YES and NO - depends

 

Learn to read - yes helpful for signs, shopping etc Not too difficult to grasp the alphabet

 

Oral hearing/speaking - depends where you are and if your tilak can speak english (best bet).  In BKK just speak enough to tell taxi driver where to go - Most dont speak english.  If you are going up country and your tilak doesnt speak english then you probably wont last long

I went up country under thiose conditions but I had lived with my duckling for a year before and had grasped some fluency in natural speaking ie automatic without having to xlate in my head first.  She was a good teacher (most thai girls will discourage you learning their language). After 4 years immersion I was ok

Then I moved to BKK and had to relearn many thing cos my accent was isaan and very coarse to snooty thais  EE ha la and so on. But it did give me an insight to the comedic slapstick quality of the language.  It was easy to make jokes and produce fits of laughter - always a good sign

 

A lot of thais in bkk hated that you spoke their language (falang lo mak).  Very very anti.

 

Remember that a facility with the language will not open doors for you. You will still be an alien and never ever be accepted

 

As for writing Thai - what a pain.  Only super educated thais can master that skill.  Spelling is such a problem.  Try looking up a thai word you heard in a dictionary. You might have to try a dozen different possible spellings and still not get there.  BTW the more colourful expressions in Isaan probably wont be listed as in th 1940's the gov removed and destroyed any reference to isaan lao language.  I learnt mine off karaoke vids

 

Is it worth it - probably not.  Does it do more harm than good - probably  Would I bother again - NO! And most of my expat friends didnt know a word.  But it was fun while it lasted and it served to remind me that when I thought I knew the score I found out I didnt really

 

 

 

 

For me it's a big, fat 'no'.  I really don't want to know what Thais think of me.  

No, after 25 years it's still sometimes a struggle to get the cashier at Big C to understand the card number I give her, takes 3 or 4 goes sometimes. This is after adult education course, linguaphone, two Thai language Schools, assorted books and cd's and marrying a teacher of Thai language!

i find it handy on occasion, its very frustrating

not being able to communicate.

but for the most part those i interact with speak english

 

i live in bangkok, i date educated women who speak good english, my thai friends are in the main professional educated people who are happy/enjoy speaking english. i have enough thai for shops, restaurants and transport. also thai is no use outside thailand. so for me there are no benefits in learning thai.

 

if i dated non educated/lower class thai women who spoke atrocious english - as many i see in relationships with/married to foreigners do, or if i lived in a village miles from anywhere where no one spoke english then sure i would learn thai as there would be obvious benefits

The basics are a must but I credit the longevity of the relationship with my Thai partner to the fact that we understand about 25% of what the other is saying... 

no!!

 

20 yrs of actually understanding all the stupidity has been hell on earth

 

 

Yes, of course its worth learning, I just wish I was better at learning.

I still find it very difficult, I cant hear or reproduce the tonal differences, 5 minutes later I have forgotten the word anyway.

 

If some old Thai lady who left school at 12 years old can learn some of my language, makes me feel pretty stupid, that I cant learn some of her language. It would certainly be worth it.

 

I think its a cop out to say its not necessity, not worth it, I choose not to learn etc.

The natives should have never been allowed to join the empire club if you ask me, lol

 

 

 

 

 

13 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Yes, of course its worth learning, I just wish I was better at learning.

I still find it very difficult, I cant hear or reproduce the tonal differences, 5 minutes later I have forgotten the word anyway.

 

I think its a cop out to say its not necessity, not worth it, I choose not to learn etc.

Good point.  Though my wife takes care of my everyday translation requirements and surely shields me from 99% of the nonsense I would otherwise encounter and may well be aggrieved with.  

 

We were in the food court a few days ago, out here in the boonies, and as usual pushed my wife forward to order my lunch in Thai and was most surprised that the young lady spoke absolutely perfect English.  She was extremely modest in stating that she only spoke a little English.  

 

Ignorance is total bliss.  

 

 

Being able to write Thai is a useful skill for me that meets a particular need.  When I teach English to young Thai children, they often have zero skills in reading English letters and phonics, and are very shy. But they are old enough (8 years+) to be able to read Thai script.

 

That being the case, I write the English word using Thai script, so that they are able to correctly pronounce the English word.

 

Eg - for the English word 'get', I might write 'เก็ด'

 

Sometimes, it can be tricky trying to think of the best Thai letters to use when reating the English word ????

One thing I dont fully understand is when people suggest learning to read Thai, as you will be able to speak Thai.

I can read Indonesian, every single word, because its the same alphabet. I still cant speak or understand Indonesian.

 

I know a few Thai characters and can phonetically sound out some basic words. Unless its the Thai word for apple and a picture of an apple next to it, I have no idea what the word I am reading means.

9 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

One thing I dont fully understand is when people suggest learning to read Thai, as you will be able to speak Thai.

I can read Indonesian, every single word, because its the same alphabet. I still cant speak or understand Indonesian.

 

It's something you can do on your own without paying a Thai teacher.

Most of the Thai teachers I hired were completely hopeless.

Apart from BoonMark who worked for AUA in ChiangMai, he was brilliant.

1 hour ago, samsensam said:

If i dated non educated/lower class thai women who spoke atrocious english - as many i see in relationships with/married to foreigners do, or if i lived in a village miles from anywhere where no one spoke english then sure i would learn thai as there would be obvious benefits

These ladies aren't speaking Thai, so still no reason to learn.

20 minutes ago, OneEyedPie said:

Good point.  Though my wife takes care of my everyday translation requirements and surely shields me from 99% of the nonsense I would otherwise encounter and may well be aggrieved with.  

 

We were in the food court a few days ago, out here in the boonies, and as usual pushed my wife forward to order my lunch in Thai and was most surprised that the young lady spoke absolutely perfect English.  She was extremely modest in stating that she only spoke a little English.  

 

Ignorance is total bliss.  

 

 

I had a similar thing the other day, wife tasked me to buy something at markets while she went to the bathroom. It took all of my linguistic and memory skills to get through "hello, do you have, can I have 3, how much, thank you" and be understood. Only to have the little old Thai lady start up in perfect English wanting to discuss quantum physics (ok, it was the weather but could have been quantum physics).

 

It left me feeling very inadequate. I would find it very worthwhile to have better Thai.

1 minute ago, Peterw42 said:

I had a similar thing the other day, wife tasked me to buy something at markets while she went to the bathroom. It took all of my linguistic and memory skills to get through "hello, do you have, can I have 3, how much, thank you" and be understood. Only to have the little old Thai lady start up in perfect English wanting to discuss quantum physics (ok, it was the weather but could have been quantum physics).

Show them a photo of the item you want to buy on your smartphone.

No skills required in any language, also works with/for deaf/mutes.

7 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

It left me feeling very inadequate. 

I was so tempted to say that your wife already told me that, but I won't.  ????

 

 

If your not in a village forget it. You unlearn very quickly if your not practice every day

4 minutes ago, OneEyedPie said:

I was so tempted to say that your wife already told me that, but I won't.  ????

 

 

If she told you in Thai, I would be none the wiser, thats part of the problem, lol

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Show them a photo of the item you want to buy on your smartphone.

No skills required in any language, also works with/for deaf/mutes.

Yes, but dont you want to get beyond that, I know I do

It should be mandatory just as the health insurance and the money in bank or income

It is in most 'civilized' countries so there must be some good idea behind it..

2 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Yes, but dont you want to get beyond that, I know I do

I'm well beyond that, but it's still generally easier to pretend I don't read, speak or understand.

14 years here and I've never got beyond the basics, for taxi drivers and in restaurants. As there is no requirement to speak Thai in Bangkok, where I live and work, or in the main tourist areas, I see little point. My 4 year old speaks it quite well though.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

6 minutes ago, jumbo said:

It should be mandatory just as the health insurance and the money in bank or income

It is in most 'civilized' countries so there must be some good idea behind it..

Big difference is Thais can work in, for example, the UK but the majority of expats can't work in LOS.  

 

Further, LOS does not have a social security system for falang [there's barely one for the natives], but a Thai can claim social security in the UK.  The idea therefore is a Thai settling in the UK will require an elementary comprehension of English to improve their chances of finding gainful employment which reduces the burden on the taxpayer.

 

 

Some people are just good at learning languages. Mrs had a student who learned to read, speak and write in a couple of years. When she left the country she wrote her a page and a half of A4 thank you letter in Thai. i could never manage that in 50 years!

40 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Show them a photo of the item you want to buy on your smartphone.

No skills required in any language, also works with/for deaf/mutes.

Google Translate work well too.

  Of course, is it worth to learn Thai when you've decided to live in Thailand. 

 

     When I would move to Spain, I'd learn Spanish; it's that easy. No comprente? 

 

         

 

       

1 hour ago, wgdanson said:

Google Translate work well too.

I find Google Translate from and to Thai useless.

4 minutes ago, Maestro said:

I find Google Translate from and to Thai useless.

It's a useful tool if you can already read and write Thai a bit.

If you can already understand the sentence except for a few words.

1 hour ago, Isaanbiker said:

When I would move to Spain, I'd learn Spanish; it's that easy. No comprente? 

I really am beyond learning languages at my time of life due to lack of motivation and inclination.  I defer to my wife who loves to learn and I merely provide the encouragement and support [I buy the books etc.]

 

She loves all that.  

3 hours ago, OneEyedPie said:

Ignorance is total bliss. 

When I learned Thai I thought it would make life easier and help me be accepted and integrate... it didn't. We will never be accepted here. Doesn't matter how long you stay here, you are never going to become a Flintstone.

 

I also thought it would help me chat up girls.... it did! But they still prefer Thai men to us. We re just a walking ATM.

 

Problem now is I can't switch it off and am forced to listen to what the morons are saying. It is amazing how primitive and basic their mentality is.

 

In business meetings I would often sit there and say nothing, the Thais did not know I understood most of what they said, which led to much embarrassment for them later.

 

Disappointed with their behaviour and ignorant lack of depth..... Maybe it is time I left Thailand? But I really can't be arsed to move. Plus, on looking around there are problems in other countries too.

 

If staying long term it's useful to be able to read and speak.... as for writing Thai.... forget it.