Thailand’s English proficiency is getting worse: study

[Artisi]

39 minutes ago, jayboy said:

No well informed person thinks that English will be eclipsed in the next hundred years or so. For all your nonsense about Anglo/Euro - centrists (whatever that is meant to describe) the English language is already a universal language which has detached itself from its origins in a remote cold Northern island and sent down roots all over the world

All serious studies confirm the same thing. Here's a view from the Wall Street Journal"

 

Money quote, " if the Chinese rule the world, they will likely do so in English."

 

"Some may protest that it is not English but Mandarin Chinese that will eventually become the world’s language, because of the size of the Chinese population and the increasing economic might of their nation. But that’s unlikely. For one, English happens to have gotten there first. It is now so deeply entrenched in print, education and media that switching to anything else would entail an enormous effort. We retain the QWERTY keyboard and AC current for similar reasons.

Also, the tones of Chinese are extremely difficult to learn beyond childhood, and truly mastering the writing system virtually requires having been born to it. In the past, of course, notoriously challenging languages such as Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Arabic, Russian and even Chinese have been embraced by vast numbers of people. But now that English has settled in, its approachability as compared with Chinese will discourage its replacement. Many a world power has ruled without spreading its language, and just as the Mongols and Manchus once ruled China while leaving Chinese intact, if the Chinese rule the world, they will likely do so in English".

Plus - not all Chinese speak Mandarin, research indicates about 30% don't / can't speak Mandarin. 

[DavisH]

On 11/3/2018 at 1:10 PM, Just1Voice said:

My adopted Thai son teaches Advanced Thai.  At a school seminar he introduced me to the Thai woman who taught English.  He informed her that I had a Master's in English Composition & Creative Writing.  She said she also had a Master's in English.  For the next 5 minutes I struggled to understand anything she was saying. 

 

Most of the better speakers on English work in high levels of government (excluding the MoE lol) and/or have studied overseas. I've only met a few Thai teachers in schools that are competent to teach English to a high level (there are better opportunities and money elsewhere than working in a school). The education sector here really does not attract high-quality applicants - which I guess is not different from many other countries. 

[Artisi]

3 minutes ago, DavisH said:

Most of the better speakers on English work in high levels of government (excluding the MoE lol) and/or have studied overseas. I've only met a few Thai teachers in schools that are competent to teach English to a high level (there are better opportunities and money elsewhere than working in a school). The education sector here really does not attract high-quality applicants - which I guess is not different from many other countries. 

A bit like thailand only attracts highly educated foreigners for some unknown reason, would that be a reasonable guess - just as your ill-informed comment is. 

[DavisH]

1 minute ago, Artisi said:

A bit like thailand only attracts highly educated foreigners for some unknown reason, would that be a reasonable guess - just as your ill-informed comment is. 

And what is your experience of it then? I stand by my point that the best speakers of English here do NOT work in schools. Do you have a problem with that? And you are a teacher, or what?

[moutamine]

Of course women speak better English:

What your name?

Where you from?

How long you here?

Which hotel you stay?

 

That is proficiency!!

[AYJAYDEE]

4 minutes ago, moutamine said:

Of course women speak better English:

What your name?

Where you from?

How long you here?

Which hotel you stay?

 

That is proficiency!!

speak for your own

 

[Artisi]

1 hour ago, DavisH said:

And what is your experience of it then? I stand by my point that the best speakers of English here do NOT work in schools. Do you have a problem with that? And you are a teacher, or what?

I accept that the level of English teachers in schools is lacking and the best English teachers do NOT work in schools - similar to many countries, however I do have a problem with your overall statement "The education sector here really does not attract high-quality applicants" this is way wrong.

 

My experience - 10 years teaching and 18 years involvement with Thai universities language teachers.

 

And what's your claim to fame, are you a teacher, or what? 

[BobbyL]

It is strange because most places you visit here people can generally speak some English, far more than I have found in parts of Europe and definitely more than the likes of Japan and China.

 

What is very rare here is people who can converse to a high level. They might know all the grammatical nuances of English, but their pronunciation and sentence structure is just not there at all. 

 

They could do well with scrapping the ludicrous focus in Thai schools on grammar and testing and just implement a full phonics, reading, speaking and listening course. That would see huge improvements, just like in the UK with younger EAL students. However, the issue is a Thai could not teach something like this. 

 

[BobbyL]

1 hour ago, DavisH said:

And what is your experience of it then? I stand by my point that the best speakers of English here do NOT work in schools. Do you have a problem with that? And you are a teacher, or what?

Very true. If as a Thai you have a good TOEIC there is no way you will be working for 15k as a teacher. Even an average secretary / PA can earn 30k+. 

[Krataiboy]

10 hours ago, Bangkokazy said:

A piece of advice for anyone who will learn English, 300 words are enough.

 

Only if you don't mind reading the Sun for the rest of your life.

[Fex Bluse]

8 hours ago, ChristianBlessing said:

Agreed. Most posters appear to be social/cultural anthropologists, historians, educators and linguists, all while harboring some deep animus toward Thai society and the Thai people.

I've met so many westerners who think Thais, on the whole, are just great until they later end up fired, swindled, assaulted or worse. 

 

Thais (and other Asians) RELY on our western gullibility to trust anyone with a nice looking smile. What many of us don't realize is that most of the smiling locals we encounter are not what they seem. 

 

Why is it so hard to accept? Many of the same guys who accept certain generalities about other groups are unwilling to accept generalities about Thais. Is it because Thais are so cute? Probably 

[GinBoy2]

8 hours ago, Artisi said:

Plus - not all Chinese speak Mandarin, research indicates about 30% don't / can't speak Mandarin. 

That's why written Chinese evolved to be a common written language that all Chinese, regardless of their spoken language could read and understand

[HalfLight]

No spik Angrit. No have.

 

Hell, according to the Thai government, 60+% of Thais can't speak Thai properly, why on earth would they be able to speak another language competently? Magic?

Edited November 5, 2018 by HalfLight

[marcusarelus]

3 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

I've met so many westerners who think Thais, on the whole, are just great until they later end up fired, swindled, assaulted or worse. 

 

Thais (and other Asians) RELY on our western gullibility to trust anyone with a nice looking smile. What many of us don't realize is that most of the smiling locals we encounter are not what they seem. 

 

Why is it so hard to accept? Many of the same guys who accept certain generalities about other groups are unwilling to accept generalities about Thais. Is it because Thais are so cute? Probably 

Racist stereotyping usually decreases with intelligence and education. 

[marcusarelus]

38 minutes ago, HalfLight said:

No spik Angrit. No have.

 

Hell, according to the Thai government, 60+% of Thais can't speak Thai properly, why on earth would they be able to speak another language competently? Magic?

All of the Thais I know speak at least 4 languages including my maid and gardener.  Where do you meet these Thais who don't speak Thai? 

Edited November 5, 2018 by marcusarelus

[scorecard]

9 hours ago, moutamine said:

Of course women speak better English:

What your name?

Where you from?

How long you here?

Which hotel you stay?

 

That is proficiency!!

You forgot - you have passport you?

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Where do you meet these Thais who don't speak Thai

Was in a bar speaking to a Thai girl in my best central Thai, and she turns to me and says in English, "sorry, I only speak English and Akha"

Played a similar game in another bar with two Lisu girls.

And up in CM there's a whole host of people that understand central Thai quite well, but will reply in Lanna.

It's a big problem with lecturers and students and CMRU at the moment, many of the students are writing papers in Lanna, and getting them rejected.

 

You probably don't speak with enough Thai people (in the various Thai languages) to realize the language diversity in the country. If you watch Thai news broadcasts, you will see central Thai subtitles on some stories, that's because the Thai people in the stories aren't speaking central Thai.

Edited November 5, 2018 by BritManToo

[HalfLight]

7 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

All of the Thais I know speak at least 4 languages including my maid and gardener.  Where do you meet these Thais who don't speak Thai? 

 

Not my numbers, go argue with the government.

 

Your maid and gardener speak 4 languages? I don't believe a word of it, not a single word.

[HalfLight]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You probably don't speak with enough Thai people (in the various Thai languages) to realize the language diversity in the country. If you watch Thai news broadcasts, you will see central Thai subtitles on some stories, that's because the Thai people in the stories aren't speaking central Thai.

 

Can't discuss assumptions - usually they have a deficit of common sense. Go argue with the government and quiz them about their figures, not my problem.

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Was in a bar speaking to a Thai girl in my best central Thai, and she turns to me and says in English, "sorry, I only speak English and Akha"

Played a similar game in another bar with two Lisu girls.

And up in CM there's a whole host of people that understand central Thai quite well, but will reply in Lanna.

It's a big problem with lecturers and students and CMRU at the moment, many of the students are writing papers in Lanna, and getting them rejected.

 

You probably don't speak with enough Thai people (in the various Thai languages) to realize the language diversity in the country. If you watch Thai news broadcasts, you will see central Thai subtitles on some stories, that's because the Thai people in the stories aren't speaking central Thai.

I guess you don't speak English very well.  I wrote, "All of the Thais I know speak at least 4 languages including my maid and gardener. Where do you meet these Thais who don't speak Thai." I said nothing about central Thai or Lanna.  There are many dialects of Thai at least 19 that I know of. 

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, HalfLight said:

 

Can't discuss assumptions - usually they have a deficit of common sense. Go argue with the government and quiz them about their figures, not my problem.

I guess that's why you didn't post a link?  I don't believe you. 

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, HalfLight said:

Go argue with the government and quiz them about their figures, not my problem.

Are we talking government elected by the Lao speaking ethnic population

or government by force of arms siam central Thai speaking people? 

[Artisi]

15 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

All of the Thais I know speak at least 4 languages including my maid and gardener.  Where do you meet these Thais who don't speak Thai? 

Besides speaking my maid and gardener, what other languages do they speak? 

[marcusarelus]

4 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Besides speaking my maid and gardener, what other languages do they speak? 

Most Thais I know speak Thai, Lao/Issan, Khmer, and a local dialect.  The ones I know at work in addition to those 4 speak English and Korean (Korean company).  

Edited November 5, 2018 by marcusarelus

[HalfLight]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Are we talking government elected by the Lao speaking ethnic population

or government by force of arms siam central Thai speaking people? 

 

 

Don't know, don't really care, the government.

[YayaManos]

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 12:45 PM, 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.

 

it could be simple thought process, they be thinking in Thai and translating into English with no due consideration, and not understanding the meaning of the words spoken or written? 

[marcusarelus]

Just now, HalfLight said:

 

 

Don't know, don't really care, the government.

Link or not true.

[HalfLight]

Just now, marcusarelus said:

Most Thais I know speak Thai, Lao, Khmer, and a local dialect.  The ones I know at work in addition to those 4 speak English and Korean (Korean company).  

I perceive the gentle aroma of serious BS.

 

Not that I disbelieve you or anything...

[HalfLight]

Just now, marcusarelus said:

Link or not true.

 

Thai government < 6 months, Google is your friend, I don't really care if it's true or not.

[marcusarelus]

Just now, HalfLight said:

 

Thai government < 6 months, Google is your friend, I don't really care if it's true or not.

You should tell us when posting lies.  Easier to understand.  Google is your friend btw, you were the poster not I.  The burden of proof is on you not I as I didn't make the claim.