Here's the ultimate project for solving Thailand's fluency problems. Let it liberate you, my fellow farang, from playing the futile role of Bozo the damn Clown in your classes as you try to 'charm' your students with fun and games.

Let me explain:

In Thailand, people of all ages love to gossip. This includes your students. If you cut a fart in class, every student in your school will know within an hour, at most two, that you did. If you tell a student to 'get out' of your class and go to the director's office for punching another student, you will hear other Thai students, students not even in that particular class, whisper 'get out' as you walk by a mere one hour after. And this is a school with perhaps 1000-plus students.

Let's tap this valuable activity.

My students NEVER practice English speaking and listening outside of class. To get them to do so makes pulling teeth look easy. So.....it's time we Farang took action.--it's time to ask PM Thaksin to FORCE anyone under 18 to gossip in English ONLY.

Fluency would be established within a matter of months, Thaksin would easily win the Nobel Prize for TESOL (if there were such an award), and I wouldn't have to sit here making sad-sap posts about my students' depressing lack of initiative.

Where's my damn Chang?

SS