Thailand’s English proficiency is getting worse: study

[rooster59]

Thailand’s English proficiency is getting worse: study

 

 

A new study has revealed that English proficiency in Thailand is getting worse.

 

The latest EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) ranks Thailand in 64th place out of 88 countries, with an overall ranking of ‘low proficiency’.

 

In 2017, Thailand ranked in 53rd place out of 80 countries.

 

Regionally, central Thailand, which includes Bangkok, was found to have best level of English proficiency, with an overall score of 49.57.

 

Northeast Thailand was found to have the lowest level of English proficiency, scoring just 45.78.

 

From the Thai cities featured in the index, Bangkok ranked highest, whereas Khon Kaen was lowest, ranking behind Chiang Mai and Chonburi.

 

According to its website, the EF English Proficiency Index is increasingly cited as an authoritative source by journalists, educators, officials, and business leaders.

 

The 2018 EF EPI is based on test data from more than 1,300,000 test takers around the world who took the EF Standard English Test (EF SET) in 2017.

 

 

Overall, Sweden was found to be the global leader in English proficiency ranking ahead of the Netherlands in 2nd place and Singapore in 3rd.

 

Europe remains the global leader in English proficiency, while Asia was found to have the largest range of English proficiencies of any region, with three countries or territories in the upper quartile of this year’s index and four in the bottom 10%.

 

In addition to Singapore, which was found to have ‘very high proficiency’, Philippines (14th) and Malaysia (22nd) had ‘high proficiency’.

 

The report also found that while English proficiency had improved overall globally, in Asia, English proficiency did not improve despite high levels of investment in English.

 

Globally, women speak English better than men.

 

Read the report in full here [pdf]

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-11-03

[darksidedog]

To be honest, I didn't think it was possible for it to get worse. Of all the places I have been, Thailand is the worst for ability to speak English even remotely well. Many years ago I tried to set up an office here and closed it after a year due to inability to recruit even a single individual who had the proficiency I was after, and I was offering 50K a month basic. Until such time as those doing the teaching can actually speak the language, given that most Thai English teachers simply cannot, it is difficult to see the situation improving either.

[ratcatcher]

I see only 9 African countries. What about Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana? Their English proficiency must be quite decent given their past history? 

[PatOngo]

Why dey tink dat? I tink is welly goos!

[Cadbury]

The PM should be very happy with that outcome. After all it was he who told schoolchildren that one day the Thai language could become the international language of the world.

Maybe his influence on impressionable school children has created this outcome and they no longer believe it is important to learn English.

 

[thequietman]

Creating English curriculum without asking the NES right there in their schools, is typical of Thai department heads here. The attitude of 'I can't lose face' means that they would rather get it wrong than ask for help from someone that speaks the language. It is purely a box ticking exercise here and everything and I mean everything, is all show and absolutely no substance.

 

In my Uni, there are incorrectly displayed documents and posters in incorrect English all over the place. When you mention it, you are seen as a trouble maker! Wow!

 

When they ask me is everything OK, I just tell them 'Yes.' That's all they want to hear and to say anything else, is as I said before, creating trouble for yourself.

 

It is all a shambles.

[thequietman]

3 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

The PM should be very happy with that outcome. After all it was he who told schoolchildren that one day the Thai language could become the international language of the world.

Maybe his influence on impressionable school children has created this outcome and they no longer believe it is important to learn English.

 

As ridiculous as that may sound ............... you are most likely correct.

[Somtamnication]

Wow, behind Ethiopia! 

 

What can I say. I have taught them as best I could. With corruption in schools and above and paying low wages and hiring backpackers, what did they expect/

 

[bluesofa]

I was surprised that Myanmar is so low in the proficiency ratings. I always assumed that English was well spoken there. Perhaps it's just in larger cities?

Laos doesn't even get a mention, presumably not enough Laotians took the test to even register in the rankings.

[taichiplanet]

the first time i came to Thailand in the late 1980s, I had a tour guide that was also an English teacher. He'd previously been a monk for 20 years, so maybe that was why he was 'qualified'. I couldn't understand a word he spoke. and remember thinking "his poor students!".

[Chippy151]

Why don't they teach the students to say " I can't speak English"?

After 12 years of learning English, it seems most locals can only say "No sapee".

That would be a huge improvement for tourists asking directions etc.

[ZeVonderBearz]

Huh? Thais speak great English! Just look at the test scores in school, ever seen a kid fail English class? 

[Chippy151]

2 minutes ago, taichiplanet said:

the first time i came to Thailand in the late 1980s, I had a tour guide that was also an English teacher. He'd previously been a monk for 20 years, so maybe that was why he was 'qualified'. I couldn't understand a word he spoke. and remember thinking "his poor students!".

I would imagine the Thai English teachers in the late 80s were much more proficient in English than they are now. We don't need an English Proficiency Index to tell us that things are getting worse here.

 

[thequietman]

5 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

Wow, behind Ethiopia! 

 

What can I say. I have taught them as best I could. With corruption in schools and above and paying low wages and hiring backpackers, what did they expect/

 

I was promised a 5% salary increase year on year. This year reduced to 4% due to a new accountant. We are talking a very small amount in the overall scheme of things but to say it was massively demotivating is an understatement.

 

There is however, money for jaunts, nonsense posters that are grammatically incorrect and any other crap that is for show.

Motivating the NES is low on their list of priorities as the white devil needs to be undermined at all times. 

 

It is truly hilarious watching their little faces every year, as they look confused as to why another foreigner has quit ..... and so on and on it goes, with nothing being learned.

[poanoi]

bs, just the 3 past year when i was away they learned a lot of english,

before i had to converse in thai, there was no way around that,

but now almost everyone speak passable english

[Thian]

32 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

To be honest, I didn't think it was possible for it to get worse. Of all the places I have been, Thailand is the worst for ability to speak English even remotely well. Many years ago I tried to set up an office here and closed it after a year due to inability to recruit even a single individual who had the proficiency I was after, and I was offering 50K a month basic. Until such time as those doing the teaching can actually speak the language, given that most Thai English teachers simply cannot, it is difficult to see the situation improving either.

My wife has secretaries who speak it very well but they resign every year or 2.....and they aren't cheap....last one moved to a 5 star hotel.....my wife also got a high position because i taught her proper english...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

18 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

The PM should be very happy with that outcome. After all it was he who told schoolchildren that one day the Thai language could become the international language of the world.

Maybe his influence on impressionable school children has created this outcome and they no longer believe it is important to learn English.

 

 

The current regime should be very happy. As the results in this OP show, they're well on their way to "Making Thailand Great Again!" 

 

My wife (who's very fluent in English, especially after years of marriage) and I have a regular, now predictable routine about this.  Whenever we're out and about doing some business that requires conversation with Thais, she'll invariably tell me, "Go ahead and talk to them, they can speak English."

 

I already know what's going to happen after many such encounters, usually in a retail or customer service setting, but gotta humor the wife. So I start speaking slowly, clearly in English to the Thai person, and almost always even in BKK, it quickly becomes clear they have no idea what I'm talking about. And they're either unwilling or unable to say anything in response in English that shows they have any clue.

 

So in the end, my wife ends up talking to them in Thai. Could have saved a lot of time and trouble if we had just done that first. The wife continues to think other Thais she encounters can speak English as she does. And almost always, she's very mistaken.

[tubby johnson]

Thailand is down there with the backward Middle East, despite a massive education budget.

 

Shameful.

[Cadbury]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The current regime should be very happy. As the results in this OP show, they're well on their way to "Making Thailand Great Again!" 

 

My wife (who's very fluent in English, especially after years of marriage) and I have a regular, now predictable routine about this.  Whenever we're out and about doing some business that requires conversation with Thais, she'll invariably tell me, "Go ahead and talk to them, they can speak English."

 

I already know what's going to happen after many such encounters, usually in a retail or customer service setting, but gotta humor the wife. So I start speaking slowly, clearly in English to the Thai person, and almost always even in BKK, it quickly becomes clear they have no idea what I'm talking about. And they're either unwilling or unable to say anything in response in English that shows they have any clue.

 

So in the end, my wife ends up talking to them in Thai. Could have saved a lot of time and trouble if we had just done that first. The wife continues to think other Thais she encounters can speak English as she does. And almost always, she's very mistaken.

Your wife might be right. Maybe they can speak English but they prefer not to respond to a farang because they might stuff it up and become embarrassed and lose face. Just a thought.

[RichardColeman]

Never improve if you keep employing African English teachers on the cheap

[FritsSikkink]

"Thailand in 68th place out of 88 countries,"

 

The report says 64th. Only this year a bit of a dip, compared to the years before there is improvement.

[PhonThong]

53 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I was surprised that Myanmar is so low in the proficiency ratings. I always assumed that English was well spoken there. Perhaps it's just in larger cities?

Laos doesn't even get a mention, presumably not enough Laotians took the test to even register in the rankings.

I agree. I was also surprised that Hong Kong was not rated higher. 

[HAKAPALITA]

6 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Never improve if you keep employing African English teachers on the cheap

English Ekie Thumps on the Cheap even worse..

[Justgrazing]

Looks like Thailand is in a scrap with Ecuador to avoid relegation to the Conference then if these were football league tables .. 

[pastprime]

57 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I was surprised that Myanmar is so low in the proficiency ratings. I always assumed that English was well spoken there. Perhaps it's just in larger cities?

Laos doesn't even get a mention, presumably not enough Laotians took the test to even register in the rankings.

Speak to the elderly Burmese,yes do it well, should try Spanish,easier language by far

[Justgrazing]

And this student needs to better understand the difference t'wixt tennis and Kite flying in order to improve their English methinks 

[Fex Bluse]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand’s English proficiency is getting worse: study

Not surprising, as others have noted. 

 

The only group of Thais who intend to use English to communicate with non-Thais are Thai women in the tourism/entertainment business.

 

The elite Thais are interested mostly in using English as a status symbol. This is why they Thai-ify all the English words so readily. They are interested mostly with speaking English occasionally to OTHER THAIS, not foreigners. 

[bluesofa]

5 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

And this student needs to better understand the difference t'wixt tennis and Kite flying in order to improve their English methinks 

Looks like they translated 'penis' as 'urine', having mistakenly spelt 'penis' in Thai as 'piss'

[Thechook]

They use teachers where english is not their 1st language.  My thai neighbour is an english teacher and I find it very hard to have a conversation with her as her grasp of the language is very poor.  Anyway not important as Prayuth did state that Thai will be the universal language.

[PatOngo]

Very sad when bar girls are more proficient in English than local English teachers. Maybe Thai English teachers should spend more time in bars to improve their English!