Thailand Still Very Low In English Language Skills

[Flashermac]

The average TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score in Thailand last year was among the three lowest for Asean countries, Enconcept E-Academy executive Apitha Wonlopsiri said yesterday.

 

He said the country's average score was 76 points (it was 74 points last year), but was still among the bottom three, which included Cambodia (69) and Laos (68).

 

Singapore topped the list with 98 points followed by Malaysia and Philippines (89), Indonesia (82), Myanmar (79) and Vietnam (78).

 

Apitha called on Thai students to urgently improve their English language skills.

 

He said the main reasons for the low score included the emphasis on translating English, students lacking clear objectives, a fixed teaching pattern and a fear of failure among students.

 

As a result, he said the academy had introduced the "TOEFL X-CHANGE" tablet, which had eight language-learning applications to allow children to practice English anytime, anywhere.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thailand-still-very-low-in-English-language-skills-30236123.html

[Guest]

I'm lucky have an English boyfriend who talks to me

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

The main reason I have found is that they just don't give a fuck. Most of them say they want to learn, but when given the opportunity don't bother. What they really want is to go from no english to fluency overnight without any effort.

 

Sanuk!

[Guest]

What you say is true, it's Thailand and everyone should be able to speak English.

[cavanami]

English is the international business language, at this time. Maybe soon it will be Chinese? who can say

 

Most countries one can find a few that will speak English.

When I was working in Italy, 15 years ago, it was said that the Italians spent the most money to learn English but

their speaking abilities were the lowest in Europe.

[Guest]

The most widely spoken language is Chinese/Mandarin which has about 1120 million speakers all over the world.

Thai is a minority language in comparison, children are taught Chinese, my sisters boy is anyway at his school, along with English.

.

[Flashermac]

One problem is that Thailand does not turn out enough English teachers. I've visited primary and secondary schools, and more often found than not that I had to speak Thai to the English teachers. They couldn't even carry on a simple conversation, which isn't entirely their fault. They may have majored in science, Thai, mathematics, but the school assigned them to teach English. They had no one else.

 

But as KS says, a major problem is a lack of interest. Most students don't really want to learn English, or they would try much harder. This is going to come back to bite them, since under the free trade agreement Filipinos, Singaporeans and Malaysians will be allowed to compete with them for jobs in Thailand. Since the top positions in companies often require one to speak fluent English, these positions will start going to foreign nationals. Furthermore, both Burma and Vietnam are now adding the Thai language to their business curriculum.

[Guest]

English is the international business language

 

Well the parents do want their children to learn English. Where I live they pay about 4000 baht for something like 30 hours extra tution at the numerous language schools which is on top of school work. But some Thai's are becoming aware of the importance of China in the world, and I think Thailand will have stronger links in the future so maybe another language.

[Guest]

Many of my friends are foreigners who have children at international schools, and are worried about the exorbitant fees that are now being charged. We also know most of the teachers in the International schools in our area, we drink with them until the early hours, but we never let them drive home drunk

[Flashermac]

I've taught Thai international school graduates in University international programmes. They almost always have to enter an international programme because their written Thai isn't good enough to score highly on the national university entrance exam. However, what I find is that while their speaking is excellent, their English vocabulary is invariably weak.