The Growing Pains Of The TEFL Industry

English is a world language. Correction, English is the world language. Although there might be more native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, Hindu, Arabic or Spanish, it should be obvious that English is the most important language of international business, tourism and the Internet. Just look around you: Japanese businessmen speak English with their Thai counterparts; Swiss tourists speak English in Mexico; Cambodian students chat in English with Brazilian cyberfriends. Whether you like it or not, being able to communicate in English has become quite important in our ever more globalised world, unless you work in an area of your country where contact with English-speaking foreigners is virtually unheard of (a remote village in central China perhaps) or are do a menial job that doesn't require any contact with foreign barbarians.

Keeping this in mind, it is no wonder that demand for English lessons and capable English teachers has exploded, especially with vast countries such as China opening their doors to the world. Of course, English as a school subject has been around for decades in many countries, with most of the lessons being taught by local teachers with a decent working knowledge of the language. More often than not, this approach has been quite successful, proof whereof can be found in an interesting statistic: when taken into account the number of people capable of speaking English not only as a first, but also as a second or even third language, there are more speakers of English than any other language in the world.

In some parts of the world, especially Europe and former British colonies, learning English in school and becoming semi-fluent in the language of Shakespeare has been around for more than half a century. Local qualified teachers who have relevant degrees and are fairly fluent in English are usually in charge of conducting lessons and teaching pupils the four skills, with an emphasis on speaking and listening needed for oral communication. As modern course books are quite encompassing, reading and writing aren't forgotten either, with many curricula providing for essential contemporary skills such as email writing or skim reading. It might be important to add that most western or westernised schools adhere to the student-centred learning methodology, in which student needs and active learning are given high importance. Classroom sizes are usually manageable.

In other parts of the world, especially major parts of Asia but also swaths of South America, local qualified English teachers are not as abundant. Their skills are also different: many excel at teaching grammar and reading and they often use L1 abundantly in the classroom. Let's not forget that many Asian schools still use the teacher-centred approach, in which the teacher acts as a lecturer and students are not supposed to participate or even ask questions. Rote learning still rules and critical thinking is not encouraged, sometimes even suppressed. Although most curricula have been rewritten to focus on communicative skills, many teachers haven't changed their old ways. This is because they either lack the abilities or due to other factors such as resistance to change in general (not to be underestimated), supersized classrooms and lack of support and teacher development.

As a consequence, many schools have resorted to hiring foreign English teachers in order to improve students' skills. Said teachers are often given the task of teaching conversation, something they are normally best at. Also, the fact that many students don't learn the necessary skills to communicate in the real world by just going to regular school has fuelled the demand for ever more tutoring schools where students study English at the weekend or after hours on weekdays. Needless to say that the whole EFL industry, comprising public schools as well as private language institutes is big business as affluent parents are willing to shell out a small fortune to make sure their offspring get a head start in their professional lives.

Do customers get their money's worth and is this approach working? Absolutely. It is a given that most foreign English teachers – the majority of which are native or near-native speakers – are much better at teaching English (esp. conversation) than many of the local teachers. That students are exposed to different accents and real-world English is an added bonus, although I think this should not be overestimated as most English speakers worldwide are now non-native speakers; many of my Thai business students used to complain that they found it very hard to understand the Japanese speaking English (talk about the pot calling the kettle black).

Moreover, let's not forget that in Asian societies, 'face' is hugely important; especially parents will gain lots of face if they can boast to friends and family that their loved one is being taught by a handsome westerner. This might be the reason why customers or parents often tend to place appearance before substance: it is a fact that skin colour, age and number of teeth remaining are often more important than teaching skills or academic qualifications when looking for a teaching job. But then again, isn't the customer always right?

Let me ask it again. Do customers get their money's worth and is this approach working? Absolutely not. As demand often exceeds offer, recruiters sometimes revert to hiring unqualified and unsuitable individuals posing as teachers. Background checks are non-existent or perfunctory at best. Private and public schools alike shamelessly take parents' money and promise them English skills on a silver platter only to never materialise after. Moreover, students and parents alike often expect foreign teachers to perform miracles. They think that being in the presence of a foreigner will trigger a magical osmosis transferring the teacher's skills to students without the latter having to make any real effort. Schools are guilty as well when they assign huge classes and then expect fluency in return.

So what's the deal? Do customers really get their money's worth and is this approach working? The above should make it clear that this depends on how you look at it. Nothing in life is ever completely black or white. The EFL industry is far from perfect. Many of the English teachers making a living in it are far from perfect. Let's not forget that nothing in life is ever perfect. Are students learning anything at all? I think they are, although not nearly enough in many cases. In my opinion, we should not only take into account students' achievements when judging the efficiency of EFL lessons but also customer satisfaction – EFL is a business after all. Doing so, I think that overall, the scales are still tipping towards the positive.

Last month, fellow columnist Steve Schertzer wrote a column – or rather diatribe – crucifying the EFL industry and even questioned if it shouldn't be completely shut down. The reason for his scathing attack was the arrest of a Canadian teacher formerly working in Thailand, John Wrenshall, involved in an international paedophile ring. In a personal twist of fate, this nabbed pedophile used to be his boss, mentor and friend while Steve was working in Bangkok. Consequently, Steve felt betrayed and thought it necessary to vilify the whole EFL industry, calling it ad nauseam a stinking, putrid corpse, apparently forgetting he has been part of this rotting cadaver for years.

I can understand Steve's disillusion with someone he probably trusted and looked up to. I also think part of his criticism is justified; teachers, administrators, recruiters and policy-makers alike should question themselves and the industry they are in more regularly. I do not, however, agree with the overall image that Steve paints of the EFL industry. The big majority of English teachers are not unqualified backpackers, vicious child predators, chronic boozers or perverted sexaholics, as Steve claims. These do exist of course, but the generalisations made in Steve's column are downright insulting to a significant part of the EFL community.

By the way, I'm sure the face of the EFL industry depends on where you look. I guess there might be more pot-smoking Canadians working to pay off a student loan in South Korea. There are probably more backpacker teachers in Southeast Asia than the rest of the world combined. I also suppose that there are more horny teachers living and working in Bangkok than in any other major city of the world. The percentage of sex-addicted teachers in Bangkok probably skyrockets when marital status (single) and location (city centre) are taken into account.

Steve not only seems to target child abusers in his column. Every participant in the adult entertainment industry and cosmopolitan nightlife had better beware. In Steve's universe, the whole local cottage industry of erotic service providers caters solely to the likes of ill-paid EFL teachers commuting to the restricted pleasure zones by non-airconditioned buses. Our reborn moral crusader has even the deepest contempt of innocent netizens who indulge in the vile act of what he calls 'beating their meat' to Internet porn.

Well, I guess if we put good old Steve in charge, self-gratification in the privacy of one's own home would soon become punishable by castration. Why don't we just shut down the Internet while we're at it? Steve's approach might be a welcome solution to the problem of overpopulation though, with possibly half the male population worldwide in danger of losing their nuts.

In order to avoid gratuitous sneers, let me point out that I'm not on the defensive here as I don't even have the luxury of Internet at home. I'm just concerned about all those manufacturers of blister creams going under. Moreover, I never beat anything except for eggs and drums; and after reading Steve's column I wanted to beat my head against the wall. No, really, I guess I'm just sticking up for common sense. I mean, before you know it, Steve will have all sex toys banned worldwide and put the whole of Holland behind bars. Not to mention a possible ban on the sale of alcohol to all males suspected of being employed as English teachers.

I don't want to imply anything or point an accusing finger to Steve, but wasn't he himself a SWM living and working in downtown Bangkok? All I'm implying is that his perception of the typical EFL teacher might have been skewed and that the incidence of love hotel visits or child buggery is much lower among teachers who don't live in central Bangkok (or Pattaya); also, numbers continue to drop markedly when we include teachers who are either in a long-term relationship, married, live outside the city centre or upcountry.

During my time in Thailand as a teacher and head teacher I saw, met and worked with some dubious characters. They were a small minority, however, although I have to admit this was on the outskirts of Bangkok and in neighbouring provinces. When hiring teachers, I always tried to separate the wheat from the chaff. Checking teachers' degrees and credentials as well as schools insisting on a police background check are highly recommended, but can never rule out the possibility of unsavoury con men slipping through the net.

I don't think any of my teachers were deviants like John Wrenshall, although I realise I can never be sure until they eventually get arrested. As far as I am aware, the most serious charges that some of my teachers were ever guilty of were smelling of alcohol or cigarettes, sporting haircuts that suggested their barber had long died or was at least chronically ill, wearing ill-fitting trousers and wrinkled shirts, applying overdoses of deodorant, delivering the occasional sleep-inducing lesson and being seen drinking energy drinks at work.

Although I am fully in favour of employing the best teachers, I am not convinced that implementing ever more rigorous police checks and more stringent degree requirements are beneficial to the Thai EFL industry. If teachers, either in-country or would-be teachers, are asked to jump through ever more hoops, what was intended to keep out the riffraff might backfire and have the opposite effect. It may scare off decent teachers from making Thailand their home and drive out some of the better teachers who see this as the straw that broke the camel's back.

Let's not forget that criminal background checks only verify the past, thus merely barring known and convicted criminals (By the way, does a conviction for shoplifting or juvenile delinquency carry the same weight as one for child molestation? It wouldn't surprise me). Also, what percentage of child molesters out there has ever been convicted is anyone's guess. It's just a gut feeling, but I suspect that the majority of abusers have escaped justice so far, thus rendering the important background checks somewhat ineffectual. I daresay it is partly the responsibility of head teachers and colleagues to expose bragging molesters; I, for one, wouldn't have any qualms about turning in a suspected child molester.

Another solution would be the introduction of palm readings and tarot sessions for weeding out the bad apples as these techniques are virtually foolproof for predicting someone's future. However, as it is still illegal to fire or refuse to hire people for acts committed in the future, this is a dead end. Firing teachers for the offence of looking like potential axe murderers is also impractical since at least half of all existing teachers would lose their jobs overnight.

As for the degree requirements, in a perfect world every teacher would have a Bachelor's Degree of Education or an MA in English (or any other required field) plus a teaching certificate (preferably PGCE or CELTA I suppose). I think it is evident that given the massive need for teachers in Asia, these requirements are not always met. In fact, in Thailand they are partly responsible – together with the criminal background checks and the massive amount of red tape – for the influx of not-so-qualified 'teachers' who usually end up working illegally, i.e. without a work permit. Schools that pay well can afford to be demanding; schools that offer peanuts normally end up with a fair amount of monkeys among applicants.

Finally, as I am a positive person, I prefer to gently point out possible defects and offer advice to remedy a situation rather than harshly criticise or condemn. This is true when dealing with students as well as teachers. Correcting a student too severely or too openly (especially in Asia) is counterproductive. I believe the same goes for observing teachers. One should point out a teacher's strengths first (e.g. great tie) and praise them before subtly offering some pointers on how to improve the aspects of their teaching that aren't perfect yet (e.g. bicycal isn't spelt that way). Unless they are so bad that they are beyond salvage (e.g. Elvis hairstyle) - in which case just firing them outright is the best option - I think repeated or harsh criticism doesn't work.

I think I've made my point. Although the EFL industry is still booming, it is sometimes going through rough times. However, I believe there still are many qualified and dedicated teachers who make a positive contribution to learning English around the world; they definitely outnumber the drunks and deviants found not only in the EFL industry but in all layers of society (Remember all those priests molesting altar boys? I don't recall any outcries for the abolition of the Catholic Church).

Finally, I personally know many capable and decent teachers who don't deserve the foul language and blatant generalisations used by Steve Schertzer in his personal requiem of the EFL industry. Maybe Steve is under severe stress and needs a break from teaching to put things in perspective. To his credit, he was brutally honest about his feelings and wasn't afraid of letting the world know. I doubt if it will change anything though as I've already stated that harsh criticism is usually just like water off a duck's back. What I find more disconcerting is that Steve seems to revel in making enemies. A professional like him should know that this won't get him anywhere, save a psychiatric ward.

Maybe he wrote the column while he was down and out. Fair enough. It wasn't the first time his somber mood was reflected in his writings. I felt personally embarrassed for him while reading his latest July column. His recount of how a Filipina predator took him for a ride had me seesaw between cringing and laughing out loud. At least he didn't start a campaign to have the Philippines nuked back to the Stone Age.

So please Steve, take a deep breath and get a grip. Stop acting like a hysterical housewife on the verge of a nervous breakdown and quit dragging all of us through the mud. See a shrink, take up meditation or become a practising Buddhist, and at least try to comprehend that lashing out indiscriminately and being pessimistic and defeatist is not going to solve any problems. Be constructive, write some 'How to' columns rather than 'How not to' ones. Focus on the positive, rather than keep dwelling on the negative. If I want gloomy tidings or dreary forecasts, I'll just watch CNN or read the latest stock market update.

By the way, my column just reflects my personal opinion and was written while sober. I don't want to start a war of words or generate venomous discussions. In my view, the EFL industry is alive and kicking; it is definitely experiencing growing pains, but it is all but a putrid corpse although some teachers might look like living dead on a Monday morning after a heavy weekend. But then again, who notices when most of the students and co-workers behave like zombies anyway?

New sets of photos from Northern Laos, Northern and Northeastern Thailand (Isaan) are now available on www.flickr.com/photos/philiproeland.

The author of this article can be contacted at philiproeland@hotmail.co.uk.

1/2/2009

2008: A Year To Forget

Another year has gone by and unfortunately it hasn't been one to remember. In culinary terms, if it was a meal in a posh restaurant, you'd send it straight back to the kitchen; if it was a swig of wine, you'd spit it right out. Academically speaking, it was a complete failure. Welcome to my overview of 2008, a recount of events as I remember them. Since I haven't lived in Thailand for the last four months, this overview starts worldwide, since outside of the Land of Smiles, news coverage of the Kingdom was rather scarce, apart from the airport seizures last November.

From an international point of view, Thailand is still anything but the centre of the world. After a turbulent 2008, the Land of Smiles seems to have consolidated not only its image of a popular yet overrated holiday destination associated with paid sex and drugs, but is now also considered a land of mass demonstrations, riots and lame-duck governments. Some well-known news organisations even wondered if it was about to become a failed state and dozens of countries issued admittedly exaggerated travel warnings. The Thai tourism industry has been in dire straits lately and the outlook has probably never been bleaker.

The negative worldwide

What I think of first are the credit crunch and the ensuing global economic crisis. The financial crisis which erupted in September almost pushed the world to the brink of collapse. Without going into too much detail, the main culprits of this catastrophe were major banks who got too greedy and reckless. The catastrophe started with the US subprime crisis which had been smoldering since late 2007. Egged on by the authorities, banks had started approving home loans for just about anyone, often without even asking for proof of income or employment. No wonder many jobless Joe Sixpacks defaulted when interest rates of their teaser loans went up, so many of the bad-quality (aka subprime) loans led to foreclosures, thus sending the house market tumbling down and leaving many families stuck with negative equity (as the bubble burst, the outstanding value of loans was often higher than what the houses were actually worth).

At about the same time, banks recruited an army of mathematical eggheads who invented a swath of hybrid financial instruments to get both rid of and ensure against bad risks. Nobody really understood the risks of these products and highly leveraged investments yet nobody cared as unregulated trading of these instruments had started an era of big banking profits. Doubting if all these seemingly easy profits were above-board was a non-starter for managers who were under severe pressure to maximise banking profits and simultaneously jack up their own obscene bonuses.

Financial fire brigades were set up worldwide and massive bail-out packages were announced in order to douse the flames of the banking Armageddon and relieve the banks of billions of dollars of toxic assets. Yet although this prevented a global banking collapse, it couldn't prevent the damage from spreading to the real economy, leading to a myriad of factory closures, bankruptcies and millions of jobs lost worldwide. Even the CEOs of big three US automakers flew to Washington in their corporate jets to go begging to Congress to bail them out (US lawmakers refused to fill their bottomless pits but George W eventually filled their begging bowls).

As a fitting finale to this financial mess, Bernard Madoff, former NASDAQ chairman, was accused of organising a billionaires' Ponzi scheme which collapsed with a bang. Big names such as Steven Spielberg as well as reputed international investors such as British banking giant HSBC were bilked out of nearly 50 billion dolloars (that's 50,000,000,000,USD).

The major problem of the first half of 2008, namely runaway inflation due to soaring oil, commodities and food prices, solved itself. Thanks to the economic crisis and bumper harvests, demand for raw materials plummeted and food supplies became plentiful again, thus sending prices to more realistic levels (although I suspect consumers didn't always benefit from lower prices).

Apart from the global economic crisis, lots of news coverage was given to the Mumbai attacks which sent India reeling in November. Terrorists killed almost 200 people at random in the heart of Mumbai, India's financial centre. After almost three days, all but one of the heavily armed madmen was captured alive. It seems the perpetrators of what was labelled India's own 9/11 were trained in Pakistan but not acting of behalf of that country. Investigations are ongoing but one can only hope this ruthless slaughter won't lead to a military confrontation between two nuclear-armed neighbours.

The situation in Afghanistan also deteriorated significantly, leading to more foreign troop casualties than in Iraq. It is clear the country is falling yet again into the claws of the fundamental Taliban, who are not exactly the paragon of human rights and international peace efforts. In my opinion, the troubling fact is that apparently an important part of the Afghani population would actually prefer living under the iron fist of Sharia law, which prevents for example girls from getting an education and provides stoning as punishment for raped women. How can you save someone who doesn't want to be saved? Splitting the country into two parts – one for brain-damaged fanatical zealots and one for the all the others – is hardly feasible, I imagine.

In Central Asia, Russia flexed its muscles and showed Georgia who's the boss in that part of the world during the Russian-Georgian war in August. It is clear that Russia, after having become an important international player again mainly thanks to oil and gas riches, won't let itself be pushed into a tight corner by NATO and won't tolerate being challenged or provoked by western-aligned former Soviet states. Contrary to many other autocratic states, the big majority of Russians adore Prime Minister Putin and his protégé, the newly appointed President Medvedev.

Ongoing conflicts such as the Darfur debacle in Sudan, the war in Iraq, the standoff between Israelis and Palestinians and the regular skirmishes between Sri Lankan rebels and government troops are still far from being resolved but seldom captured the headlines in 2008. It seems the world – media world and audiences alike - gets tired of these endless battles. Solutions to these conflicts are also long overdue.

In Africa, a new civil war broke out in the already war-torn DR Congo's northeastern Kivu province, where rebel troops of the Rwandan-backed (?) megalomaniac rebel leader Laurent Nkunda wreak havoc. The latter doesn't seem to mind allowing his bullies to terrorise and slaughter locals in order to extort direct talks with the central government it wants to topple.

The former bread basket of Africa, namely Zimbabwe, was pushed further to the brink of collapse by dictatorial Robert Mugabe, even after losing a general election. Although he agreed to share power with the main opposition party of Morgan Tsvangirai, he soon reneged this agreement and his country spiralled further into hunger, despair and fatal illness as cholera broke out due to contaminated water supplies. Inflation rose into millions of percent and a 10 billion Zimbabwean dollar note (that's 10,000,000,000) was the central bank's ridiculous Christmas present to its population.

The fact that in Asia the autocratic and oppressive generals of the Burmese regime illegally extended freedom icon Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest almost seems benign in comparison, though it certainly isn't. Neither was the regime's refusal to accept foreign aid after the destruction of cyclone Nargis, which left about 145,000 people dead and many more homeless.

The negative in Thailand

Looking at the 2008 headlines, most Thai news was bad and gloomy. The political battle fought in Parliament as well as in the streets and the courts divided Thai society more than ever. Political foes, together with intolerant battering-ram organisations like the PAD (yellow shirts) and UDD (red shirts), made absolutely sure the country became even more polarised thanks to their respective hatred and reverence of ousted PM Thaksin.

Thaksin's cronies were democratically elected, albeit with some inevitable vote-buying (nothing new there), under the banner of the PPP Party and formed a coalition government in early 2008, but the courts (instructed by his Majesty the King?) made sure their reign was short-lived. After barring PM Samak from office for the most ridiculous reason in history (hosting a cookery show on TV), a replacement PM was found in the person of Somchai Wongsawat, incredibly enough none other than Thaksin's very own brother-in-law. Red rejoiced while yellow was outraged; more protests and violent clashes were the logical result.

The PAD (People's Alliance for Democracy) subsequently launched their 'new politics' plan, in which only one third of the Parliament would be elected, while the rest was to be appointed (by whom remained unclear). They claimed that poor, uneducated farmers were too stupid and too prone to vote-buying for the good of the country. Actually, the PAD, which comprises mainly the old rich, the Bangkok elite and an assorted bunch of royalists and academics seemed royally fed up that a bunch of dirt-poor Isan farmers were able to shape the political landscape by electing populist politicians, thus undermining the status quo of Thai society in which the poor were supposed to remain poor and the rich supposed to get richer.

This battle between old and new culminated in the occupation by the PAD of Government House and Bangkok's two international airports. The siege of Government House slowly but steadily undermined the governments legitimacy as police and army were unwilling to kick out the peaceful PAD protesters, most of which were armed with iron bars, slingshots and handguns. Moreover, the head of the army repeatedly urged the PM to resign and call elections. The airport seizures unnecessarily paralysed the country and its economy. Not only were hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists stuck for weeks, billions of dollars worth of tourism income, exports and credibility also went down the drain.

Finally, a judicial coup brought a controversial way out of the morass as judges disbanded the ruling PPP Party for vote-buying (of one of their executives). The PPP government's coalition partners all switched sides and a breakaway faction from the outlawed PPP itself (the Friends of Newin Chidchob, an Isan heavyweight now probably wanted dead rather than alive in the Northeast), declared its sudden love for the Democrats, thus giving Democrats party boss Abhisit Vejjajiva the PM's job on a silver platter. Although the Democrats lhad ong coveted to be in power, I personally wouldn't want to be in Abhisit's shoes sorting out the incredible mess the country is in. If he doesn't tread carefully in this snake pit, his rule might be short-lived as well.

In January 2008, the King's sister, Princess Galyani, died after a prolonged illness at the age of 84. After no fewer than ten months, she was finally cremated in an opulent ceremony lasting a whole week. Evil gossips labelled it a fine general rehearsal a possible future royal demise which might plunge the country into chaos.

For teachers, 2008 wasn't a vintage year in the Land of Smiles either. In a possibly well-intentioned effort to enhance teacher quality, the Ministry of Education not only launched a mandatory culture course but also severely compromised the issuance of work permits by implementing new draconian and impractical requirements. Teachers without a BA in Education were supposed to sit the MoE's four error-ridden exams or take a costly and time-consuming training course. Rules are more complicated than they seem and might have changed by the time you read this, so check out the rest of the website for up-to-date information.

Anyway, there was some major disgruntlement in many teachers' rooms as the quality of the provided culture course and the proposed exams were all but top-notch. All this seems to have caused an even greater shortage of qualified teachers, thereby opening the door for more unqualified individuals with dubious teaching and language skills who will end up working illegally, exactly the opposite of what the MoE envisaged. I guess unscrupulous recruitment agencies are having a ball.

Visa agents might see their business boom as well, as visas-on-arrival by land have now been limited to 15 days in a move to flush out people working illegally. Although the intention of this new rule might have been honourable, it not only affects border-hopping teachers and Pattaya residents but also backpackers and migrant workers from neighbouring countries, all of which spend good money in the Kingdom and help keep its economy running. The timing of the new rule certainly seems odd, given the economic woes Thailand is going through and the fact that most other countries in the region are actually relaxing visa regulations.

The positive worldwide

The Olympic Games held in August in Beijing were considered as possibly the best ever. Chinese authorities excelled at organising and coordinating the massive event and even managed to keep the ever-present smog at bay by closing nearby factories and ordering most cars off the roads. Efficient public transport and very strict traffic policemen ensured everyone got to their destination on time without bending any rules.

It also became apparent that China is the new powerhouse in the sporting world, claiming more medals than ever and even humbling the mighty USA, the perennial number one. China scored medals across the board but was particularly ruthless in gymnastics. Although the minimum age for participation in the Olympics still stood at 16, some critics observed that many of the Chinese female gymnasts looked as if they belonged in primary school. China also did its best to muffle international outrage after its brutal crackdown of Tibetan protesters and denounced the televised disruptions of the Olympic torch's relay.

Oversees reporters covering the Games were granted unprecedented Internet access and a special zone was provided for provided for protesters and demonstrators. Overzealous officials in charge made sure though that every protest permit was turned down and would-be demonstrators swiftly traced and put behind bars.

Most people will probably consider the election of Barack Obama as America's 44th president as the most positive event of 2008. I do admit that this historic election was one of the highlights in America's recent drab history, yet how could they not elect the charismatic and energetic son of an American mother and a Kenyan goat herd? Electing a geezer whose age rivalled that of former Soviet Politburo members would have surely lost America the last morsel of respect it retained on the world stage.

Despite an overwhelmingly negative campaign from his opponent, Barack Hussein Obama (who is not a Muslin though smear campaigns wanted to make voters believe otherwise) convincingly won the popular vote (52% vs 46%) and claimed a big majority in the electoral college (some 350 vs 170 votes). On the one hand, one could say that 52 percent of Americans finally saw the light and elected the right man for the job.

On the other hand, it is quite amazing and deplorable that no fewer than 46 percent of Americans (mainly whites) still voted for the craggy John McCain, an ancient war hero who personified anything but change and who would probably have given the US four more years of the same (or definitely similar) Bush policies. More disturbing even was the fact that McCain's choice of running mate Sarah Palin definitely signalled a sharp shift to the right, as the self-proclaimed hockey mum quickly became an icon for the far-right, gun-toting moral majority. Sitting President Bush, on his way to become the most unpopular president ever, was conspicuously absent during the whole election campaign.

Oil prices reached an unimaginable 147 dollars per barrel in July last year. Although this put strain on the economy and fuelled inflation worldwide, this price level triggered a welcome avalanche of investments into renewable energy sources and the development of clean and hybrid cars. In December, prices plummeted to under 40 dollars, thus giving the economy some well-needed breathing space but unfortunately putting the development of alternative energy on the back burner.

The positive in Thailand

This is a tough one. I suppose the fact that the new government might put the country on the road to reconciliation is positive. Ousted PM Thaksin being convicted of corruption and abuse of power is also something to cheer about, although he is still hiding in plain view abroad and it is doubtful he will ever see the inside of a Thai prison.

Finally, the food is still fresh and affordable and the weather is as hot as ever. Although many destinations now have become blatant and overpriced tourist traps, there are still some nice and inexpensive places with honest and friendly people. Just read some of my other columns if you wonder where they are.

Thanks for all the reactions I received in 2008. Comments and suggestions remain welcome. I wish all readers a prosperous 2009. I will refrain from making predictions for 2009 as I absolutely do not believe in fortune-telling.

South-East Asia photos available on www.flickr.com/photos/philiproeland.
The author of this article can be contacted at philiproeland@hotmail.co.uk.
1/1/2009

Interviewing Foreigners

During all the years I've spent in Thailand and the rest of South-East Asia I have been approached dozens of times by students armed with questionnaires eager to interview me. I can only applaud this way of practising English as it provides much needed exposure to actual English-speaking tourists or residents (both native and non-native speakers) and puts students in a position where they cannot run or hide and have to use their English skills creatively in order to make communication possible. However, thorough preparation is vital for this approach to succeed, something which is often sorely lacking when Thai students go on their inquisitive tourist hunts.

Taking to the streets and talking to complete strangers is something no Thai student would do out of their own volition. It is clear that most – if not all of them – do it because their English teacher imposed it as a mandatory assignment. Many teachers – including myself – often advise students to practise their English outside of the classroom. Doing so for listening, reading and writing is relatively easy, as the anonymous Internet provides a treasure trove of possibilities. Practising speaking, however, especially face-to-face conversation, is easier said than done. Where on earth do you find someone to talk to? I

nstead of repeating myself and summing up a list of places where there is a good chance of speaking English to foreigners, just try to remember, dear reader - no matter if you are a student, teacher or other - the time when you were at school studying a foreign language, be it French, Spanish, Chinese or Swahili; be it in London, Los Angeles, Sydney or Kaapstad. Did you roam the streets of the multicultural city you were living in with the sole purpose of finding new friends to practise your newly-learnt language with? I bet you didn't, for whatever reasons. I haven't undertaken any formal study, but I am sure that all over the world a significant proportion of language students aren't fluent in the language they studied, even at university level. How big this proportion is differs from country to country. I am pretty sure that there is, for example, a huge ability gap between English graduates in Sweden and Thailand - without intending to idolise the Swedes and bash the Thais.

How not to

Before giving some hints and tips on how to conduct a productive interview, let me give you a few examples of how things can go wrong – and believe me, they often do. The following scenarios should absolutely be avoided unless the sole aim of the exercise is being away from the school benches and mucking about with classmates:

1. A pair or small group of students interviewing one or more foreigners whereby only one of the students – always the strongest – asks all the questions; the others usually stand around grinning or commenting in their own language;
   
2. Students letting interviewees read the questions they prepared for their survey;
   
3. Students asking mostly closed questions (e.g. You like Thailand?), vague questions (e.g. What you think about Thailand?) or rather nonsensical questions (e.g. How about your holiday?) - oftentimes using incorrect structure (as in my examples);
   
4. Talking very quietly – almost inaudibly really – with terrible pronunciation (e.g. You lie ee lai?).*

Getting started

Time to give some advice. When students interview foreigners, it is essential that they properly introduce themselves. Nobody foreigner wants to waste precious time by participating in yet another useless time-sharing survey. The introduction needn't be long, but should be brief, clear and honest. It could go like this:

Option 1: Good morning, my name is Ploy and these are my classmates Lek and Noi. We study English and we'd like to practise our English by asking you some questions. Could you please spare a few moments of your time?

Option 2: Hi, could we ask you a few questions? We are English students at Wittaya Whatever School and we are doing a survey to practise our English. Can we ask you a few questions? It will only take five to ten minutes.

Option 3: Hello, we have to interview foreigners for our English school assignment. Could you please help us by answering some questions? Nobody wants to talk to us because our English isn't perfect. Thank you so much for saving our lives. (fairly honest, funny but possible effective)Other variations are of course possible. Students should use language and words they are familiar with and fully understand, not just blurt out phrases they'd never use on their own. Memorising every single question isn't necessary as speaking naturally is more important than sounding like a parrot. Fluency should take precedence over accuracy when speaking in a real situation where communication is the prime objective; however, interviewers should get the very basics right by asking grammatically correct questions and use intelligible pronunciation.

Possible questions

I don't think there are right or wrong questions as this depends on the kind of interview or survey you want to conduct. It can either be a general survey about Thailand or be more specific, e.g. targeted at tourists and tourist attractions, food, customs etc. Let students come up with their own questions first, either individually, in pairs or small groups. I prefer to do this in sequence: individuals devise a few questions, compare them with their neighbour and then move on to form groups of four or six. This way everybody will be at least forced to do some work as most groups won't welcome freeloaders.

What follows is a short list of questions that might be used for general surveys. I don't recommend just handing this out to students as this means forgoing the very useful stage of making questions whereby creativity and accuracy are important.

- What's your name?

- Where are you from?

- Which languages can you speak?

- Are you on holiday in Thailand?

If yes:

• How long have you been here?


• How long do you plan to travel in Thailand?


• Where are you staying now?

If no:

• Where do you live?


• How long have you lived in Thailand?


• What's you job?


• Where do you work?

- Which parts of Thailand have you visited?

- Which place did you like most?

- Do you like Thai food? What is your favourite dish?

- What do you like most about Thailand?

- What don't you like about Thailand? (interviewers should be able to handle criticism)

- What do you do to fight global warming?

Most, if not all of these questions are also extremely useful for general conversation. Remember that asking questions is not only a way to start a conversation, but also to keep it going. Open questions can be used to make someone talk longer (e.g. What did you know about Thailand before coming here? Why do you like Thailand?), while closed questions will obtain specific information (e.g. Are you married? Have you had a Thai massage yet?). An effective way to keep a conversation going is by asking follow-up questions.

Example: What did you do yesterday evening? (Answer: I went to the cinema.)

Follow-up questions:

• Which film/movie did you see?
  
• Did you enjoy it?


• What's it about?
  
• Would you recommend it?


• Where did you go to see it?


• Who did you go with?


• Did you see the original version or was it dubbed?


• How much does a film ticket cost?


• Who's your favourite actor?


• What kind of movies do you like?


• How often do you go to the cinema?
  
• How do you get there?

There are many more but I think you get my drift. Students should be given similar exercises to hone their skills.

Tips for teachers

Finally, conducting great interview depends largely on the quality of preparation and the guidance from the teacher. In general, most people aren't born interviewers. Having good conversational skills will certainly help, but decent preparation is still needed to fine-tune interviewing skills. In this regard I can't help pointing out that most Thais aren't exactly perfectly enunciating chatterboxes – especially not when speaking English – so their choice of questions should be scrutinised before sending them into the real world in order to avoid inappropriate, incorrect or confusing questions. Pronunciation drill and exercises may be required. There are already too many conversations like 'Where you from? - How long you stay Thailand? - You have girlfriend? - What about your job? - You like Thailand yes or no? - Goodbye see you again.' Let's try to get it right for once.

What teachers should remember before sending their students on a foreigner-hunt:

– Persuade students there is no need to be shy; most foreigners don't mind answering a bunch of questions if asked by enthusiastic students;

– Give the assignment to pairs or small groups (maximum 4);

– Avoid pairing good friends in order to limit goofing off (unless you know they are competitive and work well together);

– Make sure students know that introducing themselves is important;

– Let them come up with their own questions but make sure to correct grammar mistakes in an appropriate manner;

– Ask for proof of interviews: tapes, pictures or short video clips of interviews (shot preferably with a digital camera instead of a mobile phone for quality reasons) are not only a lot of fun to watch afterwards, they are also very useful for post-interview correction and feedback;

– Practise, practise, practise: students should practise the questions often and know many of them by heart before using them in a real situation;

– Let them interview each other in a controlled, but not necessarily quiet, environment (classroom, playground, school grounds near noisy street, etc.) before doing real interviews (again, don't pair friends if possible);

– Do a dry run: ask one of your English-speaking colleagues to be a mock interviewee so students feel the stress of interviewing a stranger (if, for whatever reason, you have been ostracised by your peers, play the victim yourself);

– Help students devise a quick and easy way to record answers using abbreviations for places (e.g. BKK, CM, AYU, KCh, KSi, KSt, SUK, PHU, KRA etc.)**, languages (EN, FR, SP, CH, JA, IN, GE, KO, IT, etc.)***, countries (e.g. US, UK, EN, CH, JA, KO, Swi, Swe, GE, FR, SP, IT, AUS, NZ, IS, etc.)**** and possibly many more (food, tourist attractions in Thailand and so on); taping an interview and transcribing the answers later is also possible but involves a lot of work afterwards;

– Make the whole exercise competitive by rewarding the best students;

- If time and school infrastructure allow, set up a class blog or forum where students and interviewees can post messages and get in touch with each other; sending a class newsletter or survey results to interviewees' email addresses can be another way of keeping in touch and practise report and email writing;

– Remind students to thank interviewees for their time and patience.

Good luck to all.

A selection of Cambodia photos is now available on www.flickr.com/photos/philiproeland. The author of this article is still on a break but can be contacted at philiproeland@hotmail.co.uk. Replies could take some time.

1/12/2008

(*) Do you like to eat rice?

(**) Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ayuthaya, Ko Chang, Ko Samui, Ko Samet, Sukothai, Phuket, Krabi

(***) English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, German, Korean, Italian

(****) United States, United Kingdom, England, China, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Israel

Vietnam: Failed, Cambodia: Passed

Last month I travelled around southern Vietnam and Cambodia, mainly for three reasons: relax and recharge my batteries, broaden my horizons and get to know these countries a little better in order to make an informed decision as to whether I could ever live and work there. In my quest for a new job, Vietnam featured on the 'possibles' list.

I had already visited both countries some six years ago, so I knew more or less what to expect. My expectations were broadly confirmed: both countries have been going through boom times, proof of which can be seen in the multitude of new hotels and construction sites that dot all major cities and the improved road networks that make travelling and transport much easier.

Neither country is as evolved as Thailand, which boasts a superb road network and well-organised public transport system. In Vietnam, the major transport arteries running from North to South consist of just a two-lane motorway and a single-track railroad. Although the main road has been improved considerably, it still sports a zillion bumps and potholes, making travel all but a relaxing experience. Most of Cambodia's roads have been paved and are great, especially when compared to the dirt tracks of a decade ago. The only section on the tourist trail which hasn't been finished yet lies between Siem Reap and Sisophon. When travelling by bus or car, be prepared to undergo a three-hour long vibro-massage.

This column will mainly focus on Vietnam. Would I ever want to work in Vietnam? Absolutely not. There is no way whatsoever anyone could convince me to work in Vietnam. Although the country has a lot of beautiful sights, many interesting tourist destinations and is relatively cheap to live and travel in, not once did I feel the urge to inquire about job opportunities or settle down there. On the contrary, at times I pondered cutting our stay in Vietnam short and move on to its neighbour. The main reasons for my discontent were the constant hassle from hawkers and taxi drivers (esp. cyclos and motorcycle taxi drivers) compounded by the horrendous traffic situation.

Traffic is probably bad wherever you go in Vietnam, but in major cities it is an absolute nightmare. Ho Chi Min City (aka Saigon), Vietnam's economic hub, has a population of more than eight million people and a mind-blowing five million motorbikes circle its streets. Motorbikes have become affordable to almost everyone, not just because of the higher purchasing power of Vietnamese workers, but because cheap Chinese motorbikes have started flooding the market and started selling like hot cakes the last few years. Five years ago, only good-quality Japanese motorbikes were available costing a few thousand dollars; now, cheap but unreliable Chinese bikes go for as little as 400 dollars, thereby putting a purchase within just about anyone's reach and literally clogging most streets of HCMC.

Crossing the streets as a pedestrian is often tantamount to attempting suicide in Vietnam, and driving a bike yourself is only recommended if you are a retired stunt driver. Although there must be some official traffic regulations, nobody seems to follow them. The unwritten rule seems to be that everyone is allowed or even supposed to drive recklessly and aggressively but should try to avoid crashing into all the other madmen out there. The result of all this for the sightseeing tourist is that although there are quite a few interesting sights, often the only way to reach them is by taxi or tourist bus; consequently, many sightseers don't even bother at all and stay in their hotel rooms or the nearest bar.

In smaller cities such as mountain town Dalat or seaside town Nha Trang, renting a motorbike is daunting but still doable if you avoid rush hour. It is also a good way to explore the more rural Vietnam at your own pace and get away from the organised tours that sometimes make you feel as if you're on a cattle truck. Make sure to wear a helmet and drive aggressively though or you'll get nowhere. I tried to brave the local Mad Maxes and even rented a bicycle and motorbike a few times; in HCMC though, I wouldn’t have used one if they were free.

Although public transport in Vietnam has evolved for the better, tourists are still guided towards the convenient tourist buses going from South to North (or vice versa) and stopping in the most important tourist destinations (aka Open Tour). Overnight trains are also popular as well as domestic flights for the travellers wanting the see the whole country's highlights in a week or less (madness if you ask me). Public buses and passenger vans are abundant but unpopular with tourists. We only used a van once, to get from the border at Lao Bao to Hue.

A big Ford van picked us up near our hotel, we got in and got two nice seats in the back. The van was only half full and we thought it would be heavenly to travel in such comfort. Our opinion of public vans changed slightly when twenty minutes and a dozen stops later, no fewer than 24 people had been crammed into the 16-seater van. As you can imagine, there wasn't an inch of room to spare and we got to know some fellow passengers more intimately than we ever wanted to. We decided to stick to big buses from then on.

Food and accommodation are satisfactory and plentiful. In many places, air-conditioned rooms with (unnecessary) hot water shower, fridge and cable TV can be had for as little as 10 dollars; double or triple that in prime locations or two-star local hotels. Although Vietnamese food is varied and tasty, the tourist trail now seems to have more pizza joints than authentic and affordable local restaurants, which is really a shame. I'd rather forsake culinary globalization altogether.

I didn't get to know any Vietnamese personally, but if I was asked to describe them, I would say they are ambitious, industrious and creative; unfortunately, I suspect they are also rather insensitive and flexible with the truth. Queuing or awaiting their turn are alien concepts to them. Not unsurprisingly, they have a very different world view from westerners, whom they might see as overly sensitive, fussy and downright weird. Below are some lines you might be given in tourist places and how to interpret them, and a conversation outlining possible differences between westerners and Vietnamese.

How to interpret Vietnamese tourist speak

Vendor: I have cheap price for you.
What it really means: You should be happy that I only overcharge you by 200% instead of the usual 400%.

Bus driver: The bus will stop at the next corner because we are not allowed to drive in the old town.
What it really means: We are actually still far away from the entrance to the old town, but we are going to drop you here anyway because our hotel is just around the corner. We hope that you'll be too tired to go looking for other accommodation and spend the night with us.

Dried fruit vendor: Please buy some dried strawberries. Very good.
What it really means: Please buy some lookalike dried tomatoes which I have cleverly disguised as strawberries by deliberately mislabelling them. They are cheaper than strawberries so I'll make a bigger profit and you'll probably be too far away from here when you discover it so you won't come back to complain.

Travel agent: Free lunch is included in this day trip.
What it really means: Unless you order extra food at highly inflated prices, you'll have to share a tiny plate of fried tofu accompanied by plain rice among 10 sightseers.

Travel agent: Sightseeing in the morning, then transfer to the Vietnamese border followed by a one-hour boat trip from the Vietnamese border to Cambodia.
What it really means: Sightseeing until 9 A.M., a 1.5-hour boat trip to the Vietnamese border followed by lunch in an awful yet expensive food shack and another four-hour boat trip to Cambodia. If we are honest about travelling times, nobody would go on this trip.

Different attitudes

Westerner (on a jungle trek): Be quiet everyone, there a rare sun bear ahead of us, I'm going to try to take some awesome photos.
Vietnamese guide: Bears are great. Let's try to capture it, put it in a tiny cage, stick a catheter in its gall bladder and sell the bear bile for a bomb.
Westerner: That's horrible.
Vietnamese guide: I admit bear bile is an acquired taste, but it's good for you.
Westerner: No, I meant it's cruel and painful for the bear.
Vietnamese guide: Don't worry, cruel is not a Vietnamese word and bears don't feel pain.
Westerner: I hope you're joking. What's that noise? Look there, it's an endangered horn-bill. What a majestic bird.
Vietnamese guide: Good, be quiet so we can kill it and have it for dinner.
Westerner: No! I won't let that happen.
Vietnamese guide: Swell, now you've scared the bird away. Oh well, we'll just have stir-fried porcupine and turtle hot pot then, washed down with some snake wine. Maybe there are even
some leftover dog kebabs from yesterday.

As the end of this column approaches, I would like to apologise to all Vietnamese citizens and residents if my judgment of their country was too harsh. After all, I only spent a few weeks in this beautiful place and didn't get to know all the ins and outs. But then again, first impressions matter. However, I do recommend a holiday in Vietnam, although I think it would be a good idea to combine it with a more relaxing destination such as Cambodia, or even better, Laos.

Let me quickly point out that Cambodia fulfilled my expectations. It hasn't changed dramatically and people are still friendly and make an effort to speak English to hawk their wares (their English sounds considerably better than their neighbours' and without much of an accent). Cambodia would be a wonderful country without some of the relentless hawkers, tuk-tuk and motorcycle drivers, but I suppose they're just trying to make a living. Someone ought to teach them the basics of good selling techniques for tourists though. I might address Cambodia in a future column.

More pictures can be seen on www.flickr.com/photos/philiproeland.
The author of this article can be contacted at philiproeland@hotmail.co.uk.

1/11/2008

Bangkok Getaways (3) - Petburi

Although I have left Thailand, this month's column features my last Bangkok Getaway as I thought it might be useful for the many EFLers based in the City of Angels wanting to escape the urban concrete jungle and enjoy the more worthwhile parts of the Kingdom. I haven't written any new stuff lately since I have been too busy relaxing in Sandalwood City and by the time you read this, I will be on my way to Vietnam, followed by Cambodia, in an effort to (re)discover these booming destinations in what was formerly known as Indochina. I'll try to keep you posted in future columns although spending hours in Internet bars is not my idea of travelling fun.

Petburi in a nutshell: a historical park on a hill, lots of temples and some monkeys thrown in for good measure

I went on this overnight trip to the scenic town of Petburi a few months ago. Tourist maps and road signs often refer to this city as Petchburi or Petchaburi but the believe me, the correct way to pronounce it is definitely Petburi. Unfortunately, transliteration of Thai script into the Roman alphabet is often neither clear-cut nor logical (just think of the airport: Suvarnabhumi vs Suwannapoom).

Petburi lies some 160 kilometres south of Bangkok and can be visited in one or two days. In order to get there, take either train, bus or van. Day trains depart infrequently from Hualampong train station in central Bangkok; buses depart every half hour from the new southern bus terminal (located what seems like 100 clicks southwest of the capital, but in reality it's only about 15 clicks); vans go all day long from Victory Monument to Hua Hin on a fill-up-and-go basis and can drop you off in Petburi.

Once in Petburi, you can either start the sightseeing immediately if you're on a day trip or you can find a hotel to stay the night as I did. Remember that there is quite a lot to see and day-trippers might find themselves longer on a bus or train than actually sightseeing. Also, after a few hours, you might get tired and not bother going the extra mile to discover some hidden gems. Instead, the only thing you'll want to do is down a few cold ones and lie down for a nap.

Once you reach the Petburi bus station (actually there is no bus station, buses just stop near the central market), motorbikes go just about anywhere in the city centre for a mere 20 baht or so. I had one drop me off at the Kao Wang Hotel, which is conveniently located next to Kao Wang Hill where the main sights are. The hotel was cheap at 250 baht for a fan room with bathroom (add 100 baht for A/C) but somewhat rundown (think not-so-new council flats or housing projects). Although the whole place was in dire need of a lick of paint, my room was airy and the bedsheets spotless. The bathroom sported a Thai toilet, which was okay as I prefer this to sitting on dubious toilet seats. If you like your western toilet though or if you're not into squatting, you might want to look for another place to stay or put your bowel movements on hold for the duration of your stay.

As I already mentioned, the main attraction of Petburi is Kao Wang Hill & Phra Nakhon Khiri Historical Park. Cobblestone paths lead up and around the hill which is studded with temples and various components of King Rama IV's palace. The views are great and the whole area is a photographer's dream. Fat monkeys loll about in the trees and on top of the walls along the main path. The walk up looks easy but is fairly strenuous, especially since there is a lot of ground to cover if you want to see the whole domain.(*) You needn't be a mountain goat but it might be a challenge for couch potatoes and Thais alike. Make sure to drink plenty of water, wear a hat or use sunscreen, and take either an extra shirt or a small towel for when you're drenched in sweat. Entrance fee is a giveaway 40 baht (just under a Euro, just over a dollar).

If you're on a day trip, you'll probably want to have a late lunch and then go home after seeing Kao Wang. If you're booked into a hotel, I suggest you have lunch followed by a shower and some rest before discovering the rest of the town. There are quite a few interesting temples in Petburi town itself, but seeing them will involve quite a bit of walking. The most picturesque temples are probably Wat Mahathat, Wat Chi Pra Keut, Wat Lat and Wat Yai Suwannaram (jut consult a tourist map once you get there). Instead of walking your way around town, you could hop on a motorbike to get you to the furthest temple and walk back from there. There are of course more temples than the ones mentioned here, but after a while temple-fatigue sets in and you might reach the point where you don't want to see any more of the bloody things, no matter how spectacular they are.

At night, there is a huge night market set up in and around the park located next to Kao Wang Hill. You'll find everything you've ever needed there, ranging from cheap T-shirts to fake designer jeans, take-away dinners, local sweets and desserts, tropical fish, cherrywood vases, pirated CDs and fried bugs. The fried grasshoppers are delicious and full of healthy proteins if you're into exotic foods. If the thought of devouring creepy crawlers upsets your appetite, there are a number of economical restaurants in the vicinity of the night market.

(*) partly taken from Lonely Planet Thailand

Picture galleries available at www.flickr.com/photos/philiproeland (just do a search with the keyword 'Petburi).

The author of this article can be contacted at philiproeland@hotmail.co.uk

1/10/2008

Education Flaws

(adapted from Bangkok Post, Education, 26/8/2008)

It appears a Suan Dusit Poll has highlighted major weaknesses in the Thai education system. These include:

• inadequate teaching materials
• lack of teachers
• inefficient curriculum
• students' failure to focus on their studies

The Suan Dusit rector explained to a Senate panel they had conducted the survey in order to identify which problems to tackle first. The poll also asked about what solution people felt should be implemented first. Respondents called for:

• improving the curriculum
• student-centred approach
• adequate teaching materials
• efforts to get families to instil in children a love of reading
• lessons on ethics

Relevant authorities would be informed about the findings. Follow up on how they implement the solutions and updating the public on the progress would be done as well.

Well, what can I add? Let's just say I wasn't surprised at all by the findings, nor by the proposed solutions. What is needed is immediate action instead of more surveys and feet-dragging by officials in charge.

Goodbye Thailand (September 2008)

I’ll get straight to the point of this month’s column: I have given up my job and left the Land of Smiles. I already hinted in my January column that 2008 might be my last year in Thailand, so it’s not a big surprise for most people who know me. The questions I get asked most are: 'Why?', 'What are you going to do?', 'Where are you going?' and 'Are you going back home?'

I'll answer these questions in reverse order as the last ones are the easiest. Am I going back home? What a silly question; I go home every day. Actually, Thailand has been my home for more than four years. Of course, most people use the word home to refer to one's country of origin or birth. Anyway, I'm not planning to turn back the clock and pick up one of my former lives.

So where am I going then? I don't know yet. I could have looked for a new job before quitting my old one, but I wanted a temporary break from work so I could have some time to relax and travel. By the way, I know that starting all over without planning too much in advance can be a refreshing experience; I’ve done it before. Also, I hope I'll be thoroughly rested and brimming with new ideas after a prolonged stay in the Land of a Million Elephants, probably followed by a tour of some other South-East Asian countries. Although I liked my job, I always thought that I didn't have enough time off to enjoy life and get away from it all.

What am I going to do? This question is relatively simple. Unless I get offered a really well-paid job out of the blue, I'll more than likely find a new EFL job, probably somewhere in Asia. Teaching is what I apparently do well and it's also what I've been doing for the last twelve years. Many countries need qualified teachers, so finding a new job shouldn't be that difficult.

So the question remains why? Why leave Thailand, the Land of Smiles, the best country in the world if Thais are to be believed? The short answer is that I didn't have enough reasons to stay.

Those who have been reading my column regularly will know that I acknowledge and welcome different cultures. When teaching, I don't want to radically change local students' cultural values or ideas as I am convinced that English should be taught as a world language, not misused as a colonial tool to shove British or western values down someone's throat like it was sometimes done in the past. On the other hand, I don't think every cultural reference should be banned from a language course, as it can broaden students' horizons and help them develop their critical thinking skills and personal world view.

I have to admit that I was getting a bit bored with both my job and my host country, so simply finding another workplace wouldn't have solved my problem. I made a list of positives and negatives, and – surprise - the former list turned out to be the shorter one. The plus list told me that I mainly appreciate Thailand because of the climate (hot all year round), the food (one of the best cuisines in the world), the travel and sightseeing opportunities and the low cost of living.

This 'what-I-like-about-Thailand’ list is a very personal list, and although many foreigners in the Kingdom might have one, the contents probably vary. Although quite a few long-term residents or repeat visitors might add other positives such as the abundance of teaching jobs and the wide availability of cheap prostitutes to it, I would rather put them on the negatives list as they often attract unskilled would-be teachers to the Kingdom for the wrong reasons.

My 'pet peeve' list on the other hand started to get too long, although after some reflection, I came to the conclusion that many items were quite trivial. As already stated, I respect other cultures and when living in a foreign land, I'll try to live my life as similar as possible to locals. I'll eat their food, use their means of transport, adapt my teaching style if needed and enjoy local markets and travel opportunities. However, when local culture clashes with my personal beliefs and values, I'll still respect the former but I won't necessarily give up the latter.

Here are some entries which figured on the 'what-I-don’t-like-about-Thailand’ list. By the way, I think that after being away from Thailand for a while, I might change my mind about some of the items and realise I was exaggerating.

• Although Thailand has many breathtaking places to offer, Bangkok and its suburbs – where most jobs can be found - are just one big, ugly, noisy, polluted mess.

• The majority of Thai students are rather uninterested, unimaginative and lazy. Instead of soaking up knowledge as a sponge, they usually need to be force-fed.

• Appearance is more important than substance. Good-looking (white) teachers will always be in high demand, even if they have never taught and think a gerund is a tropical disease.

• Any form of criticism in Thailand is taboo, even positive criticism. People prefer undergoing bad practices instead of wanting to change them, as this might cause loss of face for the one who implemented them. Actually, causing loss of face is probably considered worse than committing murder. Lots of people have been murdered because of petty insults.

• Dual pricing and ongoing tourist scams ensure that foreigners will often leave Thailand with mixed feelings.

• No-fail policy in all schools ensures that enough teenage morons graduate to fill (private) universities. Many university graduates would probably fail western high school exams.

• Foreigners cannot own a business, land or a house (condo only). Buying a car or motorbike is possible but not straightforward; red tape and corruption are prevalent; banking is anything but foreigner-friendly; consumer service is virtually non-existent.

• Traffic is dangerous. Most motorists think speeding, tailgating, weaving through traffic, using a mobile phone and drink driving are no big deal, despite the abhorrent death toll on Thai roads. There is a complete disrespect by motorists for pedestrians and cyclists.
  

Some of my concerns might seem petty and also exist in lots of other countries, so they’ll erode over time. I don't think I've been much of a moaner during all the time I've been in Thailand, partly because I feel that endless complaining doesn't solve any problems.

As a final thought, I really enjoy the teaching profession and have always done my best to further my students' English skills. However, being employed by a language school where many young students study at the weekend, I feel that Thai youths are somewhat being denied their childhood. For many of them, life is a continuous learning nightmare as they are being dragged from one tutoring school to another. Few seem to realise that all this tutoring wouldn't be necessary if youngsters were given an adequate education from Monday to Friday. Unfortunately, unless parents can shell out big bucks for top international schools, this a pipe dream as the Thai education systems remains in tatters with oversized classrooms, inadequate and apathetic teachers, lack of decent materials, a no-fail policy and an everything-needs-to-be-fun attitude completely undermining effective learning. Unless the whole education system is fundamentally revamped, the future of Thailand looks gloomy. But hey, who cares as long as we’re all having ‘sanuk’ (fun)?

After rereading this column, I felt it was too negative. I trimmed down the negatives list and decided to go ahead with it anyway as most – if not all – of my previous columns were by far and large positive. Thai censors would probably want to take it off-line or censor it if they could find it and understand it. Thailand is a wonderful country but I doubt it’s the best in the world; I surely wouldn’t want to be stuck here for the rest of my life. I’ve been to quite a few countries, but there are still countless places out there waiting to be discovered. Because of my thirst for change and with life being so short, I feel there is no time to waste.

The author of this article can be contacted at philiproeland@hotmail.co.uk.
1/09/2008