Why Thais don't or won't speak English.

[IMA_FARANG]

I know there are many English teachers on this topic who are serious about teaching English to Thais.

There was a very interesting discussion last night on NHK television from Japan on a program about teaching English in Japan.

About 15 minutes of that program was an interview with a Japanese born English teacher employed by many Japanese corporations to train their international staff in using English for business use in Japan.

As I was watching the program it came to me that many of the reasons why Japanese are reluctant to speak English to foreigners in Japan also could apply to why Thais are reluctant to speak English to foreigners in Thailand.

There seems to be many parallels between that Japanese English teacher and her problems getting Japanese to speak English in Japan to experiences here in Thailand.

if you have the time and the opportunity, try to catch that NHK program, and listen carefully to what that Japanese English teacher says about teaching English in Japan.

You might learn something.

Anyway, you might find the parallels interesting.

[Suradit69]

I find that most people here try to speak to me in English while I'm trying to speak to them in Thai. Most Thais who I know personally are far more proficient in speaking English than I will ever be in speaking Thai.

[thesetat2013]

You could have given some examples here. Rather than tell me to watch the next episode.

[Deli]

No chance to see this program, unfortunately.

But after many years in LoS I simply believe: They just don't give a damn and don't realize the importance, as long as there's rice in the kitchen.

Decades before there was Video, DVD's etc. I volunteered to learn English after school by listening to tapes and records on my own. At the age of 13.

[smotherb]

I find that most people here try to speak to me in English while I'm trying to speak to them in Thai. Most Thais who I know personally are far more proficient in speaking English than I will ever be in speaking Thai.

Most of my Thai friends speak English, but they want to speak it. I find a far greater number of Thais who do not speak English, or any language other than Thai--similar to many native English speakers who speak only English. With these non-English speakers, I try to communicate in my limited Thai. Doing so helps my Thai, but leaves us with few in-depth conversations.

[Guest]

I live in Bangkok. Most Thais can speak more English than I speak Thai.

For the basic basic needs, it is amazing how many speak it.

For true conversational English, that is a Hi-So thing.

What I am missing here is your thesis that Thai people do not speak it, or are afraid to.

it is a status symbol to speak English, and if there is a frustration, it is that Thai people PRETEND to understand, and it is only later if you ask a follow up question you realize, they have not followed .. at all.

Since you have not supplied a link to watch ... umm ... "no further comment."

[bluebluewater]

For 99% of the country English is an unimportant language and always will be.

They learn Thai language as babies and it is their first language. The are introduced to English in the schools where the mostly Thai teachers who are teaching it to them do a crap job and it is not really a point of emphasis. Little or nothing is reinforced throughout their daily lives that would make them use or retain whatever little might have been learned.

[gerryBScot]

I am unlikely to watch the programme unless someone can post a link to it. As a foreign teacher in Thailand here is my tuppence worth on the issue:-

• there is a deeply rooted fear of the English language in the wider culture; it comes with a health warning;
• xenophobia is an important element in the wider psyche; this reinforces the negativity from above;
• in real terms, few learners of English have opportunities to use it in 'authentic situations' hence little scope for natural development;
• the education system is primitive and in respect of learning a foreign language it is not based on theory or research.

I am always amazed when I hear Thais speaking good English because against all the odds some actually do overcome these obstacles.

[Brit_Doggie]

It costs money to school thai children to learn english would be the same in our own countries if reversed little education for the poorest of families within thailand.

[Tomtomtom69]

I find that most people here try to speak to me in English while I'm trying to speak to them in Thai. Most Thais who I know personally are far more proficient in speaking English than I will ever be in speaking Thai.

No offence, but that's probably only because your Thai sucks, is likely heavily accented and sounds like a small child. If you could speak decent Thai, it would be quite different.

I rarely speak English to anyone in Thailand (except other foreigners) simply because I have no need to. Thais speak poor English and my Thai is fluent, not to mention that being the only official language, it makes sense for a resident to be able to speak it fluently, especially in light of the fact that English is so poorly spoken (and written).

I would recommend improving your Thai - it might make it more likely Thais will choose to speak their language with you.

[Ace of Pop]

As a person who learned English from a native English Teacher, I've noticed that Thais who learn from other English speaking races sound odd to me. In fact I spoke to an Irish teacher here not long ago ,nice chap,but not understand him.

[Ace of Pop]

P.S.He was aBarman from Dublin City with a Teflon degree bought a tourist road in BKK

[Docno]

When I first started seeing my gf 5 years ago, we had to rely on my (primitive) Thai as much as her English to communicate. But since then she has soared far ahead of me in her second language proficiency (my Thai has barely moved). I still have to speak Thai to her siblings, though my gf swears they know more English than I ever hear. Part of it is 'shyness' in the presence of a fluent English speaker. Part of it is a lack of practice. And part of it is the quality of English education in the schools.

As a humorous aside, a few months back Noy and I bumped into her former English teacher in a Tesco Lotus. The woman was clearly bowled over by the fact that Noy was with a farang, but when she heard Noy speaking English (Noy not having been the studious type), she looked like she'd fall over. In fact, Noy's English was superior to this teacher's. Noy kept a cute 'victory' smile on her face for the rest of the day.

[carter1882]

Those who need to learn well enough. Those who don't need to don't. The real comparisons should be made to English people who don't or won't speak other languages. Like Thai.

[Farma]

I think it all boils down to a mix of confidence and frequency of use.

Examples are my wifes work collegues. They all read and write english at university level but rarely need to speak it. After me being around them for a while they come out of their shell and start speaking english to me. It doesn't help that most of our conversations are in Thai.

Neices and nephews all learn english at school. I encourage them by playing I spy games as we drive along and after a while they gain confidence to speak english albeit limited.

Our local travel agent speaks good english but then again she is well travelled overseas and is confident.

The biggest surprise to me was the head monk in a small village temple. He speaks english like a native but I suspect he lived overseas for a few years. I've known him for years and didn't speak english until I had known him about 3 years. I suspect he was testing me until then.

[quandow]

I taught English in Thailand for five years, several different schools. All were the same - English was absolutely at the bottom of rung for importance. If there was a Christmas program where the students needed to be excused from class to rehearse, English was ALWAYS the first choice. We told every new teacher coming in we are there to give the appearance of teaching, not actually teach. As long as their student books were completed neatly, all was fine.

[MaeJoMTB]

For 99% of the country English is an unimportant language and always will be.

They learn Thai language as babies and it is their first language. The are introduced to English in the schools where the mostly Thai teachers who are teaching it to them do a crap job and it is not really a point of emphasis. Little or nothing is reinforced throughout their daily lives that would make them use or retain whatever little might have been learned.

Actually, they don't,

Most Thais don't learn central Thai until they attend high school.

I've been in high schools where the 1st year students speak three different languages, and don't understand central Thai at all.

If you watch Thai Tv, often they have central Thai subtitles as the people in the story aren't speaking central Thai.

Central Thai is my Thai wife's third language, English her fifth.

Edited July 24, 2015 by MaeJoMTB

[GerdT]

A synopsis of the contents of the program would have been helpful. I had the fortune or you might call it misfortune very recently to participate in a project at a school in Thailand. Children at the age from 10 to 12 were given extra lessens 2 hours a week to learn English. Games, crosswords (with images) etc were given to them. Starting with five words (vocabulary) it was checked the next week if the words had been added to their vocabulary. Out of a group of 26 children only 2 (girls) had made the effort to learn these words. After 6 weeks (the end of the project) 5 children had made the effort to learn these 5 words of vocabulary.

From my time at a European school I know that we had to learn more vocabulary in one week as these children had been asked to learn. When approaching the English teacher and asking her to let the parents know that their children refuse to do their home work I was told that this wouldn’t be the Thai way. I certainly will not volunteer or help again when asked to participate in any school project in Thailand if children cannot be asked to do what is expected of them; there are better ways to spend my time and money.

Edited July 24, 2015 by GerdT

[CNXTim]

Xenophobia ruled the LoS with little opposition UNTIL the arrival of ASEAN.

Thailand's economy will suffer more and more until this cultural cringe is overcome.

And it is not a matter of comparing non-Thai speaking visitors or pensioners enjoying the lifestyle. it is far more important for the economic health and education of the country that they do everything possible to bring tier English language skills up to scratch vs. other ASEAN economic competitors.

[mihalis]

I worked in the tourism industry in Europe for 5 years, the worst at this were the French... Being so stubborn as to miss a ferry, due to language, one stated, im french, English language is beneath me..... Never had an issue in Thailand....

[sgtsabai]

Many Thais do speak and understand English and many will never let you know. My Thai children, my wife's husband died at 30 yrs. of age, refuse to learn English, although they know more than they will let on. My wife on the other hand speaks decent English, one paid for class years ago and self taught since. Here Lao/Issan is the first language, Thai second. The English taught in Thai schools by non-native speakers is terrible and the students soon learn that they will pass, there is no fail. I for one would love to be able to speak Issan and Thai but aside from having lost the upper decibels, can't hear the tones at all, I seem to have zero ability to learn any language. My wife's family does not like farangs, with the exception of her grandfather, born when this was still Lao, and her younger brother. Upon my introduction to the family her dad was speaking to her about me, the body language and tone of voice gave it away. I asked her what he said and although quite reluctant, she told me, "Papa says only reason farang come to Thailand is for sex". I raised my hand and with a big "Thai smile" said thank you, that's me. I should have realized then by the expression on his face he understood English. I knew for sure when some time later he was puttering(puttering being the operative word) around with a hoe out on the farm while we sat in the little hut out of the sun. Teasing my wife I said she should be helping her dad, he has a very bad knee, instead of sitting in the shade. Her dad fired up and I said what did he say. "He said farang think I need help he should come help, not you". I don't make smart ass jokes around him anymore. If I could learn Issan/Thai I would do like a couple of friends, just listen so I would know what they really think and say about me. Aside from tourist areas, most Thais feel no need to learn. Family friends often practice their English on me. They like my slow speech, SE Texas/Louisiana.

[robertthebruce]

I feel Thais speak better ''English'' than my limited ''Thai'' words.., i am to fault, as i am too lazy to learn, and it all sounds so so confusing, fortunately my Partner is Thai who speaks Good English, so i play the Dummy , and i am good at that...

[Fullstop]

Simple answer...

If a Thai doesn't plan to get a job that has to deal with farangs (Banks, airports etc) or plan to go overseas (like the bulk of the population) ... why "should" they learn English?

e.g ... I have no plans to work in or visit South America ... so I won't bother learning Spanish. Even if it is a widely spoken language. It would be a waste of time.

[mikemac]

I feel Thais speak better ''English'' than my limited ''Thai'' words.., i am to fault, as i am too lazy to learn, and it all sounds so so confusing, fortunately my Partner is Thai who speaks Good English, so i play the Dummy , and i am good at that...

I first went to Thailand in 2005 and have been struggling to learn the language ever since. Went to AUA in Chiang Rai in 2006 and had Thai language lessons, one and one for 6 months, learnt how to read and write, grammar etc and speaking.

Our son is only 22 months old and already knows more Thai words than me, plus lots of English words plus some words in Issan lingo. My wife speaks 4 languages and her English is miles ahead of my Thai.

Looks like I am the dummy of the family, and I do it well.

[Fullstop]

Has to be said.

Thainess.

Stupidity has been drummed into their heads from day 1.

As an example, the daughter of the bank manager went to the States for a year.

On coming back her English had hardly improved. Why?

Homesick, stayed with Thai friends and spoke Thai most of the time.

Pathetic.

You mean ... like the Farangs in Thailand? In their Farang ghettos speaking English all the time?

[Forrest]

I tried to learn Arabic when I first went to Saudi Arabia. What I found out was that all beginning books stressed Islam to the point they were teaching Islam, not Arabic. My Thai is poor still I think my Thai family expects me to be Thai. When they found out early on that I had no intention of giving up my western cause-and-effect mindset, they pushed me away to the point of tell Papa anything to get rid of him. It's like circling the wagons. As far as Thais speaking English, it's almost as if you can take the Thai girl out of the country but you can't take the Thai culture out of the girl. They will learn a little, but not enough to hold a real conversation. There's a stubborness here and an unwelcomingness here which makes communication difficult. Still, I like my Thais.

[mankondang]

For commercial and/or international reasons I see the advantages of Thais being proficient in English as English may be regarded as the language of choice, by some, in this area. However, for someone to suggest that 37,000,000 Thais should learn English so that they may oblige the English speaking visitors (Which, by the very definition of holding a Thai visa makes us) to Thailand would IMHO reeks of racialism. Should you also expect all Thais to learn Chinese, German, French, Russian etc etc to cater for visitors from these non-Thai speaking countries. At the expense of offending some of the people whome may be regarded as arrogant English elite, may the more relevant approach be to ask the question, "Should visitors to, and especially long term residents of, Thailand, in an effort to preserve cultural identity and respect of human rights, be encouraged to learn Thai ?". (OK. Let the persistent racist Thai knockers now let loose).

[canarysun]

I think that if you come to live in Thailand then you must learn there language and understand there culture.Why should they have to speak in English with you? you are in there country after all!

It should be noted that after 4 years i am able to only string a couple of sentences together but for the farang that have lived in The Land Of Smiles for 20 years or more,then there really is absolutely no excuse!

F.J x

[UTH001]

Those who need to learn well enough. Those who don't need to don't. The real comparisons should be made to English people who don't or won't speak other languages. Like Thai.

I am teaching English to one of my staff members, he is keen to learn and actually picks up the language rather easily. We use one of the books that's available locally, I sometimes almost choke at some of the stuff in those books. Like why would any student in lesson one or two need to learn the world XYLOPHONE? X-ray would be slightly more useful, maybe?

But one thing that really threw me in the beginning big time: He would never tell me if he did not understand something I was trying to teach him. Almost had to bang his head in until he finally got the message.

[Tomtomtom69]

For 99% of the country English is an unimportant language and always will be.

They learn Thai language as babies and it is their first language. The are introduced to English in the schools where the mostly Thai teachers who are teaching it to them do a crap job and it is not really a point of emphasis. Little or nothing is reinforced throughout their daily lives that would make them use or retain whatever little might have been learned.

Actually, they don't,

Most Thais don't learn central Thai until they attend high school.

I've been in high schools where the 1st year students speak three different languages, and don't understand central Thai at all.

If you watch Thai Tv, often they have central Thai subtitles as the people in the story aren't speaking central Thai.

Central Thai is my Thai wife's third language, English her fifth.

That claim surprises me. I'm quite sure that all schools in Thailand only teach central Thai, starting from kindergarten. Even schools for minority hill tribe children stress the importance of central Thai. Isarn Thai (Lao), northern Thai, southern Thai and Pattani Malay (Melayu) also known as Yawi are only spoken locally and function generally only as spoken languages. Their use has been discouraged by countless governments and this trend continues. The national identity is based upon one language: Thai, central Thai to be specific.

I'm not sure where your wife is from and what her "native" language is, it may very well be Isarn Thai or even Khmer (if she's from a border region of Thailand near Cambodia for example) but neither of those 2 languages hold any official status in Thailand nor are they taught in schools. If your wife speaks 5 languages then she must be a very talented linguist, not common amongst Thais. While many Thais from regional areas can still speak their native dialects [languages] to some extent, the younger generation is generally no longer proficient in these languages and will prefer to speak central Thai and only central Thai. Exceptions are in the three southernmost provinces next to Malaysia where an insurgency, largely based upon historical and current grievances including the suppression of their language is currently occurring. But it nevertheless remains very difficult for the people there to use their language openly, as signs are still only in Thai (or Thai and English) but almost never Yawi.

I'm even more surprised by your claim that some students you have met can speak 3 languages. Almost always it's a minority dialect and then central Thai, but rarely anything more (unless you were also including English).