We are Thai people - we don't need to learn English

[craigt3365]

17 minutes ago, Scotwight said:

I guess they don't watch TV, use the INTERNET or go to movies in your jungle home. 

I've yet to see English programs on the TV here.  Most go to Thai movies, and if English, there are Thai subtitles or Thai dubbed soundtracks.  All the knockoff DVDs have the Thai language dubbed in...

[lostinisaan]

21 minutes ago, nongsangcity said:

We Are Thai We Dont Need To Learn English....says it all .....99% of Thais will never visit or live in an English speaking country....99% will have no Daily contact with English Native Speaker in Their Lives........

 

     You can't be serious. 99 % of your post smells fishy.

 

           1) ASEAN is using English as the language

         2)   Many Thais studied abroad and speak a perfect English.

          3) Some Thais speak three, or four languages good enough to be understood.

        

   The OP made a thread about two Thais with such an incredible statement. But it means absolutely nothing. 

 

    How comes that foreigners living in LOS for 20 year can't even order a noodle soup?

 

How many languages do you speak, sir/ madam? 

[Scotwight]

8 minutes ago, tomwct said:

I teach at a large university in Korat and my students tell me they do not need English! I tell them they can earn up to 50% more salary,

if they can speak English a little. I use Seagate as an example. First year Engineer Trainee 12, 000 THB p/m but if they speak

English 15-18,000 THB p/m! I got their attention!

Hard to believe you are a university teacher.  INTERNET.  Cell phones.  Apps. 

[bitcoinforever]

if you are familiar with the company town concept Thailand is run like that except it is a whole country run on the concept of a company town, if the people do not learn english and that is what they want they always have a steady stream of willing workers that can go nowhere else. except work for me here, they can not even travel or read any other news sources they are totally control in the name of Nationalism and THAINESS. the only way for the thai's on the bottom of the food chain to get ahead here is to learn english.

[Bangkok Barry]

11 hours ago, Scott said:

 

The exception are countries that were colonized for a long time, they had super-imposed on them a different lifestyle that involves, planning, efficiency and getting things done.   Thailand has never been colonized and as such, it's cultural heritage remains roughly the way it was many years ago -- including all the problems of dealing with modern innovations.

 

 

Spot on. Thais are proud that they've never been colonised, but that is arguably a negative, not a positive. They have been unable to draw upon the experience and skills of more advanced nations and suffer for it. Thais are largely used as a cheap labour force (and that is changing as costs in Thailand are rising) and have never produced anything at all of their own.

There is not a single thing I can think of that Thais have invented for the world. Food? Largely based on Indian and Chinese. Their famous silk? A failed industry that was rescued by an American. Even Red Bull, which was invented by a Thai but only became successful when the drink was modified and marketed by an Austrian. I could go on....

[KKr]

37 minutes ago, Scotwight said:

all the hookers in Pattaya do OK with a number of foreign languages.

don't think so, numbers she understood but when I asked "Your place or mine" she did not understand.

[TKDfella]

I think there are a couple of points here worth a mention. Yes English, more often the US brand on the Net, is widely used internationally so I suppose some us of feel that as native speakers we have something to offer. I think that's a natural thought but maybe sometimes we might overdo it a little and Thais go on the defensive. Certainly most Thais I've met wanted to learn more English but perhaps had enough on their plate already.

The other point is that the PM a couple of weeks ago on his Friday night speech said that Thais must be more efficient in English then he tells them they have to preserve the Thai way and culture. While they aren't mutually exclusive it is possibly a bit of a 'tall order' and it might be easier getting a job doing Thai Arts and Craft than it is to get a job communicating with English speakers.

[Scotwight]

2 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Spot on. Thais are proud that they've never been colonised, but that is arguably a negative, not a positive. They have been unable to draw upon the experience and skills of more advanced nations and suffer for it. Thais are largely used as a cheap labour force (and that is changing as costs in Thailand are rising) and have never produced anything at all of their own.

There is not a single thing I can think of that Thais have invented for the world. Food? Largely based on Indian and Chinese. Their famous silk? A failed industry that was rescued by an American. Even Red Bull, which was invented by a Thai but only became successful when the drink was modified and marketed by an Austrian. I could go on....

Ya look at how well Burma and Laos have done....  Deaths WWII Burma 252,000 Thailand 2,000

[Bangkok Barry]

15 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

I've yet to see English programs on the TV here.  Most go to Thai movies, and if English, there are Thai subtitles or Thai dubbed soundtracks.  All the knockoff DVDs have the Thai language dubbed in...

 

When I first moved to Thailand nearly 25 years ago one tv channel would show a movie with the English soundtrack available on the radio. Inventive. Except when it was time for the hourly radio news, and that took precedence over the movie soundtrack. Just typical Thai inability to think things through. Still, the thought was there.

[Scotwight]

16 minutes ago, bitcoinforever said:

if you are familiar with the company town concept Thailand is run like that except it is a whole country run on the concept of a company town, if the people do not learn english and that is what they want they always have a steady stream of willing workers that can go nowhere else. except work for me here, they can not even travel or read any other news sources they are totally control in the name of Nationalism and THAINESS. the only way for the thai's on the bottom of the food chain to get ahead here is to learn english.

Or Chinese.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 minutes ago, Scotwight said:

Ya look at how well Burma and Laos have done....  Deaths WWII Burma 252,000 Thailand 2,000

 

Ya look at how well Singapore and Malaysia have done.

[tails]

my experience is quite different to this, I can only say it must simply be a case of different attitudes from different people, like anywhere in the world

[LomSak27]

 Planning isn't quite as essential, and they don't have a harsh winter to get ready for.   The ebb-and-flow of life is just different.  

 

Yeah Scott ... I think the harsh winter stuff is part of this type of reasoning

 

"But I gotta say I think there is something to this cold climate business. I mean you go to the beach and what do you do? Drink a few beers, wait for a fish to flop up on the sand. Can’t build no civilization that way. You got a hard winter coming, though you got to plan ahead, and that gives your cerebral cortex a work out."

 

Sure it's funny bit it is also racist as heck. If you are living here best be careful and actually think about what comes out your mouth. Might save you from getting bottled or a iron bar in the back of the head.
 

Edited August 25, 2016 by LomSak27

[Scotwight]

1 minute ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Ya look at how well Singapore and Malaysia have done.

From my point of view Singapore and Malaysia have not done well as I would not want to live in either place. 

[Scott]

2 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

This is my gripe.

 

What right has the head teacher to decide that her students do not need to learn English?  (I should mention that the 2 schools that I visited were Prathom grade, where presumably the students have not yet attained an age where it is  legally-required to study English in school).

 

But an attitude like that? Just 2Km from the tourist beaches and many Thai-owned tourism businesses?  It maybe explains why so many Thais in Phuket who own such businesses are unable to string more than a few English words together

 

 

We are straying a little off the topic as it relates to education.   It is, of course, to separate education from culture.

 

One of the things to remember with schools and education is general, is that it is not generally forward thinking.   It takes education a long time to catch up with the real world.   One of my kids was sent home because he wouldn't concentrate, he just played around with computer stuff.   The teacher said he needed to work on his handwriting, etc..   Well, that 'playing around' led to a very successful career.   His handwriting still sucks, though!

 

Schools exist, in part, to instill the characteristics of a good citizen.   Apparently, in Thailand that includes being able to sing the national anthem well and marching -- nothing wrong with either, but they are not the end all or be all.   We have student who do almost no work and nothing is done about it, but if they speak disrespectfully or do not wai correctly, the parents will be called in for a meeting.  

 

We print all our grades and report cards.   The Thai staff then hand write them into large reports for people further up the food chain.   Thai staff have been dismissed because their handwriting is not neat enough.  

 

So, for those in the school systems who can't speak English, they often pass that on to the students.  

 

Anytime I see a student showing an interest in anything I try to encourage it and to teach them it must exist in balance with other things.   They need to explore, to try and to figure out what fits for them.   Many students I have had didn't like English, but they find it useful for searching the internet for an interest they did have.   So, they learned English, not because they 'should' but because it was tool that helped with another interest.

 

 

[HHTel]

As has already been said English is the official language of ASEAN of which Thailand is a member and the official language of the newly formed AEC(Asian Economic Community) of which Thailand is a member.  The need to teach English in Thailand is obvious and a no-brainer if they're ever going to succeed.

[Keesters]

English language learning here is generally atrocious. And do they really need it. Most don't. They can surf Facebook, play Pokemon Go, drink whiskey, drive cars, work in a factory, farm rice, fill the selves at Tesco, all without the need for English. They can even visit overseas as long as they have an English speaking guide. Only a few percent will grow up and need English in adulthood. They know this and that is perhaps why they are reluctant to take the matter seriously. The people who seem to take it most to heart are the wannabe teachers looking for work and the too lazy to learn the Thai language foreign residents.

 

Of much more importance is that they learn to read and write their own language as well as know some mathematics. From what I experience when talking to Thai youths is that they often fail in those, especially mathematics,  miserably.

 

 

[ThailandLOS]

On 2016-08-24 at 9:16 AM, thai3 said:

Of course not English is only used worldwide for banking, medicine, aviation, science, transport and the most common language on the internet. They don't need it to watch lakorn, football or to order som tam, and that's mostly what they are interested in. 

 

The way things are going in SEA, they are better off spending their time learning Chinese (and a lot of them already begun)

[bamukloy]

A Thai who has no inclination (or means) to travel could live a lifetime in Thailand without having to utter one word of English.

Of course if they work in the tourist trade or have to read specs in English for their work, is a completely different matter.

 

when it comes down to it, a person has to have some sort of basic motivation to undergo any task.

For most the motivation is money.

If/when a Thai has to learn English to make a living, they will learn it very fast.

bargirls are the classic example. Many can speak better english than the highest educated people in government

[hugh2121]

12 hours ago, DipStick said:

Interesting how geographical Location changes  attitudes. Would you as an English speaker in the uk, the States, Australia tell a Muslim, Hindu etc that you don't need to speak their language as English is the home language, as Thai is in Thailand . Of course you don't need to speak their language, and in the case of Thailand they speak Thai. What's the bitch ?

I think you missed the point that others have made. English is the international language and the official language of ASEAN. International companies require proficiency to gain employment. If you want to be a labourer etc. on minimum wage, ok only speak and understand Thai. Professionals need to understand the international language.

[gandalf12]

Like it or not, English is the language of business. If you can't speak it you can not easily do business with other nationalities.

[newnative]

Pity that is the attitude of the school administrators.  As an earlier poster noted, not knowing English closes off so many jobs--jobs that some of the students might decide they would like as a career as they get older, but, uh-oh, I didn't learn English in school.  These lousy administrators are set for life--but what about their students?  

[1FinickyOne]

Hiya Simon - - though I do not doubt you in the least, lets not forget that this is what two administrators said to you... maybe it was just their way of not wanting to discuss the situation/topic with you. 

 

At my niece's school up here in Baan Nork - I sat and listened to the school principal address the body of parents and students that the most important thing was language and that they were stressing both English and Chinese. 

 

So, my limited experience points the opposite way. 

[Kabula]

We are guests in their country and we should respect their opinions.

 

If you dislike the culture, leave and don't make it more difficult for the rest of us who have lived here for many years.

 

All these negative postings read by Thai citizens create dislike, even hate which eventually leads to violence as we are currently seeing worldwide.

 

I really miss common sense and polite expats and tourists...

[timewilltell]

3 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

This is my gripe.

 

What right has the head teacher to decide that her students do not need to learn English?  (I should mention that the 2 schools that I visited were Prathom grade, where presumably the students have not yet attained an age where it is  legally-required to study English in school).

 

But an attitude like that? Just 2Km from the tourist beaches and many Thai-owned tourism businesses?  It maybe explains why so many Thais in Phuket who own such businesses are unable to string more than a few English words together

 

 

What it explains is the ignorance of the people you spoke to in recognising what skills would benefit the children living in that locality.  This ignorance is pervasive because of the nationalistic crap they learn at school where 10% oc the school day is wasted on trying to brainwash the kids as to the worldwide importance of Thailand. In truth it is a backward country with little interest in koving forward amongst those in control who got there through their corrupt system of everything.

 

It is these very traits that will consign Thailand to the rear end of ASEAN despite the good fortune it has with its location that created the foreign interest and investment that paid for their infrastructure benefits. Its neighbours are racing ahead.

[1FinickyOne]

A bit off topic but when it comes to learning language, when a need is seen, Thai can do very well. I note a pharmacist that I am acquainted with whose English seemed flawless and as her clientele began to change a year later she was conversing fluidly in Chinese... 

 

Also, just how many of these farang/Thai couples find the Thai partner speaking English while the farang struggles with just a few words of Thai in spite of them living in Thailand... 

[Scotwight]

6 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

A bit off topic but when it comes to learning language, when a need is seen, Thai can do very well. I note a pharmacist that I am acquainted with whose English seemed flawless and as her clientele began to change a year later she was conversing fluidly in Chinese... 

 

Also, just how many of these farang/Thai couples find the Thai partner speaking English while the farang struggles with just a few words of Thai in spite of them living in Thailand... 

I agree with you.  I've been here a long time and know a lot of hookers who all speak decent English.  It is not the Thai people that have a problem with languages (they speak 3 or 4 different ones already) it's the English teaching.  If the punters in Pattaya can teach so many women English in such a short period of time how difficult can it be?  Time the educators took a field trip to Pattaya and see what is going on there than makes learning English so easy and quick. 

[masuk]

13 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

I have to grudgingly respect how the thais don't give a toss about the rest of the world.

 

I was surprised to learn on arrival in Thailand that no-one spoke Malay, the language of the neighbours.

 

After seeing how unenthusiastic Thais are about speaking English (or their schools are) I can now understand this.

 

Some folk really have their heads in the sand.   A few years ago I was interviewing an Indonesian University student, who told me he hated anything Western.  I got up, turned off the Air con, the wi-fi and the lights.

 

Naturally, he was a bit puzzled and asked why I had done these things.  I merely pointed out that these were some of the Western things he disliked so much!

[anotheruser]

14 minutes ago, Scotwight said:

I agree with you.  I've been here a long time and know a lot of hookers who all speak decent English.  It is not the Thai people that have a problem with languages (they speak 3 or 4 different ones already) it's the English teaching.  If the punters in Pattaya can teach so many women English in such a short period of time how difficult can it be?  Time the educators took a field trip to Pattaya and see what is going on there than makes learning English so easy and quick. 

 

You both somewhat agree with eachother. Whether it is a pharmacist or a hooker a Thai can learn if they  choose to do so. The motive to learn in both cases is financial gain. 

Edited August 25, 2016 by anotheruser

[Clamhua]

5 minutes ago, masuk said:

 

I was surprised to learn on arrival in Thailand that no-one spoke Malay, the language of the neighbours.

 

After seeing how unenthusiastic Thais are about speaking English (or their schools are) I can now understand this.

 

Some folk really have their heads in the sand.   A few years ago I was interviewing an Indonesian University student, who told me he hated anything Western.  I got up, turned off the Air con, the wi-fi and the lights.

 

Naturally, he was a bit puzzled and asked why I had done these things.  I merely pointed out that these were some of the Western things he disliked so much!

 

Go to the southern part of Thailand, they speak Malay especially the muslims