When Are You Too Old To Learn Thai?

[JaiRai]

Sounds like the Salieri from Mozart - where the focus is on formal training and structure opposed to what you're actually doing. Training has it's place, but have known people in the medical field with decades of training who were poster children of incompetence. Doing something properly requires only one thing - the ability to execute properly. Many roads to get there.

 

One thing I can vouch for - ran into a major problem with my phone/data plan when i first got here, but due to miscommunication it was causing a lot of grief on my end because people were counting on me. KS and his wife showed up to help and resolved the problem in about 10 minutes by communicating clearly in Thai with the staff - something I had no prayer of doing at the time.

 

Left a distinct impression on me - the more command you have of the language and culture around you - the better you can navigate obstacles. Avoiding this because you can't be perfect is utter nonsense. The effort does pay off. And btw, if I never said it - thank you for that help KS.

 

Learning a language is a complex intersection of many things, but the general gist is you get back what you put in. Period. Schools can be valuable or not, a Thai partner will multiply that exponentially if she/he is patient enough to teach you right.

 

And the Thais do respect it and appreciate it. Don't deceive yourself into some elitist position, you want to really connect with people - show them respect and make the effort.

[think_too_mut]

Sounds like the Salieri from Mozart - where the focus is on formal training and structure opposed to what you're actually doing. Training has it's place, but have known people in the medical field with decades of training who were poster children of incompetence. Doing something properly requires only one thing - the ability to execute properly. Many roads to get there.

 

One thing I can vouch for - ran into a major problem with my phone/data plan when i first got here, but due to miscommunication it was causing a lot of grief on my end because people were counting on me. KS and his wife showed up to help and resolved the problem in about 10 minutes by communicating clearly in Thai with the staff - something I had no prayer of doing at the time.

 

Left a distinct impression on me - the more command you have of the language and culture around you - the better you can navigate obstacles. Avoiding this because you can't be perfect is utter nonsense. The effort does pay off. And btw, if I never said it - thank you for that help KS.

 

Learning a language is a complex intersection of many things, but the general gist is you get back what you put in. Period. Schools can be valuable or not, a Thai partner will multiply that exponentially if she/he is patient enough to teach you right.

 

And the Thais do respect it and appreciate it. Don't deceive yourself into some elitist position, you want to really connect with people - show them respect and make the effort.

 

I can tell you - I can forget whatever of Japanese I have learned and still prosper in Japan. Even if not speaking a word, zero.

From October 1. I am adding Osaka staff to my numbers, displacing and replacing a Japanese national, no shit about language, just business.

 

If the language was important, they would have sent me back after 10 weeks, not let me thrive and promote me after 10 years.

[Mekong]

 

If the language was important, they would have sent me back after 10 weeks, not let me thrive and promote me after 10 years.

 

Maybe you would have been promoted within a couple of years if you knew the language, 10 years for a promotion haha.

[think_too_mut]

 

 

Maybe you would have been promoted within a couple of years if you knew the language, 10 years for a promotion haha.

 

Said "1 man & wheelbarrow" company man who has no idea how organizations work. Especially Asian ones.

 

What language roughs and toughs on the oil rigs or in *stans need? While there I guess you howl like animals, no any language is needed.

When not there, grumpy, aggressive, willing to go back and has a language (although we can't sense the Pommy accent) to express his mental mess.

 

[cavanami]

$ 3 Trillion...in Kip?

[think_too_mut]

$ 3 Trillion...in Kip?

Toyota only was nearly 300 billion in 2012. Tens of thousands of world class companies (Mitsubishi, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Mazda, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Panasonic, Sharp, Denso, NSK, Kawasaki, Epson..) and many more little known but essential and you get to 3 trillion. Little known semiconductors and chip makers in Kobe paused the computing world for 6 months after the earthquake in 1995.

 

Good crowd to deal with.

 

What's more important, they have no other tradeable resource than human brain. And actually make things, not like blackberry clad MBA criminals from Wall Street.

[Mekong]

Toyota only was nearly 300 billion in 2012. Tens of thousands of world class companies (Mitsubishi, Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Mazda, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Panasonic, Sharp, Denso, NSK, Kawasaki, Epson..) and many more little known but essential and you get to 3 trillion. Little known semiconductors and chip makers in Kobe paused the computing world for 6 months after the earthquake in 1995.

 

Good crowd to deal with.

 

What's more important, they have no other tradeable resource than human brain. And actually make things, not like blackberry clad MBA criminals from Wall Street.

 

TTM

 

Stop talking farking Shite [KS - removed].

 

I have posted a link showing the top 61 companies in the world by turnover and non of them is over $ 480 Billion, Toyota is only 13th on the list with an annual turnover of $ 222 Billion, either come up with some proof to support your preposterous claims or just get back to [KS - removed].

[think_too_mut]

There is no way you will ever integrate or understand a society if you cannot speak the language.

 

That is exactly the wrong premise.

 

In America, Australia, Canada...anyone can become an American, Australian or Canadian.

 

In Asia, say just Japan or Thai, nobody can ever become Japanese or Thai.

 

Who's been to Disneyland, knows how the characters know their role. Same thing : my role in Japan is to play one of a foreigner and never expected, wanted or accepted as "integrated". I can never be.

 

So, I am playing a foreigner, they play a host, going out off their way to be kind and helpful. And like that day in day out.

 

One thing I have managed to adopt is their work mentality. Japanese hate nothing more than working for a foreigner. Dickheaded, arrogant, near uncivilised by Japanese terms, foreigners don't understand they are responsible for the well being of their employees and their families. Take long holidays, dodge work saying "work from home", make the team irrelevant and run them aground.

Understanding how that interaction works is more important than language proficiency, any local language ability at all.

 

The day I demonstrated I understand that (late 2006) saw "Improve language capability" pendulum above my head removed and never repeated again. They openly told me not to spend money on Japanese classes, my language will never be good enough for business. If I insisted, fine, they said, may come handy when going binging.

[think_too_mut]

Companies in Japan West (everything from Shizuoka down to Miyazaki, Kyushu) cumulatively make 3 trillion $. Starting with Toyota 300 billion (when dollar was 80 Yen, last year).

[Plainsdrifter]

You write that they "make" $3 trillion. $3 trillion in turnover or net profit?