Thailand still very low in English language skills

[Seastallion]

No, it’s not our education system, it’s because of GRAMMAR. You think I’m wrong? Then answer this, why is it that after 6-7 years of trying to learn English many of us are incapable of constructing a basic sentence in English conversation? Why is it that the majority of our Thai grammar teachers are incapable of having a basic conversation in English, because we don’t know how to teach VOCABULARY, Vocabulary is not just learning the meaning of items and words, it’s far deeper than that, its teaching you to talk, if you can talk then you can understand, read, and write. Grammar, which is basic sentence structure, will follow automatically. In countries where English is not the first language, grammar should not be concentrated on at primary level, rather vocabulary, which will give the students the basics when reaching high school, which will be a tremendous asset when learning grammar. Including this in the last two years of high school academic vocabulary words should be taught, which in turn would prepare the students for higher learning. In conclusion if you want to improve the English language in Thailand, then we will have to re-educate our educators.

I agree with you to a large extent.

My wife is an English teacher (she's Thai) and a grammar specialist...(she teaches me grammar!). I ask her how can she be teaching things like past imperfect, participles, and other parts of speech when her students don't have enough vocabulary to put those lessons into practice.

I also agree that the educators need to be taught proper teaching strategies.

On top of vocabulary is pronunciation, then should come grammar.

[Seastallion]

Dunt thee bi late fot skoyle agean thee. I teld thee to wesh thi face an’ all tha’s done is gi’ it a lick. Get thi sen off na n tha betta be luirn to speek reit thee if tha wants to mek owt o this sen !

Being a former student of Leigh Mining Institute I'm proud to say I understood every word ...

Which is more than I can say for my 'conversation' with a recently retired Thai English teacher which took place a few years ago. It took about 15 minutes for me to understand what he was actually saying .... as has been said earlier, his grammar was probably impeccable, but the pronunciations were off the wall. If that's typical then its no wonder the schoolkids can't or won't try to talk to us foreigners.

Things are improving, the young children in my extended family in Chaiyaphum now speak good English because their school has a foreign English teacher. It's not a government school though ...

They now speak English well.

[Hawk]

Very low English language skills? Absolutely true, so why are you even debating the fact.

[Jim walker]

Time the Junta started to recruit some bar girls to teach English in the Thai schools they always seem very prolific in English when it comes to negotiating a good deal in English and in mathematics.

[UbonRatch]

My wife has her masters from PSU, an internationally accredited Uni. Her degree was well-earned, however before she met me and "saw the light" she used to right theses for students for a fee.

After we got together and she told me what she does, I told her my view on the matter. We only had a brief discussion on the long-term disadvantages for Thailand before she very quickly and genuinely changed her view too and now does not condone any cheating. She turns down the envelopes from her student's parents and is saddened for the country at how rife the corruption and cheating is.

BTW, what do you do with plagiarised papers?

If I DON'T re-write them for extortionate prices, somebody else will...

[selftaopath]

The key to learning a language is in actually using the language. Thais in general get very little exposure or chance to use the language.

When I was in HS I had a French class. From the first second our teacher entered the room on the very first day she spoke NOTHING but French. :-) This was the norm for the entire year.

[Suradit69]

One of the negatives ,i suppose of never been colonized by Britain,

and they would have had an extensive and working rail system,also

maybe a better system of law.

regards Worgeordie

"i suppose of never been colonized by Britain,"

If you're implying that the British can speak/write proper English, that comment amounted to shooting yourself in the foot.

As far as a system of law is concerned. wherever the soap-dodgers colonized, the system of law was always designed to favor the Brits and screw the local population. Anyone who believes otherwise has been brainwashed.

And even in Old Blighty its application is ridiculous. An anal-retentive legal system is not necessarily a better one.

Mr Brown, 21, a student at Balliol College, was arrested for causing harassment, alarm or distress and fined £80 after asking a mounted police officer if he knew that his horse was homosexual.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4196447/Arrest-for-gay-horse-jibe-is-absurd-says-Tatchell.html

The following year a 16-year old from Newcastle was charged under the same Public Order law, for saying “woof” to a dog in front of police officers.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/16/you-may-now-call-a-police-horse-gay-in-the-u-k/

And when it comes to speaking "proper" British English.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Suradit69

[ozvenison]

I'm 58 and still can't speak 'ENGLISH'..

Right or Wrong.. or may maybe Correct or Incorrect?

Or is that Right or Left?

On top of that most asian languages have no plurals.. and when you look the logic of english I'm not sure why we have also

[Suradit69]

Dunt thee bi late fot skoyle agean thee. I teld thee to wesh thi face an’ all tha’s done is gi’ it a lick. Get thi sen off na n tha betta be luirn to speek reit thee if tha wants to mek owt o this sen !

Being a former student of Leigh Mining Institute I'm proud to say I understood every word ...

Which is more than I can say for my 'conversation' with a recently retired Thai English teacher which took place a few years ago. It took about 15 minutes for me to understand what he was actually saying .... as has been said earlier, his grammar was probably impeccable, but the pronunciations were off the wall. If that's typical then its no wonder the schoolkids can't or won't try to talk to us foreigners.

Things are improving, the young children in my extended family in Chaiyaphum now speak good English because their school has a foreign English teacher. It's not a government school though ...

They now speak English well.

"now speak good English"

Good is being used as an adjective correctly modifying "English."

"They now speak English well."

"Well" is being used as an adverb modifying "speak." Not quite the same thing.

And, if you are a farang posting in the Education forum or filling out an application to teach English, you would write: " I talk English real good."

Most native English speakers who post on Thai Visa are not in a position to judge Thai spoken/written English ... or that of anyone else.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Suradit69

[slipperx]

Thais are never going to improve their business English language skills learning one or two hours a week from Thai teachers who themselves can't speak the language. They would be better making ALL schools EP schools and teaching English through all the lessons save Thai Language and Thai Culture. Thais will obviously speak Thai between each other the rest of the time - as they should for it is their language after all - but to keep up with the rest of the world they need English skills and Chinese also. These skills would prove of immense value to the majority of Thais.

I can understand people who feel rural schools do not need to teach English so much but educate is away of giving a child opportunity and my belief is that each child should have the same minimum opportunity given to them and for that reasoning think it should be a nationwide program.

Thais do have this xenophobia that all things foreign is bad - and many things are bad let's face it - but they can still take the benefits and filter out the disbenefits if they stop being so inward looking.

1. You wrote, "These skills would prove of immense value to the majority of Thais." The majority of Thais do manual labor in agriculture or in a factory and have no need of English skills.

2. Thais do have this xenophobia that all things foreign is bad. Football? Korean TV programs? Japanese food? Western rock and roll. Get real here.

Yes the vast majority work in manual labour jobs - maybe that is because manual labour jobs are all their education gives them the opportunity for! I thought I explained the reasons for my statement in my original response.

As for the xenophobia and Thai fear of things foreign. I am not talking about entertainment based matters but rather political and establishment ones. They are quite accommodating to Japanese in comparison to the derision of Europeans and Americans with the dichotomy that quite a few Thai women prefer Westerners as husbands to Thais with Korean and Japanese also figuring. Ironic since Thailand only got its land back by the grace of the Western powers after the occupation by the Japanese in WW2.

Anyway I stand by the main thrusts of my argument and do understand your point.

[FATOZ]

The key to learning a language is in actually using the language. Thais in general get very little exposure or chance to use the language.

Maybe so, but I have found most Thais are far less willing to make the effort to converse in a foreign language,when given the opportunity, than any other place I have lived.

Every time I have been to Vietnam, I always have students approach me and ask very politely if they can practice their English with me, I have never had this happen in Thailand

[spidermike007]

No, the primary reason for poor English skills is an aversion to anything foreign. There is a political and cultural fear that English language skills would wash away Thainess. When the government creates an atmosphere of English language immersion this will be eliminated. But, this is Thailand, and that will never happen.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Poppycock!

My wife is Thai and an English teacher at a private college. She has been teaching English for years at various schools. The students are eager, the parents are keen, but the system is arse-about-face. The private schools treat the students as customers and thus insist that "the customer is always right" and "the customer must be kept happy" This results in no discipline and too many fun activities, with very little emphasis on the students learning.

Also, because the students are "customers", they are "passed" when they have learnt little or nothing.

Another reason I think your view is wrong is my own observation. All the kids in my soi have asked me to teach them English, and come to my house every Sunday for informal free lessons, and some of the adults try to engage me in conversation too, to practice or improve their English.

I believe he was referring to this at the government level. I do not think any recent administration has taken the teaching of English seriously, nor been willing to throw serious resources at this goal. I agree, there are many who want to learn, though.

Spidermike007

[diehard60]

Untill the thai teachers start to show their students that they will need to become better in English they never will. They Thai teachers are too affraid their students will know more then they know.

[thailiketoo]

Thais are never going to improve their business English language skills learning one or two hours a week from Thai teachers who themselves can't speak the language. They would be better making ALL schools EP schools and teaching English through all the lessons save Thai Language and Thai Culture. Thais will obviously speak Thai between each other the rest of the time - as they should for it is their language after all - but to keep up with the rest of the world they need English skills and Chinese also. These skills would prove of immense value to the majority of Thais.

I can understand people who feel rural schools do not need to teach English so much but educate is away of giving a child opportunity and my belief is that each child should have the same minimum opportunity given to them and for that reasoning think it should be a nationwide program.

Thais do have this xenophobia that all things foreign is bad - and many things are bad let's face it - but they can still take the benefits and filter out the disbenefits if they stop being so inward looking.

1. You wrote, "These skills would prove of immense value to the majority of Thais." The majority of Thais do manual labor in agriculture or in a factory and have no need of English skills.

2. Thais do have this xenophobia that all things foreign is bad. Football? Korean TV programs? Japanese food? Western rock and roll. Get real here.

Yes the vast majority work in manual labour jobs - maybe that is because manual labour jobs are all their education gives them the opportunity for! I thought I explained the reasons for my statement in my original response.

As for the xenophobia and Thai fear of things foreign. I am not talking about entertainment based matters but rather political and establishment ones. They are quite accommodating to Japanese in comparison to the derision of Europeans and Americans with the dichotomy that quite a few Thai women prefer Westerners as husbands to Thais with Korean and Japanese also figuring. Ironic since Thailand only got its land back by the grace of the Western powers after the occupation by the Japanese in WW2.

Anyway I stand by the main thrusts of my argument and do understand your point.

I'm sure it is news to you that Thailand has too many college graduates, " Education Council estimated that the number of new students enrolled in bachelors programs between 2007 and 2016 will be approximately 500,000 each year, resulting in between 300,000 to 400,000 new graduates per annum. The only problem is that Thailand’s labour market does not need this number of graduates with bachelors degrees."http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/print.php?id=2435

Education does not determine jobs available. Supply and demand determines jobs available.

PS The Japanese did not occupy Thailand. Thailand did not get the land back that it occupied during WW II. Quite the opposite it had to give the land back that it won in the Franco Thai war and after that as an ally of Japan.

What Thailand needs now is less people with degrees and less people who speak English not more.

Those Thais who do speak English could do it better. Degreed teachers with Western teaching experience would be a step in the right direction.

Edited June 13, 2014 by thailiketoo

[slipperx]

Thais are never going to improve their business English language skills learning one or two hours a week from Thai teachers who themselves can't speak the language. They would be better making ALL schools EP schools and teaching English through all the lessons save Thai Language and Thai Culture. Thais will obviously speak Thai between each other the rest of the time - as they should for it is their language after all - but to keep up with the rest of the world they need English skills and Chinese also. These skills would prove of immense value to the majority of Thais.

I can understand people who feel rural schools do not need to teach English so much but educate is away of giving a child opportunity and my belief is that each child should have the same minimum opportunity given to them and for that reasoning think it should be a nationwide program.

Thais do have this xenophobia that all things foreign is bad - and many things are bad let's face it - but they can still take the benefits and filter out the disbenefits if they stop being so inward looking.

1. You wrote, "These skills would prove of immense value to the majority of Thais." The majority of Thais do manual labor in agriculture or in a factory and have no need of English skills.

2. Thais do have this xenophobia that all things foreign is bad. Football? Korean TV programs? Japanese food? Western rock and roll. Get real here.

Yes the vast majority work in manual labour jobs - maybe that is because manual labour jobs are all their education gives them the opportunity for! I thought I explained the reasons for my statement in my original response.

As for the xenophobia and Thai fear of things foreign. I am not talking about entertainment based matters but rather political and establishment ones. They are quite accommodating to Japanese in comparison to the derision of Europeans and Americans with the dichotomy that quite a few Thai women prefer Westerners as husbands to Thais with Korean and Japanese also figuring. Ironic since Thailand only got its land back by the grace of the Western powers after the occupation by the Japanese in WW2.

Anyway I stand by the main thrusts of my argument and do understand your point.

I'm sure it is news to you that Thailand has too many college graduates, " Education Council estimated that the number of new students enrolled in bachelors programs between 2007 and 2016 will be approximately 500,000 each year, resulting in between 300,000 to 400,000 new graduates per annum. The only problem is that Thailand’s labour market does not need this number of graduates with bachelors degrees."http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/print.php?id=2435

Education does not determine jobs available. Supply and demand determines jobs available.

PS The Japanese did not occupy Thailand. Thailand did not get the land back that it occupied during WW II. Quite the opposite it had to give the land back that it won in the Franco Thai war and after that as an ally of Japan.

What Thailand needs now is less people with degrees and less people who speak English not more.

Hmm well I understand there are more graduates than needed in certain industries and that is a mismatch of higher education not being directed to jobs available. But that dynamic can change.

I do understand that Thailand like every country needs a manual labour force as well but I don't think education is solely about the job it can afford you. Life is more than just work and I think education is a key to personal development, understanding of the world and society around us and much more.

Are you saying that manual workers do not need education or just that an education in English would be totally worthless to them. If so I would disagree that just because a child is born to poor parents in the sticks they should not be given the opportunity that a better education would give them to seek a different line of work.

[HOAX]

- The first problem is learning English is seen as very unimportant to most Thais. It occupies very few neurons here in Thailand.

- Second problem is the fear of learning. The tradition to learn your family traditions and Buddhism is on top of the list. The importance of education in school is far lower on the same list. Sending their kids to become monks for several months instead of going to school is highly celebrated and awarded.

- Third problem is the quality of the content. Both the teachers and the books are terrible.

- Fourth problem is the taboo to criticize, or even wanting to criticize. A massive problem in Thailand in general. This is not just killing tens of thousands each year, if not hundreds of thousands, but it`s a serious development stopper, a communication stopper, even at the highest level at the government.

I sent my niece to a private school, and it took her only one day to learn more English than she had done over the last 6 years. No joke. She was so happy, came running and asked me several questions in English. Very cute.

Thai people needs to wake up, seriously.

" Third problem is the quality of the content. Both the teachers and the books are terrible."

That is certainly not a valid excuse any more.

We are no longer in the days when you have to rely solely on the printed word in a book or even a teacher. These days there is a wealth of free resources available on the Internet, including youtube where free audio and visual resources should be an incredible boost to learning which can then be supplemented by watching BBC world News etc

Well, I agree with that from a farang perspective, but that wasn`t exactly what I was saying. I meant this was the conditions in schools in Thailand.

To the other things you said. Flip that coin. Do you or most farang watch Thai entertainment shows or Thai youtube clips to learn Thai? Most certainly not. Most of us don`t. The culture is different and something like 97% of Thais don`t find enough farang entertainment entertaining, so it`s not that easy and certainly not right to expect Thais to learn English from farang entertainment, even less so when you know how little Thai people want to learn... and even less so from farangs. Their international-phobia will get more and more over by the time, and their English skills will also improve, but hopefully not at this pace.

Edited June 13, 2014 by HOAX

[thailiketoo]

1. You wrote, "These skills would prove of immense value to the majority of Thais." The majority of Thais do manual labor in agriculture or in a factory and have no need of English skills.

2. Thais do have this xenophobia that all things foreign is bad. Football? Korean TV programs? Japanese food? Western rock and roll. Get real here.

Yes the vast majority work in manual labour jobs - maybe that is because manual labour jobs are all their education gives them the opportunity for! I thought I explained the reasons for my statement in my original response.

As for the xenophobia and Thai fear of things foreign. I am not talking about entertainment based matters but rather political and establishment ones. They are quite accommodating to Japanese in comparison to the derision of Europeans and Americans with the dichotomy that quite a few Thai women prefer Westerners as husbands to Thais with Korean and Japanese also figuring. Ironic since Thailand only got its land back by the grace of the Western powers after the occupation by the Japanese in WW2.

Anyway I stand by the main thrusts of my argument and do understand your point.

I'm sure it is news to you that Thailand has too many college graduates, " Education Council estimated that the number of new students enrolled in bachelors programs between 2007 and 2016 will be approximately 500,000 each year, resulting in between 300,000 to 400,000 new graduates per annum. The only problem is that Thailand’s labour market does not need this number of graduates with bachelors degrees."http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/print.php?id=2435

Education does not determine jobs available. Supply and demand determines jobs available.

PS The Japanese did not occupy Thailand. Thailand did not get the land back that it occupied during WW II. Quite the opposite it had to give the land back that it won in the Franco Thai war and after that as an ally of Japan.

What Thailand needs now is less people with degrees and less people who speak English not more.

Hmm well I understand there are more graduates than needed in certain industries and that is a mismatch of higher education not being directed to jobs available. But that dynamic can change.

I do understand that Thailand like every country needs a manual labour force as well but I don't think education is solely about the job it can afford you. Life is more than just work and I think education is a key to personal development, understanding of the world and society around us and much more.

Are you saying that manual workers do not need education or just that an education in English would be totally worthless to them. If so I would disagree that just because a child is born to poor parents in the sticks they should not be given the opportunity that a better education would give them to seek a different line of work.

No I'm saying the majority of Thais don't need to speak English to get a job and Thailand is not xenophobic about things Asian.

Thailand needs plumbers not English professors. Do plumbers need to speak English? Poop rolls down hill. That is what a plumber needs to know.

[jcisco]

No, it’s not our education system, it’s because of GRAMMAR. You think I’m wrong? Then answer this, why is it that after 6-7 years of trying to learn English many of us are incapable of constructing a basic sentence in English conversation? Why is it that the majority of our Thai grammar teachers are incapable of having a basic conversation in English, because we don’t know how to teach VOCABULARY, Vocabulary is not just learning the meaning of items and words, it’s far deeper than that, its teaching you to talk, if you can talk then you can understand, read, and write. Grammar, which is basic sentence structure, will follow automatically. In countries where English is not the first language, grammar should not be concentrated on at primary level, rather vocabulary, which will give the students the basics when reaching high school, which will be a tremendous asset when learning grammar. Including this in the last two years of high school academic vocabulary words should be taught, which in turn would prepare the students for higher learning. In conclusion if you want to improve the English language in Thailand, then we will have to re-educate our educators.

I wish I had something more than a like button to press on, a damn I agree button I can mash on to my hearts content. As someone who has had to learn several languages over the last 10 years to quite a high level of written and spoken I can backup your observations.

If it was not for a strategy I learnt of aggressively expanding my vocab in a new language I would of never got anywhere useful. I must admit that Thai is my first not latin script language and I have struggled with that barrier initially, actually for a a very long time, but have since past that and committed to learning.

Really, this is by far the most enlightened post in this whole blame and bash thread.

[ggold]

I have just finished teaching an intensive English conversation course to medical students.

It was a 14 day course with no tests whatsoever. Just pure conversation, fun and games.

The students wrote in their evaluations that "they learnt more in the last 14 days, without the pressure of grades, than in the whole semester.

What I mean to say is that the report is correct in many aspects. Thai students have this fear of getting low grades and this probably influences their confidence and learning abilities.

On a side note...They are all potential surgeons but I hope I never have to be operated on by one of them. Even though the course was fun and games the students cheated a lot by texting messages to each other. If they cheat in fun activities what do they do in their academic studies?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Unfortunately for the country rather than actual students the whole system is flawed from the outset.

Cheating isn't really seen as wrong. Remember the incident at Ramkamheng Uni with Mr. Ts son and the comments of the deputy head who said cheating was not a serious matter.

Students don't really have to fear failure as for many and varied reasons not many do unless an outcast and a real nonentity.

Students get passes and qualifications they didn't earn or don't deserve and the country gets landed with all these ' qualified ' people.

The deputy head of Ramkhamhaeng Uni. said cheating is not a serious matter and now it's OK for Thai students to cheat.

Bill Clinton said BJs weren't sex so now very many high school students in the US give oral sex thinking it is not 'real' sex.

It begins with the leadership.

Bill Clinton said BJs weren't sex so now very many high school students in the US give oral sex thinking it is not 'real' sex.

It begins with the leadership.

So the education standards aren't much better in the USA then? unless you major in BJ's

[ggold]

No, it’s not our education system, it’s because of GRAMMAR. You think I’m wrong? Then answer this, why is it that after 6-7 years of trying to learn English many of us are incapable of constructing a basic sentence in English conversation? Why is it that the majority of our Thai grammar teachers are incapable of having a basic conversation in English, because we don’t know how to teach VOCABULARY, Vocabulary is not just learning the meaning of items and words, it’s far deeper than that, its teaching you to talk, if you can talk then you can understand, read, and write. Grammar, which is basic sentence structure, will follow automatically. In countries where English is not the first language, grammar should not be concentrated on at primary level, rather vocabulary, which will give the students the basics when reaching high school, which will be a tremendous asset when learning grammar. Including this in the last two years of high school academic vocabulary words should be taught, which in turn would prepare the students for higher learning. In conclusion if you want to improve the English language in Thailand, then we will have to re-educate our educators.

there was a survey a couple years back that showed 80% of Thai Educators were not qualified to teach the subject they were teaching in school. And I know that most of the Farang English teachers couldn't get a job in their own country teaching English, becuase they are not qualified to speak english yet alone teach it!

[Jonmarleesco]

A side effect of an overly nationalistic culture, perhaps? And lamentable in a country with global ambitions, and which sees itself as a core member of ASEAN.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Jonmarleesco

[Jonmarleesco]

No, it’s not our education system, it’s because of GRAMMAR. You think I’m wrong? Then answer this, why is it that after 6-7 years of trying to learn English many of us are incapable of constructing a basic sentence in English conversation? Why is it that the majority of our Thai grammar teachers are incapable of having a basic conversation in English, because we don’t know how to teach VOCABULARY, Vocabulary is not just learning the meaning of items and words, it’s far deeper than that, its teaching you to talk, if you can talk then you can understand, read, and write. Grammar, which is basic sentence structure, will follow automatically. In countries where English is not the first language, grammar should not be concentrated on at primary level, rather vocabulary, which will give the students the basics when reaching high school, which will be a tremendous asset when learning grammar. Including this in the last two years of high school academic vocabulary words should be taught, which in turn would prepare the students for higher learning. In conclusion if you want to improve the English language in Thailand, then we will have to re-educate our educators.

there was a survey a couple years back that showed 80% of Thai Educators were not qualified to teach the subject they were teaching in school. And I know that most of the Farang English teachers couldn't get a job in their own country teaching English, becuase they are not qualified to speak english yet alone teach it!

Farang? By which you presumably mean western. You do realise that most so-called native English teachers are nothing of the sort?

[ggold]

No, it’s not our education system, it’s because of GRAMMAR. You think I’m wrong? Then answer this, why is it that after 6-7 years of trying to learn English many of us are incapable of constructing a basic sentence in English conversation? Why is it that the majority of our Thai grammar teachers are incapable of having a basic conversation in English, because we don’t know how to teach VOCABULARY, Vocabulary is not just learning the meaning of items and words, it’s far deeper than that, its teaching you to talk, if you can talk then you can understand, read, and write. Grammar, which is basic sentence structure, will follow automatically. In countries where English is not the first language, grammar should not be concentrated on at primary level, rather vocabulary, which will give the students the basics when reaching high school, which will be a tremendous asset when learning grammar. Including this in the last two years of high school academic vocabulary words should be taught, which in turn would prepare the students for higher learning. In conclusion if you want to improve the English language in Thailand, then we will have to re-educate our educators.

there was a survey a couple years back that showed 80% of Thai Educators were not qualified to teach the subject they were teaching in school. And I know that most of the Farang English teachers couldn't get a job in their own country teaching English, becuase they are not qualified to speak english yet alone teach it!

Farang? By which you presumably mean western. You do realise that most so-called native English teachers are nothing of the sort?

SO what did you think I was saying?

[TallPalm]

One of the negatives ,i suppose of never been colonized by Britain,

and they would have had an extensive and working rail system,also

maybe a better system of law.

regards Worgeordie

"i suppose of never been colonized by Britain,"

If you're implying that the British can speak/write proper English, that comment amounted to shooting yourself in the foot.

As far as a system of law is concerned. wherever the soap-dodgers colonized, the system of law was always designed to favor the Brits and screw the local population. Anyone who believes otherwise has been brainwashed.

And even in Old Blighty its application is ridiculous. An anal-retentive legal system is not necessarily a better one.

Mr Brown, 21, a student at Balliol College, was arrested for causing harassment, alarm or distress and fined £80 after asking a mounted police officer if he knew that his horse was homosexual.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4196447/Arrest-for-gay-horse-jibe-is-absurd-says-Tatchell.html

The following year a 16-year old from Newcastle was charged under the same Public Order law, for saying “woof” to a dog in front of police officers.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/16/you-may-now-call-a-police-horse-gay-in-the-u-k/

And when it comes to speaking "proper" British English.

Look at former British colonies in Asia and compare their level of English to Thailand. Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore... I need say no more.

With the current stringent red tape in place for native English speakers to teach in Thailand (a degree being the first, TEFL qualifications being the second) your argument about whether or not Brits or the majority of Brits can speak properly is a moot point.

As for accents then Thais will meed to learn how to understand accents from all corners of the Globe.. the majority of native English speakers can so they too must learn listening skills and comprehension.

Oh and as for British law being 'anal retentive' would you prefer judges to just look at things at face value and not bother with an in depth picture of all the contributing factors?!

Edited June 13, 2014 by TallPalm

[Balance]

Another "tablet" solution.... Well, good luck!

If it's anything like the hospitals/doctors here everyone will get at least 3 different tablets - guaranteed to work....

Please note that all of the health care professionals (physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and pharmacists all speak English quite well.

The secret: Their entire training program is taught in English using English textbooks.

If the measurement was translating Thai to English I don't doubt they did poorly; just look at the English translations of Thai web sites, the Bangkok Post, or Thai Visa.

English is the internationally recognized "language of business," but for some reason much of the private sector in Thailand failed to get the memo. If a Thai business document cannot be accurately translated into English for legal purposes, then perhaps the document should be written in English to begin and be the governing document.

Bottom line, Thai school children will never be motivated to learn English if there is no downside for choosing to be unmotivated.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Balance

[Phetmike12]

I have spent 10 wasted years trying to teach English in Thailand. Now it is up to the army and if I may make a few suggestions

1. Only employ native English speakers. Filipina and other non native speaking teachers teach to the level of their competence not to the level needed by the students.

2. Pay a decent salary to the teachers who are prepared to work in the provinces

3. Appoint someone who knows English to be in charge.

4. Allow the students to fail if they are not at a reasonable level. In 50 years of teaching, this is the only country where I have been orders to change my marks so that everyone passes, even students who do not attend class.

5. Publish the curriculum in English and Thai so that we are working off the same page

6. Get the parents out of the classroom. To be told by a parent that a quarter past two was wrong and that it should be 15 minutes past two is more that counter productive, especially when they say it as you give the lesson, in front of the class.

7. Have some objective form of assessment for children to progress. I have had students who could nor read Thai let alone English pass with flying colours.

Now, that would be a start then you could have the Thai English teachers teach in English without fear.

.

[claffey]

Thais generally want to learn but many lack the motivation or time…MSG loaded food does not help also

'MSG loaded food'!!! Don't be silly. Western food is also laced with preservatives and additives. Thai's eat a lot more vegetables and fruit than Western Europeans....

[claffey]

One of the negatives ,i suppose of never been colonized by Britain,

and they would have had an extensive and working rail system,also

maybe a better system of law.

regards Worgeordie

On the plus side the British Empire didn't rape and pillage the country of all its resources for hundreds of years before riding off into the sunset and leaving the country in ruins!!

[claffey]

Not to insult Khin Apitha, but he/she doesn't have a clue why English skills are at the bottom. First, English is taught by non-native English speakers who only know grammar and couldn't carry on a conversation if their life depended on it and they only teach out of the book. Before anyone gives me examples of Thai teachers of English who speak the language brilliantly, I am speaking in general terms. Second, because Thais are not exposed to conversational English, they are too shy/embarrassed to strike up a conversation with a English speaker for practice. Third, it is illegal for an ex-pat to volunteer to teach English without credentials and a work permit. Fourth, rote learning, or parroting, does not teach understanding of what someone else says in English. Lastly (I know, there are many more reasons), the whole education system does not take the learning of English seriously, though they do pay 'lip service' and talk about how important it is and still, nothing changes.

Solution: Send a bright group of newly graduated 'uncontaminated by the system' young teachers abroad to learn not only English as spoken by native English speakers but, more importantly, learn how to use Western methods of teaching. Then, bring those teachers back, give them some authority, and send them around the country to educate other teachers in the Western methods. For the teachers who can't or won't change, early retirement or administrative positions for them; they can't be allowed to continue to hobble education in the Kingdom any longer. Each year, send a new group of the best and brightest teaching graduates abroad so, when they return, they can go out and reinforce what previous Western educated teachers have begun. It will take a generation but is not impossible. Rote learning is a dead-head job for teachers and a dead-end for students. Teaching children how to learn is more important than teaching them facts. Critical thinking would also transform this country into an economic powerhouse. One last point, teaching degrees are the easiest type of degree to get in Thailand as well as in the US. Higher standards need to be installed, and adhered to, for those who hold the main responsibility for the future of the country. Ironically, both Thailand and the US have larger than average budgets for education and continue to get less for their money.

Why always assume that Western methods are best for people from the East? Thai people need to learn how to survive and be successful in Thai society...The arrogance of 'educated' people from the West is mindboggling. Despite years of been trained in 'critical thought' Westerners always assume they know what is best for 'developing countries'...

[Zolt]

Thailand is still waaay better in this regard than Japan, China or Korea. It's easy enough to get around in Bangkok and touristic areas speaking English. I'd say it's about on par with Vietnam, the comparison with Singapore and the Philippines is obviously a bit unfair.