A reluctance to question the teacher
I've found one of the most challenging aspects of being a new teacher in Thailand is the students' reluctance to ask questions in class. I'm still learning about the complex aspects of Thai culture but it feels like young Thais, teenagers let's say, just don't feel comfortable questioning someone older, especially a teacher. I rarely have this problem with adult learners in fact. Younger students are conditioned to just soak up the information given to them, write it down commit it to memory and then hopefully be able to remember it when test time comes around. I work with foreign teachers who call the Thais stupid but I genuinely think it's because they are scared and don't want to challenge the social norms.
Sophie
