BACKGROUND
For closely four years now, I have been a part of the literacy education focusing the development of the reading skills of our Thai and multicultural students in our bilingual school. Less knowledge in reading is a widely known problem you get to meet in any Thai institution.
English reading skill is an important skill to master. It plays the most crucial role for Thai and multinational students in their academic context. But unfortunately, most Thai students feel about learning English the way they feel about a dentist appointment. For some it must feel like a tooth-pulling appointment. A third-year student at Srinakharinwirot University said:
It is commonly known that English is a fearsome language among Thais. Certainly their aversion towards English could not help them at all in learning the language. One main reason for their poor performance is not their fear of learning the speech but the miserable instruction that they have endured without any apparent benefit, which also might have contributed to their fear of the language in the first place.
Thais spent a luxury in education with high hopes for the English fluency of their children. However, the return keeps them desperate and keeps them striving to test out other schools and languages centers. No one can help them better than the school can. Thus, schools should have sufficient knowledge with regards to BASIC LEARNING--learning to read. Conversational English has been the common practice in any Thai schools, thinking it is the foremost thing they should learn. Many Thai institutions fail to recognize the worth of learning READING first. Basic may sound an effortless thing. But dealing with the students who are barely able to read is similar to teaching a baby how to walk. It takes goals coupled with passion to persist doing it whatever the cost.
This study centers mainly on the INSTRUCTIONAL READING and not the LIBRARY READING where two have great major differences. According to our school librarian, Library Reading is more personal when an individual has freedom to read whatever he likes, to skip pages, to read the same material from time to time, or to just look at pictures while Instructional Reading is a part of the curriculum. It has an aim of developing the individual’s reading skills with specific literacy level of his attained skill. And this is one thing pertinent to this implementation of the Reading Program in respective Thailand Bilingual schools.
SWOT ANALYSIS
REFERENCES:
http://www.journal.au.edu/abac_journal/2010/may2010/article3.pdf
http://asiancorrespondent.com/78647/thai-education-failures-part-4-dismal-english-language-education/
For closely four years now, I have been a part of the literacy education focusing the development of the reading skills of our Thai and multicultural students in our bilingual school. Less knowledge in reading is a widely known problem you get to meet in any Thai institution.
English reading skill is an important skill to master. It plays the most crucial role for Thai and multinational students in their academic context. But unfortunately, most Thai students feel about learning English the way they feel about a dentist appointment. For some it must feel like a tooth-pulling appointment. A third-year student at Srinakharinwirot University said:
It is commonly known that English is a fearsome language among Thais. Certainly their aversion towards English could not help them at all in learning the language. One main reason for their poor performance is not their fear of learning the speech but the miserable instruction that they have endured without any apparent benefit, which also might have contributed to their fear of the language in the first place.
Thais spent a luxury in education with high hopes for the English fluency of their children. However, the return keeps them desperate and keeps them striving to test out other schools and languages centers. No one can help them better than the school can. Thus, schools should have sufficient knowledge with regards to BASIC LEARNING--learning to read. Conversational English has been the common practice in any Thai schools, thinking it is the foremost thing they should learn. Many Thai institutions fail to recognize the worth of learning READING first. Basic may sound an effortless thing. But dealing with the students who are barely able to read is similar to teaching a baby how to walk. It takes goals coupled with passion to persist doing it whatever the cost.
This study centers mainly on the INSTRUCTIONAL READING and not the LIBRARY READING where two have great major differences. According to our school librarian, Library Reading is more personal when an individual has freedom to read whatever he likes, to skip pages, to read the same material from time to time, or to just look at pictures while Instructional Reading is a part of the curriculum. It has an aim of developing the individual’s reading skills with specific literacy level of his attained skill. And this is one thing pertinent to this implementation of the Reading Program in respective Thailand Bilingual schools.
| Campaign Purpose | Campaign Focus | Rationale for Focus |
| English Reading Program in Thai Bilingual Schools | Encourage Thai bilingual school principals to implement English Reading Program in their respective schools. | •To conduct seminars to school principals and teachers alike the importance of English Reading Program for Thai and multicultural students’ educational context. •To distribute leaflets to parents informing the new program the school will launch. •To advertise the program on school websites using pictures or videos with regards to the importance of Reading in every student’s learning. |
SWOT ANALYSIS
| STRENGTHS | WEAKNESS | OPPORTUNITIES | THREATS |
| •Support from Thailand’s Ministry of Education in incorporating Reading Course as a part of the school curriculum. | •School funds for categorized books to specific level group of readers. | •Qualified teachers to facilitate in setting up the literacy program. •Qualified librarian to aid in classifying appropriate books for the reading echelon. | •Other nationalistic Thai school officials’ aversion of the changes in their Thai education curriculum could cause disapproval of the program. |
REFERENCES:
http://www.journal.au.edu/abac_journal/2010/may2010/article3.pdf
http://asiancorrespondent.com/78647/thai-education-failures-part-4-dismal-english-language-education/
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