Thai language proficiency test in Thailand for foreigners

Since 2551 (2007 according to the generally accepted calendar), the order of passing the test for knowledge of the Thai language has been changed. The rules for passing the exam have changed. The dictation was excluded from the written test and a description of maps, diagrams, graphs, tables was added. The exam is designed for 4 hours with short breaks of 5 minutes and is divided into comprehension, reading, writing and speaking tests:

According to the results of each test, marks are given in points. The grading scale and their interpretation and relevance to schooling are as follows:
1 - initial level, i.e. almost nothing,
2 - level 3, i.e. corresponds to a three-year primary education,
3 - level p.6, already very good, some Thais finish their studies on this,
4 - level m. 3, this is already solid for a foreigner, corresponds to a school 9-year-old,
5 - level m.6, corresponds to a complete secondary education, a very high level for a foreigner, fluency in languages ​​in the amount of knowledge of a high school graduate,
6 - knowledge at the level of a native speaker with an excellent (academic) education, practically unattainable for a foreigner

A comment:
First comes the level of prathom, the first 6 years of school, compulsory education, indicated by clauses 1-clause 6. This is followed by the second six-year-old, matthaiom, m.1-m.6. These two six-year years form a complete secondary education (in Thai schools they study for 12 years), after which you can take the university entrance exams.

Example of testing (exam)

1. Understanding the text by ear and answering questions about the text (guessing)

General description of the test:
The text is read at the usual pace, and questions are asked with a proposal of 4 answer options. A total of 36 short texts are offered. The main difficulty lies not even in understanding the text by ear, but in memorizing all the details of the text and knowledge of the topic in a wider framework than the text read by the teacher gives. Texts and questions are not repeated. The total time for this test is 50 minutes. The student receives an answer sheet.

There are small dialogues, followed by questions and a guess. There are no stops at all. The speed of speech is very fast (not even just fast), in ordinary life they do not speak like that. Many words are blurred or simply swallowed. It is understood that the first 10 dialogues, monologues or songs (there was such a thing) is the easiest level, the next 10 - p.6-m.3, the next 16 - the level from m.6 to native.

2. Reading test

General description of the test:
The test consists of reading the proposed texts and answering questions on the topic of the texts. The principle of "guessing" is also used here, 4 variants of answers are attached to each question. The difficulty lies in the need to master the topic of the text, since the questions often do not relate directly to the text and require additional knowledge on the topic. This test is designed for 50 minutes, you need to meet exactly at this time. Unanswered questions are read as a "minus" for each question.

How it looked in reality (comment of the examiner):
50 minutes for 50 answers. Each answer is first a text from a third of a page to 2 pages, and then a "guess" according to this text: a question and an answer from 4 options. To read this volume completely, even without answers, during this time - end-to-end, if read diagonally. This is a decent stack of paper. No one at all answered all the questions completely, there was simply not enough time. I managed to answer about 75% - I read the texts diagonally. Many did not master even half, which is not surprising.
For example - the text seems to be the simplest: "In the 12th month, one of the holidays Loy Krathong is celebrated. The time of its celebration falls exactly opposite Songkran, another traditional Thai holiday. Loikratong means this and that, is dedicated to this and that. something, and during the celebration they do this and that ... "And so on for half a page.
Now the question. "What is this text about?" and answer options:

About Thai holidays

About Loikratong

On the timing of Loikratong

On the specifics of the Loykrathong.
In all the texts, the tricky questions turned out to be the most difficult.

3. Writing test

General description of the test:
The test is divided into two parts

• A written description of the circuit (eg "how to get there"), photographs, paintings, maps, graphics, tables or diagrams. Minimum 10 lines (A4 sheet), time - 15 minutes. When describing, one should avoid the same type of speech turns, it is necessary to use sentence templates (the more, the better), compare the key indicators of tables, indicate the possibility of different travel routes on the map with reference to landmarks, etc.
• Writing an essay on a given topic. There are 2 themes to choose from. The volume of the essay is 20-30 lines (A4 sheet), time - 35 minutes. The essay should include an introductory part (paragraph for 3 lines), the body of the essay (in one or more paragraphs), where the topic is revealed in three parameters at least and the final part (paragraph for 3 lines). The essay should be consistent and relevant to the topic. Difficulties - even if you write without stopping to think, there is enough time back to back. True, this is my difficulty to a greater extent, tk. my handwriting is small. Therefore, it makes sense to slightly enlarge the letters, otherwise you simply do not have time to write the required volume.

How it looked in reality (comment of the examiner):
Oddly enough, it was much easier than the described one: by 15 minutes. description of a simple diagram and 35 minutes later I came across an essay on the topic "Vocational education and its importance in modern society." I even wrote a little more than was required.

4. Conversation

General description of the test:
It is required to enter correctly at the invitation, approach correctly, greet the examiner correctly, sit down opposite, introduce yourself, briefly tell about yourself, your family, your occupation. Then talk with the examiner on various topics (what the examiner will think of): politics, economics, the world economic crisis, modern problems of farmers in Thailand, environmental problems, tsunamis, travel, hobbies, news, communication and communication systems, labor exchanges, life in Bangkok and in the provinces, the peculiarities of the culture of different parts of Thailand, general Thai traditions, holidays, festivals, religions in Thailand, Thai cuisine, teenage problems, environmental protection ... After finishing the conversation, say goodbye correctly, stand up correctly and leave correctly.
Pay particular attention to your own clothing. You should dress strictly, girls - only classic skirts, no trousers. You should not "talk with your hands", slap the examiner on the shoulder, pat him on the cheek and smile ingratiatingly.

How it looked in reality (comment of the examiner):
This test turned out to be the easiest of all - about 10 minutes of vigorous chatter and answers to questions on ordinary daily topics (they also threw politics to me). Two teachers are interviewed at once, crosswise. There is a little trick - sometimes they can ask a question very quietly, just muttering something to themselves, and even tilting their head. Or part of the question. It is understood that this must be understood anyway, and the missing part of the question must be conjectured in the right direction.

When planning their first trip to Thailand, many tourists have the question of how to communicate with the locals. After all, few of our tourists know the Thai language, and the knowledge of English is most often limited to the elementary level. Once upon a time I had such fears, I was worried that I would not be able to understand the seller, agree on renting an apartment and would not understand anything at all. But after the first trip to Thailand, I realized that there are no problems with this and I will tell you how to communicate with Thais.

The official language in Thailand is Thai. However, the linguistic diversity of this country is quite large. As a result of many years of migration, at the moment different ethnic groups of people live in Thailand, their language is much similar, but not the same.

For example, in the north of Thailand there are many immigrants from Laos who speak their Lao language. Despite the differences in languages, Lao and Thais understand each other well. In the northern part of Thailand, the so-called Laosco-Thai language is spoken.

For the most part, the locals of Thailand communicate in Thai, which, depending on the region, can differ in its dialect and dialects.

At first glance to a foreigner, the Thai language can seem very difficult. The letters are somehow strange, which look like squiggles, not much different from each other. Words are not separated by spaces and written Thai speech looks like a big jumble of incomprehensible characters. No less strange is the pronunciation of words, which is more like a meow than a human speech. These were my first impressions of the Thai language.

But in fact, Thai is not difficult at all, it is just different. In it, words do not change in gender, cases and numbers, verbs have three tenses. But the words change depending on who the man or woman pronounces them and in relation to whom. This is the main difficulty of the Thai language. However, compared to Russian, Thai is quite simple.

English

In Thailand, the locals speak English quite well. Only a couple of times during my stay in Thailand there were cases when I turned to a Thai, and he did not know English. Usually, when you ask a Thai if he speaks English, he replies that he speaks a little. But when you start communicating with him, you understand that he does not speak a little of this language, but speaks very well basic English.

The difficulty in communicating with Thais in English is that they have a special pronunciation of words. At first, I practically did not understand Thais speaking English, although at a basic level I know English. But after a few days I got used to their pronunciation and began to understand them. Now I communicate with Thais in English without any problems.

Therefore, if you know at least a little English, then you will not have problems with communication in Thailand. Almost all Thais living in tourist cities and islands speak English well. The only exceptions are places where tourists, as a rule, do not go. Once I visited the non-tourist city of Surathani in Thailand. And when I went to the cafe, no one spoke English, and the menu was written only in Thai. I had to choose a dish according to the pictures, it's good that they were on the menu.

Russian language

But the Thais, unfortunately, do not know Russian. Although many establishments in popular resorts try to translate signs, brochures and menus into Russian. But due to the fact that many of them save on translators, words are often misspelled or the meaning is not clear at all.

You can walk along the popular tourist street and see many signs with funny Russian names. There is also "Laundry", "Pelimeni" and so on. Some Thais learn Russian phrases and use them to invite them to visit their establishment. Nevertheless, Thais do not know Russian, this is not Turkey.

How to communicate without knowing the language?

What if you don't know either Thai or English? In this case, you can use my recommendations:

• Choose for your vacation one of the most popular resorts in Thailand, including Pattaya and Phuket. There are areas targeted at Russian tourists, where you will meet a large number of your compatriots, you will find many signboards and cafes with a menu in Russian. There is even a Russian village in Pattaya.
• Use gestures and translators to communicate with Thais. The most popular translation app is Google Translate. It can be installed on Android and iOS. It has the function of voice translation, image translation. You can take a photo of a sign or a menu, upload it to the app and translate it into your native language. But to use this application, you need an Internet connection. Read about how to connect it and which operator to choose in my separate article.

Learn the most important words and phrases in English. These include:

• hello (hello) - hello;
• good-bye (good-bye) - goodbye;
• thank you (senk yu) - thank you;
• yes (eu) - yes;
• no (know) - no;
• OK (okay) - good;
• I don’t understand you - I don’t understand you;
• where is ...? (ve is) - where to be ...?
• how much is this? (how mach is zis) - how much does it cost?
• rent house / motobike / car - rent a house / bike / car;
• restaurant (restarant) - restaurant;
• toilet (tile) - toilet;
• hotel (wanted) - hotel;
• beach (beach) - beach;
• hospital (hospital) - a hospital;
• shop (shop) - shop;
• I'm sorry (aym sori) - sorry;
• I need a room in your hotel (ay nid er room in yo wanted) - I need a room in your hotel;
• change money (chench money) - change money;
• withdraw money (vizdro money) - withdraw money from the card.

Go to Thailand boldly, even if you do not know English, you can always explain yourself with gestures, ask for help from a compatriot, or use an interpreter. The main thing is to show respect for the locals, smile more often and be polite. Then your vacation will be wonderful.

What is good for a Thai, then a fine of 10,000 baht for a Russian. In order not to be arrested or punished in Thailand, and just to save your life, avoid these 10 mistakes

Disrespect for monks and monarchs

Crown and Faith are the pillars of Thai identity. Don't even try to convince the locals that such views are old-fashioned! You face from a fine to a prison term for you. And not only for libels about the King on Facebook (their author can go to Thai places not so distant for 30 years). Disrespect can be shown by stepping on a bill with the image of the King or by stuffing a wallet with bats in the back pocket of your trousers.

Photo: Shutterstock 10

Deal with drugs

Thailand is a country of young and wild tourists. It seems like a jamb would be perfect for a relaxing holiday on a paradise beach, and a Full Moon Party is much brighter with a couple of ecstasy pills. But do not forget that in Thailand, drug trafficking is severely punished: by buying something funny, you can fall into a not at all happy story.

The second, no less unpleasant side of the coin is the deception of merchants: an ignorant tourist can be sold anything, including rat poison. The beauty of Thailand is dizzy better than any drug - take care of your health and life!

Photo: Shutterstock

If you come to Thailand with an open heart, with respect for local traditions and customs, every little thing will be forgiven with a smile. Let your journey be filled with only positive emotions. See you in Tae!

If you have been to Thailand, you will probably agree with the statement that the Thai writing is a complete gibberish. Words in Thai are not separated by spaces, which gives the impression of a cumbersome language. The writing itself is based on Sanskrit signs, which for the eye of a Western person differ little from each other.

Phonetically, the language is so monotonous that it looks more like a lingering meow than human speech. Nevertheless, all this is only at first glance. In reality, the language spoken in Thailand is not very complicated and sounds extremely melodic.

The linguistic diversity of Thailand

For us Europeans, the people of Thailand appear to be a homogeneous ethnic group. However, it is not. The territory was inhabited by people in the very distant past. For thousands of years, the processes of mixing of nationalities, attempts at assimilation, the movement of the borders of kingdoms took place here. These processes have been especially active in the last 300 years. As a result, numerous ethnic groups live on the territory of modern Thailand, which, despite their external similarity, speak similar, but not the same languages.

For example, the population of northeastern Thailand, on the border with Laos - about 16 million people - speaks a mixture of Lao and Thai. By the way, Lao and Thais understand each other perfectly. More than 6 million people living in the northern province of Kham Muang speak North Thai, "Yuan", language.

In the villages located in the Chiang Mai mountains, the languages ​​of the ethnic tribes inhabiting this region are spoken: Shan and Ly. They are spoken by about 150 thousand people.

Of the 70.5 million people in Thailand, about 40% speak the Central Thai language. This is what they mean when they talk about the official Thai language. But even within it there are adverbs and dialects that make it heterogeneous.

What is Thai

At first glance, Thai is difficult for a European. Starting with the outline of alphabetic characters and ending with tonal variations that change the meaning of a word. However, if you study Thai at least superficially, it becomes clear that this complexity, like everything in the East, is external. Grammatically, the language spoken in Thailand is simple, to say the least - “primitive”.

The main features of the Thai language:

1. The alphabet consists of 44 consonant letters that encode 21 sounds. To connect consonants, 28 vowel sounds are used.
2. Sounds are pronounced with different duration and tonality, which is reflected by the corresponding signs in the letter: signs of four tones; vowel reduction sign; a sign for a quiet consonant.

The use of these marks (called diacritics) determines the meaning of the words.

• In Thai, there is no category of grammatical gender, no declensions and conjugations. That is, words do not change in cases, genders, numbers.
• The temporal system of the Thai verb is represented by 3 tenses - past, present and future. In this case, the grammatical tense of the verb is determined by a special service word that is placed in front of it. The verbs themselves do not change their form.
• The speaker's gender self-identification is manifested in the syntax (construction of sentences) and vocabulary (used words). The same sentence spoken by a man and a woman will sound differently, just as the same sentence addressed to a man and a woman will look different.
• The traditional caste nature of Eastern society is reflected in the Thai dialects. The same meaning is conveyed in different words, depending on the status of the person to whom the speaker is speaking.

For example, consider a simple word like yes.

Variants of meanings and features of use	Thai version
The most neutral option expressing consent	"tea"
In the meaning of confirmation or consent from a woman	"Kha"
In the meaning of confirmation or consent from a man	"Khrap"
A polite yes from a woman	"Kha thaan"
A polite "yes" from a man	"Khrap pohm"
A very polite "yes" from a man	"Kho rap gra pohm"
If a woman responds to a person with a higher status	"Yao kha"
Addressing a person with a lower status, "familiar"	"Ya"
Addressed to the royal	Phaeh kha
Used in communication by Thai monks	"Ya reern phon"
In the meaning of "really?", "Really?"	"Eyy"
In the meaning of "yes, yes, I understand ... yes"	"Khrap, khrap, khrap ..."
In the meaning of "exactly like that", "quite right"	"Nan on si"

The table does not show all possible meanings and variations of the word "yes" in Thai. Nevertheless, even the given 13 is quite enough to see the versatility and colorfulness of the Thai language.

How to communicate to a foreigner in Thailand

1. The easiest way to communicate with Thais is through gestures. The people of Thailand, perhaps, have succeeded in this like no one else in the world. Practice shows that by gesturing, you can solve most of the everyday problems of the level of "how to get there", "how much does it cost" and the like.

1. If you are vacationing in areas traditionally focused on tourism, for example, in Phuket, Pattaya, on the islands in the Gulf of Thailand, in any major tourist center of Thailand, then, speaking basic English, communication problems will not arise not only in the hotel, but also in other public places, and on the street. By analogy with the well-known dialect of us "half in rashn, half - america", the Thais have formed their own version of the mixture of English and Thai, which is conventionally called "tayinglish". If your knowledge of English is at least not lower than the level at which Thais speak it, then the language barrier will not be a big problem, at least in the framework of standard everyday situations.

1. If English is about as far from you as Thai, and, besides Russian, you don't speak any other language, then go to Pattaya or Phuket. There are hotels, streets, and even, where everything is in the usual language, and most of the holidaymakers came from countries that used to be part of the USSR.

1. It is quite another matter if you are going to have a rest in the not quite tourist provinces of Thailand. For example, in which tourists are not uncommon, few people know English, and even tayinglish will not save. There is no need to talk about Russian.

Sign language is appropriate here, but basic Thai words are better to master. Here are the main ones:

I (female) - "shchan"
I (male) - "pho: m"
What is the price? - "thau paradise?"
Where is …? - "thi: nya: th ...?"
Shop - "ran cham"
Toilet - "hong nam"
Pharmacy - "ran khai ya"
Hospital - "rong phayaban"
Thank you - "khop khu: n"
Sorry - "kho thod"
No - "may"
Yes - "tea"
Okay - "di"

It should be borne in mind that in Thai pronunciation the sound "x" is conditional. This is not the muffled sound we are used to in European languages. But, rather, aspiration, "half sound", a hint of sound. Because of this, you can often find variability in the spelling of geographical names: for example, Surratkhani and Surratani. From other phonetic features, one should pay attention to the sound "r", which is also often reduced, deafened.

English proficiency drops dramatically in Thailand

Over the past year, Thailand has dropped 11 positions in the ranking of language proficiency among countries where English is not a native language

The ranking of English proficiency in countries where it is not a native language is annually compiled by the Swiss international educational center for teaching English - Education First. The Swiss company is the operator of language schools around the world and has more than one hundred branches in different countries.

To determine the level of English proficiency, respondents around the world pass the EF Standard English Test (EF SET). Over the past year, more than 1.3 million people from all over the world took part in testing.

The latest ranking results are disappointing for Thailand, over the past year, the Kingdom has dropped 11 positions in the ranking, and now occupies only 64th place among 88 countries and territories included in the 2018 English proficiency ranking.

Just a year ago in 2017, Thailand showed the best results and was in 53rd position of the ranking, although even then and now this level is classified as a low level of English proficiency.

In East Asia, Thailand's English proficiency is the lowest, with the exception of Cambodia and Myanmar. The kingdom lags far behind China and Japan, which are generally considered to have very poor English skills.

Sweden tops the English proficiency rankings, competing with the Netherlands in second place. Singapore ranks third, followed by Norway and Denmark. Traditionally, English is best spoken in European countries.

Among the countries of the former USSR represented in the ranking, Belarus is the leader (38th place), Russia (42) and Ukraine (43) are slightly behind. A low level of proficiency is noted in Georgia (45). A very low level was recorded in Azerbaijan (77), Kazakhstan (80) and Uzbekistan (86).

One of the key findings of the study is that the level of English proficiency in Asia has not improved, despite the high level of investment in English language learning.

New correlations indicate that societies with higher English proficiency are more egalitarian. Women also continue to outpace men in English proficiency globally, and this gender gap continues to widen.

Thai Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said learning English in Thailand is very important and the level of proficiency needs to be improved significantly.

“Every Thai student has studied English for at least 12 years in primary and secondary school, but most of them are still unable to communicate in English. This is the main obstacle to global competition, ”the minister said.

According to the Minister of Education, the two main problems that need to be solved are the knowledge of English by the teachers themselves and their approach to teaching.

By focusing on language accuracy and memorization rather than communication, most students in Thailand are unable to communicate effectively in English. Many Thai students have a bad attitude towards English classes.

In 2015, the Thai Ministry of Education and the British Council joined forces to improve the skills of school English teachers through the Regional English Teaching Centers (RETC) project. Approximately 17,000 of the 40,000 Thai English teachers have been specially trained and trained to use the conversational approach in teaching. But so far no significant results have been seen, and English proficiency in Thailand is falling.