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Thais' lack of ability at foreign languages holding back tourism, says top minister


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2 hours ago, Tom89 said:

I'm in Japan and I think Thais speak far and away better English than the Japanese. I've been in some out of the way places in Thailand and found pharmacists that speak decent English. Try finding an English speaking pharmacist in Tokyo, let alone the country side.

Gotta say the chemist's here are usually good, interesting to know that about Japan 

Maybe the chemist's in Japan studied there, whereas i think most in Thailand studied in Oz etc hence the need for English... Are they competent in Japan

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Could somebody explain to me what the difference is between a visitor arriving on a cruise ship for a few days and a visitor arriving first or even business class for a proper holiday with regards to locals inability to speak foreign languages? This (cruise ship visits) seems to be the spark that has lead to these comments.

 

I would need to ask myself, with regards to blaming Thais for not conversing in foreign languages, the following:

 

1/ The entire population using the education system take English as a compulsory subject throughout their schooling years, from kindergarten through university in many cases.

 

2/ Why can I have a better conversation, in English, with certain bar-girls who in all likeliness never used this education system, than I can with people in meetings discussing multi-million baht projects?

 

IMO the problem is not the Thai people but the education system itself. For those governing this country at the moment, look a bit closer to what your government departments are providing (or not as the case may be) before being critical of the population you are meant to be providing for.

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IK think the Minister should have said, Thais lack abilities !

Cuistomer service, languages, Commonsense plus a host of other attributes which would make Tourists feel more welcomed than the continual, mai  Khao Jai and the scams and double pricing !

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Is there an issue with The Officials who have created this problem whereby they have no motivation nor desire to introduce more first language speakers into their Thai Schooling System. Speaking to Expat Teachers recently I get the feeling that The Thai Government is increasingly making it more difficult for Expats to Teach in Thailand so if true it's certainly a step backwards with Language Skills. It's a no brainer as the fundimentals need to be put in place instead of obstacles and replicate their fellow ASEAN Colleagues.

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2 hours ago, newnative said:

They need to add back the hour of schooling that they eliminated and devote it to teaching English--even if they just show a tv program in English with subtitles every day for the last hour of classes.

That's a good idea. But instead, they concentrate on grammar, explaining vocabulary for hours in Thai, and 'games'. Result: hardly able to form a (longer) sentence after 12 odd years of studying English at school plus English at college (and teacher training, as for the teachers).

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2 minutes ago, Alphy said:

Is there an issue with The Officials who have created this problem whereby they have no motivation nor desire to introduce more first language speakers into their Thai Schooling System. Speaking to Expat Teachers recently I get the feeling that The Thai Government is increasingly making it more difficult for Expats to Teach in Thailand so if true it's certainly a step backwards with Language Skills. 

One step forward, two steps back... :smile: 

 

Guess, it will soon be like in China, where English proficiency is even worse, believe it or not! There they have a huge demand for foreign teachers, but a tightening of visa and work permit rules, so that many foreigners cannot teach there for long.

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18 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Here's something funny/interesting/sad.  My adopted Thai son is a Thai Language Teacher and, according to him, over half of his students can't even speak Thai semi correctly, and their writing of it is even worse. 

Whose fault is that then?

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44 minutes ago, newnative said:

Not true.  1.5 billion people can speak English.  It's the universal language.

I agree, it's not the number of native speakers that's important, it's the total number of speakers who have some ability to use a language to get by. English is by far more popular than mandarin. 

As a tourist I don't find English is a problem in Thailand but tourists who lack basic English skills will struggle to find any other languages spoken by Thais. Which is what I think he is highlighting.

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1 hour ago, natway09 said:

Tourists can handle the language barrier, in fact it is part of the charm of holidaying here.What they cannot handle are the crazy drivers, rip offs by unsrupulous  operators...

Yes, in fact, there's something positive about it. The moment a Thai approaches me, speaking to me in English, I know that I am either in Pattaya Soi 6, or in Bangkok and that person wants to scam or rob me off my money. Nothing in between... :smile:

 

I always wondered, with so many expats and long-term tourists in Thailand, why is the only product marketed to foreigners in English language, condos? No-one promotes hotels, or restaurants, or Western food, etc., to expats, as all advertising is only in Thai, and staff at department stores and malls, trying to sell you anything, from electrical appliances to imported food, try to do it in Thai, while not being able to understand or answer questions in English.

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20 hours ago, Chip Allen said:

I became acquainted with a Thai/American brother and sister at a university where I worked. They are fluent in both Thai and English, having an American mother and a Thai father. They both tell me that a large percentage of Thais do not even speak their own language correctly, which leads to any number of misunderstandings. Comments?

With so many different languages spoken in Thailand, with Central Thai as the only official one,  not to mention numerous dialects, is that any wonder? They speak the correct language according to the part where they live and that is very true if never visiting another part of the country. That is further complicated by the attitude that someone from another area, 'doesn't speak proper Thai'! However, many do speak both their local variation and Central Thai. 

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11 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

...not that it has anything to do with the (mostly) sh!t teachers.

I have a Thai daughter who left uni last year after studying English. Both her spoken and written English are very good although having known her since 2006 she has always been keen to learn and not just English. Having been living and working in Oz for over a year it is improving all the time another factor may be that she doesn't like Thai men, only farang. She also spent 4 months living and studying in England during 2014.

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1 hour ago, Khun Paul said:

IK think the Minister should have said, Thais lack abilities !

Cuistomer service, languages, Commonsense plus a host of other attributes which would make Tourists feel more welcomed than the continual, mai  Khao Jai and the scams and double pricing !

Thais have certainly social capabilities. They should build a resort town just north of Sattahip, same latitude as Ko Larn, with many hotels and condos on offer, some streets with nightclubs for partying, offering the world-famous Thai massage for rest and recreation...

 

No, wait... 

 

th.jpg

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Not true.  1.5 billion people can speak English.  It's the universal language.

Not it isn't. It's a lingua franca and certainly the most popular language for international business communication but it doesn't meet the requirements of being "universal". In a topic about language it's best to be accurate.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

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1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:


Not it isn't. It's a lingua franca and certainly the most popular language for international business communication but it doesn't meet the requirements of being "universal". In a topic about language it's best to be accurate.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Google 'universal language' and you'll find most of the entries acknowledging that English is widely (dare I say universally?) considered the universal language. 

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20 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Here's something funny/interesting/sad.  My adopted Thai son is a Thai Language Teacher and, according to him, over half of his students can't even speak Thai semi correctly, and their writing of it is even worse. 

555..  yA not lyke us, we red en rite gooder!

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Google 'universal language' and you'll find most of the entries acknowledging that English is widely (dare I say universally?) considered the universal language. 

The Wikipedia entry makes the distinction clear, but admittedly it's semantic.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

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My wife's aunt was an English teacher for years, can hardly speak a word. In my village I have been asked a few times to teach but I won't risk my retirement visa. I have offered to chat, the kid can come over (as long as my wife is home), we'll sit on the porch and speak in English. No one has ever taken me up on it.

Well done...me the same...it is so restrictive towards openness here...so very difficult to communicate..and I can as go far as making my appointment in the Hospital in Thai...but oh my god...such an effort with these lovely folks..I try to hard especially the very young ones...they are really not interested at all...sad really......I try at the market...no one is interested..only fruit and veg guy...learning the veg and fruits...

Sent from my HUAWEI LUA-L21 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

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1 hour ago, pattayadon said:

555..  yA not lyke us, we red en rite gooder!

Thats easily understood, and comes to something I've noticed, you can butcher English (written and spoken) and still be understood, afik theres no way you could do that with Thai..

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19 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

Who is this guy? Well, Wikipedia had the answer:

 

Patimaprakorn served as Thailand's chief of defense forces from 2011 to 2014. In this position, he oversaw combat readiness and commanded military operations in all three branches of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. His position was at the top of the military chain of command, although in practice he remained subordinate to army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha.

 

The old saying that people shouldn't throw rocks when sitting in a glasshouse comes to mind. A fast Google search and we know who we are dealing with. Mr Patimaprakorn doesn't speak English, or any other second language.

 

Criticising "the Thai people for not being able to communicate well in a foreign language" makes him to a better joke.

 

 How can soldiers in all important positions achieve anything in the educational, or any other sectors? Don't they learn how to use weapons and how to defend a country?

 

 The military junta makes jokes about the uneducated folks to which they belong to, me thinks. The only educated PM I a sort of liked was a well educated guy who went to Oxford.

 

  The Ministry of Education should have Abhisit as their boss, and not a soldier who's befriended with an oxymoron. Then things might change in apositive way and a foreseeable time. 

 

The problem has to be solved starting at the roots and Thai English teachers should really start to teach their kids English by speaking in English to them. To let them copy stuff of the board and study grammar rules nobody understands, doesn't make much sense.

 

   From a bright grade eight student in October 2017 : "Thai students have to learn a lot of difficult grammar and rules, but they don't have the needed vocabulary to use it." Students should fail if they don't succeed and students must be allowed to ask their English teachers questions without anybody losing face.

 

 Until now, there's an unwritten law by the MoE that students from primary to high school level are not allowed to ask their teachers any questions if they don't understand something.

 

And that's in all subjects, not just in English. Common sense? Nope. 

 

 It's never in favor for others when soldiers rule a country.  

 

 

The joke.jpg

The man.jpg

My god is he is selling images of himself on Getty Images?

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Cruise boat business? Do they mean thoses barges doing the 800m loop in Chaopraya with Elvis on board? I thought he did love me tender pretty well. I might be doing it again in about 500 years when I've perfected the art of masochism.

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6 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

That's because Thai's are stupid.

 

When I'm in front of the 91 pump and I say 'gow nung' how can they not understand?

Because you forgot "tem tank". They are like the Leather Goddeses of Phobos game from the 80's, unless you get the complete phrase right they can't compute.

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to be honest I have gotten this specific answer quite a bit : "I didn't pay attention in school and did not care about learning English back then" and it's almost always the same story

even my met some girl still at university and her English was quite good told me roughly the same thing

 

I would assume that it's because the "we don't need English because Thai is better" is being pushed on all of them.

 

plus i can confirm that they are not allowed to ask questions to the teachers because if the teachers cannot answer they will "lose face".

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