Xylanic's story of how he has learned Thai...or, a beginner's course work and tools for self learning-How you can learn too

[westie1]

Can anyone recommend a good Thai teacher In pattaya.

I'm determined on my next trip to get some lessons. One to one

[themehta]

Can anyone recommend a good Thai teacher In pattaya.

I'm determined on my next trip to get some lessons. One to one

Use Google translate.

 

It is time saving also.

 

More you use it more you learn.

[westie1]

Use Google translate.

It is time saving also.

More you use it more you learn.

Thanks for that .

I am still looking for a teacher

[Luv2Phuket]

Use Google translate.

 

It is time saving also.

 

More you use it more you learn.

 

Not to stray too far from the topic at hand, but I think Google translate is pretty piss poor.  At least when I try to use it for translating texts or social media posts that are written in Thai, it almost always comes back as gibberish (although it could be that the original was gibberish!  555)

 

When I travel, I use an app called iTranslate, which seems to produce better results.  If you are in your "loom," it has a voice application so that can speak and it will translate.  Girls in China, Macau and Pattaya all seemed to enjoy playing with that feature.

 

On my PC, I use thai2english.com -- give a much broader translation of written characters.

[ant]

Decided to get learning seriously myself.

Started with its4thai and surprised how quickly I've started to pick up the vocabulary, also noticed I knew quite a few phases from spending so much time in Thailand but it's just all clicked as soon as I started learning the vocabulary.

 

Question for aj if he's still around. Notice this thread is about 3 years old and you were at conversation level back then.

How's your Thai now?

[boob_kook]

You the man, its4thai working out perfectly for me

[ChiFlyer]

Xylainix,

Thank you for starting this thread. In 2002 or so I made an effort to learn Thai a little better. I had a tilac in Bangkok and wanted to communicate with her better, although we were communicating quite well already.   I built up a little vocabulary, but came no where near being conversant.  

The winds of life that all experience took me away from Thailand for 15 years. I spent a lot of time in Latin America and became pretty good at both Spanish and Portuguese. The winds have changed course once again, as they always do. Your information is a benefit to me.

To all I am one of those people who benefit from instructor training. I am looking for a coach/tutor to spend 5 weeks with on my next trip. I mean a serious instructor as opposed to a GF. I am thinking one hour a day for 5 weeks would be a big benefit, providing I am reviewing and studying at about 3 hours a day as well.

Learning a language is a lot of work. I have done it thrice with Latin based languages. I realize a tonal language such as Thai will take more work.

I would prefer a tutor in Jomtien, but am open to suggestions. 

[Frang]

On 6/6/2012 at 04:23, Xylanic said:

So I'm often asked in person and in trip reports how I have learned the Thai language, especially when fellow board members and mongers see me carrying on conversations with the bar girls in Thai.

Thanks for the very useful post, AJ. Now it's five years later, I guess you are fluent, still learning, but no longer studying.  How long did it take you to get to what you would consider fluency. How long beore you stopped actively studying?

[cutecutepillow]

On 1/25/2017 at 02:04, themehta said:

Use Google translate.

It is time saving also.

More you use it more you learn.

Google translate for thai is the useless tool ever, to put it simply, is utter shite.

Please do not use Google translate to try to learn Thai.

[Welbeck]

I've been playing with the idea of going to language school in Pattaya for a while now, I was in Pattaya at the end of February and having done some research decided to visit one of the schools in Pattaya. I went to a place called Walen which is next to Big C on Pattaya Klang (used to be Carrefour). I went in and asked about classes and explained my requirements, i.e. attend school for 6 months. I was invited back to next afternoon to sit in on one of the classes. It was actually 2x50 minute lessons, there was 7 other students there 2 Norwegian, 2 Chinese, a French guy an Indian and a Laos girl. The teacher explained that they were on lesson 85. The teacher was an attractive girl in her 30's, funny girl that made it very enjoyable and more to the point made learning very easy. Luckily my Thai was good enough to join in as it was very much interactive with questions going back and forth not only between the teacher and students but the westerners and Asians as they sat opposite each other and good humoured banter went back and forth. 

I haven't been to any other schools so can't comment on them but I really enjoyed this place and in the short time I was there I could definitely see it was a place where I would benefit. 

http://www.thaiwalen.com

[GlobalTraveler]

On 3/17/2017 at 08:32, ChiFlyer said:

Xylainix,

Thank you for starting this thread. In 2002 or so I made an effort to learn Thai a little better. I had a tilac in Bangkok and wanted to communicate with her better, although we were communicating quite well already.   I built up a little vocabulary, but came no where near being conversant.  

The winds of life that all experience took me away from Thailand for 15 years. I spent a lot of time in Latin America and became pretty good at both Spanish and Portuguese. The winds have changed course once again, as they always do. Your information is a benefit to me.

To all I am one of those people who benefit from instructor training. I am looking for a coach/tutor to spend 5 weeks with on my next trip. I mean a serious instructor as opposed to a GF. I am thinking one hour a day for 5 weeks would be a big benefit, providing I am reviewing and studying at about 3 hours a day as well.

Learning a language is a lot of work. I have done it thrice with Latin based languages. I realize a tonal language such as Thai will take more work.

I would prefer a tutor in Jomtien, but am open to suggestions. 

 

I used AUA Language Center in Central festival 4th Floor(just around the corner of the Kids Play section) i think they are really good courses usually  5 weeks 4 days a week . cost was around 6000TBH

https://www.auathailand.org/branch/pattaya/?lang=en

 

[Bonkabit]

On 3/17/2017 at 12:32, ChiFlyer said:

I would prefer a tutor in Jomtien, but am open to suggestions. 

A few years ago I went to classes and then one-on-one tuition at ABC school. This was just about at the top of the hill on the main road between Jomtien and Pattaya, on the right-hand side going  towards Pattaya.

Worth checking out. I cannot be sure if they are still in the same place. Last August in LoS I did see advertisements for ABC school in a free distribution German language newspaper/magazine called 'Der Farang' (ownership of ABC is German); you will be able to check location there.

Thai Courses in Pattaya and Naklua at Easy ABC Language School

www.easy-abc-th.com/thai-courses-in-pattaya-and-naklua/

1.  
2.  

Thai crash courses for beginners and advanced students. Single or group Thai language courses. ... Lessons at home, in the greater Pattaya, Jomtien and Naklua area.

 

[ChiFlyer]

It's been a while since I posted the question, but thanks for the info.

I found a private tutor through another BM at 350 baht an hour that I used for 3 weeks last September. I made a little progress. When I returned this January she had no openings.

I found a school "Jomtien The Language School" on Jomtien Second Road about 100 meters South of Thappraya. I am taking 20 hours of private lessons from them at 9,500 baht. A little pricey, but I am making progress and it is a perfect location for me. I should complete the 20 hours about when I go back to the US in early May.

I return for 6 months in September and will be looking at my options.

[GlobalTraveler]

My recommendation and If I would do it again . I get all the basics down pat before heading to school. It takes awhile to memorize  the  numbering system, the colours, the days of week, months of year,Time(thais dont have AM-PM) time is totally different. Also maybe some of the foods ,animals etc.You can easely do this at home without wasting school time.Buy the book from the school you will attend and use it. When in school you can focus on just getting sentences together. Progress is So much easier.In any case in our class after 5 weeks most could hold a simple conversation in thai. The majority signed up for Thai class 2.

[ChiFlyer]

On 3/21/2018 at 12:38, GlobalTraveler said:

My recommendation and If I would do it again . I get all the basics down pat before heading to school. It takes awhile to memorize  .....

I tend to agree with you, but with a significant exception. One of the major problems I am having with learning Thai is the pronunciation schema. This goes beyond the tonal aspect in that there are sounds in Thai that do not exist in English. "bp" as an example. As a student of that learning process I am sure that you would agree that the English alphabet system when used to describe Thai words is much more art than science.

I find that I benefit a lot from having a private tutor to interact with even with regard to learning basic vocabulary. It is certainly a more expensive approach, but I find I benefit from it.

[Rocketboy]

On ‎3‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 00:58, GlobalTraveler said:

 

I used AUA Language Center in Central festival 4th Floor(just around the corner of the Kids Play section) i think they are really good courses usually  5 weeks 4 days a week . cost was around 6000TBH

https://www.auathailand.org/branch/pattaya/?lang=en

 

A good friend of mine teaches there.

[GlobalTraveler]

11 hours ago, ChiFlyer said:

I tend to agree with you, but with a significant exception. One of the major problems I am having with learning Thai is the pronunciation schema. This goes beyond the tonal aspect in that there are sounds in Thai that do not exist in English. "bp" as an example. As a student of that learning process I am sure that you would agree that the English alphabet system when used to describe Thai words is much more art than science.

I find that I benefit a lot from having a private tutor to interact with even with regard to learning basic vocabulary. It is certainly a more expensive approach, but I find I benefit from it.

 

Its not about the money but memorize as many words as possible then to make up sentences is much easier. While tones is the first to learn in any class I think it takes a long time to get it down pat. Personally i think by listening to thais its easier to 

learn it then in a school setting. In any  case me and the guys in class used what we learned and nobody had the perfect tones down but we where understood.Perfection comes with time . Every one is different i already talk two languages and given my age i start mixing them up already. So i need time to memorize first.I carry with me a few sentences I practice every day.like ordering my food in thai now. Say all numbers in Thai or dates and clours.Or questions for the girls. Despite only being a few sentences and numbers or dates many times girls ask me if I talk Thai so cant be to bad and never paid to much attention to tones but listen and copy. Biggest problem I have with the language its like chinese where everything is said backwards. at least in relation to english .Like

You are my friend ...in Thai My friend you ,What did you do last night....last night you did what.Used to think the girls got it all upside down but no they just translate directly from thai . Some words come easy for me like the Time of day some others are almost impossible Like teh months of year so i assign a Picture to them that helps me a lot as that picture comes up as soon as I think about the word.

[ChiFlyer]

17 minutes ago, GlobalTraveler said:

 

Its not about the money but memorize as many words as possible then to make up sentences is much easier. While tones is the first to learn in any class I think it takes a long time to get it down pat. Personally i think by listening to thais its easier to 

......

I speak fairly good Spanish, well at least I used to. Once upon a time I could also stumble by in Portuguese. This actually helps a little in learning any additional language, as one's preconceptions that English like grammar is the only way to go have been loosened up a little.

I am all for vocab drills. I try and put at least an hour in on that a day. I attempt to converse in Thai as much as I can. Problem is that my sentences still tend to be short and terse, but hey one needs to start somewhere.

What I am thinking about doing this Summer is build a vocab sheet in xls. Put the English phonetic representation of the Thai word in the first column, the English word in the second column, and then put the Google translate link with the Thai pronunciation in the third column. I can then sort randomly on the first column for vocab drills.

One problem is including the tonal accents. I would guess there is a keyboard mapping available. I just need to look for it. I am not after perfect Thai pronunciation, but I think one needs to begin to have some focus on that early on.

 

[ocka]

On 6/6/2012 at 06:53, Xylanic said:

Memolicious Thai-An android App. If you have not downloaded, you are missing out. This finally put together all the missing pieces for reading. It's a memory game with increasing speed, like Tetris, that teaches you through repitition and high scores the letters, vowels and tones (high, mid, low) to read thai. This will not help speak at all, it's purely designed to read and has finally put me to speed. I would suggest this for a beginner to intermediate reader to get you up to speed.

Thanks for the tip, that's an excellent app.

[GlobalTraveler]

On 3/23/2018 at 11:19, ChiFlyer said:

I speak fairly good Spanish, well at least I used to. Once upon a time I could also stumble by in Portuguese. This actually helps a little in learning any additional language, as one's preconceptions that English like grammar is the only way to go have been loosened up a little.

I am all for vocab drills. I try and put at least an hour in on that a day. I attempt to converse in Thai as much as I can. Problem is that my sentences still tend to be short and terse, but hey one needs to start somewhere.

What I am thinking about doing this Summer is build a vocab sheet in xls. Put the English phonetic representation of the Thai word in the first column, the English word in the second column, and then put the Google translate link with the Thai pronunciation in the third column. I can then sort randomly on the first column for vocab drills.

One problem is including the tonal accents. I would guess there is a keyboard mapping available. I just need to look for it. I am not after perfect Thai pronunciation, but I think one needs to begin to have some focus on that early on.

 

if you can do it it will work .Have to start somewhere but there is no rush

[ChiFlyer]

On 3/27/2018 at 10:58, GlobalTraveler said:

if you can do it it will work .Have to start somewhere but there is no rush

Yes - I am going to have some time on my hands this Summer and this type of exercise seems well suited for vocab drills. IMO that if an important part of the drills in the first two years. Having actual correct pronunciation is key to making this work. Hence my though to imbed the Google links in the xls. Still have not figured how I am going to do that.

I plan to supplement this with a well respected text book, I am thinking of using an intro book by Benjamin Penswara

[haakiim]

Thanks for the tips and advice, I have learned Japanese and it is not easy language but I used similar sites and books. I think every one needs motivation to learn new languages what derived me to learn Japanese was admiring the culture and the Desire to watch movies and Anime without translation and for people who visit Thailand also need strong reason to progress learning Thai language for example culture ,girl friend ,visiting country a lot, having friends ect because without motivation it is hard to continue what you have started  .Beside vocabulary and grammar it is important to focus on reading and listening to news and different programs by these two things speaking and listening will be improved quickly.         

[Welbeck]

If anyone's interested here's a 30% dicount voucher for the thaipod101 course, apparently it never expires.

https://www.thaipod101.com/coupon/EARLYBIRD30/

https://www.thaipod101.com

[wtboatr]

On 7/29/2014 at 12:18, rattlin said:

Anyone got any experience of this site?

 

http://learnthaifromawhiteguy.com/

Yes.  I listened to the author of the course on the Bangkok Podcast a few months ago and thought I'd try it out.  I think the course cost me about $50. 

 

For me it was totally worth it.  I had tried and failed several times to learn to read Thai.  The problem is that it's nearly impossible to learn sounds from a phonetic alphabet.  His course is interactive.  You see a word and then click on it to hear how it is pronounced.  I credit LTFAWG with my ability to read Thai.  I used his interactive website app on my iPad.  It actually worked better for me than on a computer because I was able to pinch zoom to see the Thai characters.  I would repeat the lessons over and over until I was finally able to get almost every sound correct.

 

The course won't teach you everything you need when it comes to reading.  There's a lot of obscure complexities I keep discovering.  However, in my opinion, his web app is the best way to start.  I give LTFAWG 10 stars for a beginner who wants to learn how to read Thai.

 

I wouldn't bother with his private tutoring though.  It's kind of expensive.  Once you master his app, you can move on to other Thai language resources.

 

 

[NYCnomad]

This is such an amazing post! So well researched and explained! Thank you! I’ve quickly realized that learning Thai is something I need to do if I want to make LOS a part of my life. Yes, it’s a bit intimidating but you laid down a solid path for me to follow. Cheers!