Are Thais Taught Anything About The World Outside Of Thailand

[IanForbes]

I don't speak Mexican, not worried about it.

Nor does anyone else in the world, speak Mexican....No such language...

I think it's called "Spanglish". What French Canadians speak is not pure French either, but at least they are understood. Any time you get a mixture of languages there always seems to be a bastardized version that sort of works for everyone. I was sitting beside three young blokes on a ferry to Koh Samui and it was 20 minutes before I realized they were speaking a form of English. They were Cockneys from London.

[zzaa09]

Are Thais Taught Anything About The World Outside Of Thailand

Why should we farangs care about this?

one simple reason is being able to spend more quality time with Thai wife/gf, friends & family discussing more interesting, sophiticated and intelligent things other than peanuts & bananas, and spending less time on this forum.

Being of the assumption that the general Thai population can't hold so-called interesting, sophisticated, and intelligent conversations.

These common guesses derive from those that either don't comprehend the language adequately for decent chat or tend to stay with the same old laddened stereotypes.....

[JRinger]

Are Thais Taught Anything About The World Outside Of Thailand

Why should we farangs care about this?

one simple reason is being able to spend more quality time with Thai wife/gf, friends & family discussing more interesting, sophiticated and intelligent things other than peanuts & bananas, and spending less time on this forum.

Being of the assumption that the general Thai population can't hold so-called interesting, sophisticated, and intelligent conversations.

These common guesses derive from those that either don't comprehend the language adequately for decent chat or tend to stay with the same old laddened stereotypes.....

or if you happen to live in Isaan.

Sounds like you're happy with "peanuts & bananas" although there are others that enjoy intelligent conversation, and no guesswork at all, an assumption no doubt....but 20+ years of experience. and then again, I'm not one to sit around and talk about football or tennis, etc. So, looks like we're all different, congradulations.

[nong38]

Are Thais Taught Anything About The World Outside Of Thailand?

Is this question indirectly telling people that you felt Thais not educated, never see the world or they are ignorant?

No it is not and if you had read the earlier pages you would have got the drift. The Thai education system does not see, to teach anything about the outside world its history, geography, commerce or anything. I think there should be an inclusion, some other appear to agree that there is room for improvement.

[happysanook]

The reason is simple. Why should anyone care about things that they don't give a dam_n about? Besides that, I don't think it is a "Thailand' problem. We have some ignorant people from America, who despite have a better quality of education compared to Thailand's, also can't differentiate some simple questions. It's not about the education, it's about whether people think the particular knowledge is useful to them in the future.

i've got a friend who's studied English for 10+ years. she's spent 5 years studying English at university and is about to graduate...

she's an English major and enjoys her major...she's not dumb by any means... yet didn't know the word "store" (shop) and hadn't a clue about the word "letter" (as in the letter A) ...she always thought it was just plain alphabet...

[ludditeman]

. yet didn't know the word "store" (shop) and hadn't a clue about the word "letter" (as in the letter A) ...she always thought it was just plain alphabet...

Store (as in shop) is an American word, unlikely to be taught in an English course.

[happysanook]

. yet didn't know the word "store" (shop) and hadn't a clue about the word "letter" (as in the letter A) ...she always thought it was just plain alphabet...

Store (as in shop) is an American word, unlikely to be taught in an English course.

why?..we took English and perfected it.

[StreetCowboy]

. yet didn't know the word "store" (shop) and hadn't a clue about the word "letter" (as in the letter A) ...she always thought it was just plain alphabet...

Store (as in shop) is an American word, unlikely to be taught in an English course.

As in "British Home Stores".

My grandmother referred to the co-operative as the store.

And she was as Scottish as the next man - or old lady, as appropriate.

SC

[IanForbes]

25 pages of answers and people still don't understand that it doesn't matter what we think. Thailand has its own idea of how its country should be run. For every ying there is a yang. Who gives a rat's azz? You either enjoy someone's company or you don't. As the old saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Accept things as they are and either stay or leave. None of us has any control over who runs the country we currently live in. It's the same whether we live in the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, Thailand or somewhere in Africa.

[WebBangkok]

25 pages of answers and people still don't understand that it doesn't matter what we think. Thailand has its own idea of how its country should be run. For every ying there is a yang. Who gives a rat's azz? You either enjoy someone's company or you don't. As the old saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Accept things as they are and either stay or leave. None of us has any control over who runs the country we currently live in. It's the same whether we live in the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, Thailand or somewhere in Africa.

Pretty much spot on.

[Berkshire]

25 pages of answers and people still don't understand that it doesn't matter what we think. Thailand has its own idea of how its country should be run. For every ying there is a yang. Who gives a rat's azz? You either enjoy someone's company or you don't. As the old saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Accept things as they are and either stay or leave. None of us has any control over who runs the country we currently live in. It's the same whether we live in the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, Thailand or somewhere in Africa.

There are times, Ian, when you make a helluva lot of sense.

[Richard4849]

The reason is simple. Why should anyone care about things that they don't give a dam_n about? Besides that, I don't think it is a "Thailand' problem. We have some ignorant people from America, who despite have a better quality of education compared to Thailand's, also can't differentiate some simple questions. It's not about the education, it's about whether people think the particular knowledge is useful to them in the future.

i've got a friend who's studied English for 10+ years. she's spent 5 years studying English at university and is about to graduate...

she's an English major and enjoys her major...she's not dumb by any means... yet didn't know the word "store" (shop) and hadn't a clue about the word "letter" (as in the letter A) ...she always thought it was just plain alphabet...

I bet she knows the difference between "loose" and "lose", though.

[IanForbes]

I bet she knows the difference between "loose" and "lose", though.

:lol:

That's a low blow, but you hit the mark dead on with a lot of the gang here.

I try NOT to be a spelling cop, though. I'm a bit dyslecticand tend to make too many typing errors to stand in judgement of others.

[ludditeman]

Being of the assumption that the general Thai population can't hold so-called interesting, sophisticated, and intelligent conversations.

These common guesses derive from those that either don't comprehend the language adequately for decent chat or tend to stay with the same old laddened stereotypes.....

67% of Thais are poor rural farmers so this type of person by definition must be the 'general Thai population'

Poor farmers from any country are usually not considered 'interesting or sophisticated' to us city slickers.

[IanForbes]

Being of the assumption that the general Thai population can't hold so-called interesting, sophisticated, and intelligent conversations.

These common guesses derive from those that either don't comprehend the language adequately for decent chat or tend to stay with the same old laddened stereotypes.....

67% of Thais are poor rural farmers so this type of person by definition must be the 'general Thai population'

Poor farmers from any country are usually not considered 'interesting or sophisticated' to us city slickers.

That pretty much nailed it. And, because most foreigners don't know how to speak Thai their only alternative is to associate with the Thais in the bar scene. That kind of lowers the standards. Only the foreigners who are in Thailand on business get to associate with the better educated Thais working in the business world. The cute gal working in a bank, hospital or dental clinic is unlikely to associate with an old fart like me... except by accident.

[atyclb]

Sorry, imafarang,who were you referring to? Not me,. i taught for nigh on 16 years in Thai Educational institutions ,that were called ' universities'.These places were amazingly insular. There is ,was only one country worth talking about. Guess which one? You see ,you need to understand ,which group in Thai society has control of the syllabus. Most of Thailand ,either (a ) has no access to PBS, or ( has not been trained to think independently. It took me a long time to finally ,get my students to ask me questions. It was almost under the pain of death. That is how difficult it is/was.

A physician I know from the US commented on how teaching/sharing medical knowledge with students/doctors at Mahidol university was a great experience. Many of the medical student dream is to do residency in USA. They are very open and aware of research and new developments from US, Europe and abroad. Interesting how they are so open to the US when it comes to medicine. Typicall The Thai FDA follow what the US FDA approves. It is also no secret that Prince Mahidol studied in US and brought their system to Thailand. Really quite a nice guy from what I have read, and perhaps the impetus for the lifetime of public service undertaken by his son.

Edited October 4, 2011 by atyclb

[travelmann]

. yet didn't know the word "store" (shop) and hadn't a clue about the word "letter" (as in the letter A) ...she always thought it was just plain alphabet...

Store (as in shop) is an American word, unlikely to be taught in an English course.

so it doesnt mesn to keep anything then?

[JRinger]

25 pages of answers and people still don't understand that it doesn't matter what we think. Thailand has its own idea of how its country should be run. For every ying there is a yang. Who gives a rat's azz? You either enjoy someone's company or you don't. As the old saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Accept things as they are and either stay or leave. None of us has any control over who runs the country we currently live in. It's the same whether we live in the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, Thailand or somewhere in Africa.

25 pages is a clear sign that 'it does matter what we think'. Why else would there be a forum for discussion? I don't think the subject was about 'intelligent conversation' with a country, it was about having a decent conversation with Thai people.

In my observation, it appears there are a lot of people/forum members who spend a great deal of time 'discussing' everything imaginable in Thailand. Your words of wisdom, "accept things as they are" are certainly from a well centered, Buddha-like attitude and of course, valid in a different area of discussion. ...Why do people come to TV to discuss things? could it be that 'intelligent conversation' is limited in the real world. Why do people seek out farang meeting points? I believe for the same reason, can't get the intellectual stimuli from our wives or gf's. Of course, I'm speaking for myself which puts me in the 'independent thinker' corner while most Thai's are all happy being in the same corner.

I spent many years working in Bangkok amongst suits who all had degrees that, in my opinion, didn't make them any more intelligent than my neighbor who only finished high school. I've worked with bank presidents, CEO's, etc., etc., and I was not impressed with level of intelligence and/or limited views of just about everything. In fact, 'money' appeared to be the highest priority of conversation. This was also true while living amongst non-educated Island folks..

But to recap your words, "it doesn’t matter what we think", kindly disregard all the above...

[wandrinstar]

Isnt Money the topic of Money common to all JR.?.I have friends with Phd,s ,but no money,yet so many reasons why they havnt.Ian Forbes sums it up, with his Silk Purse.Also ferangs have much to say about the poor here, but didnt give a rats ass about their Nations poor/

[Berkshire]

25 pages of answers and people still don't understand that it doesn't matter what we think. Thailand has its own idea of how its country should be run. For every ying there is a yang. Who gives a rat's azz? You either enjoy someone's company or you don't. As the old saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Accept things as they are and either stay or leave. None of us has any control over who runs the country we currently live in. It's the same whether we live in the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, Thailand or somewhere in Africa.

25 pages is a clear sign that 'it does matter what we think'. Why else would there be a forum for discussion?

Matter to whom, exactly? Certainly not to the Thais. These forums are here for farangs to discuss things that Thais could care less about.

If farang opinion really mattered, for example, dark skin Thai women would be the toast-of-the-town. But instead, Thai women are about trying to lighten their skin to appease Thai society. Farang male opinion matters pretty close to zilch.

[carmine]

It amuses me that people seem to think the Thais knowledge of the outside world is limited. Anyone spoken to Americans? The levels of ignorance is nothing short of mindboggling. Ask them what countries border the USA. Yes i know your pet chimpanzee knows the answer but i bet half of the Americans don't. And USA is an acknowledged super power.

So perhaps give the Thais a break?

[Berkshire]

It amuses me that people seem to think the Thais knowledge of the outside world is limited. Anyone spoken to Americans? The levels of ignorance is nothing short of mindboggling. Ask them what countries border the USA. Yes i know your pet chimpanzee knows the answer but i bet half of the Americans don't. And USA is an acknowledged super power.

So perhaps give the Thais a break?

Spot on. Agree 100%. Amazing the simpletons on this thread can't get it through their 4" thick skulls.

[carmine]

25 pages of answers and people still don't understand that it doesn't matter what we think. Thailand has its own idea of how its country should be run. For every ying there is a yang. Who gives a rat's azz? You either enjoy someone's company or you don't. As the old saying goes, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Accept things as they are and either stay or leave. None of us has any control over who runs the country we currently live in. It's the same whether we live in the USA, the UK, Australia, Germany, Thailand or somewhere in Africa.

25 pages is a clear sign that 'it does matter what we think'. Why else would there be a forum for discussion?

Matter to whom, exactly? Certainly not to the Thais. These forums are here for farangs to discuss things that Thais could care less about.

If farang opinion really mattered, for example, dark skin Thai women would be the toast-of-the-town. But instead, Thai women are about trying to lighten their skin to appease Thai society. Farang male opinion matters pretty close to zilch.

Absolutely, and why should farang opinion matter?

Does anyone in the UK or the states concern themselves with what foreigners think? No, they dont either and why should they.

[kerryk]

It amuses me that people seem to think the Thais knowledge of the outside world is limited. Anyone spoken to Americans? The levels of ignorance is nothing short of mindboggling. Ask them what countries border the USA. Yes i know your pet chimpanzee knows the answer but i bet half of the Americans don't. And USA is an acknowledged super power.

So perhaps give the Thais a break?

Kinda makes one wonder how they became a world power. I guess the other countries in contention just didn't realize how dumb they were.

[Berkshire]

It amuses me that people seem to think the Thais knowledge of the outside world is limited. Anyone spoken to Americans? The levels of ignorance is nothing short of mindboggling. Ask them what countries border the USA. Yes i know your pet chimpanzee knows the answer but i bet half of the Americans don't. And USA is an acknowledged super power.

So perhaps give the Thais a break?

Kinda makes one wonder how they became a world power. I guess the other countries in contention just didn't realize how dumb they were.

No, it just means every other country is dumber.

[WebBangkok]

Com to think of it, if you gave me a blank map of Europe with the lines marking each country, I probably be lucky to place the name 50% of them correctly.

I would probably get Germany, UK, France, Italy, SPain and maybe a few more correct, but thats about it.

I might go check it out now with Google.

[Richard4849]

Com to think of it, if you gave me a blank map of Europe with the lines marking each country, I probably be lucky to place the name 50% of them correctly.

I would probably get Germany, UK, France, Italy, SPain and maybe a few more correct, but thats about it.

I might go check it out now with Google.

Try the same thing with Africa and South America and I bet you won't get that far. I probably wouldn't.

[WebBangkok]

^^ Yeah I am sure I would fail those too. I have no real interest in knowing too.

[kerryk]

^^ Yeah I am sure I would fail those too. I have no real interest in knowing too.

Do you think you could find North?

[WebBangkok]

^^ Yeah I am sure I would fail those too. I have no real interest in knowing too.

Do you think you could find North?

On a map or by looking at the sun?