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

[Songlaw]

5 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

I think in all likelihood the school bosses comments stem from a perception (misplaced undoubtedly) that the OP finds their ability to teach their students wanting or even more likely that the OP may disrupt an income stream they may have developed from tutoring students by the same teachers that are failing to educate them during classroom hours.

 

There is more than a little bit of truth to all of this. At least at the government school/lower-end private school segment of the spectrum. Furthermore, human nature is such, that change must be forced upon individuals/societies at some point in their respective experiences, in order for the concepts of comparison, elimination and adoption of new ideas and approaches to enter the vernacular.

 

When you have not had this happen (perhaps the only drawback to not being 'colonialized' by some <deleted> western power), ever, all while you have systematically and categorically been told that your ways are the end-all, be-all, and envy of the world (Where the <deleted> all would the rest of the world be without 'rainmaking,' for example), what on earth would compel anyone to consider change? The illusion is, for most Thais, complete. However, I have been, on rare occasion, privy to seeing the veneer crack for more than one Thai, as they finally begin to catch undeniable glimpses into the more-or-less objective truths of their surroundings.

 

To say it has been gut-wrenching, would be a colossal understatement. I know this is not often easy to muster amid a sometimes seemingly odious populace, but compassion and mercy ought to be dominant responses whenever possible for they with the wherewithal to apprehend the quandary in which the Thai find themselves. Especially, as we, with the benefit of hindsight, watch this nation and her people, painfully and simultaneously, come of age.

 

On the other hand, what the hell do I know. I'm just a new guy with a half dozen years into this. And for those who do not know me, which I assume is everyone, there is always the "or not" factor incorporated into anything I say. Agreement is not even remotely required.

[moe666]

here we go again the postershere have all of the solutions for Thailand, forgetting the fact it works for them it is their country, and it will be upto them to change it or make it work. The many hours spent on this forum complaining about thais and the way they do things probably be put to better use.

[Robert24]

Can I ask the Op, are you a teacher or a parent of a student that is in school there? Is it a government school or private school?


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[jonesthebaker]

39 minutes ago, moe666 said:

here we go again the postershere have all of the solutions for Thailand, forgetting the fact it works for them it is their country, and it will be upto them to change it or make it work. The many hours spent on this forum complaining about thais and the way they do things probably be put to better use.

'as opposed to being a thai apologist who spends their time complaining about anything that disturbs their flip flop mentality. 

 

PS  why the 666.  ignorance or do you identify as being satanic

[bazza40]

Thais definitely need English if they want to become surgeons, airline pilots or air traffic controllers. That's not an option,it's mandatory if they want qualifications in those fields. I have yet to meet a GP or dentist who cannot speak reasonable English.

 

I guess the two school heads aren't noted for producing high achievers.

[jonesthebaker]

4 minutes ago, Robert24 said:

Can I ask the Op, are you a teacher or a parent of a student that is in school there? Is it a government school or private school?


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

you just did

[elgordo38]

16 hours ago, surangw said:

over the years I get the impression they feel the rest of the world is out to cheat them.

I guess I can drop my guard a bit then. I from time to time drop my guard here and take one in the pocket book. One thing I find here is that once you have paid for something and there is a defect or a problem forget about getting your money back. You should tell this to the cop that built a mansion that will soon sit in the middle of a road. He might have a different opinion. 

[AlQaholic]

4 hours ago, Scotwight said:

Sure they are different languages.  Some languages Thais speak are tonal and some are not.  Simple things.  Taste good =alloy or Taste good = sep.  Pretty different eh?  sep and alloy but they mean the same thing one in Thai and one in Lao.  Then we could get into Khmer which millions of Thai speak.  Or Northern Thai Market - Gat or Delat which language is which?  Big difference eh? Get to know some Thai people and what languages they speak and then come back and comment further.

Thai have a multitude of different words for the same thing, but with sligth nuances. In the Swedish South they call Potato "Paera" and in central and Northern Sweden it is called Potatis, but everyone knows both meanings all over Sweden, doesn't mean there are different languages, just really different dialects. The source of all the languages in this region is the same just like the Nordic languages have same ancestry. I as a Swede can with some difficulty understand Icelandic, but with some minimum time listening I will understand more and more, quiet easily.

[Scotwight]

21 minutes ago, AlQaholic said:

Thai have a multitude of different words for the same thing, but with sligth nuances. In the Swedish South they call Potato "Paera" and in central and Northern Sweden it is called Potatis, but everyone knows both meanings all over Sweden, doesn't mean there are different languages, just really different dialects. The source of all the languages in this region is the same just like the Nordic languages have same ancestry. I as a Swede can with some difficulty understand Icelandic, but with some minimum time listening I will understand more and more, quiet easily.

No you are not correct.  

 

There are 5 different kinds of Thai Language somewhat like your example.  

Royal Thai.  Influenced by the Khmer language, Royal Thai is used when addressing members of the Royal family or when discussing their activities.

Religious Thai.  Based on Sanskrit and Pāli, Religious Thai is used when discussing Buddhism, the official national religion of Thailand, and when addressing monks and other religious leaders.

Formal Thai.  Also known as Elegant Thai, Formal Thai, in its official written form, includes respectful terms of address, and is used by many of the country’s newspapers and other media publications.

Rhetorical Thai.  Rhetorical Thai is used most commonly in public speaking.

Common Thai.

 

Then there are a number of indigenous, non Thai-related languages spoken within Thailand’s borders.  In the northern section of the country, near Laos and Burma (Myanmar), the ethnic minority hill tribe people can be heard speaking Hmong-Mien, also known as Yao; as well as Lisu, Karen and others.  As you move to the eastern half of Thailand, very near Cambodia, many of the native people speakKhmer, and the Mon-Khmer languages known as Suay, Guay, or Kuay.

 

In addition to those there are also tribal languages within Thailand, including those belonging to the Mon-Khmer family of languages, such as Viet, Mlabriand Orang Asli; the Austronesian family, such as Cham and Moken; the Sino-Tibetan family, such as Lawa and Akhan; and other Thai languages such as Nyaw, Phu Thai, andSaek. 

 

http://www.studycountry.com/guide/TH-language.htm

 

I hope this clears it up for you as the average Thai speaks at least 3 distinct different languages and a large part of the population more than that.   

 

You might want to read, "

Linguistic Diversity and National Unity: Language Ecology in Thailand

 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2016 by Scotwight

[Scotwight]

1 hour ago, Fookhaht said:

 A friend from Singapore was visiting and shopping with her Thai friend at a large department store at a prominent Bangkok mall.  She was shocked that the cashier of such a large store, frequented by thousands of foreigners,  could not communicate in English.   The Singaporean visitor asked the Thai friend to inquire why the cashier could not learn English for her job.   The clerk smiled, shrugged her shoulders, and said "No need."

 

Simply the mindset of millions of Thais.  

The  English classroom in Thailand is a scientific exercise at dissecting the minutia of English grammar, but little or no emphasis is lent to actual verbal communication.   Learning a language is more than a science.  It's a skill and art--which can only be honed by practice.   Thai teachers of English don't get it.  

100% correct.  Thai English teachers don't get it and the people who teach the teachers don't get it.  I'd even go so far as to say most educators don't get it.  The grammar and spelling police on Thai Visa don't get it.  

[off road pat]

On 8/24/2016 at 8:17 AM, billd766 said:

I go to the local government medical clinic here in rural Khampaeng Phet every couple of months to get my ingrowing toenail trimmed, and 2 of the nursing staff, one male and 1 female ask me to teach them more English than they already know.

 

The same thing happens in the bigger village health clinic where I go for a medicinal herbal massage.

 

I guess my experiences must be different than others.

 

They do have a pride in their work and they are damn good at it too.

 

What annoys me most about some posters is that they have a bad experience with some Thais and then class ALL Thais as the same. They are lazy, have no pride, don't care etc. To quote ezzra

 

"didn't care much about learning a craft, sticking and being loyal to one job, not saving or planning for the future , spending monies they don't have, living from day to day, sometimes working sometimes not, no self discipline and pride and what they do."

 

That can apply to a lot of people in a lot of countries in the west as well but I haven't seen many people knocking them back.

 

Back in the mid to late 1990s when I worked for Motorola building mobile phone sites for DTAC I used to have a driver and he would work any hours I would ask him to, book my hotels for me and look after me while we were on the road 5 days a week all over Issan.

 

At the weekends he would give up his own time to drive me around, take me home if I was drunk etc. In 1997 after the Tom Yam currency crisis Motorola lost the contract and as our contacts expired we moved on. When we found out I told him to find another job asap and I would get by with another driver but he refused, carried on as my driver and took me to the airport on my last day.

 

I have seen him around a few times since not not since I lived up here.

 

He was a good driver and loyal to me. He gained my trust and I repaid him with mine.

 

There are many Thais like him around and a lot of them can size you up and figure out if you deserve respect and loyalty. If they think you do it will be repaid by them in spades.

One word, "Respect" !!! to both of you. Sound's like your driver was a great guy.

[samsensam]

 

maybe the bosses were busy, didnt want to buy what you were selling and wanted to say something to cut off your 'sell'. maybe they were being smart.

 

back home i say all sorts of ridiculous things to get rid of sales people who pester me

 

there are two sides to every story.

[louse1953]

On 8/24/2016 at 1:17 PM, billd766 said:

I go to the local government medical clinic here in rural Khampaeng Phet every couple of months to get my ingrowing toenail trimmed, and 2 of the nursing staff, one male and 1 female ask me to teach them more English than they already know.

 

The same thing happens in the bigger village health clinic where I go for a medicinal herbal massage.

 

I guess my experiences must be different than others.

 

They do have a pride in their work and they are damn good at it too.

 

What annoys me most about some posters is that they have a bad experience with some Thais and then class ALL Thais as the same. They are lazy, have no pride, don't care etc. To quote ezzra

 

"didn't care much about learning a craft, sticking and being loyal to one job, not saving or planning for the future , spending monies they don't have, living from day to day, sometimes working sometimes not, no self discipline and pride and what they do."

 

That can apply to a lot of people in a lot of countries in the west as well but I haven't seen many people knocking them back.

 

Back in the mid to late 1990s when I worked for Motorola building mobile phone sites for DTAC I used to have a driver and he would work any hours I would ask him to, book my hotels for me and look after me while we were on the road 5 days a week all over Issan.

 

At the weekends he would give up his own time to drive me around, take me home if I was drunk etc. In 1997 after the Tom Yam currency crisis Motorola lost the contract and as our contacts expired we moved on. When we found out I told him to find another job asap and I would get by with another driver but he refused, carried on as my driver and took me to the airport on my last day.

 

I have seen him around a few times since not not since I lived up here.

 

He was a good driver and loyal to me. He gained my trust and I repaid him with mine.

 

There are many Thais like him around and a lot of them can size you up and figure out if you deserve respect and loyalty. If they think you do it will be repaid by them in spades.

As i am the only native Australian speaker at my gym,i give lessons as i exercise and they help with my Thai.They all have a translation app on their phone.

[BlindMagician]

Old third world attitudes...can't, won't, don't.

Looking way to go to fully modernise LoS, as per the ASEAN dream would like.

Mai Ben Lai.

[masuk]

Well folks, it's been interesting reading, and now it's time for my annual contribution from Rudyard Kipling....

 

Now it is not good for the Christian's health to hustle the Aryan
     brown,
For the Christian riles, and the Aryan smiles and he weareth the
     Christian down;
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white with the name of
      the  late  deceased,
And the epitaph drear:  "A Fool lies here who tried to hustle the
       East."

[Tony125]

7 hours 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...

Guess  TV members don't go to Central Lad Prao and some other high end malls. The movies that are in English have  "NO" Thai subtitles and if popular  movie is filled with Thai who understand English. They even laugh and snicker at the jokes or innuendos in the movie.

[cornishcarlos]

19 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 ?

 

 

What language do "Muslims" speak ??? 

[laislica]

8 hours ago, AlQaholic said:

Ohh comeon!!! these are not different languages, its like saying scouse and Brummie are different languages from English.....although some may argue the point........

 

Well try Geordie and Cockney and there are many many more!

I have seen Chinese people from different provinces who are unable to communicate in their own dialects.

They resort to Chinglish.....

BTW, I do quite a nice Tinglish and Spanglish LOL

Years ago there was a Swedish man working in our department for a year, (to learn better technical English) and he was convinced that our Geordie friend spoke another language that was not English.

Gave the rest of us quite a laugh!

 

OK, Am gan yam!

 

[DipStick]

1 hour ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

 

What language do "Muslims" speak ??? 

Being Cornish and I from Devon, there is a strong possibility we don't speak English neither moi luvver

[Seraphina]

To the original poster, don't forget two things:

 

A) We don't need to learn English because we're English (and yet so few English mother-tongue speakers can explain which of the following is correct and why:
 

i. FEWER people or LESS people (I certainly know a fair few English language teachers that can't get this one right),

ii. none ARE or none IS (incorrect users include one of my favourite presenters, David Mitchell who, btw, went to Cambridge - tut, tut),

iii) a 30 YEARS old male or a 30 YEAR old male (I've lost count on how many journalists get this wrong).
 

The average Brit can barely put together a single sentence in French, a language they started learning at age 11 and a country they visit at least once during their lifetime.

 

From a personal viewpoint, I've still not worked out why American presenters make quite so many mistakes when using phrasal verbs. I have found it extremely difficult to find publically available video content (aimed at adults or children) that doesn't contain at least two basic or lower intermediate grammatical errors in two minutes.

 

Lastly, regarding your statement: "I'm not happy with the path (that) this country is taking"....etc.", I would be very cautious about making sweepingly broad statements about an entire nation based on one person's comment about a single aspect of a nation's culture; especially as that person does not represent any of the country's policy-makers.

[vogie]

Maybe this will help?

[thai3]

2 hours ago, Tony125 said:

Guess  TV members don't go to Central Lad Prao and some other high end malls. The movies that are in English have  "NO" Thai subtitles and if popular  movie is filled with Thai who understand English. They even laugh and snicker at the jokes or innuendos in the movie.

 

I would be interested in seeing the proof, I go to malls every week but have never seen an English only movie

[craigt3365]

2 hours ago, Tony125 said:

Guess  TV members don't go to Central Lad Prao and some other high end malls. The movies that are in English have  "NO" Thai subtitles and if popular  movie is filled with Thai who understand English. They even laugh and snicker at the jokes or innuendos in the movie.

I've not been for a few years, but back then, every movie has Thai subtitles.  Kinda ruins the movie, IMHO.  I'm talking about text subtitles.  Not spoken.

[nongsangcity]

10 hours ago, Scotwight said:

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

yes they watch Thai TV...they use the internet in Thai....and the nearest place to watch a movie ( i dont watch movies in my jungle home) is over 110 kms away....where all the films are in thai with no english sub titles..and with myself being the only non Thai for 15 miles around me....i dont here any english being spoken one year to the next here in the jungle and nobody has the slightest interest in learning it either...

[nongsangcity]

10 hours ago, lostinisaan said:

 

     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? 

99% of Foreigners never eat noodle soup....the 1% who do eat it can order in Thai as i do on a regular basis...Asean using English will not improve the number of thais speaking English by more than 1% as Asean is basically for trade not for the free movement of people...Many Thais study abroad i would say less than 1% study abroad...and 99% of the thai population cannot speak 3 or 4 Languages...

[Rod Gold]

Speaking from the Thai point of view, why learn the language of a people you wish would just leave and never come back?

[fiddlehead]

Although I think it a plus that Thailand tries very hard to keep it's culture, language, and religion intact,

if the teachers consider that they are training people for futures in: trash pickup, weed wacker operators, ditch diggers, construction laborers, truck drivers, etc....................then they are correct.  (muay thai boxers maybe?)

If, however, they are preparing kids for futures in science, airlines, tourist industry, policemen, engineering, IT specialists, doctors, nurses, etc........Then they are quite wrong. 

 

 Also, If their students ever  want to go to universities in other countries, they are going to be behind in world history and geography as well as language. 
Not wise IMO. 

 

You'd think educators would think a little higher than that.

[masuk]

47 minutes ago, nongsangcity said:

99% of Foreigners never eat noodle soup....the 1% who do eat it can order in Thai as i do on a regular basis...Asean using English will not improve the number of thais speaking English by more than 1% as Asean is basically for trade not for the free movement of people...Many Thais study abroad i would say less than 1% study abroad...and 99% of the thai population cannot speak 3 or 4 Languages...

 

People who speak a minority language and nothing else will be the folk behind the buffalo or noodle bar.

 

The Netherlands long ago recognised the need to speak the languages of the countries around them.  Subsequently, you find that quite young children will speak some English, and by the time they've graduated from senior high school, they are reasonably good in German, English, French and Dutch.  If they're from the northern province of Friesland, they have another language to learn.

 

Even in Papua New Guinea, where there are 365 local languages, anyone wanting to get ahead, must learn English.  That's the only language the Universities teach in, and they bring in lecturers from around the world.

 

It can be done, it is done, and no matter whether or not colonialism or not comes into it, needs to be forgotten and the country  needs to look forward.  NOT looking back at what might have been.

[joecoolfrog]

On Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 3:16 PM, JHolmesJr said:

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

Thats fine in itself but what of the bigger picture !

The majority of the population are brain washed from birth to accept the status quo. This acceptance leads to the 'elite ' literally being allowed to get away with murder , that certainly does not qualify as deserving of respect.

[ev1lchris]

Thais definitely need English if they want to become surgeons, airline pilots or air traffic controllers. That's not an option,it's mandatory if they want qualifications in those fields. I have yet to meet a GP or dentist who cannot speak reasonable English.

 

I guess the two school heads aren't noted for producing high achievers.

Thai people love mediocrity.