Access to Microsoft Office 'will transform Thai education'

[AyG]

Now we will have even more of the world speaking 'American' English, when word constantly tells them they are making spelling errors when they are not.

British English is soooo yesterday. American English is the language of world trade, of the internet, and all of the most popular websites are American. British English is used on some tiny fog shrouded island somewhere off the coast of Europe by a tiny number of people who the world has passed by.

Wake up! Shakespeare died already.

Don't forget Canada. We too spell words correctly. The americans get some of them wrong.

And India, and Australia, and New Zealand, and South Africa. All of them can spell better than the Yanks.

[smedly]

F F S give it a rest - this is good no matter how you look at it, better than spending billions on useless tablets - now move on

[rreddin]

I'll continue to use Open Office.

And I shall continuine to use Libre Office and Ubuntu

[TimCM]

Now we will have even more of the world speaking 'American' English, when word constantly tells them they are making spelling errors when they are not.

British English is soooo yesterday. American English is the language of world trade, of the internet, and all of the most popular websites are American. British English is used on some tiny fog shrouded island somewhere off the coast of Europe by a tiny number of people who the world has passed by.

Wake up! Shakespeare died already.

Don't forget Canada. We too spell words correctly. The americans get some of them wrong.

Not to mention that Americans can't pronounce aluminium.

Alooinum

[UbonRatch]

Now we will have even more of the world speaking 'American' English, when word constantly tells them they are making spelling errors when they are not.

You ought to be thanking us for that; if it wasn't for "American English," the English language would be about as widely spoken as Portuguese

Please tell me how you work that one out. The British Empire was still expanding whilst you lot were killing off Apaches, and thank the Lord for Canada and Australia, and etc.

Eliot Rosewater. Definitely not a British name of decent, for sure.

[NongKhaiKid]

Bloatware. OpenOffice.

How about encouraging Thai students and teachers to mix and match. Try new things, experiment, rather than accept a "package".

A friend was recruited to revamp the science programme in a high school and to put in his proposals which was to include upgrading equipment.

He did so and later was told almost everything he asked for' wasn't available ' but the school had ordered suitable alternatives which in his opinion they were not.

He voiced his disapproval and was told he didn't understand how things were done but of course he did.

The school ' always ' uses the same supplier and if a specific item isn't available whatever the supplier has will do.

No prizes for guessing ...! He didn't take the job.

[UbonRatch]

It is proven that people who use a computer, partially dramatically reduce the possibilities of mental arithmetic or thought.

partially dramatically reduce?

I guess you're online 24/7 then?

Snopes link to prove your statement, per chance?

[NeverSure]

Get ready to learn a new language, the American Empire is dying! (everything goes in cycles)

Yes everything goes in cycles. England has gone from controlling 2/3 of the world, to being removed from all authoritative maps.

King James also died, you know.

[BlackArtemis]

Or they could have gotten Apache Open Office for free....

[UbonRatch]

Get ready to learn a new language, the American Empire is dying! (everything goes in cycles)

Yes everything goes in cycles. England has gone from controlling 2/3 of the world, to being removed from all authoritative maps.

King James also died, you know.

As America stamps it's authority on the world map in Afghanistan, Israel and etc.

At least Brits took common sense with them, and offered it positively to the world, creating vast trade and enriching countries

Please give an example of a country the US has invaded and enrichened. Vietnam? Afghanistan? any offers? Oh wait! Hawaii.

Edited May 26, 2014 by UbonRatch

[american12bthai]

THANK YOU, this is a better idea to whatever YL could ever think up. one tablet per child...lol. yeah. lets build a tablet... then make the software.. idiot.

Microsoft has literally done more for the future of thailand than the whole shinawatra clan. high five!

[Thaddeus]

"You appear to be trying to stifle competition,

would you like some help with that"

[UbonRatch]

Get ready to learn a new language, the American Empire is dying! (everything goes in cycles)

King James also died, you know.

Apparently, China now knows that Abby Lincoln is also dead.

The sad part here is that US just doesn't get English humour, yet we developed it and u lot turned it on its head.

Diapers for lunch anybody? I'd sooner prefer nappies. WT f is a diaper?

Then again, I'd prefer a cup of hot tea than 'ice-tea'. You even ruined that. - nice... << steaming hot!

[richard10365]

Do you guys even know how much Microsoft Office even cost? If you knew, maybe you would buy it too. If you only use MS Office occasionally, then maybe the pirated version is better. However, if your entire existence depends on it, the paid version is noticeably better.

[cacruden]

THANK YOU, this is a better idea to whatever YL could ever think up. one tablet per child...lol. yeah. lets build a tablet... then make the software.. idiot.

Microsoft has literally done more for the future of thailand than the whole shinawatra clan. high five!

Is your brain that simple working that it is works that simply and defectively. To you there are only two options, if you don't like being sold out then you must love YL tablets..... What the heck type of logic is that? Just because someone doesn't think the Microsoft sellout is good does not mean they think giving kids defective tablets is a good idea.....

Edited May 26, 2014 by cacruden

[robsamui]

Now we will have even more of the world speaking 'American' English, when word constantly tells them they are making spelling errors when they are not.

You ought to be thanking us for that; if it wasn't for "American English," the English language would be about as widely spoken as Portuguese

You are somewhat overlooking the fact that at the height of its power, by 1922, the British Empire had spread to and colonised almost one quarter of the surface of the Earth, and taken the ENGLISH language with it. REAL English.

To make a comparison, the Great Roman Empire managed just 4%,

The greatest contribution to international language America appears to have ever made is to have introduced the words muthaf*kker and as*hole toyoung people everywhere.

R

[cacruden]

One long ended Empire arguing about the merits of a quickly imploding empire that has bankrupted itself is sort of funny.....

[Rob8891]

The OP erroneously says that MS will transform Thai education....when in reality a major reform of the system needs to take place to teach the kids to think objectively, using whatever tools maybe available. It also needs to be more outward looking, so that young Thais might be better prepared to interact better with the world at large.

However, let's not get bogged down with trifling irrelevances such as education being the keystone to Thailand's advancement, let's all have jolly good fun trolling about the importance of American English and how superior Americans seem to think they are.....or play one-upmanship with "I use Freebie Office Mark 734". Who cares? Who the hell really cares what you use to do whatever it is you need to do? These kids need support from a decent education system so that they can go out into the world and have better lives than their predecessors, and that is ALL that matters.

Well done, Thaivisa members, you have shown how little you understand of the need for a good education system. Thaivisa at it's worst, yet again. Shame on you.

[samjaidee]

Now we will have even more of the world speaking 'American' English, when word constantly tells them they are making spelling errors when they are not.

British English is soooo yesterday. American English is the language of world trade, of the internet, and all of the most popular websites are American. British English is used on some tiny fog shrouded island somewhere off the coast of Europe by a tiny number of people who the world has passed by.

Wake up! Shakespeare died already.

Don't forget Canada. We too spell words correctly. The americans get some of them wrong.

Not to mention that Americans can't pronounce aluminium.

Alooinum

The reason they pronounce it differently is because they spell it differently. Aluminum. They omit the second i, therefore their pronunciation is correct.

[sturdyd]

As a teacher of Microsoft Office for over 10 years and as a Microsoft Certified Office Master User and a Microsoft Certified Master Instructor, I have this to say about the story:

Absolute rubbish!

And I'd use stronger language if I could get away with it.

[Suradit69]

Now we will have even more of the world speaking 'American' English, when word constantly tells them they are making spelling errors when they are not.

Based on quite a few posts made on Thai Visa by those who proudly proclaim that they come from England, especially those who plan to come to Thailand to teach English, there's no shortage of spelling errors that can't be explained away by faulting Microsoft.

And anyway, Thais are hoping to learn functional English appropriate to the 21st century, not some quaint spelling and constipated colloquialisms that were suitable for 19th century colonialists.

Or are you suggesting we should all insist on learning to speak& write as Chaucer did if we want to be really legitimate speakers of English.

And smale foules maken melodie,

That slepen alle night with open eye,

So priketh hem nature in hir corages;

Than longen folk to gon on pilgrimages. Canterbury Tales. Prologue. Line 9.

[NeverSure]

Get ready to learn a new language, the American Empire is dying! (everything goes in cycles)

King James also died, you know.

Apparently, China now knows that Abby Lincoln is also dead.

The sad part here is that US just doesn't get English humour, yet we developed it and u lot turned it on its head.

Diapers for lunch anybody? I'd sooner prefer nappies. WT f is a diaper?

Then again, I'd prefer a cup of hot tea than 'ice-tea'. You even ruined that. - nice... << steaming hot!

Real men don't drink tea.

[robsamui]

Now we will have even more of the world speaking 'American' English, when word constantly tells them they are making spelling errors when they are not.

British English is soooo yesterday. American English is the language of world trade, of the internet, and all of the most popular websites are American. British English is used on some tiny fog shrouded island somewhere off the coast of Europe by a tiny number of people who the world has passed by.

Wake up! Shakespeare died already.

Don't forget Canada. We too spell words correctly. The americans get some of them wrong.

And India, and Australia, and New Zealand, and South Africa. All of them can spell better than the Yanks.

It's not a question of spelling - Americas have utterly butchered the language by atrocities such as:

1. Confusing the use of 'have' and 'do':- "Have you a pen?" "Yes I do got one" instead of 'Yes I have".

2. Removing pronouns of consequence such as 'if' and ' then':- " You get up late, you'll miss the bus."

3. Not being able to understand when to use 'and' or ' but':- "I wanted to go to Paris and and I wasn't able to."

4. Failing to understand proximity and the use of 'this' and 'that','here' and 'there' and 'bring' and 'take':- "Don't forget to bring your swimwear when you go on holiday.'

5. The past tenses of many words seem too hard to remember, so we have :- instead of spit/spat there's only spit - the same with fit/fitted - but then there's not dive/dived it's dive/dove etc

6. Hundreds of lunatic distortions such as " burglarise" instead of "burgle", "societal" instead of "social', "normalcy" instead of "normality" and so on . . .

BUT THEN you can add the complete confusion of different vocabulary for the same items as proper English, (muffler/exhaust, nappy/diaper, braces/suspenders etc etc etc). And add to that meter/metre, center/centre, honor/honour, color/colour etc etc etc.

Every European nation which is taught English as a 2nd language, in school and further education, uses the correct grammar and vocabulary of British English, and mostly they master the language better than the British people do. America is just one country and that nation might do well to remember it is only one amongst over 200 others.

How the poor Thais will ever get to grips with all this is anybody's guess. I imagine this is the reason that emerging and 3rd-world nations favour American English/vocabulary so much - it comes as default on their MS Word spellcheckers and that means they don't need to use one ounce of brain to be . . "able to write".

R

Edited May 26, 2014 by robsamui

[richard10365]

Do you guys even know how much Microsoft Office even cost? If you knew, maybe you would buy it too. If you only use MS Office occasionally, then maybe the pirated version is better. However, if your entire existence depends on it, the paid version is noticeably better.

The new Microsoft Office 365 for university students only cost 54.16 baht ($1.67) a month for 4 years. It can be used on a PC or a Mac.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/university/

[cacruden]

And Open Office can be used on a mac or pc and it is free.

[UbonRatch]

One long ended Empire arguing about the merits of a quickly imploding empire that has bankrupted itself is sort of funny.....

USA right?

Brits don't argue; we debate. Additionally, Britain will never be bankrupt, as it still has its hands in the Empire it built, as opposed to trying to take over in desperation by other said super-powers. Decendeny of value is a virtue; all American-Mexicans must understand that. Surely, Shirley?

Edited May 26, 2014 by UbonRatch

[richard10365]

And Open Office can be used on a mac or pc and it is free.

Comparing open office to MS Office is like comparing an Indian made Tata car to a German made BMW. If you're only going to drive your car to the corner store then the Tata might be ok. But if you really need to do some serious driving then the BMW is probably the better choice.

You are right though, it is free. Free is definitely cheaper than $1.67 a month. Tatas to BMWs or Open Office to Microsoft Office..to each his own. Microsoft has definitely introduced a competitive pricing model that will sway some to actually purchase a subscription plan MS Office 365. With billions of computers running pirated or actual programs, that small number of pirated MS Office users that might switch because of this could mean billions in revenue for Microsoft. Now office can run on I-Pads, Macs, Surface tablets and PCs.

Microsoft is back!

Edited May 26, 2014 by richard10365

[robsamui]

Now we will have even more of the world speaking 'American' English, when word constantly tells them they are making spelling errors when they are not.

British English is soooo yesterday. American English is the language of world trade, of the internet, and all of the most popular websites are American. British English is used on some tiny fog shrouded island somewhere off the coast of Europe by a tiny number of people who the world has passed by.

Wake up! Shakespeare died already.

Another American posting here also went down this path but using Chaucer as an analogy - which is of course diversionary nonsense, as the topic relates to the correct use of English grammar, and language structure, in the 21st century.

What you don't seem to realise is that your perspective (ie the American view) of what the language of world trade might be is based entirely on the fact that you see only the American View. English speakers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, all of Scandinavia and the rest of Western Europe, plus India, Malaysia, Australia, S. Africa, NZ (and so on etc etc!) see a completely different view of the "language" of world trade.

And to laud "popular websites which are American" is both arrogant and presumptuous, in that you assume that "popular" is something to be envied or desired, This is on its own a debatable statement, yet might be the case in many instances. But when you add "American" to the word "popular" then I think the rest of the world - those who are in a position to make management decisions - would tell you that this virtually amounts to a contradiction in terms.

R

Edited May 26, 2014 by robsamui

[cacruden]

The USA has in effect bankrupted itself. Budget more than doubled since the end of Clinton's presidency (rate of inflation less than 30% at the same time). Nearing 20 Trillion dollars in debt (at a normal financing rate of 5% that is a trillion dollars in interest a year on existing debt once interest rates rebound) - the debt is continuing to increase rapidly. These are the foundations of a bankrupt country. The end of an empire at the hands of the likes of President Obama and President Bush.

[robsamui]

Lots of people skating past the point here,I think! (Although several have touched upon it.)

Here we have a whole bunch of Thai people getting all excited because they believe that using a Microsoft product is going to improve their education and their English.

That's what it boils down to. As many here have pointed out, Excel and the other programs are not forerunners

This is the same blind hope that the '"free tablets for all school children" was clutching at - that, somehow by using technology, the process of learning is made easier.

The teachers themselves don't have a sound grasp of English! There is simply NO shortcut to educating a nation. It takes massive government commitment and funding.

And until the day that Thailand takes this course, all the dodges and gimmicks in the world are just smoke and mirrors.

R