Local expats have no interest learning Thai

[oakdale160]

And they mock regional acents and mock the University" type of Thai.

[VincentD]

Quite frankly, I honestly don't know how some people manage to learn how to speak Thai without being able to read and write it.

True. I started with 'just a few words with friends'; it brought me to the realization that formal training was needed in both reading and writing before proper pronunciation could be realized. That is when I started Thai lessons - before I even got here.

Similarly, I will never be convinced that a person who cannot read, write and speak Thai, can teach Thais proper English. If you're sitting in front of a group of Thai students who cannot speak or understand much English, how the hell can you possibly teach them English? How do you explain grammar; punctuation and so on?

Again true. Years ago I moonlighted teaching English at a 'language school'. The students used to cringe at the thought of not being understood, and then there was the problem of pronunciation. One particularly difficult student just could not get the 'R' sound correct. So what I did was to WRITE in Thai, on the whiteboard, 'เรือ'. Everyone looked me in the eye, YOU SPEAK THAI!! Yes, but not during English lessons, and only if really necessary.
That turned out to be one particularly lively class.

....but for me, it would need to be through formal teaching.

No other way to do it.

To make matters worse, I often enjoy the language barrier because I value "alone" time.

I do, too. But not to the extent that I would use the excuse of language barrier. I make it clear I want my alone time. Remember locking myself up in the room once with the guitar; the wife just couldn't get her head around the concept.

Also, I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut under certain circumstances, but since I can't retaliate in Thai when some idiot deserves a mouthful, I just shut up, thereby making my life a bit safer I guess.
Lastly, it can be a huge amount of fun trying to find certain thing when you can't speak Thai, and the people you're dealing with can't speaking English. Try using using your hands to explain to to a female sales assistant at Makro that you're looking for sausage casings. Point to the sausages and then using your hands, demonstrate a stuffing motion. I did get my casings by the way, but on a different day because once I realized what she might be thinking , I got the hell out of there.

Quiet does not equal safe. Understanding does give you a better option to assess the situation, keeping quiet is one of them. Not being able to communicate when you've just been rear-ended by a bunch of roadside gardeners in their beat-up pickup is to their advantage. Telling them what they've just caused (in proper textbook Thai) before whipping out the camera is to your advantage.. A first-class insurance policy helps.

Hmmm. Sausage stuffing, and casings. Different place, different purpose. Heh, heh.

For those who have only recently made the move to LOS, get out there and learn the language - your life hear will be a lot more enjoyable if you do.

[Korkenzieher]

I can't claim my Thai is any great shakes but I certainly don't feel I am laughed at for trying. I bet I get better prices in the local markets too. I make them speak Thai to me by telling them in Thai that I can only do German or Thai, not English - they soon realise that the only way they are going to communicate is to indulge me and use Thai.

The one thing that truly annoys me though is when I am in the company of a Thai and the (serving) third person always looks to the Thai for confirmation of what I said. "He's a Farang - he couldn't possibly have said that!". I end up having to have a chat with my friends along the lines of 'if you understood me, then they did too - so please don't respond to that'.

[Takiap]

If you're sitting in front of a group of Thai students who cannot speak or understand much English, how the hell can you possibly teach them English?

How did you learn your native language. "From my parents", I hear you say. And did they use another language to teach you your first language. Of course not.

When I'm in front of a class, Thai is forbidden (except in extreme cases). I discourage students from trying to transliterate English into Thai as that doesn't work and just leads to bad pronunciation etc etc.

When I learnt French at school, from the moment the teacher walked into the room, English could not be used. It worked.

When I lived in Qatar a long time ago, none of the locals spoke any English, so I had to learn some Arabic to be able to communicate at all.

So..... You cannot learn a language well by using another language to teach it!!!

I know where you're coming from be to be honest, I learned to speak Afrikaans as fluently as any Afrikaans kid, and that happened because all the other kids my age in the area were Afrikaans. I could speak Afrikaans before I even started school while neither of my parents could.

In school, once inside the classroom for Afrikaans, no English was ever spoken. However, you are starting from scratch, and you're starting as a child. I just can see how I would be able to teach "real" English to a group of teens or young adults who cannot talk a word of English unless I could explain things to them in a language they could understand.

Having said all that, I am not a teacher, and I can only assume that teachers do have their ways of getting their message across. Interesting stuff.

[Vital Spark]

It very much depends upon age, ability, and willingness to learn, Takiap.

When I first came here I taught Pratom 1. I didn't use any Thai, but most of them soaked up English like a sponge. They copied, and remembered. Once students get to university (after 15 years of learning English), if they haven't grasped the basics I haven't got a cat's chance in hell of teaching them intermediate level English. Thank goodness I get the 'top lot'. The lower levels, who need 12 credits of English to graduate, have the luxury of a Thai teacher who can explain everything in Thai. Even then, some of them still fail basic English.

I guess we're getting a bit off-topic here, but the same may apply to older expats who try to learn Thai.

VS