How much time took you to learn Thai?

[Aforek]

I don't speak Thai. I do understand some and generally can make myself understood using simple phrases and word I picked up over the years.

At the beginning I bought phrasebook etc. And found quickly that our alphabet is not able to correctly transcribe how a word should be pronounced.

I do not have the time to attend language school. Does anyone have a good suggestion how to progress best? I know that learning the alphabet is essential, but fear I can't manage without help.

Is there a good online course?

I don't know an online course, but I can tell you than here " http://www.lyndonhill.com/FunThai/CONTENTS.html " you can learn the alphabet and to write words alone, by yourself

I have learned alone with this book many years ago, I am not a genius, just motivated: with this book you learn thai language from the beginning, do the exercices at your pace and you will find that it's not so difficult !

[cooked]

How well your Thai is understood, also depends on the person you are speaking to. Your handicap is that you look like a Westerner. I definitely speak better Thai than French, though I can effortlessly conduct a conversation in French, constantly finding ways around the words I cannot find. I am European so the French speakers will be completely open minded about how well I master their language, though sometimes being slightly surprised because French has become less common as a second (?third etc.) language. But Thai is a different matter. Sometimes Thai people see your face and immediately assume they will not understand you, you speak Thai but the person might not even register that, he keeps looking at you like you are speaking John the Baptist's native language. You run into surprises, maybe the woman working in a tourist area gets a big problem expression on her face as soon as you start speaking Thai to her, whilst you effortlessly have a chat with the Isaan rice farmer you run across in the fields.

My Thai pronunciation is so-so, but I rarely have the "white face" issue you experience. My Mandarin and Japanese pronunciation are pretty good, and I never have this issue with them. The logical conclusion is that your Thai pronunciation is pretty bad. Most likely you aren't paying attention to tones or vowel lengths the way you assume you are. I suggest recording yourself then play it back. You might be shocked. If you aren't, then have a native Thai teacher listen to it and tell you what's wrong. The problem is unlikely to be your face.

Actually I have come across the same thing. In some cases the person you are about to talk to believes you will speak to them in English and that is what they focus on. So when you speak Thai they do not realize you are speaking their language and as a result cannot understand what you are saying. In a few cases over the years I have said to the other party in English that I will speak in Thai as it will be easier for them, and then the conversation proceeds in Thai without any problems at all.

There are also cases where Thais just cannot get their head around the fact that you speak Thai and will not understand what you are saying no matter how fluent you are, or at least to begin with. And other cases where a Thais will speak to you in English even though your Thai is far superior to their second language abilities and they know that. Now I just go with the flow and if anyone wants to speak in English I will do so without saying that I speak Thai. But sometimes what happens in those cases is a lot of embarrassment to the Thai I am speaking to if one of my Thai colleagues or friends comes along and joins in the conversation, speaking to me in Thai.

Please note that I am not trying to put anyone down, just explaining my experience after more than 30 years here. BTW my spoken Thai is pretty good.

This isn't limited to Thai; my German and French are fairly good and I understand a lot of nuances and dialect. However on first contact, often enough the slightest misunderstanding would result in my interlocutor deciding that I didn't speak their language well enough and resort to his vague recollections of schoolboy English. That makes things difficult.

[fang37]

Learning Thai language for me has been a never-ending process.

No formal education - just a pocket dictionary.

Numbers; time; polite sayings & small talk.

I cannot read any Thai.

Enjoying new words can be fun.

I have observed many farangs who have no intention to learn the language.

LEARN ENGLISH!

Yet, they intend to stay in LOS forever.

An added bonus for me - my endeavours have provided me with many compliments & laughs by the locals.

[vwiriya]

It was so amazing that you guy have taken many years to study Thai. It looks like the same way as I have tried to study English. Not sure how many years I have learnt, but I was doubting that I may have to spend whole of my life.

Keep studying guy.

[fang37]

We expats never finish learning Thai (& many other things for that matter).

[nontabury]

Learning Thai language for me has been a never-ending process.

No formal education - just a pocket dictionary.

Numbers; time; polite sayings & small talk.

I cannot read any Thai.

Enjoying new words can be fun.

I have observed many farangs who have no intention to learn the language.

LEARN ENGLISH!

Yet, they intend to stay in LOS forever.

An added bonus for me - my endeavours have provided me with many compliments & laughs by the locals.

Afraid I am one who has been here for years and do not understand Thai/Lao. If I understand something simple I cannot reply. When I do try they scratch their heads, yet Mrs.Trans says I said it correctly.

Sooooo, now I don't bother as English is taught at school and many can understand my "London" English...If they don't I sing them a song... ....Such as....

Works great..........

You are not alone, some people are good at languages others like you and I are not.