Useful Thai For The Classroom
When teaching English as a foreigner in Thailand you may be faced with the following scenario. You are starting a lesson with a lower grade level, your co-teacher is busy, or simply unable to attend the class, and your students don’t understand anything you are saying. Now you have 50 pairs of befuddled eyes looking your way and expecting that you can pull something off. What do you do?
I can tell you that all of the theories of language immersion in the classroom go out the window. Your students may not have had access to an English teacher before or may be coming from a background where they had to work and could not regularly attend school. Likely, there will be some students who can communicate in English, even just as a result of media exposure, but you do not want to put all of the pressure of translation upon their shoulders.
In such situations what you need is primitive and basic. You need a way to connect. How do you connect? You use the language that they already know. It seems obvious, but it is rarely told or encouraged. Just because you have a native English teacher does not mean your students will start speaking English. It means that students have an opportunity to speak English. For some students, this is all it takes, but for others (often less advantaged students) it is not.
I only use Thai in the classroom when it is necessary. But that doesn't only mean it is used for things the students don’t understand in English. If a class is rowdy and you say, “Listen please”, I can guarantee your students understand the word “listen”, but the utterance falls hollow on their ears. You’re trying to control the class with the language you are beginning to teach. If students have little English, it will likely not connect in the same way as “Fang hai noi krab” (Thai for ‘listen please’) which is familiar and clear to them.
For many classes, I encourage you to only speak English. Speak it as clearly as you can. But for the more challenging classes connect by using the language students already know. This will thereby build trust. They will see that you genuinely care. Some teachers may scoff at this advice, and that’s okay, others may think that Thai is just too difficult a language to attempt to communicate with. I would say that if you stick to the basics, you’ll be surprised how far you will get and how much you can pick up. Students’ eyes will light up when they see your attempts. More importantly, you will begin to know when they understand you and when they do not.
Here I will lay out what I think are some basic key phrases for teachers in Thai secondary schools. The list is just a starter pack and I plan on releasing more material in the future.
*Note 1: This is romanized Thai. That means true pronunciation and correct tone must be learned independently. Romanized Thai (or as Thais say: pasa kaloget) is just to get you started. I would encourage you to also approach the real Thai script when you are ready.
*Note 2: In a formal context, and generally to be polite, women should end all sentences with the particle ‘Ka’, while men should end it with ‘Krab’.
Example:
The most common Thai greeting when you meet someone:
Male: Sa-wad-dee krap
Female: Sa-wad-dee ka
Easy Classroom Phrases
(*You can practice speaking in Google Translate to get started)
Fang noi krap. (Please listen to me)
Nang long krap. (Sit down)
Yok mue hai noi krap. (Please raise your hand)
Niep Noi Krap. (Please be quiet)
Important Basic Sentences:
Sa-wad-dee Krap.
(Greeting)
Mai khao jai krap.
(I don’t understand)
Me khamtam mai krap.
(Do you have any questions?)
Kor-torde krap.
(I’m sorry)
Pud pasa Thai daai nid noi krap.
(I can speak a little Thai)
Maa nee daai mai krab.
(can you come here)
Basic Classroom Vocabulary:
Kru / Ajarn: Teacher
Nakrian: Students
Rong Rian: School
Pasa: Language
Pasa Angrit: English Language
Kian: Write
Ann: Read
Phud: Speak
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