As most of you may know, studying in Thailand requires you to learn some form of Thai, no matter if you are from the US, or Korea. It is a requirement set by Thailand’s Ministry of Education. Even international schools are required to teach some form of Thai, which may include Thai Language or Thai Culture.
However, is this truly necessary? Thai is not one of the world’s major languages and it is only spoken in Thailand. So should students, especially foreigners who do not even have the need to learn about Thailand, be forced to study the subject?
Yes, it may be a nice thing to know because learning a second language never hurts anybody, and knowing and speaking the primary language of the country you live in is beneficial. Although in Thailand, it may be a little different.
Thai culture and history runs very deep and has many bits and pieces to it. Thailand has been through four “eras,” and each era has its own story and its own set of rulers; and each ruler has a complicated family tree and bloodline and so on. It is arguable that all countries have a complicated history, but international students do not benefit from learning Thai culture. Thai culture consists of a lot of specialized vocabulary that must be used and pronounced correctly or it may have an entirely different meaning.
Thai language is also extremely hard to learn and master, because of all the tones in the language. Moreover, instead of 24 letters like in the English alphabet, Thai has 44 consonants and 28 vowels. This totals to 72 letters, which is triple the amount of English letters. It’s extremely tedious to remember especially since there are many letters that sound the same and are used in different words. For example, the word “car” can easily become “watering” if you misspell one letter, even though in Thai the two words sound exactly the same.
Teachers also have opinions on whether or not students should have to learn Thai. An English teacher in an international school says that, Thai should be compulsory for Thai students as Thailand is their native country and they should know how to speak, read, and write it. However as for international students, learning it shouldn’t be compulsory but should be left as an option for the student to decide because learning a new subject can be stressful and it can affect their overall GPA as well. They will have to treat it seriously if they take it. However, a Thai teacher in an international school says that learning Thai could be important for both Thai and international students. This is because not only should Thais know their native language, international students should also learn about the culture of the country they are currently living in so that they can know how to act in Thailand and just learn new things in general.
— [Writer] Thanakorn Vajirakachorn (Gunn) can be reached at [thanakornv25@rism.ac.th]. Follow him on instagram [not_gunn].
