Language Partner In Chiang Mai

[skeetaboat]

I've decided that it's high time I get myself from beginner-intermediate Thai to intermediate-advanced Thai. I think the best way is speaking with a Thai person, regularly, about lots of things, just like you would with friends except everything takes more time, and requires a lot of patience.

I've got some Thai friends but we always end up speaking Thinglish, which is good for practice but not really for honing language skills. I want someone I can sit down with and really focus on communicating in Thai language. Soooo.... I'm looking for a Thai person who lives in Chiang Mai and can speak *some* English who would like to practice/expand their English with me in exchange for letting me practice/expand my Thai with them, just in a casual way over coffee probably on a Saturday.

So.. TV probably isn't the right place to start looking for a Thai person.. but anyone got any ideas where to start looking in Chiang Mai? Or Thai friends who'd like to practice their English?

[Maejo Man]

I have a maid that only speaks two words of English "Good morning" so naturally I have to speak to her in Thai. I's amazing what you learn over the course of the years.

An alternative, depending on how serious you are, is to put yourself into a local temple for a few weeks, and learn with the monks. They are extremely patient, but on the other hand the hours might not suit.....

[skeetaboat]

I have a maid that only speaks two words of English "Good morning" so naturally I have to speak to her in Thai. I's amazing what you learn over the course of the years.

An alternative, depending on how serious you are, is to put yourself into a local temple for a few weeks, and learn with the monks. They are extremely patient, but on the other hand the hours might not suit.....

Hey thanks Maejo Man. It's true.. I used to work with Thai people and that's how I got my base in Thai.. but I've hit a plataeu and a confidence slump! I haven't got the time to do a temple visit (full time work) and I've thought about trying to monk chat thing but (..I'll probably get shot for this, but here goes..) the idea of a meditation retreat doesn't appeal to me because I always feel like I'm doing something wrong when I interact with monks, because I'm female (.. of course the way to remedy this would be to spend some time with some monks and come to understand the rules a little better, but anyhow, I digress)

I googled it language exchange partners.. there's a website here for anyone else who is interested: http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/

Interested to hear other people's ideas on how to go about it..

[Thaihog]

Why don't you try and get hold of the dubious Thai couple mentioned on the previous thread. I'm sure they would be very helpful.

Edited January 22, 2007 by Thaihog

[skeetaboat]

Why don't you try and get hold of the dubious Thai couple mentioned on the previous thread. I'm sure they would be very helpful.

I tried. They're all booked out. Lots of farang in Chiang Mai to kidnap you know.

[realthaideal]

What's up Skeeta ? Here's my 2 baht's worth of advice..... First off, you just have to fight the urge to go Thinglish and keep it real Thai. The best situations for that in my case is out in the streets, at the food carts for instance. They often have no Eng skills, and only Thai works there.

But really, you know there're plenty of people to practice your Thai with out there too. Just get creative. Maybe volunteer somewhere. You're likely to meet an educated Thai who can school you on the finer points of proper, politely spoken Thai, not just street talkin'.

And my second thought for the plateau - 'cause we all hit one - is do you read Thai yet ? If not, there's a giant goal to set for yourself. It's not nearly as hard as everyone makes it out to be. It just takes practice, some writing/ copying of the letters, and looking around. Suddenly you'll be able to read where parking is, who is selling car insurance, and who is selling Kaho Soi. It's awesome, really. I bought the posters they give to litle kids with the alphabet and the vowels on them (about 30 baht each for the cheap ones) - 2 separate posters. You just have to look every day. The vowels follow some really predictable patterns and sounds the way they lay out the chart. If you haven't tried it, go for it. You will end up seeing and learning/ asking about new words all the time.

And plus, how cool will you feel when you know you read some Thai too ?

[Puwa]

What's up Skeeta ? Here's my 2 baht's worth of advice..... First off, you just have to fight the urge to go Thinglish and keep it real Thai. The best situations for that in my case is out in the streets, at the food carts for instance. They often have no Eng skills, and only Thai works there.

But really, you know there're plenty of people to practice your Thai with out there too. Just get creative. Maybe volunteer somewhere. You're likely to meet an educated Thai who can school you on the finer points of proper, politely spoken Thai, not just street talkin'.

And my second thought for the plateau - 'cause we all hit one - is do you read Thai yet ? If not, there's a giant goal to set for yourself. It's not nearly as hard as everyone makes it out to be. It just takes practice, some writing/ copying of the letters, and looking around. Suddenly you'll be able to read where parking is, who is selling car insurance, and who is selling Kaho Soi. It's awesome, really. I bought the posters they give to litle kids with the alphabet and the vowels on them (about 30 baht each for the cheap ones) - 2 separate posters. You just have to look every day. The vowels follow some really predictable patterns and sounds the way they lay out the chart. If you haven't tried it, go for it. You will end up seeing and learning/ asking about new words all the time.

And plus, how cool will you feel when you know you read some Thai too ?

that's good advice. another pointer, which may sound strange but helped me out a lot, is to watch interview programs on TV. not soap operas or game shows, but news-like programs where people go back and forth in questions and answers. it gives you a good feel for natural but formal thai, and lots of new vocabulary. don't worry if you don't understand everything--the point is to pick up the rhythm of conversation. this doesn't help your speaking of course, but it can help your comprehension immensely. good luck!

[meadish_sweetball]

Agreed about talkshow programs, they really are the best to learn from... and after them, *shock horror* the soaps, although I do have to force myself to watch a full episode. But if you do, you will soon pick up a lot of the language used in everyday conversations.

The news are read at such high speed that I still have problems getting 100%.

Remember language skills are made up of several different components, so it makes sense to practice in as many ways as you can. Obviously, learning how to read will be immensely helpful to your learning new vocabulary. When you can ask for how a word is spelt and write it down, you have a much better chance of remembering it. Just hearing a word typically means you forget it until next time.