Placement tests are the order of the day as students attend the first lesson of their Tesol Diploma course at Udon Thani Rajabhat University.

The cost of continuing
professional development

In this age of lifelong learning, who should pay the cost for the professional development of English language teachers in Thailand?

Gone are the days when professionals finished their education at university in their early twenties to toil the rest of their working lives until retirement. In this modern age there are ever-changing demands in the workplace.

The idea behind lifelong learning is as the name suggests, people should learn for the duration of their life. One reason for this change is because people no longer have a job for life, and thus it is normal for a person to change employment several times before retirement.

This is not necessarily the case in Thailand, where civil servants are guaranteed employment until they reach retirement age. Keeping a job for life might make individuals believe that their position negates preparing for change and keeping up to date with the latest methodologies and innovations. This thinking leads to stagnation and a lack of imagination, traits not conducive to a progressive educational establishment.

Of course, if you are not up to date with the latest technology and methodology then you will not be able to compete with others. Teachers looking for new job opportunities will always be competing with others for the choice employment possibilities available; however, this is may not be the case for teachers who are guaranteed a job for life. It depends on the individual concerned.

Learning the latest educational trends

I am of the opinion that teachers in any country have a duty and responsibility to complete their own professional development in order to give their best for their students and education establishments. It is a moral obligation of every teacher; and goes hand in hand with being a role model for students.

In Thailand, there are specific problems concerning education that are in stark contrast to those experienced in other countries, namely the qualifications needed to teach English at primary school.

Many teachers of English at Prathom level do not have a Bachelor's of Arts (BA) or Bachelor's of Education (B Ed) in English. Some believe that their personal English language skills are not up to the standard required and want to improve to give the best they can for their students.

But what opportunities are there for teachers who want to continue their professional development, improve their teaching skills and increase their employability?

Horses for courses

There are many courses available in the marketplace that teachers could consider, whether it be general English or tailor-made courses for groups of teachers from collective districts.

The problems for Prathom teachers have recently been highlighted for me as I have just started a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Tesol) Diploma course at Udon Thani Rajabhat University, and approximately half of the students in the course are primary school teachers who teach English as part of their employment.

These teachers do not receive a large salary. Yet they have personally paid a fairly hefty fee to develop themselves professionally. In my opinion they are being treated harshly because they are required to do a job but have not been given the proper tools. Instead of the government paying for such courses for all teacher, they are required by the Ministry of Education to "get it (the required teaching skills) on their own". I do not know of any other profession in which this happens.

In my opinion the Ministry of Education should alleviate this plight of primary school teachers with a view toward systimatizing and improving the training offered to pre-service teachers and fund continuing professional training for existing teachers.

The ministry has already introduced the Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) module one for secondary school teachers of English, which I feel is a positive step. However, having studied the contents and standards of learning for foreign languages in The Basic Education Curriculum B.D. 2544, primary school teachers of English need all the help they can get to deliver quality education and retain their self-respect in the process.

Steve Graham is an English language teacher at the Language Center, Udon Thani Rajabhat University in northeast Thailand. If there are any comments or areas for debate that you would like to discuss, you can contact Steve at: shed_chelsea@hotmail.co.uk .