The O-Net (Ordinary National Education Test) happens every year in Thailand. Every Grade 6 (Prathom 6) student has to take the test. And every year an alarming amount of students fail the English portion of the test. We will be focusing on Grade 6 students and O-Net English Learning in Thailand. This is the reason that we started this website. We, at Sanook English, believe that with the technology available today, English scores in the O-Net test should rise. Our aim is to help students so that they have a better grasp of English. We don’t want memorizing, but an all-around understanding. We believe that adding games and interactive tasks can help. And if students learn while having fun at the same time, all the better.
English for the Wealthy
Many students do well on the O-Net tests. They are mostly from wealthier families and mostly from cities. Most of these students take extra classes to get prepared for the O-Net exams. These extra classes can be expensive. So there are a few factors at play here. Firstly, many students from poorer backgrounds can’t afford the extra classes. Secondly, most of the extra classes are in the city and rural students live too far away. There are other factors too but the point is that many students from rural Thailand struggle with the O-Net exam. Approximately half of the Thai population is rural. Regardless of whether a student is urban or rural, the National average for the English portion of the O-Net test is below 50%.
How to Raise English Scores
We believe that the technology is available today to reach Thai students wherever they are. The majority of Thai families have access to a smartphone. So we can bring the knowledge and the learning to them. Creating an online learning environment that is affordable and that students and families can access on their phones or computers is the first step. The second step is making that environment enjoyable. That’s why we’ve added gamification to our website as well as interactive learning. Gamification, when used effectively, works. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the classroom or online. Gamification works. We wanted to create an environment where Thai students can learn and have fun at the same time.
Can O-Net English Learning in Thailand improve?
Education has changed drastically in the last couple of decades. Our aim is to implement some of these changes in efforts to improve Thai students English proficiency. We want O-Net English learning in Thailand to improve. At the very least, we hope that it will reach more students and that more students will have a better appreciation and attitude toward English. If students like it, they will get better. You can check out some of our interactive games here.
