Thailand ranks near bottom in English proficiency: survey

[Jackson86]

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.

I guess only those that stay in city areas such as Bangkok know English better. Thai people from rural areas aren't that good in English. Personally, I take up Thai as a foreign language.

[NeverSure]

My niece by marriage has just graduated with a BA degree in English Language ; yet when I speak to her slowly and clearly , she hardly understands a word I say and has difficulty relpying . Her mother is a High School English teacher and speaks fairly good English . I think the way English is taught at

school or university is wrong . Grammar and verbs are not a language , students must to learn to speak , to communicate in a language , even if at first

what they say is grammatically incorrect .

This.

English is taught backwards in Thailand. How is the language learned by any child in any language which is its native language? The child first learns to speak and hear, and is fluent by age 5 at least. Only after the child has some fluency is he taught the alphabet and then begins to learn spelling and grammar.

I also have a Thai lady friend who is the English teacher for her village school. She can't speak English but she reads and writes it pretty well. She teaches English in Thai. NOW she is working hard learning to speak and hear English using YouTube videos, some of which are pretty good with words and phrases written on a chalk board and then spoken.

How many years in Thai schools, a master's degree, and an English teacher who can't speak English? How is that ever going to work?

[crazydrummerpauly]

My Thai friend teaches English full-time in a council school - 50 'students' in the class - most of them wishing they were somewhere else. FIFTY. Waste of bloody time. The annoying thing is - 200 years ago and since, sons of the Thai upper-class were sent to England to learn the language and culture, sometimes to Sandhurst to learn military skills. So one thing cannot be said about the problem, that it is only recently that Thailand looked to English as valuable, and has that excuse for being in a catch-up position vis-a-vis other nations. The length of the endeavour has been more than long enough, but the outcome way too poor. Another angle - in my friend's school, there is a 'Language laboratory' - it lasted ONE YEAR before being broken, and it will never be repaired. The kids destroyed it bit-by-bit; BUT, due to dodgy ordering, it was never the quality it was meant to be when the central gvt funded it in the first place. It was too easy to break. She is a serious, hard-working teacher with very good spoken English and a totally committed attitude to the job, but is now so depressed about the system and culture in the schools, it's getting hard to go in every day.

Edited November 7, 2013 by crazydrummerpauly

[Ubonquest]

It'a a Thai thing. Stubbornness and pride. Years ago, neighboring countries such as Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia were encouraged to know at least French language and high school students learned French as part of their curriculum. Now they embrace English like most of the countries in the world. Thailand was different then but has not changed much as far as having students learning a foreign language in class. The new generation of kids living in Esan don't want to speak Lao as their parents, some of them are ashamed to do so, that is how much they have been brainwashed by the system. Every thing has to be Thai.

[MaxYakov]

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!!!

Wait til you see the Thai-dubbed, English-language movies with Thai subtitles on cable TV (and elsewhere?). They must have been done to accommodate the hearing-impaired. My other hypothesis is that the dubbing was done for the reading-impaired. Or maybe some here as a more plausible hypothesis?

Edited November 7, 2013 by MaxYakov

[EricBerg]

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.

40 kids is a blessing here - many classes have upwards of 60. Back when I was teaching here I had classes of 65+. Not only that, in the college I taught at, they merged other classes for English (other subject classes I taught were much smaller!) - with poor timetabling.

I had one class at 3pm with 65+ kids, the subject was business English (although most could not speak any English - i.e. course way above their heads), it was made of two separate classes (hotel management students and engineering students) it was a 1.5 hour lesson. The engineers had to walk over from another building with no gap to do so - so were usually 30-45 minutes late, interrupting the class. At 3pm all they wanted to do was sleep and go home early. No chance of anyone learning diddly-squat in such an environment. Even attempts at games and "fun" lessons didn't work - these work less with 19 year olds than school kids anyway, but after being at school from 8am and constant interruptions during the class (and no aircon) - no chance.

If that really is normal practise nowadays then all stops.

However, in the past my wife was a talented student in Thai highschool upcountry. In order to qualify for uni she had to switch to a better one in the region for the last two years. If there is a system nationwide of better highschools (with smaller classes) where the talented ones go to eventually, then there's a basis that can be used as a start to improve the whole. But as in all countries it can only work well when improvements are facilitated by giving teaching staff the time to improve and by raising the social and financial status of teachers.

[planetdweller]

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

It is cute and they use it for everything.

Also "can" and "cannot"

"Would you like to go to dinner now , Toy?"

Answer= "can"

"There are supposed to be some ghosts ( pi ) inside that Temple House , Nok. Want to go in and look around?"

Answer= "cannot"

Also "power" and "shuwah" , which is how "sure" is pronounced.

Toy : "Hab power now you , we can go to loom?"

Me: Uh, OK. Do you want me to buy some pawk and rye ( for rice ) with fish sauce and some dink to take to the Loom?

Toy: Shuwah Ka.

[stoli]

How many of the posters on this site are bilingual? I do find it hard to believe that Russia is not on this list. I am sorry, but I have yet to find one that can (will) say Hello. Not Russian bashing, just stating a fact.

[Scott]

Off-topic post and reply have been deleted.

[Stuart21]

But that is how we prove we have never been colonised!

[gerrythepoet]

How many of the posters on this site are bilingual? I do find it hard to believe that Russia is not on this list. I am sorry, but I have yet to find one that can (will) say Hello. Not Russian bashing, just stating a fact.

Actually I have only met one Russian in Thailand and he teaches English with our English Program.

[wilcopops]

As for the realities of this report.....

Look at the survey and consider the results for China.

How many people travelling around china have experienced ease when it comes to using English?

The fact remains that if you are visiting Thailand or China, Thailand is far easier at present for those who speak English to get by on a day-to-day basis.

Edited November 8, 2013 by metisdead
Font

[wilcopops]

My Thai friend teaches English full-time in a council school - 50 'students' in the class - most of them wishing they were somewhere else. FIFTY. Waste of bloody time. The annoying thing is - 200 years ago and since, sons of the Thai upper-class were sent to England to learn the language and culture, sometimes to Sandhurst to learn military skills. So one thing cannot be said about the problem, that it is only recently that Thailand looked to English as valuable, and has that excuse for being in a catch-up position vis-a-vis other nations. The length of the endeavour has been more than long enough, but the outcome way too poor. Another angle - in my friend's school, there is a 'Language laboratory' - it lasted ONE YEAR before being broken, and it will never be repaired. The kids destroyed it bit-by-bit; BUT, due to dodgy ordering, it was never the quality it was meant to be when the central gvt funded it in the first place. It was too easy to break. She is a serious, hard-working teacher with very good spoken English and a totally committed attitude to the job, but is now so depressed about the system and culture in the schools, it's getting hard to go in every day.

" most of them wishing they were somewhere else" - totally subjective....usually an excuse of a poor teacher.

[metisdead]

Nonsensical posts have been removed.

[gtm2k]

"All over Asia, Thailand's ranking is only above Kazakhstan"

Although the post is about english proficiency, i would wonder how many thai's are even aware of the geographical location of their closest competitor - "Kazakhstan"

[Cereal]

The fact that English levels and abilities are higher in S. Korea than in Thailand is surprising to me as well. I have been teaching in Korea for nearly 4 years now and the English comprehension and speaking abilities here are shockingly low, considering that Korea spends as much or more than any other nation on ESL.

Every student takes English from Elementary year 3 through high school. That's 10 years or about 1000 hours of English language in school. A significant percentage of kids also go to hagwans after school to study further.

I was in Seoul recently and came across a group of about 15 university kids. I asked for directions to a restaurant that I knew was closeby. All I saw were crossed arms in front of faces and all I heard was "No Englishee". Everyone of those kids had at least 1000 hours of English in school. Everyone of them had taken a "giving directions" class. I know, I teach it in elementary years 3-6 and middle school Years 1-3. The school curriculum is similar nationwide.

None of the Korean co-teachers I have are capable of carrying on a comfortable conversation in English. Basic shit, like talking about your day.

Previous to Korea, I taught in Laos for 5 years. Those kids were bright. I've also been to Thailand many many times. I found it quite easy to get along in English there. I found the levels to be quite high.

[spidermike007]

I believe it goes hand and hand with Thai Officials wanting to keep the population ignorant. This allows corruption to continue.

I watched our lovely PM addressing the UN the other day. Her inability to communicate in English was embarrassing.

Yes, and she studied how many years in a university?

Yingluck Shinawatra earned a bachelor's degree from Chiang Mai University and a master's degree from Kentucky State University, both in public administration.^[5] She became an executive in the businesses founded by her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, and later became the president of property developer SC Asset and managing director of Advanced Info Service.

So, if even this woman does not speak great english, despite studying in Kentucky, and her business experience, how much hope can we hold out for the average Thai? Not sure where this will lead to, but the lack of emphasis on creating an effective system to learn english here is quite amazing. You almost have to be trying to prevent people from learning english to have been this effective in getting them NOT TO LEARN. I heard that there was a test given to math teachers here in 23 random provinces. The test administered was the actual test the math teachers gave to their students. 86% of the teachers failed the test. So, with a system of learning this poor, how can we expect the students to comprehend, much less question the voracity of their teachers? Even amongst people I encounter who have studied english for years, many are afraid to even try to speak, unless they are working in the tourist trade where they have to use their language skills.

[hon123]

This is surprising news

[Thai at Heart]

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.

In the bars, restaurants and hotel service, I think they would probably prefer to speak Lao-Isaan.

Ironically, the bedrock of the dam_n workforce that is being pushed into facing tourists is from the poorest part of the country. That said, those with what is apparently the most capable English are the bar girls, and guess where most of them come from. If ever there was proof that anyone can learn a language if they have to, and that it's good for business, this is it, right in front of everyone's noses.

I think an educational experiment should be started, where every Thai graduate should be forced to work for one month in a massage parlour or gogo bar with a salary equivalent to 75% of the top earner girl that month. I think the upturn in their foreign language skills would be very rapid. Question is, would they want to go back and get a normal job on a salary probably 25% of what they just earned?

Edited November 8, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[wilcopops]

I believe it goes hand and hand with Thai Officials wanting to keep the population ignorant. This allows corruption to continue.

I watched our lovely PM addressing the UN the other day. Her inability to communicate in English was embarrassing.

Yes, and she studied how many years in a university?

Yingluck Shinawatra earned a bachelor's degree from Chiang Mai University and a master's degree from Kentucky State University, both in public administration.^[5] She became an executive in the businesses founded by her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, and later became the president of property developer SC Asset and managing director of Advanced Info Service.

So, if even this woman does not speak great english, despite studying in Kentucky, and her business experience, how much hope can we hold out for the average Thai? Not sure where this will lead to, but the lack of emphasis on creating an effective system to learn english here is quite amazing. You almost have to be trying to prevent people from learning english to have been this effective in getting them NOT TO LEARN. I heard that there was a test given to math teachers here in 23 random provinces. The test administered was the actual test the math teachers gave to their students. 86% of the teachers failed the test. So, with a system of learning this poor, how can we expect the students to comprehend, much less question the voracity of their teachers? Even amongst people I encounter who have studied english for years, many are afraid to even try to speak, unless they are working in the tourist trade where they have to use their language skills.

so now you are bang your entire theories on English education in Thailand on one woman?

[wilcopops]

Whereas I would agree that there are many shortfalls in the usage and teaching of English in Thailand, I have to say that there is a plethora of posts on this and the other EL thread on Thai ELT, that do nothing but show how profoundly ignorant many TV members are of the English language, its teaching and its usage; I really think that before some people post they should first consider a few things......

Here are some suggestions.......

• What is English used for? - English is used in far more important ways than asking you what kind of beer you want.
• How do we Teach it? - there is more than one way to skin a cat.
• Who to? - It's not just to school children or bar-girls
• How "Anglo-centric" are posters perceptions and opinions of English Language? - many people don't even come near to appreciating how EL is used at work, both in Thailand and worldwide...
• or are you just Thai bashing?

...and finally PLEASE brush up on both your knowledge of EL usage AND teaching of Languages in general.

Edited November 8, 2013 by wilcopops

[thaicbr]

Whereas I would agree that there are many shortfalls in the usage and teaching of English in Thailand, I have to say that there is a plethora of posts on this and the other EL thread on Thai ELT, that do nothing but show how profoundly ignorant many TV members are of the English language, its teaching and its usage; I really think that before some people post they should first consider a few things......

Here are some suggestions.......

• What is English used for? - English is used in far more important ways than asking you what kind of beer you want.
• How do we Teach it? - there is more than one way to skin a cat.
• Who to? - It's not just to school children or bar-girls
• How "Anglo-centric" are posters perceptions and opinions of English Language? - many people don't even come near to appreciating how EL is used at work, both in Thailand and worldwide...
• or are you just Thai bashing?

...and finally PLEASE brush up on both your knowledge of EL usage AND teaching of Languages in general.

Wilco. You teach in Thailand, right?

University, Government school, EP program or International school?

And it's not about how WE teach it's about how Thais teach... Another poster was talking about Korea having a similar nationwide curriculum. Thailand does not.

Baby steps are needed just to improve the Ministry of Education into doing the job properly so yes there are people that NEED to brush up on their EFL.

[wilcopops]

Whereas I would agree that there are many shortfalls in the usage and teaching of English in Thailand, I have to say that there is a plethora of posts on this and the other EL thread on Thai ELT, that do nothing but show how profoundly ignorant many TV members are of the English language, its teaching and its usage; I really think that before some people post they should first consider a few things......

Here are some suggestions.......

• What is English used for? - English is used in far more important ways than asking you what kind of beer you want.
• How do we Teach it? - there is more than one way to skin a cat.
• Who to? - It's not just to school children or bar-girls
• How "Anglo-centric" are posters perceptions and opinions of English Language? - many people don't even come near to appreciating how EL is used at work, both in Thailand and worldwide...
• or are you just Thai bashing?

...and finally PLEASE brush up on both your knowledge of EL usage AND teaching of Languages in general.

Wilco. You teach in Thailand, right?

University, Government school, EP program or International school?

And it's not about how WE teach it's about how Thais teach... Another poster was talking about Korea having a similar nationwide curriculum. Thailand does not.

Baby steps are needed just to improve the Ministry of Education into doing the job properly so yes there are people that NEED to brush up on their EFL.

wilco? I see that's me! Improper use on names!!!

There always comes a point in a discussion when someone resorts to the “what’s your job?” gambit.

Quite what this is supposed to achieve, apart from showing they have no case to argue left, I’m not sure.

How can my job alter the opinion I’m putting forward? The opinions are the product of reasoned and critical thinking. Opinions are built on the accumulated knowledge of experts and others; they are the product of research and reading writings of the erudite. - not gleaned from a quick look out the window or 45 minutes in a classroom. It doesn’t matter whether I’m a Quantum physicist or a traffic warden the opinion stands alone.

BTW - I'm using a generic "we" and I'm also talking about language teaching around the world and the methodologies used. UK didn't have a national curriculum until the 1970s and many would argue that the previous system of powerful school heads etc. was better.

​I would also point out that in most tertiary education establishments around the world native English speakers are used. In many countries the main way of learning a language is AFTER leaving school. To this nd you will see private companies set up by native speakers to train largely adults. Unfortunately "WE" (native speakers) can't do this in Thailand as the company laws affecting foreign workers make it all but impossible to set up language schools over here, leaving the market open only to Thai nationals.

BUT - As I said I'm not lauding Thailand's education efforts, what I'm criticising is the criticisms posted here which are largely from a very limited perspective - at that's putting it politely.

Edited November 8, 2013 by wilcopops

[Thai at Heart]

As for the realities of this report.....

Look at the survey and consider the results for China.

How many people travelling around china have experienced ease when it comes to using English?

The fact remains that if you are visiting Thailand or China, Thailand is far easier at present for those who speak English to get by on a day-to-day basis.

Around the big cities in China, it's not too bad, and as long as you are staying at a reasonable level hotel, you can get around.

However, whilst Bangkok, Pattaya, Samui might be ok for English to get around, the rest of the country is very poor, not so much for tourists but for general living and doing business, its a shocker. Then throw in the fact that there is an element of basically set ups existing purely to scam foreigners and Thailand can be a pain.

From the minute you take a taxi from the airport, to the last day of your holiday, you could be unlucky enough to, go to the Emerald Buddha but end up at a ruby factory, then take another tour, but end up in a suit shop, take a taxi to a given restaurant but be told its' closed and go to another, go to the beach, rent a jet ski, take a taxi for 50m and get charged 500 baht and if you kick up a stink about overpaying, get beaten up, taken to an international hospital, get overcharged as a foreigner, and teh list goes on.

It is the absolutely institutionalised cons that cause more problems than languages as a tourist. I can put up with the poor language, if the taxi driver or my jet ski renter, has my safety and best interests at heart.

[thaicbr]

There always comes a point in a discussion when someone resorts to the “what’s your job?” gambit.

Quite what this is supposed to achieve, apart from showing they have no case to argue left, I’m not sure.

How can my job alter the opinion I’m putting forward? The opinions are the product of reasoned and critical thinking. Opinions are built on the accumulated knowledge of experts; they are the product of research and reading writings of the erudite. - not gleaned from a quick look out the window or 45 minutes in a classroom. It doesn’t matter whether I’m a Quantum physicist or a traffic warden the opinion stands alone.

Whereas I would agree that there are many shortfalls in the usage and teaching of English in Thailand, I have to say that there is a plethora of posts on this and the other EL thread on Thai ELT, that do nothing but show how profoundly ignorant many TV members are of the English language, its teaching and its usage; I really think that before some people post they should first consider a few things......

Here are some suggestions.......

• What is English used for? - English is used in far more important ways than asking you what kind of beer you want.
• How do we Teach it? - there is more than one way to skin a cat.
• Who to? - It's not just to school children or bar-girls
• How "Anglo-centric" are posters perceptions and opinions of English Language? - many people don't even come near to appreciating how EL is used at work, both in Thailand and worldwide...
• or are you just Thai bashing?

...and finally PLEASE brush up on both your knowledge of EL usage AND teaching of Languages in general.

Wilco. You teach in Thailand, right?

University, Government school, EP program or International school?

And it's not about how WE teach it's about how Thais teach... Another poster was talking about Korea having a similar nationwide curriculum. Thailand does not.

Baby steps are needed just to improve the Ministry of Education into doing the job properly so yes there are people that NEED to brush up on their EFL.

So i take it from your glib response that you in fact DO NOT teach EFL in Thailand. And you are an arm chair EFL expert basing your opinions on other peoples work but having no Thai EFL experience yourself.

​But you seem to think it is acceptable to degenerate some ones work with a throw away comment like "usually an excuse of a poor teacher." about someone you have NEVER met or it would seem unlikely to meet in her working environment.

well done.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Scott

[thaicbr]

wilco? I see that's me! Improper use on names!!!

Blimey... I did not realize you would be so touchy.. My apology Mr wilcopops, sir.

Were you a black board monitor at school?

There always comes a point in a discussion when someone resorts to the “what’s your job?” gambit.

Quite what this is supposed to achieve,

In this instance surely it's obvious what it's to achieve.. But put simply. Do you in fact have experience in teaching at ANY level in Thailand?

If YES, What level as the conditions and general commitment varies enormously.

An answer would be nice. Thanks.

Edited November 8, 2013 by thaicbr

[wilcopops]

There always comes a point in a discussion when someone resorts to the “what’s your job?” gambit.

Quite what this is supposed to achieve, apart from showing they have no case to argue left, I’m not sure.

How can my job alter the opinion I’m putting forward? The opinions are the product of reasoned and critical thinking. Opinions are built on the accumulated knowledge of experts; they are the product of research and reading writings of the erudite. - not gleaned from a quick look out the window or 45 minutes in a classroom. It doesn’t matter whether I’m a Quantum physicist or a traffic warden the opinion stands alone.

Whereas I would agree that there are many shortfalls in the usage and teaching of English in Thailand, I have to say that there is a plethora of posts on this and the other EL thread on Thai ELT, that do nothing but show how profoundly ignorant many TV members are of the English language, its teaching and its usage; I really think that before some people post they should first consider a few things......

Here are some suggestions.......

• What is English used for? - English is used in far more important ways than asking you what kind of beer you want.
• How do we Teach it? - there is more than one way to skin a cat.
• Who to? - It's not just to school children or bar-girls
• How "Anglo-centric" are posters perceptions and opinions of English Language? - many people don't even come near to appreciating how EL is used at work, both in Thailand and worldwide...
• or are you just Thai bashing?

...and finally PLEASE brush up on both your knowledge of EL usage AND teaching of Languages in general.

Wilco. You teach in Thailand, right?

University, Government school, EP program or International school?

And it's not about how WE teach it's about how Thais teach... Another poster was talking about Korea having a similar nationwide curriculum. Thailand does not.

Baby steps are needed just to improve the Ministry of Education into doing the job properly so yes there are people that NEED to brush up on their EFL.

So i take it from your glib response that you in fact DO NOT teach EFL in Thailand. And you are an arm chair EFL expert basing your opinions on other peoples work but having no Thai EFL experience yourself.

​But you seem to think it is acceptable to degenerate some ones work with a throw away comment like "usually an excuse of a poor teacher." about someone you have NEVER met or it would seem unlikely to meet in her working environment.

well done.

As I said - it's completely irrelevant to the argument.

- Are you saying that if I was a teacher everything I said is correct, but if I'm not it isn't? The opinion stands regardless of my profession. What a strange stance you take

PS - you are showing your ability to make baseless assumptions

Edited November 8, 2013 by Scott

[thaicbr]

My Thai friend teaches English full-time in a council school - 50 'students' in the class - most of them wishing they were somewhere else. FIFTY. Waste of bloody time. The annoying thing is - 200 years ago and since, sons of the Thai upper-class were sent to England to learn the language and culture, sometimes to Sandhurst to learn military skills. So one thing cannot be said about the problem, that it is only recently that Thailand looked to English as valuable, and has that excuse for being in a catch-up position vis-a-vis other nations. The length of the endeavour has been more than long enough, but the outcome way too poor. Another angle - in my friend's school, there is a 'Language laboratory' - it lasted ONE YEAR before being broken, and it will never be repaired. The kids destroyed it bit-by-bit; BUT, due to dodgy ordering, it was never the quality it was meant to be when the central gvt funded it in the first place. It was too easy to break. She is a serious, hard-working teacher with very good spoken English and a totally committed attitude to the job, but is now so depressed about the system and culture in the schools, it's getting hard to go in every day.

" most of them wishing they were somewhere else" - totally subjective....usually an excuse of a poor teacher.

If you look at the above statement by yourself... and then

As I said - it's completely irrelevant to the argument.

That's why it's relevant. If you have NO experience stop using cereal box statements.

PS: I'm having a discussion not an argument

[thaicbr]

PS - you are showing your ability to make baseless assumptions

Which baseless assumptions? Your Thai teaching experience?

if so off course baseless.. you didn't answer the question!

[Prbkk]

Thailand needs to take a more serious approach to the employment of foreign ESL/EFL teachers. As I understand it, there is no requirement for foreign teachers to have any formal teaching qualifications (unlike some other countries in the region). Thailand would be better served by permitting retirees to teach, provided they have the qualifications ...and maybe kick out some of the low-renters who are here teaching but have little idea of what they are doing (eg, major in microbiology teaching ESL in order to save money to pay ,or defer paying, student debt).

Most ESL teachers here are ok but many of the best go to countries with better terms and conditions and programs better supported by governments.