Tone Quiz

[herds]

http://www.thai-language.com/id/798459

 

Find this quite useful as it keeps track of your score throughout, getting about 65% myself which is a lot better than six months ago when it was around 25%.

 

I think it would be useful to me to really formally learn tones so I can identify tones based on the characters in the words, any good net resources

[Ajay75]

Good find. Some of them are pretty difficult to understand. I've just done a 100 words and got 63% but only listened to each one once or twice. Admitidley some of it was pure guess work on a few words.

 

As Doc has said in many of his posts its just a thing that comes naturally after time, same as the understanding.

 

Lets face it, its going to be a few years for all of us to get to any really decent level. If I was studying like it was a job for 6 hours a day then it wouldnt be such a problem But when you have to work all day, being knackered, and have social obligations etc it sometimes gets difficult to progress and study as much as you'd like. Thats the case for me anyway.

 

We'll get there one day.

[herds]

yeah same here, i try and do an 30 minutes a day in the morning and check a couple words out during the day, i know it will take me a while.

 

the rising and falling tones i usually get right, but mid's i'm never sure whether it's mid or low, so they're usually a guess.

[Ajay75]

yeah same here, i try and do an 30 minutes a day in the morning and check a couple words out during the day, i know it will take me a while.

 

the rising and falling tones i usually get right, but mid's i'm never sure whether it's mid or low, so they're usually a guess.

 

You got yourself a teacher yet mate?

[herds]

2 actually, maybe 3 next week.

 

2 people/friends teach me one hour each a week. I teach 1 hour english and they teach one hour thai, free.

 

Theres a thai woman that lives near me that is an english teacher and I am going to ask her if she wants to teach me as well as she bilingual. Making the most out of it while I am in thailand basically as when i go home i'll just be relying on skype and messenger chats.

 

Not sure how much i get out of the lessons as opposed to listening to a tape with a pen and pad. Seems to be just them correcting me for an hour at a time

[Ajay75]

Definitely go with the Thai English teacher as she'll know how to structure lessons more appropriately rather than just muddling through with someone for an hour.

 

I dont have any problems with using Skype apart from the obvious time difference which usually means me having a lesson at 7am UK time during the week. It doesnt really make much difference as opposed to face to face as your still chatting with eachother.

 

The main thing I've got out of having a teacher is the corrections are more accurate and just the regualar interaction. Before when I used to just listen to tapes and practice on my own the interaction was a big part which was missing in my learning. Its also more off the cuff as they can ask you anything as opposed to being sort of prepared with a various topic your learning via tapes etc.

 

Its getting sort of second nature now in certain aspects of my Thai which I really wanted to achieve. Just talking naturally and understanding without thinking too much is my main goal for 2009.

[herds]

i know what you mean about 'corrections' actually, i like it when thais correct me but many of them are too poilte to do that unfornuately. I think we take it a little more seriously than most though The last few days in patts have been good, pretty much 100% in bars when the staff say they don't mind and when theres no other falangs about, after I hear them speak a few sentances now I like to ask where they come from in issaan to which they reply "roo yang nigh" and i bok "pwrot wah mi mee ร" hehe.

 

I find that sometimes I speak without thinking, and I think that is the goal for anyone to become really competent.

 

All good fun when on hols.