Help to learn the basics of Thai in a few weeks in Pattaya!!!????

[moonseeker]

Good day all:

 

I am looking for some recommendations for a friend of mine, who is very eager to learn the basics of Thai in just a few

weeks of time, during his stay in Central- Pattaya. How would he approach that best? He is very motivated, it seems....

One-on-one? School? Online?  Any quick feedback and maybe teacher recommendation much appreciated.  Regards.  MS>

 

 

[carlyai]

There's a place on Sukumvit rd that's part of the Redeptorist orphanage/schools etc. Something like the Eastern library....I can't remember, but if you go to the Pattaya orphanage they will know.

 

They teach Thai, in a group situation, and one of their teachers may be available for private sessions.

 

Also AUA have a branch in Pattaya.

 

If your friend goes to any school, they will find a Thai teacher who would teach. 

 

[Oxx]

How many hours a day/days a week is your friend prepared to commit to?

[jgarbo]

5 hours ago, carlyai said:

There's a place on Sukumvit rd that's part of the Redeptorist orphanage/schools etc. Something like the Eastern library....I can't remember, but if you go to the Pattaya orphanage they will know.

 

They teach Thai, in a group situation, and one of their teachers may be available for private sessions.

 

Also AUA have a branch in Pattaya.

 

If your friend goes to any school, they will find a Thai teacher who would teach. 

 

AUA used to be excellent but proved too hard for the diplomat's wives. I had the best teacher in BKK, Marivn Brown. After 3 mths, 8 hrs a day, I could communicate. English is absolutely no help. The "tones" are not a problem, only five, while English has six, but we use them differently.  

Don't learn Thai unless you have a very strong reason. I did. It's tough. I also speak Mandarin, which is easy compared to Thai. Thai writing is "easier" than Chinese, though "pinyin" can be learned in a few hours, so maybe Chinese is easier overall. 

Your teacher needs at least a good university degree, plus TESOL, and should be tough. Or else she's looking for her next husband. Be warned.

Suggestion: Use sign language.

[connda]

Find a Thai bargirl who has virtually no English skills, then learn together.  You'll figure out how to express your most basic wants and needs in a hurry!  Lol.  

[oxo1947]

2 minutes ago, connda said:

Find a Thai bargirl who has virtually no English skills, then learn together. 

Yes the "Long Haired Dictionary" we used to call them, & we always needed at least one in our group when we were travelling around Thailand.... but that was 30 years ago, now so many people speak English here......

 

Have you seen the new "Pixel Buds" earphones --on sale next month from Google.... place them in the ear and in real time (as they speak)  it changes the language to English, on sale in 3 weeks time.

[exemplary21]

2 hours ago, jgarbo said:

I also speak Mandarin, which is easy compared to Thai. Thai writing is "easier" than Chinese

 

No doubt Thai literacy is easier than Chinese, but that speaking Mandarin is easier than Thai...?

 

Interesting.

 

I know my Thai fluency has been at least partly possible from my literacy in the language. How could that be possible in Mandarin without a phonetic alphabet?

 

Genuine question.

Edited October 12, 2017 by exemplary21

[jacko45k]

Go to Thai school at http://www.easy-abc-th.com/thai-courses-in-pattaya-and-naklua/

Google is your friend.

[tomwct]

When your walking down a street and a Thai Girl says, "You Handsome Man" the Thai Girl is saying in Thai she wants your "MONEY"! This lesson is FREE!

[Seanbhoy]

A few weeks? Thai is quite hard compared to any other language I know, European languages anyway.

some words to us sound almost identical and mean completely different things, even after 10 years I choose not to say certain words purely because of pronunciation.

for example money, I dunno why I can’t say neuugng or however you would spell it, so talking about money I try to say “gee baht” or use the word “duung” - I know i used the alphabet and that’s just how I spell it in my head.

I was quite lucky, I was 18 when I first stayed in thailand for a year so my brain was probably still absorbing & where I stayed in Samut sakhon mahachai, nobody I knew could speak English so I was forced to learn, albeit completely rude shitty half Thai half bloody north east dialect with loads of words you shouldn’t use in normal day to day life.

depends what you want it for, I’m 30 now and I’d say English and apps are way more widely used so it’s easy I guess to get by although I know the language quite well.

get a translator and a Rosetta Stone and listen to it on ur headphones, reading the word will not help at all because the alphabet, you need to listen to the word.

try to build up a vocab of every day words like, adjectives probably then incorporate words like when, where, how, what then when you have a crap load of adjectives in ur vocabulary you can add the when what where how into the sentences and then learn how to say “In the past” or “last night/week/month/year” and “next week/tomorrow/month/year”

learn all the words used for everything in restaurant, in a house, at work in a pub, playing snooker.

thai people love talking about what it’s like in ur home country or your family so learn all that bullsh*t.

once you do that I’d say u have loads of conversation, if you make mistakes, I do now  especially talking in the past or trying to list stuff.

how many - 

i want 2 chicken thighs

i want 2 ice cubes

i want 2 portions 

I want 2 tablets

i want two snooker balls

 

i still sometimes get those all mixed up (very rarely)

 

obviously the word chicken or ice or ice or tablet etc remains the same but the word to describe what your asking for is different

so like “song meat” “song luuke” “song goong” blah blah

 

so if you only want2 cubes of ice and you said “au naam keng song meat” lol it’s wrong but 100% they’ll understand plus probably laugh and if there fit you might make a friend 

[elgenon]

If he goes to a school they won't teach him what he really needs to learn. Even 1 on 1 he would have to know what to ask to learn. So maybe a combo of 1 on 1 and real world interaction with the situation of his choice.

 

Are there Thais where he lives? He could advertise for a Thai to teach him at home if he knows want he wants to learn. For example: Sorry I didn't know my hand was there. 5555

[Seanbhoy]

25 minutes ago, elgenon said:

If he goes to a school they won't teach him what he really needs to learn. Even 1 on 1 he would have to know what to ask to learn. So maybe a combo of 1 on 1 and real world interaction with the situation of his choice.

 

Are there Thais where he lives? He could advertise for a Thai to teach him at home if he knows want he wants to learn. For example: Sorry I didn't know my hand was there. 5555

Yeah school is a load of rubbish, same as Thai children learning English, same as me learning French at school.

you need a non English speaking family, stay one week and you will learn more than John has learnt in 20years on his retirement in Pattaya 

[SteveMack]

22 hours ago, oxo1947 said:

Yes the "Long Haired Dictionary" we used to call them, & we always needed at least one in our group when we were travelling around Thailand.... but that was 30 years ago, now so many people speak English here......

 

Have you seen the new "Pixel Buds" earphones --on sale next month from Google.... place them in the ear and in real time (as they speak)  it changes the language to English, on sale in 3 weeks time.

does not have thai on the list of languages.

[oxo1947]

52 minutes ago, SteveMack said:

does not have thai on the list of languages

Yes I thought that might be the case--When the "babble" language way of learning first started-- it also didn't have Thai--I wrote to them at the time (mid 90s) pointing out that there were nearly 18 million people visiting Thailand every year, who would like to interact--got the usual reply.

Basicly--Thai Language is of no use anywhere but inside Thailand

 

If he can think outside the box Steve--then Lao is the language to learn--- everyone in Thailand will understand you...In fact they will like for the fact you speak it. Even the high so BKK people--they have to understand it to be able to tell their maid/Drive;/gardener what to do.

 

I have never heard Thai spoken outside of Thailand--except if 2 High so Thais would suddenly meet up, I travel (pleasure) with the wife a lot--she was getting by quite easily in Hanoi a few months ago, Bali etc. The more you understand a bit of Lao--the more you are amazed at where you hear it spoken.

Living up in Barn Nok..is funny, all schools have to teach Thai language by Government order, the minute that the child walks out--everything reverts to speaking Lao (issan)

 

Lao is also spoken in Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Thailand, and USA.--http://aboutworldlanguages.com/lao

 

 

[Oxx]

14 minutes ago, oxo1947 said:

Lao is the language to learn--- everyone in Thailand will understand you

 

And will either consider you learned your language from an ill-bred hick, or will assume you learned from your time whore-mongering (or more likely both).

[oxo1947]

Yes there is that taint from the --Hi so person Oxx...and even some of the teachers are stunned that you asked. But I dont think you would have that so much if your a farang talking a language that they could understand.

.

What is language about--if it is not communication....and if you have the choice of a language that is just spoken in 1 place, or communicating in one that is used in several... 

 

[Oxx]

1 hour ago, oxo1947 said:

Yes there is that taint from the --Hi so person Oxx...and even some of the teachers are stunned that you asked. But I dont think you would have that so much if your a farang talking a language that they could understand.

 

You, apparently, aren't capable of communicating effectively in English.  I'm not sure why you feel you're qualified to pontificate about communication in other languages.

 

If you don't get my point, consider "dont" and "your".

 

And you're clearly oblivious to the fact that I speak, read and write Thai fluently.  And nobody has every confused me with a whore-monger because it has always been my objective to speak Thai correctly, with an upper middle class accent and vocabulary.  As for "a farang talking a language that they could understand", well that's never, ever been an issue.  Even the whores from Isaan (not that I have a lot to do with them) and the peasant farmers from the North can understand Central Thai spoken accurately.

[oxo1947]

10 hours ago, Oxx said:

You, apparently, aren't capable of communicating effectively in English.  I'm not sure why you feel you're qualified to pontificate about communication in other languages.

 

If you don't get my point, consider "dont" and "your".

My parents spanked me as a child. I now suffer from a psychological condition known as ... "Respect for others"

.

What is with the aggression of some of the posters on this board that you do not seem to find elsewhere . You try to make a suggestion about Language use, then because its not in line with their views , your suggestion is not discussed--or even dismissed, your mental ability to make the suggestion is.

.

Yes Oxx I take your point about about Issan people understanding the Thai language, I thought I covered it by saying "its taught in all schools here" & it is the language of TV, but its not the language of choice--everyday life. Not even spoken when you walk into the Amphur/immigration, although it is written on all documents--and it would be spoken if you start to speak it.

 

There are many examples of this same situation around the world, especially in Europe, I have friends from Belgium & Switzerland - all have 2-3-& 4 language choices.

If you (were younger ) Oxx &  offered employment in......say  Luxenbourg, you didn't know if you would live for a long period there but you did want to communicate with people, would you take lessons in what is their National language -- Luxembourgish, a language like Thai, in as much you will never hear it spoken anywhere else in the world. Or would you say to your self, 3 other languages are spoken fluently here, why do I not learn French or German..because in my life it will be more useful.

 

That was the point I was trying to make for the OPs friend, he may decide to travel around somewhat -- go to Cambodia, because it boarders on Lao & the Lao spoken part of Thailand.....its like a 2nd language there.

If I did not convey this correctly--or I missed out an Apostrophe or a comma somewhere, then thank you for pointing it out---& my apologies.

 

[SEtonal]

Languages should be started before going to a country, especially if you only want to know the basics.  A teacher isn't magic -- you can learn the basics by yourself.  Tutors make sense once you are at an intermediate level.

 

If your friend is in an English speaking country, tell him to check his library for Mango Languages.  Mango teaches pronunciation, vocabulary, and basic sentence structure.   If not free at the library, Mango Languages offers a free two-week trial on their website.   I highly recommend the program.  It is excellent and well worth purchasing one month for USD$20.   https://mangolanguages.com/

 

50 Languages has a course built around basic phrases.  http://www.goethe-verlag.com/book2/EM/

 

He can practice at a Meetup group in Pattaya for Thai beginners.  https://www.meetup.com/cities/th/pattaya/

 

Pimsleur puts me to sleep, but it is an excellent program.  Check the library for Pimsleur Thai.

Edited October 14, 2017 by SEtonal

[tgeezer]

The think now that I should have studied food and cooking more especially if one expects to get much of it from the street. Thais always ask what it is that you like about Thailand the answer to which I think should be “The food” if you want to make freinds quickly.  You will be on common ground with everybody and learn sentence construction at the practical level and because what you are talking about is there before you memory is enhanced by word association.  I heard yesterday that if one walks around rather than sit, lists can be more easily remembered, it may work with language. 

 

[elgenon]

I remember the excellent book entitled something like the Bar Workers Guide to English. My last copy was stolen by a BG. Needs to be found and reprinted.