Thai Language Help

[knickles]

Hello Everybody!

I'm Ken from the USA and new to this forum.

I am very interested in learning the Thai language. Does anybody know of any real good software that might be available in the USA or on the net....that might help me with the language.

Thanks,

ken

[meadish_sweetball]

Hi Ken!

Welcome to the forum - always nice to see a new face here.

At the top right of your ThaiVisa screen you will see a toolbar with the items :

Blogs Gallery Help Search Members Calendar Top Site List

Left-click on the item 'Search', and when the Search screen has downloaded, type in the following in the Search box

"thai" "program" "language"

or "thai language" "software"

This should give you a list of the threads in the past that cover this subject, as well as people's opinions about such software and websites. There are plenty of options available.

Check in to this forum regularly, and whenever you cannot find answers to your questions by using the Search function, don't hesitate to start a new topic like you just did, there are almost always people willing to try to help you.

You will find this forum covers everything from intermediate-advanced Thai, to basic questions.

All the best,

meadish

[knickles]

Hello Meadish,

Thank you for your prompt reply!

As you suggested, I made a search on the forum and on the web and was surprised to see so many Thai learning programs. Some were too expensive so I checked those of reasonable price (up to $ 50). Now I would appreciate some help in choosing the best program because it is difficult for me to decide. I made two lists, the first programs list had no information about the number of audio files (which is very important for me to hear the Thai pronunciation) and the second list provided some audio files details. I would also like to know about recording quality. I would appreciate any recommendations and more details from those that may have used these programs.

List 1

=====

"Learn Thai 2" ($ 50)

http://www.thaiphrasebook.com/links.php?ac...ated&link_id=60

"World Talk - Learn Thai" ($ 25)

http://www.nacelthailand.org/a/B00006593F/...iate-Level.html

"ThaiSoftware Dictionary CD-ROM" ($ 6.25)

http://www.dcothai.com/product_info.php?products_id=465

"Talk Now! Thai" 3 products $ 30, $ 35 and $ 15

http://speak-thai.com/speakthaiproducts.html

List 2

=====

"Learn to Speak Thai" 300 phrases ($ 14.99)

http://www.speakanywhere.com/

"Learn Thai - Thai PDQ " 500 words and phrases ($ 29.95)

http://www.linguaphone.co.uk/productdetail...?product_id=682

"Rosetta Stone Thai Explorer" 800 audios ($ 29.95)

http://www.thai-language-online.com/resources/software.shtml

"Conversation for Traveller" 600 words, 150 sentences ($ 13.90)

http://www.geocities.com/cdsiam/ctravel/index.htm

"English - Thai Audio Dictionary and Phrase Book"

1,949 word or phrase, 1,828 audios ($ 36)

"SpokenThai" 4100 audios ($ 35)

http://www.thailandphotoalbum.com/SpokenThai.html

"Thai For Beginners" 3,000 recordings ($ 35)

http://www.thaiphrasebook.com/books/092.php

Thanks very much,

ken

[meadish_sweetball]

Hi Ken,

Judging from what I have heard, the two best bets on your list are "Rosetta Stone Thai Explorer" and "Thai for Beginners". If you are choosing between these two, positive reviews I have heard speak in favour of "Thai for Beginners".

I am sure one or two of the other packages could be good value as well, but I don't know enough about them to make a recommendation.

Also, thanks a lot for compiling and posting that neat list - it will probably come in handy for similar questions in the future.

All the best,

meadish

[Steve2UK]

Hi Ken,

I'm going to confine my main comment to "Spoken Thai" which I have been using and which you have already spotted. In terms of bang for your buck, it does seem to have the most audio files. More to the point, all the ones I have played are good, clear quality (female voice and she does say "chan" - female "I" - not "pom" - male "I" - but that's not a big deal to handle).

You can download it for free and look through the written sections as much as you like before buying - and a new version is just out. I think you can only try out 5 audio files before registering (i.e. paying). You have to download the main audio files and save them in the program's library, but that's easy. I also like the fact that Thai phrases are translated both word-for-word literally and into more "correct" English - so you get a useful sense of Thai grammar/construction along the way.

It doesn't include any Thai script - and I also have "Thai for Beginners" if only for that reason (but I haven't gotten into it properly yet) along with some Thai children's writing practice comic books. As Meadish says, this gets a lot of recommendations. Personally, I think I'm happy to use both in tandem - although others may say that you should pick one system of phonetic transliteration and stick to it to avoid confusion. It's also sometimes said that the only real way to learn Thai and get the tones right is to learn Thai script from the beginning - but I think that's a really steep mountain to climb when we're just beginning......... too easy to get discouraged and get nowhere fast.

Good luck whichever way you choose to go - it's worth it.

Steve

Edited June 18, 2005 by Steve2UK

[ronniebootwest]

As Steve wrote, me too I bought two program "Learn Thai in seven days" and "SpokenThai", and I found "SpokenThai" to be a really excellent product. It has endless audio files of Thai everyday use sentences (over 4000) in very good quality. I like the idea of "click to hear" and the "auto" feature is great - just click and let the lovely girl speak all the sentences. The Thai lessons are very useful, I agree. There is one drawback, the program is so huge, about 110 MB or so, but you can get it on CD for few bucks.recommendations. Personally, I think I'm happy to use both in tandem - although others may say that you should pick one system of phonetic transliteration and stick to it to avoid confusion. It's also sometimes said that the only real way to learn Thai and get the tones right is to learn Thai script from the beginning - but I think that's a really steep mountain to climb when we're just beginning......... too easy to get discouraged and get nowhere fast.

The links that are listed by Knickles (in an earlier post on this topic) are very useful. Try just going to the following link first:- http://www.thailandphotoalbum.com/SpokenThai.html

[mrbojangles]

hi Ken,

I am using Thai For Beginners and the quality is great and comes on 7 CD's. I paid £6 GB (app 450 baht) for it off ebay. I think that's pretty cheap. However, I struggle using this type of learning method alone, as i don't push myself, so i am also having lessons with a teacher. The Teacher gives me homework so i have to push myself. The CD's then compliment what i've been taught. The difficulty i find when just using CD's is that when you have a question, the CD can't give you an answer.

Mr BoJ

[wolf5370]

Pimsleur (spelling) stuff is good too. Its audio, but breaks down each setance bit by bit - this helps with the tiones, and with remembering it.

I have Rosetta Stone Thai - which is very expensive (I got it 2nd hand) - but consists mostly of questions and answers. It uses Thai script from the get-go, so takes longer. It does drum it in though, repeating the same phrases/scriopt in different questions to help you improve. It also has cheat buttons (read script on the script only questions and repeat etc) which can help getr you past a blind spot.

I think a teacher is best though. Try your local Wat (Thai Temple), they often run classes (for free at my local Wat - my wife or a Monk does the teaching). You will also meet a lot of native Thais who will help you - hearing Thais talk helps with tones etc too (just hearing the differences can be the first step).

Chok Dee (Good Luck)

[The Nemi]

hey dude,

http://www.learningthai.com/

this site helped me a lot........

u can d/l sounds of real thai people n how do they pronounce it

c u in bkk

[knickles]

Thank all of you for responding to this post.

I decided to go with SpokenThai v1.4.

A tough decision but hope it helps me with the language.

Thanks again.

ken