Thailand Vs The English Language...

[SiamOne]

How inconvenient for the English speaking touron in a foreign land.

sarcasm

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I really detest those bloody tourons, not only can they not speak English, they can't spell either.

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It must be a shortened version of "tourist moron"

[Rumpole]

I think Thailand is probably better than some other countries in the region, such as Laos, Vietnam and China (mainland).

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According to this report from the TOEFL people (TOEFL Test and Score Data Summary 2003-2004 [PDF]), Thailand's English ability is ranked second to last in Southeast Asia with a score of 201 (Only 1 point above last place, Cambodia).

Yes, according to these results, Thailand is/was behind Laos, Vietnam, and China.

I believe this was posted on the forum sometime in the last 2 months or so although I could not find it in the search engine. Additionally, a summary of the report was in the Bangkok Post about a month or two ago (relegated to a small, maybe 4th page article, of course).

Of course, it's hard to say how accurate this test really is and whether Thailand has been improving at greater rate over the last few years (as better prepared students get ready to take the test).

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Have you ever been to Korea???

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I dare say if their 24-hour English channel Arirang is any indication, Korea has made great strides in their understanding of English. From the educational game shows with Korean kids to their very professional programs on travel, the level of English in Korea far surpasses Thailand. It reemphasizes that when a country is trying to bolster it's knowledge of English, it's beneficial to have it readily available in a variety of formats. Just as the Korean movies with English subtitles it shows offer the bilingual student a chance to improve and see how their native language translates, Chris's suggestion would do the same.

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I think the situation in Korea is similiar to China. Having taught Korean university students, I would say that their level of English is generally much higher than Thai students (in Seoul, at least). Many of them are very fluent indeed, and I'm not just talking about English majors. I believe this would partly explain the TOEFL score statistics, since the majority of candidates taking the exam would probably be graduates. I agree, though, that it can be quite difficult to find an English speaker in Korea in day-to-day situations, outside of business/academic/tourism circles. Thailand is definitely better in this respect.

An earlier poster also mentioned Taiwan, which I find to be a very interesting example of how concerted government effort can make a real difference in a relatively short period of time. When I first went to Taiwan about 15 years ago, it was almost impossible to find anyone who could speak English. Even the staff in 5 star hotels usually didn't speak the language. That is certainly not the case today.

Edited September 16, 2005 by Rumpole

[Abandon]

How inconvenient for the English speaking touron in a foreign land.

sarcasm

I really detest those bloody tourons, not only can they not speak English, they can't spell either.

It must be a shortened version of "tourist moron"