A great thread! I am new to Thailand living in Khorat and trying to learn Thai. My wife is Thai and is encouraging me to learn the language. I have found Khorat to have few classroom settings to learn Thai. I have inquired at the AUA Khorat and found they do not offer Thai classroom instruction in Khorat. I would like to meet with other farang who are learning Thai in Khorat if there is a group which is meeting I would welcome information. I have noticed that the Thai people are much more tolerant in my lack of proper tone and mispronunciation than my experience with learning Chinese. This is crude comparison as the language structure is different. I am finding the tones most difficult with respect to learning other languages (French, German and Spanish). I appreciate breath of experience that has been previously expressed, it give me hope! Thanks!
T
Sorry to resurrect, but this is a great thread.
I have been here nearly 7 years now (27 at the moment). I remember coming here at first and having a double take at the language, I wasn't sure of my long term plans at this point, but Thai just fascinated me for some reason.
I grew up in Kathmandu as a small kid, and spoke mostly Hindi/Nepali till I was 4 ("Can we go to the "Stupa Market" (Super Market) was a favorite with my mom). After arriving in California and the absolutely lovely American public education system, I had lost it all by the age of 6. I basically cannot speak either anymore apart from normal greetings and food stuff.
To me it is very interesting how young children are programmed to learn language. It is simply another step in evolution I guess, but it occurred much more quickly than the previous major steps in evolution.
Anyways, I dove in head-first to learning Thai. I went to Thong Lo Thai Language school and studied 2 hours reading/writing + 1 hour speaking a day with a 1-on-1 teacher(An extremely attractive lady I might add) 3 times a week. I did these 9 hours a week for 3 months, 87 hours total. I came out able to read pretty well, although I couldn't necessarily understand everything I was reading.
Over the next few years I slowly added to my vocabulary without ever picking up another book. I read things and tried to learn from a purely contextual standpoint. I would see a new word and remember it, then ask someone who knew how to translate it, usually a friend from University. This continued for a long time. I sometimes got lazy, but I always had my radar up for new and interesting lingo.
So here I am now. I can read absolutely fluently and understand 80% of what I read in the newspaper. My speaking is still not perfect, I still have trouble with tones at times. And I cannot write well at all due to my peculiar inability to memorize the tone of each consonant (read laziness).
Anyways, I would say to the OP to not give up, just loosen up a bit. Perhaps find some friendly Thais to have a beer with and let the conversation flow, gesticulations and all. Language not need be simply verbal, and a lot of times it is more enjoyable that way.
One Guy's Effort To Learn Thai In 14 Years
in Thai Language
Posted
A great thread! I am new to Thailand living in Khorat and trying to learn Thai. My wife is Thai and is encouraging me to learn the language. I have found Khorat to have few classroom settings to learn Thai. I have inquired at the AUA Khorat and found they do not offer Thai classroom instruction in Khorat. I would like to meet with other farang who are learning Thai in Khorat if there is a group which is meeting I would welcome information. I have noticed that the Thai people are much more tolerant in my lack of proper tone and mispronunciation than my experience with learning Chinese. This is crude comparison as the language structure is different. I am finding the tones most difficult with respect to learning other languages (French, German and Spanish). I appreciate breath of experience that has been previously expressed, it give me hope! Thanks!