Torneyboy Posted July 1, 2004 Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Educating a Thai Child In a Foreign Land. Have had ""our"" son in Sydney for nearly three months ...the school told us that by three months he would be comfortable with English ..and move forward . Well has not been the case it is a very real struggle (for all of us)...it is just not clicking . Homework is hard ...some nights i am still trying to sort it out at 8.30-9.00pm at night. As many of you know Thai words do not translate (one on one) to English....we have all the gadgets ..those hand held translator mini electronic dictionary's etc ..plus computers (he has one in his room). We have had several meetings with the class teacher....he tells us he is not speaking English at all in the class room. In the playground he is fine...not the most popular child in school but has friends he plays soccer/handball with every day. The school has allocated a one on one support ""teacher" for him ..and she gives us extra homework and other help ..and is on call if we need some help or advice at anytime. So the school is doing the best it can..IMO We are ..well my wife is getting very frustrated at the slow progress of her son...(maybe linked to me...wanting all to be fine in the home?) He is not a shy boy ...around our Thai friends he is the bell of the ball ..and was top 3 in his class in BKK. KS pointed out to me that the gap between the schools could and would be huge. We...again thought we could get over all this ..however learning and or educating a Thai child in another land is a lot of hard work ,and not just for the student. We have Thai /English books coming from BKK this week ...maybe they will help. Trouble is ..to me anyway the boy appears to be on ""holidays"" here! Not serious i maybe wrong and hope i am but i feel he is happy to be with his mom and sisters ...and out of the floating markets of BKK..and what happens happens ? I have shown no frustration in the learning and reading ..i help and am very supportive..amazing for those that know me ...short fuze for slow learners :: Trying to help/teach a Thai child in a foreign land is ...i have to say is the hardest thing i have ever had to do...and having had my own boys come and go a long time ago and to have to do it all over again is ..well not just a hill to climb but a real life challenge. We are not down and out ...but ...down. Hard work ......any ideas???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted July 1, 2004 Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Hi TB, Maybe have him start a grade lower than he's in right now, to make the transition easier? Good luck anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted July 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Hi I think that will happen..no way he will be up to what we call high school level ....age 12-13....he is now 11 years. If attend high school i fear he will be picked on..kids have no compassion ...fall behind and ..well they just make fun of slow learners ..imo. not an easy road for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted July 1, 2004 Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Hi TB, I've seen a few thai children move to Sweden at the same age. Of course the language gap is wider as they never learned any swedish in Thailand. Swedish schools have a special class for foreign children and they just study swedish in this class until they reached an acceptable level. The normal time spent there is for thai children 6-9 months and for example arabs 12 or more. After this class they move to normal classes and normally one under swedish children of same age. elef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted July 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Hi I think that is what the school is trying to do...30 nationalities in the school btw. But if you are not up to ""the"" level ""...they must leave you behind to save the rest of the class..so what happens then..that is part of our worry/concern....can not repeat and repeat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted July 1, 2004 Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Hi TB, in Sweden we have same number of countries represented! But they stay in that class until they reach an acceptable level, new children are joining all the time. Some are even illiterate, but not thai children. TGs arriving at later age can be illiterate however, but they are not in the same school system as children. elef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted July 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Hi Sounds the same. He joined a class..mixed races but they could all speak english (OZ or other country born families) ""not in the same school"" They (new kids from overseas ) are lumped into a normal class..but have a one on one support teacher to help them through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted July 1, 2004 Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 "I've seen a few thai children move to Sweden at the same age. Of course the language gap is wider as they never learned any swedish in Thailand. Swedish schools have a special class for foreign children and they just study swedish in this class until they reached an acceptable level. The normal time spent there is for thai children 6-9 months and for example arabs 12 or more. After this class they move to normal classes and normally one under swedish children of same age." .............................................................. Yes, its the same in Norway. My 2 step sons attended such classes, and they were moved into normal ones when the teacher decided they could cope. To move them into ordinary classes straight away creates a lot of problems, they struggle to keep up and end up giving up. Its the same case if all the kids in the class speak the native language, even if they are foreign. There is huge difference today between my 2 step sons in how they handle reading/writing Norwegian. The both speak it fluently. They came at the age of 8 and 12, and those years meant a lot. Youngest one is as comfortable with it as Norwegians. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted July 1, 2004 Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Its also important to give him time TB. 3 months is nothing! Don't get frustrated after such a short time! Cheers and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted July 1, 2004 Report Share Posted July 1, 2004 Give him/her about 10 cans of strong beer a day. Works for me. :: jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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