Basic Thai in how long?

[Guest]

I know it depends upon aptitude but is it possible to get to a basic level of thai in a month? given I would be studying 4 hours a day 5 days a week..

 

I already know a few phrases but just want to get to a level where I can then make myself understood and understand the general jist of a conversation..

 

Thanks

 

[Guest]

Sounds fairly feasible to me.. 4x5x4= 100 hours of intensive study!.. I'm sure you could cover alot in this time.. Will be a great way to get your basics down. Where do you plan to do this?

[Crash999]

Says Chico:

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I know it depends upon aptitude but is it possible to get to a basic level of thai in a month? given I would be studying 4 hours a day 5 days a week..

 

I already know a few phrases but just want to get to a level where I can then make myself understood and understand the general jist of a conversation..

 

Thanks

 

---

 

Chico,

 

I only learned Thai for a total of 6 weeks... Did the same as you- 5hrs a day, every single day 'cept Sundays. I was completely sick of Thai after that time, and wasn't very fluent. But fluency cought up very quickly.

 

I remember having basic conversations after a couple of months and people wouldn't believe that I had only been in country for 8 weeks. At that point you'll be able to talk about where you're from, what you're doing in Thailand, hobbies, age, relatives, food, movies, etc... getting the gist of conversations is a big curve. Years later I can follow most conversations, not word for word, but understand what people are talking about. But it depends on the subject- if it switches to a subject where I am not so familiar with the vocabulary then I can get lost. I can follow the Thai TV dramas but not the news (not cheating by looking at the pics and guessing).

 

I've long since hit a plateau as my Thai is more than enough to get me around every day. Gotta hit those books again....

 

Cheers!

[Guest]

If it includes learning to read it should give you enough basics to take it further in conversations.

One can only really learn another language well by using it most of the time. So after this month start moving around in the Thai scene and try to speak Thai as much as you can.

[haltest]

4 hours a day 5x per week!!!

 

Wow sounds like good old union language school, or maybe Unity or the new spin off ULA ( I think)

 

I have a friend who has just started and judging by some of the students from the school I have met and spoken to (speaking in thai with Japanese students) They can hold their own after about 3 months of study. I studied the same format there for about 8 months, it doesn't change much lesson wise but they do seem to get good results.

 

But I think the important thing is what you do when you are not in class, use the langauge at every opportunity.

 

Lastly good luck and enjoy your studies!

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Thanks guys,

 

really wanted to know if I was being too ambitious. sounds like its feasible but probably a lot of hard work.

 

probably study at ULA or somewhere like that, am gonna start looking for a good school soon. Will let you know how it goes..

 

 

[Pescator]

Hi,

 

I did the the 40 lessons of the Linguaphone course in about a month prior to moving to Thailand and it got me off to a very good start enabling me to make conversations on a wide array of subjects.

I don`t believe I spent more than a couple of hours a day studying during that period. I enjoyed it very much I recall as it was quite obvious that I did real progress.

The advantage of doing this course was that I was in control of where and when to study.

 

Cheers

Hua nguu

 

[pe7e]

It obviously depends on your aptitude for language, but speaking from personal experience I think you should be able to make yourself understood in many everyday situations in this time. Understanding a conversation spoken at normal speed will almost certainly cause problems unless it as been simplified for your benefit. If you really want to learn quickly get yourself a girlfriend from upcountry and move up there with her for a while. It's amazing how quickly you learn to comunicate in a foreign language when your native tongue ceases to be understood.

[Guest]

A rather excellent suggestion with a few minor issues: :hubba:

 

I dont think I could live 'upcountry' thai style because I like the hustle and bustle of a big city.

 

living in a rat and cockroach infested shit hole shanty town with a tin roof, if I am lucky, doesnt appeal that much to me.

 

A completely reject the entire concept of manogomy, and even if I wanted to be a naughty boy my options would be some-what restricted.

 

Im not good at putting my hand in my pocket for a sick old buffalo or any other blood sucking leeches that would no doubt crawl out of the woodwork.

 

but otherwise an excellent idea.

[pe7e]

Yeh it's got it's downside, you forgot to mention the 12 hour trip on the coach with no suspension, :: the chaperone, the hassle from the local brown shirts checking your visa, the less than friendly local youths, :: the lack of street lighting at night, :: issan food and biting insects on steroids to mention a few.