THAI ATTITUDES TO SPEAKING ENGLISH

An important factor in the make-up of most Thai people is the concept of not losing face. That means being embarrseed or making a mistake that will cause them to be ridiculed. When you understand that, then you can understand why many Thai people lack the confidence to use their limited English when talking to a native English speaker.
There was a great article in The Nation newspaper on Monday which talked about the problem. Most are happy to talk English between one another, but then it comes to facing the native English person they clam up and lose their confidence - all because they are scared of losing face.
There is no easy solution to this - other than an injection of self-confidence.