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

[mok199]

i think this country would do best with ''sign language'' ...difficult to lie,insult and deceive using your hands...

[Bangkokazy]

The main thing is that the ladies to moan in English

[tonray]

28 minutes ago, Bangkokazy said:

The main thing is that the ladies to moan in English

The closest I have come to that is them moaning some other bloke's name

[MaeJoMTB]

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

If my wife pronounces a word a little bit wrong in english it can still be understood, Edinburgh 

( Edinburg??? ) The Glaswegian pronunciation, Embra especially when used with reference to Prince Phillip as the 'ChookyEmbra' may be a bit more difficult to get your head around, just give it a minute and yillgitit. ?

Thai has too many letters and tones and allows simple mistakes to way over complicate things.

BS.

I can mispronounce French, Spanish and German and the people listening have no problem understanding. My pals can mispronounce Arabic and Mandarin and the locals have no problem understanding.

 

I suspect it's the education system that trains them to be stupid, but I may be mistaken, it may be because Central Thai isn't their first language.

[tonray]

3 hours ago, Marc K said:

Oh my goodness, what a demeaning and rude thing to say to your hosts!

I have noticed however that young and middle-aged folks in Cambodia and Vietnam do, in general, speak much better English (and some French, and some Chinese) far more than the average Thai. Thailand  has been a far less "colonized" country than any of those of "Indochina" but that may not account for the whole reason that Thailand lags in language skills. I would agree that it is most likely linked to an educational system which has not kept up with modern times, involving not only language skills but STEM education as well.

 

I must say though that I am equally shocked by the number of Thailand's long-term guests who speak little or no Thai, even after having been here many years, even decades. What about that lack of language skills? It needs to be attended to as well. Hit the books, folks!

 

I met a Vietnamese professor in Kuala Lumpur when I  lived there. She teaches Information technology in DaNang at a Uni there....and get this...she is required to teach her subject in English ! It has been my experience that whenever I met a younger Vietnamese traveler, their English was pretty darned good.

[MaeJoMTB]

3 hours ago, Marc K said:

I must say though that I am equally shocked by the number of Thailand's long-term guests who speak little or no Thai, even after having been here many years, even decades. What about that lack of language skills? It needs to be attended to as well. Hit the books, folks!

Hard to summon the effort to speak a language when the locals continue to say 'arai na?" to all your attempts.

Then you learn to write Thai, only to  find half the population are illiterate.

And for much of the population Central Thai isn't their first language, why bother to learn someone's 2nd or 3rd language. Central Thai is my wife's 3rd language, might as well speak English with her (her 4th language), buggered if I'm gonna learn her village version of Lanna.

 

Better off learning Spanish, Mandarin, Urdu ........ some language lots of people in the world speak.

[overherebc]

14 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

BS.

I can mispronounce French, Spanish and German and the people listening have no problem understanding. My pals can mispronounce Arabic and Mandarin and the locals have no problem understanding.

 

I suspect it's the education system that trains them to be stupid, but I may be mistaken.

That's exactly my meaning using english as an example so why are you calling it BS.???

[MaeJoMTB]

Just now, overherebc said:

That's exactly my meaning using english as an example so why are you calling it BS.???

Sorry, my bad.

[overherebc]

2 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

Sorry, my bad.

Sawrite, Naebother. ??

[Keesters]

Sometimes they just don't want to communicate period. Recently while trying to ask a question in my reasonably good Thai about something I was considering purchasing the only response I could obtain from the seller was a calculator waved under my nose with presumably the purchase price entered on it. I moved on to another stall.

 

 

 

 

[cmsally]

There comes a point when aspirations and expectations are more important than language.

Necessity will to a certain extent get you to a basic level to communicate, to get higher than that mostly involves intrinsic motivation.  If you have that, language will follow.

Thailand to a large extent  lacks intrinsic motivation.

[Sydebolle]

Anywhere on the planet languages are usually taught by native speakers; here in Thailand everything is taught by Thais. Language teaching is based on dialogues, on making mistakes (and get them corrected) - both completely absent and related to loss of face in the Kingdom's class rooms.

But, in all fairness, the language is not the only obstacle. Look on how ridiculous things come across - all over the social medias with hollering laughter - once it comes to smoking rooms along the beach, two-tiered pricing (1:10 etc.), the visa regulations requiring elephantiasis checks and proof of THB 800K capital for a two months visa (so required by the Thai consulate in Zurich/Switzerland), the cheatings, rip-offs and short changing of the visitor, whose name might be changed from "aliens" to something more befitting. Clean up the petty crime, clean beaches and entertainment places from stealing ladyboys and pick-pockets; lock 'em up like the Russian lady who unknowingly fed fish in open waters in Phuket. All this makes sure that the whole world has a really good laugh at Thailand and all those idiots at the helm of the tourism industry. 

The well-spending Farang got replaced by the cheaper Russian, then the Chinese and Indians followed suit and the level/spending went all into free fall - less can be more and 30 million "quality tourists" prove that 50% of the head count 20 years ago generated more profits - go figure. 

[tonray]

When I try to practice Thai with my GF (her English is excellent so really just for my benefit) she often pretends not to understand and claims I sound like a Burmese trying to sound like a Thai. Not a very supportive environment to learn Thai.

 

I have given up ever learning truly to communicate in Thai in full convo mode...but continue to learn what I call "guerilla Thai" just to be able to ask for things and answer common questions. Enough for me at this stage of the game. I figure my ability to learn Thai at almost 6o years old will likely be slower than Thai society's English language advancement...I'll wait them out.

[Chip Allen]

Lack of ability in foreign languages is the least of Thailand's problems. They are concentrating on minutiae and ignoring the real problems.

[cmsally]

40 minutes ago, Chip Allen said:

Lack of ability in foreign languages is the least of Thailand's problems. They are concentrating on minutiae and ignoring the real problems.

Seeing as the subject matter is tourism, I think they might want to look at environmental issues before they tackle language. Not much use if you speak fluent BBC English but are perched on a trash heap. Might seem kind of harsh but its true, and tourists are just as much to blame when they claim to be on some kind of eco tour but still want the AC and the swimming pool and the 7-11 within 50 metres.

[Valentine]

2 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Anywhere on the planet languages are usually taught by native speakers; here in Thailand everything is taught by Thais. Language teaching is based on dialogues, on making mistakes (and get them corrected) - both completely absent and related to loss of face in the Kingdom's class rooms.

But, in all fairness, the language is not the only obstacle. Look on how ridiculous things come across - all over the social medias with hollering laughter - once it comes to smoking rooms along the beach, two-tiered pricing (1:10 etc.), the visa regulations requiring elephantiasis checks and proof of THB 800K capital for a two months visa (so required by the Thai consulate in Zurich/Switzerland), the cheatings, rip-offs and short changing of the visitor, whose name might be changed from "aliens" to something more befitting. Clean up the petty crime, clean beaches and entertainment places from stealing ladyboys and pick-pockets; lock 'em up like the Russian lady who unknowingly fed fish in open waters in Phuket. All this makes sure that the whole world has a really good laugh at Thailand and all those idiots at the helm of the tourism industry. 

The well-spending Farang got replaced by the cheaper Russian, then the Chinese and Indians followed suit and the level/spending went all into free fall - less can be more and 30 million "quality tourists" prove that 50% of the head count 20 years ago generated more profits - go figure. 

The select few that have the cheap Chinese tourists locked into visiting their overpriced establishments such as latex, jewellery, day trips & so on (they all have Mandarin speaking helpers) are making all the money as very little is allowed to filter through to the local economy. It does not matter what the Baht numbers show, very few actually get to hold it.

 

Other languages such as English & Chinese can help in many industries not only tourism. The real fear from the elite may be that if the local populace become too proficient at English is that they will broaden their minds to what is happening outside which will cause them to question their current status much more.

 

Thailand is still a beautiful place with beautiful people & any scams that happen here also happen elsewhere. The old tenet "let the buyer beware".

[Get Real]

They just don´t want to learn. You just can´t fight the "BIG Want" in this country.

[Confuscious]

But our dear beloved PM, the Junta leader Chan 'o Cha-cha claimed that Thai would become the worlds first language?

And now you tell me that foreign languages are more important?

Oh dear.....

[Beats56]

On 03/11/2017 at 7:15 PM, 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?

Ya my wife always drops the R from a Thai word. I myself with little Thai that I know have corrected her pronunciation a few times because I have know no problem with the R. I said how am I to learn Thai when you don't say it proper. 

[Charlie1]

15 hours ago, Sirbergan said:

Superiority complex much? American English is a lot easier to understand for non-native speakers. This is a solution that would not solve any problems but your own inferiority complex.

Now decide please, inferiority or superiority complex? American is absolutely NOT-understandable when taught by some Midwest bloke, leaving his premises for the first time ever and starting to teach here. All there's left when those Thais then try to speak that "American" is the accent... and not a single understandable clearly pronounced word. By the way, I have no complexes, I am Belgian and speak, read and write perfectly Dutch, French, German and English. Some Spanish and Thai as well.

[nong38]

Imagine if smart phones, LINE, facebook  and the like only operated in English I think there would be a dramatic uplift peoples ability to learn English

[alex8912]

10 hours ago, Charlie1 said:

Now decide please, inferiority or superiority complex? American is absolutely NOT-understandable when taught by some Midwest bloke, leaving his premises for the first time ever and starting to teach here. All there's left when those Thais then try to speak that "American" is the accent... and not a single understandable clearly pronounced word. By the way, I have no complexes, I am Belgian and speak, read and write perfectly Dutch, French, German and English. Some Spanish and Thai as well.

Midwest has no real accent at all. Maybe you meant Deep South? Very clear English in the Midwest. Do you know people from Ohio , Indiana, Illinois etc?  American English is the vernacular English now. Slang and different new words and phrases are pretty much coming from the states if you like it or not. I don't know any new words or phrases or slang that comes out of England. I wouldn't want to speak the exact same English that my father and grand father spoke. It would be strange. 

[Zyxel]

On 11/4/2017 at 10:10 AM, Grusa said:

Not just tourism, or possibly even tourism, is held back by lack of English, and it's government policy!

 

i remember in Abhisits' time as PM, a bill being presented to parliament to make English the second official language of the country. It was rejected out of hand.

 

I can't think why...?

It was rejected because Suthep Thaugsuban (depute prime minister) said that if English was made second official language then people (the world) would believe that Thailand had been colonized in the past. They are so proud of the contrary despite Siam loosing 25% of its area to the Brits and the French under Chulalongkorn.

[NanLaew]

On 11/4/2017 at 11:38 AM, burgdawg said:

I scolded this hottie for being unprepared. Sorry lads, if it wasn't for their trim bodies and fine features---none of us would be in Thailand.

This 'box of rocks' was in disbelief when I related "...there is no somtam in USA or Canada, unless you make it yourself."

 

She laughed herself silly.

Thailand is a Nation of Children, get used to it.

Reminds me of a story my mate related from when he was a teacher in Thailand several years ago. The head teacher had studied and got her Master's in Melbourne and had lived there for the best part of 2 or 3 years. When presented with a map of the world while exploring some other teaching subject with fellow teachers, she apparently couldn't find Australia and struggled to locate Thailand.

 

I know that the gene that affords us spatial awareness is a bit lacking in most Asian countries and try and make that point if someone is having a Thai-bash based on their lamentable shortcomings but the term 'waste of space' came to mind when I heard this story.

[overherebc]

On 05/11/2017 at 8:28 AM, Keesters said:

Sometimes they just don't want to communicate period. Recently while trying to ask a question in my reasonably good Thai about something I was considering purchasing the only response I could obtain from the seller was a calculator waved under my nose with presumably the purchase price entered on it. I moved on to another stall.

 

 

 

 

That does happen a lot especially on street markets. Thai friend told me that in many cases the seller might be from Laos, Cambodia or even Burma and can't speak Thai.

[brewsterbudgen]

Fortunately it's very easy to live in places like Bangkok and Pattaya with only very basic Thai.

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

[Grusa]

9 hours ago, Zyxel said:

It was rejected because Suthep Thaugsuban (depute prime minister) said that if English was made second official language then people (the world) would believe that Thailand had been colonized in the past. They are so proud of the contrary despite Siam loosing 25% of its area to the Brits and the French under Chulalongkorn.

Well I suppose as a cover for the real reason, it was a very good try.

[nong38]

It has recently come to light that a UFO landed in Thailand, unfortunately as the non of the military or government officials could communicate with the aliens  so the craft took off and landed at a nearby McDonalds where they enjoyed several 1/4 pounders and French Fries.

The craft then flew off to try and make contact with other English speakers  around the world, ending up in a Wetherspoons beer house in Peckham  South London where a good time was had by all.

[Keesters]

21 hours ago, overherebc said:

That does happen a lot especially on street markets. Thai friend told me that in many cases the seller might be from Laos, Cambodia or even Burma and can't speak Thai.

In this case I can tell you most definitely that the seller was Thai. I have yet to find a non Thai seller in Tukcom.

[overherebc]

24 minutes ago, Keesters said:

In this case I can tell you most definitely that the seller was Thai. I have yet to find a non Thai seller in Tukcom.

Deaf mute??