In this age of lifelong learning, who should foot the bill for the professional development of English language teachers in Thailand? This is a contentious and ongoing issue faced by 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 different demands in the workplace.

The idea behind lifelong learning is as the name suggests, people learn for the duration of their life. This has evolved due to the concept that people no longer have a job for life. In a working lifetime, an individual in UK for example, would be expected to change employment several times before retirement.

This is not necessarily the case in Thailand, where civil servants are guaranteed employment for their working lives. Keeping a job for life might make individuals believe that their position negates preparing for change and keeping up to date with latest innovations available in the market place. 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.

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 educational establishments. It is a moral obligation when becoming a teacher going 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 available for teachers such as these, who want to take up continuing professional development to improve their teaching, their personal skills and their employability?

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 has 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 my new students are primary school teachers who have to teach English as part of their job specification.

These teachers, who do not receive a large salary, are paying out their hard earned cash to develop themselves professionally even though I am of the opinion that they have been harshly treated, as they are required to do a job without being given the tools to do it properly. I do not know of any other profession in which this happens.

I would like to respectfully request that the government seriously undertakes some form of study to look into the plight of primary school teachers with a view to improving the training on offer for pre-service teachers and funding additional training for existing teachers.

The Ministry of Education 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.

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

(Unedited article published in the Bangkok Post 14th August 2007)