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38 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 38 Development of the National Language Policy (2006-2010) Committee to Draft the National Language Policy The Royal Institute of Thailand 6 It should be noted that there are significant dialect differences between the Khmer dialect spoken in eastern Thailand and the standard Khmer spoken in Cambodia. Special classes would be required to teach Thai-Khmer speakers the systematic differences between the varieties. 7 This is another area in which the Regional Language Subcommittee findings overlap with the Regional Languages Subcommittee: Thai-Khmer speaking children generally have very poor school results. The Thai-Khmer community have asked Mahidol University for assistance in starting a MTB-MLE program. This could simultaneously improve the studentsû school performance while also giving them the tools to serve as bridges between Thailand and Cambodia. Thus, Thailand should develop these language resources, not only for commerce with neighboring countries, but also for social and political reasons. Everyday, economic migrants from these countries stream into Thailand. The Chinese roads will only make this easier. For immigration officials, police officers, and health officials to manage this influx, language skills will be needed. Thailandûs neighbors are very interested in learning Thai. Thai language university courses in Yunnan (PRC), Vietnam and Cambodia are well attended. Hundreds of Chinese students have enrolled in Thai universities, taking courses where Thai is the medium of instruction. Lao speakers easily acquire Thai listening skills via Thai television and radio, as do Shan speakers in northeastern Burma. As former Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij remarked, çWe are happy for them all to learn Thai!é (Korn 2010). Nonetheless, this could put Thailand at a strategic disadvantage, if the country continues to depend on non-Thai nationals to facilitate communication with neighboring countries. 3.4 Subcommittee on Teaching Thai to Migrants Seeking Employment in Thailand 3.4.1 Scope This subcommittee differs with the Subcommittee on Languages of Commerce in that it is mainly concerned with teaching the Thai language to immigrants from neighboring countries, particularly Myanmar. 3.4.2 Findings Estimates vary, but there are at least 2 million legal and illegal migrants in Thailand. Most of these are from Myanmar, with a smaller portion from Laos 29-44_mac9 4/26/12, 8:31 PM 38