Morning All,

Question for the proper learners of Thai.

All the time I hear farangs saying that are fluent. Most aren't.

My Thai is such that I cannot read and write at all. However, I can stay with my relatives for a month and speak only Thai. I can talk to my mother in law, get pished with my brother in law and uncles. And I can play with the plethora of kids. If I can't say something I can usually describe what I mean. So, basically I can get away with never speaking English BUT I obviously can't express myself as much as I'd like to on politics, policing, you know - educated stuff.

There are large holes in my Thai and its all been learnt from conversation over 7 years there and 7 years visiting often - natural acquisition the TEFLers tell me. And I am better, I am told, that most of my mates in Thailand - by long term Thai friends - not strangers.

I am thinking about taking a year out, starting from scratch and attending the Chula program which, I am told, is the best.

What do you think chaps? what would you do in my positions. Funding is not an issue.

Thanks

I would learn to read. You can do that as part of self-study.

From there, you can read texts on topics you wish to improve your vocabulary on, and find new ways of saying what you already know.

I would recommend learning to read on your own. It's not that difficult and your coming into this with a unquie skillset, I'd be worried that formal Thai classes will be redundant in some areas. A personal tutor after some self-study could also do wonders I'm sure.

Also, you mentioned you want to learn topics like politics, etc. that are probably not so common in everyday conversation. Well there's plenty of Thai reading material online, news articles, opinion forums, etc. that can help you learn specific vocab as well as improve your reading with time. You may also start to notice that the diction used in written Thai is more advanced (and proper) than everyday spoken Thai. Good luck!

Thansk Gents but I really want to study in a class. There is a good reason I never self taught myself reading - Im dog lazy but am motivated in group learning.

When I self study, I spend half the day making tea, with my head in the fridge or surfing the Micky Vaughan.

Cheers.

Absolutely, if you can do the Chula program you should do it. You will not get to that level on your own in a year for sure.

So, with some hard work what level would you expect to reach after a year at Chula?

If you feel that you will enjoy it, then go for it.

If time and money is not an issue I would go for the Chula courses. Expect to loose a lot of time on things you already know in the first modules.

The Chula courses will not dramatically improve you speaking skills or vocabulary, but they will give you a deeper understanding and they will teach you to read. Increasing your vocabulary is something you've to do yourself - and being able to read will help a lot.

The Chula courses will not dramatically improve you speaking skills or vocabulary, but they will give you a deeper understanding and they will teach you to read. Increasing your vocabulary is something you've to do yourself - and being able to read will help a lot.

Not true at all. I took Basic 1, 2 and 3 at Chula. We learned 800 - 1000 words in each course. That's the fastest rate of learning vocabulary of any foreign language course I have ever taken. The Chula program emphasizes reading and writing, but students also give presentations frequently and there is plenty of classroom discussion. It is comparable to other university language courses in that regard.

The OP currently doesn't read or write Thai, which is taught in Thai 2 (called Basic 2 when I took it) in the Chula curriculum. So, he will be learning new material from then on for sure.