5X14 inch – newsletter containing short straight news articles on the school’s activities called “news tidbits”, short yet interesting feature articles about students, teachers, non-teaching staff and almost about anything that catch the interest of the students.  After “mastering”  the technique in writing straight news articles, students are introduced to writing feature articles like “getting to know” teachers, hobbies and interests of students, interesting community events and the like.

The final stage of the course is the introduction of writing literary articles like poems, songs, short stories, movie and song reviews, and other literary pieces. But the ESL teacher has to choose specific writing skills he/she will be teaching to the students that are appropriate to their levels and needs based on the time-frame of the course.  Later, the students are free to write articles that they are most comfortable with, and regular class lessons won’t be interrupted because they can submit their articles anytime, and they can revised them at home. 

1. Why campus journalism?

If you are looking for something different and challenging activities for the students, then making them feel and be-like a journalist is one of the interesting class projects.  Campus journalism is very interactive because  the students are expected to  write easy Wh-questions, conduct short interviews in gathering information, writing short paragraphs, revising  their own grammatical mistakes, checking information, encoding, lay outing,  and a lot more.  The four major language skills are covered plus the mastery of language functions can be easily evaluated. 

Moreover, the product itself (newsletter) brings the students into a deeper realization how the English language works, and it gives them more profitable reasons to appreciate the need to learn the English language. Meanwhile, the ESL teachers themselves can use the finish “product”  as an authentic material in any reading classes.  Since it was written by the students themselves, its language and content are very specific that every student in school (even Thai teachers) won’t find difficulty relating to it even just by looking at the photos, and thus it can also be used as an alternative to commercial student magazines. Not only that, the newsletter shares in creating an English atmosphere in school.   One may never know that an article written by a student may inspire others to view the English language as something necessary in their lives and not just a school requirement.

2. What should be the content of a class newsletter?

Normally, the first page contains news articles, photos and announcements while the second page contains the literary and feature articles, and of course some interesting photos.  The editorial staff may add other important features: editorial staff box, news tidbits, columns and more.  However, avoid having many articles and photos crowding in every page. 

3. Who will do the editing and lay outing?

If there are “highly” skilled students, the ESL teacher can train one or two in editing common grammatical mistakes. Naturally, rewriting the article is the responsibility of the student-writer.  The ESL teacher proofreads the final drafts of the articles.  If there is a need for the student-writer to revise and/or rewrite his/her article then he/she is obliged to do so.  After all, it is the PROCESS of learning which is more important.  In the absence of student editors due to a myriad of “school responsibilities,” the ESL teacher needs to find more time to edit the students’ articles.  Again, the good part is that the ESL teacher is dealing with very short articles only.  A caution to the ESL teacher or to the student editor:  you should NOT impose your writing styles and vocabulary know-how to the student-writer. There are indeed many better ways to write an article; and the writing style of the student-writers may not be that good but for as long as their articles are comprehensible and free from grammatical errors, it is always advisable that student-writer’s style and vocabulary know-how should be always considered as priority.  The student-writer finds the task very fulfilling in the end especially if he/she reads more of what he/she has originally written. The lay outing, on the other hand, can be at first prepared by the ESL teacher and if he/she was able to train a reliable student then the lay outing of the newsletter can be given as a student extra-assignment.   However, considering student load and the objectives of the course, the ESL teacher might as well take it as an added responsibility. A two-page newsletter isn’t exactly that hard to lay out as long as the ESL teacher knows how to use the Microsoft publisher.  If not, the ESL teacher can view it as an “educational” experience in using other Microsoft programs.

4. Is it costly?

First of all, producing an official school broadsheet or magazine-like newsletter is indeed quite expensive.  The good news is we don’t need to be that ambitious.  Thus a class newsletter is just proper and affordable.  We’re talking about a colored 2-page 8.5x 14 inch – newsletter. Encoding is most probably free because the students can do it at home or in school.  Then the photocopying (which makes your newsletter black and white) of a long paper costs, say, 1 baht for each page which makes that 2 baht for a back to back page.  The cost of the reproduction of 200 – 300 copies (depending on the number of target readers) can be subsidized by the school.

Thailand’s Ministry of Education explained that the modern Thai education system stems from the reforms set in place by the 1999 Education Act which put in place a learner centered focus around the reform process. Furthermore, the MOE revealed that at the heart of the teaching and learning inside of the national curriculum is the promotion of thinking skills, self-learning strategies and moral development.

One of its important reforms is called “Transforming Language Learning.” It is aimed at implementing a series of policies aimed at transforming the teaching and learning of languages to be more communicative, using authentic materials and learning situations. As a result, the English Program ( EP) and the Mini-English Program were used as schemes to provide full or partial Thai national curriculum in English language.

However, after 9 years since the implementation of its reforms particularly on the use of a learner-centered approach, communicative language instruction, the use of authentic materials and language learning situations, a compelling question remains to be answered: How successful was the reform implemented?

In 2006, a study on the “Learner-Centeredness in Teaching English as a Foreign Language” indicated that teachers were attempting to implement the new learner-centered approach to CLT required by the 1999 Education Act. However, there were contextual factors that directly impacted on the implementation of the learning reform policy that illustrate that what might be appropriate to implement in other global contexts might not be equally successfully in particular local situations.

Nonkukhetkhong (2006) found that teachers were not confident about the learner-centered approach’s underlying theory, and therefore the degree of the implementation depended on how the teachers used their understanding of that theory in their practice within the contextual constraints.

The study further revealed that the policy has required both teachers and students to develop new teaching and learning strategies, but has not equipped or supported schools with sufficient facilities, resources and learning environments, thus far has made the policy goals unrealistic and all but impossible to achieve.

Maskhao (2002) disclosed that most Thai EFL teachers still used the teaching methods they were familiar with, namely, a textbook-based, grammar-translation approach where lessons and tests mostly focus on grammar structures, vocabulary, and reading in order to be prepared for university entrance examinations.

Moreover, Wiriyachitra (2002) and Keyurawong (2002) on their recent studies on the proficiency of the graduates suggests that the English language curriculum in Thai schools and universities has not been meeting the demands for workplace English.

Nonkukhetkhong (2006) recommended that if the policy is to be successful, there is an urgent need to investigate the English proficiency of teachers and their capacity to develop learner autonomy through a learner-centered CLT approach.

The Learner-Centered Approach

Nonkukhetkhong (2006) explained that the “learner-centered approach" includes concepts of self-education and life-long education. This change requires teachers to change their traditional roles, requiring them to transform themselves from ‘tellers’ to ‘facilitators’ and from ‘materials users’ to ‘teaching materials creators’ in order to promote learners’ constructive self-learning.

Two key components of the learner-centered classroom are first, placing more responsibility in the hands of the students to manage their own learning, and second, teachers taking roles as facilitators of knowledge to help learners learn how to learn rather than being the source of knowledge as was traditionally the case.

Tudor (1996) elucidated that in such a situation, teachers have to be familiar with a wide range of teaching methodologies, learning materials, study options, and be flexible and adaptable while school programs need to be resource rich to develop a successful learner-centered curriculum that caters for a wide range of student needs
In A Different Kind of Classroom (1992), Robert Marzano makes six assumptions about creating a learning-centered classroom:
1. Instruction must reflect the best of what we know about how learning occurs.
2. Learning involves a complex system of interactive processes that includes five types of thinking - the five dimensions of learning.
3. What we know about learning indicates that instruction focusing on large, interdisciplinary curricular themes is the most effective way to promote learning.
4. The K-12 curriculum should include explicit teaching of higher-level attitudes and perceptions and mental habits that facilitate learning.
5. A comprehensive approach to instruction includes at least two distinct types of instruction: teacher-directed and student-directed.
6. Assessment should focus on students' use of knowledge and complex reasoning rather than their recall of low-level information.

The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

Briefly, the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), developed in 1960’s, is learner-centered and emphasizes communication and real-life situations.

In comparison, CLT makes use of communication to teach languages; whereas traditional language teaching places a lot of emphasis on grammar rules and verb conjugations. CLT emphasizes real-life situations and communication in context, while grammar is still important in the CLT classroom, the emphasis is on communicating a message.

Eventually, the teacher needs to set up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. Unlike the audiolingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Meanwhile, students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics.

In addition, the teacher still sets up exercises and gives direction to the class, but the students do much more speaking than in a traditional classroom. This responsibility to participate can often lead to an increased sense of confidence in using the language.
The students, on the other hand, practice real-life situations, for example, buying food at the market or asking someone for directions. In CLT, the goal is for the student to communicate his or her needs and thoughts, without worrying about having perfect grammar.

Authentic Materials

Nunan and Miller (1995) defined authentic materials as those which were not created or edited expressly for language learners. This means that most everyday objects in the target language qualify as authentic materials. Examples of these are train schedules, pictures of road signs, business cards, labels, menus, brochures, receipts, currency, music, literature, newspapers, televisions programs, radio broadcasts, film and internet websites.

On a broader level, consistent use of authentic materials in the classroom keeps students grounded in the reality of the language, helping them to recognize that there is a community of users who live out their lives in this other language. Exposing students to authentic materials can also help them better understand the target culture and envision how they might participate in this community. For example, instead of introducing food vocabulary in the target language by providing equivalent translations in the students’ native language, the teacher can instead introduce students to food vocabulary via an authentic menu, asking students to deduce the meanings of unfamiliar food items from context. Once meaning has been established, the vocabulary words can become part of a communicative exercise where students describe what is in a dish or role play a restaurant scene, requesting certain items. In this way not only do students acquire new vocabulary but they also are exposed to typical ethnic foods found on menus.

Language Learning Situations

Orwig (1999) provided the basic principles about language learning situations:

1. People learn better if their learning is encouraged by speakers of the language
2. People need to experience language used in context
3. If speakers of two languages really want to communicate, they can do a lot with a little
4. People have expectations about who speaks which language
5. Communication tends to take the easiest path
6. People may resist speaking their language because they want to learn your language
7. People often modify their speech when speaking to foreigners
8. In traditional cultures there may be only one right way to do something
9. It may be culturally inappropriate to be too direct in what you say
10. Every culture has taboo topics

Implementing Strategies of English Language Education Reforms

Taking clues from the Thai language teachers’ view toward the implementation of the learner-centered approach, it is believed that there is most probably a small success on the implementation of the new reforms especially in small provinces where MOE supervision is minimal.

The following should be strictly enforced and monitored in all Thai schools, institutions and universities to ensure the success of the new reforms:

1. Strict implementation on the use of the English language in the classroom

One of the biggest problems that the MOE needs to address first and foremost is the inability of many Thai teachers to use the English language inside the classroom. Since most of the Thai teachers are trained to use the traditional approach in teaching ESL, gradual improvement need to be done on their part by using English even when they are teaching grammar (form) or when at least in giving classroom instructions. This alone when strictly implemented can bring positive development on ELT in Thailand.

The reason why the “learner-centered approach to CLT” is hard to realize is because even the Thai teachers themselves hardly communicate using the English language in the classroom or even at school. How will you expect a language learner to participate in CLT activities when it basically requires both the teacher and the learner to use the target language?

Language teachers are supposed to be role models on the practical uses of language and failing to do so means slow improvement of the language skills of the learners.

There is a need to train, encourage and motivate these teachers to help resolve this issue.

2. In-Service teacher training on the current trends in TESL

After giving these Thai teachers the proper training on using the English language to classroom instruction, and encouraging and motivating them to continue using English in the classroom, a regular in-service teacher training on the current trends in TESL/TEFL for both Thai and foreign teachers should be required in all schools.

Together they’ll learn the new trends in TESL, explore their own classroom teaching experiences, and create a strong and working language teaching staff. They, themselves, can give and recommend effective strategies in teaching particular language skills suited to the needs of their learners.

3. Control foreign teacher turnover

English language teaching in Thailand has become a life-saver to some cash-strapped foreign tourists and a stepping stone for other foreign teachers who are incapable of holding down their jobs. Recently, the Thai immigration and the Ministry of Education tightened their immigration and employment rules. Foreign applicants are required to present their original transcript of records, diploma and certificates as evidences of not being bogus teachers.

But what is more disturbing which needs immediate school administrative solutions is the high number of foreign teacher turnover. This alarming situation affects the foundation of the school’s language education program and the development of a stronger and reliable curriculum.

Every school administration needs to ensure loyalty and full-support among their foreign employees. Employers and employees should demonstrate a reciprocal working relationship. The issue of how employers regard their foreign teachers as dispensable resources because replacements can be easily accessed is something that the MOE needs to address. Meanwhile, confident employees who regard schools as expendable arises the same problem on maintaining acceptable number of turnover.

A school establishes its language education programs with the support of those who made them. Imagine a majority of language teachers who designed a curriculum for the school year. Then suddenly this group of language teachers was replaced with ambitious teachers. Naturally, this new set of teachers can and may revise the old curriculum and so they create a new one. And this cycle continues…bringing the school’s language program back to zero.

4. Provide teacher-guided ESL/EFL lessons

Gradual shift from teacher-centered to learner-centered approach to language education should have been the temperament of MOE’s reforms. Many Thai ESL/EFL teachers feel like they are being led to a dark tunnel. And so they abandon the MOE reforms and continue what is traditional. They opt to be safe and pretend that they are doing something to realize changes brought by the reforms rather than entirely sabotaging the learning process.

Seminars and workshops are probably conducted by E.R.I.C. in the provinces to evaluate and monitor how ESL/EFL is taught in the schools but it seems like E.R.I.C. need to work double time in ensuring gradual changes.

By providing Thai teachers with simple and guided ESL/EFL lessons, and with the help of the in-service professional development program, these Thai teachers can hasten their confidence from the encouragement they get from their colleagues and from the easy-to-do language lessons that will slowly promote a learner-centered atmosphere in the classroom.

5. Strengthen the curriculum and trainings of university students majoring in ESL

The reforms that the MOE hope to achieve should reflect on the college of teacher education or the faculty of education and the faculty of humanities. The curriculum should train university students majoring in ESL to use the learner-centered approach to communicative language teaching. The university’s practice teaching program should enable the students to model the reforms on language education to their critic teachers or even to the entire Thai language teachers.

There are many university students in the college of teacher education or faculty of education and faculty of humanities who are inspired to teach ESL/EFL. A new breed of innovative Thai language teachers is what the ESL/EFL teaching industry needs. The key to this development is a strong curriculum and effective training. And its effective implementation is also very necessary.

Finally, language teachers should continue to find ways in helping the students learn the target language in order to survive the unseen transformations going on in this era of technological advancement and a culture of globalization. Mary Finochiarro, in her talk at a plenary session of the TESOL convention in Denver, Colorado in March 1974, said:

“The world, our countries, our communities will survive with faulty pronunciation and less than perfect grammar, but can we be sure they will continue to survive without real communication, without a spirit of community, indeed without real communion among peoples? Part of the answer lies in the hands of everyone in the profession. Seeking the truth to that answer is a challenge we cannot, we dare not, refuse to accept.”

Abel Morales Cadias

Seven years of teaching English as a Second Language in Thailand: a few months in a Christian secondary school; a year in teaching college students; two years at a big university; and currently working at a public secondary school and in the graduate school…

Rightfully earned a Master’s degree in ESL and now coping with the challenges of achieving the highest academic excellence…

Five feet and seven inches…straight black hair…brown eyes…brown skin…and yes, a Filipino!

I would like to share an inspiration that I have with me for the past years as one of the Filipino teachers who came to Thailand not just as a breadwinner but as a dedicated educator as well. The inspiration starts with questions intended to bring hope to an ordinary Filipino teacher in Thailand who is regarded as a very important force yet treated as a second-rate surrogate educator… an eye-opener to those who doubt the sincerity and dedication of a Filipino teacher.

How does a Filipino view the English language education in Thailand? How does a Filipino truly feel towards language teaching in a neighboring country whose culture is closely similar to his amidst the threat of stereotyping in the field of English language education?

There are certain adjustments needed to be made which require flexibility and open-mindedness like polishing up your social, physical and cultural state in congruence to what is acceptable in a foreign country. Among these changes, working in another country is the most intriguing.

A language teacher, no matter how experienced and brilliant he is, goes back to the state of being a neophyte when confronted with a new teaching environment and a different culture. However, an experienced language teacher may easily make the necessary pedagogical adjustments. It took me at least a year to truly understand how Thai people regard the English language and education as a whole. And it took me two years to gradually change my teaching and working style. I believe I am still in the process of mastering the art and craft of teaching Thai students without compromising what I think is relatively standard. As a full-fledged language teacher, I regard education as a long-time humble career, a means of inspiration and an arduous yet heartwarming community work.

I view the English language education in Thailand as fast-growing but lacks coherence and independence. There are more than 3,000 Filipino teachers added to the rest of thousands of other nationalities who take advantage of the boom in the English language teaching industry. Almost every school in big cities and provinces has foreign teachers helping their Thai counterparts in teaching English and other content subjects. The sudden increase of private language institutes all over the country signifies the eagerness of Thai societies to make their workforce and businesses globally competitive. Parents oblige their children to learn English for their future career. Meanwhile, the big number of foreign tourists and high-confidence of foreign investors even pushes the need to bring the status of English in Thailand in the next echelon. With this revelation, English is steadily used not just as a foreign language but now as a second language.

In the future, Thailand’s use of the English language will soon become a new well-developed variety…an addition to the many and different varieties of the English language. And it is evident that Thai people are using the English language distinctively. The issue whether it is native or not is no longer significant. I believe this supports the claim that the “nationality” of a foreign teacher teaching English as a second language bears minimal effect on Thai English. Instead, a more positive view should be generalized that Thai students are being prepared in dealing with language barriers as they are exposed with different varieties of English, native English included. The Filipinos complement the strengths and weaknesses of other foreign and Thai teachers by effectively integrating music, arts and literary appreciation techniques in language instruction. Indeed, English language teaching in Thailand has a lot to offer not only to its students but to the language teachers as well. With the different “nationalities” of foreign teachers, they bring a piece of globalization realities in the school.

Unfortunately, the English language instruction needed more special attention. In comparison, the Philippines is faced with the issues on maintaining its English literacy among the youths. Thailand, however, has not yet reached such level but is still coping with many concerns affecting the English language education which include teacher-training, comprehensive and effective framework, classroom instruction, material preparation, school policies and even the more complicated social acceptance of the target language.

I have to say that most of the Filipinos teaching in Thailand are equally equipped in ensuring positive transfer of learning compared to other foreign and Thai teachers. This is where the point of reality that many schools have overlooked. Unless the “commercial” attitude of many schools is brought to an end, English language education will remain a business hub and an illusion especially in small provinces. Unless school administrators and even the Ministry of Education take all confidence in making decisions without the fear of disapproval from the parents and students, English language teaching will remain a form of discrimination in the employment arena. Qualifications based on academic achievement, trainings and experiences, skill and most importantly a genuine heart of intention in truly educating should be highlighted in hiring teachers rather than be fascinated with the color of their skin or their amusing accents.

As a result, the quality of English language education is compromised because of the parents’ misconception towards language education, the schools’ love of money, the heartless, unskilled and uneducated foreign individuals who enjoy being the schools’ façade and bait, the inconsistency of school’s language education framework and policies to actual classroom instruction and evaluation, and those Thai teachers who allow themselves in becoming more inferior to their foreign counterparts and those who stubbornly stay stagnant with what is traditional in English language teaching.

Moreover, many schools are becoming dependent to foreign teachers. Many Thai teachers are also ignored and that they too depend on what these foreign teachers do in the classroom. Most Thai schools are enslaved by commercial textbooks and workbooks. Hundred of thousands of funds is wasted on the constant replacement of English textbooks. In addition, without overhauling Thai universities’ training and curriculum in the college of teacher education, the Thai teaching force in the language education will remain helplessly dependent to the business world.

Many Filipino teachers realized these threats to education. To a Filipino, teaching English as a second language is not all about accent or mastery of pronunciation, idiom and colloquial…it is all about the ability of a student to express what he feels and use his knowledge to appreciate the humanities and most importantly to use the language to further educate himself. To a Filipino, there is something happening more than teaching English to students, it is the desire to give them encouragement no matter how difficult it may be. Although some are not well compensated; overloaded with many teaching hours; discriminated in getting employed; and ridiculed as inferiors in using the English language non-native, they will remain to be trusted of having the best intention of developing not only the language skills of their students but inspiring them to be productive and creative citizens in the future.

The Philippines, known to be one of the primary exporters of professionals and skilled workers worldwide, is grateful to the Kingdom of Thailand for recognizing the Filipino teachers as a strong backbone on its educational program.

As one of the Filipino ESL teachers who is looking forward for professional growth, it would be more inspiring to see a network of Filipino teachers come together for a nationwide conference to share testimonials, resources, plans and suggestions in order to make our presence in Thailand stronger.

Together we can make a difference! After all, we are no “farangs”…we are Filipinos!

Abel Morales Cadias

Recently,  the Philippine’s Department of Education (DepEd) announced its new promising proposal called the CYBER EDUCATION PROJECT (CEP)  which aimed at  “providing an efficient and cost-effective solution to the need to deliver educational services to public elementary and secondary schools throughout the whole archipelago.”  

Cyber Education is defined as a brand new form of education in which instructional and management activities are carried out mainly based on E-Learning technologies.  It includes concepts like “online education”, “E-Learning”, “virtual education”, “digital education”, “multi-media learning” and among others.  The Philippines’ Cyber Education Project is accurately described as a Satellite-based Distance Learning Program.

It was learned that the Satellite-based education in the Philippines was conceptualized during the time of President Fidel V. Ramos. The idea was to use the country’s Agila satellite system, which was launched into orbit in 1997, as the tool. However, it didn’t push through. Now, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s government is trying hard in realizing this development amidst the strong and challenging political and economic concerns.

The Satellite-based Distance Learning Program links the schools to a nationwide network that provides 12 video channels, wireless wide area networking, local area networking and wireless Internet connectivity. Through the Cyber Ed Project, the Department of Education (DepEd) expects substantial improvement in student performance. At the same time, its network will provide cost-effective teacher training to close to half a million public school teachers, enabling them to upgrade their capabilities using virtual teacher training modules.

DepEd’s P26.48-billion Cyber Education Project is seen as a major solution to the myriad education problems. It is claimed to totally enhance the traditional concept of classroom teaching because teachers and pupils can interactively view and respond to teachers in the live feeds and computer-enhanced delivery of lessons. According to the NEDA, of the total cost of P26.48 billion, 86 percent or P22.77 billion of which will be financed through a loan from China and the remaining 14 percent or P3.71 billion will be funded by the Philippine government.  

DepEd explained that under this project, a total of 37,794 schools or 90% of all public schools nationwide will be connected in the next three years. These schools will receive live broadcasts featuring lectures and presentations from master teachers as well as course wares on demand and other valuable resource materials. Furthermore, the Cyber Ed Project is based on China's E-Education Project which covers some 500,000 schools and universities. DepEd’s official website revealed that the Cyber Ed Project is in accordance with the ICT-based education agenda included in the economic cooperation agreement signed by the Philippines and China in June 2006 and it is undertaken with assistance from Tsinghua University, China's premier technology university.

• no studies on effectivity of live TV-based instruction in basic education
• real school situation:

• No mention whatsoever of maintenance costs

• Philippine Administrative Network Project

• Overprice

• It fails to address the roots of the problems in basic education.

• It lacks transparency.

Calmada,  Dong. 2007.  “Cyber Education Project: The best response to challenges in Philippine education?”