Where Did You Learn Thai Language?

[chownah]

Just that, where or how did you learn Thai language?

[Tornado]

So...Yoahan/Chowna, you started this thread and it appears that you are hoping that many people will view and post to it. Will you feel good about yourself and feel that you have accomplished something really great if its popular and feel a bit lonely and disheartened if not many people respond. Is this post a poll on your popularity here at TV?

Just wondering.

pom mai dai pud, ting tong!

[Neeranam]

I learned Thai everywhere I went in Thailand. Never went to school.

I learned a lot at work, at the market, travelling(buses and trains). Never learned much in the bar, always too drunk to remember. Watching tv helped, although I couldn't understand for a few years. Perseverance is important, don't give up. Try to learn one new phrase and a few words, every single day.

Having a Thai gf that didn't speak English was probably when I made leaps and bounds. Never had a long-haired walking dictionary, but that may help too.

I learned to read by buying kiddies books, then very slowly buying older kids books. Still not quite able to read the main newspapers but I always buy the football one which is easier.

[Totster]

So...Yoahan/Chowna, you started this thread and it appears that you are hoping that many people will view and post to it. Will you feel good about yourself and feel that you have accomplished something really great if its popular and feel a bit lonely and disheartened if not many people respond. Is this post a poll on your popularity here at TV?

Just wondering.

   

pom mai dai pud, ting tong! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

he he ... Chownah, you kinda asked for that...

totster

[chownah]

So...Yoahan/Chowna, you started this thread and it appears that you are hoping that many people will view and post to it. Will you feel good about yourself and feel that you have accomplished something really great if its popular and feel a bit lonely and disheartened if not many people respond. Is this post a poll on your popularity here at TV?

Just wondering.

   

pom mai dai pud, ting tong! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

he he ... Chownah, you kinda asked for that...

totster

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Asked for what? I just want to know how people learned Thai language. I don't care if anything is popular or not....I'm just looking for information.

Edited June 3, 2005 by chownah

[wix]

I started learning from Thai friends in Australia. In Thailand I have never had any formal lessons. Talking to people is probably where I have learnt most although I also use a phrasebook or dictionary regularly. I also find that I pick up more Thai while I am travelling than when I am working and doing the same old thing everyday.

[Nordlys]

Learned Thai through growing up in Thailand but never had any formal lesson so went to learn reading/writing at NISA Thai language school after finishing college overseas. 25 years in Thailand and still feeling a need to go to school again.

[Popeyethesailorman]

I learned most of my Thai at AUA in Chiang Mai and the rest was learned from friends. I'm still not fluent but hope to be.

[Neeranam]

Learned Thai through growing up in Thailand but never had any formal lesson so went to learn reading/writing at NISA Thai language school after finishing college overseas. 25 years in Thailand and still feeling a need to go to school again. 

 

I wouldn't be embarrassed about that, I was out with two guys the other day who have lived in Thailand for 5 years and 6 years. One of them couldn't tell the waitress that he wanted mixed fried vegetables, the other didn't know how to say pay the bill together!

[stumonster]

mai port thai.

[devildog683]

from the wife and reading books in the home

[ProfessorFart]

Thailand - University - Thai Rajabhat - self taught in no particular order and I'm still &lt;deleted&gt;!

Whats with all the scrapping at the top!?

Edited June 3, 2005 by ProfessorFart

[RDN]

Thailand - University - Thai Rajabhat - self taught in no particular order and I'm still &lt;deleted&gt;!

Whats with all the scrapping at the top!?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Best not to ask

[Insight]

From my mate. He picked it up from the bars...

Kop-cun-kap.

Seriously, a girl in the office taught me how to read and write Thai, but (really, really) need to improve my vocab.

[Sir Burr]

Learnt 90% of what I know hiring a tutor. Two hours per day, five days a week with home-work for a couple of months. 10% I picked up along the way.

Still can't read or write though.

Edited June 3, 2005 by Sir Burr

[gburns57au]

Had a Thai teacher here who taught me the alphabet and pronounciation....learned a lot of Vocab from letters and also from my ex who spoke little english.

[meadish_sweetball]

3 years of formal education. 4 years of speech practice without making any particular efforts (but in the wrong place for Bangkok slang and 'hip' Thai).

[Boon Mee]

pom mai dai pud, ting tong! 

Well, we can see where the Gent "learned" his Thai!

[anna234cn]

I learnt Thai from my Thai classmates, friends, my friends' niece and sisters, and asking Thai ppl that I talked to.

[RDN]

I learnt Thai from my Thai classmates, friends, my friends' niece and sisters, and asking Thai ppl that I talked to.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're gonna have to change your avatar Anna. Takes me three goes to read your posts.

[Totster]

I learnt Thai from my Thai classmates, friends, my friends' niece and sisters, and asking Thai ppl that I talked to.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're gonna have to change your avatar Anna. Takes me three goes to read your posts.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

same same.... suay mak mak ...!

totster

[RamdomChances]

Had 20 hrs of lessons when I lived in Phuket, and then just learned the rest up here. I think drinking whiskey with the locals had helped a lot but I really need to learn to read and write to improve,

[OlRedEyes]

You're gonna have to change your avatar Anna. Takes me three goes to read your posts.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

NOooooooo... please ddonn't!! Tis a thing of beauty, an inspiration.

[fivevenoms]

Two plus years with my Thai wife and her semi-English literate sisters (some more than others) basically taught me enough Thai to get by for the time being, but I'd still modestly say that I suck. Of course, my cadre of (formerly) hard drinking Thai friends helped with some of the other less uh, academic Thai words, but all in all it's been okay. Still, I probably doubled my vocabulary during my (too brief) two months in Thailand. Can't read a thing though.

[greenwanderer108]

As far as listening and speaking, pretty much the same as the majority: Speaking with friends, girls mostly...and also my Thai couzins who can't/aren't motivated to speak American with me.

My first introduction to the characters that really gave me a good start to reading and the overall alphabet was Easy Thai...don't remember the author or publisher, but it seems to be pretty big.. From there, once I had the basics, started reading the Thai comic books and street signs, and bkk bus guides, soap opera guides, etc.. From there the best help to speed up the reading (though currently I'm only at the level of about a pratom 5/6 reader with an adult mind/vocabulary ofcourse) Thai Kareaoke songs really help out a lot cause you can follow and sing along with the words and it's a good retention/recogniztion method.

Now my main challenges are understanding the special newspaper language headlines and the poetry language in the literature--i.e. Ramakien, Pra aphai manee, Khun Chang Khun Paen. Ofcourse Pra Racha Sup confuses me, but anyway most Thais can't speak it either.

I'd like to learn the Ramkhamhaeng script eventually. It looks similar to Khmer.

My suggestion to new learners is to cut out all the English language based learning materials as soon as possible. You'll need them for basics but well, it's not good to be dependent on English phonetics as there is no consistent system unlike Chinese with Hanyu Pinyin) and learning the Thai script will only boost your learning by 500 percent as far as tones, pronunciation, etc.

โพธ์กลิ่นจากนครสวรรค์มีกลิ่นโพธ์บนสรวงสวรรค์

[The Gentleman Scamp]

I learned in bars and from friends but I learned in a very unconventional way.

I knew the words for 'skull' and intestines before I could say 'stomach' or 'head'.

I know the word for 'tweezers' yet still don't know the word for 'knife'.

This was all very well for impressing people and showing that I was not just some backpacker who had mastered the basics but it would often backfire when the Thai person, thinking I was Andrew Biggs standard, would then converse with me like he would a fellow Thai and I wouldn't have a clue what he was on about.

[Boon Mee]

I learned in bars and from friends but I learned in a very unconventional way.

I knew the words for 'skull' and intestines before I could say 'stomach' or 'head'.

I know the word for 'tweezers' yet still don't know the word for 'knife'.

This was all very well for impressing people and showing that I was not just some backpacker who had mastered the basics but it would often backfire when the Thai person, thinking I was Andrew Biggs standard, would then converse with me like he would a fellow Thai and I wouldn't have a clue what he was on about.

Knife = "miit"

[pett]

Lot of you may learn in soi pat pong 1 and pat pong 2 .. in soi cow boy .. from taxi driver and from bar & gog girl and ma ma san and papa san .. and may be the first word that you learn was .. ai heya ,, ai koway .. ai yet maa . and then slow slow you learn ,, laow khow . yadang .. khow pat and other thai words, . pleas do not mind the words that I use here , but this is the truth and I never saw any falang in Ram university to attend a thai language courses. Luv ya .

[trt]

HS x 1 yr in Thailand (Full time)

Uni x 3 yrs in Aus (Part time)

Uni x 1 yr in Thailand (Full time)

Work x 1 yr in Thailand

Thai GF's x ??

[Totster]

Lot  of you may learn in soi pat pong 1 and pat pong 2  .. in soi cow boy .. from taxi driver and from bar & gog girl and ma ma san and papa san ..  and may be the first word that you learn was .. ai heya  ,, ai koway .. ai yet maa . and then slow slow you learn ,, laow khow . yadang .. khow pat and other thai words, . pleas do not mind  the words that I use here ,  but this is the truth and I never saw any falang in Ram university to attend a thai language courses.  Luv ya .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ha ha ...pett, you are such a tosser..

totster