How Andrew Biggs Became Good At Thai

[kokesaat]

Some of you might enjoy reading Andrew's latest articles in the Bangkok Post about his Thai learning experience. They're available at

http://www.bangkokpost.com/life/family/176...ecrets-part-one

and

http://www.bangkokpost.com/life/family/180...ecrets-part-two

[Xangsamhua]

Some of you might enjoy reading Andrew's latest articles in the Bangkok Post about his Thai learning experience. They're available at

http://www.bangkokpost.com/life/family/176...ecrets-part-one

and

http://www.bangkokpost.com/life/family/180...ecrets-part-two

A great story. Thanks for the links.

[BigSnake]

A great read. Lot of hard work by Andrew Biggs. Outstanding

[Roota]

As a card-carrying Thai old timer, I admit that for years I took Andrew as no more than a figure of fun. But he obviously worked dam_n hard on the language, and he deserves all his success. Full credit to the guy.

[meadish_sweetball]

I've seen much resentment and jealousy towards Biggs in online comments, but anyone who has studied Thai seriously knows that it takes a lot of time and dedication to get to the level he is at.

I think he has helped improve the image of farang in the eyes of many Thais, and for that we probably all owe him thanks.

As a card-carrying Thai old timer, I admit that for years I took Andrew as no more than a figure of fun.

It's not an Elite Card you are carrying, I hope?

[Rikker]

Heheh. Nice story. Wish I had a snappy answer like that one.

[noahvail]

Great story! Don't think I'd ever have the intestinal fortitude to do what he did, but it is encouraging!

[asiawatcher]

I read and wonder - I live close to the Uni - maybe a sneak interview with 'The Man' and a special request to help me raise my Thai from Taxi Thai to some conversational levels can be done... I'll give it a bash.

Onya Andrew - well done mate

[JohnGotti]

"Last Saturday night I was at a chic party rubbing shoulders with the upper echelon of Bangkok expat society. No need to put on that face - there is an upper echelon, you know, and but for a brief moment I was in it."

OMG. He can just turned 90% of the farang community against him with less than 20 words.

[richard_smith237]

"Last Saturday night I was at a chic party rubbing shoulders with the upper echelon of Bangkok expat society. No need to put on that face - there is an upper echelon, you know, and but for a brief moment I was in it."

OMG. He can just turned 90% of the farang community against him with less than 20 words.

Those less than 20 words alone sound rather silly.

And I couldn’t educate anyone as to what is wrong about that sentence which is why I am not an English teacher.

However….

Mr Andrew Biggs has become somewhat of an icon amongst Thai’s and many Westerners helping bridge a linguistic gap. For that alone no one should be critical, he is a face for whom English speaking foreigners in Thailand should thank, particularly in light of the socially damaging image many Westerners attract.

I for one, and from what I gather many TV posters do not like seeing our image being tarnished.

Thank you Andrew Biggs for ‘Upping the bar’.

[JohnGotti]

"I could no longer hold back my feelings. "Terrible!" I ejaculated."

Sounds like it was a fun party.

[desi]

I read the first paragraph and thought, 'what a horse's ass'.

Then I continued on with the rest and thought, 'no substance, but an interesting twist'.

But kudos to him for learning Thai.

Edited June 10, 2009 by desi

[GarryP]

I don't see what the complaints are about. Reading that short paragraph, he is inferring he is not a member of the upper echelon. He's just one of the lads who got invited to an upmarket do.

Good on him for all his hard work and presenting a good image that so many manage to sully.

[OxfordWill]

Great articles, disagree and you're jealous.

[desi]

Great articles, disagree and you're jealous.

Not jealous at all as I've long admired Andrew Biggs. And who wouldn't with accomplishments such as his?

I was disappointed.

Why? Because of who he is coupled with a title like this...

'The first farang student at the world's largest semi-open university discovers the intricacies of trying to master the Thai language'

...I was hoping for something of value.

Instead, it was fluff. Cute fluff, but disappointing.

Yeah, I know, it is the Bangkok Post... so what WAS I thinking?

[Artisi]

Having meet the person being discussed on a number of occasians both professionally and socially I can tell you he is just a normal Aussie guy who speaks good Thai as a result of hard work.

[eek]

Thank you Andrew Biggs for ‘Upping the bar’.

Agree.

I just did a short google on him, and he has a blog (for anyone interested, who didnt know): http://www.andrewbiggs.com/blog2/ Also his own website: http://www.andrewbiggs.com/ (I guess most probably know that though).

[Xangsamhua]

"I could no longer hold back my feelings. "Terrible!" I ejaculated."

Sounds like it was a fun party.

:D

[Jimjim]

I've heard some guys who claim they're way better than Andrew Biggs at Thai and that his accent is bad as you can still hear his Aussie accent when he speaks. I say, who cares? He obviously has a level of understanding beyond most foreigners, and is truly conversant, even if he may have an imperfect accent. I've met Asians in the U.S. who have lived there for 30 years and still have an accent, but they still have a very high understanding of English.

[mc2]

he probably shouldn't have compared the royal word "to walk" to a plate of rotten som-tam in the 10th paragraph.

thais always speak of him in glowing terms, and for his good image he gives, i am grateful

[meadish_sweetball]

I've heard some guys who claim they're way better than Andrew Biggs at Thai and that his accent is bad as you can still hear his Aussie accent when he speaks. I say, who cares? He obviously has a level of understanding beyond most foreigners, and is truly conversant, even if he may have an imperfect accent. I've met Asians in the U.S. who have lived there for 30 years and still have an accent, but they still have a very high understanding of English.

His Thai is good enough that somebody decided he was fit to comment on the daily news on prime time television a year or so ago. I tend to think they were right. I've never heard a Thai saying they have problems understanding him. This is really the only thing that matters.

(My wife says I speak more clearly than him too, but this is because she doesn't hear the mistakes I make anymore, rather than because it's objectively true. )

[bannork]

I've been disappointed lately by his weekly columns in the BP, does 'getting red' really sound like 'getting laid'? - and last week's column about the floating nun is really old hat. I really enjoyed his first column about some guy up in the mountains says nothing in English for days and then coming out with some comment like, 'it's all group dynamics', but I have to disagree with him about learning at Ramkhamhaeng.

I studied at Ram, either one or two years after him, at the Faculty of Humanities majoring in Thai, and I have to say passing Thai 101 is not difficult. All the basic first year subjects at Ram have booklets which are summaries of the course, and the previous years' exams are for sale just across the road. In addition it's multiple choice. It's more a question of memory like so many multiple choice exams.

What was hard was the final year's exam, poetry. You have to write a poem in Thai, and the tone rules are strict, without knowing the topic beforehand. I failed it twice but got lucky third time round when I correctly guessed the topic!

I loved Ram, the khao mok kai is great value for money in the canteen and many staff were helpful, but I reckon learning at Sukhotai Open Uni is probably a lot tougher, I didn't see any summary books there or previous years' exam papers.

Still, Andrew is a good example for us all.