If Thais Don't Prepare Their Communication Skills Now, They Will Struggle When A E C Takes Off

[cup-O-coffee]

There are 6 girls in my office. All speak English, 2 speak French and 1 speaks German also.

Are you saying all 6 are from the UK and 2 of them speak French and 1 German?

[Mooner]

Anyone that teaches English here understands the problem. It doesn't matter how often they talk about it the problem won't disappear.

In high school classrooms the boys are completely disinterested except for about 5% and the girls are interested except for about 5%.

I believe much of the disinterest comes from the Thai English teachers that generally discredit the foreign teachers so the students follow their lead.

Next point: Why are Thai teachers teaching English? The students end up speaking Thai-English which you cannot understand. When students have completed high school they have received about 15 years of English classes and most can speak relatively no English.

Since Thais are superior then why should they listen to a foreigner?

If students show disinterest. i would blame the teacher not the student.

That is a true Thai perspective. A student can't do badly because it's the teachers fault. That's why you have a no-fail policy in Thailand. It's never the student's fault.

If a teacher is good she/he will get the attention of their students. not only in Thailand but everywhere on the world.

but good teacher are very rare.

Students who WANT to learn languages will no matter how bad their teacher is. There is hundreds of thousands of sources of material on the internet to enable people to learn languages.

I know many Cambodians and Burmese that have taught themselves because they had the desire to better their lives. It's always easy to blame somebody else for our own shortcomings. Im fed up with this common mindset in todays society!

Languages are the same as life. The more effort you put in the more you get out!

[Somtamnication]

Improve what English? THEY DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH. Nothing to improve, period.

[thhMan]

Learn a new language ???

Shouldnt they start of with something easier like... road rules !

[RickBradford]

Can anybody think of an ASEAN country with worse English language skills than Thailand?

I guess Singapore would rank #1, then the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Burma. Vietnam is way better than Thailand, and Cambodia is as well. Laos I don't know about, and Indonesia is perhaps fairly poor, given its fragmented nature.

And it comes down to attitude.

Vietnamese are ferocious learners of English, because they have the Chinese-style belief in education as an important part of bettering their lives. They want to Get Somewhere (and in a hurry).

Thais don't need to do that -- they are already (in their own minds) There.

[TackyToo]

In my humble opinion it was a (probably unavoidable) mistake for Thailand to join the club in the first place. I cannot imagine that Thais will ever accept that better educated foreigners (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia) will be given the same rights to work or run a business in LOS. They will always search and find ways to prevent this, most probably with unjustifiably high administration fees and other obstacles like the requirement of special licenses and certificates of knowledge of Thai "culture" before entering a certain industry or apply for a job.

They even block smart initiatives like “one tourist visa for four countries” provided to tourists on package tours. There are so many fields showing Thailand is far behind its neighbors.

For Thailand, becoming an equal partner in ASEAN, seems as absurd as the U.S. begging Buthan for a FTA.

Edited April 22, 2013 by TackyToo

[venturalaw]

6 years too late

"They don't prefer preparation . . . "

Really? You're kidding me, right? Thais don't prefer preparation???? They don't think ahead? They seem to be able to drive like they do. Oh, wait a minute. Let me think about that. Never mind.

[Jim walker]

I am sure
many of the wealthy parents can pay the schools some money and their children
will have exemplary language passes, on paper.

[Thai at Heart]

Amazingly, I studied languages because I had no choice and had to pass.

Latin was the most useful academic language I learnt. After that, realising that Asian languages had no tenses, it was a doodle. French and German were useful to study.

Sadly Welsh isn't much use globally, a bit like Thai. Had an option to study mandarin, didn't take it and a chance for classic Greek, didn't take it.

Worked in China for 5 years and Greece for 2. But, learning one makes the next ones a lot easier.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[tonglen]

Last month I was leaving Mae Sai (Thailand) for Tachilek (Burma) severely limping with a very bad knee and supported by a walking stick.

The Thai border guard said 'what happen you nee'

The Burmese border guard said 'good morning sir, what happened to your knee'

On average, the people of Cambodia have far better English skills that average Thais. They are really focusing on it. They get it.

Absolutely. I love visiting Cambodia, Phnom Penh specifically. After being in Thailand for a while and I go visit there, it's really surprising how advanced they are. Not just their English but their clear thinking. A very comfortable place to visit. Lots of western food.

Agreed. I have loved every city Ive visited in Cambodia. Excellent food, warm people, entrepreneurial and triumphant spirit (like los) and very inexpensive. I could spend a year exploring he temples at Siem Reap

[lostmebike]

Why should Thai's learn another AEC language? I expect many Thai's feel "those other AEC" countries should learn Thai in order to communicate with the Hub Country of AEC.

Totally in agreement.

Most Thais are far too important to learn a foreign language. I can picture Somchai sitting in a karaoke bar with his friends now, 'They want to come through Thailand, they must speak Thai and we never need to leave our beautiful country as it is the centre of the world! They simply just don't have the motivation or interest to do so. And who can blame them? The way school subjects are taught here would be enough to kill any ones interest.

In 2015 the borders and free trade will open up and the government is NOW saying everyone should learn another language, especially English as this will help us prosper. Clocks are ticking away and I just can't see the country rushing to learn foreign languages!

'Mai pen a rai noh!?'

[rubl]

Why should Thai's learn another AEC language? I expect many Thai's feel "those other AEC" countries should learn Thai in order to communicate with the Hub Country of AEC.

Totally in agreement.

Most Thais are far too important to learn a foreign language. I can picture Somchai sitting in a karaoke bar with his friends now, 'They want to come through Thailand, they must speak Thai and we never need to leave our beautiful country as it is the centre of the world! They simply just don't have the motivation or interest to do so. And who can blame them? The way school subjects are taught here would be enough to kill any ones interest.

In 2015 the borders and free trade will open up and the government is NOW saying everyone should learn another language, especially English as this will help us prosper. Clocks are ticking away and I just can't see the country rushing to learn foreign languages!

'Mai pen a rai noh!?'

Well, at least it will be end of 2015 if I remember correctly. That gives us a whole year extra

[Chao Lao Beach]

Ask yourself what language is the Captain, first officer using when taking off from a international airport in the region,I say no more.

Bye the way, if you are wondering, the Answer is English

[StevenHeidbriderSr]

Thais need to focus on English. learning "other regional languages" such as Burmese is preposterous and foolhardy. Thais can't handle English yet - it's the lingua franca and they don't seem to make any progress with English.

YOU hit the nail on the head. Even the Chinese want to learn English because IT IS the language of business in the world.

[lookingeast]

Last month I was leaving Mae Sai (Thailand) for Tachilek (Burma) severely limping with a very bad knee and supported by a walking stick.

The Thai border guard said 'what happen you nee'

The Burmese border guard said 'good morning sir, what happened to your knee'

Well, to state the obvious - it was only called Burma because it was controlled by the British - so no real surprise that there is a greater interest in English in Myanmar.

[Thai at Heart]

Last month I was leaving Mae Sai (Thailand) for Tachilek (Burma) severely limping with a very bad knee and supported by a walking stick.

The Thai border guard said 'what happen you nee'

The Burmese border guard said 'good morning sir, what happened to your knee'

Well, to state the obvious - it was only called Burma because it was controlled by the British - so no real surprise that there is a greater interest in English in Myanmar.

So why do the Thais call it pahmaa.

[BigBadGeordie]

Why should Thai people learn another language, simple , there are 6.9 Billion people in the world, there are 69 million Thais. Come on World get over it learn Thai! And by the way I live here, speak Thai, Laos and Khmen. Sh** I thought the English speaking nations had a superior attitude!

[rametindallas]

I dont understand why Thailand is even going to become part of this ASEAN. .....

.......

Because that adds FACE value towards the International society. Public image is more important than actual substance and cohesive actions taken to improve the quality of standards, something the Thai-(Chinese) people on top don't give a damn about in the first place....

It's another chance to be a "Hub" LOL

[kurnell]

There are 6 girls in my office. All speak English, 2 speak French and 1 speaks German also.

Are you saying all 6 are from the UK and 2 of them speak French and 1 German?

No

[lostmebike]

Why should Thai people learn another language, simple , there are 6.9 Billion people in the world, there are 69 million Thais. Come on World get over it learn Thai! And by the way I live here, speak Thai, Laos and Khmen. Sh** I thought the English speaking nations had a superior attitude!

I too can speak Thai, read and write it also. That doesn't mean Thailand's inept ability to learn English isn't detrimental to their progression though does it?

[lostmebike]

ZhouZhou said,

'I am an expert on this. I went to school for many years. been a student for many years. and still take lesson seminars now as grown up with a job.'

Hardly makes you an expert!

I fly on planes all the time but I am no captain or aviation engineer

[Crazy chef 1]

There are 6 girls in my office. All speak English, 2 speak French and 1 speaks German also.

...and they are all from issaan- is you office probably at bangla road or walking street?just kidding

[kurnell]

There are 6 girls in my office. All speak English, 2 speak French and 1 speaks German also.

...and they are all from issaan- is you office probably at bangla road or walking street?just kidding

None from Isaan. Most from Bangkok an a couple of southern girls

[xtr3mx7]

Why do they have to learn the region language when English will be the main communicative language?

Thais always try to find the easiest way to solve problematic issues... Why can't they master English as they should and get ready for 2015? Go figure!

[Ijustwannateach]

Change 'If' to 'Because'. A wave of very unwelcome reality is coming.

[oops]

I believe that the confusion is by design. This empowers those families that allow their children to inherit key positions without merit.