Should I Feel Some Level Of Accomplishment?

[thailanguagestudent]

I have been studying thai off an on. I can't specify the amount of time because I have never really been able to dedicate a designated amount of time. I just study when I can and there has been times of great discouragement.

I am feeling discouraged now even as I type this message, however, sometimes I have moments of promise where I think it is possible for me to one day speak thai fluently.

I started out learning to read and write first. I can recite the thai alphabet and I can read children's books. When I say read children's books, it doesn't mean I understand everything I am reading. It just means I can pronounce (to the best of my ability) and understand some of what I read (and even then I have to consult a dictionary often).

I have recently studied the thai alphabet song. This morning for the first time, I actually recited the entire song by memory. Keep in mind, it is not pronounced perfectly or anything and I will have to work on my pronunciation. I can write most of it by memory, but I have yet to write all 44 verses without at least one spelling error. I will continue to work on that because my goal is to write all 44 verses without any spelling errors. I understand most of the verses. Still hung up on เอ๋ย (eeuy) from the first verse, as well as a few other verses, but I will keep at it until I understand them.

Okay, finally, to my question. Should I feel accomplished for reciting all 44 verses of the thai alphabet song? Would that even be considered an accomplishment for an American?

Another question I have is this. If I can recite all 44 verses of the thai alphabet song, does that show potential? Is it just a matter of time before I can speak thai fluently?

In summary, I just really need some encouragement right now.

[qualtrough]

What your feeling is entirely normal. When studying a language most people I know have periods when they feel like they are making great progress, followed by periods when they feel very frustrated. The key thing is to keep at it, as it will come day by day.

[fabianfred]

you're doing fine..... great to start with the reading/writing... you don't need to mess with those awful transliteration systems

my story...

I was in the british army for 25 years and my final posting before retirement was in HongKong for 3 years with the Gurkhas.... before leaving to complete the retirement process at the end of 1991...

elements of my unit went to train with the Thai army in Korat for a month.... I did not go, but heard many interesting tales upon their return

a friend had made the aquaintance of a lady, so when I decided to visit Thailand, he asked me to take a letter and gift to her

my first visit was for 19 days... and after two days in Bangkok I went to Korat where I stayed for 9 days..... yes! 9 days.... not much to do in Korat... you would think..... but I visited all the local temples and Phimai and PhanomRung... and befriended a Thai monk who could speak a little english.... I used to go and chat with him at his temple in the city where they were constructing a new Viharn too.

I watched kids fishing in the city moat next to the old marketplace near 'Yaa ***' the famous statue... and took many photos... but in Korat hardly anyone spoke english

after returning to Hongkong I knew that I would be visiting Thailand often so I bought the Linguaphone set of tapes and books to learn the Thai language......

It is very good and uses the system of transliteration devised by Mary Haas (also used by the A.U.A. in Thailand). The course consists of 40 lessons and there is a small book on the Thai script which they advise you to start by lesson ten.

with my frequent visits I was able to practise my Thai.... and also there were many Thai girls working as maids alongside the many Phillipinas in Hongkong... and they all had a day off on sundays and would meet at Exchange Square to chat/eat Thaifood/etc. so I would go there too.... my friend also started to visit Thailand and became engaged to a Thai Girl working at a GoGo bar in Wanchai... so we had a small circle of Thai friends we could meet and chat with in Hongkong too....

of course, being able to visit Thailand and use the language makes learning much easier..... but it is like anything... if we really want to do it.... we can

it isn't like learning a language in school.... just another boring subject we aren't much intersested in.....

I bought a pocket sized hard-bound notebook with the A-Z tabs at the edge.... and started to make my own personal Thai dictionary..... this helped very much because I can remember a word much easier if I write it down..... it was in the format of a Thai/english dict. not english/Thai..... so I would put Thai words starting with the A sound under the A section.... write them in the romanised thai script from the linguaphone system and then put in the meaning in english (later as I got to know the Thai script I put that in too).

I would carry it in my pocket everywhere and add new words to it if I considered them important enough that they would get plenty of use...... I had big full dictionaries at home for the more obscure, less used words...

[fabianfred]

used to like buying Thai pop music tapes and listening to them with a Walkman when travelling around Hongkong on the trains and buses... I remember thinking how it would be great if one day I was able to read the lyrics in time with the music... and understand them.... and now I can.

[rak sa_ngop]

Some childrens books may not be too useful because they may contain non-contemporary language i.e. the archaic /poetic language of nursery rhymes etc. and not of real life.

I would recommend that you move on and try reading the series of Scooby-Doo books that are available in many bookshops because they are in both English and the Thai translation. They use a very contemporary Thai language and have real life situations (if you can call ghost-busting real life). I think they are great!

[rak sa_ngop]

used to like buying Thai pop music tapes and listening to them with a Walkman when travelling around Hongkong on the trains and buses... I remember thinking how it would be great if one day I was able to read the lyrics in time with the music... and understand them.... and now I can.

I have trouble understanding the lyrics of English songs! Thai people always ask me 'what are they saying?' when listening to English/American singers and often I can't tell them.

Saying that, maybe Thai singers tend to sing-to-be-understood more whereas Western singers aim to sing-to-create-a-melodic sound?

[thailanguagestudent]

I would recommend that you move on and try reading the series of Scooby-Doo books that are available in many bookshops because they are in both English and the Thai translation. They use a very contemporary Thai language and have real life situations (if you can call ghost-busting real life). I think they are great!

rak sa_ngop, do you have a link to a place to purchase those books online. I also think that might be a good idea.

[jdinasia]

TLS ... are you not IN Thailand?

if you are ... think AsiaBooks and Bookazine amongst others ... can even find them in DK SEE and other Thai bookshops

[mangkorn]

TLS ... are you not IN Thailand?

if you are ... think AsiaBooks and Bookazine amongst others ... can even find them in DK SEE and other Thai bookshops

I'm actually starting to wonder if thailanguagestudent is for real.

When you add it all up, almost sounds like someone having a lark.

[rak sa_ngop]

I would recommend that you move on and try reading the series of Scooby-Doo books that are available in many bookshops because they are in both English and the Thai translation. They use a very contemporary Thai language and have real life situations (if you can call ghost-busting real life). I think they are great!

rak sa_ngop, do you have a link to a place to purchase those books online. I also think that might be a good idea.

The bi-lingual books are published by Nation Egmont. Maybe you can Google and buy on-line from them.

You can also buy some of the books from Learningthai.com

http://www.buythaibooks.com/customer/produ...t=11&page=1

They are selling four Scooby-doo books for 19.95 USD post paid. (they cost 45 baht each in Thailand). There are at least 16 titles in the series but not so easy to track all these down in Thai bookshops.

[gampaan]

If he is for real, try some karaoke cd's. They are usually simple and not just kiddie language.