Learn Thai from a white guy ?

[Tchooptip]

Hello every one.

Everything is in the title: "Learn Thai from a white guy"

Do some of you have heard about this method ? (or even try it)

I guess it could be possible since there is regularly some adverts for it on TV, so what do you think about it?

(Personally I do not believe one second what he pretends to offer...but?)

[RottingCorpse]

I don't see why not. Dr David Smyth is widely recognised as one of the World's leading authorities on Thai language and he was 'white' last time I seen him....

[fire69water]

Actually, there are some points of the Thai language where a westerner can offer more clarity than a native could. This had been my experience. Natives generally can't remember when they do not know the language and therefore cannot empathise with the plights of the beginning learner.

[Tchooptip]

Actually, there are some points of the Thai language where a westerner can offer more clarity than a native could. This had been my experience. Natives generally can't remember when they do not know the language and therefore cannot empathise with the plights of the beginning learner.

Not sure my question was understood, it is the name of the method "Learn Thai from a white guy", I never asked it it was possible a Westerner could teach Thai, of course it could, I did not put any link for I guessed its against the forum rules.

[kriswillems]

If I wanted to study Thai and I had to choose between:

- a native Thai speaker and teacher that is reasonably good in English

and

- a native English speaker and teacher that is reasonably good in Thai

I would probably only want to do the grammar and basics with the English speaker and switch very soon to the Thai speaker.
But I am a believer in "Thai only" language instruction. I can read books for the grammar.

Edited October 19, 2014 by kriswillems

[cooked]

I'm sure that the guy's methods are ok as I tried his free introductory course a couple of times. I decided that I didn't like his way of teaching the Thai alphabet by assigning each letter to an object whose name in English began with that sound. So that's why some people won't like it as he correctly, in my view, starts with the alphabet.

My granddaughter (8 years old) teaches me now and I try to read car license plates and traffic signs every day. I took me a year to find out that the sign outside our village meant 'stop'.

[kikenyoy]

If it took you a year to read a stop sign then maybe it would have been better to give his method a try.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I don't see why not. Dr David Smyth is widely recognised as one of the World's leading authorities on Thai language and he was 'white' last time I seen him....

My Thai Grammar book was written by James Higbie, I'm thinking he is white too.

(Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai)

Thais are generally very poor teachers of anything because of their extremely low educational standards.

It's not hard to learn Thai because the language is difficult, it's hard to learn Thai because Thai teachers are incompetent.

Edited October 19, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[jspill]

His website could be better, but I don't see anything wrong with the concept of learning Thai from a white guy. I learnt to read from an ebook written by a different guy, forget the name now but pretty sure it was written by a westerner, was 2000 baht and clickable with sounds. Each character was assigned a lurid picture to make it stick in your memory, like the vowel sound า 'ahhhh' had an image of a guy peeing as it forms the shape urine would take under gravity, and the sound is the same someone relieving themselves might make.

Stuff like that sticks in the head.

[Gayllips]

His website could be better, but I don't see anything wrong with the concept of learning Thai from a white guy. I learnt to read from an ebook written by a different guy, forget the name now but pretty sure it was written by a westerner, was 2000 baht and clickable with sounds. Each character was assigned a lurid picture to make it stick in your memory, like the vowel sound า 'ahhhh' had an image of a guy peeing as it forms the shape urine would take under gravity, and the sound is the same someone relieving themselves might make.

Stuff like that sticks in the head.

Ooooh, golden showers, now you are talking my language darling.

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed.

[cooked]

If it took you a year to read a stop sign then maybe it would have been better to give his method a try.

Yeah, I'm sure you learnt to read Thai in three weeks. Most Farangs I know don't even know where Krungtheep is.

I do learn three languages though, but that was 40 years ago, verstanden?

[kriswillems]

I don't see why not. Dr David Smyth is widely recognised as one of the World's leading authorities on Thai language and he was 'white' last time I seen him....

My Thai Grammar book was written by James Higbie, I'm thinking he is white too.

(Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai)

Thais are generally very poor teachers of anything because of their extremely low educational standards.

It's not hard to learn Thai because the language is difficult, it's hard to learn Thai because Thai teachers are incompetent.

I completely disagree with that.

James Higbie wrote his grammar book in cooperation with a Thai person: Snea Thinsan

You can be sure that without this persons help the examples would be much less good.

I would advice you to look at the grammar book of Richard Noss, even though it was written with the help of Thai people,

and it's very detailed in analyzing the language, you still very much recognize the farang style in the Thai examples (and that's not a good thing).

Don't forget there's a huge amount of high quality grammar books written in Thai. Why would we ignore them?

If we really want to study Thai language, shouldn't we be studying in Thai? Why use English to study Thai - it's absurd.

Also, don't forget there's a huge difference between writing a grammar book (from a farang perspective) and speaking like a native would speak.

There are very competent Thai teachers out there - just go to look at the famous Thai universities in the Thai language department.

I say: if you really want to study Thai, turn over the switch and study in Thai only - from Thai books.

You could do a 2 weeks introduction course with a farang, but not more than that.

Even the Thai language gurus under the farang make many mistakes in pronunciation and word choice.

Edited October 20, 2014 by kriswillems

[kriswillems]

Just a bit more about : Dr. Snea Thinsan:
http://thinsan.org/
He's not just the average guy - read his curriculum.
He has a impressive education - is perfect in English - wrote many articles and books - is the head of many organisations, like THAI ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (TAHR) and "Thai People’s Revolutionary University for Democracy".

Some of his website have been blocked in Thailand (well, almost all of his websites).

Edited October 20, 2014 by kriswillems

[kikenyoy]

If it took you a year to read a stop sign then maybe it would have been better to give his method a try.

Yeah, I'm sure you learnt to read Thai in three weeks. Most Farangs I know don't even know where Krungtheep is.

I do learn three languages though, but that was 40 years ago, verstanden?

Yeah, I'd say roughly 3 weeks is about right. One week to learn the alphabet, one week to learn the consonant classes/tone rules/special rules, and one week of practicing. I couldn't read much after a few weeks but I could sound out easy signs like ยา, หยุด, กาแฟ etc.

I agree that most Farang don't know where Krungthep is but I don't see how that's relevant. Being able to read หยุด at all puts your knowledge above most Farang, but it taking you a year puts you near the bottom of students who have learned to read. I was merely suggesting that there might be more efficient methods available.

I've also studied 3 languages in my lifetime...is that supposed to be impressive? I certainly don't think so. Comprende?

[cooked]

If it took you a year to read a stop sign then maybe it would have been better to give his method a try.

Yeah, I'm sure you learnt to read Thai in three weeks. Most Farangs I know don't even know where Krungtheep is.

I do learn three languages though, but that was 40 years ago, verstanden?

Yeah, I'd say roughly 3 weeks is about right. One week to learn the alphabet, one week to learn the consonant classes/tone rules/special rules, and one week of practicing. I couldn't read much after a few weeks but I could sound out easy signs like ยา, หยุด, กาแฟ etc.

I agree that most Farang don't know where Krungthep is but I don't see how that's relevant. Being able to read หยุด at all puts your knowledge above most Farang, but it taking you a year puts you near the bottom of students who have learned to read. I was merely suggesting that there might be more efficient methods available.

I've also studied 3 languages in my lifetime...is that supposed to be impressive? I certainly don't think so. Comprende?

Let's start again. I am 66 years old, that's why I said I learnt 2 new languages (simultaneously) 40 years ago. It was relatively easy then. I am trying, you see, but (almost but not quite) insulting people because they take a long time to learn a new alphabet at my age is a bit arrogant. We can't all be intellectual snobs geniuses and learn one of the more difficult languages in three weeks at my age.

Most Farangs don't know that there is a place in Thailand called Krungtheep because they can't read road signs, that's why it's relevant.

[Zooheekock]

^ Unless you've got some kind of age-related cognitive impairment, being 66 is just not that relevant here. Well done for learning the alphabet - and, yes, that's much more than most manage - but a year just is a long time to get there. I think a month (if you don't hurry) should be long enough to recognize the letters and make some kind of (moderately successful) attempt at reading simple, regular words. And this is not about being a genius. It's just a matter of application. You could do it in a week, if you got your head down.

In reply to the OP, I'm assuming that this is a question about the alphabet/reading course, rather than the Skype lessons. If it is, I haven't done it so I can't say. However, if you have some motivation and a few people to ask for help, it is entirely possible to teach yourself the alphabet in a short period of time and to do so without any great difficulty. I generally don't like paying people to do things which I can easily do myself and associating particular sounds with particular symbols and then moving on to the various algorithms for working out the tones (which I presume is what he covers in the 10 hours) is just that. It's an entirely mechanical, unambiguous task so I would look at that and think that having a teacher present the information has no advantages over any other method; I would imagine that you have to go no further than wikipedia for most of this. This is a bit different to working on the pronunciation of some of the more difficult sounds (and of course the tones), where a teacher would help but you're not going to get that in 10 hours of a computer-based course. Other people, however, feel differently so it's more a question of your feelings and how happy you are to be self-directed in your learning.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Zooheekock

[Baa_Mango]

I wouldn't advise paying for skype lessons from a foreigner or a Thai. This isn't to say that a foreigner couldn't teach you, its more like with the amount of resources that exist for free, I don't think its necessary. That being said, I always struggled explaining English grammar to Thai friends because as a native speaker I don't think about the rules, and I don't know them (or understand them). I experienced the same thing with many Thai friends when asking them (thousands) of obscure grammatical questions about Thai.

One thing I found SUPER helpful, even more so than talking with bi-lingual (Thai and English speaking) friends, was talking with someone who was studying English and starting to approached the more advanced levels. The since they had spent so much time learning English from a Thai perspective, they could often easily teach or answer questions about Thai grammar and mechanizations.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Baa_Mango

[Zooheekock]

There's a review of this (and some other teach yourself to read Thai packages) on the A Woman Learning Thai website. (I won't put a link in because they always seem to get removed but Google will reveal all.)

[piersbeckett]

I don't see why not. Dr David Smyth is widely recognised as one of the World's leading authorities on Thai language and he was 'white' last time I seen him....

My Thai Grammar book was written by James Higbie, I'm thinking he is white too.

(Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai)

Thais are generally very poor teachers of anything because of their extremely low educational standards.

It's not hard to learn Thai because the language is difficult, it's hard to learn Thai because Thai teachers are incompetent.

AOA - I think you've done a great service to readers who are interested in learning Thai by mentioning this book; it is by James Higbie (American)& Snea Thinsan (Thai). IMHO it's so well put together and deals with the heart of the matter as the sub title indicates that to what extent it is a collaboration seems to me irrelevant!

[Aforek]

Let's start again. I am 66 years old, that's why I said I learnt 2 new languages (simultaneously) 40 years ago. It was relatively easy then. I am trying, you see, but (almost but not quite) insulting people because they take a long time to learn a new alphabet at my age is a bit arrogant. We can't all be intellectual snobs geniuses and learn one of the more difficult languages in three weeks at my age.

Most Farangs don't know that there is a place in Thailand called Krungtheep because they can't read road signs, that's why it's relevant.

I think it's very difficult ( let's say "impossible " ) for a 66 years old person to learn how to read Thai because it means new notions and to forget one's own language and at 66 , the brain is much more rigid than at the age of 20 years old

I have learnt to read thai at 26 years old , 38 years ago, not too difficult , and I completely stopped during 17 years ; one day I decided to read again. I bought a book to learn how to read from the beginning , the first day was difficult , but after two days it was easy again because actually every thing was still somewhere inside my memory ; now I read every day, very easy and fast, but I feel that if I start today from nothing, it would be very , very hard for me, my brain is not so young ( even if it is still very alert !)

Edited November 6, 2014 by Aforek

[BKKdreaming]

how did the white guy learn Thai ? And how long did it take him ?

If you live among Thais you have a better chance as you hear it spoken all the time and know the context

if you learn from youtube or a book its hard to get feedback and you can be a long way down the wrong road with what you thought you learned,

its a commitment , which takes time....

[Baa_Mango]

Don't let age slow you or limit you. Also 66 is not very old. New studies (no I am not linking data to back this) language learning is GREAT for improving and maintaining cognitive abilities.

Also as someone just said above : James Higbie (American)& Snea Thinsan (Thai) have a GREAT GREAT GREAT book of grammar usage. I like to open it randomly and copy a few pages into my note book. Fun way to reenforce grammar and vocab

[Neeranam]

I don't see why not. Dr David Smyth is widely recognised as one of the World's leading authorities on Thai language and he was 'white' last time I seen him....

My Thai Grammar book was written by James Higbie, I'm thinking he is white too.

(Thai Reference Grammar - The Structure of Spoken Thai)

Thais are generally very poor teachers of anything because of their extremely low educational standards.

It's not hard to learn Thai because the language is difficult, it's hard to learn Thai because Thai teachers are incompetent.

I completely disagree with that.

James Higbie wrote his grammar book in cooperation with a Thai person: Snea Thinsan

You can be sure that without this persons help the examples would be much less good.

I would advice you to look at the grammar book of Richard Noss, even though it was written with the help of Thai people,

and it's very detailed in analyzing the language, you still very much recognize the farang style in the Thai examples (and that's not a good thing).

Don't forget there's a huge amount of high quality grammar books written in Thai. Why would we ignore them?

If we really want to study Thai language, shouldn't we be studying in Thai? Why use English to study Thai - it's absurd.

Also, don't forget there's a huge difference between writing a grammar book (from a farang perspective) and speaking like a native would speak.

There are very competent Thai teachers out there - just go to look at the famous Thai universities in the Thai language department.

I say: if you really want to study Thai, turn over the switch and study in Thai only - from Thai books.

You could do a 2 weeks introduction course with a farang, but not more than that.

Even the Thai language gurus under the farang make many mistakes in pronunciation and word choice.

I agree with Kris.

If you want to learn Thai, use the Thai resources and teachers.

I have that James Higbie book but didn't read it all. I only wish I had learned to read from the onset. I've only recently learned to type and it has opened up a huge new world of learning, especially online.

[bunnydrops]

LTFaWG has a free app for Android.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.learnthaifromawhiteguy.free&hl=en

maybe for Iphone.

I think it is important to learn how to read (meaning to know where words in sentences begin and end and sound out roughly how they sound)Thai early on even if you know few words. If for no other reason so you can read the stop, don't, warning, forbidden and please signs when you drive.

I'm 68, and believe me learning a new language at this age is not easy. I put in an hr every day. When I first started to learn the language I thought I would have a good understanding in a years time remembering how easy it was for me to learn German and Spanish---- that was 5 years ago. I still feel very much a beginner. Damn short term memory loss.

[CaptHaddock]

LTFaWG has a free app for Android.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.learnthaifromawhiteguy.free&hl=en

maybe for Iphone.

I think it is important to learn how to read (meaning to know where words in sentences begin and end and sound out roughly how they sound)Thai early on even if you know few words. If for no other reason so you can read the stop, don't, warning, forbidden and please signs when you drive.

I'm 68, and believe me learning a new language at this age is not easy. I put in an hr every day. When I first started to learn the language I thought I would have a good understanding in a years time remembering how easy it was for me to learn German and Spanish---- that was 5 years ago. I still feel very much a beginner. Damn short term memory loss.

Not my experience. I am 65, have been studying Thai for 3 years, and can read, write and speak Thai with correct tones, although I still make mistakes with tones sometimes. My goal is complete fluency. I memorize vocabulary using the Anki flashcard program which enables me to check my Thai spelling. By now I can even touch-type Thai just from memorizing vocabulary.

I am bragging a bit here just to counter the endless whining about how impossible it is to learn Thai because we are all so old. I want to point out that it's quite possible to succeed at learning Thai, if you are willing to do the work required.

Thai is a hard language for English-speakers to learn, much harder than German or Spanish. I am not sure it would have been much easier 40 years ago, but even if true, it doesn't matter. If you are strongly motivated, you can learn Thai even at our age. An hour a day is not nearly enough though. If you are studying with a competent teacher, put in the time and stick to it, you can learn Thai. If you just fool around with online videos or books and tapes on your own, then of course you'll fail. The reason won't be old age, but the hopelessly naive approach.

[PHP87]

Here's a link to a web site with a plethora of links to "learning Thai" for free or mostly free as I only gave it a quick look.

http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/resources/learning-thai/

I did D/L the free "Learn Thai from a White Guy" Android app but have yet to take a look.

A free App that I like is "Speak Thai" - I've found it to be the one of best of the free apps but like most free apps, the vocabulary is limited, but you see the spelling and hear the words with the correct tone, pronunciation, etc...

"Learn Thai Phrasebook" free version is also very good but also limited.

The "Pro" version is not free.But it has a lot more content and looks like it would be well worth the $4.99 USD

I will probably buy the "Pro" version of the "Learn Thai Phrasebook" as it's only $4.99 and seems to be well worth the money.

Edited March 29, 2015 by PHP87