PM Prayut reiterates importance of English skills ahead of AEC

[Alwyn]

I'll bet the General's English is rubbish.

Study the languages of neighboring countries? Businesspeople do it, of course, but in schools? Yeah, right.

"Ok, kids. It's time for Khmer class! Take out your homework."

Isn't it crazy how 2 government departments clash with their cans--and can not do's.

Just a few years ago I went to lend a hand at Town high schools, 3 terms in all, no fees collected no expenses asked for, Got on brilliantly with the City council for my help.

Surprise ---I got 3 certificates signed by the top education people, in colour and laminated--I treasure these. I and the kids had 1 year of pleasure and enthusiasm.

The second government department (immigration) was not happy, as I was classed as working illegally preventing a Thai teacher from filling the gap-----the school with over 2000 students always had 2 classes without teachers all day due to lack of staff.

I would suggest to the PM let expats give their time if there are staff shortages, who loses---schools not immigration.

Well done for getting stuck in for once I'm in total agreement with you!

[TomAikins]

Does anyone in this forum actually think that ASEAN integration is ever going to happen? How many years has this charade been going on? It will never happen. It was supposed to happen in December of 2013, December of this year, and several other deadlines before these two. It's a fantasy.

[Alwyn]

It would behove the leader of the country to be able to speak English properly too

[Lupatria]

Wonder if the dear leader had a problem to read this:

Thai school students have very low literacy rate

Looks like many members of the future generation already have a problem to read anything else than comic books even if they are written in their mother tongue. Maybe it's much easier to convince citizen of other ASEAN members finally to learn Thai as the universal language of our planet system.

[andid]

Dear Nakajima,

I heard ... i heard.....i heard ..............oh dear, ............

I know people that know him and have met with him.

Oh dear oh dear.

The PM is not a stupid guy, and he can speak English for sure.

Oh dear Oh dear - and u think i make this up ........ Abhisit (whom I did meet in person multiple time) was educated in the UK, and everyone knows that, so everyone knew he could speak English very well ... so he did in public because he was confident and sure of what he heard and said.

The PM is just being cautious in the same way I am by not having a meeting in Thai language - I am not 100% sure of what is being said, so better not make any mistakes - i think that is a wise strategy when you are the PM of a country that the whole world is looking at. Putin and others also take this option when on the world stage.

Why would you think I am wasting your time on this....thats insulting, Especially when the part about English was written as an add-on - "fyi" .... the main point was about the AEC changes.

Oh dear oh dear....

Maybe i should just stop using Thai Visa if thats all i get for trying.

[ginjag]

I'll bet the General's English is rubbish.

Study the languages of neighboring countries? Businesspeople do it, of course, but in schools? Yeah, right.

"Ok, kids. It's time for Khmer class! Take out your homework."

Isn't it crazy how 2 government departments clash with their cans--and can not do's.

Just a few years ago I went to lend a hand at Town high schools, 3 terms in all, no fees collected no expenses asked for, Got on brilliantly with the City council for my help.

Surprise ---I got 3 certificates signed by the top education people, in colour and laminated--I treasure these. I and the kids had 1 year of pleasure and enthusiasm.

The second government department (immigration) was not happy, as I was classed as working illegally preventing a Thai teacher from filling the gap-----the school with over 2000 students always had 2 classes without teachers all day due to lack of staff.

I would suggest to the PM let expats give their time if there are staff shortages, who loses---schools not immigration.

Well done for getting stuck in for once I'm in total agreement with you!

Thanks A. Illegally working for cash----sorry not on. I would like to see many half bored foreigners be given the chance to help out. They will be more acknowledged in the local area, kids get a smile on their faces, and mother ( normally Thai) feels more comfortable in the area and is looked upon by the locals in a higher position. This is how to improve relations Thai and foreigners.

[ginjag]

You ask a simple question here and the <deleted> take the opportunity to insult you for it. Typical Thaivisa member.

Bob -because of your rhetoric your simple question was then taken wrongly, posters would take the question to be sarcastic.

[metisdead]

A post with over usage of 5555555 messed up the formatting of the page and has been removed.

[scorecard]

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Yeh, right ! Sooooo concerned that even if a teacher has a bachelor in English and a Masters in Tesol, you still tell them they are not good enough to teach here after 10 years. Ba in Education or nuttin, says he. More BS. alt=bah.gif>

When did he say that?

[Artisi]

Thais do not speak English............ "may I hell you?" there are only 100 Thais that can be understood.

Well bugger me, what an absolutely fantastic statistic on the spoken English skills of the Thai population, any other interesting gems to pass on.

[whatawonderfulday]

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

That is because he can not. The only understanding he has of correct pronunciation can be compared with his understanding of democratic principles.

[MediaWatcher]

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:47, said:

Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

How many foreign diplomats/presidents/prime ministers speak Thai ?? And you Mango Bob Pood Thai. Krap----urrrr bo ow.

It puzzles me how your "brain" works, if in fact it does, the headline clearly states "importance of English skills", did you notice, Thai wasn't mentioned.... I'd like to express my opinion about knuckleheads but fear it might hurt their "delicate" feelings, so I will refrain from calling you one.

[bkkstooge]

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

How many foreign diplomats/presidents/prime ministers speak Thai ?? And you Mango Bob Pood Thai. Krap----urrrr bo ow.

No need, English is the world common standard language, Thai is spoken in Thailand only. The world do not need to speak Thai but Thai need to learn English unless they want to keep being isolated.

I get so bored with the "do you speak Thai then brigade". Especially when large junks of the Thai population never use Thai as a daily tool of communication. So if about 75% of Thailand can't be bothered to use it. Why the hell should foreign diplomats etc.... learn to speak it.

[mrfill]

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

Um no. And considering that Thailand's closest army ally is the USA, you might think someone would have thought it a prerequisite that the army leader can at least converse with his counterparts.

I wonder if the US army leader can speak German, Dutch, French or Chinese. Or even proper English.

[DNPBC0]

Mr PM (or anyone here),

What is it about the AEC next year that means Thais will need better English?

Mr Macanello (and anyone else here),

What change in the AEC will means that Thais get a shock? In what way will this happen and what specific rule or change will create the shock?

FYI - I have heard that the PM speaks English very well - but as a cautious individual, he does not want to make a mistake in public so chooses to use translators. Many of us do the same in business meetings where Thai is spoken I guess.

Rightly or wrongly, ASEAN has already decided that English is to be the official working language of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) when it is formally established towards the end of 2015, Whether or not Prayuth understands and speaks English well is somewhat irrelevant unless it is his intention to be the sole communicant with the AEC. Perhaps it is - who knows?

Edited October 29, 2014 by DNPBC0

[bangrak]

Don't worry about it, Thailand.

Those people from Singapore and the Phillipines are not going to flood into Thailand in 2015. There aren't going to be many new Singaporeans coming to Thailand, because, because they can earn more money in Singapore.

And those Phillipinos, they might speak better English than Thai people, but a lot of them are not that good at speaking Thai. The Thai companies will need staff to speak good Thai, because nmost of the clients and customers in Thailand speak Thai. Only a minority speak English only, and anyway, Phillipino nurses who turn up in Bangkok to work for hospitals that service foreigners, well, they must speak good Thai in order to communicate with the doctors and other nurses.

As for the Burmese and Cambodians, some of them speak good English, but the vast bulk of them can't flood into Thailand next year. Actually, there's already a huge number of them in Thailand, legally and illegally. 2015 is not going to make a huge difference.

According to you, it would be a good thing for Thailand not to want any activity on its soil which could bring in foreigners who don't speak Thai, even when they could spend their money here, like tourists for instance. But, but, but, no, we want the money from tourists and Pharangs, we need it, more of it! Then learn English, and other foreign languages, for Pete's sake!

Also, trust me, from, Thai owned private hospitals, dental clinics, cosmetic institutes, and the whole large hotel and restaurant sector, don't even mention the foreign controlled ones, all what I can hear, is they are counting the days for them to be allowed to hire Philippinos, en masse, to fill in the gaps left by the now more and more hard to get/keep Burmese, and, allow me, to get rid of a bunch of no good lazy arrogant unreliable 'locals' they are immensely fed up with (didn't write Thai, did I, so nobody's pride has been hurt...), but do expect 'the authorities will 'invent' new rules and create new perks (like the knowledge of Thai, or a capital of xx k Baht per AEC worker, for instance) in an attempt to slow down and reduce the hunderds of thousands of redundancies their population would be facing...

[bangrak]

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

How many foreign diplomats/presidents/prime ministers speak Thai ?? And you Mango Bob Pood Thai. Krap----urrrr bo ow.

No need, English is the world common standard language, Thai is spoken in Thailand only. The world do not need to speak Thai but Thai need to learn English unless they want to keep being isolated.

Your last words tell the origin of the problem, what 'the system' has been doing with the Siamese/Thais for centuries: keep them isolated, and we know why, don't we...

[bangrak]

Mr PM (or anyone here),

What is it about the AEC next year that means Thais will need better English?

Mr Macanello (and anyone else here),

What change in the AEC will means that Thais get a shock? In what way will this happen and what specific rule or change will create the shock?

FYI - I have heard that the PM speaks English very well - but as a cautious individual, he does not want to make a mistake in public so chooses to use translators. Many of us do the same in business meetings where Thai is spoken I guess.

Rightly or wrongly, ASEAN has already decided that English is to be the official working language of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) when it is formally established towards the end of 2015, Whether or not Prayuth understands and speaks English well is somewhat irrelevant unless it is his intention to be the sole communicant with the AEC. Perhaps it is - who knows?

A 'detail': Thailand has still not yet ratified the ASEAN treaty, according to the (former) Constitution, this had to be done by the joined Parliament and Senate, never happened, and I don't see it go easy, f.i. with the ASEAN members' citizens and companies allowed to own stakes of up to 70% in companies (real estate, anyone?), there was, when I'm correct, only an agreement on the principle, given by 'a' Thai government, already stepping outside of its limited executive powers...

P.S.: this was, and still is, a 'hot potato' as changes had to me made to the, 'previous', Constitutio to enable the ratifying (allowing non-Thais to own a majority stake is one example), but the nationalists, and probably some 'opportunists', will loudly oppose it...

Edited October 29, 2014 by bangrak

[ginjag]

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:47, said:

Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

How many foreign diplomats/presidents/prime ministers speak Thai ?? And you Mango Bob Pood Thai. Krap----urrrr bo ow.

It puzzles me how your "brain" works, if in fact it does, the headline clearly states "importance of English skills", did you notice, Thai wasn't mentioned.... I'd like to express my opinion about knuckleheads but fear it might hurt their "delicate" feelings, so I will refrain from calling you one.

You sound a really nice and cheerful bloke.. Do not trouble yourself on how my brain works, it clearly is bothering you. Relax and cool off, My reply was really aimed at M Bob who looked like he was being sarcastic re the PM. So do not get your knickers in a twist with insults thrown in.

Make your point without the nasties eh !!! Maybe even mind your business also.

[ginjag]

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:47, said:

Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

How many foreign diplomats/presidents/prime ministers speak Thai ?? And you Mango Bob Pood Thai. Krap----urrrr bo ow.

It puzzles me how your "brain" works, if in fact it does, the headline clearly states "importance of English skills", did you notice, Thai wasn't mentioned.... I'd like to express my opinion about knuckleheads but fear it might hurt their "delicate" feelings, so I will refrain from calling you one.

I had noticed.

Thanks for your polite reply.

[bangrak]

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:47, said:

Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

How many foreign diplomats/presidents/prime ministers speak Thai ?? And you Mango Bob Pood Thai. Krap----urrrr bo ow.

It puzzles me how your "brain" works, if in fact it does, the headline clearly states "importance of English skills", did you notice, Thai wasn't mentioned.... I'd like to express my opinion about knuckleheads but fear it might hurt their "delicate" feelings, so I will refrain from calling you one.

And do you remember what happened when it was proposed a few years ago to make of English the second official language of Thailand?

[MediaWatcher]

mrfill, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:27, said:

Thai at Heart, on 29 Oct 2014 - 15:10, said:

Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

Um no. And considering that Thailand's closest army ally is the USA, you might think someone would have thought it a prerequisite that the army leader can at least converse with his counterparts.

I wonder if the US army leader can speak German, Dutch, French or Chinese. Or even proper English.

Another no hoper who doesn't understand English is the international language...Thai is far from it. Here's some news, Thailand is NOT really the hub of the world, in fact, it hardly ranks as a spoke.

[ginjag]

mrfill, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:27, said:

Thai at Heart, on 29 Oct 2014 - 15:10, said:

Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

Um no. And considering that Thailand's closest army ally is the USA, you might think someone would have thought it a prerequisite that the army leader can at least converse with his counterparts.

I wonder if the US army leader can speak German, Dutch, French or Chinese. Or even proper English.

Another no hoper who doesn't understand English is the international language...Thai is far from it. Here's some news, Thailand is NOT really the hub of the world, in fact, it hardly ranks as a spoke.

Your the no hoper for being too serious and no sense of humour.

Of course everyone on the planet knows English acts as the second language. Although the last PM was wanting somewhat.

[MediaWatcher]

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:51, said:ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:51, said:

MediaWatcher, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:08, said:MediaWatcher, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:08, said:

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:47, said:ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:47, said:ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:47, said:

Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:Mango Bob, on 29 Oct 2014 - 14:33, said:

Has anyone heard the General /PM speak English? Any good?

How many foreign diplomats/presidents/prime ministers speak Thai ?? And you Mango Bob Pood Thai. Krap----urrrr bo ow.

It puzzles me how your "brain" works, if in fact it does, the headline clearly states "importance of English skills", did you notice, Thai wasn't mentioned.... I'd like to express my opinion about knuckleheads but fear it might hurt their "delicate" feelings, so I will refrain from calling you one.

You sound a really nice and cheerful bloke.. Do not trouble yourself on how my brain works, it clearly is bothering you. Relax and cool off, My reply was really aimed at M Bob who looked like he was being sarcastic re the PM. So do not get your knickers in a twist with insults thrown in.

Make your point without the nasties eh !!! Maybe even mind your business also.

You made a stupid comment public by posting on a forum, perhaps best you try and think before posting. I have yet to see you "mind your own business", so you make stupid comments but also a hypocrite.

Edited October 29, 2014 by MediaWatcher

[MediaWatcher]

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 19:44, said:ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 19:44, said:

MediaWatcher, on 29 Oct 2014 - 19:40, said:MediaWatcher, on 29 Oct 2014 - 19:40, said:

mrfill, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:27, said:mrfill, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:27, said:mrfill, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:27, said:

Thai at Heart, on 29 Oct 2014 - 15:10, said:Thai at Heart, on 29 Oct 2014 - 15:10, said:Thai at Heart, on 29 Oct 2014 - 15:10, said:

Um no. And considering that Thailand's closest army ally is the USA, you might think someone would have thought it a prerequisite that the army leader can at least converse with his counterparts.

I wonder if the US army leader can speak German, Dutch, French or Chinese. Or even proper English.

Another no hoper who doesn't understand English is the international language...Thai is far from it. Here's some news, Thailand is NOT really the hub of the world, in fact, it hardly ranks as a spoke.

Your the no hoper for being too serious and no sense of humour.

Of course everyone on the planet knows English acts as the second language. Although the last PM was wanting somewhat.

I would say we have differing views as to what constitutes humour. This is what I define as humour...

the quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech. Your definition must be very different.

[razer]

The general is right but the problem is systemic.Too many Thai English teachers have poor English and many do not want to teach English but have to.

Malaysia's MOE used an educational NGO to bring in NES teachers to upgrade their schools' English language programs and provide teacher training. This is faster than generational change.

[ginjag]

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 19:44, said:ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 19:44, said:

.

Your the no hoper for being too serious and no sense of humour.

Of course everyone on the planet knows English acts as the second language. Although the last PM was wanting somewhat.

I would say we have differing views as to what constitutes humour. This is what I define as humour...

the quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech. Your definition must be very different.

Coming from the Nth of England we have a crazy distorted sense of humour, and we love it.

[MobileContent]

Does Conrade General actually speak English?

If not another farce.

[ginjag]

ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:51, said:ginjag, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:51, said:

MediaWatcher, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:08, said:MediaWatcher, on 29 Oct 2014 - 18:08, said:

It puzzles me how your "brain" works, if in fact it does, the headline clearly states "importance of English skills", did you notice, Thai wasn't mentioned.... I'd like to express my opinion about knuckleheads but fear it might hurt their "delicate" feelings, so I will refrain from calling you one.

You sound a really nice and cheerful bloke.. Do not trouble yourself on how my brain works, it clearly is bothering you. Relax and cool off, My reply was really aimed at M Bob who looked like he was being sarcastic re the PM. So do not get your knickers in a twist with insults thrown in.

Make your point without the nasties eh !!! Maybe even mind your business also.

You made a stupid comment public by posting on a forum, perhaps best you try and think before posting. I have yet to see you "mind your own business", so you make stupid comments but also a hypocrite.

I only actually replied to Mango Bob, but it is your prerogative to intrude if you so wish.

[Local Drunk]

You've got a very big problem there general...