Ok...so now I have learnt sufficient vocab to hold a broken (Thai) conversation with Thai folks. I can form simple sentences like, "I've just come from the shopping mall. The things there are great!" but I realised my sentence formation capabilities is limited to the structures that I've learnt from my Benjawan Poomsan's Beginner's book. I wanna move on from kindergarten Thai.

Where can I learn how to string more complex sentences like, "In my country, shopping malls may be great, but streetside stalls are even better!"?

KKK

Ok...so now I have learnt sufficient vocab to hold a broken (Thai) conversation with Thai folks. I can form simple sentences like, "I've just come from the shopping mall. The things there are great!" but I realised my sentence formation capabilities is limited to the structures that I've learnt from my Benjawan Poomsan's Beginner's book. I wanna move on from kindergarten Thai.

Where can I learn how to string more complex sentences like, "In my country, shopping malls may be great, but streetside stalls are even better!"?

KKK

Just buy "Thai Reference Grammar" by Higbie and Thinsan, pick a random page, learn the new grammar point, and use it.

In your above sentence, the two following grammar points are needed:

1. even better-- Chapter 12

2. but-- Chapter 9

Additionally, I would recommend to you "ไวยกรณ์ไทย" by นววรรณ พันธุเมธา available at the Chula Bookstore for 190 baht. This books provides a structured approach to Thai grammar and sentence structure. It focuses on the spoken, rather than the written, structure of the Thai language.

thanks, i will take a look at those books!!

david, is the book that u are recommending in thai text only? my reading in thai is alot worse than my speech so i'll be struggling with both at the same time...

thanks, i will take a look at those books!!

david, is the book that u are recommending in thai text only? my reading in thai is alot worse than my speech so i'll be struggling with both at the same time...

Professor Nawawan's book is a Thai-only text. It is a textbook for Chula students and I have not seen it sold beyond that bookstore. The last printing was for 2,000 copies, a fairly typical run for a not-widely disseminated book. Its great advantage as an aid to learners is that it focuses on one grammar topic at a time, beginning with various parts of speech and building toward complete sentence structure. It includes simple sentences and complex sentences. All of the elemens are illustrated by copious examples, almost to a fault. The author includes both correct sentences and examples of what not to say.

Furthermore, Prof. Nawawan's text concentrates on the spoken language, not the written structure. Many of its elements, such as the discussion on personal pronouns and relationship terms substituting for personal pronouns would be especially welcome to foreign students.

This book is best used by a foreigner, in my opinion, in conjunction with a Thai teacher. The book provides structure and examples, which can help build a curriculum for a Thai teacher to use in your studies.

I wish you the best of luck.

thanks, i will take a look at those books!!

david, is the book that u are recommending in thai text only? my reading in thai is alot worse than my speech so i'll be struggling with both at the same time...

Khaojao,

Now you are able to form a simple sentence and get some feeling about pronouncing Thai words.

Then it is time for your to learn read and write Thai character.

If you want to be fluent in Thai language, like or not, you have to learn the read and write Thai character.

I know a man from Indonesia, who has been in Thai for more than 17 years.

He married a Thai woman and has his happy family in Thailand.

His factory is running well in Thailand.

Obviously he can use Thai language pretty good.

But he told me that he still makes several mistakes in speaking Thai language because he didn't learn to read and write Thai character.

Also, don't forget to use a few conjunctions !! Great for making long sentances and making yourself sound like a fluent speaker.

I went shopping. I forgot my wallet. I did not buy anything. ( sounds lame )

I went shopping but I forgot my wallet so I didn't buy anything. ( much better )

Just wish to second David's recommendation for Prof. Nawawan's extraordinary grammar book.

She has another book out called รักภาษา - which is an apt title. (She's a true language geek - as some of us here fancy ourselves.) It explores the subtleties, nuances and wonder of many words, in short and very readable one-page essays.