Ethno-linguistic map of Thailand

hilltribe community learning center

Prof. Dr. Suwilai Premsrirat, former director of the Instit ute of Language and Culture Research f or Rural Develo

pment at Mahidol University in Bangkok, said “… Like the loss of biodiversity, the loss o f language is h

appening at an alarming rate. In Thailand, one of the re asons for this linguistic deterioration is t he government

's unofficial policy of promoting standard Thai - th e medium of instruction in all schools…”

( Lim Li Min: “ Globalization: Saving Thailand's other languages” reported in International Herald Tribune, October 23, 2006)

literature bridge building

hilltribe languages

Thai (national) language

Eth

no-lin

guis

tic

dis

trib

uti

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of Chia

ngm

ai

Nong

-ueng

-tai Pow

Kare

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illag

e

218 kms. from Chiangmai, 70 families295 villagers, average income 2,700 Bht./head/yearPre-school 1: 42, Pre-school 2: 12, Grade 1-6: 40

ort

hogra

ph

y

develo

pm

ent

Phonemic analysis: Audra Phillips of SIL and Pwo Karen CLC teachers

ort

hogra

ph

y

develo

pm

ent

alphabet design

ort

hogra

ph

y

develo

pm

ent

draft alphabet chartpicture dictionarythe first booklet: rabit and snailspelling guide

mate

rials

develo

pm

ent

writers’ workshop at ALTP, Payap University, Chiangmai

writers’ workshop in the village

mate

rials

develo

pm

ent

Grade 1-3Pre-school

Listening- Speaking in Pwo Karen

Reading- Writing in Pwo Karen

Listening-Speaking Thai

Reading-Writing ThaiListening- Speaking English

Grade 4-6

Reading-Writing English

Thai

Pwo Karen

Thai

Pwo Karen

EnglishEnglishThai

Pwo Karen

Thai

Pwo Karen

Pwo KarenPwo Karen

media people visited Nong-ueng-tai CLC

Education Minister visited Nong-ueng-tai CLC in January 2006

report to HRH Princess Sirindhorn in February 2006

Bangkok PostBangkok Post, , 27 September 200527 September 2005Reported by Sirikul BunnagReported by Sirikul Bunnag

.

12 state primary schools in the three provinces, where Yawi is the mother tongue of 80 % people, will pioneer bilingual studies next years.

Education permanent secretary Khunying Kasama Vorawan said the four-decade old ban had been aimed at forcing Muslim students in Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani to learn Thai, but had failed. She admitted yesterday the approach caused children to reject the Thai language and their parents eventually pulled them out of state schools

The Education Ministry will lift its ban next year on the Yawi language at state schools in the three southernmost provinces and begin teaching a Thai-Yawi bilingual programme to integrate Muslim children into Thai society.

curriculum structure of Pwo-Karen’s cultural mathematics

content Pre-school Grade 1 Grade 2

area space shape

space shape

space shape

measurement Measuring and estimating

area time

Measuring and estimating

area time

Measuring and estimating

area time

number counting math. language money

counting math. Language Addition &

subtraction Money

counting math. Language Addition &

subtraction Money

pattern pattern pattern pattern chance chance and

information chance and

information chance and

information

use low-cost laptop for data collection, material developmentand learning cultural math. through weaving design