Whats the best way to learn Thai?

[Calantusss]

I want to learn thai, not because of the girls but because i'm genuinely interested in the language, and i might want to move there some day.

 

Has anyone learned thai? and if so how did you do it? i've read that the best way to do it is to know someone who speaks it. But sadly i don't :(. Do you guys know any books or computer applications that will teach you the basics?

 

 

Also, anyone who can speak thai decently, how did it change your experience of it all? including girls, regular life etc.

[Mr Bean]

Recently (and may still be available) there was a Rosetta Stone torrent.

 

This had app 41 languages including Thai.

 

A google search may help, that is unless you have the money to buy?

 

I also beleive Pimsleur Thai is out there!!

[Calantusss]

Recently (and may still be available) there was a Rosetta Stone torrent.

 

This had app 41 languages including Thai.

 

A google search may help, that is unless you have the money to buy?

 

I also beleive Pimsleur Thai is out there!!

 

d'oh, forgot about rosetta stone, is it as good as they say?

[themosch]

It's really hard to learn the Thai language proper. As the difficulty is the intonation when speaking. Because by a different intonation/emphasis the word gets a different meaning. For example ¨khao¨ has got different meanings rice, white, knee, nine,and another one that slips my memorie right now; just by using a different intonation!

So you can learn Thai from books and internet pretty good. But to practice your speaking good it's better to speak with a thai person to learn the exact intonation!

[bocelli27]

Your starting point should be to visit the 'Learning Thai' section of the forum and catch up on the topics posted there. Pimsleur is available in various torrents, though it is rather formal; but it is good on structure and comprises 30 lessons.

[Catullus]

There is a really excellent blog called Women Learning Thai. It is written by an expat woman who lives in Bangkok and has a real interest in the language.

 

Apart from listing virtually every free thai resource on the web she also has an ongoing series of interviews with 'succesful thai learners' in which they explain how they went about it.

 

Worth looking at and following if you are serious about learning Thai. Here is the link:

 

http://womenlearnthai.com/

[astralrecon]

lots of stuff on the net,down load

i got thai abc books from big c

how to write letters,for 3 plus age

and volwels to

you can learn from a dictionary too,thai words,how to write them in thai

need to speak thai first,how to string along words,in thai grammer

start with the easy stuff

hello,thankyou,how are you

then order food,like rice fried chicken

cow put guy

build up lot little phrases,

like no understand,mai kow jai

and you tube got lot stuff

hear thai being spoken

learn to count to 10 in thai

then write 1 to 10 in thai

once i had a petrol pump in thai numbers only

was mad,but i reconised few thai numbers

start small,like thai child at school

abc and numbers

talk phrases

soon they will get longer

sing to thai karaoki

good one,funny too

then over time you will build up a thai data base in your head

say hello ask for some think say how much ,say thank you

it will come ,but slowly

like the five mais

mai has five meanings as they got tones as well

but that come latter,as get better at it

lot books out there ,learn thai

i recomend learn 1 to 10,abc as a start

get you by,write your name in thai

google translations does english to thai ,use full,free too

look at thai news paper websites,thai words are stuck together ,no gaps

try writing a english sentance with no gaps ,same thing

but if use or get to know a thai dictionary

you will see a pattern in the long thai sentances

pick out individal words

like sawadee then sawadee kap and sawadee kha

put all three together ,you will see sawadee ,3 times,then the other bit

put thai lang into windows,use office to type thai letters

print out ,copy free hand

basically break down there lang into small bits

same as a child learns at school

and work up wards

i use the thai ladys in hotels to help me out

as they know thai and english

lot laughs and fun ,few baht for them too

1 to 10 handy plus thank you ,hello/good bye

build on from there

buy up school books,big c ,tesco lotus,3 plus

learn the alphabet,each letter and sound ,like a for apple,ahh

g in thai for guy,chicken ,guu sound ,and so on

later learn the volwes ,changers,dip thongs

you tube is good for that

hear it spoken ,explained

basically learn to speak thai first,then write numbers

then letters,then small words,your name ,places,ect

then small sentances,then storys

write a sentance in english ,put into google trans,convert to thai

she how it looks

get a thai pen pal,email contact

lot bar girls like to help out

earn merit

i reg send emails back and forth ,learning thai of a thai friend

they like it as they mean more to you than a sleeping partner

a teacher,plus they learn about us ,the falang

well good luck

google is your friend,help you

speak bit thai first,then write it out in thai

be as a thai child ,learning thai at school

good luck

chod dee kap

[Calantusss]

Your starting point should be to visit the 'Learning Thai' section of the forum and catch up on the topics posted there. Pimsleur is available in various torrents, though it is rather formal; but it is good on structure and comprises 30 lessons.

 

i thought there was one but i couldn't find it, but now i have, thanks.

[moon71]

I'm trying to learn a little thai. I call it nitnoy thai as i know i simply can not commit to learning thai truely. I lack someone to teach me and secondly, i don't have the time. I set my goal to that of bargirl pigeon english, knowing enough to get what i need from my holiday and to be polite. My advice, is to set your starting goal low, from there, at least you've had an introduction. This shouldn't include writing thai, thats fulltime education stuff.

 

I have several CD's. These i play in the car and have learned little. Over time, some seeps through though. Also, when on holiday, i video with my camera, my stepsister taught me to count to ten and a bargirl taught me shell small/big (hoy lek/hoy yai). I watch these videos for prononciation. I'll be making more next visit, including 'days of the week' and 'months of the year'.

 

Past the simple sawadee krup you should learn to count first. When negotiations take place, this will erase the complete newbie appearance.

 

Secondly, learn the words/phrases that will help you on your holiday, because, like me, you sound like that might be all you need to start. Cow pad guy (fried rice chicken) or cow mon guy (fried noodles chicken)means i can eat anywhere, if i order on the beach, i add "prik nam pbla" to ensure i get some chilli's in fish sauce. Add "nam som yai", large orange juice and you realise it's all within easy reach but serious coversation isn't gonna happen.

 

The phonics themselves you need to learn like how to pronounce dt bp and ng when written in thai2english phonics. This is another important lesson.

 

Some words have appeared more in my learning like nam (water)examples- hong nam (water room - toilet) nam som (water orange - orange juice) up nam (shower) nam pbla (water fish - fish sauce, add prik at start for chilli's- prik nam pbla). Is nam a classifier? Thats advanced class stuff and like i said, for now i'm settling for a certain level of learning for what i need for my holiday.

 

Unless you can live in thailand or have thai teachers at home, i would settle at first to learning like myself, 'nitnoy thai'. Just accept, you won't be learning quick and enjoy it. Depending upon the bargirl, those that i dealyt with enjoy allowing you to video language lessons.

 

Write stuff down regularly too, get a small book. When someone writes phonics on the board, don't be shy to ask. Write it down on, in the book, then check everything you write with a thai speaker (for me, an open minded bargirl that i get along with). What i write down and how you say it may well be different.

 

Lastly from experience, it doesn't matter how well i say something in thai, because i'm falang i guess, girls will still have trouble understanding me like i have trouble understanding someone in from my own country with a strong accent. Have fun.

[rubinjames]

I personal found that learning to write and understand the thai alphabet has help me personally understand thai better

 

 

Below are three web sites that offer free lessons in Thai and give audio examples of the different tones :

 

 

 

 

http://www.thai-language.com/lessons

 

http://www.learningthai.com/

 

http://www.seasite.niu.edu:85/thai/ stands for southeast Asian languages at North Illinois University

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free download of Thai language lessons from

 

FSI- Foreign Service Institute.

 

 

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php (mp3)

 

 

The negative is that it uses its own romanized thai scripted. Not the standard one used by by everyone else.

 

 

I use it after I learnt the Thai alphabet for practise in translation.

 

Also download a copy of a free copy of Rosetta Stone Thai.

 

 

I liked it because of two resons You can practise your tones against its recording measurement

 

and secondly you can practise your speech with pictures cue's

 

 

 

Secondly I also brought the books with CD audio text by Benjawan Poomen Becker their are three books Thai for Beginners , intermediate and advanced.

 

 

 

My final advise is practise your tone's and then some.

[Mr Bean]

d'oh, forgot about rosetta stone, is it as good as they say?

 

 

The program shows you four pictures with audio, and you then choose the appropiate picture.

 

Listening to Thai, has got to be better than trying to use the pronounciation guides in the phrase books etc.

 

The torrent I mentioned is huge (3.6gb) and has level one Thai.

 

I would also suggest you arm your self with an English/Thai dictionary.

 

For this, I would suggest: Robertson's Pratical English-Thai Dictionary. ISBN 0-8048-3385-0. Published by 'Tuttle Publishing' SRP $14.95

 

Hope this helps! Chok dee!!

[Smee again]

I started by using an audio tuition pack, i really felt i was getting somewhere, then i saw an ad. in a newsagents window, i was attracted to it because i saw the word Thai. It was a girl looking for work as a nanny, i called the number and asked if she would be interested in teaching Thai.

On my first lesson, i discovered that nearly everything from the Audio, was wrong ! i learnt more in that first lesson than all the time i spent with the course.

Since moving here, my learning curve has flattened right out, i'm working with Thai people, but none have good enough English to translate for me. I sometimes feel i'm living with the Flowerpot Men ( old English children's program, the characters spoke jibberish ) crossed with the Swedish Chef ( from The Muppett Show )

[gambler]

Has anyone learned thai? and if so how did you do it? i've read that the best way to do it is to know someone who speaks it.

I bought a linguaphone course and studied it and later increased the vocabulary through speaking it and finding new "key" words from a dictionarry.

 

how did it change your experience of it all? including girls, regular life etc.

Totally positive and improved the experience in all areas. You also gain a bit of respect in the eyes of Thai people and it saves you money to boot as your're less likely to get ripped off etc

 

There are no negatives to learning the language, so don't believe any bollox you may hear to the contrary.

[Calantusss]

I bought a linguaphone course and studied it and later increased the vocabulary through speaking it and finding new "key" words from a dictionarry.

 

 

Totally positive and improved the experience in all areas. You also gain a bit of respect in the eyes of Thai people and it saves you money to boot as your're less likely to get ripped off etc

 

There are no negatives to learning the language, so don't believe any bollox you may hear to the contrary.

 

good to hear, i got rosetta stone, and man is it tough with asian languages in general. I guess it's because they don't use a similiar alphabet like spanish or german, so it's harder to memorize the words. But i'm gonna keep trying so i can speak a little thai before my trip.

[herds]

calantusss - I think it really all depends on what level of ability you want and how much you want to really want to learn, if you want to learn a few phrases and words then the language cd's will suffice but if you really want to converse i'd say you'll need a native teacher or at least talk to thai's on a regular basis and hit the books. I've found thai quite frustrating at times and I can emphasize with people that throw in the towel.

 

No matter how basic they are, ask lots of questions on here, I plagued forums with questions when I first started

 

Good luck.

Edited September 20, 2009 by herds

[Ajay75]

It all depends on what you want to achieve really. Do you want to be able to order food / tickets / ask directions etc etc or do you want to just chat about daily life with friends.

 

I've had a native teacher for 8 months now and I just concentrated on "conversational Thai" which I have found very useful. I did know some basics before about ordering food, holiday phrases etc. But its not really that useful in daily life when compared to how you chat with people. I thought about how I talk to my mates / family / workmates etc and the type of general conversations I have everyday. Its the interactional stuff that I find interesting, sharing a joke, telling someone about something you've done, want to do etc.

 

Now I can chat with my teacher like I would with friends about everyday stuff. Its good to know some formal stuff which you can learn from books / classes etc but its only useful in particular situations. I like the fact that I am not restricted and can express myself about various things on a daily basis. Don't forget all Thai's love to chat and gossip about stuff so I found it a good place to start.

 

I have to admit its a bugger of a language and I still have a lot to learn but keep plugging away without expecting too much and things start to gradually come together. I'm now at the stage where I can formulate fairly long sentences without thinking too much.

 

The great thing I have found about having a teacher is that they will tell you the context and correct use of a word. I've lost count of the times where I've looked up a word on Thai2English or thailanguage.com, only to be told the word is a> descibed wrong on the site b> out of date or c> used in the wrong context.

 

I guess everyones different so you have to work out whats the best approach for you.

[bangkok_bandit]

In my opinion the best way to learn thai is to get a good small book with the essentials and basics of thai and everyday phrases and words. Read just a few pages over and over every day until it sticks in your head. You will soon start to hear the words and phrases when you are out on the town. Try speaking the words and phrases as much and as often as you can (find some friends or a thai girlfriend that does not speak english and then you are forced to practice). Before you know it you will be speaking basic thai.

 

Your whole experience will change and you will have more chances with the ladies and and easier time with taxi drivers etc.

 

Good luck

[Ngu Haw]

Loosen your pursestrings and go to some good schools like I did and WORK for it!

 

Ngu

[aitch]

just wanted to add that a good beginner drill is simply to count.

 

the low, rising, and falling tones are there for you until you hit until 100. then you will get a healthy dose of the high tone also.

 

maybe you have somewhere that you need to walk 3 minutes to everyday ? count but make sure you pronounce correctly. you will get to higher numbers pretty quick and eventually you should be able to count to 10 in thai quicker than you can count to 10 in english (english seven having two syllables).

 

good useful first goal and it's easy to your measure progress.

 

just wanted to throw a count question out there. i hear "yip" fairly often in thailand. is this a short version of "yee sip" (20) ?

Edited September 23, 2009 by aitch

[luv.you.long.time]

 

 

just wanted to throw a count question out there. i hear "yip" fairly often in thailand. is this a short version of "yee sip" (20) ?

 

Exactly right

 

Yeep et, yeep sawng, yeep saamm etc (21, 22, 23)

[herds]

that confused me big time when i started learning, then i started using it to save time with using 2 syllables

[particle]

I highly recommend the book "Teach yourself Thai" by David Smythe to get a very good start.

 

It's well worth learning to read Thai script and this book makes it comparatively easy, as well as giving you good conversational skills.

 

You should definitely get the optional CD that goes with it - If you use it and also learn to read, your pronunciation will be much better than most BMs, which will be appreciated.

 

Although some TGs will tell you they prefer BMs who don't speak Thai, my experience of speaking a little Thai has always been positive with TGs.

[Dr.Winston]

I found that initially I learned Thai better when I was not there. Whenever I weas there the temptation was to try to run before I could walk.

 

Make sure that you learn the basics of the grammar and pronounciation before you try to learn any long sentences. This foundation will pay dividends; when you learn a new word you'll know what to do with it within a sentence.

 

Learn to read and write Thai script; all the tonal rules are intrinsic within the script and to not learn it will be a major handicap to your progress. it depends how much Thai you want to learn.

 

Find a method/course that suits your approach to learning. Some people like to break things down into rules and adverbs, nouns etc. and others prefer a more intuitive/natural approach.

 

Because Thai is a different kind of language (tonal) it takes a while to develope an 'ear' for the sounds and different tones. There's no shortcut to getting this 'ear', it will just come with exposure to the language, be patient, at first most of the tones sounded the same to me as well as some of the consenant and vowel sounds.

[herds]

dr.w - out of interest, do you formally study anymore? I often wonder when one gets to the point when they can actually just go "that's enough learning, I'm satisfied", I guess that depends on the level you want to achieve I suppose.

 

I was fortunate to live in Thailand from the moment I started learning so I just copied the sounds, didn't even know about the the tonal thing till about 3 months of being there I still can't always work out the correct tone I hear, but usually suss it out by the context of the sentance, i'm pretty sure that is standard anyway, after listening to thai music it seems tonal changes are used a lot to 'fit' the melody. speaking of which, anyone seen the endorphine live dvd? brilliant stuff if you're a fan of their music, plus she sings slow for us learners.

[aitch]

 

Learn to read and write Thai script; all the tonal rules are intrinsic within the script and to not learn it will be a major handicap to your progress. it depends how much Thai you want to learn.

 

Amen to that ! good goal is to be able to look at a word and then determine the tone without thinking about it. on the thai-language website, there is a good beginner drill

 

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

 

Because Thai is a different kind of language (tonal) it takes a while to develope an 'ear' for the sounds and different tones. There's no shortcut to getting this 'ear', it will just come with exposure to the language, be patient, at first most of the tones sounded the same to me as well as some of the consenant and vowel sounds.

 

i know a girl who sometimes responds with this loud nerve piercing thai "huh". used to drive me crazy until i realized that she does it in a perfect high tone. the one tone i have the most difficulty with. what i learned was is that when you are exposed to the language think outside of the box sometimes.