I have been very impressed by the English proficiency of all the Bar Girls I have met!!! :)

Just prior to the shut down over Covid I was in Laos changing my Visa status and while in the queue at the Immigration Office my wife and I got into a short conversation with a Filipino who claimed to be an English teacher somewhere in Thailand.

I struggled to understand him and my wife said afterwards that she could not understand him at all !

10 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

There isn't overly high proficiency of Thai comprehension in the Philippines either....

Or amongst expat Poms

15 hours ago, ezflip said:

Having not seen said video, did she perhaps say how she will highlight cultural awarness? Will she use English or Chinese or Russian or French or...

Maybe she will use international sign language... I know a few of those but I am told these are questionable.

Why question the Thai influencer. Questions should be directed to the Supposed Filipina teacher. Isn’t it nice to hide behind postings and not respondb. Re the filipina

16 hours ago, webfact said:

Known Thai influencer Crispy Froid, who teaches English online, responded on January 11 with a video highlighting the importance of cultural awareness when travelling.

English is a world wide-language, and has nothing to do with cultural awareness. Except if she doesn´t mean that Thais are ignorant to all languages except Thai.

10 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

There isn't overly high proficiency of Thai comprehension in the Philippines either....

Relevance? Is Thai a world language, that people use for borderless conversations?

The tourist definitely has a point. Thai workers in the tourist industry need better English skills. But, the reality is that the English test scores for Thai students are going in the wrong direction--down--every year. Instead of improving, they are only getting worse as Thailand works its way to the bottom. Not far to go now.

One problem I see is a lack of really wanting to learn English, even a few words related to the job the Thai is doing. For example, I don't like to use chopsticks. When we eat out, which is a lot, and the restaurant only has chopsticks on the table, I will ask the server for a fork and spoon. The majority of the time, they have no idea what I am asking for. Many also have a problem with salt and pepper. My Thai spouse has to tell them in Thai.

When you are working at a restaurant serving tourists, you should at least know a few basic restaurant related words in English. And, yes, I sometimes do try to ask for a spoon and fork in Thai--which often results in the server looking at my Thai partner, rather than interacting with me and trying to understand what I am asking for.

Thailand needs to watch the vids from the former Singapore Legend....who got his country on board with English skills...and now Singapore is light years ahead of all countries in this region.

Remember, when Rome ruled the world, everyone spoke Latin first, then Greek...but Latin was the Lingua Franca if you wanted to do business.

As long as there is double pricing in Thailand that is tantamount to racism, it cannot be said that Thailand is a hospitable country for tourists.

15 hours ago, ezflip said:

Having not seen said video, did she perhaps say how she will highlight cultural awarness? Will she use English or Chinese or Russian or French or...

Maybe she will use international sign language... I know a few of those but I am told these are questionable.

Face it: you only know the swear words!

Jaja, when I speak to someone, they mix English and Spanish in an Asian accent that indicates they are Filipino. muy bien !

Think Thailands level is bad then try Japan

I don't blame the Grab drivers, I can hardly understand Philipino "English" myself.

It's widely known among English teachers in Thailand that Thailand has a low English proficiency rate, lower than most SEA countries, probably lower than any except Laos. The main underlying reason is that Thailand was never colonized. It remained independent, so its citizens did not have to learn the language of their colonizers. Thais are proud of this, and they should be. However, it's also true that Thai schools are poor at teaching, especially at teaching English. I have heard Chulalongkorn University criticized for its teachers' English ability. But a Filipina criticizing Thais for not understanding her, the Filipina's English, is really a bad joke. Filipinas are hired as English teachers in Thailand because people from the Philippines really do speak better English than do Thai people -- of course almost everybody in SEA speaks better English than Thai people do. But overall, Philippine people's English is not as clear as the English of Americans, any of the British dialects, Australian, etc. Also, we're in Thailand, a beautiful country that somehow managed to stay independent while all the other countries around it were colonized. Thai people will tell you that American English is easier to understand than most, if not all of the many British dialects and certainly easier to understand than Australian, Kiwi, South African, Irish, or Scottish dialects. That is not because American English is "better" in any way. American English is the English most heard on TV, so it's just more common than the others. That a Grab driver did not understand a person from the Philippines speaking English should be no knock on Thailand.

The real point here, for the many who have missed it, is that, if you are going to live in a country foreign to you, it's respectful to learn the language, including reading & texting. Anything else is just laziness! I might add, if you don't know Thai, you're not really living here. You're just in your own expat bubble.

1 hour ago, Don Chance said:

Thai's weaponize language. They don't speak English because this gives then power over Aliens. You will often be surprised that many Thai's can infact speak English but choose not to.

Passive-aggressive language is a form of

indirect communication that expresses negative feelings, anger, or resistance without openly addressing them. This "weaponized" language is a manipulative tactic designed to avoid direct conflict while still making the aggressor's displeasure known, often leaving the recipient feeling confused or guilty

Your making them sound like the French lol

10 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

There isn't overly high proficiency of Thai comprehension in the Philippines either....

Apples and Oranges here, she was talking about the universal language,..... English.

A Thai English teacher addressed a viral complaint by a Filipina tourist about the lack of English comprehension in Thailand. In her response, the teacher emphasised respect and cultural understanding more than language proficiency.

Which is why Thailand is still in the dark ages... plus Thailand wants workers ants who ask no questions, just do as you're told, no need for language proficiency.

1 hour ago, Don Chance said:

You will often be surprised that many Thai's can infact speak English but choose not to.

I wouldn't, I know, and that includes up in Isaarn, where many board members think these people are clueless; they aren't.

Maybe, deep in the village, but not in the shops, Pharmacies, Banks, etc.

They CHOOSE not to communicate in English, my other half says it's laziness.

3 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

A Thai English teacher addressed a viral complaint by a Filipina tourist about the lack of English comprehension in Thailand. In her response, the teacher emphasised respect and cultural understanding more than language proficiency.

Which is why Thailand is still in the dark ages... plus Thailand wants workers ants who ask no questions, just do as you're told, no need for language proficiency.

I agree,

They don't want the peasants educated; they might start questioning things.

Filipino english just as bad with <deleted>loads of wrong grammar too. How the F are they teaching english in Thailand n their own country.

15 minutes ago, JOE BAMA said:

Also, we're in Thailand, a beautiful country that somehow managed to stay independent while all the other countries around it were colonized.

You were doing well until this regurgitated nonsense.

Thailand was left alone as a buffer state to avoid direct confrontation between the British and French.

During World War II, the Japanese walked right in.

Just now, michaellee said:

Filipino english just as bad with <deleted>loads of wrong grammar too. How the F are they teaching english in Thailand n their own country.

It depends on which part of the Philippines they are from as to understanding the difficulty of their dialect/ accent.

What a spoiled brat. How ignorant of her. The only reason Filipinos speak so much English is because of the American imperialism they have been forced to adapt to. Also, Thai people speak much more English than Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodians, or even Koreans or Chinese. Does this “master of English” also travel to other countries to complain about the inconveniences to her delicate nature? What a spoiled brat.

What a horrible rude woman. Not all Filipino people speak English very well either, but fortunately I have never met one as nasty as her.

3 minutes ago, AaronBux1 said:

Thai people speak much more English than Vietnamese

Disagree. My Thai wife disagrees with that too.

So does this site: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1456015/asia-english-proficiency-ranking-by-country/

This woman was simply stating the truth and a lot of people these days have an aversion to that. They will spin things however they want to spin them and add the cultural understanding nonsense, but the reality is that very few Thais speak good English and that's largely due to an incredibly inadequate educational system, the inability to question teachers, the suppression of curiosity and English teachers who have very little proficiency in English.

Deflection is simply that, it doesn't change reality one iota.

Crack open a bottle of Hong Thong to share , show respect for the culture and the individuals around you and its always amazing how many folks will make a decent effort to communicate with you in English in Khon Kaen or anywhere else for that matter.

Of course its not advised in a taxi but on the other hand not unheard of. 555. ( sorry for the dangling participle)

17 hours ago, webfact said:

The Filipina initiated the incident by posting online, expressing her frustration that local Grab drivers in Thailand were not understanding her English.

Perhaps the Filipina expects too much of Grab? I choose and use apps where I do not need any local language skills.

10 minutes ago, AaronBux1 said:

What a spoiled brat. How ignorant of her. The only reason Filipinos speak so much English is because of the American imperialism they have been forced to adopt to. Also, Thai people speak much more English than Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodians, or even Koreans or Chinese. Does this “master of English” also travel to other countries to complain about the inconveniences to her delicate nature? What a spoiled brat.

Where have you travelled?

I travel a lot and have had a very different experience from yours, speaking with Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian nationals.

Many of those people are highly educated, and even the Myanmar people have a much better understanding of and pronunciation of English than the run-of-the-mill Thais.

10 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Disagree. My Thai wife disagrees with that too.

I do as well, see my post above.