Thailand Ranked 106th in English Proficiency Out of 116 Countries

[webfact]

 

Picture courtesy of KhaoSod

 

Thailand's struggle with English proficiency has been highlighted in a global ranking, placing the nation 106th out of 116 countries, according to the EF English Proficiency Index released recently. This result underscores a significant challenge, positioning Thailand in the "very low proficiency" category.

 

The survey, conducted by EF Education First, a leading name in English language education, assesses proficiency levels worldwide. Thailand's score of 415 points highlights its positioning as 21st in Asia and 7th among ASEAN countries, lagging behind neighbours like Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

 

Globally, the top rankings were claimed by the Netherlands (636 points), with Norway (610 points) and Singapore (609 points) closely following. This stark contrast emphasizes the formidable language barriers Thailand faces in comparison to these nations.

 

This ranking has prompted reflection within Thailand’s educational sphere. The Ministry of Education has previously explored efforts to modernise its basic educational curriculum, which has remained unchanged since 2008. The Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) spearheaded this initiative last year, proposing a revision of the curriculum to include more contemporary, technology-centred subjects.

OBEC Secretary-General Thanu Wongjinda mentioned that an appointed revision panel would soon commence work to re-evaluate subjects and propose enhancements, particularly focusing on reducing school hours. Thai students currently face some of the longest school hours globally, a factor that might contribute to insufficient focus on effective language learning.

 

This issue raises the critical question: Will Thailand implement effective strategies to enhance its global communication skills, or remain behind in the linguistic race? Adopting measures that focus on practical English use beyond traditional classroom learning could be pivotal in overcoming this barrier.

 

As nations worldwide make strides in English proficiency, Thailand stands at a crossroads—either to embrace and enhance its educational strategies or continue facing challenges in global arenas. Now, more than ever, is the time for transformational changes in the educational landscape to equip future generations with the skills they need to thrive internationally, reported The Thaiger

 

-- 2025-02-14

 

 

 

[ExpatInCM]

So many English speaking people find it very difficult to learn Thai, so it is not really surprising that so many Thai people find it difficult to learn English.  

 

I've been watching this annual reports come out for about 15 years now, and Thailand's ranking has not moved very much overy this time period.

[kwilco]

sme EF company every year - got nothing to do with reality, just trying to sell their product.

[Kiwiken]

A lot has to do with the quality of English taught. At a couple of schools I visited I was surprised at the poor level of English language teaching

[oustaristocrats]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

 

Picture courtesy of KhaoSod

 

Thailand's struggle with English proficiency has been highlighted in a global ranking, placing the nation 106th out of 116 countries, according to the EF English Proficiency Index released recently. This result underscores a significant challenge, positioning Thailand in the "very low proficiency" category.

 

The survey, conducted by EF Education First, a leading name in English language education, assesses proficiency levels worldwide. Thailand's score of 415 points highlights its positioning as 21st in Asia and 7th among ASEAN countries, lagging behind neighbours like Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

 

Globally, the top rankings were claimed by the Netherlands (636 points), with Norway (610 points) and Singapore (609 points) closely following. This stark contrast emphasizes the formidable language barriers Thailand faces in comparison to these nations.

 

This ranking has prompted reflection within Thailand’s educational sphere. The Ministry of Education has previously explored efforts to modernise its basic educational curriculum, which has remained unchanged since 2008. The Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) spearheaded this initiative last year, proposing a revision of the curriculum to include more contemporary, technology-centred subjects.

 

OBEC Secretary-General Thanu Wongjinda mentioned that an appointed revision panel would soon commence work to re-evaluate subjects and propose enhancements, particularly focusing on reducing school hours. Thai students currently face some of the longest school hours globally, a factor that might contribute to insufficient focus on effective language learning.

 

This issue raises the critical question: Will Thailand implement effective strategies to enhance its global communication skills, or remain behind in the linguistic race? Adopting measures that focus on practical English use beyond traditional classroom learning could be pivotal in overcoming this barrier.

 

As nations worldwide make strides in English proficiency, Thailand stands at a crossroads—either to embrace and enhance its educational strategies or continue facing challenges in global arenas. Now, more than ever, is the time for transformational changes in the educational landscape to equip future generations with the skills they need to thrive internationally, reported The Thaiger

 

-- 2025-02-14

 

 

 

 

Yes, and most striking, their last 10+ prime ministers, including the current one, are absolutely illiterate in English. I sometimes believe they prefer to study Chinese instead of English. 

[khaowong1]

But Vietnam, Singapore and the Phillipines seem to handle it rather well. 

 

[kwilco]

35 minutes ago, Kiwiken said:

A lot has to do with the quality of English taught. At a couple of schools I visited I was surprised at the poor level of English language teaching

You need to see how it's done in other countries.  I used to have to guage language levels and quite frankly I don't think most people know how to do it. Also langauge acquisition isn't necessarily carried out at school level, it is often after school age.

I also note that almost all Thai kids know the western alphabet which many other countries don't.

[kwilco]

3 minutes ago, khaowong1 said:

But Vietnam, Singapore and the Phillipines seem to handle it rather well. 

 

What are you basing that assessment on and WHO?

V/N ses a western based writing system and Philillipines use the normal Latin script. Singapore is a small city state famous for it's draconian laws and edc=ucation - most people are multilingual.

In Thailand many people speak Thai, Laos, and Chinese, Korean, Japanese as well as some English and now a bit of Russian.

since Brexit the importance of English in countries like Thailand has also diminished

[Zaphod Priest]

1 minute ago, oustaristocrats said:

 

Yes, and most striking, their last 10+ prime ministers, including the current one, are absolutely illiterate in English. 

 

Tosh. 

 

Abhisit is fluent in English.  He went to Eton and has a degree in Economics from Oxford.

 

Srettha  got a degree in Finance from University of Massachusetts Amherst.

 

Yingluck Shinawatra has a master's degree in public administration from Kentucky State University.

 

 

[kwilco]

11 minutes ago, oustaristocrats said:

 

Yes, and most striking, their last 10+ prime ministers, including the current one, are absolutely illiterate in English. I sometimes believe they prefer to study Chinese instead of English. 

Firstly Abhisit was born in Newcastle, and many Thai people (about 30%) are of Chinese descent and have spoken Chinese since childhood. 

[ozz1]

What makes me laugh is most bar girls speak English because it's in their interest to get money out of men but the rest of the population don't really give a dam  and most of the english teachers don't even speak english so it won't improve

[Jim Blue]

Ozz this is a double edged sword , I always thought silence was a wonderful quality in a woman !

[klauskunkel]

17 minutes ago, khaowong1 said:

But Vietnam, Singapore and the Phillipines seem to handle it rather well. 

 

Yes. And just see what kind of alphabet they are using...

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's struggle with English proficiency has been highlighted in a global ranking, placing the nation 106th out of 116 countries, according to the EF English Proficiency Index released recently. This result underscores a significant challenge, positioning Thailand in the "very low proficiency" category.

Despite throwing billions of baht into the curriculum, the general level of education has plummeted.

As for English proficiency the quality of teaching and quality of teachers has dropped so much that the English standard is now a joke.

 

[kwilco]

35 minutes ago, ozz1 said:

What makes me laugh is most bar girls speak English because it's in their interest to get money out of men but the rest of the population don't really give a dam  and most of the english teachers don't even speak english so it won't improve

obviously have never worked in Thailand, then

 

[ikke1959]

The biggest problem in Thai education is the non fail policy. Kids are not pushed to learn as they will pass to the next grade. So why should they learn and do their best to learn a foreign language. Besides that there are many Thai English teachers that hardly can speak English. They are good at grammar but how can you teach to speak English and motivate students if even the teacher is unable to do it. As an example, my vice director was a master in English, but she could hardly speak with me. Thailand want things, but the first thing they need is willing to change

[bkk6060]

No English, corruption and terrible drivers= 3rd world.

[ikke1959]

56 minutes ago, kwilco said:

What are you basing that assessment on and WHO?

V/N ses a western based writing system and Philillipines use the normal Latin script. Singapore is a small city state famous for it's draconian laws and edc=ucation - most people are multilingual.

In Thailand many people speak Thai, Laos, and Chinese, Korean, Japanese as well as some English and now a bit of Russian.

since Brexit the importance of English in countries like Thailand has also diminished

I don't where you come from or what you do but only  a handful of people in Thailand can speak another language than Thai. 

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, oustaristocrats said:

 

Yes, and most striking, their last 10+ prime ministers, including the current one, are absolutely illiterate in English. I sometimes believe they prefer to study Chinese instead of English. 

Born in England to Thai Chinese parents, Abhisit also holds British citizenship. He attended Eton College and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Oxford. After his graduation he taught as an economics lecturer at Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy and Thammasat University.

[craighj]

The unfortunate facts of life are that education, the normal public schools, system here in Thailand is extremely poor.  English in many, many cases is taught by non English speaks who can't actually hold a conversation in English themselves!  It is better than it was 20 years ago, but not a lot better!

[spidermike007]

The first thing they could do to improve English skills would be to hire only foreign teachers. No Thai teachers at all. They need earnest people with strong language skills, who are not afraid of silly things like losing face to young students. The ability to question the teacher is a fundamental aspect of learning.

 

Are the dinosaurs serious about learning skills, or are they just embarrassed by such a low proficiency score? In the interim, Thailand continues to move backwards. 

[Harrisfan]

54 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

I don't where you come from or what you do but only  a handful of people in Thailand can speak another language than Thai. 

Millions can speak Lanna or Isaan languages. Many can speak Korean.

[phetphet]

Reducing school hours isn't the answer, it's what is taught in those hours. Improve the quality of teaching and cut the brainwashing. Stop teaching on a shoestring budget.

More exposure to English via media in schools would help. Especially in rural school where the children won't come across English speakers so much.

 

i wonder how many hours are devoted to English lessons each week in Thai government schools.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kinok Farang]

And England must rank 116th for learning other languages.

It's really embarrassing for Brits abroad when all their language skills are ,talking louder and slower in English.

Shame on the education system.

[1happykamper]

Is it due to arrogance on behalf of Thai? We all know that most Thai believe that this country is the very best place in the world and so why learn English...that might appear subservient? 

 

From what I've read Thai are very bad at speaking and reading /writing Thai! 

[Toby1947]

2 hours ago, Zaphod Priest said:

 

Tosh. 

 

Abhisit is fluent in English.  He went to Eton and has a degree in Economics from Oxford.

 

Srettha  got a degree in Finance from University of Massachusetts Amherst.

 

Yingluck Shinawatra has a master's degree in public administration from Kentucky State University.

 

 

Yes all bought down the Koasan Rd. in Bangkok. 100 baht apiece. I take my place in the House of Lords on a regular basis as Lord Billy of Boll+cks.

[nikmar]

2 hours ago, Kiwiken said:

A lot has to do with the quality of English taught. At a couple of schools I visited I was surprised at the poor level of English language teaching

 

I worked at a government school a long time ago. An English guy who used to teach in the UK worked there and, by all accounts, was very popular. 

 

Unfortunately, one day, he made the mistake of correcting a Thai English teacher's bad English in front of a class.

 

He was sacked the next day.

[Celsius]

Bargirls keeping Thailand from being ranked 116

[tonypattaya]

Nothing less than DISGRACEFUL. The government must do more. Maybe appoint a minister whose job it is, solely, to improve the English proficiency throughout the land.

Some think that their own language is the one that everyone should learn, not understanding that if a foreigner learns Thai, it will only hep in Thailand, but if a Thai learns English, it will help him all over the world.

Wake up government, you were appointed to do a job!

[JoePai]

2 hours ago, kwilco said:

Firstly Abhisit was born in Newcastle, 

Well that just goes to prove he cannot speak English  🤣