The current Thai female in my life has been learning English via my teaching and also by using visual learning CD's on the computer that i downloaded from the internet.

I personally think she has leaned quite quickly how to boot the laptop, open the required folders and begun to navigate her way around the programmes considering she had never been near a computer before. I also think she is learning English very well too.

Now, considering she left school at the age of twelve years a little over 20 years ago, I think she is quite intelligent. She is certainly eager to learn new things.

She went to a small village school and the family had no funds or means to send her to a school further away or to any type of university. The same applies to her sisters who also left school at 12 years old and to many of the others in the village.

Her education was obviously very limited but to speak to her and to listen to her you would never have thought she'd left school so young.

It also reminds me of England at the end of the 1800's and the start of the 1900's where schooling was very limited and many children were sent down the mines or to work in some menial job and then off to fight in possibly 2 world wars. Yet many of those certainly managed to get on well enough in life.

What about you? Do you have any idea what age your S.O. left school at? Do you think it shows in his / her way of life?

For those who left school at a young age do you feel this has been a hinderance to their life in general or not?

School leaving age was typically proportionate to the family wealth, good for perpetuating fuedalism. But of course the country lost some clever people to add to GDP by not educating them. Never to late to learn though if the desire is there.

My wife graduated University at 22. She was non Issan non Thai Chinese very poor but made it thru school in a wealthy town and was able to put together the necessary loans to attend and graduate a top BKK university with honors. She is so smart it's scary. She's hot too and wonderful. Before her I had a long term gf from Issan who completed 9th grade I believe. Never considered a marriage with her and thought I'd just live with her for life until she did me a favor and walked out on me after 5+ years. Her lack of intelligence was frequently annoying during foolish arguments. I lucked out and met my wife 4 months later and married her 9 months after that. In spite of her academic prowess English was her worst subject. When I met her she couldn't speak a word but was able to write some but poorly. now after 3+ years she speaks and writes well just from us being together. She's 28 now and I'm 51. No kids for her or us, she's an only child with a mother and stepfather. Life is simple in a complicated country

Ex finished her MA a year after I met her, she was 28. Her family is affluent and her family paid for the degrees.

New GF just moved back to Thailand after finishing her MA last year, she is also 28. I don't know, nor really care about how the degrees were paid for. I know she got scholarships etc through the school to help pay.

My wife is naturally very smart & confident when dealing with people, however I feel that a harsh childhood & lack of childhood education has stopped her reaching her full potential.

Her dad was killed before she was born, her mum walked into Thailand as a 6 month pregnant refugee & had to marry an old bloke in the first village she came to so they could survive.

Her step dad was a complete <deleted>, never lifted a finger & expected my wife & her mum to do all the farming and housework.

She certainly didn't shed a tear, or send a single baht home the day he died.

Her step dad even sold her to a rich family who couldn't have their own children, when she was 6.

It took her mam 3 months to track her down & beg them to give her back. (The wife wishes her mum hadn't bothered, as she was happy there).

She never really spent much time at school as she had farming, housework & 3 younger brothers to look after, finally leaving school at 11.

She has studied Maths & English as an adult learner in Thailand, Japan, UK & she still enjoys going to college.

While she may not have an MA, I wouldn't swap her for the world.

Edited December 2, 201213 yr by Mark1971

the wife got her accounting qualifications,but was happy to work in jobs going nowhere,she was happy she tells me,poor salary but comfortable at home,she turned down transfers because she did not want/was not allowed to leave the family nest.

i always have believed that she is a little bit of an under achiever,as am i.

in australia,she has progressed impressively,from a work experience trial,she has gone on to really achieve at work,where her boss who is a fantastic fellow has supported her fully.

why,she has progressed so much from thailand to australia, i dont know,but perhaps all she needed to do was challenge herself.

MIne finished school at 13 ......

But is not attending 'catch-up' high-school every Sunday (it's free), now in her 4th and final year.

@OP

So is yours getting her high-school equivalence?

Edited December 3, 201213 yr by TommoPhysicist