Do you speak English Khun Noy?

[cadcolin]

i wont go on about the many unfair and archaic regulatons that a foreigner has to go through to have any sembalance of life in thailand

so an english or german test so that you can effectively communicate in the native launguage of the country you are going to setlle in is grossly unfair

a few yeas ago in the uk and this may be the part of the thinking

asian imigrants were being victimised and abused by there own commuity becasue they could not speak or read english to a level where they could get effective help from the authorities

my wife fell foul of this new regualtion yes she has two degrees and she had to do the english test apart from then problem of finding the approved school the test is a relatively simple test

which also implies if you cant pass the exam how do you effectively comunicate to your foreign partner ?

[raywanpen]

I wish to let you know that if you come to usa, it will be best for you to speak and understand it well. my wife is esan from nong khai, we have been married 8 years now, she has lived here now 5 years. her english is nit noi and my thai is nit noi. there are times that we have small problem on misunderstanding. so if you want a good marriage and have a good future. i will tell you that my wife will tell you this [ i do not know why anyone would want to come here] it is a very hard life to make money and i agree with her. we will be very happy when we can be back home in thailand for good.

[Just-1-Voice]

I think some modification could be made to the laws in the countries which require adequate language skills. The individual, especially a spouse,such as Thai wife,could be given a "waiver" of sorts which would allow her to enter the country to be with her husband, but make language classes mandatory, such as daily or even 3 times a week, for a period of 1 year. After 1 years, test their ability. If, by then, it is not sufficient, tell the, "Sorry. You had your chance and didn't take advantage of it, visa cancelled." To me,that would be a major incentive for them to learn.

[gk10002000]

Raywanpan says life in the USA is hard. Well, most less educated Thais I met over in Thailand think that work is easy in the USA. Others expect that their new USA husband will take care of everything. Most grossly over estimate the isolation and communication difficulties they may face. In general the USA Urban or suburban lifestyle is greatly different than in Thailand. You can't just walk down the street and chat with dozens of Thais. If they come to the USA, they may have to work. Two ladies I knew were horribly disenchanted. One took a job in the car manufacturing plant in Ohio. Started at $15/hour that seemed like a lot. She couldn't believe how "mean" the line boss was and how hard she had to work. Minimal breaks, no chatting on the assembly line. Another lady worked in Los Angeles for one year and was stunned how little money they made and the long hours they worked. So many Thais see the Americans over in Thailand on vacatin spending money, and they think we are all big bosses, or independentantly wealthy. In general we are NOT. Some have cheap or minimal Military pensions. Most are still working. Most are divorced, have alimony, child support etc. American has tons of opportunities. If you are young and willing to work and and can communicate, this is one of the countries you can buy things and work your butt off. If you have a wealthy American partner, your material needs may be taken care of. Their are Thai communities here where ethnic or native Thais can get together. The local Wat Thai here in Escondido, north of San Diego Callifornia is a nice place. But day to day you WILL NOT be living as you do in Thailand. Is it better for you? Possibly.

[anna]

cadcolin : I don't know what the two degrees your wife has that didn't help her in speaking English well. But the rule is for her own good, in case of emergency, she can communicate well in English that might help and save her life. She may communicate well with you, I'm not sure in what languages. But it'll benefit her more if she can communicate well in English with public at large as well.

[Arthur_Ide]

It is my hope that Thailand will judge the merits of the prospective teacher and ignore externals (age, race, religion, appearance, etc) as nations are shorting themselves excellent teachers who can advance learning a language correctly without the bells and whistles of modern methodologies, pedagogies, strategies, etc (all of which I have written about and taught), as the critical criteria is that the teacher is a subject-matter expert.

[mgcthai]

Unfair to learn the language now thats a laugh, but give a thought for married falang in Thailand and they still have to report each 90 days and get an annual visa ~ how many countries expect that in the West ??

[luangtom]

I would love for my wife to speak with some of those wanting and hoping to get to the USA or any other Western country. My wife is from the rural Isaan. I met her and married her during the Vietnam conflict. I spoke Thai, so my time in Thailand and VN with Thais went quite easily. We got her paper-work completed and she came to the USA in 1974. She was living with me in rural MN in the USA, where there were only two other Thai people living at the time. No markets, no temples, no social gatherings. She mothered my two sons and raised them in that rural setting, all because it is where I chose to live. She lived in that environment for over twenty-five years without much social or religious interaction with Thais from any location. It was a four-hour drive to any Asian markets and any contact other than the woman and her niece that lived a half-hour away. She learned English from the television and from our sons as they grew up and brought papers home from school and went over each and every one of them with their mother. She took the initiative to learn the language of where she was.

My wife went on to get her drivers-license, her US-citizenship and her US GED certificate and then went to Vo-Tech to get certified by the state to do licensed-homecare, all on her own and with her own initiative. She worked in home-care for fifteen years before she got too ill to work and is on disability now in her retirement years. It can be done, but with no illusion of it being easy.

We have been going to the Isaan home we built every year or every other year and that is how she wishes to continue. We have since moved South to GA to be close to our adult sons now. We are both retired and get minimal pension due to retiring early due to health and insurance issues.

My wife spoke close to no English when she arrived in the USA. She could say, "thank you, good-bye and hello" in English and little else. She now can read any newspaper or book that she wishes and we now are close to a temple, a half-hour away, and to Lao/Isaan folks our age and a bit older. She is SO happy to be able to do this now in our waning years. When asked why she did it and put up with it, her response is, "Thais, too, believe in for better or worse in a marriage".

So, gents, it can be done, with lotsa hard work on the part of the party coming to a foreign land. We will reach our 40th anniversary this year and I can say it has been a roller-coaster life for my wife. I hope to make her last years better ones for her. She put up with me for this long and the least I can do is try to make her "golden years" good ones.

[flpatbkk]

Well it would appear that Khun Pampan will need to brush up on her English grammar skills prior to taking her exam. For a lady with a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees she seems to have an issue with the use of both definite and indefinite articles. She also would appear to be making an unsupported assumption by saying the language requirement is limited to Thais only and doesn't apply to Japanese or Koreans. And why single out those two countries? What about ladies from Laos, Cambodia or anyone of the hundreds of other places in the world where English, or German, is not the "mother tongue." I would assume that the regulation covers most, if not all, immigrant seeking residency in the countries specified. At least she will have an opportunity to actually gain resident status in these countries which is something we expats here can never hope to do.