Questions 35-38 are based on the following passage:

The Regional English Training Centres (RETC) project – new

approach to teaching English already shows results

September 30, 2018 08:00 By The nation

British Council and the Thai Education Ministry have joined

hands to modernise the teaching methods of 17,000 English-language

teachers in the kingdom, moving from the “grammar-vocabulary”

memorisation system to focus on communication.The UK cultural and

education international body’s Regional English Training Centres

(RETC) project aims to improve the skills of teachers at primary and

secondary schools across Thailand.

Some 75% of English teachers in Thailand are ranked at the

A2 elementary level in the Common European Framework of Reference

(CEFR), representing an IELTS score of 3.5 to 4, according to the

statement issued by British Council on Friday.The RETC Boot Camp

project was first introduced in 2015 to improve overall English teaching

proficiency. After two and a half years, 15,300 English teachers, or 90%,

have improved their confidence in teaching English and using it in

classrooms.

As the next step, an assessment and evaluation system is to

be considered to assist in the adaptation toward the communicative

approach.

Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said the

development of Thai students’ English skills is crucial and needs serious

improvement. Each Thai student studies English for at least 12 years at

primary and secondary school, however most are unable to

communicate in English which is the main obstacle to global

competition, he said. Two main challenges that need to be addressed

are Thai teachers’ English skills and their teaching approach. “By

focusing on language accuracy and the memorisation method rather

than the communicative approach, most Thai students cannot

communicate effectively in English,” he said.

Many Thai students also have a poor attitude towards English

classes. Andrew Glass, director of British Council Thailand, said since

the start of the project, 15 RETCs have been established and that

17,000 out of 40,000 of Thailand’s English teachers have been trained

and mentored in the communicative approach. Additionally, more than

30 teachers have been intensively trained to become TMTs. They work

with British Council trainers to mentor and transfer knowledge to

teachers and school directors, creating academic networking

opportunities with regional supervisors to improve their follow-up

sessions.

After completing the project, the research clearly indicates that

90% or 15,300 English teachers have more confidence in teaching

English in the communicative approach and more confidence in using

English in their classrooms. Besides, 72 of English teachers improved

their lesson planning and were able to give clearer instructions, while

94% improved their lesson management. In addition, 93% of English

teachers have improved their English subject knowledge. Sutthiwat

Sutthiprapa, one of the Thai master trainers and a full-time English

teacher at Khor Wittayakom in Nakhon Phanom Province, said all the

knowledge he gained from the RETC project can be applied in his

English classes. “It significantly changes the atmosphere of the

classroom and the students’ attitude towards English. "Students are

eager to attend the class and make every effort to participate in class

activities. I believe that if every English teacher in Thailand exploits the

RETC concept, Thai students’ English ability will increase

considerably," he said.

(Available in: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1548446/british-councilhelps-

train-thai-english-language-teachers.Accessed on May 18th, 2019. Adapted.)