Minimum level of Thai knowledge and language for long term residents

[youreavinalaff]

On 1/26/2025 at 9:05 AM, Ben Zioner said:

I have lived (more than 10 years) in France, Israel and Australia, all three offered free language classes for immigrants. I guess I could find expensive language schools in Bangkok or Chiang Mai but not everyone lives there.

No need to find a language school if you are living in Thailand. Every time you go outside your home you are stepping into a,language school. Everyone you meet is a potential teacher.

 

I learnt to speak a good level of conversational Thai by going out on everyday business and speaking, listening and watching. I learnt to read and write with a bunch of 4 year old kids in a Thai class.

[CygnusX1]

1 hour ago, youreavinalaff said:

No need to find a language school if you are living in Thailand. Every time you go outside your home you are stepping into a,language school. Everyone you meet is a potential teacher.

 

I learnt to speak a good level of conversational Thai by going out on everyday business and speaking, listening and watching. I learnt to read and write with a bunch of 4 year old kids in a Thai class

Sounds like you’re one of those fortunate people who can ‘pick up’ a language in a similar way to young children. I could try your way for 20 years and only acquire a few words. Any (very basic) ability I have in French and Thai is the result of a lot of hard grind.

[Justanotherone]

some people seem to forget they teach ENGLISH in thai schools, but hardly anybody can speak it

 

they never thought any grade of thai when I was in school...

 

get the point ?

 

if you want to be the tourist hub of the world, at least teach the people an international travel language

 

but as even immigration site or others are mostly thai, to be used by foreigners, go figure...

[JingerBen]

19 hours ago, DaddyWarbucks said:

If you can't - or won't - assimilate in a few basic ways, then bag-out... the sooner the better.

Not speaking the language is a sensory impairment akin to being deaf and dumb. You don't know what's going on around you.

Living long-term in the expat bubble results in the kind of chronic irritation that is on full display in the forums day after day.

Constant complaining and the nasty denigration of Thais become a familiar refrain.

It isn't confined to Thailand alone.

Wherever large numbers of people go for a "better life" is where you can see this disillusioned bitterness show itself among them.

 

Good points that would be hard to contradict.

My own experience with them has been that the majority of expats here seem rather more intelligent than the average Faranglander.

One of the earlier posts on this thread described the disinclination to learn Thai as "willful ignorance."

I think that nails it.

 

[Bredbury Blue]

On 1/27/2025 at 2:24 PM, simon43 said:

Yes, most expats are non-immigrants, but they maybe stay here for 5, 10, 20 years or more, renewing their non-immigrant visa each year 🙂

 

I think once you're on your 5th annual renewal, you should be required to take a spoken Thai language test.  That shouldn't be too difficult now, should it?

And on maybe on your 5th annual renewal you should get more benefits for passing a spoken Thai language test...like do bi-annual renewals and not annual, na