Best Programs To Learn Thai (help Please!)

[DaraRai]

I'm extremely interested in learning how to speak and understand the Thai language, and my goal is to eventually learn to read and write it as well. I plan on moving there sometime in the next few years, so I really need to be fairly fluent in the language (not just a few phrases to get by). I've tried those tourist language books, but those aren't all that helpful, as they only teach the bare minimum and are meant for visitors to Thailand. I've heard a lot about Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur, but Rosetta Stone only has level 1 for Thai. So between the two, which would you recommend as the most successful? Please keep in mind that I'm a beginner, but I am familiar with some Thai terms and phrases and I often watch Thai soap operas and listen to their music to try and catch as many phrases as I can.

Also, any other language program recommendations are welcome! Thank you!

[kriswillems]

I'm extremely interested in learning how to speak and understand the Thai language, and my goal is to eventually learn to read and write it as well. I plan on moving there sometime in the next few years, so I really need to be fairly fluent in the language (not just a few phrases to get by). I've tried those tourist language books, but those aren't all that helpful, as they only teach the bare minimum and are meant for visitors to Thailand. I've heard a lot about Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur, but Rosetta Stone only has level 1 for Thai. So between the two, which would you recommend as the most successful? Please keep in mind that I'm a beginner, but I am familiar with some Thai terms and phrases and I often watch Thai soap operas and listen to their music to try and catch as many phrases as I can.

Also, any other language program recommendations are welcome! Thank you!

I think Pimsleur is better than Rosetta Stone. They are both MUCH too expensive for what you get.

I think it's not possible to study Thai on a reasonable level without the help of a Thai person/Thai teacher. Without a Thai teacher you will learn to remember your own (pronunciation) mistakes and it's hard to forget those mistakes later.

[Indra]

If you are learning a foreign language, there are 3 major component i.e.:

1. Vocabulary
   
2. Pronounciation
   
3. Language structure (grammar)
   
4. Custom/culture
   

However, to learn East Asian languages (including Thai), you have to add one component, which should be put as first priority i.e. tone

Same pronunciation but different tone will have different meaning.

For instance, to say "white rice", you will hear Thai people say "khaaw khaaw" (ข้าวขาว); In fact the first word has different tone than the second word. The first khaaw with falling tone and has meaning "rice"; The second one with raising tone and has meaning "white"

If you plan to move to Thai within the next few years, I think that you can consider going to Thailand for one month.

Then you start learning Thai language (everyday) from a Thai teacher.

Start with simple conversation, after getting some feeling about the pronunciation (tones), then you start learning read and write.

Once you are able to read and write, then you can go back to your country and continue your study there.

Another solution is to buy some structured lesson books from a good Thai language course in Thailand.

Then find a Thai near your current home country and ask him/her to teach you until you can read and write Thai.

Once you are able to read and write, you don't have to worry too much about wrong pronunciation.

[sorensen]

Thamasat University (TU) have a 3 hours a day - 6 weeks course for foreginers for 5,000 baht. SUPER teachers and not more than 10 student in each class.

[beechguy]

For self study, or even if you have a Thai tutor, I recommend the series by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. She has written a series, Thai for Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced. It teaches speaking, reading, and writing, and easier to follow than other books I've seen or used. Each level is available in a set containing a book and CD's or cassette tapes. There is also a computer program for the Beginner course that is good for practice and testing yourself, it covers listening and reading.

Her series is far less expensive than the others mentioned, and I think far more effective for learning the language. Available in many book stores, and was available at Amazon.com the last time I looked.

Edited December 29, 2008 by beechguy

[desi]

Also, any other language program recommendations are welcome! Thank you!

As a person who got frustrated with transliteration, I've made it my hobby to look into Thai language courses (mostly self study). And if I were to start again, this is what I'd do...

1) To learn the Thai alphabet asap....

60 Minutes to Learn the Thai Alphabet

2) To learn how to read Thai...

Introduction to Thai Reading

3) For beginners lessons in Thai...

(not really basic beginners, so you'll need the above)

Everyday Thai for Beginners

There is not one single 'perfect' way to learn Thai, so depending on time, I'd also add a few of the resources here.

Edit: (IMO)... Pimsleur and Lingaphone are great. Rosetta Stone doesn't really teach that much. If Michael Thomas offered Thai lessons, I'd totally cream. If you also speak French, Assimil Thai is top rated by the polyglot forum.

Edited December 29, 2008 by desi

[jimbo38]

Benjawan Poomsan Becker--- Paiboon Publishing

All of her stuff is available in Siam Paragon Bookstore. The best that I have come across so far. And she insists that you learn to read and write if you go beyond beginner level.

Rosetta is good in that you can slow down the spoken word. Try Pantip Computer Supermarket.

I am able to speak enough to get most stuff done but cannot understand one single word spoken to me. Therefore I am concentrating on reading and writing for the time being.

[dingdongrb]

Do as I have done:

1) Search the Internet as there are a few good FREE places to pick up the basics (reading, writing, and the basic vocabulary)

2) Buy some children's books

3) Listen to and talk with the children

4) Marry a long haired dictionary

I may not be able to sit down in an adult conversation with a Thai and speak politics (but then again most Thais cannot as well). But I can get my way around, order food, and get the basics things I need everyday.

[desi]

Also, any other language program recommendations are welcome! Thank you!

I forgot to add Byki into the mix.

(but please note: there are a few snafus in the program)

[britmaveric]

Rosetta Stone is really good. Highly recommend it. Pick up DVD at Pantip for nought.

[beechguy]

Rosetta Stone is really good. Highly recommend it. Pick up DVD at Pantip for nought.

Does it show the words in Thai language for helping to learn to read?

[kriswillems]

Rosetta stone shows the words in Thai language but doesn't teach you to read. Even if you try very hard you will not learn to read with Rosetta stone. It teaches you some basic vocabulary and basic sentences. But you will not be able to remember those sentences because you can't read them and there is also no phonetic script. You can try to remember the sounds.... which looks like a very inefficient way of studying to me.

Even if you remember the sounds you're never 100% sure what those sounds mean. Rosetta stone uses photos and then describes (in Thai) what you see on the photo. But sometimes the same photo can have many interpretations.... so I doubt the student can learn Thai this way. There's also no explanation in English.

Rosetta Stone is not worth more than 20 Baht, in my opinion. As a software engineer I can't advice anyone to use copied software, but in this case I want to make an exception. Please don't spend a lot of money on this.

[Nicky72]

Did you check out the L-Ceps Personaltrainer software for Thai? It also uses an audio-visual approach like Rosetta but has more day-to-day phrases and also phonetic writing besides the Thai script. I have used it for a while now and I am pretty happy with it. You can test it for free with their demo on their website www.l-ceps.com

[kriswillems]

For a not so very beginner who has been through Benjawans beginner and intermediate level. Would Pimsleur be worth the trouble of downloading ? Would I learn anything new not covered by by Benjawan is what I am asking.

If you both have been through Benjawans beginner and intermediate level there will be very little new knowledge in the Pimsleur CDs. The Pimsleur CDs have excellent quality audio recordings (much better than the audio included with Benjawans books or Rosetta Stone), so possibly they could help to improve your pronunciation or listening skills.

[beechguy]

Rosetta stone shows the words in Thai language but doesn't teach you to read. Even if you try very hard you will not learn to read with Rosetta stone. It teaches you some basic vocabulary and basic sentences. But you will not be able to remember those sentences because you can't read them and there is also no phonetic script. You can try to remember the sounds.... which looks like a very inefficient way of studying to me.

Even if you remember the sounds you're never 100% sure what those sounds mean. Rosetta stone uses photos and then describes (in Thai) what you see on the photo. But sometimes the same photo can have many interpretations.... so I doubt the student can learn Thai this way. There's also no explanation in English.

Rosetta Stone is not worth more than 20 Baht, in my opinion. As a software engineer I can't advice anyone to use copied software, but in this case I want to make an exception. Please don't spend a lot of money on this.

Thanks, I've learned to read and write a little through the Benjawan Becker "Thai for Beginners" and working on intermediate. I was just curious if Rosetta Stone would help with increasing my vocabulary, etc. I think it's good to use other sources sometimes.

[Blinq]

I've just returned from my first trip to Phuket and loved every minute of it. The people are so warm and friendly and I felt really at home there. So I'm also proposing to learn Thai. I bought vols 2, 4 and 5 of "Speak Like A Thai" each of which includes a CD and a book at Phuket airport. I also bought "English-Thai" phrase book which includes two CDs in Jungceylon shopping mall. In addition, I bought a dictionary called "Thai Made Easy" written by Andreas Schottenloher, and "Speaking Thai" by Sunthorn Kohtbantau. When I arrived home, I figured I'd have more than enough to get started.

However, all the CDs lack one important feature (for me) which is the ability to repeat a given phrase. Other than by dragging the slider in the media player to roughly where the sentence starts, there's no way to repeat the same phrase again which I find a bit frustrating. In addition, the phrase in spoken English is translated and spoken in Thai by a woman. So instead of hearing the polite article "Khrap" at the end of each phrase, you hear "Kha". No problem if you're woman, but you do have to make constant adjustments to ignore "di-chan", or "kha" when you hear them if you're a guy.

I think these home study courses are OK once you've got a basic understanding of the language, but not much use if you're a complete beginner. So for the time being, I'm sticking to the sites I found before I went there which include audio playback. That way you can replay each word/phrase as often as you like. This site doesn't allow me to link directly to the sources I use, so all I can suggest is to Google for the following:

Seasite spoken Thai

Thai-language

Learning Thai

Each of the above will be the first one in the list on Google.com if you copy/paste those search terms.

[rjk]

For those in Bangkok, I have has the following school recommended to me by a number of people, I don't know how good they are but I'm going to be checking them out.

Thai Language School http://www.thailanguageschool.com/

[klons]

"However, all the CDs lack one important feature (for me) which is the ability to repeat a given phrase. Other than by dragging the slider in the media player to roughly where the sentence starts, there's no way to repeat the same phrase again which I find a bit frustrating."

In the pinned thread uptop, Online dictionaries and resources I put a link to a free program for windows called Audacity, but I have also used one called Nero. There are probably quite a few of these sound editors. What I did was copy the CD files to my computer and play them back with the sound editor. There is a sound wave graph displayed and it is easy to select any part you want to play. You can repeat a phrase with one click. You can edit them for the parts you want and even insert silent periods to give you a chance to repeat, they can also be put on a Ipod or other player.. I also make some of my own lessons and put them on my Ipod. With the sound editor you can also record sound tracts from any videos you play or thai radio on your PC for example.. The thai dialog from a couple of my favorite Thai movies I have also put on my Ipod.

[stevehaigh]

i'm working on a new online teaching system, see http://learnthainow.com/

its still very basic but check back often, i'm adding more content every day.

steve

[harrry]

For self study, or even if you have a Thai tutor, I recommend the series by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. She has written a series, Thai for Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced. It teaches speaking, reading, and writing, and easier to follow than other books I've seen or used. Each level is available in a set containing a book and CD's or cassette tapes. There is also a computer program for the Beginner course that is good for practice and testing yourself, it covers listening and reading.

Her series is far less expensive than the others mentioned, and I think far more effective for learning the language. Available in many book stores, and was available at Amazon.com the last time I looked.

The software will not work on Vista as it requires direct x 9 and Vista has 10. A badly written installer.

[klons]

Thai 101 is a blog with free basic thai lessons in PDF's and mp3 audios. I have only poked around it a little bit so far and don't

know much about it. It is probably on this Forum somewhere already, but I didn't find where.

http://rikker.blogspot.com/

[beechguy]

For self study, or even if you have a Thai tutor, I recommend the series by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. She has written a series, Thai for Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced. It teaches speaking, reading, and writing, and easier to follow than other books I've seen or used. Each level is available in a set containing a book and CD's or cassette tapes. There is also a computer program for the Beginner course that is good for practice and testing yourself, it covers listening and reading.

Her series is far less expensive than the others mentioned, and I think far more effective for learning the language. Available in many book stores, and was available at Amazon.com the last time I looked.

The software will not work on Vista as it requires direct x 9 and Vista has 10. A badly written installer.

Sorry, I can't recall exactly how I did it, but I have the beginner program working on my laptop. It has Vista Home Premium, and I did have problems getting it to load and work properly, and works fine now.

[maamoot]

Rosetta stone shows the words in Thai language but doesn't teach you to read. Even if you try very hard you will not learn to read with Rosetta stone. It teaches you some basic vocabulary and basic sentences. But you will not be able to remember those sentences because you can't read them and there is also no phonetic script. You can try to remember the sounds.... which looks like a very inefficient way of studying to me.

Even if you remember the sounds you're never 100% sure what those sounds mean. Rosetta stone uses photos and then describes (in Thai) what you see on the photo. But sometimes the same photo can have many interpretations.... so I doubt the student can learn Thai this way. There's also no explanation in English.

Rosetta Stone is not worth more than 20 Baht, in my opinion. As a software engineer I can't advice anyone to use copied software, but in this case I want to make an exception. Please don't spend a lot of money on this.

I taught myself to read Thai using Rosetta Stone . Not at a very high level but I can read a Thai menu and street signs .

[kriswillems]

I taught myself to read Thai using Rosetta Stone . Not at a very high level but I can read a Thai menu and street signs .

That is amazing! Only with Rosetta stone? If I remember well, Rosetta stone doesn't even discus the sound of the individual letters, it just shows words. So, how can you learn Thai by just looking at full words without having any knowledge about the sound of the letters? And how could you learn about the vowels and their position around the consonants? Rosetta stone doesn't discus this. Or the tones? Rosetta stone doesn't discus any tone rule.

[rch1023]

I'm extremely interested in learning how to speak and understand the Thai language, and my goal is to eventually learn to read and write it as well. I plan on moving there sometime in the next few years, so I really need to be fairly fluent in the language (not just a few phrases to get by). I've tried those tourist language books, but those aren't all that helpful, as they only teach the bare minimum and are meant for visitors to Thailand. I've heard a lot about Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur, but Rosetta Stone only has level 1 for Thai. So between the two, which would you recommend as the most successful? Please keep in mind that I'm a beginner, but I am familiar with some Thai terms and phrases and I often watch Thai soap operas and listen to their music to try and catch as many phrases as I can.

Also, any other language program recommendations are welcome! Thank you!

I think Pimsleur is better than Rosetta Stone. They are both MUCH too expensive for what you get.

I think it's not possible to study Thai on a reasonable level without the help of a Thai person/Thai teacher. Without a Thai teacher you will learn to remember your own (pronunciation) mistakes and it's hard to forget those mistakes later.

I know you can get Pimsleur on one of the torrent sites. I got it, and found it intensely annoying. Why? Because I am British, and Pimsleur is American. The idiomatic Americanisms do NOT suggest to me the concept which is being presented in Thai, and so the exercise fails. It may be good for Americans, but it won't be so good for other English-speakers.

- Roger -

[mokwit]

Best introductory is the Linguaphone Thai course (IMHO), especially as it teaches Thai reading and writing very well.

Benjawan Beckers books have very useful words and very importantly, like linguaphone, have BOTH Thai and English spelling (one or the other makes things very difficult). Accept that if you want to REALLY speak Thai you are going to have to read Thai. Beckers "Speak like a Thai " CD's have good vocabulary. If you spend time in bars the 'Northeastern Dialect' CD will probably be useful.............

A good new product which has sold out already at Asiabook Paragon is Thai Reading For Speaking by Sweetland.

AUA still sells its old course books but I don't know if they also sell the ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY accompanying cassettes as well. Foreign service MP3 and book avaliable for downlaoad from a link somewhere on this thread here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thai-Languag...ool-t59287.html but NO thai spellings render it near useless.

[Beachbunny]

Benjawan Poomsan Becker--- Paiboon Publishing

All of her stuff is available in Siam Paragon Bookstore. The best that I have come across so far. And she insists that you learn to read and write if you go beyond beginner level.

Rosetta is good in that you can slow down the spoken word. Try Pantip Computer Supermarket.

I am able to speak enough to get most stuff done but cannot understand one single word spoken to me. Therefore I am concentrating on reading and writing for the time being.

After looking for 20 years for books to learn thai, I found Poomsan Becker's books at Chula bookstore. (by the way I'd think they would be way less expensive there than at Paragon)

Anyway, on that trip to Thailand I learned the alphabet very quickly. If you are good at self study this is a good way to go. They now have cds with the books too instead of the old audio tapes. Learn to speak, read, and write at the same time. I'd say being able to read thai helped greatly to contribute to the words I know and understand.....and I am a lazy learner.

Becker also has a CD I just asked a friend to pick up for me.......Improving your Thai pronunciation.

Beachbunny

Edited January 4, 2009 by Beachbunny

[JaiGuru]

I know you can get Pimsleur on one of the torrent sites. I got it, and found it intensely annoying. Why? Because I am British, and Pimsleur is American. The idiomatic Americanisms do NOT suggest to me the concept which is being presented in Thai, and so the exercise fails.

Interesting... Can you give an example that illustrates your point?

[desi]

I know you can get Pimsleur on one of the torrent sites. I got it, and found it intensely annoying. Why? Because I am British, and Pimsleur is American. The idiomatic Americanisms do NOT suggest to me the concept which is being presented in Thai, and so the exercise fails. It may be good for Americans, but it won't be so good for other English-speakers.

- Roger -

For those preferring British-English accents, then Linguaphone is the way to go.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'The idiomatic Americanisms do NOT suggest to me the concept which is being presented in Thai' though...

[desi]

AUA still sells its old course books but I don't know if they also sell the ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY accompanying cassettes as well.

They are no longer available from AUA (and from what I'm told, they were pretty bad to begin with). I recorded to Lesson 11 or so, but then gave up as I was wasting too much time.

Foreign service MP3 and book available for down load from a link somewhere on this thread here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thai-Languag...ool-t59287.html but NO thai spellings render it near useless.

A start has been made, but then nothing...

http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12426