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Why are you making us study English at a Thai university? complain students


webfact

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44 minutes ago, mikebell said:

Why bother learning anything?  I still haven't found a use for Quadratic Equations.

 

Quadratic Equations (QE) eh!!!

 

Well, up here in the wilds, everyone knows about a QE. It is very useful when they measure their land and work out how much they have to pay the tractor driver for chomping up their soil.

 

i'll not go into too much detail but when they are pacing out the land, and they come to a pond, this can lead to a QE.

 

But, I do get your point mikebell. In fact, David Icke even questions why we should want to know the 'value of x' in the first place.

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2 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Quadratic Equations (QE) eh!!!

 

Well, up here in the wilds, everyone knows about a QE. It is very useful when they measure their land and work out how much they have to pay the tractor driver for chomping up their soil.

 

i'll not go into too much detail but when they are pacing out the land, and they come to a pond, this can lead to a QE.

 

But, I do get your point mikebell. In fact, David Icke even questions why we should want to know the 'value of x' in the first place.

In David Icke's opinion, 'x' is probably something sinister from that planet where he thinks all those imaginary creatures live, trying to take over earth.

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3 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

But, I do get your point mikebell. In fact, David Icke even questions why we should want to know the 'value of x' in the first place.

Good point there Owl .. ThermoNuclear fusion we learned at school was never something I had to call upon in my job as a truck mechanic .. 

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40 minutes ago, James Powell said:

I am seeing some farang in here complaining about the student laziness to learn 550 words, but I ask them, "Do you know that many Thail words?"  If one lives in a country, that is pretty minimal also.  "When one lives in a glass house, one should not throw stones."  I hear that too often "speaks little English" from farang who can say little more than "sawat di krap".  I think we ALL  need to focus more on learning languages and less time complaining about others' learning of languages.

True, to a point.
Many of us are older, and learning simply does not come that easily.
Also many of us here have already worked for forty plus years, and have learned other languages, especially if college educated.
I would be happy to attend Thai language courses, if I could drive to get to one. No BTS service where I live. ????
As I stated in another post, Thai is not part of farang curricula. English IS a part of most Thai early education.
If these students arrive at the University level without the requisite 550 words of English after twelve years of instruction, then something is grossly amiss.

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1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

My son (in M1) had to ask me about 'LED'  'laser' and 'infra red' and what the words meant, despite learning to use them in a Thai language environment.

A hard question IMHO :mellow:

I would bet that even most Native English Speakers ignore what LED and LASER mean. :ermm:

Do you know yourself?

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

LED: Light-Emitting Diode

LASER: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

 

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1 hour ago, Chippy151 said:

They may not win the case but they should at least get a medal of honor from the government.

 

I was thinking that perhaps these students and their families had been listening to the PM telling the world that the Thai language is going to become an important language on the international scene.  And maybe they were actually dumb enough to believe him!

 

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/prayuth-thai-will-become-world-language/

 

 

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46 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

If you want to be a commercial pilot, for example, you must know English

Not if you work for Thai Air Asia....

 

why don't they just give them the university degree? It's no fair to let them sweat for it, those students sure have better things to do..

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8 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

Good point there Owl .. ThermoNuclear fusion we learned at school was never something I had to call upon in my job as a truck mechanic .. 

who needs schooling?... Image result for georgie dr tyre hugging to become a doctor 

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1 hour ago, Bill Miller said:

A small hint of irony here, but then again Thai was not part of the curricula for us. ????
I am struggling to increase my vocabulary of perhaps 100 Thai words, with a 64+ year old damaged brain (stroke). These kids are complaining about learning 550 words of English? Shoot, could probably pick that much up from the television.
If you want to be a commercial pilot, for example, you must know English.
This degree of laziness really does make me nuts.
Seven years of Latin and four of French up through Secondary level. No, I cannot use them with ease now, but found out last March that, put me in France, within a couple of days I am asking directions, ordering food, etc.
And I was not an especially good student. ????

It is, in fact one of my regrets regarding my education that I never learned a foreign language. So I now have 'mind set' that continuously tells me I'm incapable of doing so.

 

I've tried Greek, Arabic and Chinese, all to no avail. And now I often feel embarrassed when I'm forced to admit that I've lived in Thailand for 5 years and still cannot use the language.

 

It didn't stop me pursuing a successful career in technology where English vital, so I would say to the kids, whom I assume have their sights in a similar field,  'Cram English as much as you can. You won't regret it'.

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3 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

Good point there Owl .. ThermoNuclear fusion we learned at school was never something I had to call upon in my job as a truck mechanic .. 

I get where you're coming from Justgrazing. I agree to a point.

 

In my case, I was a disciple of Apollonius. At Uni, although others thought that the alcohol content of the local beer was more important.

 

Later I realised that Apollonius's theorem and Bernoulli's theorems were beautiful.

 

I did gain some fame, although not fortune, for a formula for establishing the area of a circle without using pie (anyone wishing to know the formula PM me).

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50 minutes ago, James Powell said:

I am seeing some farang in here complaining about the student laziness to learn 550 words, but I ask them, "Do you know that many Thail words?"  If one lives in a country, that is pretty minimal also.  "When one lives in a glass house, one should not throw stones."  I hear that too often "speaks little English" from farang who can say little more than "sawat di krap".  I think we ALL  need to focus more on learning languages and less time complaining about others' learning of languages.

Not really the same,many foreigners here are of age,not easy to learn a foreign language anymore.

If you are a so called'advanced student' and you do not see the point of learning english you have missed the boat already!!

It is most likely like some one mentioned already ,university keeps them occupied so they can graduate with honors and go right to to the top of management.

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1 hour ago, webfact said:

A group of Thai university students and parents have complained to a leading Thai university that it is unfair to make them study English to enroll.

 

They have said that they were required to learn up to 550 words in English. If they didn't pass a test they couldn't enroll at the university. 

 

The group complaining at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna accepted that English was important but it should not be a requirement to study Thai courses. 

 

They called for justice and appealed to be allowed to register for courses without the requirement of passing the English test saying that this was damaging their education and spoiling their chances of joining the job market.

 

The case has rumbled on for years amid claims that the English course is a money-spinner for the university and not part of the established curriculum. 

In latest news, Rajamangala University has admitted that it made a mistake asking the students to pass an exam in a foreign language, as speaking, or even understanding English, is considered an altogether 'foreign concept' in Thailand.

 

However, following the university's deep apology for the misunderstanding, in a widely-publicised ceremony two weeks ago, students went onto the barricades once more, complaining that they had to actually study and pass exams! They argued that the university, as it was common 'in the old days', could just give the students their diplomas for a financial obolus, at a graduation ceremony with ample photo opportunities.

 

 

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14 minutes ago, KiChakayan said:

It does, in that you restrict the requirement to one profession. What we need is a language that enables all humans to communicate and exchange with each other. 

But no worries mate, if we disagree.

Good example right here, in that I said "for example". That in no way restricts the topic to the single profession.
I am not criticizing you, though I am critiquing your statement. ☺️
An indicator that even well accomplished speakers of a language, any language, are not going to be 100% proficient. 
I still find myself making grammatical corrections even as a graduate level user of English.
I regularly find senior politicians, professional journalists, etc., etc,. making errors which get passed by editorial review.
I am particularly sensitive about it today as I had a row with my Thai girlfriend yesterday due to some language misunderstanding, and she paid hard earned money to be "taught" English. I am still not sure whether to laugh or cry every time she says "Open fire" for "turn on the light".  Previous military experience makes that one particularly noticeable.???? 
These college age kids have no merit in their complaint, in my opinion. Such an attitude is responsible for a global "dumbing down", even as technology continues to advance.

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19 minutes ago, Youlike said:

Not if you work for Thai Air Asia....

 

why don't they just give them the university degree? It's no fair to let them sweat for it, those students sure have better things to do..

If Thai Air Asia has routes outside of Thailand, which they do, then by international agreement they must know English.

"The International Civil Aviation Organisation has decreed that from 1 January 2008 all Air Traffic Controllers and Flight Crew Members engaged in or in contact with international flights must be proficient in the English language as a general spoken medium and not simply have a proficiency in standard ICAO Radio ..."

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37 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

In David Icke's opinion, 'x' is probably something sinister from that planet where he thinks all those imaginary creatures live, trying to take over earth.

I here you bluesofa. David Icke has had a 'bad press' at times and people tend to remember when he was ridiculed rather than standing ovations by tens of thousands.

 

I ask you bluesofa to watch;

 

 

in my opinion, the best podcast he has ever done.

 

You might be a fan anyway, but not yet 'come out'.

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6 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

I here you bluesofa. David Icke has had a 'bad press' at times and people tend to remember when he was ridiculed rather than standing ovations by tens of thousands.

 

I ask you bluesofa to watch;

 

 

in my opinion, the best podcast he has ever done.

 

You might be a fan anyway, but not yet 'come out'.

 maybe, just maybe, a different podcast could be picked to express your point!

 

 i.e.  -  one that talks about aliens! might just be a better choice than this one, 

which has main focus on 'subjects' that cannot be talked about here, in toto...

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53 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

And is this the beginning of the end for Thailand's world domination ( self awarded ) of Scrabble .. 

Australia won the World Cup of Scrabble. Thailand were fifth. They have not awarded themselves anything but it is a known fact that Thailand leads the way in Scrabble especially among youth along with nations like Pakistan who have won all the main youth titles recently. To the Thais I know they would memorize 550 words before lunch. 

 

Personally, I see the side of the complainants here who would rather not see English as a prerequisite to do a technology course in Thai that would by its nature contain English anyway. Most people on here - amid the usual imperialistic pith helmet Thai bashing - are missing the point that the uni is essentially being charged with ripping people off for English courses and it has been going on for many years. The students don't have a beef with English per se, they just want to be able to enroll without having to pass an English exam first. 

 

Rooster

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1 hour ago, James Powell said:

I am seeing some farang in here complaining about the student laziness to learn 550 words, but I ask them, "Do you know that many Thail words?"  If one lives in a country, that is pretty minimal also.  "When one lives in a glass house, one should not throw stones."  I hear that too often "speaks little English" from farang who can say little more than "sawat di krap".  I think we ALL  need to focus more on learning languages and less time complaining about others' learning of languages.

Totally classic.

 

The utter stupidity of a Thai deflectionist.

 

I have every confidence in Thai airlines..

 

At least I know the pilots can ask in English-"Where can I buy somtam?"

 

and.."What-the Buddha-does that button do?"

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31 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

If Thai Air Asia has routes outside of Thailand, which they do, then by international agreement they must know English.

Those pilots do fly outside of Thailand but i can't understand a word of their ënglish.....But who cares, they only fly large planes full of passengers above metropoles....

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25 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

Remarkable isn't it,  some of the best English speakers are bar girls. Why?  Because it helps them to make an income. 

Hello welcome ????

Well it certainly isn't because the average English-speaking bar goer can speak more than three words of Thai or any other language for that matter.

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2 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Dont these university students realise that once they graduate their knowledge of English will be vital for getting that job in 7/11?

The girls working in the service industry in Thailand and using some/any form of English have shown more application re learning a foreign language than most of the wise guys in this thread above. 

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3 hours ago, darksidedog said:

You have to say that if they are incapable of learning 550 words of English that they are too stupid to be going to university anyway. They should go straight into the job market cleaning toilets or sweeping the street, tasks commensurate with their intellect.

Do you know 550 THAI words or care or want to since your in Thailand? I think the kids are right and my daughter graduated from that University eith an English degree.

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