Have A Bet With My Friend That I Will Speak Better Thai Than Him By The End Of October.

[alexpoker]

Hey all,

I was hoping for some advice on how I can learn Thai the fastest and most efficient way. I started going to Pro-Language in November and my friend has been going to Walen since March/April. I made a bet with him that I will speak/read/write Thai better than him by the end of October this year.

I've started paying for some private lessons now and have actually dropped going to the school since I'm learning at a much faster pace and am way ahead of the class. Its more beneficial for me to use the same hours doing homework instead.

However my friend is also putting in some work. He currently gets some private help from a friend of his and is consistently dating thai girls who dont speak english.

I feel my reading is coming along somewhat. I just started to learn how to read a month ago and now can read but not without mistakes. My conversation however is not going fast enough.

I would love to hear from those who have experience learning thai, what steps I should take bring both my reading/writing skills up to a higher level but also conversational.

Im thinking about doing some of the following things:

- get a TV and watch thai programmes. Which ones would be good to watch tho?

- watch thai movies with english subtitles.

- also start dating/talking to thai people who cannot speak english well, since ppl switch to english all the time if they can.

- going out more with thai friends and listen to them speak to each other.

what else?

- any books I should be getting?

please advise

if you have any questions or need me to clarify anything, please ask.

-A

[poanoi]

Wow !! You are really putting your back into it.

I think the bet alone will improve, acting like a carrot.

Whatever additional method you are using, i suggest you go through it with a competent teacher ASAP so you don't fall into a bad habit, they are really difficult to break.

[SimonN]

Have you thought about attending A.U.A.?

[Deserted]

How are you going to assess who is speaking/using better Thai with impartiality in mind?

[alexpoker]

We are gonna use 3 judges. His brother (lol), another farang friend who is fluent in thai and a 3rd person who is thai. Dont know anything about AUA, but having a private tutor seems to be helping a lot, but Im not getting in enough hours speaking thai.

Most of the thai friends I have switch over to english all the time since their english is decent.

[Deserted]

Ok. From personal experience I've always got more from personal tutors. They can address where you are going wrong immediately. You won't always get that in grouped classes.

[Ajaan]

you need to practice everything that you know on a daily basis, in real-life interactions with real-life Thais. if you don't do this, you won't learn shit.

[leosmith]

Why aren't you testing listening?

Conversation - Start dating Thai girls who agree not to speak english with you immediately. Basically, if he's doing this and you aren't, he's probably going to kick your ass. It's that important. This thread might help:

http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=29778&PN=1

However, I have to admit that a private hour of conversation study with a good teacher is usually worth 2 or 3 hours with a date. I recommend writing down all words you don't know when you want to say something, and all the words she says that you don't know, and using an SRS to review them later. Also, write down sample sentences for any grammar points you find helpful, and put those into your SRS too. And don't let the teacher speak english, except to give you a quick translation. This is key - it needs to be real conversation. It's going to be awkward at first. Hopefully you've been listening from the beginning, as spelled out in this thread:

http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=26634&PN=1

so that speech production, rather than a lack of understanding, is your main hurdle.

Stop speaking English to your Thai friends, or find a new set of friends. Let them know what you're trying to accomplish, and they might actually try to help you.

Reading - Read on your computer, so that you can use the Thai to English site

http://www.thai2english.com/online/

as a sort of mouse-over dictionary. Read a paragraph. Paste the paragraph into Thai to English and read it again while checking unknown word definition. Put the unknown words into your SRS. Read the same paragraph the next day, then move onto new material and repeat. Try to do an hour a day.

Writing - When you learn words, make a flashcard that makes you write the word. Don't "pass" yourself unless you spell it correctly. Write essays. Have your teacher or a friend check them for correctness. Correct your mistakes, and write another one, etc.

Listening/Reading - Watch shows with Thai subtitles. Listen to podcasts with Thai text available. Read and listen as much as possible. English subtitles can also be a good thing, but only use them after you have attempted the material without subtitles, or with Thai subtitles.

Don't go to AUA. It's a silly method.

[wrevelate]

wow, i like your enthusiasm. good stuff

the previous post is on the money; i d just like to add my two cents

1. it s necessary you get thai gf.

2. when i dont feel like studying, doing a quick rosetta stone lesson is easy to do. grab a copy from MBK for 150 baht.

3. learn to chat in thai on msn (i just started a topic called chatting in thai), it s also great when i dont feel like studying

4. get your pronunciation down (esp. tones, and the little differences between ด ต and ป บ) i used "improving your thai pronunciation" by poomsan becker. but it was only marginally helpful. anyway

5. also, if you are reading, the Manee series is great download the 6 volume series . also there are loads of great reading resources on the learning thai website

those are my top five tips

childrens dvds like toy story and music videos are options too.

good luck, and would love to hear any tips you end up picking up that are highly effective

[alexpoker]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Im def going to be following all of this. Seems nothing comes easy

leosmith, where can I listen to thai podcasts? Any recommendations?

[painai2]

I personally don't like watching Thai programs/movies with English subtitles. I find myself reverting to reading the translation and not paying close enough attention to the person speaking Thai. I do think listening to Thai on tv is very helpful in learning the language.

[Deserted]

you need to practice everything that you know on a daily basis, in real-life interactions with real-life Thais. if you don't do this, you won't learn shit.

Some people are better learners than others.

[leosmith]

leosmith, where can I listen to thai podcasts? Any recommendations?

Good thai learning podcasts are a little rare. Thaipod101 advanced podcasts aren't bad, come with english and thai scripts, but you'll have to pay. Personally, I'm using VOA for both reading and listening right now. They have thai scripts only, but it's news so it's pretty easy to find a similar story in english if you want. For easier practice, you could watch a drama episode without subtitles, followed by the same one with english subtitles. There are tons on you tube. There are some thai movies with thai subtitles, fewer with english subtitles, but lots of foreign movies dubbed in thai that you probably know the story for already. If you are asking for podcasts because you want it on your mp3, you can rip movies, etc and convert to mp3.

I personally don't like watching Thai programs/movies with English subtitles. I find myself reverting to reading the translation and not paying close enough attention to the person speaking Thai.

If all your doing is watching the show with eng subtitles, I agree. However, they are an excellent tool if you use them the way I described instead. First watch without, or with Thai subtitles. Then watch with english subtitles. It makes a huge difference.

[bkksteviejai]

You mentioned that you had started reading Thai. Some people (like myself) take in things quicker being able to see the words rather than hearing them. The more I have immersed myself in reading the better my comprehension and the quicker I seem to be able to construct sentences when speaking without as much dithering .

Good luck with the bet!

[leosmith]

I made a bet with him that I will speak/read/write Thai better than him by the end of October this year.

It's getting close - how about an update?