The importance of a native teacher

[Ajay75]

I thought I'd just post about the importance of having a native teacher when trying to learn Thai. Once you have learnt the basics I think that its a strong recomendation from experience that you need to get a teacher if you want to learn to a good intermediate level and above.

 

The reason why I am making this post is that since I have been learning by myself from numerous sources for the last 11 months or so I decided to get myself a teacher who is based in Thailand. I have 3 hours worth of lessons a week and its done me so much good.

 

I have been with her a month now and she has taught me so much that you would never get from online lessons. The main thing is that you are never going to get what is being spoken or not in real life in Thailand now online no matter what the source. My teacher is really good even correcting my accent and where the sound is coming from (i.e. nasal or throat) when speaking to be more central and not like someone from the north like I used to sound.

 

These subtle changes make all the difference and I know what to say and not what to say so much more. You dont realise how some phrases are used just by kids and what is rarely used from books or online courses.

 

I am not aiming this post at beginners but at people who know the basics that want to push it to the next level. I would say I speak 60% Thai and 40% English with my teacher at the moment. I do it via Skype and it costs me £10 a lesson and its a better alternative to learning within England or wherever where lessons start at £20+.

 

I hope this is of help to BM's who really want to learn Thai properly. I am really excited about this year and have a goal for the end of 2009 which I think I will easily achieve.

[KDNG]

Everything you say is great advice for anyone learning a new language and very true. But a beginner should start off with a native speaker (if they have the oppurtunity) of a language when learning, gives them a huge advantage and lessens confusion if they go from self taught with tapes/internet. Learning from a native speaker is the next best thing to learning in the country of that language for anyone who has never done so. Best of luck with achieving your goal in 2009, from what you have been posting in this section it seems you will attain it.

[Ajay75]

Everything you say is great advice for anyone learning a new language and very true. But a beginner should start off with a native speaker (if they have the oppurtunity) of a language when learning, gives them a huge advantage and lessens confusion if they go from self taught with tapes/internet. Learning from a native speaker is the next best thing to learning in the country of that language for anyone who has never done so. Best of luck with achieving your goal in 2009, from what you have been posting in this section it seems you will attain it.

 

Cheers mate. I couldnt agree more. I started with Pimslars a year ago and it gave a good start but to learn properly you need to converse at a real life level regularly to progress to any meaningful level.

 

My teacher is very good and said to me that alot of stuff that gets taught to Farangs in schools and in lessons online is not really usefull or is never spoken in everyday life or is spoken by certain classes of Thai.

[Millard]

Respect to guys who take the time to learn Thai well. Seems you respect Thailand as well as her culture and people.

[Dr.Winston]

The sounds of the Thai language are so different to English that contact with a native speaker is essential, even then it takes time, it was a long time ago but I seem to remember when I first started learning I couldn't even hear the differences between the tones. I would say a word incorrectly then when they worked out what I was trying to say they would tell me the correct pronunciation and I would think "That's what I bloody well said" I really couldn't hear any difference.

 

K&M alludes to an interesting point IMO. Most native speakers (who aren't experienced teachers) won't be that good at teaching Thai for the reasons he states and for explaining specifics of grammar for example an English speaker with very good Thai skills might well be better at explaining the subtleties. For pronunciation though only an educated native speaker will do . When I was learning I used a cassette/book course for the structured lessons and then had a Thai run the the weeks work with me at the weekend to correct any mistakes and pronunciation problems. I found it to be a great combination. using the books and cassettes on their own would teach me but the lack of positive feedback from a real person resulted in low confidence levels when it came to actually using the language. As soon as I started hiring a Thai once a week to review with the issue went away.

[Ajay75]

I made sure my teacher was qualified and university educated. She knows how to teach in a structured and methodological way which is really fun and interesting. Shes had over 20 years teaching and also knows Japanese.

 

Before I even started regular lessons with her she asked me to fill out an assessment form about some background as to what I knew, why I wanted to learn and the subject matte, correctional level etc. I then had a free assessment lesson for an hour where I was asked to just speak and answer questions in Thai.

 

The structure of my lessons involves me writing a diary 3 times a week in Thai and we discuss it during the lesson where she corrects me and lets me know a better way of saying something. She also asks me lots of questions in Thai and I try to speak as much as possible in asking her questions and answering.

 

I think its important to find someone who knows what they are doing when teaching otherwise its no fun and the student can lose focus and interest. Having someone to speak with regulary helps me alot especially with the pronounciation.

 

I'm pretty lucky to have found her and shes always fun. She even takes the piss out of me asking if I like katooeys etc. Cheeky mare