I love football. I always have and it’s something I’m happy to talk about with anyone. Lots of Thai people love football it seems like a perfect match. The problem is my football chat goes in pretty much the same way depending on who I’m talking to here in Thailand.
Taxi Drivers
On the odd occasion when I don’t have my headphones in when I get into a taxi I’m normally asked where I’m from and then something like the following…
“You’re from England, you like football?”
“Yes I do”
“Liverpool, Manchester, Arsenal, Spurs? “
“Reading”
“Who”
“Reading, we’re in the second division”
“You like Thai women?”
The taxi drivers give up when they don’t know my team and go to one of their other go to topics. Sometimes I’ll ask them who they support and we might have a bit of banter if their team recently won. In the end football chat lasts a minute and then I can go back to playing on my phone.
Students
Most of my younger students who study at high school or university like to talk to me about football. Some of them are really knowledgeable about football and can probably name a few Reading players and know we had a few seasons in the Premier League. The issue is that my classes will go like this…
“Teacher, Reading lost yesterday”
“Yes I know”
“They must be a very bad team”
“Yes we aren’t great right now”
“You should support a good team like Barcelona”
It’s kind of thoughtful that my students will go out of their way to find the result of Reading’s game just to mock me. It’s also a bit boring that it happens pretty much every week!
Depth and Quality of Football Conversations
In my experience even advanced learners of English really struggle to talk about football in any real depth. They can talk about sport in general or put some ideas down but they never quite get to the level where I can say what I want and they understand.
I did a lesson with an advanced class a few years ago which was based on football commentary. I chose a video clip of a game when Reading beat Liverpool (I enjoyed that one!) and asked the students a series of comprehension questions afterwards. They all got less than 20% correct. I then gave them a transcript of the commentary and asked for them to describe the meaning of phrases like:
“He’s pinged the ball down the line”
“A quick drop of the shoulder”
“He’s ghosted past him”
A couple of students got close to the meanings but not in a way that they would understand it fully and be able to use it correctly in a conversation.
I can talk about the traffic in Bangkok, hot weather or beautiful Thai beaches in a natural way with Thai people but I feel football is one topic I’ll never be able to talk about with adjusting my vocabulary to help a Thai person understand.
Football is a Difficult Topic to Talk About
Talking about football with other native speakers is easy. However, we use so many idioms, phrases and rarely used vocabulary to do so it is difficult for all non-native speakers, not just Thai people.
I watched the World Cup with some Thai friends and they all said they didn’t understand the commentators and the meaning of all the phrases used. I then asked them who they would choose, Sterling or Rashford for the next game. They could give answers but couldn’t qualify their answers with anything more than “he’s better”. Sure I could tell them that I prefer Sterling’s ability to draw others out of position and create spaces for others but my Thai friends couldn’t give such a natural answer. It leaves me feeling frustrated as these friends can talk in detail about many other topics but not the one that I love the most. In the end though it is a difficult topic and I see why they struggle.
Football’s Popularity in Thailand
Football is popular here for sure. The games are shown all over the country and the current providers offer commentary in Thai and English. I’m sure advanced English speakers could try listen to the English commentary to improve their ability.
Football is a sport which unites the World and when taxi drivers, a neighbor or a sales person talks about it to me I know they are using it as a common ground to strike up a conversation. I appreciate that it is something I like and enjoy and shouldn’t get frustrated by the basic conversation we’ll have. In the end I’d rather have a conversation in broken English about football than most other topics.
Part of our Culture
Football, and the way we talk about it, is a part of a country’s culture. The different approach of people and fans from other countries shows the variation. I guess if I want to talk about football in a totally natural way I’ll have to stick to other native speakers from the UK. In the same way I’m sure many Thai people are frustrated that they can’t communicate naturally and fluently in English on a topic they so obviously love too. In the end I’ll still be talking football with Thai people but in a more reserved way.
