I believe you'll make a good teacher, Ton.

   Your life as M6 students isn’t simple at all. A student before graduation has to make important decisions. These decisions will shape his or her life. I have met many students who asked me for advice about making career plans. Most students felt depressed because their parents tried to decide over them on their future job and therefore on a program students will enroll at university. My point is that this situation is common and you don’t need to feel so desperate. One way to try to convince your parents to let you make a career choice is to tell the parents how you really feel. Discuss the pros and cons of your choice. Try! If you don’t try, you won’t get anything.

Good luck! Feel free to talk about how you feel about this topic!

Hello Mattayom 6,

   I’ve been teaching English for a while and one thing that I hear more often than not is students who complain that they can't hear and speak English well.  In answer to that I say that it is natural that they can’t.  Otherwise, I would be very much surprised. Why?

   I'd like to answer by asking such a question: How can you get fluent in English if you didn’t practice it enough?  To learn a language is to acquire skills which can be obtained only by practicing the same thing many, many times. It takes more than reading a textbook.  So what does it take to be good at English?

   The most important thing in conversation is that you understand what foreigners say and what foreigners understand when you speak.  In this case, you don’t have to try to speak with an accent like a native English speaker, but you should be able to pronounce the words correctly.  This brings me to the main point of this submission.

   I’ve noticed that those who speak English well must have had greater exposure to the language.  My best Mattayom six students have spent time in company of foreigners in Thailand or as exchange students overseas.  These students have a better understanding of the language which is not surprising.  As I’ve already mentioned above, practicing English in the environment of English speaking people is what makes one learn the language most efficiently.

   In conclusion, my advice is to start conversations with foreigners rather run away from them.  I believe that most foreigners would love to speak to you. Yes, Thais and foreigners are different, but different things make us curious, don’t they? Of course, you will feel nervous at the beginning, but as time goes on you will do better. When you start to understand, you’ll be happy and gain confidence.       

Be patient and determined. I know you can do it.  Come on. Write about how you feel about talking to foreigners!

Teacher Boris.