FEATURE-Laos on crash course to learn English By Stew Magnuson, Reuters VIENTIANE, Laos, Oct 20 - Laos, a former French colony, is embarking on a crash course in English. After years of losing out to French and Russian, a result of the country's colonial past and Soviet links, the international language has finally caught up with the landlocked Southeast Asian nation, until recently one of the region's most isolated. Lazing under a tree at the national university campus in Vientiane, 25-year-old student Chansmone Xyakoummane explains why. "Because I want to get a good job," said Chansmone, who also studies accounting and computers. "It's the international language and we need it to develop the country." As one of some 2,000 students studying English on the campus on the outskirts of the Laotian capital, he is not alone. LAOS ON CRASH COURSE TO LEARN ENGLISH In September, more than 4,000 students sat for an entrance exam to a special four-year university course in English aiming for one of only 700 places, according to the English-language Vientiane Times newspaper. In 1997, about 1,800 applied for 400 seats, the newspaper said, and quoted some students as saying they would bribe their way into the course if they did not pass the test. The catalyst for the expansion of English learning came last year when the government came under criticism for its lack of English-speaking bureaucrats after joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Since then, students, young and old, have been flocking to private schools, tutors and aid agency programs that teach the language. "When we first got here three years ago, we didn't think we could find anybody who spoke English," said Mike G. Gray, managing director in Laos for a foreign management consulting firm. "Now we're getting people with English and accounting skills." He attributed the rise in English ability to the proliferation of private English schools and the country's entry into ASEAN. "There's just more of a general awareness of the importance of English than there used to be," he said. "The Japanese, the Europeans, the Americans and Singaporeans, when they come here to do business, they want to converse in English." For those who can land a job working in the private sector for a foreign company or one of the many aid agencies, salaries can be as high as $300 per month. Government workers make just $10 in a month. ENGLISH LANGUAGE A NEWCOMER IN LAOS Until 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, English was not taught in public schools. The languages of choice until then were French, followed by Russian because of the country's ties with the Soviet Union after the communist takeover in 1975. "If you need a Russian speaking tour guide, I can find you 20 people today," said Patrice Bleton, inbound manager for Diethelm Travel in Laos. "But finding English speaking guides is a problem." Thousands of Laotian technocrats and government workers were sent to Russia and other Eastern European countries for training in the 1970s and 1980s, he said, and those languages are simply no longer in demand. He said the level of English language ability in the lower paying service sector was still poor. English is not taught in public schools until the high school level, and even then for only two hours per week. "VISIT LAOS YEAR" FUELS ENGLISH BOOM Also contributing to the English-language boom is the upcoming Visit Laos Year in 1999, when government officials are hoping to attract 700,000 tourists. The Francophone world, however, is not giving up Laos without a fight. The language is still spoken by many educated, older Laotians, even though France granted Laos independence in 1954. The French-government funded organization Alliance Francaise, as it does in many of its former colonies, is aggressively promoting the colonial tongue. It offers lessons, movies, cultural shows and doles out more university scholorships to study abroad than any other country. Another organization promoting French is launching a weekly French-language newspaper in November in cooperation with the Laos government. "I don't think that the (French) realize that they lost the battle years ago," said a Canadian English language specialist. Khun Marshall, coordinator of Deseret International Charities, which offers free English classes to medical personnel in Vientiane, said the French are missing the point. "If one of our doctors wants to get advanced training abroad, they can go to any number of countries that speak English. If they only know French, then they can only go to France," Marshall said. Thailand Wants Closer Trade Ties with Laos BANGKOK (Oct. 19) XINHUA - Deputy Commerce Minister Pravit Ratanapien has urged Thai investors to cash in on the opportunity to forge closer ties with Laos which has been given a generalized system of preference (GSP) on garment by the European Union. Pravit was quoted by the Thai News Agency as suggesting that Thai investors step up building credibility to Laotian counterparts, as the EU has allowed Laos to import not over 70 percent of raw materials such as textile and fabrics from other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He said Laos' garment production capacity increases by about 30-40 percent a year. Laos now imports raw materials largely from Thailand and South Korea. "Thailand has better chance than other countries to increase the export of raw materials to Laos, given its better quality textile and fabrics," he said. However, the main problem at present is that letters of credit held by Laotian importers are unable to place as guarantee to Thai exporters. Only cash guarantee is allowed. Pongsak Assakul, president of the Thai Weaving Industry Association, said that apart from GSP given by the EU, Laos is likely to be given a most-favored-nation (MFN) privileges from the United States. "Taking into account the two privileges in Laos, and relatively low production costs particularly on labor, Thai investors should use Laos as garment production base for export to third nations," he said.