Thailand ranks bottom of the pile with ASEAN English score

[newbee2022]

12 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Surprise, surprise, with unmotivated students because they always pass, non English speaking English Thai teachers.. as my boss was a master in English but could not conversate with me,  English camps in Thai Language and a Government that only speaks of important to learn English, but nowhere in Thailand you can find an English movie on TV, and everything should be in Thai..... A bit of big change is needed... Maybe the former backpackers were better to teach than the average level of a Thai English teacher... 

I'm more on the optimistic side. I realised University's students speak English a bit, at least are able to read. If doing research on internet many abstracts eg are in English. But I admit it's a longer way to go.

Sometimes it comes to my mind what might be the percentage of Thai speaking farangs. Or how many people in UK or US speak another language?

[mtls2005]

Thailand
#101
Ranked no. 101 out of 113 countries
EF EPI score:416
Global average score:502
Position in Asia: 21 of 23

 

https://www.ef.co.th/epi/regions/asia/thailand/

 

https://www.ef.com/assetscdn/WIBIwq6RdJvcD9bc8RMd/cefcom-epi-site/fact-sheets/2023/ef-epi-fact-sheet-thailand-english.pdf

 

 

[Skeptic7]

Not any surprise in the least...totally expected. 

[Sig]

1 hour ago, Jack Hammer said:

I  will most probably obtain some criticism from my submission

I have been to Thailand, for over  30 visits and I was curious at the majority of bar ladies that speak and understand English?   Most of these ladies come from a underprivilege background and have received low quality education only up to Primary School. 

I would go to a bank, post office and most shops and I would have difficulty in communicating in English

My theory about bar  ladies being conversed in English is because they had to learn it to survive amongst the competition.  The rest of the population don't care and don’t put enough effort into learning English..  Put it to the test, if you see a new lady in a bar and not very proficient in English and if she still there after three weeks you’ll be surprised how her English has improved

 

 

 

Maybe the banks should give their tellers a day or two a week off from bank work and have them go work in the bars on those days. They can make a few extra bucks and learn some English! It's a win all the way around! Their customer service interaction in English at the banks will be light years ahead of any other white collar business! Then they'll probably get recruited to work in some other area of the financial world. What an awesome career move that could be.

[kwilco]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

 

Thailand has fared poorly in the English Proficiency Index 2023 from EF, the global English teaching institute.

 

The index is compiled by testing 2.2 million adults across 113 countries and regions. There are five levels of English proficiency according to the EF rankings – very high, high, moderate, low and very low.

 

Guess where Thailand ranked…

 

The test examined English proficiency across ASEAN nations and worldwide, and Thailand has been ranked “very low”, faring the worst of all ASEAN countries included in the test.

 

By Peter Roche

Caption: PHOTO: Reddit

 

Full story: Phuket GO 2023-11-27

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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Same thing every "EF" year using their own criteria that have no connection to real life but serve as a bit of publicity for this organisation who by anyone's standards are a banger short of a barbie

[kwilco]

1 hour ago, Jack Hammer said:

I  will most probably obtain some criticism from my submission

I have been to Thailand, for over  30 visits and I was curious at the majority of bar ladies that speak and understand English?   Most of these ladies come from a underprivilege background and have received low quality education only up to Primary School. 

I would go to a bank, post office and most shops and I would have difficulty in communicating in English

My theory about bar  ladies being conversed in English is because they had to learn it to survive amongst the competition.  The rest of the population don't care and don’t put enough effort into learning English..  Put it to the test, if you see a new lady in a bar and not very proficient in English and if she still there after three weeks you’ll be surprised how her English has improved

 

 

 

Hear hear! Most of the self professed critics probable don't speak a word of  Thaia and have no idea either about language acquisition and education or the EF people themselves.

[Ben Zioner]

So, what are all these foreigners in "teaching jobs" doing here?

[Stargeezr]

Yes since I am Canadian,  i only know British English with help.

  The Boot I know is what I wear when I do not wear shoes. A bonnet is for a little girl 

who wants to cover her head. My vehicle has a windshield. My front door has a wind screen.

See what I mean?

[steven100]

Thailand doesn't want or care for everyone learning english .....

 

90% of school leavers will end up professional cashiers or shelf stackers at :

7-11

Makro

Big C

Tesco 

 

 

 

[JoePai]

2 hours ago, IamNoone88 said:

The UK education system has declined to abysmal levels and they all speak English .. throwing the correlation into doubt me thinks.

Mmm not so sure about that

[steven100]

7 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

So, what are all these foreigners in "teaching jobs" doing here?

 

Wasting time and money because the students aren't interested enough to learn proficient english speaking. 

[thesetat2013]

Thais will never become proficient in their education simply because all schools make it so that the student never fails and is never responsible for doing work to learn. Then the child gets home and nothing is done by the parents to get school work done. There is no real penalties for poor work or no work. I have seen teachers get fired simply because the parent was unhappy their child came home saying they did not understand how to do their homework when in fact their teacher showed them how to do it but the child didn't bother to listen or ask questions to understand it. I have seen Thai teachers giving answers to the final tests for the kids to memorize so they would not fail and then seen those same kids studying just prior to that test. Mind you they did not study how to answer. Instead they studied the order of the places to tick. A,B,C or D haha.. I have seen kids fail even that and be told if they came to clean the classroom their grades would be changed. Many things I have seen that show schools don't care about learning. Their concern is collecting money and passing students... The director of the government school where my daughter went to actually told me his job was to ensure the kids pass. Learning was not relevant... 

[Thailand]

43 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

I'm more on the optimistic side. I realised University's students speak English a bit, at least are able to read. If doing research on internet many abstracts eg are in English. But I admit it's a longer way to go.

Sometimes it comes to my mind what might be the percentage of Thai speaking farangs. Or how many people in UK or US speak another language?

On my last visit to the UK some 8 years ago I noticed there were many people speaking languages other than English.

[Nickcage49]

Shocking. lol

[steven100]

Well even though Thailand ranked the lowest for English speaking they can feel some comfort in that they are one of the highest ranking countries when it comes to corruption.   

[newbee2022]

16 minutes ago, Thailand said:

On my last visit to the UK some 8 years ago I noticed there were many people speaking languages other than English.

That was prior to Brexit😁

[it is what it is]

2 hours ago, NobbyClarke said:

How about employing the Native English Teachers again?

I do not understand most of the Philippine English Teachers (I am British) so how can the Thailand people?

It needs to change.

 

how about employing qualified, experienced teachers?

[StayinThailand2much]

1 hour ago, alanrchase said:

Not too many surprises in the list. Singapore and Malaysia were both British colonies. Philippines had a significant American presence. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia also had years of foreign influence. 

 

That was 50 to 80 years ago... So, you're suggesting that kids in Vietnam or the Philippines speak better English because of events so many decades ago? Maybe you remember, and can tell us about ye olde colonial times you experienced back then...

[steven100]

14 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

 

how about employing qualified, experienced teachers?

 

and what good would that do if the students are just not interested in learning. 

[fondue zoo]

You can't educate a populace, they get uppity, and then you have to apply more physical force which gets expensive. Batons just don't grow on trees you know.

Remember the three pillars of Thainess according to Dr Anutin.

[Mike Lister]

Just now, StayinThailand2much said:

 

That was 50 to 80 years ago... So, you're suggesting that kids in Vietnam or the Philippines speak better English because of events so many decades ago? Maybe you remember, and can tell us about ye olde colonial times you experienced...

He's absolutely correct, occupation by all those countries, Vietnam, Burma, PI all contributed to their education systems and the ease with which the population used English as an active secondary language.

[Chongalulu]

2 hours ago, IamNoone88 said:

The UK education system has declined to abysmal levels and they all speak English .. throwing the correlation into doubt me thinks.

That is not borne out by their place in the PISA educational tables 

[Chongalulu]

6 minutes ago, steven100 said:

 

and what good would that do if the students are just not interested in learning. 

Most students would become interested if the standard of teaching and structure of lessons were improved 

[Moti24]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand has fared poorly in the English Proficiency Index 2023 from EF, the global English teaching institute.

 

No changes there, then!

 

In my years teaching English in Thailand, it was quite common to see Thai teachers teaching English by writing the Thai sentence on the whiteboard, then copy the English sentence from a book underneath.  Yet, most of those Thai teachers had trouble stringing a sentence together.

 

My general opinion is that most Thai students are extremely lazy learners.  Once they realise that they're not going to be doctors, lawyers, pilots, rocket scientists, etc, they just switch-off. 

 

The "Every Student Will Pass" rule doesn't help; every exam period, I had constant arguments with the administration office about students' scores.  

Example:  Student (A) scores 44%, but is attentive in class, completes homework and is keen to learn.  Student (B) scores 12%, is always disruptive in class, doesn't do homework and is a general pain in the backside.  Well, if I have to give student (A) and extra 6 marks, I can live with that.  To give student (B) an extra 38 marks; not before Hell freezes over!  The administration office always changed the scores because I refused.

 

Yes, English proficiency is poor in Thailand, has been for a long time.  Nothing will change until the current education system is replaced with a system that encourages students to learn with teachers that want to teach.

[superal]

11 minutes ago, thesetat2013 said:

Thais will never become proficient in their education simply because all schools make it so that the student never fails and is never responsible for doing work to learn. Then the child gets home and nothing is done by the parents to get school work done. There is no real penalties for poor work or no work. I have seen teachers get fired simply because the parent was unhappy their child came home saying they did not understand how to do their homework when in fact their teacher showed them how to do it but the child didn't bother to listen or ask questions to understand it. I have seen Thai teachers giving answers to the final tests for the kids to memorize so they would not fail and then seen those same kids studying just prior to that test. Mind you they did not study how to answer. Instead they studied the order of the places to tick. A,B,C or D haha.. I have seen kids fail even that and be told if they came to clean the classroom their grades would be changed. Many things I have seen that show schools don't care about learning. Their concern is collecting money and passing students... The director of the government school where my daughter went to actually told me his job was to ensure the kids pass. Learning was not relevant... 

If there was a low pass rate on any subject , it would be a poor reflection on the teachers ability to teach and also the schools reputation as a place of learning . Hence the high passing rate and the children's achievements are not important . It is mostly children of wealthy Thai parents who succeed , by way of high grade schools and/or private tuition . That has been the case with my ladies niece who attended a university in Portsmouth UK for 4 years . She speaks first class English and works as a geologist . She is able to speak about world affairs and tells me that most Thai children are not aware of life outside of Thailand or know little about it . Finally , teaching English should be taught by an British person who speaks the mother language without a strong local dialec e.g. a Glaswegian ( I struggle to understand them too) . Also why does the Thai system reject older people to teach English? Thailand needs to reform its education format to encourage young people to become educated and confident to converse in the global language of English . However some might say that the Thai government are happy with the ways things are which limits higher levels of education to the elite .

[Sydebolle]

The answer is simple = the government, phooyais and the local upper crust does not WANT to speak English and hence the underlings of the land have to follow suit. 

I met Thai teachers, major in English, who could not follow a basic English conversation; some years ago they cleared out most native-English speaking staff (the dirty farang again) and the rest of them is getting paid that little, that nobody in his right mind wants to work here.

Given the fact, that the kids are glued to the telly being hammered with cartoons from the English or Japanese speaking world, they could just let those cartoons run in their original language versions. By the age of, say, ten or so, those children would be able to speak and understand both languages with ZERO effort; to teach them how to write and read would be soooooo much easier. 

But try to convince all those clowns at the education ministry. It remains a fact, that those in charge of improving education are the same people benefitting from the fact, that the education level remains sub-zero. I have never found out, what they do with Thai kids over 15+ years of education in primary, secondary and university levels except exercising three, four days prior to graduation to receive their degree with the ever-so-important-picture; fact is, that they leave the education process not being able to compete with almost any other ASEAN state. A poor certification of how the next generation is being short changed and the result is evident. The most sought after commodity here is semi- or skilled staff; Thailand has the biggest problems regarding Human Resources which makes sure, that the longer the more investors turn away to other countries in the region. 

Their call - really! 

[fondue zoo]

21 minutes ago, steven100 said:

 

and what good would that do if the students are just not interested in learning. 

 

While the sun forever shines, coconut trees abound for hammocks and a bowl of somtam somewhere still costs 30 baht, nothing will change here.

- Basically what my older Thai family here say when I bring this up.

 

So in conclusion, if that holds true, blanket Siam in snow for two months once a year and you'd probably see some "movement".

The place is a tropical paradise, or was before so many humans made it smell, and nobody cares in paradise.

 

[Chongalulu]

2 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

HAHA... I have encountered Singaporeans whose native language is english and they do not speak it very well... much like the british with all that mumbling

So your anecdotal evidence of ONE trumps statistical evidence such as Singapore's top place in the PISA EDUCATIONAL TABLES?

[Walker88]

50 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Hear hear! Most of the self professed critics probable don't speak a word of  Thaia and have no idea either about language acquisition and education or the EF people themselves.

Not sure that argument works.

 

Thailand's economy, at least its modern economy,  is based primarily on 2 things: Tourism and FDI. Having facility with the most international of languages is quite useful in both of those things.

 

Size and neighbors also factor into it. A US person living in, for example, Iowa, can travel 1500km in any direction and still be within the US, and if he keeps going north, and avoids Quebec, eh, he still runs into native English speakers. The incentive to learn another language (coupled with laziness) keeps many monolinqual. (I've learned 7 languages as an adult, but admittedly the early 4 have all but disappeared, as either practice or lack of storage space has taken away my ability. I'm well aware of the difficulty of picking up a new language after puberty, even though full brain development doesn't stop until about age 25. Best to get started learning before age 12.)

 

Travel that same 1500 km distance from, say, Brittany, and one hits maybe 15-20 different languages, so admittedly your argument holds more water in the EU.

 

Still, unless Thailand is going to develop a more domestically-driven economy, better English proficiency would be useful.

[Ombra]

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

And many Thai and western folks don't understand hte brod accents of many UK people. 

Good point. Many years ago, I travelled on a long-distance bus from Bangkok to Chumphon, and I sat next to a young, talkative South African man. He told me that he was going to teach English to young children in a private school, but his accent was so thick that I had to ask him to repeat most of what he said. It was a tiring journey.