just remember, those kiddie books are for kids that already know much Thai. The State Dept school of languages for their consular officers that must be able to speak a foreign language at all levels due to a need to interview for visas etc ...when I left that class after one year I could read write and speak to just about any Thai on any subject. We began speaking words and phrases 6 weeks or so before tackling the script and reading. Of course we were doing that 5-7 hours daily for that year and were getting paid for it too. After another 10-11 languages, returned toThailand and lost a lot of vocabulary BUT, i can still read the language just don't always know exactly what it means. i can carry a conversation again after getting married to a Thai lady that doesn't speak English very well. To ensure daughter got the best of both worlds, I speak English with her and her mother speaks Thai with her and she learned Chinese in school for 5 years and at the same time taught herself to speak, read, write and teach in Korean while in HS. She is studying Japanese on her own at this time while an exchange student in Seoul.
