SPED-Integrated School for Exceptional Children

Senior High School for the Gifted

Iloilo City

INTERCUTURAL ACTIVITY: THAILAND

A Report Presented to
GRACELLE V. GAPIT
SUBJECT TEACHER

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements in

Oral Communication

JEZEL MITZ T. YSULAT

Grade 11-SHSFG
(Student)

July 2016
Translation:

 Hello- SSwsSd
Good morning- Xru sSwsSdi i
Good night- Rtr sSwsSdi i
I love you- PShm rk khu
Good bye- L kkxn
How are you?- Pn xngr bbng
Thank you- KShx kShxbkhu
Welcome- Yind tbxnrb
Im fine- CShn sSby d
Beautiful- SSwy
Im home- CShn xy th bbn

Behavior:

Tolerance and hospitality- Thailand is world famous for its tolerance and
hospitality, and the average tourist will have no difficulty to adapt to local
customs. Each visitor who enters an unknown company should only do things
which you are absolutely sure and avoid many unpleasant situations.
Respect for the monarchy and religion- Thailand has a deep, traditional
reverence for the Royal Family and their guests should therefore be very
careful and should give due respect for the king, the queen and the royal
children.
Buddha images- Likewise, it is necessary to breed the highest respect for all
images of the Buddha.
Greetings- This gesture is called VAJ. Generally, always the first person
greets younger and older had the same answer. Well let's see how they do it
and do it too. Nothing can certainly go wrong, quite the contrary.
Respectful thanks- Just cannot go wrong when you for anything very
politely thanking, or when you call frequently used in polite thank you and
the word "khrab". Again, the more the better.
Public display of affection- between men and women are not appropriate.
Although it is sometimes possible to see very young Americanized Thai
couples who hold hands, but only outside the company. Far more frequently,

you will see how the girls keep for hands, especially schoolgirls or students. It
is, however, quite friendly gesture.
Manifestations bad mood- especially in public, do not utterly useless.
Angry face is a sign of bad behavior. Requirements or even protests are best
administered with a smile, more like a disagreement with something or even
better as a minor misunderstanding.

Language Use:

Thai- The official language of Thailand is Thai, a Siamese language closely

related to Lao, Shan in Burma, and numerous smaller languages of southern

China and northern Vietnam

The largest minority language is Lao, a dialect of Isan spoken in the
northeastern provinces. The region in where it is traditionally spoken was

historically part of the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang.

In the far south, Yawi, a dialect of Malay, is the primary language of the Malay
Muslims.

Non-verbal Cues

The traditional Thai greeting is called the wai. In general, the younger person greets
first, by placing the palms together at chest level and bowing slightly. If someone
wai to you, it is polite to wai back.
In giving or receiving gifts or passing things, Thais ordinarily use the right hand.
They place the left hand under the right elbow, and bow the head slightly.
Do not touch .another persons head. The head is considered sacred, since
it is the source of intelligence and spiritual substance.
The feet come in contact with the ground, and thus are considered to be dirty.
Pointing the bottom of your feet at someone can be interpreted as an insult.

Remove your shoes before entering a temple or a home.

It is rude to sit with your ankle crossed over a knee, or to place an arm over the
back of someones chair.
A smile is often used for an apology, and a nod doesnt mean yes, it is simply a
gesture of respect.
Body Language is extremely important in The Thai culture. Below are some of the
common gestures to consider when interacting with the Thai people.
Personal Space
When in close proximity, avoid direct contact. Invasion of personal space is thought
to be highly disrespectful. Be extra wary of elders, monks, and teachers, as these
people are considered on the top of the hierarchy and are thought to deserve more
personal space than others.
Physical Contact
It is unacceptable to touch members of the opposite sex in public.
Never touch a person with your foot. The foot is seen as the least sacred part of the
body
Women are prohibited from touching monks.
Gestures
Thai people translate body language to determine ones mood rather than tone of
voice as westerners often do. Smiling should be done in moderation. Excessive
smiling indicates embarrassment. When speaking with someone, avoid vibrant hand
gestures. These may be seen as an aggressive attack. However, having your hands
in your pocket is considered rude.
Overall, Thai culture requires high self-awareness and paying close attention to
others. Decipher content through focusing on what is implied rather than clearly
stated. Always appear to calm and patient.

Values

Thai people have a very strong belief in Buddhism. Thai people think that if they go
to the temple receiving blessing and wake up early in the morning they will make
merit, which most every Thai do that. They think that if they have a strong belief in

Buddhism, they will be cooled hearted. They will not be into any temptation,
anger, and depression.
In Thai society, we think that one of the major things is money. It is the desire of all
Thai people. Thai people used to say that money is the king. It means with money
you can do everything because money brings rank, respect, status, and power.
One of the values that Thais people believe and respect is seniority. For instance,
people who have higher position in the job or generally older, the younger one
tends to obey the one with higher position or older person.
Thai people do not like to disagree with anyone. The reason might be because they
are Krengchai, which means scared that they might offend someone or hurt other
people feelings.
Thai people do not like to take risks. For example, Thai people like a stable job,
mostly government jobs, and do not like working with the high risk.
Thai people like doing things in group and sharing with others. In addition, they will
not like to take anything seriously, which means they will forgive someone easily if
the other persons did something wrong or unacceptable.