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Irish Citizens Not Recognised As ‘Native’ English Speakers


Flashermac

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THE TEACHER’S COUNCIL of Thailand (TCT) has updated its list of recognised native English language speakers – and the Republic of Ireland hasn’t made the cut.

 

Under the new rules introduced earlier this year, citizens hailing from only five countries can automatically be considered native English speakers and therefore be entitled to TCT provisional teaching permit – those countries are named as: “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The United States of America, Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and Canadaâ€.

 

As the Republic isn’t included on the list, Irish citizens (along with South African citizens) wishing to teach English as a foreign language in Thailand must take a TOEIC test to prove their proficiency.

The fee for TOEIC tests vary from country to country, however the Center for Professional Assessment in Bangkok charges Baht 1,500.00 (€40) per test. As prospective teachers would typically need to take a number of tests (in order to prove listening, reading, writing and speaking skills) the costs mount up.

 

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If you were thai, would you want to learn English with a Scottish accent? I've been all over Ireland and Scotland (and Wales, for that matter) and the further north that I've gone in Scotland, the harder it got to understand their English. In Ireland, I only had that problem once, at a pub near the Blarney stone.

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THE TEACHER’S COUNCIL of Thailand (TCT) has updated its list of recognised native English language speakers – and the Republic of Ireland hasn’t made the cut.

 

Under the new rules introduced earlier this year, citizens hailing from only five countries can automatically be considered native English speakers and therefore be entitled to TCT provisional teaching permit – those countries are named as: “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The United States of America, Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and Canadaâ€.

 

As the Republic isn’t included on the list, Irish citizens (along with South African citizens) wishing to teach English as a foreign language in Thailand must take a TOEIC test to prove their proficiency.

The fee for TOEIC tests vary from country to country, however the Center for Professional Assessment in Bangkok charges Baht 1,500.00 (€40) per test. As prospective teachers would typically need to take a number of tests (in order to prove listening, reading, writing and speaking skills) the costs mount up.

 

My link

 

If you think about it in terms of what's desirable for a teacher, there are plenty of accents native to England, the US, and Australia that no one should want their kids to emulate. A Daniel Byrne (Irish) or Gordon Brown make vastly better models than a Vinnie Jones or Joe Pesci. And actually I had a much easier time understanding locals when traveling in Ireland than in England, and especially London.

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If you were thai, would you want to learn English with a Scottish accent? I've been all over Ireland and Scotland (and Wales, for that matter) and the further north that I've gone in Scotland, the harder it got to understand their English. In Ireland, I only had that problem once, at a pub near the Blarney stone.

you mean that American English is better ? :closemouth:

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