Are Thais taught basic arithmetic?

[Denim]

18 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Bear in mind all the Western languages are just as tough for Thais, because their language does not have combined consonants.

 

Another factor is the Thai alphabet, which is much more difficult to learn than the Greco-Roman.

 

Do you mean combined vowels ? Because they do have combined consonants  E.G  

กรอบ = crisp  ความงาม  =  beauty

There are a lot of confusing things in English

 

 

 

 

[totsakan]

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Another factor is the Thai alphabet, which is much more difficult to learn than the Greco-Roman.

Any factual reason why thai alphabet would be harder than any others?

 

Arabic or Chinese or hieroglyphics for exemple are obviously harder for a western mind but Thai and Latin are rather similar (at least for those who learned both). As i currently learn a "more difficult' alphabet I can tell Thai alphabet was easier for me and felt easier to remember for quite a few reasons.

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, Denim said:

 

Do you mean combined vowels ? Because they do have combined consonants  E.G  

กรอบ = crisp

 

ความงาม  =  beauty

That is the difference.

 

Thais manage to combine three or four vowels in a single word. We do it with consonants.

 

Ask a Thai who has never encountered the word before to pronounce "refrigerator".

[thaipo7]

On 12/13/2024 at 12:12 PM, Lacessit said:

Today, I paid my green fees at a golf course. The cost was 350 baht for 9 holes.

 

I gave the manager a 1000 baht note, and a 50 baht note. He looked confused, and tried to give me the 50 baht note back

 

He was using a calculator. He has said before he has a university degree.

 

It's not the first time I have encountered this. Some staff in 7/11 get it, some do not.

 

Is it the education system?

Do this in the US.  Been doing it for years are gas stations and watch the person struggle on what the change should be.

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, totsakan said:

Any factual reason why thai alphabet would be harder than any others?

 

Arabic or Chinese or hieroglyphics for exemple are obviously harder for a western mind but Thai and Latin are rather similar (at least for those who learned both). As i currently learn a "more difficult' alphabet I can tell Thai alphabet was easier for me and felt easier to remember for quite a few reasons.

24 vowels, 4 special vowels and a silent vowel? A language that has three or four different versions of the letter "K"?

 

English has 5 vowels. I rest my case.

[Denim]

19 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

That is the difference.

 

Thais manage to combine three or four vowels in a single word. We do it with consonants.

 

Ask a Thai who has never encountered the word before to pronounce "refrigerator".

 

Like this ?

 

 

[totsakan]

5 hours ago, Lacessit said:

24 vowels, 4 special vowels and a silent vowel? A language that has three or four different versions of the letter "K"?

 

English has 5 vowels. I rest my case.

it's still very  similar (for those who try to understand at least) and this many people who speak and read different languages including Thai might agree with what i say... Try Japanese reading for 10mn from any method and you will understand how different it can be.

If one builds conclusions based on a few hours pretending to learn Thai, his conclusions may not be exact, excuses for not learning or even pure fantasy...

Speaking Thai gets you LOTS of advantages everyday, especially because only a few foreigners dare to learn.

I speak Thai only with those I want to talk with and understand pretty well what people say, feel or even think about me out loud sometimes. Foreign Thai speakers get easier life (like normal adults), smiles, freebies, respect, friends and can impress women without even trying...

As long as very few try to learn Thai those who do will be treated way better in most situations (exactly like in our home countries... where racists expect foreigners to be fluent within a week).

 

DON'T LEARN THAI... and feel like a dumb kid in every situations.

[Liverpool Lou]

23 hours ago, Lacessit said:

It must be disappointing when I fail to respond to their baiting.

Don't flatter yourself, they probably couldn't care less.

[Liverpool Lou]

20 hours ago, Sierra Tango said:

Why complicate a simple transaction. That's not how any Thai cashiers are used to calculating change.

Questioning their intelligense and education just proves your lack of compassion to those who may have had a poorer upbringing to yours. Think about it. Don't like it here? Move on.

 

Hear, hear!

[Liverpool Lou]

19 hours ago, Schoggibueb said:

1989, Manaus, Brazil: I had a soup and a beer in a run down "restaurant" near the harbour. Costed together 17 Cruzados Nuovo (10 for the beer +7 for the soup). Wanted to pay and laid the exact amount on the table.

You didn't tip?  Tight.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Bear in mind all the Western languages are just as tough for Thais, because their language does not have combined consonants.

 

Another factor is the Thai alphabet, which is much more difficult to learn than the Greco-Roman.

But no tones, that is the real killer. Just my opinion. Same word for two different things, but different tones.

[Lacessit]

57 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Don't flatter yourself, they probably couldn't care less.

Since you seem determined to try to provoke me. you can join them. Bye bye.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, totsakan said:

it's still very  similar (for those who try to understand at least) and this many people who speak and read different languages including Thai might agree with what i say... Try Japanese reading for 10mn from any method and you will understand how different it can be.

If one builds conclusions based on a few hours pretending to learn Thai, his conclusions may not be exact, excuses for not learning or even pure fantasy...

Speaking Thai gets you LOTS of advantages everyday, especially because only a few foreigners dare to learn.

I speak Thai only with those I want to talk with and understand pretty well what people say, feel or even think about me out loud sometimes. Foreign Thai speakers get easier life (like normal adults), smiles, freebies, respect, friends and can impress women without even trying...

As long as very few try to learn Thai those who do will be treated way better in most situations (exactly like in our home countries... where racists expect foreigners to be fluent within a week).

 

DON'T LEARN THAI... and feel like a dumb kid in every situations.

I don't disagree learning Thai is advantageous, and speak it well enough to cope with most situations. If I had learned it from childhood, I would be fluent.

 

I learned Latin, French and German as a teenager. Saying Thai is like Latin is ridiculous.

 

I did not start learning Thai until my late sixties, another reason for its difficulty. Perhaps you could cut older people some slack.

[totsakan]

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I don't disagree learning Thai is advantageous, and speak it well enough to cope with most situations. If I had learned it from childhood, I would be fluent.

 

I learned Latin, French and German as a teenager. Saying Thai is like Latin is ridiculous.

 

I did not start learning Thai until my late sixties, another reason for its difficulty. Perhaps you could cut older people some slack.

it's pub time Andy cap, if you can not understand what i say, go to discuss linguistics and philosophy with with Bob the builder and postman pat... i am adult, and i have better things to do if you don't understand what i say and call it ridiculous... up to you!

DON'T LEARN THAI... and feel like a dumb kid in every situations.

ทำไมฝรั่งพูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้?
เพราะฝรั่งเป็นผลไม้

I have nothing else to add...

[Lacessit]

28 minutes ago, totsakan said:

it's pub time Andy cap, if you can not understand what i say, go to discuss linguistics and philosophy with with Bob the builder and postman pat... i am adult, and i have better things to do if you don't understand what i say and call it ridiculous... up to you!

DON'T LEARN THAI... and feel like a dumb kid in every situations.

ทำไมฝรั่งพูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้?
เพราะฝรั่งเป็นผลไม้

I have nothing else to add...

The Romans wrote in a similar alphabet as is used for English today, and they separated words with spaces just like we do. The Thai language does neither.

 

You can hardly describe yourself as adult if you can't handle valid criticism.

 

 

[recom273]

On 12/13/2024 at 12:12 PM, Lacessit said:

Today, I paid my green fees at a golf course. The cost was 350 baht for 9 holes.

 

I gave the manager a 1000 baht note, and a 50 baht note. He looked confused, and tried to give me the 50 baht note back

 

He was using a calculator. He has said before he has a university degree.

 

It's not the first time I have encountered this. Some staff in 7/11 get it, some do not.

 

Is it the education system?

 

I haven't done this in years, I think since I had experiences like yours.

 

Giving the people the "odd" thinking you are helping isnt really part of the culture here.

[BJM1950]

I don't think so.

Nor do they have general knowledge.

 

 

[GinBoy2]

On 12/12/2024 at 10:56 PM, FritsSikkink said:

Have a look in your home country, very likely the same.

Thats actually quite true I think.

 

The young kids who work for me are at a total loss with mental arithmetic, and without the calculator on their phones go into a tailspin.

 

I'm pretty sure most of us here are of an age when we recited multiplication tables at school, and did what I consider basic mental math. Doesn't work like like that anymore.

 

As a high schooler one of my part time jobs was working as a cashier at a local store. Long before electronic cash registers, you did the math to calculate change in your head. A skill long gone I fear.

 

One good solar flare to knock out the electricity grid, and we'll be back in the dark ages.

 

So no, this is a problem not confined to Thailand, but given the Thai education system a little worse

[Lacessit]

59 minutes ago, recom273 said:

 

I haven't done this in years, I think since I had experiences like yours.

 

Giving the people the "odd" thinking you are helping isnt really part of the culture here.

You may be right, perhaps I should stop trying to be helpful.

[cdemundo]

On 12/13/2024 at 12:12 PM, Lacessit said:

Today, I paid my green fees at a golf course. The cost was 350 baht for 9 holes.

 

I gave the manager a 1000 baht note, and a 50 baht note. He looked confused, and tried to give me the 50 baht note back

 

He was using a calculator. He has said before he has a university degree.

 

It's not the first time I have encountered this. Some staff in 7/11 get it, some do not.

 

Is it the education system?

Tell him what you were thinking, "Can you give me seven 100s?".

You are giving him a 50 so you won't get a 50 back so maybe not obvious what you wanted.

[scorecard]

On 12/13/2024 at 12:12 PM, Lacessit said:

Today, I paid my green fees at a golf course. The cost was 350 baht for 9 holes.

 

I gave the manager a 1000 baht note, and a 50 baht note. He looked confused, and tried to give me the 50 baht note back

 

He was using a calculator. He has said before he has a university degree.

 

It's not the first time I have encountered this. Some staff in 7/11 get it, some do not.

 

Is it the education system?

 

Are Thais taught basic arithmetic?

Rate this topic

• Yes they are!     'How to use a calculator" can be all done is half a day or less. 

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, cdemundo said:

Tell him what you were thinking, "Can you give me seven 100s?".

You are giving him a 50 so you won't get a 50 back so maybe not obvious what you wanted.

 

Maybe the golf course guy thought that the 50Baht note was a tip and maybe not allowed?

[Lacessit]

Just now, scorecard said:

 

Maybe the golf course guy thought that the 50Baht note was a tip and maybe not allowed?

Caddies get tips. Managers don't.

[pl8lad]

On 12/13/2024 at 11:42 AM, Lacessit said:

Today, I paid my green fees at a golf course. The cost was 350 baht for 9 holes.

 

I gave the manager a 1000 baht note, and a 50 baht note. He looked confused, and tried to give me the 50 baht note back

 

He was using a calculator. He has said before he has a university degree.

 

It's not the first time I have encountered this. Some staff in 7/11 get it, some do not.

 

Is it the education system?

This is something that happened to me, twice, over a 6 year period of living in Siam.  Buying a cap for 199 Baht, giving the seller 2 x 100 Baht notes, and about to say, keep the change, she picks up the calculator, and plus 200, minus 199 ?????   I just look at her, She reaches for 1 baht, I hold up my hand and say Mai Pen Rai, keep it. She smiles and nods.   The 2nd time it was for a 199 Baht key ring, of course I give the young lass 200 Baht, and the same thing happens, calculator out and 200 minus 199, Some people are either addicted to calculators, or have very little knowledge of maths, something you would think of is that maths is a major part of selling.   Isn't it??   Life !!

[recom273]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

You may be right, perhaps I should stop trying to be helpful.

 

but its really sad, isnt it?

 

It's like holding doors open for people. It's that brief moment where someone does something so small but can mean a lot. 

[Luuk Chaai]

On 12/13/2024 at 12:12 PM, Lacessit said:

Today, I paid my green fees at a golf course. The cost was 350 baht for 9 holes.

 

I gave the manager a 1000 baht note, and a 50 baht note. He looked confused, and tried to give me the 50 baht note back

 

He was using a calculator. He has said before he has a university degree.

 

It's not the first time I have encountered this. Some staff in 7/11 get it, some do not.

 

Is it the education system?

it's everywhere ..  even back in the US ..    cashiers are fundamentally  null and void of basic math

the look of panic when you hand them  $10.10 for a $9.10 purchase is sickening .. and they rely on the register to tell them what to do

oh.  and let's not limit this to cashiers ..  it's as others have pointed out   a generational lack of basic training