We have this German exchange student at our school. He is a great student. His English is good. Today we had a conversation about school here in Thailand. i will try to remember all the Q & A.
Q: How are you doing?
A: Great, I am fine.
Q: Hey, I wanted to talk with you about school, do you have a minute?
A: Yes, we are doing nothing today.
(the school is having school foundation week, no learning for the students)
Q: What do you think about school here in Thailand?
A: It's fine, great yes.
Q: For instance, you are in my class but I don't give you a grade, is that correct?
A: Yes, I don't get any grades for this year here in Thailand.
Q: Ya, but it is a great trade off. A whole year here in Thailand, and no worries about grades.
A: That is true, but I have to do eleventh grade over again when I return to Germany.
Q: Oh, I didn't realize that, do you think it's worth it?
A: The weather is nice yes, and the girls, there are so many. (really big smile)
Q: How are your classes? Do have trouble understanding Thai?
A: The students here are so rude and loud, I spend most of my time in the Library where I can hear myself think. Most of the classes are stupid really, I don't know how they can learn this way.
Q: What do you mean?
A: Mr. DunceCap, you are the only teacher who asks the students to be quiet and you are the only teacher who asks questions. In my other classes, we do the hello teacher thing then just go about our business. The teacher will give us a worksheet, but hardly anyone does it, because the next day the teacher will come in and read off the answers. You just fill it in from what she says. All my classes are this way.
Q: really, umm, all your classes are this way?
A: No, some classes the teacher will write the assignments on the board, but the next day they write the asnwers and we do the same thing and turn it in. In my computer class the students are so far behind what we learn in Germany. They are learning what I learned two years ago. I used to go to that class too, but the students keep asking me to do their work for them, it's easy, but they don't learn when I do it. I just go to the library.
Q: What do you do in the library?
A: I read or do my e-mail. It's so quiet, it's great in there.
Q: Do you belong to a group of exchange students who are placed in different schools in Thailand?
A: Yes, but none of them lives close to here. When we want to meet I go on the bus. There is one student in Korat. It takes 5 hours to go and 5 hours to come back on the bus. i am not allowed to stay over night there. My host father is very strict.
Q: How old are you?
A: I am 17
Q: If you were in Germany, and you wanted to go visit a friend, how would your parents deal with it.
A: In Germany, I would just go and come back when I wanted. We have more freedom. We can drink beer and party, This starts usually at 16, but the legal age is 18.
then stengerj(another poster on here asked a question) Do you have to do the army when you finish school?
A: yes, at about twenty we have to do 2 years at least in the military.
Q: Everybody?
A: Yes, unless you have a medical condition.
Q: What about sports? Thais don't have sporting contests between schools and they don't have afterschool sports programs.
A: We have a lot of sports at school in Germany, but we dont have games between schools. I think that most of Europe is this way.
Q: Most of Europe, wow, I had no idea about that.
A: I know for sure in France it is the same, because I was an exchange student there too.
Q: oh, parlez-vous francais?
A: Oui, je blah, blah, blah, blah (Way to fast for me to understand)
Q: well, I only speak a little. and listen, Thanks for talking about school. it was very informative. If you have any problems please, come to see me. if you feel ok with that.
A: Yes, fine. I will go to eat now. So noisy there too. Bye mr. duncecap, mr, stengerj
Q: bye take care (haha...last word)
---------------------------
what do you think of that?
Miles and miles to go before I sleep...
i think.........thanks for posting it! interesting stuff.
imagine being 17 in a thai school? damn!
"...ever wonder why they kill the weak ones, baby?"
So, he has to put up with that nonsense AND repeat his year when he returns to Germany?
So do you feel validated that a 17 year old agrees with you?
This is all old news.
interesting Duncey. Just goes to prove that anyone with a western brain can see the problems here. Maybe in a 100 years someone will wake up here and challenge the problem. Lets not pretend that Thais are advanced in anything. No questions= no learning. Unfortunately the vast majority of Thai teachers operate like this. No accountability= lazyness
Thanks DC. Highly entertaining and fascinating stuff!
And, no, I can't imagine being 17 in a Thai school. Insanity.
Why is he here? What's the benefit for him, educationally I mean?
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Stand by for more ground breaking news. Wait for it...............It's the exclusive you've all been waiting to hear................The Pope..............well...........he's............. .............................catholic.Originally Posted by expatwannabe
Ya'll shocked I bet.
I feel sorry for the guy. We used to have German undergraduate exchange students at my uni in the UK and they were light years ahead of the average UK undergraduate.
Imagine how he must feel coming and trying to learn in Thailand?
He'll probably have to repeat two years due to the intellectual rot that'll have set in after a few semesters in a Thai school.
Good luck to him.
DC, is he in any of your classes?
Imagine how many times a day this young German lad will be told, don't be serrrrrrrrrriousssssssss.
My interview with a just-returned Thai M-5 student after a year in America:
So Ta, Ajarn Rojo whats me to meet you.
Hi, like I'm looking forward to a class with an American teacher in Thailand.
Did you have fun, make friends, did you have any dates with American boys, did you learn a lot of English?
I hope so, how's my English?
Well I feel as though I'm talking to any American teen-age girl.
Thank you. Yes I had fun but no boyfriends. Like my parents didn't allow me to stay out much at night. I made a lot of good friends, we write emails all the time, they're so cool.
What do you think of our school system?
In most ways it's better than Thai, like it was stricter and more serious. I respected my teachers a lot. School is more fun in Thailand but I really didn't miss the fun so much. I wish I was just as serious a student when I started in M-1 as I am today because I'd like know a lot more.
I feel more sorry for Thai students returning to their school system from a year abroad. A group of 4 or 5 M4 public high school students spent a year in an American high school. They really enjoyed it - and they have "valley girl" accents now.
Now they have to return to a culture where they have no freedom to socialize outside of school, where they have to wear a 1940's style girl's uniform all day, and where teachers do not give the students any chance to express ideas of their own. I think a negative effect of the uniform in this regard is that it further widens the approachability gap between student and teacher - that the student is inferior to their all knowing, wise and benevolent masters and needs to bow their head anytime the teacher walks by. I think it makes Thai teachers look down on all students equally instead of reserving their disdain merely for the lazier or more obnoxious.
The above paragraph is just my analysis - I spoke briefly with the students themselves and they complain of not being understood.
Unfortunately, unless an English program is offered by the school, all returning foreign exchange students must return to the normal English instruction. This means sitting in a class of 50 and being lectured at in Thai by someone usually less fluent in English than they are.
It would be great if all returning foreign exchange students / other students with excellent English ability could be corralled together in a single classroom and achieve higher English goals.
bet, yes he is in one of my classes. He taught me something that I didn't know. Another name for a pen is biro. First I had ever heard it. (Is that because of my years in the cave?)
No, DC...it's a Brit expression. I think kind of the way we refer to all facial tissue as Kleenex.
My family had two exchange students when I was a teen. It was fascinating for us and them, for the most part. I wish I'd done it, as well. I guess I am now.
Robitusson asked about the benefit for the student as he isn't learning much in school...the greatest benefit most exchange students get isn't one of academic education, but a cultural one. As most of us know, living in another country and culture can be quite an education.
Thanks Dunce, for the interview. Can't say I'm surprised by any of the young man's answers, though.
Great post "Mr. Duncecap".
What I found interesting was the inside information on what actually goes on in a Thai teacher classroom.
Now I know why my students are sullen sometimes when they have to do some work.
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