Why do Thais refuse to Learn English?

[brewster]

Well

That, indeed, is my point.

If we want to see Thailand continue its road as one of the worst performing S.E. Countries in the region, then lets. happily, continue down this road. Meanwhile, Countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong have already surpassed you.

And shown Economic Benefits from the ability to Speak Good English, I think, no-one can deny.

So, given the past debate re the decision on a Standard.

Which would you advocate?

 

Singapore and Hong Kong were English colonies, so it's hardly surprising that the level of English is higher.  Thailand's doing OK, and as I said earlier in the thread, more tourists are arriving from China and other Asian countries these days, so if anything English is probably declining in importance, particularly for tourism.

 

Hopefully, I'll still in be in a job though.

[Taeng Mo]

I was under the impression that Thailand had the second largest economy in South East Asia (after Indonesia, which has a population of 250 million).

In the ability to Speak Good English

Again, read the thread.

To move forward.

[sinbad5]

In the ability to Speak Good English

Again, read the thread.

To move forward.

 

You sound like Thajec.

[fasteddie]

It is kind of arrogant to come to Thailand and complain about any Thai's English language skills, especially since it's rare to find an American who can speak any second language fluently. Not true anywhere else, including Thailand. I'm embarrassed sometimes to be an American and amazed how many people here make the effort to learn English with a completely different alphabet, unfamiliar tones, peculiar rules and odd conjugations.

[wengweng]

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.

i have to agree, never had any trouble with the language barrier their

English is a damn sight better than my Thai, now of course they have the Russian lingo to learn as well!!! 

[THAJEC]

You sound like Thajec.

Are you talking about me? Thajec as my nick name, or a member of the Thai nation.   It's an honor, or conversely poor showing.

[Daddee]

It is kind of arrogant to come to Thailand and complain about any Thai's English language skills, especially since it's rare to find an American who can speak any second language fluently. Not true anywhere else, including Thailand. I'm embarrassed sometimes to be an American and amazed how many people here make the effort to learn English with a completely different alphabet, unfamiliar tones, peculiar rules and odd conjugations.

exactly...

 

+1

[casinoclub]

Sorry, Bloke

But I humbly think it has everything to do with the original policies and LKY is, indeed the "Father of Singapore".

Sorry my friend. I was being very sarcastic about your original comment here (this one below):

 

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.

You make it sound like the only reason Singapore is so much better off then Hong Kong and other Asian countries is by the virtue of this one program (your words). I would submit that Hong Kong under British rule speaks quiet a bit of English. And so does Philippine.

[casinoclub]

I would have thought Spanish.

 

Yeah, ok to tout Mandarin, by sheer volume, but there is a bigger pompem.

 

Mandarin is not easily communicable, in paperwork, as it uses picture characters.

There are hundreds of them.

So, not only is spoken English the language of Business, but, perhaps more importantly, the WRITTEN language of Business.

The grammar is complicated, but you need this arsenal to be able to nail down WTF you are on about - definitively, for things like contractual obligation etc.

 

English has 13 tenses, Thai has 3 plus a number of adjuncts to get out what you want to say.

Which makes for a very wordy communication.

 

Mandarin has no tenses, but again you need to gab on about before or after now.

Plus the character issue.

I do NOT disagree with you that for business purpose, English is the primary language. However, the world is a very dynamic place. And someone forgot to tell the Chinese that English is the language of business. And being 2nd biggest economy of the world and national pride on the line, they will be throwing their weight around a bit in the future.

 

I have had the good fortune to live in Asia for 12 some years and in that time, I've picked up Mandarin (both spoken and written) and am very fluent to a point that I speak with a local accent. Actually I have also picked up some Cantonese and a fair bit of another local dialect while living there.

 

I've recently done some business in China and I can guarantee you that NONE of it was conducted in English. From talking with the business partners, bank, government officials, and etc. And my Mandarin skill came in very handy. That's not to say I didn't have some help from a friend who lived in China that help with some of the more advanced business vocabulary in Chinese / Mandarin.

[rpbc]

If it hadn't been for bad weather in 1588, everybody might be speaking Spanish.

At the rate things are going, they would be better off learning Rooshun.

[sinbad5]

Are you talking about me? Thajec as my nick name, or a member of the Thai nation.   It's an honor, or conversely poor showing.

It's a compliment. Like many I am a huge fan of your delightfully Yoda-like contributions!

[surinrob]

The idea that English should be taught or spoken by Thais is looked upon as an insult to the vast brainwashed majority here in Thailand.  This is directly connected to their thinking that they've never been controlled by outsiders. They've never had another country like the surrounding countries Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam have..albeit for the betterment of those countries.  There's no other colonial influence here and for some narrow minded view are very proud of that fact.  However, if it was for Allied Western troops during WW11 they'd be speaking Japanese.

Most Thais are not taught this or are aware that it was that close.

I read recently that they are actually 43rd on a survey of 44 countries that  are proficient in the international language..I think Libya was last.

When ASEAN Community Region opens up in a year or so, they're going to have to catch up quick or miss out with this attitude.

[alphonehan]

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.  

+1

[onetosix]

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!!  Personally I find learning languages a lot of fun. While English is my native tongue, when I lived in Germany I learned to speak German, when living in the Dominican Republic and Colombia and Ecuador I learned to speak Spanish. Now I live in Thailand and am learning to speak Thai. If one is going to live in someone else's country it seems only courteous to make some attempt to learn their language at least a little bit. I notice that the vast majority of expats here speak VERY little to no Thai at all. A few have learned to speak moderately to very well but the numbers are miniscule. Thai is more challenging than the western languages that use the romance language letters and alphabet as their base. Learning the Thai alphabet and pronounciations are very different but fun if one puts their mind to it.

 

It really amazes me how many Thais speak at least a little English when one realizes how meager their education in general has been. I think it's pretty cool that a girl from an Isaan rice farm comes to Pattaya and learns enough English to communicate at least on a very basic level. I say "good for them"!! Of course it is in their financial interest to do so, but still I give them a lot of credit when most expats come here from much more wealthy and priviledged and educated countries and don't make any effort or know shit about Thai. What a great place to live!!

[onetosix]

Show Americans a map of the world and 95% aren't even able to find Thailand on it .  

I love their limited English , it's charming .

 

70% of the world population is Asain ... it's about time Americans gonna learn to speak

Thai , Chinese , Cambodian , ect .

You are absolutely correct. Most Americans don't know anything about world geography and most don't even know the geography of their own country. It's pathetic to admit this about my own countrymen....but it's the truth!

[onetosix]

What an ignorant post from Gambit, I bet many of the Thai people he encounters do speak some English but choose not to due to his bad attitude. I do not speak Thai very well but I have bothered to learn a few words and phrases so that I can be polite and interact with people and so that I can get by if in a restaurant away from tourist areas.

Kudos to you....you have a great attitude!!

[onetosix]

I would have thought Spanish.

 

Yeah, ok to tout Mandarin, by sheer volume, but there is a bigger pompem.

 

Mandarin is not easily communicable, in paperwork, as it uses picture characters.

There are hundreds of them.

So, not only is spoken English the language of Business, but, perhaps more importantly, the WRITTEN language of Business.

The grammar is complicated, but you need this arsenal to be able to nail down WTF you are on about - definitively, for things like contractual obligation etc.

 

English has 13 tenses, Thai has 3 plus a number of adjuncts to get out what you want to say.

Which makes for a very wordy communication.

 

Mandarin has no tenses, but again you need to gab on about before or after now.

Plus the character issue.

 

Spanish has 6 and a stack of irregular verbs.

 

The wash up is that, for Legal purposes; which extend through life, including the tourist Industry, you need a good command of English. So for someone who aspires to more than being the Tour Guide, they will need to hone their English skills.

Which is what economic advancement is all about - Personal Development.

 

What a rant

A very scholarly analysis...thanks!

[casinoclub]

70% of the world population is Asain ... it's about time Americans gonna learn to speak

Thai , Chinese , Cambodian , ect .

 

Wow easy there my friend.  I am American and I've learn to speak Chinese.  Fluently I might add with a bonus of 2 subdialect.  What's with "about time"?  Most school here offers many languages class.  And foreign language classes are requirement for graduation.

 

And given the number recent immigrant or 2nd generation immigrant family we have, I suspect the # of family that speaks a second language is going to be very high.

 

In my usual fashion of having reference to back up my claim:

 

From US census data, 2011

http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf

 

Page 3.  About 20% of US family speaks a second language at home.  I am sure more that speaks English only at home but learns a second language.  But at least we can conclude that at least 20% of the US population speaks a second language fluently. :-)

 

 

You know, there are more of us that speaks Chinese then the entire population of Mongolia. :-)  And more of us that can speak Vietnamese then the whole population of iceland.

 

:-)  Just saying, take it easy there. :-)

 

 

There are 60 million American that can speak a 2nd language fluently.

 

The population of UK is 63 million.

The population of Italy is 59 million.

The population of Australia is 23 million.

 

I mean, just as comparison.  There are just more of us that speaks a second language then there are population of entire country.

[Sexyfarangman]

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

 

Yeah, well you Brits don't speak no good english like us Americans do.

[casinoclub]

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

 

I think you mean improved it right?  Using theory of evolution, the "better" product survive, thrive, and grow right? :-)

 

316 million speaks American English

63 million speaks British English.

 

Q.E.D

[tourasia]

I think you mean improved it right?  Using theory of evolution, the "better" product survive, thrive, and grow right? :-)

 

316 million speaks American English

63 million speaks British English.

 

Q.E.D

Where the fuck do you get those stupid figures from, then again I suppose if some survey in America said it it must be true, was it Fox News?

 

I suggest you take this thread with a pinch of salt and do not get too sensitive about a small dig at the Yanks because actually you are in the global firing line.

The English love and care about you septics, although you are so large and powerful you have a global position that attracts some "piss taking" We the Brits see you as our fat, greedy and naughty baby who needs some direction or a nappy change but we would not swap you for anything else. 

[tourasia]

Yeah, well you Brits don't speak no good english like us Americans do.

Thats hurtful 

[Sexyfarangman]

. It's certainly not a simple language to learn, as proven by many so-called native speakers!

 

I takes acception to this, i speaks good enuf anglish for all okkasions.

[Sexyfarangman]

You are absolutely correct. Most Americans don't know anything about world geography and most don't even know the geography of their own country. It's pathetic to admit this about my own countrymen....but it's the truth!

 

You must be from California, the east coast of the USA, so how would you know anything about geography?

[tourasia]

You must be from California, the east coast of the USA, so how would you know anything about geography?

Come on mate, he has a point. I have just come back from Huntsville Alabama and they thought Iran was below Mexico