Language skills pay
Improving national competitiveness requires investing in language skills, especially for tourism and services. Staff should learn basic phrases in guests' languages using affordable methods like AI apps or free online resources to attract high-value clients and boost local economies.
Re: "Plans laid for B500bn loan," (BP, May 1).
There are ways to develop nations and improve competitiveness even without spending much, or even spending any budget.
In terms of tourism, the country needs to better prepare to receive visitors.
Those affected by the Middle East war should turn the drop in tourists into an opportunity to boost earnings by learning their guests' language.
For instance, Arabic-speaking guides, drivers, or concierges can attract higher-value clients, more bookings, tips, commissions, and repeat referrals.
Non-hospitality institutions need staff to attract foreign clients; for example, Thailand's emerging role as a medical hub for the region brings in foreign patients; private hospitals offer professional translators in four languages.
For many professions, fluency matters less than short, clear, useful phrases spoken confidently. You can go the DIY, very low cost path for basic training, like (a) learning script and pronunciation via Duolingo's free tier, Memrise, and YouTube's free alphabet lessons; (b) learn tourism phrases using flashcards from Anki; (c) using free conversation exchange via HelloTalk or Tandem (assuming that you know English already) and (d) using an AI app with voice chat (like Chat GPT, Google Gemini, or MS Copilot) to practise dialogue.
You can have AI say a sentence, which you then repeat exactly, telling AI to correct only major errors.
Record yourself and listen daily.
Better yet, ask your employer to arrange for free language training for customer-facing key staff (all managers, concierges, front desk, and waitstaff).
It would be best for our professional language schools to offer hybrid classes that combine the strengths of their professionals (eg, in pronunciation, enunciation, or role-playing) with free online resources, while keeping at least the key foundations within 4,000 baht per person.
Burin Kantabutra
Drugs keep flowing
Re "Navy patrol grabs 4m meth pills", (BP, May 5).
There is hardly a day that a report of massive drug seizures is not published in the Post briefs column and elsewhere.
On May 4, there were 1 million meth pills in Khon Kaen and 260kg of crystal meth with 40kg of heroin in Nakhon Ratchasima.
On May 5, there were 4 million methamphetamine pills on the Mekong River in Chiang Rai.
Since January this year, there has been a staggering amount of drugs seized by enforcement agencies.
However, the mind goes into a whirl when one considers that, according to statistics, the police worldwide manage to intercept only about 20% of the drugs smuggled.
The amount of drugs being smuggled to Thailand through the Golden Triangle, along the Mekong, and elsewhere is impossible to calculate or stop effectively.
And that is discounting marijuana, which has been legalised here but not elsewhere.
Is Thailand a hub for smuggling drugs?
Miro King, staggered!
source: Bangkok Post https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/3251133/language-skills-pay
