Much ado about nothing (English and Thais)

Written by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Saksit Saengboon

English made inroads into the Thai education system more than 100 years ago when it was made a public commodity. English has since been “enjoyed,” or “suffered”—as it were—by many Thais from all walks of life. The English we speak today bears a testament to the fact that, over the years, English has spawned many a version. The British and American versions of English, long gold standard bearers, have now been challenged by profuse versions dubbed under the nomenclature “English as a Lingua Franca” (ELF).

ELF, a global phenomenon, prioritizes communication strategies over grammatical accuracy, traditionally defined. As long as one can get his/her messages across, that is acceptable. A given ELF scenario may or may not include an English native speaker by birth. But the presence of the native speaker is no longer a reason for the so-called non-native speakers to feel intimidated. Psychologically and educationally speaking, ELF should make its speakers feel empowered; they can claim with candor that they own English. So far so good.

Being empowered as they are, ELF speakers sometimes run into communication problems as do traditional ESL/EFL speakers of English. The problems run the gamut from spoken to written English, and the latter could be quite troublesome. That’s why written English remains a strong forte guarding against ELF encroachment. As much as ELF is dismantling the safeguard of British and American English, concerns have been voiced regarding the role of ELF in the Thai EFL classroom.

For the vast majority of Thais, English is still a foreign language (EFL). Most Thais do not use English as a second official language. This pretty much says it all. That most Thais are unable to communicate successfully in English is attributable to the stark reality that we don’t use English. It doesn’t matter whether we have the best teaching approaches or methods or that which English we are teaching to Thai students. If you don’t use it (and use it carefully), you’ll lose it. The bottom line is ELF is not going to be a panacea for all linguistics ills. The low English proficiency among Thais, including a number of Thai teachers of English, should be considered a pressing problem. Whether it be ELF, or EFL, we are going to do a disservice to younger generations of Thais attempting to learn English if we do not equip their teachers with sufficient English ability. The typical EFL classroom such as that found in Thailand still needs qualified teachers to help steer them in the right linguistic direction. English must not be taught and learned perfunctorily.

As a public commodity, English must be a tool to serve its users. The English we speak today must be one that rightly addresses the needs and wants of the Thai people.