As the field of World Englishes (WE) moves forward, there is a variety of
English emerging in Thailand, Thai English. Many publications relating to
Thai English have been based on analyses of translated literary
publications. Only one study cited in this paper did interviews with Thai
professional writers regarding the notion of Thai English. In this paper, the
research attempts to generate awareness of WE scholars by reporting some
data received from a survey particularly of Thai language users on their
perceptions of Thai English. The results show that Thai people perceive
that English is the language for social mobility, for gaining access to
information, and for communicating with others in the English as a Lingua
Franca (ELF). This paper reports on the issue of importance of English in
Thailand, awareness of Thai English, and characteristics of Thai English
from Thai language users’ point of view, which had not been reported
elsewhere.