Guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 On the advice of an (ex) uncle who's a PhD in education with emphasis on linguistics, I recently purchased Benjawan Becker's "Thai for Beginners" with accompanying 3 cassette tapes. Plan to dive in diligently as soon as I finish up a business project, but initial examination it seems like a very worthwhile investment. Oh ... my (ex) uncle has been living the expat life in Chaing Mai for about 15 years now ... so I trust him on this one. Others have mentioned Linguaphone (sp?) ... checked out their website, sent them email for more info, and got ignored ... plus it's very pricey at over $350 US ... Got Beckers book/tapes at Amazon.com for $38 US delivered and it includes worksheets to learn Thai Script ... important IMHO if you're serious about learning the language. Just my 2 satang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 I saw your original message on the Delphi board and I ordered Becker's book and tapes from Amazon last week. They're still in transit, I can't wait for them to arrive. From your description and the publishers' at www.thailao.com they seem very good. It's a shame you can't order online at thailao because I'd have liked to cut out the middleman and buy direct. The price is the same at Amazon though. I've been picking up bits of Thai from various language sites, some of which are very good, for ages, but I've been progressing very slowly. I need a more structured course like this. Thanks a lot for putting me onto it. I'll tell you what I think when I get it. Cheers, Deejay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 Does anyone know about "Colloquial Thai" by John Moore et al.? I am waiting for that package now. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 re: Colloquial Thai ... yes ... unfortunately i have a copy collecting dust on my bookshelf ... perhaps after i've done Beckers course it might be a good supplement ... but by itself, not worth the money ... IMHO chok di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 The Bangkok Post publishes a very good beginning Thai course called "Essential Thai" - can be bought at Asia Books and Bookazine in Bangkok. I seem to recall it was around 400 baht, including an excellent book and a cassette. It's very well structured, and makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 You might want to ask Becker for a commission--after your posting I ordered the set of books and tapes from Amazon and am also waiting. I also bought the "Thai Interactive Learning System" through the Language Ranch and its pretty decent--voice recognition, vocab, writing and recognition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 By the way, TC4Rob, is your uncle the individual who reviewed and rated the Becker series quite highly on the Amazon.com website? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jirve77 Posted May 17, 2001 Report Share Posted May 17, 2001 Hi! Anyone have know how I can get a copy of the book by William Kuo - Teaching of Thai Grammar? This book is now out of print according to Amazon but the are trying to get me a copy. However they have been unsuccessful so far and it is now over a month since I ordered. I have read great reviews of this book. Apparently the best explanation of the language available. john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2001 Report Share Posted May 17, 2001 quote: Originally posted by PakWaan: The Bangkok Post publishes a very good beginning Thai course called "Essential Thai" - can be bought at Asia Books and Bookazine in Bangkok. I seem to recall it was around 400 baht, including an excellent book and a cassette. It's very well structured, and makes sense. Yes it's very nice book for beginner and it's similar as thai people speak in everyday....other books're not update and sound strange for me (I'm thai) So this book's easy to learn and easy for thai people to understand you too! And another good book "Thai for Lovers" (the cover is pink color) it's book for lover's conversation , dating,making love,emotions etc...etc..very well !! BL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2001 Report Share Posted May 17, 2001 I have been learning Thai starting from scratch over the last several months. I borrowed "Colloquial Thai" from a local library and used it for a few weeks. It's OK, but there are a couple of things I don't like about it: 1) it is focused mostly on speaking - very little instruction on the written language. As the Stickman and others have said, you really need to study the Thai alphabet to speak Thai properly - it doesn't take all that much time to learn. 2) Since the course does not teach much about Thai letter, you have to rely on the transcription (to Roman letters) that they use. But I find their system to be rather odd and confusing. I have a hard time matching what is written down in the book with what I hear on the tape. JG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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