understanding and comprehending...

[joltme1313]

dr boogie and all other advanced thai speaking farang, how long did it take before you could understand when regular everyday people spoke to you and around you?????????...

 

ive been studying for the past 8 months or so and i can speak very well for this short amount of time.. but when people talk to me i cant understand most of the time.. when i know what the subject is and they speak slowly, clearly and simply i understand.

 

it is a little frustrating sometimes, when they say something to me and then we go over what it means and i say to myself "how didnt i hear that"? i know they use the same words for many different things and it is only slightly changed by the context and the actual tone of the word... when i have repetitive conversations i understand because i kinda know whats coming.. im very lucky that i have a thai girlfriend in my home country who speaks english better then i speak thai and i also have a great podcast lessons that boosted my vocabulary to the point where im learning so fast that i cant even remember half of it.. or a quarter of it, to be honest.. lol.. but repetition is the key for me.. im even learning to let go of trying to translate english sentence structure into thai sentence structures.. because it is rarely the same..

 

thanks for the answers if anyone gives them and good luck to all beginners...

Edited May 27, 2010 by joltme1313

[astralrecon]

regional slang is the key

in england ,got so many diff slangs ,all in english ,but the variations

like thai ,north is diff to south

bangkok drop there r,like aloy=delicious

patts ,aroy=delicious

my name,richard,they say =lichard,

just things you need to be exsposed to ,over time

learn the basics at school,then out into the real world

who speaks school text stuff any way

we all learn local jargon when left school,regional slang

if know your abc,1 to 10 and speak ,ask questions ,thats good

now you need to get exsposere time with lot thais,pick up the differences

watch thai t.v,radio,read there websites

get as much exsposere as you can,like in life

as a old thai person ,they know lot more than a young thai,but both went to thai school

cant cheat really,just hang out with as many thais as you can,

you pick up there version of thai then ,add to your data base

good luck

 

thai is a hard one ,but can be fun

,keep at it,its worth it

[Dr.Winston]

For me it all seemed to fall into place after about 2 years. When I first started learning progression was fast, not surprising really, if you only know one sentence and then learn another you've doubled your knowledge! After a few months it seemed to me that the more I learnt the more I realised I didn't know. It's a very frustrating stage because your vocabularly is quite good but you can't keep up with normally paced conversations.

 

It's just something you have to push through with the confidence that you'll get there. I think even being able to distinguish some of the tones is quite an achievement for westerner who's just starting to learn Thai and thinking back I'm pretty sure that it is the key to the Thai language. Thai Grammar, although different from English grammar is actually pretty simple, there are no tenses or plurals to learn for example. Learning to read Thai script is the sign of the serious student and any effort put in there will pay dividends in the future.

 

As for local dialects, I just ignored them really and studied Central Thai. Once your central Thai is good you'll realise that the majority of the dialects aren't actually that different from central Thai....well they are but you'll be surprised how much of it you can understand. Exposure to the dialects just occurs naturally with time and as I said before I think it's better to concentrate on standard Thai. A lot of guys I've known who've ignored Central Thai, basically on the precept that "bar girls usually don't speak Thai" have stagnated in their learning pretty quickly. Sure if you only want a bit of fun in the bars then learn some Eesarn but your language abilities will never be taken seriously by Thais who don't work in bars, you might even be looked down upon.

 

I think you'll do fine, you've stuck at it for 8 months with good progress and I wouldn't mind betting you'll be finding comprehension a lot easier next year.

[maimeepanhaa]

i can understand far more than i speak comes from spending large amts of time only listening to thai

[herds]

Some people learn isaan as they think bar girls and the like wont understand them if they learn central thai? seems a little dumb to me as to why they would pursue that route, they would have all learnt thai in schools and watch thai tv. I guess if you move out there to isaan from the start it would make a little more sense.

Edited May 27, 2010 by herds

[Benny10]

My Thai language skills are far from being perfect, but I am able to communicate in everyday situations quite well.

 

In regards of learning Thai I was lucky in 3 ways.

 

1. When I met my (now ex) GF, she spoke hardly any English. In order to communicate with her properly I had no other choice than to learn Thai. Nowadays I consider her lack of English as a huge benefit for me, as I leaned to proper Central Thai also known as Siamese instead of the widespread mix of Isaan and Central Thai, which some Farangs pick up from their Isaan GF’s.

 

2. At the same time, I started a new job at the biggest resort on Phuket. The resort maintained a separate training center for its 4,000 staff, which provided regular classes in English, computer skills, F&B service, etc., for Thai staff only.

So I came up with the idea to ask the Managing Director if there would be any chance that foreign staff could get some Thai lessons as well as cross-cultural training courses. He agreed and for about 2 years we received free Thai lessons 4 times a week. In addition, I benefited a lot form the annual cross-cultural training sessions, which were real eye-openers to me.

 

3. Our Thai teacher was a highly educated Ajahn (=high-school and university teacher) from BKK with excellent English skills and speaking pure Central Thai language (stressing every single r). He was blind, but his handicap turned out to be a huge benefit for me. Every time when I struggled to hit the right tone, he taught me to imagine if I was blind: “Just close your eyes and listen to the tone”. This method worked perfectly for me.

 

It took me about 2 years to communicate properly in everyday situations, but I still lack a lot in writing and reading.

 

I think was worth all the efforts, as I experience every single day, that many Thais do really appreciate when you try to speak their language (no bar slang).

It makes them feel proud that foreigners aim to learn their language and for yourself it’s a perfect door opener in many ways.

Edited May 27, 2010 by Benny10

[Jolly Roger]

I was always getting upset because they couldn't understand me, or pretended they couldn't understand me (a-rai na?).

Then I learned to read and write Thai so when they didn't understand me I could write it down for them........

 

.... then I realised half of the Thais I interact with can't read or write Thai ..........DOH!

(though it's very funny when they try to pretend they can read so as not to lose face, I just ask them to write something down for me)

 

PS

This is one of the reasons that many Thais can't read maps, or can't give directions.

Edited May 27, 2010 by Jolly Roger

[pubstud]

I learned Thai living down the deep South, used to hang out in the bars and coffee shops, hanging around chatting with the singers and reception girls, so two things happened without me realizing it at the time - I acquired a Southern accent (same as if a Chinaman picked up English living in Glasgow or Liverpool) and I picked up teenage and coffee shop slang. One person commented that I spoke Thai like a Thai teeneebopper. Every time I went up to BKK the Thais there would get a great laugh because of my Southern accent. The Southern accent is considered the harshest, roughest dialect in Thailand. It's mellowed out now as I've been living in NE for several years and have acquired some Isan vocabulary and I guess some Isan accent too. As Dr.Winston O'Boogie says you're better just concentrating on central Thai and the regional vocabulary and pronunciations will work their way in without you realizing.

 

If your Thai wife or GF speaks English well then thats a real hinderance as she won't encourage or help you to learn Thai. I always had GFs with zero English skills, so learning Thai became a neccessity for me. The biggest piece of advice I can give is have a stab at learning the Thai alphabet too, it's not really that difficult, and once you have sussed it out you find yourself reading stuff around you and learning more.

[joltme1313]

hey guys thanks for all the advice...

 

a few thing i have in my favor is that my girlfriend is, 1. intelligent and a university grad 2. she loves that im learning thai and loves to teach me. every day for about an hour a day plus just regular conversations. 3. she is from bangkok so im learning central thai already and i guess 4. would be her english is good so she can help me relate what im learning.. i also want to learn to talk like the locals and the teenagers.. just to be well rounded and current..

 

but a few things that are holding me back a little bit at the moment is that i usually only speak thai with her.. i was speaking with a few other thai people but that all fell off.. so im kinda learning to talk just like she talks.. im not getting that real sense of the language all of the time.. im sure learning thai from a man is different then learning from a woman.. not that she isnt a good teacher but im sure you get my drift.. especially with tones and phrases..

 

i work everyday with my podcast lessons from learn-thai-podcast.com which is great.. not always the best examples but it gets the point and grammar across.. i do have to learn how to read and write.. i know i will advance a lot further once i do that, but right now i dont have the time for it.. but i will soon and then ill be kicking some ass... but i come back to thailand in october for 3 weeks and then ill put it all to the test... everyone thought i spoke well last trip in april and march and i have learned loads more since then.. so i should be good..

 

if anyone knows a good thai radio or thai t.v website that i can watch or listen to for free let me know.. thanks again for the advice guys..

[jeemkerry]

For better understanding that language you can first of all try to get power on grammar on that language. Also you can try to translate that language to your language.So it is very beneficial to understand that language perfectly.

[Ajay75]

The only way to start getting used to being spoken to and understanding Thai more and more at normal pace is to "immerse" yourself in the language. Many of us don't get the chance to speak with Thai people everyday as we don't have the opportunity. I was in the same situation as the OP 18 months ago and couldn't understand when people spoke to me. But having got a teacher I can understand pretty well at a normal conversation speed whats being said.

 

So the options are to really seek out opportunities to practice conversation with Thais (which you can't get from a book, linguaphone course or internet). Its the only way IMO to really start progressing and its worked wonders for me. I actually turned a corner last trip where Thai friends requested for me to speak Thai instead when I started speaking English to them sometimes (damn hangovers). Its really starting to come together now and around the 2yr mark I hope to be pretty comfortable in reading, speaking and writing. But I agree with the Dr that the more you know the more you realise you don't know. This can be frustrating and a bit de-moralising but you just have to keep plugging away and take small steps and eventually you keep getting better and better. Its just practice practice and commitment until it becomes ingrained in your memory.

 

So the options could be...

 

- get a thai girlfriend in uk or chat over Skpye regularly (may pick up accents or bad habits though)

- get a teacher

- goto local thai restaurants

- network on the web for local thais who are looking for language exchange

[El Cata]

...Learning to read Thai script is the sign of the serious student and any effort put in there will pay dividends in the future.

This is the best advice that anyone can give you. I have been teaching myself Thai script for two weeks & I have learnt so much in a short time. I have had a lot of exposure to the Thai language during multiple trips, but learning Thai script has given me a deeper understanding of the language. For example, some 'English' letters do not exist in the Thai language & vowels can be both long & short.

 

Peace.

[bobdickgus]

This is the best advice that anyone can give you. I have been teaching myself Thai script for two weeks & I have learnt so much in a short time. I have had a lot of exposure to the Thai language during multiple trips, but learning Thai script has given me a deeper understanding of the language. For example, some 'English' letters do not exist in the Thai language & vowels can be both long & short.

 

Peace.

 

It seems like the major advantage of learning the thai alphabet is that unlike english the way a word is spelled is how it sounds in Thai.

English words can have spellings that could sound much different to what you would assume eg Thames sounds like tems.

Which is also why transliteration doesn't work too well.

 

If only I would bother to learn it, trouble is that I am a such a lazy bastard 555555

[joltme1313]

whats everyone,

 

the thai learning is going in leaps and bounds for a few weeks and then i hit a wall.. i have been practicing mostly with the learnthaipodcast lessons and they are great.. sometime they dont explain everything so well but the vocabulary is great and the amount of examples are great too.

 

but recently i switched over to some other lessons such as pmsileur and some other lessons to hear variety and different speakers and translations to simple words and grammar patterns.. i found this to be a huge help.. after learning a ton of vocab i went back to the basics to improve my sentence structure and usage... it also helps improve my ear on the more commonly used words.

 

also, my understanding when thai people speak to me has improved a lot too. i have been studying everyday.. i mean everyday for a few hours a day for 10 months.. i forget more then i learn sometimes, but then out of the blue i pull a word out of my ass and completely shock myself and my girlfriend.. thats renews my vigor and im back on track...

 

but still. my main problem with understanding is suttle tones and word combinations that dont have anything to do with what i actually think they mean.. like the word selfish... gae hen tua... old, see, self or body... i know it now and it makes sense but when you are learning you are like, "whattttttt"?? and forget about little "sayings" and metaphors..

 

ill be in thailand in october and i feel very confident that i will be able to have intelligent if not detailed conversations with most people.. tha phuak khow poot cha cha lat chat jen gap puhm ben phiset.. especially if they speak slowly and clearly.. ngai ngai doesnt hurt either..

[herds]

funny, the word for selfish kinda stumped me as well.

[padfoot]

I've been studying for six months now. Comprehension gives me the most trouble. A Thai will say something and it can take a while for everything to click. It's like all my flash cards are scrolling in front of my eyes. Some days I can string together a pretty good conversation. I can read pretty good. Though I read like a first grader, I do know most of the exceptions to the rule and when the sound changes at the end of a syllable.

But at times I feel I've learned nothing, though I know better. I believe the reading has helped me, but some people wait till later to learn reading. My teacher says it takes about two years to reach a comfort level.

One thing I wish for is that Thais would give me a little longer to comprehend before they it over in English.

In the end I do enjoy the challenge.