Long-time Farang Residents And Their Thai Language Vacancy

[zzaa09]

I believe this is more common than not amongst 'old hands'. Then there are the numerous examples that might dispell this OP, as a handful do quite well. Unless such individuals have lived their lives here completely surrounded in Farang circles, how is it that these jokers never have absorbed the language? We're talking about good Farang residents with wife, children, home, business, etc. I would believe after 7-8 years or even 20 years something would have rubbed off, yes? Comprehending the written word might be one thing, but lack of communicating in everyday verbal manner.......what's wrong with these people? Bladdy lazy? Stubborn? Have a bee under their bonnet as it comes to a subliminal superiority in their nature? I've known many long-time Farang residents that seem to belong to this category. I'm sure you might as well.....what's the pyschology behind them?

[Birdman]

Laziness, complacency, unconcern, lack of interest, having personal translator, did not expect to stay here that long, try to learn, but cannot remember a word, never speak with Thais anyway, generally never speak with someone else, thinks that he can speak Thai, but in reality cannot, can speak Thai, but not Lao, and so forth.

[sukeroku]

I worked for 3 years with a Japanese couple that had been in the US for 20 years and spoke virtually no English. They shopped in Japanese wholesale districts and ran a Japanese Restaurant. They lived in their own surreal world, oblivious to the goings on of much of California social life. It was kind of cute, and kind of nostalgic how they kept the culture of their young adulthood intact and unaffected.

A similar thing often happens to farang here in Thailand and if they are happy then what of it. If they are unhappy, offer them tools. As a farang in Thailand, I'm happiest when I'm not fretting about other farangs in Thailand.

Myself, I studied for 5 months at Union Language School full time when coming to Thailand 12 years ago. It was the best thing I could have done. That said, I think many would find it incredibly tedious.

Edited July 27, 2009 by sukeroku

[zzaa09]

Laziness, complacency, unconcern, lack of interest, having personal translator, did not expect to stay here that long, try to learn, but cannot remember a word, never speak with Thais anyway, generally never speak with someone else, thinks that he can speak Thai, but in reality cannot, can speak Thai, but not Lao, and so forth.

Surely, for the older residents, wouldn't one consider a language comprehension a beneficial plus? Know the language, know the culture.......or not.

[Birdman]

Laziness, complacency, unconcern, lack of interest, having personal translator, did not expect to stay here that long, try to learn, but cannot remember a word, never speak with Thais anyway, generally never speak with someone else, thinks that he can speak Thai, but in reality cannot, can speak Thai, but not Lao, and so forth.

Surely, for the older residents, wouldn't one consider a language comprehension a beneficial plus? Know the language, know the culture.......or not.

The energy to put into that would be more strenuous, then then the advantages of the results...

...FOR THEM! I can speak Thai fluently. But I accept others who don't. It's up to them...

[Jackrabbit]

I have lived here almost six years and do not have a very good grasp of the Thai language yet.

Partly because I have been too busy with supporting my family (& extended family) to sit down and really study/learn the language.

German and Spanish were easy for me but Thai has/is a real challenge.

Maybe age plays a part also.

[bangla]

most farang living in thailand are pensioned and it's tough to learn a new language when you're 65+.

especially thai.

[zzaa09]

most farang living in thailand are pensioned and it's tough to learn a new language when you're 65+.

especially thai.

I might counter your speculative statistic as to the percentage of resident Farang being of this pension/retirement class. I believe that the 65+ group is in the high minority. More common to find Westerners in their 30s and 40s......

[metisdead]

After all these years coming here, no, I am not fluent. I do speak enough that the Thais start rattling off on me and then I wind up doing the shoulder shrug. There are some in the group of friends who were in the same line of work (oil & gas exploration, seismic end of it) who are even worser than me. Afterall we weren't here full time, gone for 6-8 weeks work and than back in for 3-4 weeks time off, etc., therefore not the effort to really get into it.

[bangla]

most farang living in thailand are pensioned and it's tough to learn a new language when you're 65+.

especially thai.

I might counter your speculative statistic as to the percentage of resident Farang being of this pension/retirement class. I believe that the 65+ group is in the high minority. More common to find Westerners in their 30s and 40s......

that must be the holiday makers.

most 30-40 year olds are still working their nuts off in farangland to save up for their retirement in thailand

[bangla]

without a good teacher it's very difficult to learn thai.

if i mispronounce a word slightly then my wife doesn't seem to have a clue what i'm talking about.

a bit strange because she expects me to understand her without problem when she says 'fit' when she means 'fish'.

[heretostay]

My few satangs:

- Live and let live! Who are you/we to judge others? If they're happy to live in isolation, and they're not bothering people, where's the problem?

- It is especially hard for English speakers to learn any other language since much of our contact in the "foreign" country is with educated people who, chances are, speak better English than we do their language. This is exacerbated with Thai, where pronunciation is a real challenge for people with non-tonal mother tongues. (This partly explains why English mother-tongue speakers so rarely master a second language; it's not entirely due to the individual's laziness.)

- It is also difficult for non-Thai speakers to learn Thai because of the lack of good-quality teaching materials, methods, and tutors. This has surely improved somewhat over the five years that I've been here, but Thai language learning materials are still way behind the big European languages, Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, and Japanese. (And I don't understand why most of the schools and methods for Thai language force the beginner to use phonetic symbols rather than the Thai alphabet - this serves no purpose at all - since the learner has to acquire a new and basically useless "alphabet" and blocks him/her from using his/her environment as a classroom, for example by reading signs and billboards.)

- Finally, the Thais are so accepting of foreigners. They don't seem to be bothered by the communication problems (in both directions). You wouldn't expect the Brits, the Americans, or the French to put up with any of that!

After five years here, I am still struggling with Thai language - because of my now advanced age? Surely that plays a role. My laziness? ditto. But surely there are other factors unrelated to me as an individual (see above).

[KhunOr]

There are many successful farang expats (old hands) who speak only enough Thai to get by in simple situations. There are a few who are too arrogant or too lazy to learn, and that's a shame. And some who are hampered by age and difficulty in learning languages (which does not equate to being unintelligent). Educated Thai people recognise this and have no problem with it at all. It seems to upset certain opinionated farangs much more!

In my long observation, I can say that many non-fluent farang expats work in businesses that employ English speaking Thais (or have English speaking PAs) and mix socially with educated Thais who are more than happy to converse in English. It would be most arrogant and quite incorrect to suggest that these people don't understand Thailand or Thai culture. People who run successful businesses have to understand this better than most. They can learn everything through participation, observation and conversation with intelligent Thais who speak English.

Here's something to laugh about:

Scientists Discover Inverse Relationship Between Expats' Income and Thai Fluency

BANGKOK – Researchers have published the results of the first-ever study of the Thai-speaking habits of foreign expatriates in Thailand, which confirms the long-held belief that the more Thai a farang speaks, the less likely he is to have any money.

"The data are unambiguous," declared Hitesh Murkh, the lead scientist on the project, which was sponsored by Thammasat University and surveyed over 2,000 permanent residents of foreign nationality in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Udon Thani, and Phuket. "There is a consistent and predictable inverse relationship between income and fluency that cuts across almost all age groups, education levels, and nationalities."

According to the study's executive summary, which was distributed to the press, the highest Thai-language fluency among expatriates was to be found among members of the lowest paying jobs in industries such as tourism, teaching, and small-scale NGO work. Whereas the least proficient Thai speakers were heavily concentrated in the high-paying professional sectors of business, finance, and regional marketing.

"It confirms our original suspicions that with most expats, Thai fluency is a both a time-consuming hobby as well as a socially compensatory skill," explained Weng-min Huang, a sociologist who co-authored the report. "Low-paid expats have both the time to devote to Thai studies as well as the motivation. They can't afford to eat in nice restaurants, party in upscale nightclubs, or shop for tasteful furniture and quality electronics in their spare time. Additionally, their poverty of lifestyle and material possessions makes them unable to attract mates, so they have the motivation to adapt a non-material mating skill – speaking Thai."

Other aggravating circumstances included poor expats' tendencies to live in low income neighborhoods, where interactions with non-English speaking retailers and neighbors was unavoidable, compared to the insulated lives of expats with money. Huang cited the example of "James" and "Will," two of the study's in-depth participants.

"James lives in Center Point Serviced Apartments, has an English-speaking Burmese driver, shops at Paragon, eats at Gianni and goes to Bed Supperclub on weekends," Huang said. "His staff includes a trilingual secretary and two full-time translators. He can literally go for months without encountering a single non-English speaking person. Even his girlfriend, a light-skinned Chinese-Thai model and VJ, speaks perfect English." According to the study, someone like James whose income is Bt350,000/month, requires a Thai vocabulary of only 50 words, including basic numbers and taxi directions.

"Compare that to Will, who teaches English at Ramkhamhaeng, lives in Bang Kapi, and makes Bt30,000 a month. He shops at Tesco, eats street noodles and spends his evenings in internet cafes, posting self-righteous opinions on Ajarn.com about how much he hates people like James." According to Huang, "Will's only hope of getting laid without paying for it, which he couldn't afford anyway, is to speak lots of Thai and crack jokes with his students, and hope one of them introduces him to their older sister."

Oddly, the exceptions to the rule came at the extremes of the data. Some of the highest paid subjects such as diplomats, consultants, and specialized UN and development workers spoke fluent Thai despite being paid huge international salaries. At the low end there was a cluster of data representing near-destitute men over the age of 65 in Chiang Mai and Udon who, despite incomes lower than the average factory worker, still didn't speak more than 30 words of bar-Thai. "These lifers have nothing to offer and have stopped trying," suggested Murkh. "They're pretty much just waiting to die, preferably beneath a once-a-month rented sex-worker."

The other anomaly in the data was women expats, who showed universally superior Thai language skills at all income levels. However, the significance of the anomaly was dismissed by the researchers as insignificant, since women made up less than 2% of the expatriate population.

Reaction to the study was generally positive. Brendan Freedman, a securities analyst at Citibank, admitted he spoke almost no Thai and had no intention of learning. "Why bother," he said, "when everything in this town is in English? And anyway, why waste a weekend studying Thai when I can be kite-surfing in Hua Hin?" His sentiments were echoed by Ron Frakes, an editor at a lifestyle magazine, who took daily Thai lessons for a year, but quit the moment he landed a Bt100,000/month job.

However, several English teachers interviewed took issue with the suggestion that their Thai was any kind of compensatory skill. "I love Thailand, the real Thailand, not the Q-Bar fantasy world of those corporate <deleted>," insisted Ted Callendar, a freelance teacher. "I eat real Thai food, and I date real Thai women, and I couldn't be prouder. Money isn't freedom, it's--" he said before being cut off by a call from his monolingual Thai girlfriend on his 6-year old Nokia 3310 phone.

[Benjie]

I've lived here for a while and cant speak fluent Thai. I'm not particularly good at languages and have a busy schedule with what seems like no time to learn. It doesn't mean I'm lazy, or think I'm superior to Thais or any of the other phrases bandied around. I'm just not very good at languages.

I'd go so far as to say its arrogant to think that because you know Thai fluently you can make those judgements on others. I'm naturally good at Maths but I don't look down on those who aren't or suggest they are; arrogant for not learning algebra, acting superior for not learning division, lazy for not taking the time to know Pi to 100 decimal places etc....

I think what it really tends to be is that those who have to learn Thai to simply survive, teachers and the like - have a lot more pressure to do so, having had to learn Thai they start to look down upon those who haven't.

The article quoted above is written in jest, I think however it conceals a fair level of truth within.

[PeaceBlondie]

Cop, coon, crap.

I believe this is more common than not amongst 'old hands'.

6+ years in Thailand, and my hands are older than most garuda.

Unless such individuals have lived their lives here completely surrounded in Farang circles,

Lived first two years full time alongside Thai teachers.

how is it that these jokers never have absorbed the language?

NOBODY absorbs a foreign language; it doesn't rub off.

...lack of communicating in everyday verbal manner.......what's wrong with these people? Bladdy lazy? Stubborn? Have a bee under their bonnet?

I am neither stupid, bloody, lazy, stubborn nor I don't wear a bonnet, ma'm.

I tried three times. Did not find a Thai teacher of Thai who could teach herself out of a bag of sticky rice.

Cop, coon, crap.

[473geo]

I have defective hearing due to long days in my teens using tractors/machinery/chainsaws, before earmuffs were introduced as a good idea, and well before cabs reduced the noise levels - so having to struggle to understand simple soft spoken English/airport announcements and the like.... I don't get a lot of the Thai spoken at me unless it is simple to understand...but I learn as best I can to speak a few words here and there........

Perhaps now you understand why old bobblehead goes around nodding and smiling at everybody!!!...a simple form of communication...

I guess age doesn't help the hearing of some of the people discussed here either and must also complicate things a little

[hansnl]

most farang living in thailand are pensioned and it's tough to learn a new language when you're 65+.

especially thai.

Bangla, I think you are right.

In my youth, and later, I managed to learn to speak rather well, several European languages.

My mother tongue is Dutch, in school 3 languages were obligatory, German, French and English.

Besides Dutch, I manage to comprehend various dialects and accents of Dutch, i.e. Flemish and South-African.

Later I managed to get a good grasp of the Scandinavian languages.

And because of a girlfriend I even managed to make my self understandable in Suomi (Finnish)

I have no trouble understanding various German dialects/accents, and manage to understand and "ape" English varieties.

Some years ago I was transplanted to Thailand, and I try to pick up Thai.

The problem I have is that the Thai I hear is either Thai or Isan.

So my wife teaches me good Thai, and as soon as I am outside the door, it is no good, because this is the Isan.

On comes the rest of the family, trouble again, different pronunciation again.

And then we have some friends from the south, and yes, problems again.

All this is mighty frustrating.

But I did find out, for myself, that the brain does not pick up things so easily any more.

So I do my best.

I speak fantastic Thai.

Must be something wrong with the hearing of the Thai people.

They don't hear me

Edited July 27, 2009 by hansnl

[mauGR1]

When i came to Thailand 5 years ago,i was quite enthusiastic about learning phasa Thai.When i was holydaying in LoS i had started already learning the alphabet.I was learning very fast at the beginning.Thus few things happened after the first year;my great love was a hoax,my rose-tinted glasses have been lost,more recently a Thai neighbour who was supposed to be a good friend attacked me out of the blue..Sad to say i live now by the day,my suit-case is ready,the quality of life is still better here than in my country,but not really as good as expected.

Result?I can learn a few words everyday,just to forget them the day after.Ah,and i'm probably better in reading and writing than speaking.Shame on me.

I think age can be a issue,but what it really counts is enthusiasm for learning.

[endure]

I believe this is more common than not amongst 'old hands'. Then there are the numerous examples that might dispell this OP, as a handful do quite well. Unless such individuals have lived their lives here completely surrounded in Farang circles, how is it that these jokers never have absorbed the language? We're talking about good Farang residents with wife, children, home, business, etc. I would believe after 7-8 years or even 20 years something would have rubbed off, yes? Comprehending the written word might be one thing, but lack of communicating in everyday verbal manner.......what's wrong with these people? Bladdy lazy? Stubborn? Have a bee under their bonnet as it comes to a subliminal superiority in their nature? I've known many long-time Farang residents that seem to belong to this category. I'm sure you might as well.....what's the pyschology behind them?

The same as the psychology of those Thais who work in restaurants in the UK (usually in the kitchen) and who can't speak a word of English. There's no need. They have their own little bubble that satisfies their requirements. Moving out of the bubble would be hard work.

[DP25]

that must be the holiday makers.

most 30-40 year olds are still working their nuts off in farangland to save up for their retirement in thailand

Most 30-40 year olds are in farangland, and most pensioners are there too. But, there is a huge amount of farang in Thailand in their 30s and 40s, and a large amount in their 20s as well, that you might not run in to often, especially if not in BKK. I think pensioners are a minority, I think most have jobs.

Anyway, my Thai is ok. I'm definitely not fluent, but I can perform normal daily tasks speaking in Thai and can read, though not at a high level. I think people just get comfortable and never bother to learn, especially if they're married and she translates everything, or they live in someplace like Pattaya.

[nakachalet]

Scientists Discover Inverse Relationship Between Expats' Income and Thai Fluency

BANGKOK – Researchers have published the results of the first-ever study of the Thai-speaking habits of foreign expatriates in Thailand....

"The data are unambiguous," declared Hitesh Murkh, the lead scientist.The other anomaly in the data was

women expats, who showed universally superior Thai language skills at all income levels.

However, the significance of the anomaly was dismissed by the researchers as insignificant, since women made up less than 2% of the expatriate population.

shame, shame, shsme....

it just seems so disheartening.... whenever feminine gender excels in certain seemingly male dominant area, someone or even some reputable social scientists would immediately purport various reasons to neutralise, refute or even discredit the findings of their own study.... lol

the syndrome of male superiority complex still persists even in the supposedly higher institution of learning.... lol

just wondering if murkh's researched population was stratified....

even a less than 2% of the sampling population could be paramountly important, if it signified a dominant trend within the < 2% sample....

murkh, Huang and rumgumhaeng univ.... what sayeth thou? ....

won't it be nice and proper and scientifically sound.... to give proper credits to the feminine gender....

besides, without whose equal 50-50 contributions--where would we all be.... nag, nag, nag.... lol

[zzaa09]

There are many successful farang expats (old hands) who speak only enough Thai to get by in simple situations. There are a few who are too arrogant or too lazy to learn, and that's a shame. And some who are hampered by age and difficulty in learning languages (which does not equate to being unintelligent). Educated Thai people recognise this and have no problem with it at all. It seems to upset certain opinionated farangs much more!

In my long observation, I can say that many non-fluent farang expats work in businesses that employ English speaking Thais (or have English speaking PAs) and mix socially with educated Thais who are more than happy to converse in English. It would be most arrogant and quite incorrect to suggest that these people don't understand Thailand or Thai culture. People who run successful businesses have to understand this better than most. They can learn everything through participation, observation and conversation with intelligent Thais who speak English.

Here's something to laugh about:

Scientists Discover Inverse Relationship Between Expats' Income and Thai Fluency

BANGKOK – Researchers have published the results of the first-ever study of the Thai-speaking habits of foreign expatriates in Thailand, which confirms the long-held belief that the more Thai a farang speaks, the less likely he is to have any money.

"The data are unambiguous," declared Hitesh Murkh, the lead scientist on the project, which was sponsored by Thammasat University and surveyed over 2,000 permanent residents of foreign nationality in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Udon Thani, and Phuket. "There is a consistent and predictable inverse relationship between income and fluency that cuts across almost all age groups, education levels, and nationalities."

According to the study's executive summary, which was distributed to the press, the highest Thai-language fluency among expatriates was to be found among members of the lowest paying jobs in industries such as tourism, teaching, and small-scale NGO work. Whereas the least proficient Thai speakers were heavily concentrated in the high-paying professional sectors of business, finance, and regional marketing.

"It confirms our original suspicions that with most expats, Thai fluency is a both a time-consuming hobby as well as a socially compensatory skill," explained Weng-min Huang, a sociologist who co-authored the report. "Low-paid expats have both the time to devote to Thai studies as well as the motivation. They can't afford to eat in nice restaurants, party in upscale nightclubs, or shop for tasteful furniture and quality electronics in their spare time. Additionally, their poverty of lifestyle and material possessions makes them unable to attract mates, so they have the motivation to adapt a non-material mating skill – speaking Thai."

Other aggravating circumstances included poor expats' tendencies to live in low income neighborhoods, where interactions with non-English speaking retailers and neighbors was unavoidable, compared to the insulated lives of expats with money. Huang cited the example of "James" and "Will," two of the study's in-depth participants.

"James lives in Center Point Serviced Apartments, has an English-speaking Burmese driver, shops at Paragon, eats at Gianni and goes to Bed Supperclub on weekends," Huang said. "His staff includes a trilingual secretary and two full-time translators. He can literally go for months without encountering a single non-English speaking person. Even his girlfriend, a light-skinned Chinese-Thai model and VJ, speaks perfect English." According to the study, someone like James whose income is Bt350,000/month, requires a Thai vocabulary of only 50 words, including basic numbers and taxi directions.

"Compare that to Will, who teaches English at Ramkhamhaeng, lives in Bang Kapi, and makes Bt30,000 a month. He shops at Tesco, eats street noodles and spends his evenings in internet cafes, posting self-righteous opinions on Ajarn.com about how much he hates people like James." According to Huang, "Will's only hope of getting laid without paying for it, which he couldn't afford anyway, is to speak lots of Thai and crack jokes with his students, and hope one of them introduces him to their older sister."

Oddly, the exceptions to the rule came at the extremes of the data. Some of the highest paid subjects such as diplomats, consultants, and specialized UN and development workers spoke fluent Thai despite being paid huge international salaries. At the low end there was a cluster of data representing near-destitute men over the age of 65 in Chiang Mai and Udon who, despite incomes lower than the average factory worker, still didn't speak more than 30 words of bar-Thai. "These lifers have nothing to offer and have stopped trying," suggested Murkh. "They're pretty much just waiting to die, preferably beneath a once-a-month rented sex-worker."

The other anomaly in the data was women expats, who showed universally superior Thai language skills at all income levels. However, the significance of the anomaly was dismissed by the researchers as insignificant, since women made up less than 2% of the expatriate population.

Reaction to the study was generally positive. Brendan Freedman, a securities analyst at Citibank, admitted he spoke almost no Thai and had no intention of learning. "Why bother," he said, "when everything in this town is in English? And anyway, why waste a weekend studying Thai when I can be kite-surfing in Hua Hin?" His sentiments were echoed by Ron Frakes, an editor at a lifestyle magazine, who took daily Thai lessons for a year, but quit the moment he landed a Bt100,000/month job.

However, several English teachers interviewed took issue with the suggestion that their Thai was any kind of compensatory skill. "I love Thailand, the real Thailand, not the Q-Bar fantasy world of those corporate &lt;deleted&gt;," insisted Ted Callendar, a freelance teacher. "I eat real Thai food, and I date real Thai women, and I couldn't be prouder. Money isn't freedom, it's--" he said before being cut off by a call from his monolingual Thai girlfriend on his 6-year old Nokia 3310 phone.

Witty article!!

[glegolo]

for me being here just a relatively short time. It is still quite fun to pick up little bit Thai here and there. But I begin to feel what I shouldn´t feel. A kind -"shit I dont care" -syndrome!!! Thai people up here in Isaan just dont care at all about the outside world and in particular english langauge, so I think -"what the heck"..

I know it is wrong.. I do not have to be that ignorant just because others are... but it is easy to blame just anything, if it is hard to learn.....

I am 58, so may age is not something I can blame really!!

Glegolo

[tomloughney]

I believe this is more common than not amongst 'old hands'. Then there are the numerous examples that might dispell this OP, as a handful do quite well. Unless such individuals have lived their lives here completely surrounded in Farang circles, how is it that these jokers never have absorbed the language? We're talking about good Farang residents with wife, children, home, business, etc. I would believe after 7-8 years or even 20 years something would have rubbed off, yes? Comprehending the written word might be one thing, but lack of communicating in everyday verbal manner.......what's wrong with these people? Bladdy lazy? Stubborn? Have a bee under their bonnet as it comes to a subliminal superiority in their nature? I've known many long-time Farang residents that seem to belong to this category. I'm sure you might as well.....what's the pyschology behind them?

American guy in Pattaya, who is now dead, was here over 35 years and could not speak more than 10 words of Thai.

He did have a successful business here anyway, and a good wife and kid.

[nakachalet]

may that deceased american guy in pattaya rest in peace.

and may his wife and kid forever remember this kind old man who contributed in every which way including giving his own life, to help at least one thai family and its members to a life that otherwise might be unknown to them....

does the gent has a name to remember by pls?

[zzaa09]

may that deceased american guy in pattaya rest in peace.

and may his wife and kid forever remember this kind old man who contributed in every which way including giving his own life, to help at least one thai family and its members to a life that otherwise might be unknown to them....

does the gent has a name to remember by pls?

...huh?

[maccaroni man]

Laziness, complacency, unconcern, lack of interest, having personal translator, did not expect to stay here that long, try to learn, but cannot remember a word, never speak with Thais anyway, generally never speak with someone else, thinks that he can speak Thai, but in reality cannot, can speak Thai, but not Lao, and so forth.

Surely, for the older residents, wouldn't one consider a language comprehension a beneficial plus? Know the language, know the culture.......or not.

10 plus years for me after 6 mos whats to know other tha TIT and I will never be a Thai. ( bee in my bonnet? probably) for me i do not get paid to speak Thai and it does not make any difference in my lifestyle so why bother....... if you have not guessed I am not one of the expats who love the thai way nor will i ever go native.

[TPI]

Laziness, complacency, unconcern, lack of interest, having personal translator, did not expect to stay here that long, try to learn, but cannot remember a word, never speak with Thais anyway, generally never speak with someone else, thinks that he can speak Thai, but in reality cannot, can speak Thai, but not Lao, and so forth.

Surely, for the older residents, wouldn't one consider a language comprehension a beneficial plus? Know the language, know the culture.......or not.

10 plus years for me after 6 mos whats to know other tha TIT and I will never be a Thai. ( bee in my bonnet? probably) for me i do not get paid to speak Thai and it does not make any difference in my lifestyle so why bother....... if you have not guessed I am not one of the expats who love the thai way nor will i ever go native.

Awwww! You poor bugger! Don't let TIT get you down, you could be living next to the railway line in Bang Khen...Some speak the language like a native, look at Andrew (don't you hate the way he plays with the language??) some never do! Who cares? Just enjoy your life and laugh at the snobs in their narrow little world...Try to remember "that for every pot there is a lid". Good times always follow the bad...

[Geekfreaklover]

I get by with Thai, but am trying to speak English in the house as I want my kids to speak english.

I think what is equally worrying as Foreigners not speaking Thai is the number of Thais who can not speak a word of english. After spending primary, secondary and then university having english lessons. There must be a better system for Thais to learn to English and English speakers to learn Thai than the ones that exist.

[posttenebraslux]

I can agree with most ideas expressed here and would therefore like to add my own "2 satang" as follows:

Having lived and worked in all countries of South East Asia for close to 40 years, I have settled down here together with my Thai family for almost seven years up to now. I read and write Thai quite well and speak the language at home and outside in everyday's life. But there is, unfortunately, no stringent need to further my knowledge although the language is beautiful and interesting in many respects. Moreover, discussions and talks with educated partners are rather scarce and then normally tend to end up with politics, money as well as complaints regarding the existing general situation.

I remember my time in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia where many people spoke and understood French. They used their

national languages together with French and felt comfortable with their bilingual education. In Thailand, this element is sorely missing and results in a narrowed horizon which is rather difficult to extend. TV and newspapers do not contribute much to

improve knowledge and standards and books are but rarely read by most of the population. People are much too busy making ends meet and do not enjoy enough quality and free time in comfortable homes.

I am happy to speak more than a dozen languages and I therefore try to let my family and my friends profit from my background. Mostly, English is my standard way of communication, thus letting my partners practise in an easy and agreeable mood. Now, nearing age 80, I see it as my last duty to prepare all the people close to me for a future which is based on knowledge and serious work.

For the general population in Thailand, progress is very slow but can really and for sure be accomplished !

Thailand is a beautiful country to live in as an expat but everyone must create his surroundings in a proficient manner.

posttenebraslux