Thailand And English Language

[egeefay]

Here's an interesting article in the Bangkok post today

"Overseas visitors left in dark by the loos on show at World Toilet Expo

APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL

The Health Department's exhibitions on the history and development of toilets in Thailand, as well as the royal projects on national public health, have failed to draw the attention of international delegates at the World Toilet Expo and Forum. A lack of information in English was blamed for the low attendances at the exhibitions held at the Impact Exhibition and Convention Centre, Muang Thong Thani yesterday. The expo ends tomorrow.

Most foreign visitors could not make out what the exhibitions were about and walked past them because they did not understand the information, which was presented mostly in Thai.

''It's a pity that international participants cannot understand what these exhibitions are all about by only looking at pictures,'' said Peter Gorges, a delegate from Australia.

Tai Li Jiang from China said he was disappointed because no English pamphlets were available for international delegates, although there was a multimedia presentation with English subtitles. "

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/17Nov2006_news02.php

If Thailand is serious about doing business worldwide it is going to have communicate in English.

For better or worse, English is the language of business.

Last year, I went to a Thai hospital for a checkup. The hospital is trying attract foreign customers . Sadly, Only a few members of the nursing staff spoke English. Much of the exam had to be done in sign language (I pretended I couldn't speak Thai)

Edited November 17, 2006 by egeefay

[mbkudu]

Tai Li Jiang from China said he was disappointed because no English pamphlets were available for international delegates, although there was a multimedia presentation with English subtitles.

Well, I guess we know which country is going to get ahead and which one is not .

[Dakhar]

If Thailand is serious about doing business worldwide it is going to have communicate in English.

For better or worse, English is the language of business.

Last year, I went to a Thai hospital for a checkup. The hospital is trying attract foreign customers . Sadly, Only a few members of the nursing staff spoke English. Much of the exam had to be done in sign language (I pretended I couldn't speak Thai)

Yep, I have sat in meetings in China, and the language of choice was English. Rarely did we switch into Chinese. I speak Chinese, but the meeting was being held in English because other participants were Thai. Out of the 3 Thais present, only one could understand what was going on.

I have also been in meeting with Germans, Dutch, Chinese, and Americans. The language spoken was English. English is for sure the language of business. I think Thailand is prime to prosper... if it could just get more English. It doesn't even have to be "perfect" just have the ability to communicate.

[PeaceBlondie]

A world expo, but almost all in the language and alphabet of the host country, which few foreigners know.....Well, then again, it was A TOILET EXPO...

[Scott]

Yes, it will probably be quite a while before there is another language option besides English for international business. I think one of the problems for Thailand over the years has been the low standard of English language teaching.

I think we need to face the fact that here, because there were so many farang, the locals just decided to "put them to use" and have them teach English. The proof, unfortunately, is in the pudding. There are people that have taken years and years of English classes and still can't get a decent grip on the language. I doubt that this is because--as I often here, Thai's are really stupid, lazy etc. I think much of it is do to the standard of English being taught.

We can talk all about the wages etc., but at the end of the day, as long as there are a lot of people hanging around, language will be taught on the cheap. Once a lot of the "trash" is gone, demand will dictate high wages. (I use trash to refer to the standard of teaching--not to the people doing it).

[the swagman]

It's not the quality of language teaching.

English in this country is a foreign language, not a second language.