Snow

Well, this morning on the way to work, my car was covered in melted snow, or that’s what I’m gonna call it.

Santa day

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year too. Here is Thailand Christmas is not an official holiday, so most people are either working or going to school. Since we are in the middle of our Mid-term tests, we are required proctor. At least I had my birthday off this year…usually, I have to work.

Link of the day

Check out this link. Websites for ESL/EFL Learners & Teachers

http://www.geocities.com/soyounglee75/links_esl.html

Students must be taught to think

Published on December 21, 2008 in The Nation

Once again, the issue of Thai students’ performance has surfaced in the press. It was only a brief appearance, because the recent political upheaval within Thailand and the economic problems in the US squeezed it out.

It arose because of the report of yet another study that ranked Thai students fairly low
amongst the countries included in the study with fairly low scores across subject areas. The press reports have highlighted in particular poor performance in maths.

Terry Gallagher claims a causal link between poor English and poor maths scores. Others have pointed the finger at multiple-choice tests. I think rather they are two manifestations of an underlying causal factor, the general attitude of the bulk of teachers to dragoon students into a robotic acceptance of what the teacher tells them and rote learning of those facts.

Students are in trouble with teachers if they ask questions. This is the opposite of what should happen. Students should be encouraged to ask questions. Sure, there may be questions that the teacher does not know the answer to; we cannot know everything.

Teachers should pick up on such enquiries. The teacher should suggest resources the children could search for the answer. The Internet is a massive library. The child can then come and tell the rest of the class the answer and where and how they found it. This would encourage children to think, enquire, and use some initiative to find the answer.

It is precisely the challenging, enquiring approach which will develop understanding and a desire to find out more. Yes, most of the Internet is in English. There is a
practical motivation for practicing and improving your standard of English. Of course, you direct younger students to websites with simple explanations in simple English. All subjects should have a substantial practical component.

For me as a student, the “A level” exams (at the end of secondary school) in physics and chemistry each contained a three-hour practical examination. At university in physics, we could not sit the theory exams at the end of the year if we had not performed satisfactorily in the laboratories during the year.

A major change is needed in Thai education to encourage student thinking, enquiry, and understanding and away from robotic rote memory. Multiple-choice exams should also be removed. Students spend time practicing how to pick which answers cannot be correct rather than putting their effort into understanding the content matter of the subject. My exams are never multiple-choice and are almost always open-book. I want to test understanding, not memory.

GARETH CLAYTON

KING MONGKUT’S
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

BANGKOK

What’s happening…

This is our mid-term exam week, and I’m sure my students did not study.

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