Local expats have no interest learning Thai

[Bamboo Grove]

Just a thought from the other thread. How many of you know enough Thai to get by in every day life? Do you expect Thais to speak your languague because it's the language everyone should know and it shouldn't be necessary for you to learn any other language? Do you moan because here or there no one was capable to speak the language everyone should speak and you had to go elsewhere because of this? Remember this is mainly a tongue in the cheek question.

[richard]

I think there are several factors involved here. Age, location, working or retired, spouse/girlfriend in residence and more.

Personally I am lazy and was brought up in an era where speaking any other language was not important. I'm retired and located (now) in an area where English is spoken by all nationalities. I have even had girlfriends who do not want me to speak Thai for two major reasons. Firstly they want to improve their English and secondly they do not want you to know what they are talking about when conversing with friends.

When I first came here I tried very hard to learn the language but my failing was not putting it into practice just the same as I know many Thai youngsters who were taught English but when out with friends or at home revert to Thai.

Even when I lived in an Isaan village the school teachers were because no matter how well their pupils learnt English and proper Thai the pupils reverted to speaking Laos/Thai when out of school

[Gregjam]

Learnt Thai by living here, living with Thais and very few farang (yes Soi Rai Noon was not always a den of farang ST bars) and as my kids were born here learnt to read and write a little as they did at school. Learnt enough to get by and would have to seriously apply brain to learn more but can survive well enough to get myself into trouble. Cannot blame those who live a farang life here drinking in farang bars, eating farang food etc etc. For most English speakers learning a foreign language when you speak what most accept as the international language is difficult. Not trying to be snobbish there, just commenting based on many years travelling around the world. Most useful language for an English speaker to learn is Spanish.... or one wonders if Russian is becoming more useful in HH.

[Big Boy]

I had every intention of learning when I moved here. However, I was finding Thai with a Janner accent very difficult resulting in Mrs BB constantly laughing at me, so I said stuff it!

Very disappointing after the many years of support given to Mrs BB in the UK while she was learning English.

[Roel]

Do not give up Big Boy. I can assure you that after the first 5 to 6 years the laughter will become less frequent!

[STEVE G]

Remember this is mainly a tongue in the cheek question.

I've spent almost my whole adult life in countries where they speak in strange foreign tongues and many years ago it became apparent to me that the rest of the world was learning to speak English far faster than I was learning other languages so I thought I would carry on speaking English to encourage them. The rest of the world only has to learn one language whereas I would have to learn dozens, so this is far more economic in the long run.
Actually I find Thai incomprehensible, I've spent time in the partners Issan village where they speak Soei, a Khmer language and I picked up much more of that than I can manage Thai.

[HHTel]

I can ask for a beer in more than 20 languages. What more do you need?

[STEVE G]

I can ask for a beer in more than 20 languages. What more do you need?

When I was in the Navy, I used to learn two useful phrases in the language of anywhere we were visiting, the first was "two beers please" and second was "my friend will pay", to be used as you walked away leaving him at the bar!

[HHTel]

Steve, I was in the Navy thru the 60's into the early 70's. Must meet up sometime for a beer and have a chinwag.

[Takiap]

I also had good intentions to learn Thai, but my wife's English improved so rapidly when living in the UK that I simply had no real motivation. Now after being here permanently for so many years I should certainly know more Thai than I do, and I am more than willing to admit that in my case, it's simply a matter of me being too lazy. Saying that, as a child I was taught to question everything, as while this is certainly a good thing, it's counted against me as far as learning Thai is concerned. There is simply no way I would ever be able to learn the language without knowing "why". Why do certain words begin with ph instead of a f; why are some letters silent; etc; etc; etc. This is an English example, but for me, the same sort of questions would need to be answered if I was ever to learn Thai. 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.

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?


I envy those expats who pick up the language, but for me, it would need to be through formal teaching. I don't only need to know that the sky is blue; I also need to know why it's blue. As kids, it was beaten into us to ask questions and to question parents, teachers and so on. Unfortunately, this is something which has stuck with me, which means parrot fashion learning is not going to get me anywhere.


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

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.




PS: I don't proofread my posts (can't be bothered) so just ignore typos please.

[HHTel]

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!!!

[HHCanuck]

After 12 years in Thailand I haven't learned to speak Thai. I did try in the first years however as an offshore worker it was hard. I would forget everything I learned while at work. Then when the wife and I decided to have children I made the decision to only speak English at home so our children would be bilingual. The kids all speak English now which is great. It is probably a good thing that I can't speak Thai it would get me in trouble.

[HHTel]

I did try in the first years however as an offshore worker it was hard. I would forget everything I learned while at work.

You hit the nail on the head, HHCanuck. As I've always told my students "If you don't use it, then you lose it!"

When I took my Thai daughter to the UK, she couldn't speak a word of English. I put her into school within a couple of weeks of her arriving. Within 2 or 3 months, she was speaking English as well as other kids of the same age. You can bet your bottom dollar that no-one in the school spoke Thai.

The same happened the opposite way round. Bringing my Thai/English daughters to Thailand, they picked up Thai in a couple of months in a Thai school with no exposure to English.

It just underlines my point in that you will learn a foreign language better if you are immersed into it and don't rely on a language you already know to learn it.

[MrPlum]

There are occasions when it would be useful to speak Thai but on balance I'm happier not knowing. I enjoy the escape it provides from mindless chatter and being a natural introvert I tend to be a listener and keep my own counsel, unlike my forum persona. Like Steve I have travelled widely and it's too much to learn all the various languages.

Early on here, a hi-so Thai told me not to learn the bar girl version so I'm wary of picking up the Thai equivalent of 'estuary English'. I'm told Thais mock the 'farang' Thai speakers, unless they are very fluent. This could be one of those expat myths, since my g/f says she thinks it is good.

Tomorrow I may up and leave and can't see me using Thai anywhere else in the world.

Now if the government said we had to assimilate, all my lamentable excuses would fall away and immersion would seem the quickest route.

[Big Boy]

I'm told Thais mock the 'farang' Thai speakers, unless they are very fluent.