Thailand falls in global English Proficiency Index for fourth consecutive year

[OneeyedJohn]

"lowely"  very good , close but not correct, 9 out of 10

[cmarshall]

37 minutes ago, Scot123 said:

I just deleted what I wrote as it's a waste. Never has a junta/military government ever in the world produced prosperity in a country, never. 2006 was the start of the demise I witnessed in education.

The dictator General Park Chung-hee raised South Korea from a country poorer than Thailand in 1960 to a rich country.

[NeoDinosaw]

2 hours ago, JusticeGB said:

If Thailand remains closed to farang tourists then bar girls will forget the little English that they know and the ratings will fall further ????

Does Education First send its staff out to test Thai bar-girls ?

[cmarshall]

Unless you are a racist, it should be apparent that the poor Thai performance in English is not a result of the individual failings of Thai students.  If a whole population shows some characteristic it must be the result of a system effect, just as the frequent traffic jams in Bangkok are not due to the poor skills of Thai drivers, but the design of the road system.  In particular, roads in Bangkok make up only about 13% of the surface area of the city by comparison with New York and Tokyo whose roads occupy 22% to 28% of the total surface area.

 

The reason that Thais don't learn English well is that Thai companies are not oriented toward exports, unlike South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, for example.  The reason Thai companies are not oriented toward exports is that the Thai economy is dominated by monopolies and duopolies controlled by a small number of rich families who are content to extract rents from the Thai economy, rather than face brutal competition in international markets.  That is the reason that here are no Thai brands that have global recognition and no world-famous Thai products like Japanese autos or Korean flat screens.  

Edited November 25, 2020 by cmarshall

[Artisi]

1 hour ago, johng said:

Don't forget that the  "Democratic soldier"  ????

said Thai would  become the de-facto world language  so of course no need to learn English ???? 

Yeah, he had his fingers crossed behind his back, and if he didn't - he should have had ????

[NeoDinosaw]

1 hour ago, pattayadude said:

. You can debate these until the cows come back. 

   until the cows come home   !    I guess you are not a Brit

[Robin]

""Education First described the “very low proficiency” ranking as those countries which can introduce oneself simply (name, age, country /regions of origin), understand simple signs and give basic directions to a foreign visitor."

 

This seem a very high standard, far higher than most Thais can manage.  "Hey You" is the best that most seem to aspire to.

[BEngBKK]

Why speak English. 
We are Thai and only need ourself. (And the technology other invent)

[PatOngo]

Wy dey say li dat? We welly goos, wun, tu tee, por, fi, sic, sewen, ek, ni, ten....see!

[DavisH]

2 hours ago, AlfHuy said:

Soon, no more English spoken but at school, they will be obliged to learn Mandarine to better understand their brothers and sisters.

Thais are worse at Mandarin than English, as I have foudn in my school. They much prefer to learn English. Well, it IS an english program lol. And most prefer their english classes to Thai language classes. 

[DavisH]

1 hour ago, Robin said:

""Education First described the “very low proficiency” ranking as those countries which can introduce oneself simply (name, age, country /regions of origin), understand simple signs and give basic directions to a foreign visitor."

 

This seem a very high standard, far higher than most Thais can manage.  "Hey You" is the best that most seem to aspire to.

Similar to the average farang proficiency in Thai then.

[cmarshall]

1 minute ago, DavisH said:

Similar to the average farang proficiency in Thai then.

Much higher.

[DrMJA]

3 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

I spend 25% of my working time teaching, the rest is activities, administration and testing. Testing every week, quarter, mid-term, and semester. And very important to make sure that each student has at least a 60% score. No surprise these results.

Absolutely 100% agree!Absolutely 100% agree!

Let’s not forget the hiring of the NNE, because they cost less and are ... well Near Native English(?) 

 

[ravip]

2 hours ago, pattayadude said:

some questions never have an answer just like "the chicken or the egg first?" debate.

is english more important language or Thai and why. You can debate these until the cows come back. Its political and very controversial

Live and let live...

'I am the best' attitude is disgusting... to put it mildly.

[ravip]

2 hours ago, johng said:

 

Thai is spoken in Thailand   English is the  worldwide language of business,communications,technology,medicine, aviation etc etc etc

Let's just try to narrow it down a little bit...

How's the Thai proficiency in the aliens living in Thailand for decades (most married to Thai spouses?

(I've read some where where aliens even said "i don't care about the local people, language, etc., living in Thailand!)

[Brad88]

3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

t all begins with interest of the world outside, which is lacking. The incentive is 0.

This raises another ability, intercultural competence, that would be worth investigating on a Global Proficiency Index. Developing foreign language competence is one aspect of intercultural competence, of course. But also uncovering the other knowledge, attitudinal, and skill dimensions that connect to intercultural competence would be illuminating, as well. According to several models, attitude is the starting point for intercultural competence and this includes attitudes of openness, curiosity, and respect for cultural differences. From this perspective, where might Thailand rank?

[Misterwhisper]

If you comprehend what "my friend you" actually means, your command of English is perfectly adequate for living here.

 

And if you even master "no pombem" and "daak ling", you'll be well on your way to becoming native.

[BangkokReady]

5 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Interesting that it has been falling for the last four years. Wasn't it about 5 years ago when immigration had a crackdown that scared lots of teachers into moving elsewhere to work?

I think I remember hearing about that.  Vietnam has been a rising star in the TEFL world in the last few years as well.  It means that Thailand basically only has foreign teachers (at least in government schools) that have no other choice.

 

5 hours ago, darksidedog said:

One day they will need to bite the bullet and admit that if they want to be able to learn the language, they need someone who can actually speak it properly to do the teaching. I am yet to meet a Thai Government school "English" teacher who could actually string a sentence together intelligibly.

Sadly a very unlikely prospect.  I'm pretty sure there are many people in Thailand (especially the older generations) who are furious that Thailand even needs to have foreign people here teaching anything.  Maybe this will change when the current generation of students grow up, but you're talking 10-20 years until they're in the majority.

 

Terrible pay, poor working conditions, no ability to settle down or build a life here, and the same rights as a fresh off the boat tourist.  Not super attractive.

[Keesters]

Back in the 80s when I was trying to decide between Thailand and Philippines for my new home I chose Thailand because English was less well known there and I wanted to learn a new language. Keep going the way you are Thailand, I made the right choice. You don't need English to plant & harvest rice. 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Keesters

[RichardColeman]

Course not - they are concentrating on the Thai language as the illustrious PM said it would be the number one language spoken in the world one day

[mike1967]

14 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Not surprised, they are not really interested outside the tourist areas.

 

They should hire a lot of English teachers, a lot, and somebody that really can speak English and not the English teacher I spoke to in SiSaket many years ago, I didn't understand one word she was saying (Thai) and I felt sorry for her and her students. 

 

Singapore is doing very well in this regard.

 

 

Singapore, that speaks English, is doing well teaching English? I must be missing something.

Edited November 25, 2020 by mike1967
Spelling error

[rupert the bear]

my friend you same same cheap charlie.yes prime minister ill pass that along to washington

[soi3eddie]

 

Will General Prayut or his education minister be making a statement on this and what they will be doing to improve Thailand's English language ability? In this competitive global economy do they see English language skills as important for the prosperity of Thailand and it's citizens?

 

I was not surprised to see Vietnam above Thailand in the rankings however didn't expect to Cambodia doing better than Thailand! I was curious to see Myanmar's ranking and only expect that to improve further over coming years and would not be surprised if it soon surpasses Thailand too. The will in Myanmar to learn English is impressive, 20 years ago I was travelling in a remote northern Myanmar town and encountered a group of teenagers who had set up their own English class. They studied English books and listened to the BBC world service every day to enhance their understanding of the language. They asked me to come and talk with them at their "school" and to drink tea and engage in conversation with them next day. I was in Yangon and Dawei in February this year and was very impressed by the levels of spoken English.

 

[teacherclaire]

This can't be true. 

 

 

[teacherclaire]

15 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

I spend 25% of my working time teaching, the rest is activities, administration and testing. Testing every week, quarter, mid-term, and semester. And very important to make sure that each student has at least a 60% score. No surprise these results.

   No need to attend English class; they can't fail. 

No lost faces, no problem. Mai Phen Rai. 

[Natai Beach]

14 hours ago, Traubert said:

Hows the Thai proficency in the Western world?

a funny thread.

 

A whole bunch of farangs who have lived here for years who cant string a simple sentence together, complaining about Thais who have never been and have no interest in going to England and not being able to speak English.
 

And the endless advice on what the Thais should do without seeing the irony. ????
 

Much more useful for an expat to be able to speak the language where he lives than for Thais to speak a language they will never use. But it easier for them to complain on a forum than actually bothering to learn even basic polite Thai.
 

[ChipButty]

Rather than having a go at Thai's not speaking English in their own country we should be talking about farangs living in Thailand not speaking Thai, I know a guy who has been here 17 years the amount of Thai he knows you could put it on the back of a postage stamp,

Many I know have Thai families and still dont speak Thai, How lazy is that?

Edited November 26, 2020 by ChipButty

[teacherclaire]

21 minutes ago, Natai Beach said:

a funny thread.

 

A whole bunch of farangs who have lived here for years who cant string a simple sentence together, complaining about Thais who have never been and have no interest in going to England and not being able to speak English.
 

And the endless advice on what the Thais should do without seeing the irony. ????
 

Much more useful for an expat to be able to speak the language where he lives than for Thais to speak a language they will never use. But it easier for them to complain on a forum than actually bothering to learn even basic polite Thai.
 

complaining about Thais who have never been and have no interest in going to England and not being able to speak English.

 

 

Why would somebody want to go to England? 

 

  To understand binge drinking, or how to drink beer out of a plastic cup?

Or perhaps because they can't give their customers glasses ,or bottles because they'd hit each other with them?

 

 BTW, there are plenty of other English speaking countries.

 

It's a hoax that England "owns "the language English. 

  

[ChipButty]

Plenty of people in England cant speak English

[Natai Beach]

18 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Rather than having a go at Thai's not speaking English in their own country we should be talking about farangs living in Thailand not speaking Thai, I know a guy who has been here 17 years the amount of Thai he knows you could put it on the back of a postage stamp,

Many I know have Thai families and still dont speak Thai, How lazy is that?

I was at homepro last week in the loading bay. I saw a English bloke waving his hands around at a couple of confused Thais. He wanted a piece of rope, but was unable to ask for it making himself frustrated and being mildly rude to the staff. 
In two seconds I politely asked them for some rope. 
 

While we were waiting he started going on about how stupid they are and he had been living here for 8 years. I said to him if they were good at foreign languages they wouldn’t be working at homepro for 10,000 a month. I don’t think it had ever occurred to him.