How To Learn Thai Language?

[olaus]

Has anybody experience of the "Rosetta Stone" - method? Good?

Olaus

[jking6827]

I just bought level one thai which is the only one rosetta does in thai, in Durham North Carolina to help prepare me for when I move there in 18 months. It just arrived today by delivery...but some language professors at the school where I went for my masters said it is good for starting out in the language or any language along with using this http://www.pimsleurapproach.com/

at the same time you are using the rosetta stone: do one lesson in one and another in the other and just keep on going.

and this resource: http://www.nectec.or.th/WWW-VL-Thailand.html

[olaus]

Thank You, jking6827 ! I got at last an answer. Sorry, but these "pimsleur"- cassettes can only be bought on line inside the USA, and I am living in Thailand.

It would be very interesting to hear, what You think about the "Rosetta Stone"- method after some studying...

Olaus

[jking6827]

Why can't you buy online in Thailand? Just curious. Give me six months and send me an email to see how I am doing, just in case I forget

[Khun Larry]

Has anybody experience of the "Rosetta Stone" - method? Good?

Olaus

I have the Rosetta Stone Thai edition. It is very helpful for basic sentence structure and to get the tempo of the language. If used with some other books can be a great help.

There are two versions Full CD and Explorer CD. The explorer has only 1 or 2 lessons. The full CD has about 11.

What is her name?

[Mocksy]

I'm using Teach yourself Thai and it seems pretty good. Like learning any language. Persistence is the key. Got writing half the alphabet sorted out !!!

[bina]

what is the 'teach yourself thai" ?

i'm also looking to teach myself to read thai; the speaking is no problem but to advance in speaking i need to be able to read (i know this from experience its not true for every one); the rossetta stone course doesnt help with reading? i tried to download their demo but my computer is way too slow so...

[jking6827]

The Rosetta stone that is put out now, which I just purchased for beginning Thai includes all components of listening, reading, writing and speaking. Good luck. James

[Surfing Spleen]

Check http://www.learningthai.com/

Regards,

Spleen

[konangrit]

what is the 'teach yourself thai" ?

i'm also looking to teach myself to read thai; the speaking is no problem but to advance in speaking i need to be able to read (i know this from experience its not true for every one); the rossetta stone course doesnt help with reading?  i tried to download their demo but my computer is way too slow so...

I learned to read and write Thai with David Smythes "Teach yourself Thai". It's published by Hodder and Stoughton and highly recommended. Unfortunately this beginners course was never followed up by an intermediate or advanced course.

[rcjoop]

Thank You, jking6827 ! I got at last an answer. Sorry, but these "pimsleur"- cassettes can only be bought on line inside the USA, and I am living in Thailand.

It would be very interesting to hear, what You think about the "Rosetta Stone"- method after some studying...

Olaus

The Pimsleur tapes are also available in MP3 format, total file size > 250 Mbyte.

So if you have a broadband connection, you can PM me for the download site in europe

[bina]

ok, sorry to be a 'nudnik' (someone who bugs someone else , in yiddish) but...

checked out the rossetta stone online finally, seems like a good way to learn; i think thats pretty much the way i learned hebrew, BUT still, the price...

the david smythe book, cheap, but couldn't tell how the method works;

i dont mind doing a long term sort of study program, i learn languages fast, have no difficulty with letters that arent latin style, i can sit every day for an hour and study and most important, i have no access to anywhere in israel that teaches reading and writing thai, officially; there isnt even any southeast asia study programs, just korea, china and japan so basically i am stuck being my own teacher...thank god for thai.visa forum

the thai workers speak with me but they mostly have a 4/5 grade education, chao na issan men and their reading is not wonderful either (i've watched them read thai chicken magazines w/difficulty and writing a short sentence takes them an agonizing amount of time with, apparently, many mistakes, so they are no help as teachers)

so final recommendation???

pisleur

rossetta

david smythe

i have benjawan's book, but its not enough...

[Boon Mee]

I had a look at the Rossetta Stone approach vs. the US State Department's Foreign Service Course and the tapes are better with FSI. The important thing is to learn the five tones and get off transliteration as soon as you can. Learning for me comes much faster sounding out the words written in Thai...although I'm a long way from passing the P6 Exam.

[bina]

"US State Department's Foreign Service Course and the tapes are better with FSI"

how do you learn to read with tapes? (along side written material or computer stuff?)

is this the pimsleur method or something else;

where can it be purchased and is it sold outside the u.s.a? my internet not cooperating for locating this course

will probably take someones advice from this forum and will use rossetta with something else

you would think that a country that hires thoughsands and thousands of thai workers that someone would have set up a real university course on thailand and the language instead of japanese korean or chinese which is striclty for overseas business; cant even find a thai history course here and the embassy people are fairly snobby since i am the israeli version of a chao naa

[Boon Mee]

My reference to the FSI tapes was that they are excellent to hear the tones and then use perhaps the AUA Workbooks to learn reading/writing. Just using conversational tapes won't take you too far alone.

[bina]

boon mee,

thank you for the lead;

i am obviously going to have to build my own curriculum and buy my own text books as well as for history culture etc ( i have a BA in anthropology blah blah from the states 25 years ago); any scholars out there that can reccommend some MUST READS for a self studier, please let me know (skip economics but agriculture, etc is good);

since the kibbutz wont pay because this is not a real university nor functional subject but self study, i try to do as much on the internet as possible, books are expensive to ship...any other info much appreciated.

thanks to all for input

certainly a change from talking with goats and donkeys all day

[Boon Mee]

bina~

You can get the AUA books online from Amazon & I believe the FSI Course as well. FSI is a little expensive though. Best of luck to you!

Boon Mee

[stevehaigh]

I highly reccomend David Smythe's books including "Thai - an essential grammar" which i found in a lotus tesco book store for 1000 bhat (expensive but worth it).

[Johpa]

since the kibbutz wont pay because this is not a real university nor functional subject but self study, i try to do as much on the internet as possible, books are expensive to ship...any other info much appreciated.

Perhaps you need to find a meshek that has Thai workers. I heard that there are Thais working as bananchikim in the western Galil.

[NaiGreg]

The Rosetta Stone [home study edition] is an amazing learning experience. I am currently on my second go-around with the Thai I version (11 in-depth lessons). I have been studying [with many books, tapes, CD's) on and off for 4 years. I can't imagine what I would do without the 'Stone'. It is Thai-only, absolutely NO english, written or spoken. But, truthfully, it is expensive and it will only get you half way there. Immersion in the home and office (and a good dictionary) is the only road to fluency!

Good Luck na

[Richard W]

since the kibbutz wont pay because this is not a real university nor functional subject but self study, i try to do as much on the internet as possible, books are expensive to ship...any other info much appreciated.

It occurs to me that there probably isn't much material available in both Hebrew and Thai. However, there is one huge book (or collection) that is available in most languages - the Bible! I was looking for some uncontroversial, non-private material to test my transliteration schemes on, and I found a translation into Thai at Thai Bible King James Version. I presume it's a translation of the translation into English authorised by King James, but I would expect that the translation is usually reliable where the original can be read using only a knowledge of Modern Hebrew. I assume you already have access to the Old Testament (תנ״ך) in Hebrew.

[bina]

richard w:

thanx; i think reading the bible in thai is probably easier than reading it in biblical hebrew/aramaic-- ask my three kids how they suffer thru school!!! תודה רבה

[stiab3]

where can one get the pimsleur method mp3s?

s3