Local Thais have no interest in learning English

[Takiap]

I would still make a small wager that Thailand is going to somehow get out of participating in the ASEAN 2016 thing.

Withdraw, delay, refuse. Some pretext will be found.

Cheers

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be at all surprised, particularly if their is any potential for a loss of face.

On the topic of learning English, we should also remember that unless you are routinely exposed to the language, it's not very easy to master. I know of one Thai family who do send then kid for English tuition but since their child has no other English in her life, she is not really progressing very much.

As I've said in another response, I had to learn Afrikaans as a child, and failing a language exam meant you repeated that grade the following year. The same applied to kids whose first language was Afrikaans. If the failed English, they never moved up to the next grade. However, even TV channels were split into English and Afrikaans viewing times, with both languages getting 50% airtime. Some schools would also operate on a "one day English, one day Afrikaans" basis. Those who still failed to master the Afrikaans language soon became experts once they got called up for national service, where not a single word of English was spoken.

Back in those days you were considered "South African" after being in the country for four years, much like permanent residency I guess. Foreign students were given a two year period of grace, and then they too had to sit and pass their Afrikaans "second language" exams. This was not enough to ensure they could speak it fluently, but they could certainly get by without much difficulty. A couple of my friends which were from Cornwall still laugh about it now, all these years later. They got called up for national service with only a minimal grasp of Afrikaans, and by the time they got their first weekend pass after their three months basic training, they were as fluent in Afrikaans as any other Afrikaans speaking person.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you are not going to learn a language like English simply by get a couple of lessons every once in a while. My wife's biggest and fastest improvement occurred when she moved abroad with me, but obviously that was because she could only communicate in English......there were no Thais where we were staying, so she had no choice, and to add a bit of a twist, she had to try and make sense of people yapping away with a very broad Aberdeen accent.

[STEVE G]

SteveG wrote:

my Thai step-son is now learning to speak Chinese at school in Khorat.

That's interesting, Steve. How does he find it, is it easier or more difficult than English, writing of couse is but speaking? Is the teacher a Thai or Chinese?

He seems to be picking it up but I don't even know what Chinese it is, Mandarin or Cantonese and I think the teacher is Thai-Chinese. It seems a good idea with how China is growing in importance in the world and it's proximity to Thailand.

[Name Taken]

I would still make a small wager that Thailand is going to somehow get out of participating in the ASEAN 2016 thing.

Withdraw, delay, refuse. Some pretext will be found.

Cheers

and I think that will have a very negative effect on Thailands economy.

I would say 95% of Thai's have no desire to learn English.

[ImThai]

Not to sound arrogant but I can read, write and speak English.

What I can say from seeing what I see with my own eyes and speaking with family and friends is that Thai's around Hua Hin want to learn to speak English, from poor to rich they all want to learn. To be honest I think some statements about Thai people wanting to learn English are a bit negative. If you have a Thai partner, try asking them if the service they receive in general is the same as when they have you next to them, as long as you are a Westerner, Thai people generally serve Westerners better than they serve Thai's. Don't be too judgmental on a Thai person choosing to buy a car or spend the money somewhere else as there may be a good reason for that like the transportation of something that makes them money or something even more important like their children as the roads here are very dangerous.

Bapak, How is your English program priced compared to the others in the area and the place in Chiang Mai? I know many Thai students who study private lessons learning English and value for money can often be a 'selling' point.

[Somchai Turdsak]

If I was Thai, I'd send my kids to learn Chinese, any variant. It's a growing language from the world's second largest economy with a billion speakers on Thailand's doorstep. I don't see how ASEAN increases the need for English speakers. I attribute the hype to farangs trying to inflate their self-esteem. We, collectively, are on the decline. My parents studied Latin in the 50s. They're not pleased at their school's choice of second-language study.

[alleykat]

Interesting that there is supposed to be yet another Language School coming to Hua Hin soon, Walen.

Bapak, have you ever thought of running Chinese classes at your school?

[dtaai-maai]

If I was Thai, I'd send my kids to learn Chinese, any variant. It's a growing language from the world's second largest economy with a billion speakers on Thailand's doorstep. I don't see how ASEAN increases the need for English speakers. I attribute the hype to farangs trying to inflate their self-esteem. We, collectively, are on the decline. My parents studied Latin in the 50s. They're not pleased at their school's choice of second-language study.

What hype? Farang didn't have any input into the choice of English as ASEAN's common language. Of course Chinese is an important language to learn, but it's also an extremely difficult language to learn, even for other Asians, and there are an awful lot of Chinese people learning English. It has nothing to do with self-esteem, just practicality.

And as far as Latin is concerned, it's still a very useful grounding to have if you want to learn any Romance language.

[bapak]

Interesting that there is supposed to be yet another Language School coming to Hua Hin soon, Walen.

Bapak, have you ever thought of running Chinese classes at your school?

No comment on Walen.. There has been sufficient comments on another Forum.

Yes, we have considered Chinese several times. Problem is getting a qualified teacher. Have been in contact with several in Bangkok but they do not want to move here. In any case, not being able to gauge the demand, we could only offer part time.

[nanyang]

If I was Thai, I'd send my kids to learn Chinese,

Only if you can find a native speaker to teach them.

Being taught by a Thai who can speak some Chinese is not to be recommended.

I don't see how ASEAN increases the need for English speakers. I attribute the hype to farangs trying to inflate their self-esteem.

English is the global business language, and will remain so for the forseable future.
Your attribution is ill informed.

My parents studied Latin in the 50s. They're not pleased at their school's choice of second-language study.

Can I assume that you meant to say, "They were not pleased with their school's choice of a second language?"

[bapak]

I visited China last April and I lost count of the number of people that asked that we open a school teaching English.

[Somchai Turdsak]

My parents studied Latin in the 50s. They're not pleased at their school's choice of second-language study.

Can I assume that you meant to say, "They were not pleased with their school's choice of a second language?"

No you may not. They continue to be displeased (present tense) at their secondary school's lack of foresight in offering Latin as the compulsory foreign language because it denied them the opportunity to learn a useful second language -- like Chinese. Thanks for the offer though.

[nanyang]

My parents studied Latin in the 50s. They're not pleased at their school's choice of second-language study.

Can I assume that you meant to say, "They were not pleased with their school's choice of a second language?"

No you may not. They continue to be displeased (present tense) at their secondary school's lack of foresight in offering Latin as the compulsory foreign language because it denied them the opportunity to learn a useful second language -- like Chinese. Thanks for the offer though.

You have inherited a clueless gene from you parents.

'Chinese a useful second language in the 1950's'

Please stop, my sides are aching.

[Somchai Turdsak]

Does it hurt being corrected publicly like that? I'm sorry, perhaps I should have sent you a private message. Honestly, I didn't mean to ridicule you despite your condescending tone. (I'll pm you with a comprehensive explanation of present and past tense.)

OK? Friends?
***

Interesting notion that Thailand will somehow try to weasel out of ASEAN. With their rampant mercantilism and penchant for (tacit approval of) underhandedness, I wouldn't be surprised either. I reckon it's more likely they'll remain signed-up until the first big hurdle -- then they'll fabricate some bizarre reason for leaving.
It'll make perfect sense to the Thais; everyone else will be gobsmacked. If only the other countries understood what it means to be Thai.

[jingjoe]

i think the thai language will be almost extinct within 3 generations,only spoken by the "old folk" at home.
With the asian region becoming wealthier and thailand eventually developing a genuine middle class,english will be the first language of choice.
Asean 2016 will be the first of many stepping stones along the way for thailand.I think any thai person who can speak and converse in english will have huge opportunities in this region in the future

[HHTel]

There are over 60 countries where English is an official language (more than 80 if you count non-soveriegn states). That said, English is going to be the predominant language for a long time to come. Only one country in the world speaks Thai!

Somchai, Nanyang was only correcting your English, but you didn't get it, did you?