Need to improve my basic Thai - A Lazy Englishman!

[scoooooby]

OK, I have been travelling to Thailand over 12 years now and the first 6 being pure holidays anywhere south of BKK. The latter years with my Thai wife and where we return annually to family and friends at our Thai property in the North East just outside Korat.

The main obstacle to develop my language skills (very basis at the moment) is that fact that I have a Thai wife so she will tackle any non English speaking situations we have.... With that said I do find myself all too often sat around the table with the local men enjoying the whisky with a very limited conversation....I can name some objects etc and make the rest up in body language. I do however learn more in this environment then all the other material I have downloaded from the net, watched on You Tube or bought through eBay!!!!

I know it’s the lazy Englishman inside me that has not motivated me into learning more, but I really do find it hard to learn from a document and admit the 5 tones just blow me away. I am ok whereby I can relate a Thai word to an English one but the new words to my ear are hard to remember.....maybe my old brain haha

Yes you could say I have access to a free teacher!...BUT trying to learn from my wife is a non starter and will always end in a mess....lol

So...... here I am seeking some guidance and advice from others that have had a similar experience and understand how they have moved forward......I want to relocate to Thailand but know the language is not essential but will be so much easier and enjoyable to speak Thai in one form or another.

OK, I have been travelling to Thailand over 12 years now and the first 6 being pure holidays anywhere south of BKK. The latter years with my Thai wife and where we return annually to family and friends at our Thai property in the North East just outside Korat.

The main obstacle to develop my language skills (very basis at the moment) is that fact that I have a Thai wife so she will tackle any non English speaking situations we have.... With that said I do find myself all too often sat around the table with the local men enjoying the whisky with a very limited conversation....I can name some objects etc and make the rest up in body language. I do however learn more in this environment then all the other material I have downloaded from the net, watched on You Tube or bought through eBay!!!!

I know it’s the lazy Englishman inside me that has not motivated me into learning more, but I really do find it hard to learn from a document and admit the 5 tones just blow me away. I am ok whereby I can relate a Thai word to an English one but the new words to my ear are hard to remember.....maybe my old brain haha

Yes you could say I have access to a free teacher!...BUT trying to learn from my wife is a non starter and will always end in a mess....lol

So...... here I am seeking some guidance and advice from others that have had a similar experience and understand how they have moved forward......I want to relocate to Thailand but know the language is not essential but will be so much easier and enjoyable to speak Thai in one form or another.

Cheers

[CaptHaddock]

Uh-oh. Deja vu again.

[scoooooby]

Uh-oh. Deja vu again.

I am not shocked at all that I am one of many to ask....just wanted the thoughts of others who experienced the same.....please have some patience haha

[CaptHaddock]

For native English speakers the Thai language is in the second only to the most difficult languages of all to learn, i.e. Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Korean. Most Westerners fail miserably. Most of the posters on the Thai language forum here have failed miserably. One poster here claimed to speak Thai after being here many years, but admitted that he couldn't hold a a conversation in Thai. One newbie rated himself at "intermediate" level because of his vocabulary of a mere 500 words, a vocabulary you would expect to acquire in your first month of formal study at a university, for example. The posters here are full of recommendations for this or that book or dvd or video, without ever seeming to notice that none of them ever actually succeed at learning Thai that way. People who have never acquired a second language are somehow convinced they can succeed at teaching themselves Thai. So, the discussion here is marked by standards that are too low and a lot of wishful thinking.

The Thai language schools here, with a couple of exceptions, are execrable. Teachers are unqualified, teach from inadequate and antiquated texts, and have low expectations of Western students.

If you have successfully learned another language in the past to a high level of fluency and therefore understand what is required and if you find a teacher or school that teaches at the level of a Western university program, and if you work very, very hard for years, then, yes, it is possible actually to learn to speak, read, write, and understand Thai. If that's you then you have my best wishes. From your post though to be frank, that doesn't sound like you. Laziness means certain failure. You think it would be nice to learn Thai as indeed it would be, but when you find out just how demanding it is, you will give up.

So, that's to put it bluntly, but what would be the point of putting it any other way?

[colinneil]

OP you are not alone.

Many of us English men who have Thai wives are lazy to learn Thai me included.

Yesterday a man came to our home, i could not understand him.

Easy just called the wife at work then gave him my phone problem solved.

You i am a lazy bugger when it comes to learning the language of my host country.

[jacky54]

Don't bother they pretend not to understand you anyway half the time. After 21 years I could not get a taxi driver to understand soi hok, first he thought I meant soi 2 then soi 4! In Narrai Pizza I ordered a beer Sing, waiter thought I said coke, I mean after all this time and still on first base sometimes, very frustrating and just not worth the effort. In my experience many Thais don't like you speaking Thai and never offer to help, let the mrs do it after all they have to be useful for something

[bow]

I am sorry, but there is no easy, lazy, way to learn Thai. There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears involved. Lots of hard work.

Obviously you need a qualified, good teacher teaching in a school environment. Like somebody has already mentioned, that sort of schools and teachers are difficult to find. Don't try to learn Thai in a kitchen or in a bar.

Finally, I apologize, but I must say this: the five tones of Thai language are essential. If you don't use the tones you don't speak Thai, you are just making - literally - meaningless noises.

[CoreanoOzzie]

OP you are not alone.

Many of us English men who have Thai wives are lazy to learn Thai me included.

Yesterday a man came to our home, i could not understand him.

Easy just called the wife at work then gave him my phone problem solved.

You i am a lazy bugger when it comes to learning the language of my host country.

at least you are honest, cranky old lazy bugger

OP, good question, I attended a Thai language school for a month or so but then work screwed me and I had to stop going. I have been too lazy to find a new 1 ever since I found a new job that has much more accommodating hours.....you're right about it being hard to learn from the wife, even though it's a natural resource, it just doesn't work I found....a language school or private tutor would be the best way to go mefinks. Good luck