We are all being mistaken for Munkeys by them.

My oldest luk krung son had something similar happen to him many years ago when he attended a very good Thai school in Bankgok.  The Thai English teacher was having the class pronounce a word that is a little difficult for Thais to pronounce.  He, being a fluent speaker of American English, had no problem pronouncing the word as any native American English speaker would.  The teacher stopped him and made him repeat it until he could pronounce it just like a Thai would!

3 hours ago, biggles45 said:

 

I willl remember your words of wisdom the next time I read a news report of a Thai stabbing, punching, or shooting someone over his perceived loss of face. 

You will find that those instances of violence happen everywhere in the world . 

Thais are just as likely to shrug off "loss of face" as any other people .

   Maybe its that some Westerners treat Thais in a condescending manner and wonder why they get upset ?

39 minutes ago, Jaggg88 said:

It isn't just Thailand but SE Asia in general. They all have this problem about losing face.

Like the teacher in this story ?

30 minutes ago, seajae said:

pull the other one, I have seen loss of face a lot and it isnt pleasant, strange that my wife has always told me not to cause a thai loss of face as they can often get violent, its not a farang myth when even thais warn you not to cause it

Try upsetting anyone from any country and they are likely to get annoyed

I can see this is going to be a problem for my daughter (7 years old) She got a new English teacher at school just before the end of term and she has already pointed out spelling errors twice ..... Also, when we drop her off in the morning at school i see other girls politely wai the staff on gate duty, but not our daughter ....

 

I hope that inquiring mind doesn't get shut down, only 2 nights ago she was telling me the names of all the planets, asking why the moon is not a planet, about galaxies and what causes gravity ....

all of this is only an issue if your child attends public school. 

a decent international school and it becomes moot. 

I've seen some English language worksheets that my step son brought home from school in an Isaan village - the English language bits were riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. It's not really a surprise that Thai people are terrified of speaking English, when the person who taught them can't speak it either.

15 hours ago, colinneil said:

Your son corrected a teacher, WOW, brave lad, teachers here know everything and are never wrong.

I thought that occupation was reserved for TV posters. 

6 hours ago, rickudon said:

I can see this is going to be a problem for my daughter (7 years old) She got a new English teacher at school just before the end of term and she has already pointed out spelling errors twice ..... Also, when we drop her off in the morning at school i see other girls politely wai the staff on gate duty, but not our daughter ....

 

I hope that inquiring mind doesn't get shut down, only 2 nights ago she was telling me the names of all the planets, asking why the moon is not a planet, about galaxies and what causes gravity ....

Dont worry, the thai teachers will dumb her down to the same level as the other students. Give them time

21 hours ago, Irishrogue said:

I have had to correct the spelling in not only the text books used by my children but also the spelling and often the grammar in the test/revision papers they bring home. I always encourage them to show the respective Teacher.

 

I am by no means pedantic but allowing them to continue to learn from a text book or test paper that is incorrect seems just wrong.

I can only agree with you there. I had a run in with a different English teacher regarding text. My son brought home 6 questions in English that he had to answer, this was no problem for him as he can read very well, I read English with him every evening. However one of the questions gave him difficulty and he asked me for help which I couldn't give him because the sentence made no sense at all, it couldn't even be guessed at. I made a copy of the paper and met the teacher after school finished and asked her what the sentence was supposed to mean, she went ballistic, she had written the paper and felt personally attacked. After she had calmed down I asked her to tell me the text in Thai which she did and I corrected it in English (I included two words) she didn't agree with me but nodded her approval in the end when I said it was an easy mistake to make (it wasn't) and that all the other questions were well written which showed her good command of English which brought a smile and she thanked me for the correction. It's like dealing with 5 year olds sometimes.

11 hours ago, Benroon said:

You are missing the point - no one in any country likes to 'lose face' 

 

Go into an East End pub and tell the biggest bloke in there his Mrs is a dog in front of his mates - report back how you get on

 

The point being make anyone look at idiot and you'd better be equiped to back yourself up - that is not unique, yet again, to Thailand - its TVF myth No 429

The example you have used is an insult and would have caused justifiable annoyance anywhere in the world. In Thailand loss of face can occur for the most innocent remark or well meaning constructive criticism or correction. After such an event even an apology (which shouldn't, in the West at least, be called for) won't smooth the waves, revenge is called for, it doesn't have to be drastic but can result in your being totally ignored or bad mouthed in future. 

Any questioning is often seen as a personal attack, get it from the Mrs all the time.

On 3/16/2019 at 1:44 AM, soalbundy said:

The example you have used is an insult and would have caused justifiable annoyance anywhere in the world. In Thailand loss of face can occur for the most innocent remark or well meaning constructive criticism or correction. After such an event even an apology (which shouldn't, in the West at least, be called for) won't smooth the waves, revenge is called for, it doesn't have to be drastic but can result in your being totally ignored or bad mouthed in future. 

exactly, i have yet to heard about street wendor shooting dead another female because she complained the fruit/vegtables about it being rotten, or a whole family killing their neighbour for being insulted and cooking noodles that smelled

On 3/16/2019 at 8:01 AM, Orton Rd said:

Any questioning is often seen as a personal attack, get it from the Mrs all the time.

That is true, certainly any correction or questioning of values. I have tried to instal some Western values into my son (losing battle). When I get him to read English texts and he makes a mistake with the pronunciation I correct him, I get a growl of indignation, he clenches his fists and is tight lipped for a few seconds, which I respond with "typical Thai" causing him to blush, perhaps giving him some insight as to how his teacher felt, you can't beat the social environment in which they grow up in.