I have a new job in Thailand teaching college kids writing. I should say I ATTEMPT to teach college kids English writing. In my classes, students must be able to put two or more sentences together and make paragraphs. Yeah, I can hear some of you chuckle as you read this. Those who are teaching in Thailand or who have taught here in the past know full well what I'm talking about.

Noble effort. Atrocious results.

These kids can't coherently string more than three words together, let alone two paragraphs.

Let me disintegrate the argument, before it even starts flying, that this problem is caused by some deficiency in the ability of the white-faces who stand at the front of the classrooms here.

Here's that argument, an argument I've read and heard countless times:

a. Thai kids have very little English proficiency.
b. English is being taught by Farang.
Conclusion: The Farang are indequate,incompetent, don't care, whatever.

I've heard this argument so many times I'm sick of hearing it. In response, I'll let folks in on some facts and then present a new argument they can stick in their pipes and smoke.

1. Not EVERY teacher who stands in front of an ESL classroom is inadequate/incompetent/doesn't care/whatever...
Some farang teachers here are excellent. Most are what I'd call 'good'. Surely Thai kids can learn a modicum of English from these teachers.

But they don't.

2. The teachers who teach most English in Thailand, especially at the "P" and "M" levels, are Thai. Unfortunately, these teachers are very weak in writing proficiency, even at the master's level. Most can speak fairly well, and they're good at understanding a native-speaker if he or she talks slllooowwwwlllyy. As far as writing/reading/comprehension goes, their abilities are grossly inadequate for the task, which is teaching writing/reading/comprehension to Thai kids some of whom are now in my classrooms.

3. Thai teachers are regarded by Thai kids as the 'authority figures' on all subjects, which includes English. They won't accept the idea that someone (maybe YOU) who has spent anywhere from two to even four or five decades in the USA, Britain, Australia, or New Zealand might, just MIGHT, know more about English than ther Thai English 'teachers'.

With these facts in mind, I'll build a new explanation for what I'm seeing here:

a. Most Thai kids have been taught English writing in the past by Thai teachers.
b. Most Thai English teachers' English writing ability is grossly inadequate.
c. Thai kids regard Thai English teachers as the true athorities when it comes to English. Farang don't know squat.
Conclusion: Most Thai kids' English writing ability is grossly inadequate thanks to unadequate teaching in the past and their own stubborn misperceptions today.

Hello to those who live in a dream world. Welcome to reality.

When I 'correct' a student in my writing classes, I find just about every one becomes highly offended at my comments and suggestions for improvement. They think I'm a slave-driver or even stoop to think I'm someone who doesn't know what he's talking about. No one can know, after all, MORE about English than their Thai English teachers from the past.

I understand why they'd think this. My kids have been 'taught' English writing by seemingly 'all-knowing' Thai teachers who in reality are not qualified to teach this subject. These same teachers have no doubt rewarded my students with great marks, maybe even 'A' grades, in the past, for inadquate results. Now these same students resist my efforts to give them 'low' grades and helpful suggestions to improve what really is atrocious writing ability.

I'm fighting history here. I'm fighting authority figures, albeit unqualified authority figures, from the past in my classrooms. I'm also fighting my Thai students' refusal to accept that somebody in the world (lots of folks actually) knows more about this subject than English 'teachers' of the Thai persuasion.

No, the white-faced teachers are not the problem in Thailand. A broken education system, unqualified Thai English teachers, and closed-minded, lazy students are caught in a whirlpool they can't get out of. And they have nary a clue that they're in it.

That's my argument.