In My OPINION
The Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) from the University of Cambridge English for Speakers of Other Languages (Esol) examination is now part of Thailand's secondary schoolteacher development
STEVE GRAHAM
More than three years ago, the idea of TKT was being bantered around the education community with a certain amount of scepticism. Now, in Thailand, it seems it is here to stay.
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| There is nothing to be afraid of when investigating new innovations in English language methodologies and testing. Try it and find out for yourself. STEVE GRAHAM |
Easier test for Thailand?
I was lucky enough to be involved with some of the meetings and presentations that took place in the early stages of the adoption of TKT in Thailand. When the idea of having Thai teachers of English take a universal test was first discussed, I was amazed at how afraid many people were.
The TKT tests "the candidates' knowledge of concepts related to language, language use and background to and practice of language teaching and learning". It does not test the teachers' practical skills that they would need to have in the classroom. It is a theory test.
Students and teachers in Thailand know all about multiple-choice questions, so there was an added bonus as the three modules contain multiple-choice questions 80 each. What really surprised me was that some representatives from Thailand's premier universities were asking questions like, "Could we have an easier test just for Thailand?"
Nothing is perfect
To be truthful, I was quite taken aback as I thought that the idea of completing a test that was from Cambridge Esol was the fact that the quality assurance was not going to be questioned. Asking for the test to be "dumbed down" just for Thailand filled me with shock and disbelief.
At first sight, there may be some among us who might be concerned about the standard needed to pass the examination. How do you know unless you try? At Udon Thani Rajabhat University, the president was also of the opinion that the only way to find out was to try it for real, so we did. The university funded a test.
Way back in Aug 2005, 34 Thai teachers of English from the university's several English language teaching departments sat for the test. The only training they had was two two-hour sessions with me, and those were entirely voluntary. During the sessions, I fired questions from the book at everyone, and we tried to answer them as quickly as possible.
The test is graded in four modules or Bands. Each Band contains 80 questions worth one point each. Bands are scored and reported individually. Each Band receives a Band score of one to four, four being the highest.
Following the test, 31 of the 34 teachers scored in the top two bands (Bands 3 and 4), and everyone was the wiser when it came to this new test.
Recently, it became a requirement that secondary schoolteachers of English in Thailand must pass this test.
It is by no means the "magic bullet" that Thailand needs to kick-start resurgence in education development. However, there are areas of the test that need to be investigated as there is room for further development if we look more closely.
This test is a theory-only test. What if we were to incorporate some kind of practical element to it?
Looking to the future
Every few years, there is a major revamp of the Bachelor of Education (BEd) curriculum at our university.
The last time this happened was about three years ago, and again I was lucky enough to be involved.
This was not just for the English programme; it was for all the BEd programmes.
On that occasion, my university had the foresight to include subjects from the TKT syllabus into the curriculum. In that way, students who were to become English language teachers would already have a knowledge of the theory to help them pass the TKT examination before they left university.
More importantly, a course that would take approximately 60 to 90 hours to teach, which can be spread out over four years, could have the added benefit of having practical applications added to it so that it becomes a course that combines theory and practice.
Our third-year students are currently working their way through the programme, and only time will tell if this innovative way of training our pre-service teachers will have a lasting effect on the teaching of English in our province.
Without the vision and forward thinking of directors and presidents of Thailand's education establishments, we risk the danger of continually "dumbing down" our teaching because we are scared to experiment with something new. We must not allow "fear of failure" to run our lives.
Steve Graham is an English language teacher at the Language Centre, Udon Thani Rajabhat University, in northeast Thailand. You can contact him at steve@steves-english-zone.com if you have something you would like to discuss.
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