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

[Damrongsak]

On 1/26/2025 at 10:41 PM, Presnock said:

...  I also find myself occasionally filling in a word of the same meaning as the Thai word, ...

Same thing happened to me on a vacation trip to Mexico. When my high school Spanish failed, a Thai word or two would pop right in there.  I got some puzzled looks ...

[PomPolo]

1 minute ago, Damrongsak said:

Same thing happened to me on a vacation trip to Mexico. When my high school Spanish failed, a Thai word or two would pop right in there.  I got some puzzled looks ...

I woke up a couple of nights ago speaking Thai in my sleep my misses didn't even have a clue what I was going on about, that's how good at Thai I am!

[rickudon]

Well, i have been here for 15 years and my Thai is abysmal. But i have my excuses.

 

1. A hearing problem. Not the volume, just a very narrow range of pitch. It makes a Tonal language like Thai a struggle. On the phone, even English words are misheard to often.

 

2. Also maybe slightly dyslexic. Dyslexia was not really recognised when i was young. I can read English OK but writing was always a bit harder. Do not start me on Thai characters!

 

3. Not for want of trying. I have, at various times, tried to learn French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Slovak, Cantonese, Arabic and a couple of West African languages as well as Thai. After a month i hit a wall, know a few words but mainly, they just do not 'stick'.

 

4. In Thailand, rarely had any problems. in shops and Offices, between my Thai, their English, a phone translation app and my wife, get a result. Thais all learn some English at school, just most do not care about it and never try to learn it properly. Thai casual conversations? For me, forget it.

 

Am i stupid? No, i have 2 science degrees and can do basic maths in my head (something my wife couldn't understand). Music, languages not easy.