Ways Thais Can Improve Their English

Published earlier this week, the annual report by EF Education First on English proficiency of people in countries that don’t use English as their mother tongue revealed Thailand scored 48.54 out of 100. Our English skills are considered “low” (fourth out of five levels) since the first report in 2011 (Ministry of Education, what exactly have you been doing?) The report gauged people’s English proficiency by focusing on listening and reading via an online test, and they admitted that the results may be optimistic given that participants have access to internet, thus, potentially excluding your average Somchai and Somsri.

As an ESL person who studied in the Thai education system with zero English camps but somehow end up writing professionally in English, I would like to think that I have some advice on how your average Thai person can improve their English skills. The long description at this paragraph’s start isn’t meant as a humble-brag. Just to show you where I’ve come from. (Pornchai from the block, and all).

HOW SCHOOLS CAN HELP

Two of perhaps the biggest criticisms regarding how English is taught in Thai schools — as in Thai Thai schools — are the excessive focus on grammar and rote learning. Many Thai kids remember their tenses like equations, e.g., an informative sentence of Past Simple Tense = subject + past simple form of verb + object. Also remember how you queued up to recite 10 words of the day to your English teacher?

I agree with the observations but I don’t find them necessarily as problems. I think they serve as a base for ESLs to get a hold of the language before they delve further into it. By 13, I knew six tenses by their fancy names (Present Perfect Continuous, anyone?), but couldn’t understand what a native speaker said to me. I say less heavy-handed on vocabulary and grammar while incorporating listening skills early on should help. Grammar, spelling, listening, writing and reading should be developed in Thai kids gradually but altogether.

Let’s get qualified foreign teachers to engage Thai kids in conversation. While students can listen to recordings of English conversations and recite afterwards, nothing can beat conversing with a native speaker IRL. Thai kids should get acclimated with — for lack of a better word — farang faces early on and not dread them because their parents encourage them to sa-peek ing-lid to the farang. FIND YOUR MARIAH CAREY

I swear this is not a push for her concert (but ‘I’ll be there’... get it? ;)). You can start practising your Eng- lish with songs. Mariah Carey’s Dreamlover was so mesmerising to my ears but I — for the life of me — couldn’t understand what she was singing (or whistling) about so I took out the insert from her cassette tape (yep, I’m that old) and read the lovey-dovey lyrics word-for-word. From then, I went on to other recording artists, films, series and authors.

How to improve your English by watching a film or a series? First, turn off the Thai subtitles and write down what you think you hear (you should already possess a certain level of English to do this). Rewind a bit and turn on the subtitles. I swear, this is more fun than it reads.

Any form of English-language entertainment can be a way of learning without feeling like learning. Believe it or not, reading also helps!

FIND YOUR WHITE MAN VOICE

Adopting an American or British accent — or your version of it — isn’t about being pretentious. (And doesn’t require working in a call centre). Why the heck do Thais praise foreigners who speak Thai like a real Thai but call Thais who try to speak English like a Brit pretentious?! If adopting an accent or finding your so-called “white man voice” makes you more confident in English, so be it!

You can start with repeating after the characters from your favourite series. Or enroll in English phonetics courses or an advanced level of English conversational course. I recommend learning phonetics if you’re serious about speaking English.

IT’S MOSTLY UP TO YOU

Teachers and schools can teach you only so much. Just like any other skill, it’s mostly up to you if you want to be good at it. Try using English in your everyday life can help maintain your skills. Rewrite Ting-lish signs you’ve spotted in your mind. Read brochures in Thai and English to see how good the translation is. Watch Netflix without subtitles during your BTS ride (with earphones, naturally). If a shop assistant asks you to help translate what a tourist wants, help. The next time you use an ATM, opt for the English language. If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, Google it. Use English-English dictionaries as it gives you more in-depth meanings of each word and you can practice reading at the same time. Opportunities to practice English are really everywhere. Grab them!

Of course, you need to keep at it for some time but the day will come when you can converse with a native speaker IRT and IRL, dream in English and discover countless nuances of English along the way. If I can do it, you can, too!