Cheap Thai Tutoring

[rudi46jr]

Hi,

I'm interested in learning the Thai language as well as the Thai script, preferably somewhere in Thailand from a native Thai speaker. Any suggestions how to go about that? I'm thinking of a private tutor that can teach me Thai for two/three hours a day, say four/five days a week. This way it will probably take a few months to learn at least basic Thai, but I'm in no hurry.

I'm Dutch, by the way, have a bit of a feel for languages and know a tiny little bit of Thai already.

All suggestions are welcome!

Rudi

Edited November 1, 2005 by rudi46jr

[meadish_sweetball]

Where in Thailand are you/will you be located?

There are already a number of threads in the forum related to this, reachable with the Search function. Next please try it out, it is a great tool and underused. This time I will do it for you.

Please see these earlier threads to see if you can find something of interest: Here, Here,

Here,

Here (consider if you would be better off learning a regional variation of Thai, depending on what your goal is),

Here

That should get you on your way, hopefully. If you have further questions, feel free to ask questions here, or in any of the threads you find interesting.

[rudi46jr]

Thanks for the advice. I know Chaing Mai very well and like it a lot, so that's probably where I'd want to learn the language. Bangkok might be a better place, but I couldn't stay in Bangkok for longer than maybe a week or so. Don't get me wrong, I like Bangkok, but only in small doses, it's way too busy and crowded for me.

I hadn't really considered the regional aspect yet, but what I would like to learn is basic, 'mainstream' Thai, preferably with as little dialect or regional intonation as possible.

Rudi

[meadish_sweetball]

I'd venture to say you will be able to find teachers without an accent in any of the regions of Thailand. Of course, in Chiang Mai, it may frustrate you to know that the locals speak a dialect amongst themselves so different from Central Thai that you will not be able to pick it up properly from just knowing basic Central Thai. No eavesdropping in the market, in other words.

BUT, pretty much everyone in the city also speaks Central Thai without effort. It's just that as a rule, they don't use it with each other.

People in public professions are used to speaking Central Thai. Villagers with little outside contacts, especially in the older generation, will understand but not feel comfortable answering back in anything but Kham Meuang (Northern Thai).

As for what to recommend, I will answer as before: Contact AUA Chiang Mai and Phayab University and see if they can provide you with what you need. Adjaan (teacher) Maalii (Malee) at AUA is great, if she is still there and hasn't retired.

[Mr_Dave]

I'm interested in learning the Thai language as well as the Thai script, preferably somewhere in Thailand from a native Thai speaker. Any suggestions how to go about that?

///

Rudi -

Your wish and plan to learn Thai matches what I have been doing for the past year: private tutor, 5 days/week, learning the script, etc. Here are some observations from my experience:

1. Start learning the alphabet right away: (ax-sorn) and vowels (sa-ra). I made the mistake of starting by learning a transliteration system of Thai sounds with English-like letters. Waste of time and not accurate. Better to learn the actual Thai script and sounds from the start.

2. Learn from a man. Thais will never admit this, but men and women use different intonations, different phrasing and different word choice. After a few months, you'll be able to hear this, too. Since Thai is a tonal language, the sound is highly important. If you are a man, then learn from a man.

3. There are two problems learning to "speak" Thai. First is learning to make the sounds of the language, to speak words and sentences yourself. This is difficult, but it can be learned. The second problem is much more difficult. That is to listen and understand when Thai people speak. The dialects are highly confusing. I recently traveled from Bangkok to Hua Hin with an educated, professional, Thai woman. She had trouble understanding the taxi driver in Hua Hin who was from further South! Imagine the problems our farang ears will have. How to solve this second problem - understanding the dialects - I don't yet know. Just be prepared for it so you don't give up in frustration.

4. Choose your teacher carefully. Many, many Thais offer, "I teach you Thai, you teach me English, okay, na?" Don't fall for it. They will focus on learning English from you, but won't seem to be much interested in teaching you much Thai. After a few experiences of that, I made sure I paid my Thai teacher, instead of "trading lessons".

5. What are you going to use for your curriculum? To just dive in the deep end and splash around won't teach you much. I bought many books, tapes and CDs. Some helpful, most just "hopeful", but with no real learning effect. After trying out many different lessons, I found the most effective to be "Learn to Read with Manee" at http://www.learningthai.com/books/manee/index.html . This is a carefully planned, basic, training program that combines reading, speaking and listening. Each lesson introduces a few new letters, sounds and words. The sound files are available on the Internet. The progression is smooth and logical. When I've deviated from this lesson plan, I've become lost in confusion. When I returned to the "Manee" lessons, then my language learning made steady progress.

I've recently completed all 22 lessons in "Learn to Read with Manee". I can read, write, speak and understand at that level - which is first grade (pratom-1) in a Thai school. It's not much, but it is a solid foundation on which to build. I recommend it. The "Learn to Read with Manee" lessons are free on the Internet.

As you proegress with your Thai language learning, I hope you'll post a report on your experiences and your opinions.

[orchidexpert]

I'm interested in learning the Thai language as well as the Thai script, preferably somewhere in Thailand from a native Thai speaker. Any suggestions how to go about that?

2. Learn from a man. Thais will never admit this, but men and women use different intonations, different phrasing and different word choice. After a few months, you'll be able to hear this, too. Since Thai is a tonal language, the sound is highly important. If you are a man, then learn from a man.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dave:

I'm a Thai native speaker who is living in Bangkok. Never seen any suggestions like you said that man should to study Thai language from man. I'm one who had been as a trainer in the trainer group for foriengers orientation in an International Affair before they start to work in the Thai community. We teach Thai culture, Thai tradition, Thai ways of life and the polite Thai language for them. Many foreigners can be communicate in Thai by Thai women teacher.

Rudi:

If I have time I will teach Thai to you(I teach just a polite and nice farang only). But should to come to my office at lunch time or Saturday afternoon.

[Jack Jones]

I learnt Thai from the Becker books, now I study at SOAS where my teacher is female. I don't think I speak Thai like a female. Equally, when I was younger, most of my English teachers were female which didn't affect the way I spoke the language.

You just have to be careful that you don't adopt specificially female sounding expressions but then if your teacher's good enough, you shouldn't. In fact, I find it easier to understand when a woman speaks as their tones tend to be clearer.

[withnail]

The only people (men) I've heard that speak Thai like a woman are people that haven't really learnt anything but just repeat things they hear in bars. I can't imagine any teacher not having the sense to try and teach you to speak as a man would.

[weeraorn]

The only people (men) I've heard that speak Thai like a woman are people that haven't really learnt anything but just repeat things they hear in bars. I can't imagine any teacher not having the sense to try and teach you to speak as a man would.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[meadish_sweetball]

Thank you for a long and interesting post, Mr. Dave.

Learn from a man.  Thais will never admit this, but men and women use different intonations, different phrasing and different word choice.  After a few months, you'll be able to hear this, too.  Since Thai is a tonal language, the sound is highly important.  If you are a man, then learn from a man.

I'll state my usual caveat: all other things equal, I think it is good advice for a man to find a male teacher, just like you say.

But it is not the be-all and end-all.

The most important point IMO is that you need a skilled and experienced teacher (one who is compatible with, or can adapt to, your learning style). Professional teachers, especially older ones, will not implant any typically male or female speech habits in you, so you don't need to be paranoid about that.

Withnail is right in saying that female speech habits are most commonly observed in farang men who spend most of their time with girls (which is pretty common) - be it bar girls, or their girlfriend and her friends.

The second problem is much more difficult.  That is to listen and understand when Thai people speak.  The dialects are highly confusing.  I recently traveled from Bangkok to Hua Hin with an educated, professional, Thai woman.  She had trouble understanding the taxi driver in Hua Hin who was from further South!

Understanding regional dialects, slang and sloppy speech, is something that comes with time and practice, and lies a long way ahead for beginners.

You dont need to worry about it at the initial stage.

Ideally, I think the first stage of learning should focus on you becoming aware of the clearest possible pronunciation of Central Thai, and being able to reproduce this pronunciation accurately yourself - preferably and ideally, the pronunciation can and should be practiced in conjunction with learning the alphabet. Once you have a blueprint of what normal, polite standard Thai should sound like, you will be able to notice the shortcuts people take in everyday speech, as well as the effect regional dialects have on pronunciation.

Getting to this stage typically takes 1-3 years depending on your gift for languages, own efforts and time spent.

If you want to learn Thai properly, in a structured environment where you can ask questions and receive useful answers, you are more likely to succeed by contacting an established institution with trained teachers. The teachers there start out with a high level of education, and have years and years of experience teaching foreigners, and will be able to analyze and understand their problems and questions to a greater extent than in other places.

[mussen]

I can second the recommendtion for P & A Language Centre (Silom), as per my previous posts recommending them also. I've been learning there for around 50 hours and am very happy with the courses. I've been taking 1-1 tutoring and found their flexible approach benefits my schedule. Call them on 02-2379252