An old dog can learn new tricks if he is prepared to listen and learn. Having just returned from a recent conference in Cambodia, this old dog feels fired up and ready for the challenges ahead. Cambodia has just held its Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) conference in February and because I enjoyed it so much last year, I felt compelled to visit this fascinating country again.

Last year I remembered being very impressed with the organisation of the conference, especially with the way that they kept everyone up to date with the latest news concerning the activities. This year it was evident that their method of evaluation was working as small problems from last year had been rectified this time round.

I noticed that once again there were many teachers of English from rural areas that had been sponsored to attend the conference and there was also the opportunity for university teachers to have their students present their research concerning the problems facing Cambodian teachers that were particularly relevant for the majority of countries in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.

There were quite a few things that I found impressive, but more importantly, I believe that there are areas that we can adapt for Thailand if we really wanted to.

The next time that ThaiTESOL has a conference, how about having one strand dedicated to research conducted by our university students? They could be supervised by their university teachers and sponsored to attend the conference if selected.

This is not a far fetched idea considering that all Rajabhat students who are enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (English) program across the country have to submit research in their fifth year whilst teaching at a local school before graduation. This would be an ideal opportunity for them to stand up in front of their “newly found” peers and share their ideas as well as see what everyone else is doing.

The next ThaiTESOL conference is in Chang Mai and I would have thought the one after that would be back in Bangkok. If in the future it was to return to Khon Kaen, as well as having pre-service teachers presenting their research, I think it would also be a good idea to involve more of the rural teachers in what goes on at the conference.

My suggestion in how to do this would involve there being a Thai strand, where Thai teachers of English from rural areas that do not possess the necessary language skills to present their research in English could do so in Thai. It would not have to be groundbreaking research as narrative inquiry and action research in the classroom are internationally recognised forms of research. If rural teachers were to be sponsored to attend the conference then there would be a ready made audience for these new presenters. Costs could be kept to a minimum by having this for only one day to start with and teachers could be bussed in just for that day.

This is not an excuse to water down the academic nature of the conference; however, it is a way where three distinct sets of teachers and researchers could work together side by side at an international conference. In my opinion, these ideas could bridge the ever widening gaps that have appeared between our students, our rural teachers and our academic community.

The no-frills approach and the chance for undergraduate students to present their papers are areas that we could adopt in our conferences in Thailand.

(Unedited article published in the Bangkok Post 6th April 2010)