English Performance of Thai Students

English Performance of Thai Students

Janpha Thadphoothon

Here are some evidence showing that Thai students have not been performing well in English.

Based on the 2015 O-NET results:

Grade 12 students (Secondary Level 6) in general performed poorly. The result of the English test was the most disappointing. It was the lowest mean score obtained by Thai (Grade 12) students (Mean = 24.98), out of the maximum score of 100. 


For Grade 9 students: (2015)
English examination:  656 701 students took the English test. The average score was 30.62 (out of 100).


For Grade 6 students:
English examination:  716 780 took the test. The average score was 40.31 (out of 100).


One of the reason is the fact that the results of the tests are meaningless to the students.


References

http://www.posttoday.com/social/edu/422677

http://www.krobkruakao.com

Issues Related to Low-performing Students

Issues Related to Low-performing Students













Reference
OECD (2016), Low-Performing Students: Why They Fall Behind and How To Help Them Succeed, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Pyit Taing Htaung - วิถีแห่งจิตใจที่ไม่ยอมแพ้ของเมียนมา

Pyit Taing Htaung - วิถีแห่งจิตใจที่ไม่ยอมแพ้ต่ออุปสรรคของเมียนมา

Janpha Thadphoothon

Photo credit: http://whatismyanmar.tumblr.com/post/9400587401/pyit-taing-htaung

ความหมายของของเล่นชนิดหนึ่งของเมียนมา เรียกว่า พิ๊ด ไตน์ ทอง (Pyit Taing Htaung 
) แปลง่าย ๆ ว่า " ล้มลงเมื่อใดก็ลุกขึ้นยืนเองได้ทุกครั้ง "

ผมซื้อมา ตอนแรก ๆ ก็ไม่รู้ว่า สิ่งที่ซื้อมาคืออะไร เป็นของเล่นที่ทำมาจากไม้ รูปร่างแปลก ๆ เหมือนไข่ มีหน้าเหมือนคน มีทั้งสองเพศคือ ชาย-หญิง

ทราบภายหลังว่าเป็นของเล่นที่แฝงไปด้วยคติคว่มเชื่อเกี่ยวกับการใช้ชีวิตและการที่ไม่ยอมย่อท้อต่ออุปสรรคและปัญหา

"pyit-taing-htaung" จึงไม่ใช่ของเล่นธรรมดา แปลเป็นภาษาอังกฤษว่า  “that which always rights itself when thrown down”  

พ่อ-แม่ ชาวเมียนมาจะสอนลูก ๆ ว่า เห็นไหม ของเล่นนี้มันยังลุกขึ้นยืนเองได้เลย ให้เข้มแข็ง อย่าย่อท้อต่ออุปสรรคและปัญหา 

As a toy that rises up again and again, it reminds us that we need to remain strong in the face of troubles or challenges. 

มีการแต่งเพลงเกี่ยวกับของเล่นชี้นนี้ด้วยครับ

Photo credit: 

Why it pays to help develop low performers

Why it pays to help develop low performers

Janpha Thadphoothon


Low performers are those students with lower scores from tests.

They are in every country and economy. Every single country has to worry about the low performers.

In OECD language, students who are low performers

One important message: low performers hurt the economy and the society as the whole. It should be prudently dealt with.

The Down Sides of Local Fixation Mentality in Thai Education

The Down Sides of  Local Fixation Mentality in Thai Education 

Janpha Thadphoothon


The article discusses one of the issues pressing or happening in Thailand's education --- the widespread practice allowing (encouraging) of having teachers work and stay in their hometown.

Photo credit: https://gse.berkeley.edu/cognition-development

On the superficial look, things look fine. Commonsense tells us that we should love our village and town. What could go wrong? When teachers know their towns or districts well, they should be able to  contribute positively to the progress and well-being of the local. This is perhaps the main rationale.

Upon reflection, however, this rationale may be counter-productive.

There are, however, several down sides or disadvantages. The first of which is the stagnation of ideas and creativity. Innovative ideas and creativity often come from the comparison, comparing, and contesting. Old ideas are challenged and contested. When teachers work and live only in their own villages, they may lack incentives to change.

In the 21st century, changes are everywhere. Teachers should be able to deal with those challenges and seek new ways to teach and improve Thailand's education.

                                               Photo credit: www.csicop.org


Carl Sagan explained the factors leading to the birth of civilization in the Ionian region, about 500 B.C. Many scientists wonder why that particular region or area bred the new and innovative ideas. Carl Sagan discovered one fact and he had made it known to the world. The simple answer is that the context where people could have freedom to express their beliefs and opinions and the location. Off the coast of Turkey and the many islands lie the trade routes and people from different races and belief systems came to trade and discuss rumors and even gossip their gods. They were away from the central authority, so they had more freedom to negate their beliefs or customs.

In short, diversity and creative collaboration provide the condition for new and innovative ideas. If you simply repeat the same experience under the confined of locality, it is harder to generate fresh new ideas and ways of doing things.

Photo credit: By Paul August at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1278277

The second point is the spirit of exploration, which might be less sturdy when confined or framed by the mantra of localism. I once was told a story about two families, equally poor. The first family held on to the tradition and the love of the village,. They decided to remain living under the harsh ship. They loved their turf. The other decided to migrate to somewhere else. Ten and so years later the migrated family manged to live in a much better situation. The family that did not migrate remained impoverished.


Localism, then, seems to provide less in terms of idea generation and innovation.



Hence, any policy regarding migration and movement of people should take the two scenarios (facts) into consideration. Under the context of the 21st century, what best should we do to make Thai education relevant, effective  and sustainable?

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