Thailand Ranked 106th in English Proficiency Out of 116 Countries

[Kinok Farang]

4 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

wow, you really do have issues....by the way, your comment is incorrect, and irrelevant. 

To you maybe.

[dinsdale]

8 hours ago, hotchilli said:

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

 

Is this an opinion or are you basing this on fact. 

[User One]

It would be better for Europeans to learn Thai. They are flying to us in Thailand, not we to them 🤷‍♂️

[dinsdale]

Same old chestnut that comes around once or twice a year and get the same old teacher bashing nonsense from some posters. Very little is ever raised about endemic corruption in the system, crowded classrooms, classrooms with little to no technology in them and let's not forget school activities. Really the list of failings is long and teacher quality is certainly part of it but it's just that. Part of the problem and of course generalising about teacher quality is an obvious nonsense. There are very good teachers and there are not so good teachers.

[Sir Dude]

Generally, there 3 main problems after you get past the brainwashing nonsense of high school and the lack of anything meaningful in elementary school, and they are:

1. General cultural apathy towards the subject with classes that often are like 60 or more (rack em and stack em to save money)... so, managing them is an issue along with teachers not being able to "teach" in those sized classes, it's a lecture. Once you get over 25, then it's not really teaching anymore... but that's what you are paying for at expensive schools, the small classes (plus a few other things).

2. Getting students to participate, practice, do pair and group work, or actually to try. It's the attitude of "Let's just blend in with the herd rather that get singled out" or better to be mediocre and pass instead of inquisitive/ask questions and put you head up. There is a classroom culture of not asking questions... not good.

3. Students, young people, and just people in general (all over the world) are distracted by their electronic devices... scrolling through TikTok shorts or playing FIFA Soccer is much more interesting than listening to some old person talking about the zero conditional or present perfect continuous etc. The more advanced and immersive these devices and apps get, the more distracted people become, especially the young.

[dinsdale]

No student fails. There's an incentive to do nothing right there. Some students will not attend school other than final exams and they are passed.

[zyphodb]

7 hours ago, phetphet said:

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not many, and mostly with Thai English teachers who can barely string a spoken sentence together...

[Harrisfan]

31 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Same old chestnut that comes around once or twice a year and get the same old teacher bashing nonsense from some posters. Very little is ever raised about endemic corruption in the system, crowded classrooms, classrooms with little to no technology in them and let's not forget school activities. Really the list of failings is long and teacher quality is certainly part of it but it's just that. Part of the problem and of course generalising about teacher quality is an obvious nonsense. There are very good teachers and there are not so good teachers.

Some people are just lazy. 

[zyphodb]

7 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

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

 

And millions more can speak Khmer or Malay, it's just Western languages that they have a problem with

[Harrisfan]

2 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

 

And millions more can speak Khmer or Malay, it's just Western languages that they have a problem with

Farangs aren't worth talking to mostly.

[zyphodb]

7 hours ago, outsidetrader said:

On the bright side ,there are so many more International Schools cropping up at a rapid pace and the young guns are slowly but surely getting there .

No hope fror the Dinosaurs so .

Most of the Teachers are native English .

 

So the rich learn English, not a lot of help to the tourist trade...

[hotandsticky]

4 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

 

And millions more can speak Khmer or Malay, it's just Western languages that they have a problem with

 

 

Cambodians generally seem to have less of an issue in learning western languages.

[dinsdale]

6 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Some people are just lazy. 

This is true but it doesn't account for the fact that the education system here (govt.) is broken.

[ikke1959]

48 minutes ago, User One said:

It would be better for Europeans to learn Thai. They are flying to us in Thailand, not we to them 🤷‍♂️

Do you think so? Where can apply for the best paid jobs? What language do you use if you go on holiday to India or so? Thai is only used in Thailand, English is a global language

[ikke1959]

4 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

Most Thais won’t go all over the world. They have no use for English.

 

Surprises me the amount of foreigners who live here for years or decades and are illiterate and effectively deaf mutes. 
And then berate Thais for not speaking English.

That is very easy. Thai is a tone language and we are grown up or used to hear the difference in these tones. That is why it is very difficult to learn. On the other hand Thai people don't like it that your Thai is very good as they like to gossip about you and will change to a kind of dialect.

[MalcolmB]

6 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

On the other hand Thai people don't like it that your Thai is very good as they like to gossip about you and will change to a kind of dialect.

Paranoia is common in non thai speakers who imagine everyone is gossiping about them when they are really only discussing the price of potatoes, chewing gum and guava in France.

[User One]

15 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Do you think so? Where can apply for the best paid jobs? What language do you use if you go on holiday to India or so? Thai is only used in Thailand, English is a global language

Go find yourself a fire extinguisher bro 😆

[kwilco]

5 hours ago, goldenbrwn1 said:

It seems you may have come just in time for the dumbest comment of the week . Or you are prob The Goat under a new username 😂 

Why? Can you explain?

[kwilco]

5 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

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

I seriously doubt you have ever worked in Thailand and experienced the many languages used in industry and commerce. However I'm sure you've spent a lot of time talking to bar girls 

[kwilco]

10 hours 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

Like so many on this thread, you experience of Thai's English Proficiency is limited to bar girls.

[oldestswinger]

3 hours ago, proton said:

Sarasas can be good for learning Englsih, but why do the girls do better at it than boys?

Studies have shown that girls do better than boys in languages, whereas boys are better in science and maths.

[oldestswinger]

1 hour ago, Sir Dude said:

rack em and stack em to save money

School directors are paid more the greater the number of students in their schools.

[Unamerican]

10 hours ago, oustaristocrats said:

they prefer to study Chinese instead of English. 

Don’t we all? 

[Krillin]

The differences between the two languages and the challenges involved in providing adequate learning materials are breathtaking.

- English and Thai do not use the same vowel sounds or consanants.

- There is no universally utilized way to transliterate Thai words into the English alphabet, and visa-versa.

- Thai is a tonal language; English is not. Thais learning English must force themselves to ignore any tones that they hear to, effectively, learn each English word in every possible tonal variety.

- English words are often not spelled phonetically. 

- The English language uses about 170,000 words; Thai, 30-60,000.

- Many, but not all, of the native English teachers in Thailand are unqualified, psychologically unwell people who sometimes have criminal aspirations. Sometimes they are not even native English speakers.

- Every school day at school begins with an attendance-mandatory patriotic/religious celebration and lecture that often cuts into first-period classes, including English lessons.

 

 

[dinsdale]

3 minutes ago, oldestswinger said:

School directors are paid more the greater the number of students in their schools.

Nonsense but there is more money to be made the greater the number of students. 

[Presnock]

11 hours ago, ExpatInCM said:

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.

Having first hand experience with he basic English instructing in elementary schools, I am not surprised in the least.  My first daughter now 55 years old went to ISB first and 2nd grade and struggled a tad with her aThai teacher recommending us to either have another child immediately or get her a pet dog.  Fortunately, 2nd half of 2nd grade and on up was in Internnational schools in Spain, Philippines, Calf, and Italy where she graduated with honors.  Current daughter, graduated from CM internaional school with native English, Thai, 5 years of Chinese and Korean self taught to highest level acheivable in the international Korean govt testing.  So proper English (though British spellings) is available but one has to be well aware of what is being taught.

[RickyJB]

14 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

 

 

 

Ive noticed in Thailand, a big number of those teaching English are not from english speaking countries either, i spoke to an italian woman who i struggled to understand, i made out she was teaching english at a school up north 🤔 her english was shocking 

[goldenbrwn1]

40 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Why? Can you explain?

How you been Goat? 

[QPRFC]

No plobpem

[kwilco]

38 minutes ago, goldenbrwn1 said:

How you been Goat? 

this thread is about how well people speak English - can you make your opinion clear in that language?