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spectrum

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Posts posted by spectrum

  1. I am helping build an educational website. Most of it will be available for free but some courses will require a fee.

    I am not the person who will be collecting the fees (not that there's anything wrong with that).

    It is proving fairly difficult to get information without being fluent in Thai. There's not really a great deal in English on the internet that is of help. Hence I am asking here, as I know many of you have kids/relatives in this age group.

    Simply, I'm trying to figure out the topics that interest teenagers in Thailand. Very broadly, those topics might be the same as for teenagers anywhere, but they would differ in specifics.

  2. Years ago in Australia, a happy, recently car-licensed group went out to celebrate the end of gruelling exams and acceptance into medical school.

    A heavy tome on physics or chemistry sitting on the back window shelf flew forward when the driver braked suddenly. It caused serious brain damage to one young man, considered something of a golden boy for his athleticism and intelligence. He battled back and did attend classes but I don't think he ever practised as a doctor.

  3. if you go onto the hi5 social network, which is very popular with Thai teenagers you can do your own research...

    Dan Sai Kid, I am aware of the popularity of hi5. However, too much there takes place in Thai to be of any great help.

  4. To help with an educational project, could those of you with better Thai language skills than mine, and those of you with teenage Thai kids, nieces, nephews and neighbours like to pass on some information and comments ? And those who don't can contribute, too.

    Broadly, I am trying to find out what is currently considered cool amongst Thai teenagers.

    Is the Japanese "kawai" (cute) style still in ? Are Korean pop stars more the go now ? Where are the latest trends coming from ? Are there any uniquely Thai trends and if so, are they being "exported" anywhere ?

    Specific questions might be:

    What is your favourite pastime ?

    What is your favourite song/singer/group ?

    Favourite film ?

    Favourite book ? Magazine ?

    Favourite website ?

    How many hours per day/week do you use the internet ?

    What is the main way you use the internet -- games/email or instant messaging/chatting/blogging/... ?

    Do you use English for any of the above activities ?

    If you can also give some general information about the individual kids (age, sex, family backround --languages/cultures of parents --urban/village ) it would help, too. Don't reveal anyone's identity, of course.

    All comments and observations welcome.

    Thank you.

  5. Thanks, everyone.

    Even in English, 'global youth' would be understood as 'youth worldwide' unless you also provide that specific explanation relating to Internet communication.

    True. The context will provide those extra connotations. It occurred to me after posting that it is quite possible the English word (gloBAL :o ) is used.

    I agree with your comments about Thai teenagers, Meadish Sweetball.

  6. Bambina, thanks :o .

    The term "global village" comes from a book which "describes how electronic mass media collapse space and time barriers in human communication, enabling people to interact and live on a global scale. In this sense, the globe has been turned into a village by the electronic mass media.

    Today, the global village is mostly used as a metaphor to describe the Internet and World Wide Web. According to McLuhan, modern communication technologies such as radio and television globalize communication by allowing users from all levels of society around the world to easily connect with each other and exchange ideas instantaneously." Wiki

    So, "global teenagers" are contemporary, well-informed and aware teenagers with these opportunities to connect with other people around the world.

    Does that help ?

  7. Agreed, everyone needs to make their own evaluation. However, some people considering Chiang Mai may not fully realize that the rates of respiratory disease and mortality are very high, so in my view, more info is always better than less info. Those big particles that get into your lungs can really kill you. Sorry, reality bites.

    (Debbie Downer is my best friend ....)

    Reality I can live with. It's the whining that gets on my nerves.

    I'd really love to hear what these people are doing themselves to mitigate the air pollution. I for instance plant a couple of hundred trees per year. One vehicle serves 6 people in our household. Never use a song taew or tuk tuk if a bus will put me near the same destination. For water and soil we build check dams for water retention and plant Ya Faek to prevent soil erosion. We avoid trips to the city and if we go do many things at one time. We don't burn. Would love to hear what others are doing positively.

    Np cars or motorsais is a very good start. However, better public transport is needed in CM.

  8. Hello macwalen,

    I am interested in knowing a little more about your school.

    Firstly, may I ask about your background & qualifications in education, and that of your teachers ?

    Secondly, I have read the information on your website and am interested in the methodology you use. Is it similar to the Berlitz method ? It seems the students repeat aloud after the teacher/do Question-Answer drills while looking at Thai script in their textbook. Is that correct ? Could you elaborate a little on what happens in the classrooms and explain the pedagogical basis of that in simple terms ?

    Thank you.

  9. 1. The team has had many meetings and recommend the following action.

    I think the problem here is the subject-verb agreement. "The team has had" = "the team" is seen as "it" (singular) but in the later part of the sentence "the team" appears to be seen as "they" (plural) with which agrees with "recommend".

    "(It) has had ... and (it)recommends ..." is more consistent.

    Nonetheless, most of us do commonly make such switches in speech. Very easy to slip from thinking of "the team" as "it" to "the team" as "we/they".

    2. The school, which won the competition cheated. (maybe too easy)

    The school which won the competition cheated.

    A defining subject relative clause ('won the competition') so therefore no commas. Only use commas with non-defining relative clauses.

    Should be two commas for the non-defining relative clause, too.

    3. The surveyor completed a plan working over the weekend.

    Working over the weekend, the surveyor completed a plan.

    Agree. Very common in spoken English, though, and usually doesn't cause misunderstanding.

    4. Psychologists who use this assessment frequently can identify problems at an early stage.

    Use the assessment frequently or can frequently identify problems at an early stage ?

    5. Heads of Departments must devise a suitable system, as described in the report.

    Need for heads to devise a suitable system, or the suitable system is described in the report ?

    Are you doing a TEFL course or is a student torturing you with these questions ?

  10. I lived in San Francisco for many years and have nothing against gay people, but sometimes it seems that the whole gay rights thing goes too far. Do we even have to know the sexual preference of fictional characters for children?

    Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed that Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. He spent a lot of time and effort helping Harry out. One has to wonder what Harry was up to with the old codger when they went into some of those magical trances together. Could Dumbledore have been teaching Harry more than just magic? :D

    One has to wonder how some people's minds work :o:D .

  11. I rode my bicycle past your window last night

    I roller skated to your door at daylight

    It almost seems that you're avoiding me

    I'm ok alone but you've got something I need

    Well, I've gotta brand new pair of roller skates

    You got a brand new key

    I think that we should get together

    And try them out ya see

    I've been lookin' around a while

    You got somethin' for me

    Oh, I gotta brand new pair of roller skates

    You got a brand new key

    I ride my bike, I roller skate, don't drive no car

    Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far

    For somebody who don't drive I've been all around the world

    Some people say I've done all right for a girl

    Oh yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah-yeah

    I asked your mother if you were at home

    She said yes, but you weren't alone

    Oh sometimes I think that your avoiding me

    I'm ok alone but you got something I need well

    I've gotta brand new pair of roller skates

    You got a brand new key

    I think that we should get together

    And try them out ya see

    La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

    La, la, la, la, la, la

    Oh, I gotta brand new pair of roller skates

    You got a brand new key

    La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

    La, la, la, la, la, la

    Oh, I gotta brand new pair of roller skates

    You got a brand new key

    La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

    La, la, la, la, la, la

    Oh, I gotta brand new pair of roller skates

    You got a brand new key

    La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

    La, la, la, la, la, la

    Oh, I gotta brand new pair of roller skates

    You got a brand new key

  12. Some points to consider :

    All surgery carries risks. Anaesthesia itself carries risks. People now hear and read so much about plastic surgery, they are beginning to regard it as being something akin to a trip to the dentist. People can and do die while undergoing plastic surgery.

    Death during emergency/non-elective surgery is very sad, but death during elective surgery in an attempt to look young is tragic in a special way.

    Plastic surgery will not necessarily make you look better, or younger. Look at websites like awfulplasticsurgery.com if unconvinced - and remember that these people probably have access to far more expensive plastic surgeons than you do.

    Do we want to become a race of botoxed Kens and Barbies ?

  13. I agree that there can be unpleasant undercurrents in workplaces where native and non-native English-speaking teachers teach together in the NNES culture. While this is certainly not unique to Thailand, these unpleasantries can be unsettling.

    As others have pointed out, the causes are various. Pay can be one. However, in at least some, supposedly higher status Universities, the Thai and foreign part-time teachers receive identical pay per hour (and everyone's total pay can be viewed when signing for the cheque each month).

    Is it a divide and conquer tactic -- having newly graduated native speakers with not even a 6-week TEFL certificate to their name and not necessarily with language-related majors (on "gap-year programs"*) receive the same pay as experienced, far more highly qualified Thai teachers ? Does that not rather suggest "Beware your dispensability" to the Thai teachers ?

    Or are these institutions simply being cheap ?

    *Are these programs not rather arrogant? "Princeton in Asia", for instance, seem to crop up around every corner.

    The kids usually seem decent and responsible; doubtless the opportunity is a great one for them, but it seems obvious that having totally inexperienced and untrained kids do the same job as local old hands for the same pay is going to create tensions.

  14. "In time, I learned that it is almost a norm here for the teachers to sign in early and then leave for other commitments."

    It is, as the title states, a quite disturbing picture of mismanagement and misappropriation of students' funds.

    This might just be stupid policy... some teachers that I know are required to sign in every day, even if they have no classes to teach on that day. Same sign in policy applies during school holidays... they have to go to the Uni and sign in while all of the students are out on break.

    Bino, I agree that's stupid policy. (Teaching is different to manufacturing.) However, in the context of the article it is a worrying symptom of the ills besetting that (& other) Universities in Thailand.

    Note that I don't wish to blame teachers; I genuinely believe that much could begin to improve if they were, simply, paid decent salaries.

  15. Interesting statement, Spectrum - everyone I have known who has tried it (for the first time) as an adult has detested it. Maybe you have offered some to friends and they have merely been 'polite'? I suppose there are exceptions to every rule, though... I recall that some foods I disliked as a child I grew to greatly appreciate in adulthood.

    I am a "very good friend" of a most devout convert, who was over 30 before tasting the dark manna.

    Yes, I am aware that not everyone is so discerning :o .

  16. Fair enough, Maestro.

    A pity that many teachers will thereby miss the article.

    The gist of it was that money intended for maintenance/improvement of facilities and programs for students is not being used for such purposes, but rather for vacations (flimsily dressed as "professional development" ) for teachers, on quite an alarming scale, at some Thai universities.

    The source, a professor at the university who wishes to remain anonymous, said that over the past 2 years at least 10 million baht has been spent on unnecessary travel and recreation for the staff.

    Some teachers do not fulfill basic responsibilities such as turning up to teach classes.

    "In time, I learned that it is almost a norm here for the teachers to sign in early and then leave for other commitments."

    It is, as the title states, a quite disturbing picture of mismanagement and misappropriation of students' funds.

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