Why do Thais refuse to Learn English?

[gambit]

I know this is their country, but if you income would be greatly increased would've you learned the language of the majority of people you make your money from? You see some bar girls speak just enough to get by but the waitress, hotel employees all speak little to none, I am at August suites and they import Phillipines to work the better jobs and most likely get paid a little better.

About 35% of the worlds official language is English, 90% of the mongers here are from England, Australian, Canadians and Americans. It isn't like you can speak Thai anywhere other then Thailand, so asking tourist to learn it for 2 or 3 weeks a year. If I were to learn another language it would be spanish, if you speak both of those you can get by in most of the world.

If I were a Thai working in a store or restaurant I would be learning English every day, the Mexicans do it, the countries that cater to tourist in S America do it, even the Haitians learn it and if Thailand is considered 3rd world Haiti must be 4th.
It is there income and if I go to a restaurant I will admit if the server speaks English I tip them better.

Rant over.

[Scumbag]

In Pattaya I have always felt that the level of English speaking skills are adequate. Sure some are better than all but I have never had any issues ordering stuff or making enquiries in tourist orient places. If you go out of the way a little things are different but that is what you should expect. I think the problem may be that staff turn over is high and most do not stay around long enough to develop good English skills.

[Loong]

As this forum is about learning Thai language, don't know why you have posted your question here.

whenever I meet a Thai English teacher, more than 95% of the time, I have to speak Thai with them, because their English language skills are so low.

Imagine how difficult it is for Thai people to learn English from teachers that are unable to speak the language themselves. Even the text books contain so many mistakes that it is laughable.

Many Thais want to improve their English language skills, but a competent teacher would cost them maybe a day's wages for 1 hour of tuition. They simply can't afford it.

It is the education system that should be criticised, not the Thais that really want to learn.

[Pattaya_Brian]

A lot of it boils down to their education level. How long did they go to school and what grade did they make it to?

 

English is taught in the schools here,but if a Thai only made it to the 2nd or 3rd grade, they aren't going to have a good grasp of it. Many of  the bargirls have no education at all and the English they know they've taught themselves.

 

There is a kindergarten below my condo and many mornings you hear the kids outside singing the "ABC Song," so the teaching of English starts early.

 

The maitre de at the restaurant I ate in last night spoke excellent English, as did the sales girl that helped me at Home Pro earlier in the day.

 

It's a roll of the dice in many cases.

[andy666]

They do not 'refuse' to speak English!!! Learning a different language is not easy and many of the bargirls or waitresses are not very well educated, that's sometimes one of the reasons they work as bargirls and waitresses. And don't forget, learning a language that is written in an other alphabet is even more difficult!

 

 

 

And Gambit, how many different languages do you speak? Do you have one language besides your own, that you can speak more fluent than the average bargirl speaks English? Everybody should learn to speak perfect English to serve Mister American...... some people and how they think they are important

[sinbad5]

English is an official language in the Philippines so it's no surprise that Filipinos are more proficient than Thais. This is a legacy of being under US control from the Spanish-American till after WW2.

 

For many Thais working in Pattaya, Thai itself is a second language after Isaan dialect.

 

I am constantly amazed at how well people who are non-English speaking natives speak English wherever I go and how hard they make an effort (including on this forum) when I struggle with basic Spanish and a smattering of other languages, in addition to English.

 

They try a lot harder than we do. I've travelled to about 40 countries in the world though and I've found that learning "hello", "please" and "thankyou" and a few numbers, together with a smile and hand signals never ever fail.

 

In fact, one of the remarkable things about my travels is that in every bus, train, boat, taxi, tuk-tuk, motocy, rickshaw, cyclo ride I've ever taken, a smile has never failed to get where I want to go. Never. Nor to get a room or an extra towel. One of the keys is "patience".

 

But also "point and smile" do charades, enjoy and remember you're a guest in their country and treat the challenge of communication as a light-hearted part of the travel experience.

 

I remember one time I was in an Internet café in Tangier and this older American guy came out of the toilet going "do you have any toilet paper?" but he was being really ogre-ish and aggro about it. And the guys at the café sort of blanked him. Quite possibly because he was coming on too strong and aggressive. He started yelling "Papel! Papel!" which is "paper" in Spanish. He was really getting overheated. "You call yourselves a European country!" he said with disgust. 

 

Eventually he stormed out and the entire Internet café collapsed in laughter. If only he hadn't of made such a cunt of himself.

[kansuwan]

Khun Gambit might consider improving his own command of English grammar and spelling - not just the odd typo - before criticising others.

[brewster]

Khun Gambit might consider improving his own command of English grammar and spelling - not just the odd typo - before criticising others.

 

Nice one.  I'm generally impressed by the overall standard of English in tourist resorts like Pattaya, Phuket etc. and from girls working in bars in Bangkok.   Thais in general might be better off learning Mandarin anyway.

[Taeng Mo]

A very interesting topic.

They say "English is the Language of Business", so, it raises the point of settling on a global standard.

There have been a number of stories in the media, suggesting that Thais are losing employment due to the fact that they are amongst the worst performing Nations in their ability to learn to speak good English.

In China, folks are learning English in an attempt to converse, Globally, so why would the Thais, or anyone else change horses mid stream and learn Mandarin?

 

Regardless of Economic Fortunes, there must be a standard adopted.

In that regard, South Americans might say it should be Spanish. Certain South Americans, that is.

 

So, I think the standard is and has been for a long time, English.

There is a raft of infrastructure, training etc. set up to teach it and I'm sure the Sandal Wearing Hippies (sic.) would like to keep it this way.

 

So we don't have to muck about with tossing out all the rules when Brazil comes knocking on your door, expecting you to learn Portuguese.

[padfoot]

I think in most of the tourist areas of Thailand English is spoken. I do not expect them to be fluent English speakers. It is unrealistic to expect someone who may have never been to high school to be fluent in a foreign language. I also don't believe there are to many Thais working in the tourist trade who refuse to learn English. 

[Scumbag]

There have been a number of stories in the media, suggesting that Thais are losing employment due to the fact that they are amongst the worst performing Nations in their ability to learn to speak good English.

In China, folks are learning English in an attempt to converse, Globally, so why would the Thais, or anyone else change horses mid stream and learn Mandarin?

Have you been to China? Even in areas where there are lots of foreigners very few speak English. This is even true it hotels that cater to foreigners (many times when I ask for tea I get coffee...lol). 10 metres of a well beaten path you can forget about finding someone who speaks English.

 

Why would the Thais fall over themselves to learn English anyway. Most of their tourists come from Asia. Their number one European visitors come from Russia.

 

I realise you point is more aimed at business but this thread is about the tourism sector.

[THAJEC]

I do not think the Thai people should not attempt to learn English. It also depends on what kind of work they do and whether English they need for the job. Bar girl really can get by with only basic English.
Likewise, can I ask you, why do not you learn Thai? Yes I understand that English is the world language, which does not mean that it is necessarily everyone had to learn at a high level.

I've never had a problem in public places in Thailand speak English, which does not mean that Thais speak well, because my English is also just a basic level.

 

 

[rainman333]

sex it the universal language

it's not like you are going to say, no thanks, you are a pretty hot 18 year old, but since you can't speak english i'll pass on fucking you tonight

[Taeng Mo]

Have you been to China? Even in areas where there are lots of foreigners very few speak English. This is even true it hotels that cater to foreigners (many times when I ask for tea I get coffee...lol). 10 metres of a well beaten path you can forget about finding someone who speaks English.

 

Why would the Thais fall over themselves to learn English anyway. Most of their tourists come from Asia. Their number one European visitors come from Russia.

 

I realise you point is more aimed at business but this thread is about the tourism sector.

Like I said, though didn't fully elude, the Tourism sector would likely change with the changing economic fortunes of the World. So the Thais would have to learn to speak Russian/ Hindi this year and Spanish the next AND Portuguese the next.

Might be good for them, if it didn't fully head f*ck them.

[apter]

It can't be easy for Thais learning a language with a completely different alphabet and set of sounds. I found it extremely difficult to learn Russian despite working in Moscow for years but found it very easy to learn Romanian. Romanian being a latin based alphabet was much easier for me to associate sounds with words.

 

I'm facing the same difficulty with Thai. I can't make an association between what I see and what I'm supposed to vocalise and that makes it tough. I would imagine the inverse would be equally difficult.

[Taeng Mo]

I do not think the Thai people should not attempt to learn English. It also depends on what kind of work they do and whether English they need for the job. Bar girl really can get by with only basic English.

Likewise, can I ask you, why do not you learn Thai? Yes I understand that English is the world language, which does not mean that it is necessarily everyone had to learn at a high level.

I've never had a problem in public places in Thailand speak English, which does not mean that Thais speak well, because my English is also just a basic level.

Yeah, well, then lets exclude them from any economic advancement.

Given that English, especially in Europe, is widely accepted as the language of Business.

So, therefore, your ability to speak a certain standard of English will, ultimately, have a bearing on your economic advancement, Sorry to say, but that is and has been the reality in Asia and Europe.

 

To answer your other question, I enrolled in a Thai Language Course and can speak Thai.

Though, certainly not up to the standard I would like to. I figure, if anyone is going to live in this country, the least they can do is learn their host county's language.

[Taeng Mo]

Have you been to China? Even in areas where there are lots of foreigners very few speak English. This is even true it hotels that cater to foreigners (many times when I ask for tea I get coffee...lol). 10 metres of a well beaten path you can forget about finding someone who speaks English.

 

Why would the Thais fall over themselves to learn English anyway. Most of their tourists come from Asia. Their number one European visitors come from Russia.

 

I realise you point is more aimed at business but this thread is about the tourism sector.

Sorry, second quote

Yeah, have been to China

It reminded me a lot of Hong Kong. In the early days. Though the level of English spoken in HK is far better now.

Far less business friendly than Singapore, which was a direct consequence of the "Speak Better English" campaign that ran there.

Singapore was able to run streets ahead of any other SE Asian economy, on their own, by virtue of this programme.

To this day, they have a better standard of living, overall, for the average Citizen, than Hong Kong or anywhere else in SE Asia and, as I say, they did it on their own, after being kicked out of Malaysia, which they soon left behind. There was no hand over.

[THAJEC]

Yeah, well, then lets exclude them from any economic advancement.

Given that English, especially in Europe, is widely accepted as the language of Business.

So, therefore, your ability to speak a certain standard of English will, ultimately, have a bearing on your economic advancement, Sorry to say, but that is and has been the reality in Asia and Europe.

 

To answer your other question, I enrolled in a Thai Language Course and can speak Thai.

Though, certainly not up to the standard I would like to. I figure, if anyone is going to live in this country, the least they can do is learn their host county's language.

You could then also say that if you learn Spanish, Chinese and Russian, it will be excluded from economic development and entrepreneurship. I'm sorry, but it is quite absurd. Perhaps you've wondered how the populations it is important to know Russian, Chinese and Spanish. They are increasingly used business languages​​. That does not change the things that English is also important, but ..

Congratulations to log into the course Thai. "How can you foreign languages, as many times as you man!"

 

 

[Daddee]

how's your Thai, OP?

 

mine sucks... I am more interested in learning Thai than complaining about Thai people learning English.

 

Most Americans only speak English, many Thais speak two languages already, Thai and Lao, and the ones I come in contact with as a sex tourist all seem to be learning English as best as they can...  My hat's off to them...

 

I would NEVER whine about someone in a foreign country not speaking my language...

 

Kind of like the typical "ugly American" to do so, IMO.  

[Taeng Mo]

You could then also say that if you learn Spanish, Chinese and Russian, it will be excluded from economic development and entrepreneurship. I'm sorry, but it is quite absurd. Perhaps you've wondered how the populations it is important to know Russian, Chinese and Spanish. They are increasingly used business languages​​. That does not change the things that English is also important, but ..

Congratulations to log into the course Thai. "How can you foreign languages, as many times as you man!"

Yes, but you still need a Standard Language.

Forget all the business about where it came from. It's not about one group getting ahead of the other, because if they all speak the same language, then NO group can use linguistics to promote their own self interests.

It is, indeed, unfortunate that Native English Speakers, such as myself, get to ride the wagon and only need to learn one language and, I think, that is to the detriment of every Native English Speaker.

But isn't that the same for whomever you choose?

[bdw]

Khun Gambit might consider improving his own command of English grammar and spelling - not just the odd typo - before criticising others.

 

I agree.

[andy666]

Khun Gambit might consider improving his own command of English grammar and spelling - not just the odd typo - before criticising others.

 For somebody who complains about the Thai working class's English skills this is hilarious!

[bigbill340]

how's your Thai, OP?

 

mine sucks... I am more interested in learning Thai than complaining about Thai people learning English.

 

Most Americans only speak English, many Thais speak two languages already, Thai and Lao, and the ones I come in contact with as a sex tourist all seem to be learning English as best as they can...  My hat's off to them...

 

I would NEVER whine about someone in a foreign country not speaking my language...

 

Kind of like the typical "ugly American" to do so, IMO.  

 

 

Well said my friend!

 

 

Bill

[tourasia]

I know this is their country, but if you income would be greatly increased would've you learned the language of the majority of people you make your money from? You see some bar girls speak just enough to get by but the waitress, hotel employees all speak little to none, I am at August suites and they import Phillipines to work the better jobs and most likely get paid a little better.

About 35% of the worlds official language is English, 90% of the mongers here are from England, Australian, Canadians and Americans. It isn't like you can speak Thai anywhere other then Thailand, so asking tourist to learn it for 2 or 3 weeks a year. If I were to learn another language it would be spanish, if you speak both of those you can get by in most of the world.

If I were a Thai working in a store or restaurant I would be learning English every day, the Mexicans do it, the countries that cater to tourist in S America do it, even the Haitians learn it and if Thailand is considered 3rd world Haiti must be 4th.

It is there income and if I go to a restaurant I will admit if the server speaks English I tip them better.

 

Rant over.

Rant! That's good coming from an American, we gave you a perfectly good English language and look how you have fucked that up?         

[Taeng Mo]

I give up