MadStockBroker Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 Any suggestions as to the quickest way to learn conversational Thai? I work here so can not attend language school full time but do have a flexible schedule that would allow some time for study. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 hire a private teacher for around 2-4 hours per week and use each opportunity to speak, speak, speak; never be shy to speak to anybody in any situation in thai.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidsanuk Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 My Thai is still very basic, but I started off with a tape. Simple, single tape course. At the time I was going to LOS about 1/month for a week or two. I played the tape in the car about 100 times and learnt it parrot fashion, trying really hard to get the tones and pronunciation right. Got totally sick of it ! Once I had some basics, I grabbed a good phrase book and headed for NEP. Made friends with a great group of BGs and hung out there for 2-3 hours each night after work. They hardly spoke any English, which helped, and were really helpful as long as I kept buying the LDs :-) Seriously, we would talk for hours about everything under the sun, having a great laugh, passing a phrase book back and forth. Naturally my 'favorite' gave me additional lessons 'after hours' as well. Back in Oz, I also tried a private teacher for a couple of hours every weekend. That was really good. But as others have said...get out and practice....practice....practice... Sid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadStockBroker Posted January 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 Thanks. Any idea how much a private teacher charges? And how do I know if he/she is any good ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 well it has been quite a while since i took thai lessons...some member of this board teach at language schools and should be able to help you. it depends, whether a school is involved or you pay directly to the teacher. it would be anywhere in the range of 100-400 baht per hour. i would look for a very tough teacher, who strictly looks on right pronounciation and tones. it may be a torture in the beginning, but that's the only way to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted January 2, 2003 Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 Hi, [color:"red"] i would look for a very tough teacher, who strictly looks on right pronounciation and tones. it may be a torture in the beginning, but that's the only way to learn. [/color] Yes, and make sure that she/he teaches proper Thai that ones can use to most Thais regardless of their education. Don't want to sound like a snob, but learning to speak a proper language is essential for me. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadStockBroker Posted January 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2003 Good advice. I don't want to end up with some Issan slang ! I actually met a thai lady today from the SWU university on Soi 23 who i tried to ask if whe could teach me. Not sure if she thought me serious or just some ploy to get into her pants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sky brow Posted January 3, 2003 Report Share Posted January 3, 2003 It all depends on how you pick up the thai that is taught to you.If you have a ear for it, etc.You would be hearing it all the time ,so I figure you would be used to the tones that are used.As others have said practice,practice and more practice.Dont be shy and ask a lot of questions if you dont understand.Also maybe try a few different teachers so you can compare teaching methods and stick with the one that suits you the best.Learn the basics of Thai and build on what you learn.You will never stop learning new things and eventually it all seems to come together. cheers from OZ. :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidsanuk Posted January 3, 2003 Report Share Posted January 3, 2003 Just as an aside on learning languages...and hey...I am no language expert...but just some observations based on experience. A lot of people get really hung up about the 'technical' side of a foreign language. And that's fine. Sentence structure, verb use and all that good stuff. Personally, I have enough trouble with English Grammar! My own language! I have a VERY basic grasp of Thai. VERY. And a somewhat slightly better grasp, but not much, of German. Having lived there for a while. Now...my observation. Have you noticed how well many people seem to communicate when they have had a few drinks. I am sure we have all experienced it. Sitting in a bar somewhere, chatting to someone whose language we only have a very basic understanding of. Really wierd, right? I had a great night in NEP last year chatting to a BG who could not speak any English. But her German was better than mine. I have not spoken German for at least 15 years, but we got on fine. My point? When we have had a few drinks we lose our inhibitions and 'shyness' about trying a new language. We don't worry about sentence structure and tenses and all those good things, we just want to get our message across and are not really bothered about how we do it...be it a funny story, a joke or whatever. IMHO, if you want to start communicating better in a foreign language.. you need to be in a semi permanent state of intoxication. :: No..not the point. You need to try to acheive that state of not being embarrased about your attempts at communication, and try to copy the style and essense of how the locals communicate. Example....How many times have you heard a foreigner speaking Thai.....and he sounds like.....a foreigner speaking Thai. Or any language come to that. Not wishing to pick on one Nationality...but heh...why not I notice that many Amercians, when speaking a foreign language...sound just like....Amercians speaking a foreign language. A mate of mine has lived in LOS for 30 years for goodness sake...and he still sounds like an Amercian .... The point being, that he is often misunderstood because of his pronunciation and style of speaking. Example. When in Germany and I stress again, that my German is very basic, I had a German girlfriend. Guess what? She must have been the only girl in Germany that did not have at least a basic grasp of English. And my German was crap. Still, it was not that kind of relationship ..right. Anyway. When I did speak German amongst German people, a few times when asked where I came from, people would say, "no let me guess....Dortmund". Why, because even though my language was limited, I had picked up the style of speaking and regional accent from my GF. Whilst I have never been taken for a Thai ! People have often remarked that my pronunciation is quite good and very clear. Sure some where just being nice, but comments from office staff and close family were more honest. Again..my point. IMHO if you want to grasp the essense of speaking a foreign language you have to treat it like acting in a play. What mannerisms do the local people use? How do they use their mouth and throat when talking? ie when speaking German I naturally drop a couple of octaves because Germans speak more guturally, from thier throats and the language sounds more 'natural' spoken that way. I reckon the secret is to imagine how a local person would look and sound speaking the language you are trying to grasp. Then immitate them. If you are good at immitating other people or regional accents in your own launguage, you will know what I mean. Just a thought, from someone who is fluent in many languages when pissed, or at least thinks he is :-) Sid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted January 3, 2003 Report Share Posted January 3, 2003 Sid your grasp on learning a language is far from basic. These are really good points to keep in mind when learning Thai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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