Thailand falls in global English Proficiency Index for fourth consecutive year

[Neeranam]

54 minutes ago, natway09 said:

know of 3 teachers, 2 Irish, 1 a scottie, 1 from central Europe ,,,even I have trouble

A scottie is a dog. 

[chilli42]

Quite an accomplishment given how low the ranking already was.  That said, it’s  hard to imagine that there could be such meaningful changes in English proficiency on a year to year basis.  Suspect some of this are changes in sample selection or other quirks of the research.
 

Well done Thailand!   

[JohnHans]

Well I don't know about that... Visitors hear Thais speaking English in the street a lot...

1) Wash you name?

2) Weigh u fom?

3) Weigh u go?

4) U hansum man!

5) I go you, ok?

6) U bad man, no like Thai.

[Rancid]

21 hours ago, AlfHuy said:

Soon, no more English spoken but at school, they will be obliged to learn Mandarine to better understand their brothers and sisters.

Wouldn't be surprised. The irony of Thailand is that there are any number of English speakers here, and have been for decades, who would probably do a few days for free in exchange for an visa or at least an easier visa experience.

 

Its like importing ice to the north pole, why do it when you are surrounded by it?

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, ChrisKC said:

At the risk of being pedantic an "English Teacher" is a teacher who is English and may teach any subject,

 

So an "English Teacher" who is Thai, I think should be referred to as a "Thai English Teacher" (not to be confused with "Thai/English") or a "Thai Teacher of English"

I am a Thai English teacher from Scotland. 

 

Accusing, an English teacher does not have to be English. 

[TigerandDog]

21 hours ago, johng said:

 

Be sure to turn the subtitles on.

 

These skits on Workpoint are funny. However I've actually met a Thai teacher, who teaches english, and this is the sort of nonsense that he actually teaches. He was flabbergasted when I told him he had it all wrong.

[JohnHans]

1 minute ago, Neeranam said:

I am a Thai English teacher from Scotland. 

 

Accusing, an English teacher does not have to be English. 

When i first came to Thailand 35 years ago I came over here with a Scottish friend, he got a job as an English language teacher. I was always asking him to repeat what he was saying as his Glasgow accent was so thick, funny thing is the Thai students he taught were totally incomprehensible would have been funny if it weren't so sad.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

2 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

 

All the Cambodians in the street,tuk tuk drivers, taxis, hotel staff, bank staff that I have met or come across, speak far better English than the Thais.

I may have worded my reply badly. The TV news report was wrong in using adjective "high". The EF rankings describe Cambodia as having "low proficiency." That's not me rating them. 

 

But I agree, Cambodians in Phnom Penh and elsewhere certainly have better English skills than the Thais. By a long shot. 

[Muzzique]

Who can forget Anchalee Pratansub  ????

 

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/culture/net/2020/05/20/govt-online-english-lesson-ridiculed-for-multiple-errors/

 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Muzzique

[johng]

7 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

and this is the sort of nonsense that he actually teaches

Yes that's what makes it so funny  because it truly reflects how badly Thailand teaches English.

 

fuutbon =  football

furry = ferry (boat)

wiggly wingside =  weekly ringside

chigalit =  cigarette or maybe chocolate ?

Death samalie  =  still no clue  but don't think its good  ????

 

[Magenta408]

There is a solution but they don't want to hear it. It's too much trouble and does not bring much money into their coffers Get young English mother-tongue speakers to come in and let them teach. Stop making their entries and lives in the country so difficult. But then, I don't believe they really want English speakers - second language of course.

[Chongalulu]

22 hours ago, J Town said:

Hasn't this poor dead horse been beaten enough?

 

You get what you pay for. Pay a competitive salary and you'll get quality teachers. I know a school where they are currently short 14 teachers. They are part of the the largest private school system in Southeast Asia, and the pay they offer is literally laughed at and it shows. Numbers don't lie. As a result you get lousy English proficiency. Again, numbers don't lie.

Talking of 'numbers' - that’s a similar problem,so they’re not going to understand that either! ???? 

[johng]

4 minutes ago, Muzzique said:

Who can forget Kru Wang  ????

Stop it you're just  bouleuing her  ????

[Dene16]

some years ago my g/f's 12 year old daughter brought her English homework  to me. It was so hard even i had to go online to make sure i was giving her the right answer and even then it was very speculative as the questions were so ambiguous.

No wonder they become bored and leave school unable to even communicate in the most basic of ways, in most cases not at all.

They were trying to teach them things before they could even master the basic's

I should note the English teacher was Nigerian, i believe.               

A very sad state of affairs when your consider they are taught from such a young age                                

Edited November 26, 2020 by Dene16
addition

[Mr Meeseeks]

29 minutes ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

But I agree, Cambodians in Phnom Penh and elsewhere certainly have better English skills than the Thais. By a long shot. 

As was ever the case, even when I first visited Cambo in '97. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 hour ago, Such a Hairy Guy said:

I am surprised at Myanmar ranking. I have been there a few times for extended  periods to the North/South/West and while most people are not fluent by any stretch of the imagination, their school system encourages English teaching. It used to part of the English Dominion and it shows in their culture. I found most Myanmar people are eager to try whatever little English they have on me

My experience is the same. 

[Arthur Mullard]

17 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

I think I remember hearing about that.  Vietnam has been a rising star in the TEFL world in the last few years as well.  It means that Thailand basically only has foreign teachers (at least in government schools) that have no other choice.

 

Sadly a very unlikely prospect.  I'm pretty sure there are many people in Thailand (especially the older generations) who are furious that Thailand even needs to have foreign people here teaching anything.  Maybe this will change when the current generation of students grow up, but you're talking 10-20 years until they're in the majority.

 

Terrible pay, poor working conditions, no ability to settle down or build a life here, and the same rights as a fresh off the boat tourist.  Not super attractive.

The cuddly Thai old-garde - the sooner they leave this world the better for that place. That includes the low-grade looking bank clerk.

Edited November 26, 2020 by Arthur Mullard

[renz]

won't be surprised as my step son still piece together a sentence with words he learn or can he remember any english words even he is now 13 years old already - english is not on the top of priorities for students here unfortunately 

[orchidfan]

7 hours ago, Chassa said:

I believe the official language in Singapore is English!

 

No. The official language of Singapore is (bahasa) MALAY. Not English. 

Also Lee Kwan Ywe made the teaching of Mandarin mandatory in Singapore schools decades ago.

He could see the future. 

[brianthainess]

On 11/25/2020 at 3:12 PM, guzzi850m2 said:

Not surprised, they are not really interested outside the tourist areas.

 

Nail on head. I have known a young student since she started school, with 2 english teachers she is now 13 still could not answer a simple question. How old are you now?

[metisdead]

A post using ALL CAPS has been removed.  Please turn off your Caps Lock when posting. 

[CLW]

On 11/25/2020 at 3:22 PM, RotBenz8888 said:

It all begins with interest of the world outside, which is lacking. The incentive is 0.

Thailand Number 1

[CorpusChristie]

31 minutes ago, renz said:

won't be surprised as my step son still piece together a sentence with words he learn or can he remember any english words even he is now 13 years old already - english is not on the top of priorities for students here unfortunately 

 

  Why you not teach him English ?

Speak to them in English everyday and they will be fluent within a few years

[djayz]

On 11/25/2020 at 3:12 PM, guzzi850m2 said:

Not surprised, they are not really interested outside the tourist areas.

 

They should hire a lot of English teachers, a lot, and somebody that really can speak English and not the English teacher I spoke to in SiSaket many years ago, I didn't understand one word she was saying (Thai) and I felt sorry for her and her students. 

 

Singapore is doing very well in this regard.

 

 

With remuneration packages as low as they are here coupled with large class sizes, uninterested students and never ending bureaucracy, there's not much chance of too many "proper/qualified" teachers wanting to take teaching positions here. 

The entire system needs a major overhaul. Until then, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for many of them to be able to articulate themselves coherently in "Ingalish". 

That having been said, I lived briefly in China a few years back. Practically 0% English ability there. At least here, you can just about get by (with a lot of patience and imagination). 

Edited November 26, 2020 by djayz

[paulikens]

Thai schools only want to employ 25 year olds or under and more worried that they are good looking then that actually teaching ability.  so they get backpackers who are only going to stay one term in general as they are just doing it to get a bit of money to carry on travelling.    look at some of the adverts for teaching jobs some of em even say 18-35 and every job wants you to send a photo in( and im not talking about id). in the uk i never have filled out  a job application where they want a photo of you unless it was a job for a model!!

Edited November 26, 2020 by paulikens

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, Natai Beach said:

You complain a lot. And have seemingly daily rants about how the Thais should improve themselves.

According to you.

You are fluent in Thai? Can you repeat your post, but in Thai? 

แท้จริงในการปรับปรุงระบบปรับปรุงความสามารถของครูหรือวิธีการหรือใช้โลกภายนอกเป็นมาตรวัดการเปรียบเทียบหรือทรัพยากรใด ๆ คุณก็จะถอยหลัง ยิ่งไปกว่านั้นโรงเรียนที่นี่ดูเหมือนจะปลูกฝังให้ขาดความมั่นใจความรู้สึกด้อยกว่าในส่วนของนักเรียนและความคิดของชนเผ่าในการเชื่อฟังโดยไม่เสียค่าใช้จ่ายใด ๆ.

 

As I have said before, nearly every time I comment on, or observe a shortfall within Thailand, some lame guy, who has not taken the time to think things through, nor to devote any focus or effort to a reasonable reply, says something lame like, why do you complain? Hard to even respond to such a vapid statement. Why? Because I have some issues with the place? Sorry to inform you, but the nature of a discerning mind, is to have issues.

 

Though absolute contentment must be a beautiful state of mind, it is not something most of us are blessed with, in case you have not noticed. The fact that I complain, does not mean I do not love Thailand, nor most of it's people. I do. 

 

In case you have not noticed, alot of what we do on this forum is observe, vent our frustrations, complain a bit and rant. 

 

I love my life here. I have a very good life here. But, I do have some complaints, and there are some things I would love to see improved. I should leave because of that? Please. Next time you make a post, try to devote at least two moments of thought to it.
 

Edited November 26, 2020 by spidermike007

[ronaldo0]

Because they are all learning Mandarin ! Spoke to wife the other day and she had some friends kid round at the house and he said hello before counting 1-10 in mandarin . Think he was about 5 year old and that was in middle of nowhere issan .

[ChrisKC]

3 hours ago, Neeranam said:

I am a Thai English teacher from Scotland. 

 

Accusing, an English teacher does not have to be English. 

"Accusing" is NOT the correct word. My comment was prefaced as being pedantic.  For Foreigners and even some English native speakers could argue that an English teacher is a Teacher from England  as well as anybody could interpret same as any person teaching English.

I believe to some extent that the Thai teachers don't deserve  the title of English teacher unless that title is prefaced by the word "Thai" as they themselves don't know it well enough

[nong38]

In defence of Thais I think I should say that lurning to speek Inglish is joli hart.

[ChrisKC]

Just now, nong38 said:

In defence of Thais I think I should say that lurning to speek Inglish is joli hart.

Thai teachers or their students are no stupid. English is difficult to learn as a second language and worse, if taught to them by other Thai people who don't know it properly themselves.