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British TikToker praises Thai gas man’s effort to master the English language


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Posted
4 hours ago, Thaifish said:

Is that video recorder Intrinsically safe???

Doubtful.

But definitely a Class I Div 1 and Zone 0 location.

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Posted
1 hour ago, Spock said:

I think you are being generous to the tik-tok man describing his Thai ability to be upper immediate or advanced. Also think you are underestimating the gas attendant's English. What really happened is that both spoke a foreign language to each other. I don't think the gap in ability was that great.

Indeed, the foreigner in the TIkToK is not very good at Thai. Definitely not intermediate.

I know by his pronunciation and when he said nothing after the Thai said "chang yon". He obviously didn't know, or he would have told him the English, "mechanic".

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Posted
19 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

to prove it's not my fault, I never have the issue when using the telephone

But can you be sure that you don't subconsciously alter the way you talk when you use the phone in a way that you are unaware of, making your Thai understandable?

 

You would need to record yourself in conversation with a Thai who cannot understand you, then play the same words to a Thai over the phone and see if they can.

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Posted
5 hours ago, malathione said:

So he ran across one of perhaps millions who practice speaking English with foreigners everyday.

That’s probably right .

Posted
9 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

We could simplify it as something like: "Person A feels that their knowledge of Thai elevates their social status, and by refusing to validate this, person B is lowering their social status, which angers them."

No, most Thais burst out laughing when I try to speak Thai !!  Doesn’t bother me.

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Posted
30 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

We could simplify it as something like: "Person A feels that their knowledge of Thai elevates their social status, and by refusing to validate this, person B is lowering their social status, which angers them."

This is very true, and it's only human nature. People invest a lot of time and energy learning a language, and it's frustrating when validation of those efforts is not forthcoming. 

 

A couple of posters keep saying that the only reason some Thais don't understand non-native Thai is because the foreigner's Thai is deficient. That is no doubt true in some cases, but is by no means true in every case. Even highly proficient speakers encounter Thais who have a mental block when it comes to comprehending non-native speakers. The reason the non-native speaker can say with confidence that it isn't their Thai which is problematic is because they have had countless successful verbal interactions with Thais in the past.

 

In my opinion, posters who are saying that the root cause can only be because the foreigner's Thai is deficient, are unwittingly revealing that their own Thai is insufficient to have made this observation independently on their own. :whistling:

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Posted
2 hours ago, wazzupnow said:

ow you are the worst 

Why am I the worst?

This is my post that you quoted

Quote

  4 hours ago, loong said:

I agree with you - to a point.

I find it annoying when I speak Thai and they reply in English when their English is extremely poor and I find it very difficult to understand what they are saying.

I am far from fluent in Thai, so if their English is better than my Thai, I am happy to speak English with them.

If they ask if they can practice their English with me, I am happy to comply.

Please tell me what makes you think that I am the worst after reading my post.

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Posted
6 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Even highly proficient speakers encounter Thais who have a mental block when it comes to comprehending non-native speakers

THat is just a claim by arrogant foreigners who overestimate their ability ti use Thai language

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Posted
6 hours ago, malathione said:

So he ran across one of perhaps millions who practice speaking English with foreigners everyday.

Probably Burmese

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Posted
5 hours ago, kwilco said:

Full marks to the young man for efforts in learning a language.

But it also begs the question of why the teacher is so patronising.

We need to look more critically at how and why we value the English language in Thailand. THere seems to be a bias amongst foreigners who think that all Thais should learn English yet they refuse to learn any Thai.

I note that in their home countries many think it sould be essential that immigrants learn the home langauge, but this doesn't seem to be applied to themselves in Thailand.

 

 

I think it's mainly because Thailand relies so heavily on tourists and the universal language of the World is English. 

 

This bloggers praise and surprise is an indication of how poorly English is taught in most  schools.  

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Posted
1 minute ago, Elkski said:

I think it's mainly because Thailand relies so heavily on tourists and the universal language of the World is English. 

The Asian countries, ASEAN, agreed to communicate in English.

So English has now been given the green light in LOS to get their act together.

I have been to a few of the meetings......????

Posted
8 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Personally, I find this type of attendant extremely annoying. I speak Thai and they often can't figure that out. 

That’s very rude and one obnoxious of you. 

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Posted
8 minutes ago, Elkski said:

I think it's mainly because Thailand relies so heavily on tourists and the universal language of the World is English. 

 

This bloggers praise and surprise is an indication of how poorly English is taught in most  schools.  

Some truth in that I would agree - and add that a number of factors explain it IMO ranging from the Thais themselves especially school heads and their academic credentials... the range of quality of teachers... the range of nationalities among teachers... and probably from top down at a government level, entrenched old cultural ways that are stuck in traditional thinking. 

Posted
7 hours ago, malathione said:

So he ran across one of perhaps millions who practice speaking English with foreigners everyday.

Very few of whom are to be found sat behind windows at immigration offices, though, unfortunately.☹️

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Posted
6 hours ago, Neeranam said:

What makes you say that?

I simply stated that service people trying to speak English to me, when I speak Thai is annoying. 

That's becouse your thai is poor and they can't understand you.

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Posted
1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Then why (as Neeranam mentioned) it happens less on the phone with him ?

It doesn't - he just thinks it does.

THere is also the point that he might make more effort beg=fore speaking Thai on a phone and change his phrasing.

most of this is either prejudice or confirmation bias.

 

I have trained in languages for several decades and am aware of how people learn languages - not just Thai people but from all over the world. I have studies how people have acquired language and noted the problems and mistakes they make.

One thing to bear in mind is that something like 90% of language learners over estimate their ability in whatever language they speak and are therefore much more likely to blame others for their own shortcomings.

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Posted
1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

It's obvious to me that the 'eyes not believing the ears' is not an uncommon occurrence here.

QED expat cliche - confirmation bias

Posted
11 minutes ago, ketilnm said:

That's becouse your thai is poor and they can't understand you.

His Thai is perfect according to an earlier post to which I responded.

"Perfect in whose opinion?" I asked

He has not yet answered!

But another person has responded repeatedly with pompous and insulting posts with have nothing to do with the question I asked!

This whole thread has gone so off topic it should be closed!

 

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