Pimsleur/rosetta Stone/linguaphone Or ?

[sunreader]

So many to choose from, what are people currently recommending.

Currently I know how to say hello, thank you and I know what a black bird is called.

Not much use if I loose my passport in a strange part of Thailand.

[withnail]

Of the three you mentioned I'd go for Linguaphone because it is, at least, a complete course. The first two are nice to have but not worth a fraction of their full price IMO.

Two much more reasonably priced alternatives are Teach Yourself Thai by David Smyth and Thai for Beginners/Intermediate Learners/Advanced Learners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. The old AUA books are also good if you can get hold of them.

Personally my method is to use all of the methods you can find. I would never rely on just one, certainly not at any huge expense.

Edited May 15, 2008 by withnail

[oifarang]

The linguaphone full course is what I first used and to be honest I still think it is the best of all as it is well put together and is progressive aswell as having a Thai vocab of 2000 words.

It is expensive but it is very good. The Becker books are good if you are on a budget. If you are in the UK it is available in most city Libraries.

[garro]

I agree with withnail. You should use a variety of methods to mix things up and keep your interest fresh. In the first few years I used everything that I could lay my hands on. I spent a fortune. Luckily for you there is now more and more free on the internet. I personally wasn't that impressed with Rosetta. It was good in that it helped with reading Thai, but otherwise I'm not sure that it helped me much. I think the Pimsleur course is good, and I used the Benjawan Poomsan Becker series a lot in the beginning. Linguaphone is probably one of the only courses that I didn't try so I can't comment on it. Another course which is cheap is the Courage Thai software. This has a large content of vocab and activities. Another book i would recommend once you can read Thai is 45 Thai Stories with audio tape (if this book is still available).

[oifarang]

45 Thai Stories by Sriwilai Ponmanee is not available anymore.If you can get it second hand then do so as it is a superb book for the more advanced learner.I have all the stories on 2 cd's .