av8tor

Only in the learning stages. Once you reach a proficiency level that qualifies as bilingual, the argument doesn't hold.

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Jack Straw

"Only in the learning stages. Once you reach a proficiency level that qualifies as bilingual, the argument doesn't hold."

Maybe, but how many people actually reach the bilingual stage? ( I surely haven't even after years of studying Thai).

Cyrille

One of many professions that farangs are barred from doing, I would guess.

Matthew

Sometimes the GF will repeat literally everything someone says in a business transaction, and get a second confirmation. Those conversations are literally twice as long as they should be, if not more, is my annoyed feeling much of the time. But in the light of what you're saying she's just being careful and conscientious. According to this, her endless confirmations are actually appropriate. Nice one.

I have a pronunciation guide from the Andrew Biggs school that addresses a lot of this specifically - being bilingual himself, seems like he was able to break all this down quote nicely (or he read the same book ). I'm gonna cut, paste, and print the OP myself and go through it step by step when I get the chance..lots of good stuff there.

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MikeS

Be patient, my farang wife is studying Thai and sitting the schoool exams at the end of the year. She's pretty good.

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av8tor

There are plenty of bi and multi-lingual folks around, using a variety of languages. My point is that thought process and L1 are not inextricably linked. What about mathmeticians that see numbers as colors?

I think the posters claiming that intellectual capacity and the ability to think are somehow curtailed by specific L1's are full of crap. Sounds like 19th century racism: The new white man's burden is to do the world's thinking for it, because his language is so much superior.

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When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Guy Mandude

It's called linguistic determinism. I see the fact that English is the language of science, medicine, aviation, computer technology, tourism, and diplomacy as SELLING points of English only.

Boonmee

My 3 yr-old daughter is growing-up bilingual. Bilinguality is usually due either to both one's parents being immigrants/expats, or just one of them (rather than through just having studied another language).

So in which language does my daughter think?

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MikeS

I'm actually writing a paper on this at the moment, using the paper on which my above post was based, plus an interview with a Thai learner of English (who is bilingual) plus some other stuff to make a Comparative Analysis of how a Thai L1 can interfere with the learning of an English L2. Its very interesting. Certainly has opened my eyes to some of the difficulties my students face.
One obvious point is that they're used to the 5 tones in Thai, and then try to import that into English, and it just doesn't work.
Another is the different voels and consonant combinations resulting in them trying to add a single vowel to English words e.g. speak becomes sa-peak.
Another point is them using the base form of English words even when they should be changed, because in Thai that's the way it is with the context coming fromn other words, so in their eyes there's nothing wrong with mixing tenses and singular/plural.
I think its clear a Thai L1 can interefer with an English L2, although it was interesting my interviewee said some of the points raise din the original article were not serious problems for him, but others were very serious, so the effect seems to vary.
My main problem is my Thai is hopeless so I'm having to double check everything with others and dictionaries so its slow going, but i"m learning some things.

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Guy Mandude

MikeS, thanks for bringing this thread back to L1 interference. I think linguistic determinism was a digression. In addition to Thai, other L1s add vowel sounds to make English more pronounceable. It's called epenthesis.

Jack Straw

"The new white man's burden is to do the world's thinking for it, because his language is so much superior'

Surely not my argument at all, but language does affect our thought processes, at least that is what the experts claim.(9although I am not an expert I am currenlty reading a good book on Asian languages which has me thinking about these issues)

Boonmee

My kids are bi-lingual as well, in their teens now.

Mike S

Good luck on your paper, don't see many "ajarns" areound here engaging in that type of activity. A big thumbs up.

Cyrille

You have absolutely no idea whatsoever what type of activity ajarns engage in around here.

Bear in mind that not all of us share your desperate need to be admired by complete strangers, please.

Jack Straw

"You have absolutely no idea whatsoever what type of activity ajarns engage in around here"

Over 10 years in Thailand, most as a teacher and I have no idea what Ajarns do?

Give me a list of 10 foreign teachers in Thailand that have published in peer-reviewed journals? Ok, how about 5? That is not to say that that every teacher in Thailand should be involved in academic endeavors, but nevertheless, few are. While I don’t claim to be an expert, the few academic or scholarly works on ESL/EFL I have read were written by individuals working in the US, UK, Japan or China for the most part. Haven’t seen much by “Ajarns.”

There does not seem to be a strong correlation between being in the Thai educational system and engaging in academic publication (Thais or foreigners). Exceptions for sure, but more of this type of activity will, in my opinion, raise the level of education and the reputation of education in the Kingdom.

Who doesn’t want to see improvements in the Thai educational system?

Good for you MikeS

Hamster

Me = one published scholar

International Journal of Fluid Dynamics (Peer Reviewed)

"Investigation of Vortex Bursting at a Low Reynolds Number Using a Schlieren Visualization Scheme"

Degreed in Physics, I've been teaching Calculus only for the last couple of years. Hoping someday to have the opportunity to teach physics again.

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