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Common barriers for Thais in learning English

By nature, Thai people are generally shy and lack confidence when they must communicate with
English speakers. Perhaps, the nationalistic view on ‘Thainess’ – only one mother tongue as we
have never been colonized by any western countries like Malaysia, Singapore, or Myanmar,
general Thais are prone to speak the unique ‘Thaiglish’. This can be reflected by the weird Thai
spelling rule when borrowing words from English such as ‘computer, software, or strawberry’.

Unfortunately, due to their own limitations, native Thai teachers who teach English subjects usually
emphasize on reading and writing but little on listening and speaking English. It is interesting that
Thai people have learned English since they were young, which grammar is the focus in most
schools. In fact, the majority of teaching materials for English subjects in Thailand emphasizes
grammar and sentence structure. Yet, for those who cannot speak or understand English usually
say that they do not know enough grammar! Some language translation lag time also contributes
as common barriers including the four steps involved when Thais hear and respond to English
speakers. This means that when they listen to any English speaker, they will have to translate the
words into Thai, think of the response in Thai, translate the response into English and speak it out
loud in English! Undoubtedly, this can be burdensome for Thais when speaking in English with
foreigners who may also have different accents.

Lack of English cultural knowledge and usually focus on scoring the exams lead many students to
a wrong motive to learn English. Moreover, some cultural problems of assertiveness among Thais
i.e. they are afraid to be different or stand out as it may appear a “showing off” personality to
others. Eventually, without any proper guidance, unpleasant experiences could make Thai learners
exhausted and form a negative attitude toward English.

Traditional Thai ways of learning English
● Nationalistic view on ’Thainess’ only one mother tongue as we have never been colonized.
● Weird Thai official rule when borrowing words from English.
● Shyness/lack of confidence as, usually, they do not have any chance to communicate with
English speakers.
● Lack of English cultural knowledge and usually focus on scoring the exams.
● Thai teacher’s emphasis on reading and writing but little on listening & speaking.
● Cultural problems of assertiveness among Asians afraid to be different or stand out ‘show
off’
● 4 steps involved when Thais hear and respond to English speakers:
Translate it into Thai ➝ Think of the response in Thai ➝ Translate the response into

English ➝ Speak it out in English
● Negative experiences

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