Thailand ranks near bottom in English proficiency: survey

[Benmart]

Yes as a twice a year visitor it is very noticeable that over the past 15 years it has gotten worse.

But this can also be because the people just resent it.

But regardless of the fact that Malaysia is higher up, they will be slowly dropping as less and less English is being taught in Government schools.Older generations many very fluent.

I wanted to get a job teaching English, or even what is better conversation English.No salary only a room. Could not get a reply from many places. And as far as the Education Department is concerned, too old.

Don't be discouraged. Times are changing and us old dogs can still teach a few tricks.

[johnlandy]

Looking at the flip side - the Thai mind - I wonder if this is a priority with all Thais in general (excluding the rare exceptions). I do not think it is.

When I consider their propensity for lying, cheating, stealing, laziness, choosing the route of least resistance, avoiding all responsibility and accountability, their love/hate relationship with life and its sanctity, and everything else... and then I contrast that to the methods and means with which they extort, blackmail, betray, reneg, accuse and bleed foreigners of every last ounce of money they can, then... well, I am remiss if I do not see the advantage of not bothering with English.

Learning the English language or not learning the English language will have no effect on the amount of money they intake from foreign presence here. In my view, that is what they solely exist for; to accumulate as much wealth as they can before they die.

This statistic is about as ludicrous as reporting that the Remora fish does not speak shark. Why should it? It gets what it wants.

This is the most accurate and honest assessment of the majority of problems, causes, and reasons for the majority of problems plaguing the realm and it ain't gonna change in our or a great grand children's lifetime.

It gets my vote 100%

Edited November 7, 2013 by johnlandy

[Benmart]

Schoolclasses are too full... sometimes one teacher with fourty kids. Most of the education is merely reproducing. Improving the teacher's education would do much good. Facilitate it and challenge the teachers to improve themselves. The taxanomy of Bloom f.i. will not mean anything to the average teacher in Thailand.

The heaps and heaps of English courses often are done by unskilled staff.

FYI. Whilst on the subject of English 40 is spelt forty, not fourty. 5555

Depends where you come from. American English and English are different. I am constantly putting a line through the homework teachers send home for my son and correcting their American spelling. ( he has a teacher from the U.S which is corrupting him) I want my son to be able to spell in the real English style which is universal.

You need to realise a few things about English. Firstly, there are two main forms, called British English and American English. Secondly, on the international stage, the two forms are equally valid. Thirdly, some countries and some institutions prefer one form above the other. Fourthly, most of the world doesn't know the difference between the two forms and doesn't care. Fifthly, it's up to you to choose which form you prefer, but you should not tell your son that American English is wrong, only that you yourself prefer British English.

ฺBritish English is the original and correct form. So i would think he could tell his son that.

I actually would like to know why Americans change the spelling of the words, if you think about it, it is a bit strange.

American English, Candian French, Macau Portuguese, Mexican Spanish, Cuban Spanish, Argentine German and the list goes on. Which is "Correct"? I quess it depends on the dogma or degree of open mindness of the evaluator.

Live and let live?

[orosee]

Okay, so the 3 major economic powers of Asia (Japan, Korea, China) lose their competitiveness because they lack English skills? But they got to where they are on even lesser proficiency, so what? The problem with Thailand is more a lack of inventiveness and scientific education, not to mention the caste system and rudimentary civic education outside of Bangkok. Believe in Karma (rewards and punishment come in a future life, not in the present one), obey the authorities, learn by rote. It doesn't matter what language you use if your brain has been shackled from birth.

That article is just advertising with an agenda. ---> trash bin.

[Bonefish]

This report seems to be flawed.

Thailand ranks better than Panama? Panama has a substantial percentage of people who speak English quite well, and very many Panamanians, especially in Panama City, speak perfect English. Which is not surprising, since Panama was an American protectorate for 100 years, all the educated people studied at US schools and Miami is only 2 hours away.

[zyphodb]

Thailand ranks near bottom in English proficiency

And PM Yingluck's interview with CNN proved it beyond a shadow of doubt.

Before:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XJonMclsEw

After:

Thanks for this one - wow!!! It's like putting a bicycle and a formula 1 racing car in comparison.

I was tempted to write that "at least looks changed to the better", but even that would be untrue...

Is this surprising???

Abhist, as a Thai from an elite family went to school at Eton I think, I could be wrong it could have been Harrow, Either way one of the most expensive private schools In the UK, one of the ones that the British Royal Family send their Children to, Yingluck, as a Girl from a Thai-chinese family didn't. Surprisingly making her have more in common with the the average Thai people here for all her other faults.....

[Trotto]

I just moved here from China, was there for over 3 years... quite surprised at how little they speak English here, I thought there'd be more English speakers than in China... there's not.

They don't even show English movies in KSK anymore, they just dub everything in Thai... tragic... tried to buy some dvd's in my local 7/11... English movies, again, all dubbed in Thai...

I can't understand it? Thai language goods for Thais in Thailand. Unbelievable!!!

[wilcopops]

There is already a thread on a similar vein.

however I have found it very difficult to access this survey - which I understand in NOT statistically controlled - and would like to see it first.

I seems it was a very large survey.

I would also like to see how it is professionally interpreted, rather than by the anti-Thai or racists who like to pick on this as evidence of their superiority over Thai people.

[brewsterbudgen]

This report seems to be flawed.

Thailand ranks better than Panama? Panama has a substantial percentage of people who speak English quite well, and very many Panamanians, especially in Panama City, speak perfect English. Which is not surprising, since Panama was an American protectorate for 100 years, all the educated people studied at US schools and Miami is only 2 hours away.

The report is very flawed and if EF Language schools are anything to go by, I would question its proficiency!

No excuse needed for the usual Thai bashing though...

[Commander Tamson]

Thailand ranks near bottom in English proficiency

 

And PM Yingluck's interview with CNN proved it beyond a shadow of doubt.

Does anyone have web link to that interview?

Would much appreciate one

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[wilcopops]

OK - got the report now......just check out how they do it.

[SjaakNL2013]

Schoolclasses are too full... sometimes one teacher with fourty kids. Most of the education is merely reproducing. Improving the teacher's education would do much good. Facilitate it and challenge the teachers to improve themselves. The taxanomy of Bloom f.i. will not mean anything to the average teacher in Thailand.

The heaps and heaps of English courses often are done by unskilled staff.

.......Schoolclasses are too full... sometimes one teacher with fourty kids............

I think not the size is so important. If you have a class with 60 students who are busy with studying the subject then all will go well.

But, the Thai students have a never fail mentality so they don't have to study for points, for exams or graduations. All free and that make 90% of the students lazy and not interested in the subject. A mobile phone with Viber or Line is all you need to be a successful student. And that is what they know and play all day with them.

[simon43]

I am constantly putting a line through the homework teachers send home for my son and correcting their American spelling

The American spelling is correct, (meaning that it is not incorrect for those people who are learning the correct spelling and word usage of the English language that's used in North America etc.). So I really don't think it's a good idea for you to 'correct' his spelling. Rather, you should be helping your son to understand the differences in spelling between UK and US English, (such as metre and meter), and the difference in some words (such as trunk and boot of a car).

BTW, I'm British...

I have taught students who are studying for the IELTS exam (which is often thought to be a British exam, but is actually a British-Canadian-Australian organisation). Using American spelling and words in that exam is perfectly acceptable, so long as the student is consistent in their usage - you can write 'the center of the theater' but not 'the center of the theatre' etc.

As to why there are differences in spelling between some British and American English words, I hazard a guess that this is because so many British words derive from French words, (such as centre). For many new immigrants in the US and learning English, 'center' maybe is a more logical spelling for them. (But I might be totally wrong in this hypothesis!)

When I recently taught primary children in both Laos and Myanmar, I taught them both US and British spelling, and word differences. They had no problem to understand these concepts and rules of spelling.

Simon

[sangsom69]

Clearly the Thai government simply doesn't have the funds for better English teachers, better run schools, better waged teachers; after all they are very conservative when it comes to spending, unless there are excellent programmes that clearly spark economic growth

free computer tablets in schools in 2012 - 16m bht

rise subsidy programme - 136 billion bht and counting

first car tax rebate - 2.6 bht

[brewsterbudgen]

I am constantly putting a line through the homework teachers send home for my son and correcting their American spelling

The American spelling is correct, (meaning that it is not incorrect for those people who are learning the correct spelling and word usage of the English language that's used in North America etc.). So I really don't think it's a good idea for you to 'correct' his spelling. Rather, you should be helping your son to understand the differences in spelling between UK and US English, (such as metre and meter), and the difference in some words (such as trunk and boot of a car).

BTW, I'm British...

I have taught students who are studying for the IELTS exam (which is often thought to be a British exam, but is actually a British-Canadian-Australian organisation). Using American spelling and words in that exam is perfectly acceptable, so long as the student is consistent in their usage - you can write 'the center of the theater' but not 'the center of the theatre' etc.

As to why there are differences in spelling between some British and American English words, I hazard a guess that this is because so many British words derive from French words, (such as centre). For many new immigrants in the US and learning English, 'center' maybe is a more logical spelling for them. (But I might be totally wrong in this hypothesis!)

When I recently taught primary children in both Laos and Myanmar, I taught them both US and British spelling, and word differences. They had no problem to understand these concepts and rules of spelling.

Simon

Good post, except IELTS has no Canadian link. That said, as you say, American English is completely accepted in the IELTS exam.

[flyingdoc]

In the 27 years I have been coming to Thailand, I have noticed a considerable decline in spoken English.

Only today I went into a branch of a major Bank, and not only could they not exchange any foreign currency, but they did not speak a word of English!

A tourist hotel on Samui with 200 beds has one English speaking member of staff on until 1 pm only !

[nonoi55]

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/ph-is-world-s-most-affordable--english-teacher-.html

enough said.

[Scott]

Off-topic post and replies deleted. Troll posts also deleted.

[LingLek]

IMO, some of the best english language speakers are bar girls......

They're certainly a lot better than the people on this list.

[chooka]

Please keep the "no have" though - I love it when Thais say this.

It is cute and they use it for everything.

[Spare]

South Korea and Japan ahead of Thailand on this list? That does surprise me tbh.

No way.

At least Thai people on the street know how to say "Hi Handsome, looking for action?"

[chooka]

In the 27 years I have been coming to Thailand, I have noticed a considerable decline in spoken English.

Only today I went into a branch of a major Bank, and not only could they not exchange any foreign currency, but they did not speak a word of English!

A tourist hotel on Samui with 200 beds has one English speaking member of staff on until 1 pm only !

I went to a Hotel 4 weeks ago (only because my wife got 3 nights free) in Jomtien Pattaya. (Ambbassador City) Everything was written in Russian, no one spoke a word of English including the staff at the hotel. They did however speak Thai and Russian but I had no idea what they were rambling on about.

[witsawakorn]

coming 55 out of 60 is no news. It is normal for a country that wasn't colonised. The interesting news is that Thailand ranked 10 out of 60 for rate of improvement in English. Now that is surprising and suggests that the education system here is doing something right . Unfortunately none of the posters read the report and jumped o with the negative posts hased on thr news summary. Not clever guys.i say well done Thailand and poor old S. Korea who poured huge sums into English learning only to get worse at it

Edited November 7, 2013 by witsawakorn

[Commander Tamson]

Please keep the "no have" though - I love it when Thais say this.

It is cute and they use it for everything.

It's just a literal translation of their own mei dai, which they also use extensively - particularly shop assistants

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[wilcopops]

coming 55 out of 60 is no news. It is normal for a country that wasn't colonised. The interesting news is that Thailand ranked 10 out of 60 for rate of improvement in English. Now that is surprising and suggests that the education system here is doing something right . Unfortunately none of the posters read the report and jumped o with the negative posts hased on thr news summary. Not clever guys.i say well done Thailand and poor old S. Korea who poured huge sums into English learning only to get worse at it

Yes - I see HK is dropping behind mainland China....so much for the "ex-colony" theorists.

however just looking at it as some kind of horse-race, as many are, makes the whole thing a farce and comments like that are of course worthless.

I suspect Korean and Japanese study techniques may have a bearing on their trends.

[xenophon]

Once lived in a city where, on a slow news day, the media would report variants on the same old story - a shark attack, near attack, potential shark attack, no shark attack, etc.It appears that the need for education reform and raising levels of English performs the same function in the kingdom's media. A story that can be wheeled out regularly to produce the usual responses, horror and hand wringing but unlikely to lead to any change. This story and its subtypes have been reported since 1997 (and probably before) with what result.

Fundamentally, the kingdom is not motivated to do anything about it. English does not matter to most ordinary people and companies. For example, CTH cannot even be bothered switching on the English language track for various movies. Furthermore, high level English proficiency is extremely difficult in a non-English speaking environment and damned hard work (an obscure and rare concept amongst most students)! Rather play with smart phone, na?

[duanebigsby]

Wouldn't the world be better if People (Native English Speakers) coming to a foreign land tries to learn their native language to communicate rather than expecting that the natives learn English and then ridicule them if they cannot speak english correctly.

It is a FOREIGN language... They are not supposed to know it at the first place. If they are trying to learn don't ridicule them. Think about how well can you speak their language.

I would love to see the statistics on how many different languages can a "Native English Speaker" would know compared to the Non-Native English Speaker in average.

Yes learning English is an advantage but doesn't mean that it is "Embarrassing" if you cannot speak english. It is already so easy for the native english speakers to travel around the world and communicate and yet in some countries, if they have to learn a slight bit of new words of a new language, they complain their @$$ out and ridicule them.

Is that the attitude all over the English Speaking countries or just the ThaiVisa Members? People are relating ones Inability to speak English as ignorance. Well that thought itself is Ignorance at its Best.

Your post has some truth, but the Native English speakers can get around the world easier than say, a Frenchman going to Thailand without English nor Thai. Seen that a lot here. The criticism is about the English instruction here. The Thai English instructors, whose spoken English isn't 100% do a d*mn fine job of teaching grammar and writing, but the conversational component is seriously lacking. One cannot teach that part with 50+ kids in the class only 2 hours a week. Class sizes and not enough contact are the issues. Those suggesting Thai laziness, xenophobia, etc are missing the point.

Edited November 7, 2013 by duanebigsby

[Jackson86]

So far I have no problems talking to Thai people, their english is acceptable to me although I agree that they should improve further.

[ginjag]

I would like to put the question the other way round.

With Thailand as a worlds best tourist destination thrust down every ones throats, and nationalities from a multitude of countries, What language do the Thai people want to speak to communicate ??? If some posters say why should they have to learn English, OR why don't other nationals speak Thai, ridiculous.

I am speaking about persons in the hospitality-banks-police in tourist areas-shops in tourist areas mainly---NOT RURAL THAI people. If we need the kingdom to move forward and they are breaking records at the airports then get every bit of free help you can Thailand, flood the rural schools with helpers. Why a country wants to punish free help, that's balmy.

[puukao]

If you want to attract great teachers, perhaps consider tripling the current wage. Money attracts talent. Sure, nice amenities help promote interest in a particular teaching assignment; however, money eventually will be the deciding factor. If you are a great teacher, the money plus benefits offered in most countries are far better than what's being offered in Thailand. Sure, they hire on the cheap, and get what they pay for.