Thailand's English Skills Lowest In S E A

[stickylies]

conclusion after 270 replies:

Thai suck in English and couldn't care less ...

[Mosha]

Teachers up the road who teach English, can't even ask me to help. Not a word of English without reading from a book. A couple of years ago they came to the house, and told Sopa they wanted me to help set an homework with using words they had marked on a document. This was for 8-9 year olds. So I think how hard can it be? One look at the document told me impossible. They had downloaded a scientific paper and marked the big words. Not one word out of twenty used in every day talk.

A friend in Chumpon told me at his local school, the teacher puts on an English cd and leaves the room. It's the same cd every lesson.

[sdanielmcev]

I can't believe how hateful Thai people want to be! Staying with their own language, so a bunch of westerners don't have to pick up a book, or learn the nuances of a different language!

[Pattaya28]

Biggest problem with a Thai speaking English is the accent. I speak to Thais that are educated, but many a time, cannot understand what they are saying due to the poor accent.

And the reason ...... English is taught by Thai teacher.

So my conclusion is what's the point of them learning English when they cannot be understood.

[thaicbr]

I can't believe how hateful Thai people want to be! Staying with their own language, so a bunch of westerners don't have to pick up a book, or learn the nuances of a different language!

< Flame removed >

This is about using an international language (English) to communicate in the work place. As it would seem that it will language of ASEAN.

So it may be very much of benefit to Thais to improve English skills. You may not agree. But thankfully many Thais do want to improve.

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

Edited June 12, 2013 by metisdead
4) Not to flame fellow members.Flaming will not be tolerated. 'Flaming' is defined as posting or responding to a message in a way clearly intended to incite useless arguments, to launch personal attacks, to insult, or to be hateful towards other m

[DocN]

I can't believe how hateful Thai people want to be! Staying with their own language, so a bunch of westerners don't have to pick up a book, or learn the nuances of a different language!

So...it seems that YOU are not able to understand anything, not even plain English.

I personally could not care less, if Thais speak English or not.

I am in their country and I try to do my best to learn their language and I find it very hard, so I am thankful if someone speaks English.

But this is not about me or some cranky farang.

It is about the Thais.

For all I care, they can stick to their language as long as they want!

Good luck for the ASEAN- community in 2015/16, though.

We will see the rise of the Isaan- bar girl!

All hail to them!

[thaicbr]

Biggest problem with a Thai speaking English is the accent. I speak to Thais that are educated, but many a time, cannot understand what they are saying due to the poor accent.

And the reason ...... English is taught by Thai teacher.

So my conclusion is what's the point of them learning English when they cannot be understood.

Try and improve YOUR listening and reasoning skills as well then

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[techboy]

If one takes the article title literally one could accuse it of simply being a lie. Needless to say the study omits Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Timor. Furthermore what are the Phillippines and Singapore even doing in such a survey? English is actually a national language of these two countries. In Thailand English is a foreign language. Back to Singapore- Number 1? I have spent a good deal of time in Singapore and even worked there with Singaporeans. From my experience their English language skills are generally highly overstated. (Yes I know that there are many contract workers from other countries there and I stand by my observation).

The study is proof of nothing. It was either conducted with gross incompetence or its agenda was designed to yield predetermined results.

P.S. You want good English in SEA? I just got back from KL. They blow the doors off Singapore. (And Brooklyn for that matter ).

[Thai at Heart]

If one takes the article title literally one could accuse it of simply being a lie. Needless to say the study omits Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Timor. Furthermore what are the Phillippines and Singapore even doing in such a survey? English is actually a national language of these two countries. In Thailand English is a foreign language. Back to Singapore- Number 1? I have spent a good deal of time in Singapore and even worked there with Singaporeans. From my experience their English language skills are generally highly overstated. (Yes I know that there are many contract workers from other countries there and I stand by my observation).

The study is proof of nothing. It was either conducted with gross incompetence or its agenda was designed to yield predetermined results.

P.S. You want good English in SEA? I just got back from KL. They blow the doors off Singapore. (And Brooklyn for that matter ).

Well, they didn't come top of the survey either.

[FarangTalk]

If one takes the article title literally one could accuse it of simply being a lie. Needless to say the study omits Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Timor. Furthermore what are the Phillippines and Singapore even doing in such a survey? English is actually a national language of these two countries. In Thailand English is a foreign language. Back to Singapore- Number 1? I have spent a good deal of time in Singapore and even worked there with Singaporeans. From my experience their English language skills are generally highly overstated. (Yes I know that there are many contract workers from other countries there and I stand by my observation).

The study is proof of nothing. It was either conducted with gross incompetence or its agenda was designed to yield predetermined results.

P.S. You want good English in SEA? I just got back from KL. They blow the doors off Singapore. (And Brooklyn for that matter ).

Don't forget, Singapore has several national languages, four or five IIRC, and most Singaporeans speak at least two of those fluently and can communicate in three.

In addition, based on my regional experience, English language skills are noticeably better in Cambodia, Burma and even Timor, and all those countries have been much worse off than Thailand since WWII.

The real reasons for the Thai poor aptitude in English have everything to do with themselves and nothing to do with national languages or colonisation.

That's just another facile excuse for yet another failure on the international stage.

Edited June 12, 2013 by FarangTalk

[sadhukar]

Newsflash: stable ex-British/US colonies perform better in a language they were forced to learn by their colonial masters than other countries. Where is the comparison with Indochina, Burma? Are they not in ASEAN now?

Of course, TV is all too happy to do the usual Thai bashing before reading the news. You are all like sheep just like Thais.

[asiamaster]

I mean no criticism of Khun Jarin's written English skills. He is doing the best he can. Back in April 2007, he was possibly teaching at some government school where basic English lessons were better than nothing at all.

Needless to say, his post was met with a reply suggesting he improves his own English language skills.

I doubt whether you got a thank you or a reply to your suggestion....

[asiamaster]

Newsflash: stable ex-British/US colonies perform better in a language they were forced to learn by their colonial masters than other countries. Where is the comparison with Indochina, Burma? Are they not in ASEAN now?

Of course, TV is all too happy to do the usual Thai bashing before reading the news. You are all like sheep just like Thais.

There have been several posts from forum members who have from their own experience (either working or teaching ) stated that English proficiency is even better in Indochina and Burma....

I take it that you are all too happy to do your accusing before reading all the posts...

Edited June 12, 2013 by asiamaster

[thaicbr]

Newsflash: stable ex-British/US colonies perform better in a language they were forced to learn by their colonial masters than other countries. Where is the comparison with Indochina, Burma? Are they not in ASEAN now?

Of course, TV is all too happy to do the usual Thai bashing before reading the news. You are all like sheep just like Thais.

" TV is all to happy to do the usual Thai bashing. You are all like sheep just like Thais"

Hahahaha priceless.. telling us off for bashing Thais ....... then bashing Thais yourself..... hopefully it was a wonderful. Witty. Tongue in cheek comment :D

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[Yooyung]

"This is an issue that I hear from teacher friends, that the teaching of grammar in English is the preserve almost entirely of native Thai teachers. Surely this is a biiiig mistake."

ThaiatHeart I disagree with you on this. A competent Thai teacher should do the grammar especially if it involves explanation. How do you explain number, meaning singular and plural, to children whose language uses a totally different structure to express it? How can I possibly explain this with my very limited Thai? The native speaker should be organising activities which support and re-inforce the particular grammar point.

Yeah there are also big issues about teacher quality. If you have the paperwork ( and a white face) you can get a job easily, but the paperwork doesn't actually mean you can engage children in the classroom.

Reportedly, a friend of mine who has just started teaching, recently told me that it is absolutely off limits for the foreign teachers to get involved in grammar. I was spoilt with my school teaching me French. The lessons were 100% in French from the age of 8. I think the issue is more that they are prioritising the whole thing incorrectly anyway. i liken it to how I was taught Latin, as a completely academic exercise of understanding, knowing that there will be little or no practical usage beyond school.

5, to 9 year olds should be encouraged to speak and start reading English out loud. It is too young to get into the technicalities of grammar without these building blocks and familiarity. What I understand of it from my kids curriculum in a bilingual school, and what my friend tells me working in a bilingual government program, 75% of the class cannot speak correctly formed sentences, and can read rudimentally out loud,and yet they are being bombarded with advanced English grammar in the Thai part of the curriculum. Is Thailand wanting students who can interpret Chaucer or Jane Austen, or people who can use English practically? I think Thailand would be more than happy to have 20 year old university grads who can write and comprehend, to the level of 15 year old native speakers, and speak clearly. What they have today are technically educated graduates with the comprehension ability of 10 year olds, who are too shy to speak.

My niece, at 22, can analyse all the various technical grammatical parts of any English sentence you choose to put in front of her, but can she read it out loud correctly? Nope. Can she understand the meaning? Not really. Beyond that, her level of vocabulary is very low, because she was never given enough reading comprehension. She got an "A" in English leaving high school she told me last night.

It's a hell of a lot easier to understand how and where to use the the various tenses if you have read them 1000 times in books without understanding 100% the precise meaning in time.

I agree with you this time! Teaching reading is, however, a real science if not an art form and calls for the most astonishingly skilled and knowledgeable teachers and that is in the context of L1 to L1, ie English to English; it becomes even more complex when it is L1 to L2. It's an incredibly slow process too.

As a parent of a soon to be 4 year old boy I am absorbed by watching his progress. I am kinda reluctant to get over involved in his educational development but from watching him do things like jig saw puzzles I notice that he cannot distinguish between straight lines, curved lines and corners. All perfectly normal for such a young learner. In his Thai school classroom he gets bombarded with copying letters in both English and Thai, page after page of mindlessness, a completely meaningless activity, especially in such volume; he has only recently mastered the correct way to hold a pencil in his fingers.

I notice also they use Thai produced material to introduce the kids to letters and sounds: the basic rule here is to teach kids to be able to correctly sound each letter (or letters/diphthongs ) in their most common form : "Ay. ( as in "ay") Ah....Apple", for example and to lead them progressively to be able to sound out short clusters of sounds like "sat=" : "sih-ah- tih= sat". Of course English like every other language has irregular grammar and irregular phonics. So the material my son is using comes to "E"; maybe he should learn "Ee Eh Egg"; that is the basic E sound, although this sound changes to "Ee" in Pete etc. The word chosen for E in my sons material is even more irregular "Ee Aye Eye" - Thai produced!

The irony is there are a number of qualified and experienced native speaker teachers in our school and very few of the Thai teachers ever ask for help... there are a couple who do and not surprisingly they are acknowledged to be the best teachers in the school. This failure led to the production of a fancy, expensive poster for Chinese New Year: the banner was headed: "Happy Chainese's New Year" ....... I have a photo of it. But this is a phenomenon every conscientious native speaker teacher will have encountered in some form if they work here.

I like living here and so I've learned to accept it to some extent - little gain in challenging anything. However I do my best for the kids and parents in every class I teach and I see very real progress among my students. I would like to do more for those who have clear learning needs - sadly these kids usually get no remedial help. A shame because such developmental problems are universal and most kids do respond to assistance. I couldn't speak clearly myself until I was 8/9, but eventually I did thanks to what was then known in Scotland as "Child Guidance" : I had a weekly session with an educational psychologist. Of course some people still don't understand a word I say!

Aye, I pity the parents in this country who not unreasonably want to do the best for the kids and give them a decent education.

As every good parent, I promised myself that i would sit every night and read with my kids, but of course, it never quite pans out that way. We have done quite a lot of reading together, but not as much as it should be. However, I have strictly stuck to the rule that I never speak to them in Thai, and make sure that I speak to them as correctly in English as possible. They have turned out excellently bilingual so far. Trying to get them to write 150 word creative stories about anything that comes into their mind at the moment. All of a sudden they are whizzing through the "Famous Five", and I have to say, that ebooks are the way forward for that.

I don't think anyone can ever say that kids in Thailand (let alone the rest of the world) read enough, so, even if it is 30 minutes a night before bedtime a few nights a week, it is a hell of a lot better than nothing. When it comes to English, as a native speaker, you can have by far the most influence on your child's early development in English.

Well said ThaiAtHeart. I agree and am doing the same with my son. I actually look at this situation and see a lot of positives for those with luek kreung kids. I am going to make sure my son is highly competent at both languages, that way, in 12 years when he's 18 he will be streets ahead of the Thais that are all falling over each other complaining about how their English STILL isn't good enough for ASEAN. They can all eat my sons dust. I read to him every night, do activities on the internet and speak English ONLY at home..the Thai takes care of itself.

[stickylies]

Of course, TV is all too happy to do the usual Thai bashing before reading the news. You are all like sheep just like Thais.

silly comment, of course too...

i praise thai more often than i bash them. in fact, giving FACTS is not the same as BASHING. moreover, if u read my previous comment u will see that this matter has NOTHING to do with being colonized or not. keywords are: motivation and interest.

[metisdead]

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[3SoiDogNight]

I am astonished at how many Western companies hire secretaries, admins and receptionist that don't speak a lick of English. Yet these companies have an international presence and use the company logo.

I won't blame that on the Thais. I blame Western managers that don't seem to give a damn if their staff that faces the public don't speak English.

I won't name these companies but they are very large international companies that I would expect would know better.

[Shaunduhpostman]

It [saving face] literally becomes the prevailing ethic in the society at large, with nearly everyone focused on it to the exclusion of other values such as quality, honesty, and even compassion. It would be impossible to impart real knowledge to a people who 1) don't really believe that they are flawed or capable of failure and 2) are completely obsessed with mere badges of accomplishment purely for the purpose of gaining the respect of other Thais.

To my mind, Unkomoncents has nailed it, face is the be all and end all. To talk about whether or not Thai teaching methods are outmoded, how much money is spent on English language education, whether the teacher is a good teacher or not, whether pride and xenophobia affect people's attitudes towards learning, the impending ASEAN economic union, etc. I'm afraid is all just distant noise by comparison.

The game here is completely different to western countries and an extreme version of what we find in other Asian countries, so many of our well meaning solutions to the English language learning or education problem in Thailand just dissolve in their irrelevance. Those Thais who are concerned with anything at all, are much more concerned with perceptions others have of them and their social standing than their real abilities, skills, knowledge etc. Those who continually fail in the social standing game are good at stoically enduring all kinds of hardship. Becoming financially well off, which seems to me to be the only thing most people here really want, is more often than not viewed as simply being about being lucky or connecting with others who will do it all for you not about applying talent/interest/effort/skills. In the absence of any such luck, many will use social status as the power over others lower on the social ladder to simply appropriate their money, and other successes and without having to face the consequences.

To actually appear to be effective or have skills and you risk provoking jealousy and all kinds of other threats to your good standing with others. At the end of the day, I think in Thailand, it's all about the image you project and your good social standing not whether you are an effective school, business, government, or person let alone whether you can speak English well or teach it or create effective English programs.

[PaullyW]

It [saving face] literally becomes the prevailing ethic in the society at large, with nearly everyone focused on it to the exclusion of other values such as quality, honesty, and even compassion. It would be impossible to impart real knowledge to a people who 1) don't really believe that they are flawed or capable of failure and 2) are completely obsessed with mere badges of accomplishment purely for the purpose of gaining the respect of other Thais.

To my mind, Unkomoncents has nailed it, face is the be all and end all. To talk about whether or not Thai teaching methods are outmoded, how much money is spent on English language education, whether the teacher is a good teacher or not, whether pride and xenophobia affect people's attitudes towards learning, the impending ASEAN economic union, etc. I'm afraid is all just distant noise by comparison.

The game here is completely different to western countries and an extreme version of what we find in other Asian countries, so many of our well meaning solutions to the English language learning or education problem in Thailand just dissolve in their irrelevance. Those Thais who are concerned with anything at all, are much more concerned with perceptions others have of them and their social standing than their real abilities, skills, knowledge etc. Those who continually fail in the social standing game are good at stoically enduring all kinds of hardship. Becoming financially well off, which seems to me to be the only thing most people here really want, is more often than not viewed as simply being about being lucky or connecting with others who will do it all for you not about applying talent/interest/effort/skills. In the absence of any such luck, many will use social status as the power over others lower on the social ladder to simply appropriate their money, and other successes and without having to face the consequences.

To actually appear to be effective or have skills and you risk provoking jealousy and all kinds of other threats to your good standing with others. At the end of the day, I think in Thailand, it's all about the image you project and your good social standing not whether you are an effective school, business, government, or person let alone whether you can speak English well or teach it or create effective English programs.

Yes, ... and the result of all this is -- Thailand in all it's mismanagement and illogical nature. Sure there are brilliant Thais who care about truth and performance for its own sake, but I'm afraid it's quite possible that the vast majority are concerned only with the image descriptions you've noted.

But, as sad as this is, it's probably the very reason it's so damn fun and easy to be here! A nation of good food, poorly educated people who are easy (in most ways) and who just really want to have fun during the current life.

[stickylies]

Unkomoncents, on 12 Jun 2013 - 10:02, said:

It [saving face] literally becomes the prevailing ethic in the society at large

Wake-up call at all face-savers: when people speak to you in a language worldwide considered as an international language (English that is) and you are not able to understand or communicate the very basics, you lose face anyhow since majority of people will automatically think: what a bunch of uneducated people, these Thai.

Some rice farmer not interested in English, I can understand. But all these spoiled teenagers with smartphones and tablets. Common! Download a free language application and learn a word or 3 a day. My brain is half-dead and I learn 3-7 new Thai words a day.

[RickBradford]

Unkomoncents, on 12 Jun 2013 - 10:02, said:

It [saving face] literally becomes the prevailing ethic in the society at large

Wake-up call at all face-savers: when people speak to you in a language worldwide considered as an international language (English that is) and you are not able to understand or communicate the very basics, you lose face anyhow since majority of people will automatically think: what a bunch of uneducated people, these Thai.

Some rice farmer not interested in English, I can understand. But all these spoiled teenagers with smartphones and tablets. Common! Download a free language application and learn a word or 3 a day. My brain is half-dead and I learn 3-7 new Thai words a day.

Don't forget the very powerful process called 'psychological denial'. In this case, it runs like: "If I cannot communicate in English basics in an important situation, I will lose face. Therefore, this cannot be an important situation."

In other words, rather than do something about the problem, pretend it isn't a problem. That way, face is saved, no effort has to be made, and the Thai notion of cultural superiority is maintained. Hurrah!

[johnlandy]

Before we dump too hard on the Thai community there is one thing i have not seen mentioned. 3 of the 5 were colonies of an English speaking country

SINGAPORE - VERY BRITISH

MALAYSIA - ALSO VERY BRITISH

PHILIPPINES - VERY AMERICAN How many bases are there or were there.

That is why they are so high actually they should be higher considering.

Thailand will not and cannot become a bilingual country thru education. Sure the kids are learning but as has been stated there is not enough English speaking organizations to further there abilities.

a studetn to me

Teacher i like English but cannot learn it.

When you leave the class do you speak English with your classmates?

Not really we are Thai

When you go home do you speak English to your parents?

no they are Thai and do not speak English.

So what you are saying is the only time you speak English is in class with me or when you see me.

Yes teacher.

And?

This is the way, English is tought all over the world.

That's the way I learned it, being from Germany.

But at least in our English classes, we SPOKE English and did not exclusively learned grammar.

There are many ways to practice English!

Get DVD's in English and with Thai- subtitles, f.e.

Read English books, listen to English music.

But of course, you have to be interested!

If you just listen to Thai- music because it is so sanook or watch only Thai (dubed) movies, because "pasa angrid" makes you "bod hua"....

The owner of a restaurant in Surat Thani came to my table and struck up a conversation. Once I got over the shock at the quality of his English skills, I asked him where he learned to speak so well. He said, "Watching Movies on DVD". I ask every Thai with good English skills where they learned them and none of them reply, "At university". It is all about desire. My Thai GF reads the BP to me most evenings and when she comes to a word that she either can't pronounce or doesn't understand the meaning, she will ask me. She has less 'Thai' accent than my Thai friend who spent 25 years in the U.S. Thais have to 'want' to learn; they are quite intelligent but many are intellectually lazy.

Accents are irrelevant. Listening comprehension is so poor in Thailand, it's incredible. The government should ban the dubbing of foreign language TV shows tomorrow and rely on subtitles only.

Thais have to 'want' to learn; they are quite intelligent but many are intellectually lazy. I think that sums it up, they think that they can learn in the same way as they cook instant noodles.

Or by putting a dollar into a vending machine and out comes a condom or putting a dollar into a vending machine and 'hey presto' you're fluent in English.

The facts are that the average Thai persons English skills are shyt.

[bigbamboo]

I am astonished at how many Western companies hire secretaries, admins and receptionist that don't speak a lick of English. Yet these companies have an international presence and use the company logo.

I won't blame that on the Thais. I blame Western managers that don't seem to give a dam_n if their staff that faces the public don't speak English.

I won't name these companies but they are very large international companies that I would expect would know better.

"Solly, no have velly good Ingrish but have velly short skirt."

[keithet]

The problem is nothing to do with white teachers. The majority of Thais are taught by Thai teachers who are afraid to speak english (even if they could), and use Thai 95% of the time. I'm still astounded that the average government school graduate can say barely more than hello, even after 12 years of learning english. There are plenty of excellent speakers of english here, educated in private / international schools / overseas, but they are in the vast minority of all citizens.

Hello is Thai for answering the phone.... Hahaha even my GF's mom says it when answering her mobile...

[stickylies]

pretend it isn't a problem. That way, face is saved

not sure about that.

pretending implies u are aware there is a problem right?

example: thai stumbles -> falls on head -> gaping wound -> bleeds & has pain (and technically "loses face" due to falling).

pretending you haven't fallen doesn't make the wound/pain go away right ?

all the people around you can pretend u didn't fall too (avoiding u losing face!). pain (= u fell = u lose face) is still there.

Edited June 12, 2013 by stickylies

[gerrythepoet]

I offer to teach for free. I'm over 60 and now I'd like to give back to society. But Thai society just doesn't get it.

First, I've offered to teach any government organization a 30 hour basic English class for free. My only requirement -- that the organization fills out the necessary paperwork for me to obtain a valid work permit. I get smiles, and promises, and "feigned" interest, but little more,

Second, I've offered to teach any school within the Ampher I live in a 30 hour basic English class for free, but only for teachers...why not students -- give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. My only requirement -- that the organization fills out the necessary paperwork for me to obtain a valid work permit. I get smiles, and promises, and "feigned" interest, but little more,

If the Alien Work Act wasn't such a xenophobic piece of legislation (which by the way, there is no mention of volunteering, but anger the wrong Puu Yai and see if you don't end up in jail), then perhaps pensioners like me (with educational qualifications, and I do have them) would be willing to help the rural poor where I live. You know what would make my day? One or two kids breaking free from the poverty and going on to university, and having a good life. And then sharing that good fortune with their village by coming back and assisting others to break free from the cycle of poverty. Don't tell me that the culture will not allow it: Young folk will define the future of this and other countries.

Yes, Thailand's xenophobic, nationalism will keep them in the back seat of the Emerging Markets. And until the Amart and middle classes pull there heads out of where the "sun don't shine", they will remain in the back seat. But as long as the Amart make the big bucks -- who cares, right! And the middle-class, like all middle-classes, are too glued to their 50 inch plasma screen TVs and their Hilux 4x4s to give much of a rip about anyone but themselves.

My wife is a Thai teacher, head of Social studies and teaches pratom and m1-m3 basic english she learnt herself. Sure it's not 100% but the kids love it. We both have a plan to build a small school and teach english for free within a 5 mile radius. Sometimes you do not have to go to the mountain let the mountain come to you. I agree with a lot of your sentiments. However you are being seen as a thorn in the establishment's side rather than a good samaritan

[stickylies]

Hello is Thai for answering the phone

"bye bye" gets used often too now !

conclusion after 296 comments: hello & bye bye !

[MaxYakov]

....3 languages

Thai...English...Thai-English

Too right...teaching correct English is basically futile here (been tutoring kids for thirty five years('slaps forehead')) because, when spoken correctly (particularly in the presence of other Thais), the speaker is giggled at (openly, or otherwise) and not understood (which immediately turns on face, and that's the end of that)...and there you have it, the Thai way (Thai-English) or the highway...

Thanks! I've been wondering what to call this dialect of English (Thai-English or Thinglish?) that I find most Thais I meet are using. Lately, I've been telling them flat-out that they're not speaking English. Out of frustration, I've been jibing my local 7/11 staff, by using Spanish. They don't seem to be picking Spanish up too well either. Perhaps I should try Russian?

Edited June 12, 2013 by MaxYakov

[MaxYakov]

If one takes the article title literally one could accuse it of simply being a lie. Needless to say the study omits Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Timor. Furthermore what are the Phillippines and Singapore even doing in such a survey? English is actually a national language of these two countries. In Thailand English is a foreign language. Back to Singapore- Number 1? I have spent a good deal of time in Singapore and even worked there with Singaporeans. From my experience their English language skills are generally highly overstated. (Yes I know that there are many contract workers from other countries there and I stand by my observation).

The study is proof of nothing. It was either conducted with gross incompetence or its agenda was designed to yield predetermined results.

P.S. You want good English in SEA? I just got back from KL. They blow the doors off Singapore. (And Brooklyn for that matter ).

I was amazed by the quality English of a guy I met from KL. Made me feel like I was back home (not Brooklyn BTW). Just another 2-baht data point.