Thailand’s English proficiency plummets: Survey

[Andrew65]

5 minutes ago, decca60 said:

Hi,

Don't be so sure about your experience and certainties about the others... I'm french and I can have a discussion even technical with you in English, Spanish and Portuguese (and Thai) providing you, of course, speak other languages than your English mother tong.... by the way, what is the proficiency in Thai of the 10th of thousands English speaking people living there ??? 

 

I have an old friend who speaks virtually no Thai, and he's been living there for 15 years. His attitude is that it's easier for him if Thais just learn to speak English.

[overherebc]

3 hours ago, realfunster said:

Dic tibi. Disertus sum amicus meus latine.

 

Je dinny ken pas oany latin.

[dlclark97]

My daughter had a Thai 'English' teacher a couple of years ago.  I did not see her homework one night but was appalled when I did see it after the teacher had graded it.  There were 10 scrambled sentences the students were to rearrange in correct English order.  Of the 10, 9 were marked as correct.  When in fact, only two were correct.  Some Thai English teachers do not need to be teaching English.

[brianthainess]

23 hours ago, Thailand said:

Perhaps they should learn American? ????

If American And Australia were included they wouldn't rate higher than Thailand.

[dallen52]

My partner has an 18 year old girl.

I have tried many times to get her speaking English a little bit.

Not in the least interested...

Would rather sit with her smart phone.

[SunsetT]

Thats just what the Govt. wants. No knowledge of human rights, workers rights, equal rights. Easier to control, easier to manipulate, easier to exploit for cheap labour.

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, arithai12 said:

I hope linking to youtube is allowed... or look for teacher Phensri

 

 

Seen this a few times and it still makes me laugh especially with the english subs

[Hanuman2547]

23 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

They weren't doing very well 10 years ago and since then, they have done their level best to get rid of as many foreigners as possible... including teachers.

Not only that, they weren't doing very well 35 years ago.  

[Andrew65]

42 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Yeah, I'm sure an American from Alabama trying to teach English would go down well.

About the same as Geordies and Glaswegians teaching English?

[ronster]

Because they are all learning mandarin in school I’m guessing.

Wife was at her mothers a few month ago in issan and one of the local kids about 8 year old came to say hi . He then told her what he had learned in school to speak mandarin and spouted it all off to her .

[Mavideol]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand’s English proficiency is among the worst in ASEAN, according to a new study.

English is not their main concern anymore.... it appears they are more concerned/concentrated in Mandarin and Indian

 

P.S:   the above comment is sarcasm intended 

[Bangkok Barry]

22 hours ago, Mango Bob said:

I bet we are worst then the Thais.

Some who comment here aren't too proficient in English either.

[gvrixtel]

When I moved from the Netherlands to this country in 2004, I was first employed as a conversational English lecturer and teacher at one of Northern Bangkok's universities for 4 years. My students consistently ranked highest in language proficiency for 4 years, even above those thaught by my native English speaking colleagues. I was even put in charge of teaching other university personnel English skills. Additionally, I was managing the university's English language website, writing and editing exams and courses, and even taught German and French. However, in 2008, I was unceremoniously dismissed for not being a native English speaker, and therefore was deemd unqualified to teach, by the new head of the language department. Fun fact, this new head's students had ranked lowest for the last 4 years, but she assured me it wasn't a form of revenge, just policy.

To make a long story short, I can't to always have a little smile on my face when I read these kind of articles, in which time and time again is stated what I have known for over 15 years. It's the system that causes this.  

[DjSilver]

No <deleted> Sherlock, that's not a surprise since the government doesn't want the Thai people to evolve to the standards of a western society. 

[John Drake]

Ranking done by a for profit company with a dubious reputation.  Owned by a Swedish billionaire. https://www.forbes.com/sites/maxjedeurpalmgren/2018/08/23/meet-the-billionaire-college-dropout-whos-teaching-the-world-english/?sh=3b597a67332d

[Tony125]

22 hours ago, Mango Bob said:

Maybe we English speaking countries who live in Thailand should try speaking some Thai.  I bet we are worst then the Thais.

The reason  Thai need to learn English is that it is considered the international language . No need to learn 4--5  different languages or hire many translaters for internation business if all attendees speak their native  language plus English.  Most EU residents speak their native language plus English as they use it when traveling. Majority of Thai and other nations say in Africa/SA would not understand  a tourist trying to order things in German , Polish, Russian, Chinese so if persons learn some English they can at least  make  some communication.

[jak2002003]

I see America is not included on the list on top 10 English proficiency countries in the world, ha ha!

[Hanuman2547]

In Thailand, many Thai teachers know a lot about the English language.  They know all the grammar exceptionally well.  They have a fairly good vocabulary.  However, they are unable to put it all together and communicate verbally in the English language.  Then you take the local Issarn lady working in a bar in Pattaya or elsewhere.  Doesn't know <deleted> all about verbs, plurals, or the present perfect tense.  Limited vocabulary yet can converse in verbal English quite well.  

[Longwood50]

17 hours ago, Thunglom said:

...and you point being?

mystified by the simplest foreign phrases

Why are you mystified by a simple foreign phrase? 

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

Education in Thailand. Laugh my <deleted> ar$e off, I took the following picture in the grounds of a Thai university. . .

 

 

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

I think this is my all time favourite, from a hot spring in the north of Thailand. . . "Yoda, you seek Yoda!". . .

 

 

[John Drake]

1 hour ago, Andrew65 said:

At the level of ordinary people, taxi drivers, waitresses etc, the level of English proficiency isn't good,

I encountered a taxi driver in Bangkok a few years who was called John Wayne.  The reason was he learned English watching John Wayne movie and, yes, he sounded like John Wayne when he spoke. Maybe make Thai students watch more John Wayne movies in class.

[rudi49jr]

On 11/27/2021 at 6:47 AM, webfact said:

Thailand’s English proficiency is among the worst in ASEAN

Thailand’s schools and education system are among the worst in ASEAN, so that does not surprise me in the least. 

[Derek B]

23 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

Portugal? I never met anyone speaking English there except expats... 

It's like France or Spain, they don't want to -.-

That is not my recent experience ........................... I was surprised how easy it was to get by in English only exception being the phone company NOS.

[Derek B]

2 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

In Thailand, many Thai teachers know a lot about the English language.  They know all the grammar exceptionally well.  They have a fairly good vocabulary.  However, they are unable to put it all together and communicate verbally in the English language.  Then you take the local Issarn lady working in a bar in Pattaya or elsewhere.  Doesn't know <deleted> all about verbs, plurals, or the present perfect tense.  Limited vocabulary yet can converse in verbal English quite well.  

Then they go home for a long covid induced stint and nearly all is forgotten...............

 

[Tony125]

20 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

I find it to be deeply troubling nor understand the almost obsessive indoctrination ideals of mandating second languages towards the overwhelmingly greater percentage of respective populations that will never have a practical need/wish/desire to attain English by way of their everyday lives. They'll never have any practical purpose or reason to use it. 

 

Granted, there are those segments of the populations that, for whatever reasons in their lives, have a great desire to become sufficient in the magical English - those are the ones that should be targeted and expanding the education upon. 

It  would be a benefit for all Thai students/persons to have at least a  basic knowledge of English as it opens up many oportuniteis for them.  Insead of just working on a farm they could work in business and maybe be paid higher wages as they could speak English. My sis-in law has a company and she  and many of her staff speak English as well as her daughter .  Before Covid she took entire staff and my wife  to Japan for vacation. They didn't speak Japanese but could communicate in Eng with the Japanese. She has also gone to Italy, Singapore, France, Norway, Finland, Malasia and could promote her company's service and products because she could speak in English with all those company representatives. They didn't speak Thai and she didn't need to speak all those different languages as they all spoke Englsih.  Even if just wanting to get a job  in tourist areas they would have a better chance of landing a job if they have some proficency in English.

 

Just think,every airline pilot or air trafic control person must speak English as you could not have a pilot unable to understand  directions because he was landing at an airport that did not speak his native language.

Edited November 28, 2021 by Tony125

[ThaiFelix]

On 11/27/2021 at 12:53 PM, Thailand said:

Perhaps they should learn American? ????

You can get away with a lot more spelling mistakes that way too!

[Srikcir]

20 hours ago, Thunglom said:

I have arranged courses largely in business and Universities.  in Thailand Laos , Italy, Morocco, Spain and UK.

I think that most people really don't understand when and why people need to acquire a foreign language - and this repeated report seems to ignore who is actually learning English.

However I have at times come across some amazing parochialisms when it comes to leaning any foreign language amongst Thai students.

I was talking to some University student who were going to study some science in Africa. I pointed out they would need a good level of English as no -one ob=ver there would speak Thai. - They wouldn't even know where they came form.

one student said in disbelief "What? they don't understand Thai?" - it had never crossed his mind before. I got the impression that he had watched loads of American movies - and didn't realise they had been dubbed - he just thought tase actors spoke Thai as a second language.

 

In te ed, though I have worked in industry with many Thai people who spoke really good English.

PS - the worst students I had were Spanish or sometimes Italian.

Of course there are several nations in Africa where Engish is the primary language. 

[StayinThailand2much]

17 hours ago, djayz said:

One has to ask "why?". Surely it's in nobody's interest to remain at the bottom of the barrel. Is this a strategy or pure incompetence/or ignorance? 

What do you think? With 1% of the population owning almost everything, and the bulk of income, with a culture of servitude, and education only seen as a 'money-spinner', why should the ruling class, being it the old, or the nouveau riche, be interested in educating the masses, or, even worse, teaching critical thinking? It would not only destabilise the old order, but also threaten the further enrichment of the few on the backs of the millions. What the ruling classes (old and new) in Thailand are interested in, is not the betterment of their country or people, but their fat Swiss bank accounts.

Edited November 28, 2021 by StayinThailand2much

[cjinchiangrai]

23 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I see UK is not in the top 10.

They will be after Scotland leaves.