Good Way To Learn ?

[sadako]

Hi All ,

Im new to the language , who knows a good starting point for learning basic Thai ?

Like a CD or course , or book , can anybody reccommend the most useful tool ?

Thanks .

David

[Jack Jones]

You might want to start with Becker's Thai for Beginners. Book and two CDs. The introduction will get you reading and writing as well which is essential for mastering pronounciation.

If you're happy with that, she also has an intermediate and advanced course available.

[meadish_sweetball]

Hi All ,

Im new to the language , who knows a good starting point for learning basic Thai ?

Like a CD or course , or book , can anybody reccommend the most useful tool ?

Thanks .

David

If possible, I recommend you combine your self-studies with actual practice together with a native speaker, preferably one who is a qualified teacher. Otherwise you may mess up your pronunciation from the start without knowing it. We have ingrained pronunciation patterns in us, mainly from our first language, but also from any others we have learned. These can be very hard to shake until you become aware of them.

As Thai has a few sounds which are difficult for speakers of Indo-European languages to pronounce, it really helps to have a Thai teacher who is used to correcting mispronunciations by speakers of your language and is aware of the difficulties you face as a beginner.

Most Thais cannot explain much about pronunciation to you because they have no experience of such difficulties.

I personally thought David Smyth's Teach Yourself Thai was an excellent book for beginners, mainly because of the very authentic and useful dialogues.

For any course goes that a tape or CD is absolutely essential. Trying to learn Thai from a book without a native speaker or a tape is like trying to learn how to sing chords from a sheet of notes with no previous concept of what singing is.

[Jai Dee]

Trying to learn Thai from a book without a native speaker or a tape is like trying to learn how to sing chords from a sheet of notes with no previous concept of what singing is.

And some assistance from a "long-haired dictionary" is also useful!!!

[Steve2UK]

Hi All ,

Im new to the language , who knows a good starting point for learning basic Thai ?

Like a CD or course , or book , can anybody reccommend the most useful tool ?

Thanks .

David

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

David, you don't say if you're already in Thailand. If you are, here's a slightly "left of field" tip. Tune in to a local radio station that carries phone-ins (no shortage of those!). You'll find that you'll hear the "hello how are you?" type of stuff over and over; bit by bit (accelerated by your more formal study), you'll understand more and more. More importantly, your ear will also "tune in" and you'll find yourself picking up the rhythm, tones etc. Don't be put off by not understanding words.

Not a bad cultural introduction either (just don't imagine that what you hear is all there is to Thailand).

Most of all - it's FUN. As in "sanuk" - a very important part of Thai life

All the best with it.

[booma]

Hi All ,

Im new to the language , who knows a good starting point for learning basic Thai ?

Like a CD or course , or book , can anybody reccommend the most useful tool ?

Thanks .

David

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I tried many books and found the most useful was Dr Robertsons English Thai phrasebook, the phonetics are designed for speed without losing too much accuracy and as it fits into your backpocket it is great for having with you at all times, So if you think of a word (it also contains some usefull phrase like 'what is the time' (gee moung) will be found under 'time' (Wela), simple) you really need to learn, whip this book out and the thais will understand what you are trying to say and then correct you accordingly.

Apart from this try and learn the alphabet this is best for pronounciation but will take longer.

Chock dee

B

[booma]

Hi All ,

Im new to the language , who knows a good starting point for learning basic Thai ?

Like a CD or course , or book , can anybody reccommend the most useful tool ?

Thanks .

David

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Another useful tip is when you learn a phrase try and break down the different elements and what each part means, this way you will be stringing sentances together in no time, even if it just means replacing certain words to suit your needs.

Chock dee eek tee

B

[toastwars]

Hi All ,

Im new to the language , who knows a good starting point for learning basic Thai ?

Like a CD or course , or book , can anybody reccommend the most useful tool ?

Thanks .

David

David, you don't say if you're already in Thailand. If you are, here's a slightly "left of field" tip. Tune in to a local radio station that carries phone-ins (no shortage of those!). You'll find that you'll hear the "hello how are you?" type of stuff over and over; bit by bit (accelerated by your more formal study), you'll understand more and more. More importantly, your ear will also "tune in" and you'll find yourself picking up the rhythm, tones etc. Don't be put off by not understanding words.

Not a bad cultural introduction either (just don't imagine that what you hear is all there is to Thailand).

Most of all - it's FUN. As in "sanuk" - a very important part of Thai life

All the best with it.

Good tip I get complimented on my pronunciation a lot as I mimic the presenenters and they seem to have nice pronunciation. I am just learning to read and write I have Easy Thai by Gordon Allison, any othe recomendations for written thai training?

[meadish_sweetball]

Yes, as in most other countries, if you start by listening to news reporters, radio hosts and politicians speak you will pick up the clearest possible pronunciation. In contrast, if you hang out with people who come from another region of Thailand than the Central plains, or Central plains people with a low level of education, you will learn to speak a sloppier form of Thai that does not go down well for formal occasions. Examples are r/l distinctions - many Thais do not pronounce "r" sounds at all in everyday speech, but overcompensate and add extra "r" sounds when in formal situations, much the same way as you hear Thai singers add extra "s" sounds to English songs because they realize they should be there, but just miss the right spots.

Some people have a notion that it is better to "speak like ordinary people speak", but I think t is unwise to start from there - much better to start concentrating on an educated pronunciation and then gradually pick up and use slang and colloquialisms once you have mastered a more formal way of speaking.

When learning how to read and write Thai you will be forced to understand how the pronunciation rules and tone patterns work. It is really worth the effort.

[Steve2UK]

Hi All ,

Im new to the language , who knows a good starting point for learning basic Thai ?

Like a CD or course , or book , can anybody reccommend the most useful tool ?

Thanks .

David

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I certainly agree that the Robertson phrasebook is excellent - really got me started very well; good phonetics and choice of words/phrases; NOT a substitute for learning Thai script - as others have said, it's the only way to progress beyond phrasebook territory.

Seems that there are very mixed opinions about the different courses/books/CD's - really down to personal preferences. It might pay you to spend an hour or so browsing comments in:

http://www.thailandguidebook.com/cgi-bin/f...cgi?;act=SC;c=2

There are also masses of exercises, games, dictionaries etc at:

http://www.learningthai.com/