Local Thais have no interest in learning English

[bapak]

Slightly different note... We are seeing more and more Thai students (aged over 12) who cannot read or write Thai properly... Speaking ok.

[bapak]

This is a bit of a start... "Local police in Rayong Province are taking an English course in hopes to communicate better with tourists when the ASEAN Economic Community comes in 2015". And using a Native Speaker: Mr. David Robert, an American English teacher, as its instructor.

[Vital Spark]

The bottom line is the need to speak the language. Some Thais don't need to learn the English language, because they work in jobs that don't require it and they don't have a degree, so they'll never get to the level where they'll need to use it. Others are rich enough (like some of my students) that they'll just marry another rich person or work in daddy's Thai company.

Both Mr.VS and I offer free English conversation to all of our students when they can just come along and chat. Our schedules are such that our free time is usually on a Friday morning. Very few of them take us up on the offer because they want to go home on Thursday, so that they can sleep all day, or watch TV or go shopping. Bear in mind that most of our students come from reasonably rich Thai/Chinese families (see above...).

The waitress (daughter) at our local restaurant has brushed up on her English skills to cater for the English teachers at the local school. She's also pretty good at Chinese, to cater for the Chinese IT workers across the road. Consequently, the business is booming because she has a need - the same applies to ladies of the night.

VS

[Big Boy]

What you have said VS falls in line with my thinking during the days this thread has been running.

I don't think it's entirely 'no interest'. From what I've seen, where there is a need, then Thais pick up the English language very quickly. Certainly a lot faster than most Farangs can pick up Thai .

To pre-empt the need to learn is very expensive for the average Thai wage. I am paying for my son to learn Thai at Sirada. My son earns a 'Thai wage' and would struggle to fund this learning himself. I hasten to add the cost of learning is not expensive for a Farang income. I believe costs for a Thai to learn English are about the same. Therefore, you have to ask yourself if it is 'no interest', 'need to sleep after a hard day's work' or 'cost'?

Yes, of course there would be a mix of all 3 categories, but I believe more Thais would take up the option if the cost of learning were subsidised by the Government.

[VincentD]

Agree totally with VS an BB, there has to be a need to use the language. Which brings me to the next question, hoping Bapak will be able to answer.

I have a close friend who can only speak Thai and has expressed an interest in picking up English from scratch. Is there an offline app that I can download onto her android phone that will help with some simple words, communication and pronunciation?
Most of the apps I've seen look like you need some kind of grounding in English first.

Thanks

[bapak]

Agree totally with VS an BB, there has to be a need to use the language. Which brings me to the next question, hoping Bapak will be able to answer.

I have a close friend who can only speak Thai and has expressed an interest in picking up English from scratch. Is there an offline app that I can download onto her android phone that will help with some simple words, communication and pronunciation?
Most of the apps I've seen look like you need some kind of grounding in English first.

Thanks

Sorry, not aware of any but I am sure that there are some out there with a little searching

[Roel]

Remember there were free English classes in Pattaya. Thais paid only a one time 50 Baht registration fee and that was it. It was packed and there was a waiting list. So this confirms the financial factor. It also confirms the observation that there must be a need to learn English. 80% of the students were bar girls and the other 20% worked in the tourist industry (front desk, tour guides etc.).

[bapak]

Remember there were free English classes in Pattaya. Thais paid only a one time 50 Baht registration fee and that was it. It was packed and there was a waiting list. So this confirms the financial factor. It also confirms the observation that there must be a need to learn English. 80% of the students were bar girls and the other 20% worked in the tourist industry (front desk, tour guides etc.).

Roel, you say "..... Remember there were free English classes in Pattaya".
When was this? Is it still going?

[Name Taken]

Remember there were free English classes in Pattaya. Thais paid only a one time 50 Baht registration fee and that was it. It was packed and there was a waiting list. So this confirms the financial factor. It also confirms the observation that there must be a need to learn English. 80% of the students were bar girls and the other 20% worked in the tourist industry (front desk, tour guides etc.).

[Takiap]

Very true VS. If a Thai sees no reason to learn English, then you can't really blame them for their lack of motivation. Strangely enough, I have quite often been surprised when out of the blue, an Isaan building site worker starts yapping away to me in relatively good English. This has happened on a number of occasions already, and when I've asked why they don't look for a job that pays more, their replies lead me to believe they prefer the sort of "informal" life they currently have. The cases I'm referring to have all been Thai men, so I doubt their English skills were picked up in the bar scene.


I still think that the demand for English speaking Thais will increase come 2015, not only in the industries where it is already needed, but also in industries like real estate, where good English skills is already an advantage. At the end of the day, if the government want all Thais to be fluent in English, then it has to be included in their schooling, and at present it isn't. There might be some hint of it, but the current attempt is a laugh in my opinion. The only kids in the school my daughters attend who can speak English are those with a Farang parent. Likewise, the only teachers that can speak English are the Farang teachers. Having said all that, I have noticed an improvement during the last year or so considering the school doesn't have an English program.


I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[oakdale160]

My brothers company was having a problem, so many of their employees had minimal English. He found out the reason. The Thai HR director wanted it that way then only he had the ability to communicate with the workers and this made him very powerful in the company. He deliberately only hired workers worth poor English.

[margaretcarnes]

Slightly different note... We are seeing more and more Thai students (aged over 12) who cannot read or write Thai properly... Speaking ok.

There is a similar situation in the UK. I can't quote any figures, but there are rumblings about pupils who write 'English' in text speak. In other words they are becoming so used to making popular abbreviations in text that they write the same way.
Personally I blame the schools themselves for excacerbating this situation. In more recent years the emphasis on correct spelling seems to have lost appeal. Even in exam situations. As long as the meaning is clear enough incorrect spelling appears to have been ignored.
How can any student - whatever their nationality - be expected to learn to read properly if correct spelling isn't seen as the norm in the first place?

[Name Taken]

My brothers company was having a problem, so many of their employees had minimal English. He found out the reason. The Thai HR director wanted it that way then only he had the ability to communicate with the workers and this made him very powerful in the company. He deliberately only hired workers worth poor English.

Typical Thai, I hope your brother fired the guy.
That's the type of behavior that really discourages foreign companies/businesses from investing in Thailand.
Do Thai's have a conscience?

[Roel]

Roel, you say "..... Remember there were free English classes in Pattaya".
When was this? Is it still going?

That must have been between 2000 and 2004. They also taught reading and writing Thai. English classes had farang volunteer teachers. It is long gone. I know because I recommended it to a Thai lady who went there to find it closed. Later I tried to find out if they maybe had moved to another place but neighbours assured me without giving details that there had been some problems and they had been forced to pull the plug. Typical.

[bapak]

[Mod Edit] Link to rival publication removed.

Following is a quote from the article:
"Language skills were also highlighted as being a problem, and the study said that the public and private sectors need to encourage their employees to improve English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and ASEAN languages.
Hua Hin is poised to be a significant beneficiary from tourism over the coming years, but the warnings in the study should be heeded here too, and Thais working in the tourism sector may find their jobs under threat from workers coming here from other ASEAN nations unless they do so".

Sirada - The Learning Centre has been saying this locally for several years, but nobody seems to be listening.

I often quote where a Thai will come into the school and say that he/she has just been offered as job at xxxx but must speak English.. Can we do it in 1 week/month?? Of course, we tell them no. So they wander away to look for a job elsewhere.

This appears to be a local problem... I talk to colleagues in other parts of Thailand, including nearby Prachuabkhirikhan (where 1 school has a waiting list), and they report no problem in attracting Thais to learn English and maintaining attendance in class.

Our school is associated with a Bangkok school with 16 classrooms. They have a waiting list.

We provide some local Thai underprivileged kids with free classes... but after a few lessons, they start to disappear.

The school offers English Conversation course... 40 hours for Baht 1,900 (Baht 47/hour)... which is very reasonable and with a Native Speaker. Ok, we get some enrolments but not what we would anticipate.

So to all you local HHF readers, give us a hint as to why this problem is unique to Hua Hin.