luckyfarang Posted June 9, 2001 Report Share Posted June 9, 2001 You can get free Thai lessons from your maid, girlfriend, cab driver, etc. Cab drivers are particularly useful in learning Isaan dialect in a relatively quiet environment. Be careful about learning Thai from maids and drivers, though, or you may end up sounding very lower class. I have learned to speak Thai fairly well without reading or writing a lick. I am at the point now where my vocabulary would benefit greatly by knowing how to read Thai and will soon get down to learning it. Many Thai words are slang or too modern to be found in any dictionary. One technique I use is to carry a small pocket notebook and jot down any new words I learn that day. If I don't write it down I find I only remember about twenty percent of what I learn. Hence the importance of a good system of transliteration and tone markings so that you can later recall the proper pronounciation of the newly learned words. I have developed a pretty good (not perfect) system that I have used for years, and recommend this method to others serious about learning the language. Also, start learning the language from day one in LOS and make an immediate effort to hear the tones and make your accent good. If you don't have a good accent, the Thais will get too bored to have more than a one minute conversation. [ June 09, 2001: Message edited by: luckyfarang ] [ June 09, 2001: Message edited by: luckyfarang ] [ June 09, 2001: Message edited by: luckyfarang ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash999 Posted June 9, 2001 Report Share Posted June 9, 2001 Raddemo, Which school did you wind up attending? I'm definitely going to make a switch as my next lessons are on my own coin. Are you at the Baan Pasaa Thai? Another friend of mine is studying there and he says that it is far better than the Nisa school. Your reputation wasn't as being 'difficult' but as being 'scary'. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2001 Report Share Posted June 9, 2001 Well............ I really wouldn't bother with any language school here. I think the best way to do it is to do it yourself (with some help of course) . I had studied Thai privately and at university level in Australia and must say that it helped, though thai teaching methods are not really to be admired at the best of times. I will add again that the best study is done by yourself and then with a trusted (and intelligent) thai friend to help you through. There is some good learning literature out there... not a lot but some.. .most stuff doesn't really steer clear of the 10 day tourist stuff. Actually a good one is Thai for Lovers. Not sure who publishes this but it can be bought at Asia Books.... and yes, it tells you how to ask 'do you like doggystyle' but apart from that stuff it actually has some very good expressive expressions to help out your thai on a more personal level other than just the usual 'where is a taxi'... 'how much is fried rice and prawns' kind of thing. It's fairly rudimentry stuff but a great starting point. I would advise anyone to read and write thai because the thai alphabet (unlike our English one) is very much phonetic , so that once you can read your pronounciation will not stray much. A great book that I have got most of my benefit from is called THe Fundamentals Of the Thai Language. Now, I bought this in Australia and have never seen it here. It was actually published by a thai company in Huay Kwang. An ex-thai collegue of mine once tried to get herself a copy of it and tried all the leads but could not locate the company or a copy of the book. It's great for reading and writing and grammer etc.. It was written by a thai who has a good understanding of English it appears. Very helpful, still a great reference for me. But, I will say it again. Read and write thai!.. You will only wish you had done it earlier. I now learn a hell of a lot from watching UBC by reading the Thai translation of the English spoken. Also, you can practice reading signs to kill the time on the skytrain or buses. Reading is easy. I am fluent in my reading (doesn't mean I understand it all yet) but it has been beneficial without a doubt. It would be like the same as wanting to race cars without knowing how the engine works. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted June 10, 2001 Report Share Posted June 10, 2001 A friend of mine who lives in LOS for the past 10 years and talks thai rather fluenrly told me the best thing he ever did was to enroll at AUA, and immerse hinself for 3 intensive months of learning. he also mentionned not having/wanting to learn the script itself, just conversation and pronunciation. Apparently, some of his well knowns acquaintances, old expats, never bothered to learn the script too. One example being a most famous literary farang in LOS: William Warren, though a thai university professor on top of writing ubiquitous tourist litterature. What's your take on this subject of learning only to speak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkgeorge Posted June 10, 2001 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Bangkok Phil: George, I couldn't find that ad in the Bangkok Post for free Thai lessons. Do you have the phone number? Phil, look across below Trink. bkkgeorge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkgeorge Posted June 10, 2001 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Bangkok Phil: One question - why are you having to write pages of phonetic script? Phil, it's for the homework. In the lessons I don't have to write phonetic script. Let's say each lesson she teaches me a number of new words, sentence patterns etc. As homework then I have to "practice" this by writing 1-2 pages of sentences, stories etc. using the newly thaught stuff. To WRITE 1 or 2 pages in that script is for someone who wants to learn how to SPEAK a lot of fun...NOT! Btw, if you are for some reason interested in the speaking books 1 and 2, reading/writing book 1 which they use, just let me know. I can get copies for you. Cheers, bkkgeorge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2001 Report Share Posted June 10, 2001 why not learn to read and write? it will only enhance your thai experience and learning of the language. I will say it again - IT IS NOT DIFFICULT! A little bit of effort and time is all that is required, and learning to speak fluently is a lot of effort and a lot of time. Wouldn't you like to be able to read letters from your girlfriends/friends, read bus routes, browse a thai newspaper? well..... All I can say is don't be too lazy about it. You will be much more appreciated for your abilities if you give it a go also. Be patient, it will pay off. I have only lived here for a bit over 2 years, and I don't profess to be fluent at all. But I know that my thai friends praise my abilities and find it hard to believe that I've only been here 2 years. Of course I had the basis of my studies in Australia but a lot of my accelerated learning is due to my reading abilities.. and this applies to tones, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Everyone has an english/thai dictionary but the definitions are in thai for thais..... ever used a thai/english dictionary? locate your thai word (in thai) and find a concise english definition. If I hear a new word, I simply look it up in my thai/english dictionary. Come on, get your act together and don't be deterred from an alien set of characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2001 Report Share Posted June 10, 2001 What you say Dan is absolutely true. I've been speaking for 12 years but can't read a word. It's the sole reason that my pronunciation is nowhere near as accurate as it should be. I very much regret not learning to read or write Thai. (that said - it isn't too late to start) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted June 12, 2001 Report Share Posted June 12, 2001 Dan and others, can you tell when a thai is having a provincial accent or even makes mistakes? In a way that you can situate the person's level of education. My friend's thai wife has been in the states for 8 years, and she often says she does not speak thai as correctly as when she lived in Thailand, even though she has thai friends in town. Also, do you think thais loose their written thai quicker than the spoken one, if they do not practice it? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2001 Report Share Posted June 13, 2001 Secondly, I don't imagine that you forget a native language ======================================== Documented at the beginning of WW2. At the end of world war1 loads of British soldiers remained in France. They met up with British troops at the beginning of WW2 and couldn't speak English any more. A few years ago a British sailor that jumped ship in Cina returned to the UK for a holiday, he was granted and pardon for desertion Ho could only speak English with ahard chinese accent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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