A Guest Column From ESL Student Somsak Praphan
Khun Tim has ask me to write his column for you this day; he is much lazy teacher but we like much here in our Thailand. He smile very many times and do not yell or hit students at the Thai school (which our Thai teachers will do
so much of.) Khru Tim say he want students tell their story about how it be when farang teacher come over to Thailand to teach English. So okay, I tell you and happy to be here in the writing.
Why we have to learn the English? That is main big question my friends and I ask to ourselves almost always every time. We want learning Chinese or Japanese, because of these languages close to our borders and in our business ever more bigger. I am thinking
that a Chinese government will pay schools in Thailand for to have a teacher of Chinese come to teach us Chinese, and that such a one will be humble and have intellectual properties to increase our knowledge for benefit.
English have too many ways of speech. As example, there are American speech, British speech, Scottish speech (so very hard to hear!) and the speech of the Irish men. They all speak very different, until it is a headache to listen!
And the farang teacher of English, he come and she go, and not stay at school for all year so we of the students don’t have familiar of their character or the teaching of their technique. Why they not stay? Do they not like we students so much?
I know we can be loudy and make much of distracting when we are in class, but it is because sometimes we are hungry because we don’t eat before we come into the school from home, and sometime the class is so very hot that if we don’t
run like chickens with no heads we sleep on floor and nothing learning can be done.
My father and my mother say to me, learn hard so you get the big job which you need English for. I want to do what my father and mother say. I want to send them money so they be comfortable, so I want to learn this English maybe. So the farang English
teacher must be teaching me each day, and not just do the game of Hang Man. Khun Tim will teach us vocabulary of words many often times, which is good if student not be lazy and forget. Khun Tim use English all
time and say it with slowness, which is of benefit to my ears to understand. He have patient when repeating. So he be good farang English teacher. He brings candy sometime, also, so I thinking he shall give me very much for writing of him good!
Ha ha it is my joking!
If Thai student must learn English at every school year, why must not the farang English teacher learning to speaking Thai also? I have know hundreds of dozens of farang teachers, but only Khun Tim speak the good Thai when he see
on playground or somewhere after school. He can even ask me about a language word in Thai, so I tell him to know better. He learn and he teach, so he has good example to be with our Thai students. I think he smart because he talks good Thai to
pretty Thai woman and she smile at him and he have good times with her, it is to be sure!
When farang English teacher dress nice and have a face shaving each day (but farang woman have only legs to shave may be in a week) and smell good and not have red eyes from all the drinking of Chang beer on the night time, I am wanting to sit down so
to learn English because my family send me to school for such benefit and what I be if I do not have my skill of English to tell my boss for better pay?
I want say ‘thank you’ to farang English teacher who come to my Thailand country to teach me of English language skills, which make chances of betterment. I sorry sometimes I no listen or be disrespectful, but Thai school is something hard
some of the times. I want to be of goodness and do all right but is hard to think well when you is young and want just more of fun and not of study.
I hope Khun Tim like my writing and be my teacher for all the year until he is done. He shall have welcome into my house of all the time when he comes for visit. This is Thai custom and to show we can do appreciation for our farang
friends of oversea.
