Rosetta Stone is a joke. Multiple-choice picture questions, all in the language, with no English translations.

Linguaphone, by contrast, has proper books and audio cassettes (maybe CDs/DVDs now). They are fairly expensive but good.

Kindly tell me of any other courses out there for Asian languages, preferably in the Linguaphone format. The correct way to learn is to listen and simultaneously read the text in both English and the language being learnt. Thanks.

Thai for beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker....also has Thai for intermediate learners.

Both with Cd + book( text in English too). on the web they have some other dvds as well.

www.paiboonpublishing.com

I happened upon Benjawan Poomsan Becker as my introduction to Thai language, and I am very grateful for all her efforts. I still carry her pocket dictionary around with me everywhere I go (actually, my third copy - the first having fallen apart from too much use, and the second, in a similar state, I agreed to donate to a school because my teacher thought it would make a fine "museum-type example of studiousness...").

It may not be the best dictionary out there, but it is certainly the best one that you can carry around with you. And I'd feel helpless and naked without a dictionary in my shoulder bag.

Thai Courage software is good, a little hard to use at first but very thorough. The sound files leave a bit to be desired but they are OK. I agree Rosetta stone is a joke, you can't learn a Non Roman alphabet language (If a roman alphabet is your native language) via that method. It's proven children and adults learn language different so the theory behind Rosetta is wrong. I'm not saying you won't pick up a bit of vocab but you won't become proficient.

Thai for beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker....also has Thai for intermediate learners.

Both with Cd + book( text in English too). on the web they have some other dvds as well.

www.paiboonpublishing.com

I second this. The Becker materials are the best I've seen for Thai. There's lots of junk out there, written by people who don't have a clue about learning language. With Thai for Beginners by Benjawan Becker I was able to learn to read Thai after I had given up on ever being able to. She gradually introduces the three classes of consonants, the short and long vowels, "dead" or "live" endings, and how the tone rules work with the three classes of consonants. I learned to read fairly quickly - mostly while sitting having a coffee - with this great book.

I started learning Thai back in 1979 from a black tome entitled 'The Fundamentals of the Thai Language' by Campbell and Shaweevongs. First published 1957 but still good. All the tone rules and consonants, and lots of examples, from which I am still learning.