Learning To Read Thai Script - Good Self-study Books?

[alohatiger]

I am about a beginner level 2 Thai speaker. I could learn more vocabulary, but I have mastered reading different transliterated systems for words. I would like to get ahead and learn to read the Thai script (I suppose writing is good too, just to reinforce the reading). My grammar's not so good, but I haven't got any hardened bad patterns yet, so I'll learn to say things the right way through practice.

I have heard of course to learn the Thai script early, but the schools are not structured that way. It's more like two - three months of speaking, THEN you start to learn the Thai script. I am pretty much at the point of a level 1 (4 week course) graduate: some familiarity, but still weak in some areas. Once I learn the Thai script, the transliterated system is thrown out anyways. So might as well pretend it's like summer school and setup the pressure cooker for that just right rice and study HARD ... ahhh ...

So, since all I devote myself to is working out and learning Thai for the next month or so, why NOT learn the Thai script as well? I'll be doing 4 hours in the morning, workout, some homework, and maybe some reinforcing at AUA to listen to more Thai speakers. Personally, right now since I'm still a beginner, I get more out of a Thai movie with english subtitles. Cheaper too! (A movie can be 100-160 baht for 90 minutes, an hour at AUA is what, 100-200 baht? Buying the DVD and watching it again and again is even cheaper! Choose subject that interests you. Romance, adventure, etc.) Not to say I won't get more out of it later, since listening is DEFINITELY an important component, but I definitely feel more comfortable putting in the hard hours first, THEN coasting in with Automatic Learning Growth. Because anyhow, sure, when we were 5 years old we learned to speak a few words, but to be intelligible, we DID have to go to school! I don't know too many street urchins, poor dirt farmers or aborigine tribesmen who never went to school that I'd like to emulate in speech. That being said, it's definitely the place to hang out and learn once I've got a small base to work from.

I've got some kindergarten books for kids. They have the associated object (like Gor Gai, i.e., G Chicken) in a picture on the corner and several lines of practice with the character outlined in dotted lines, so you can practice writing them over and over again.

I would like to learn to write, but I really need to learn how to READ. I need to know the special relationships between various vowels and consonants, and all those speech rules. And how the tones are signalled, etc.

** Please suggest some good books that have a good section on READING and PROPERLY PRONOUNCING THAI. **

I'll probably get the AUA books 1 and 2. Or maybe the Union books. Whichever seems best. I think they are both good systems, but I haven't seen the Union books yet. Just everybody seems to be well-satisfied with their system. But AAA's books look good too, and the lady I spoke with there is a real teacher. Very nice.

Thanks for all your replies!!!

Aloha and mahalo,

Alohatiger

PS: I might as well throw this in:

My plan of study:

I will spend 3-4 hours in the morning learning Thai the hard way at a reputable school.

I will work out afterwards and take a break and eat.

I will study some more (maybe start my homework), then:

** point in question **

Do I do a private hour of instruction at 400 BAHT PER HOUR?

** Yikes!!! **

I guess I could do so only 3x per week, that's only 1200 baht more per week ...

Could be the polish on my Thai, or a big waste ...

But I think I'll do it. An extra hour or private one-on-one feels REALLY good. And I'll just write down all my questions and save them for the privates.

So, that's about 6-7000 baht for 4 weeks, plus about 4800 baht in private lessons (wow! that adds up fast!) I should be pretty good after that. I suppose the private lessons will help with the alphabet and reading as well. That's about 12,000 baht for ONE month. About $320 USD. Pretty pricey ...

** Please provide input on how important private lessons are.** Otherwise, I can just grill myself for 2-3 hours with the same effect.

[boxig]

I started learning Thai doing two things: Listening to Thai and reading a simple dictionary over and over. I used "The conversation Dictionary of the Thai language" by Wit Theingburanathum which I still use to these days.

Wish you easy and fun learning.

[onebir]

Personally, right now since I'm still a beginner, I get more out of a Thai movie with english subtitles. Cheaper too! (A movie can be 100-160 baht for 90 minutes, an hour at AUA is what, 100-200 baht? Buying the DVD and watching it again and again is even cheaper! Choose subject that interests you. Romance, adventure, etc.) Not to say I won't get more out of it later, since listening is DEFINITELY an important component, but I definitely feel more comfortable putting in the hard hours first, THEN coasting in with Automatic Learning Growth. Because anyhow, sure, when we were 5 years old we learned to speak a few words, but to be intelligible, we DID have to go to school! I don't know too many street urchins, poor dirt farmers or aborigine tribesmen who never went to school that I'd like to emulate in speech. That being said, it's definitely the place to hang out and learn once I've got a small base to work from.

I've never been to the AUA school (or even Thailand). But I did study Mandarin with a teacher who used some similar techniques - not ALG - with a long silent period - but ways of building up understanding without constantly explaining things in English. It was a lot of fun, and I've ended up fluent in Mandarin with a reasonable accent, tones etc.

Partly because I'm really curious about ALG, I'd suggest you give it a try. You'll learn stuff from DVDs with subtitles, but unlike an ALG class your brain will never get a chance to switch over into Thai fully when you watch them.

From my (dubiously relevant, I know) experience I'd say an ALG class would be anything but coasting. Even with props, repetition etc you have to really concentrate to 'get it'. I've corresponded a bit with someone who's taken the classes there, and he also really enjoyed them (see below).

I think your comment on five year olds is a bit off the mark. Lots of people learn to speak languages perfectly well without formal schooling. Take the tribespeople you mention. Provided formal education doesn't really exist in the society where they've learnt their language, no one can say they're not speaking it properly - what they speak IS the language. In most English speaking countries (and I guess in Thailand) where education is relatively commonplace, there's a divide between formal language and street or regional dialects, so we tend to look down on these. But it's the existence of the formal language, and its association with education, social class etc that leads to this.

In the ALG programme, I imagine the teachers will be well-educated. Your exposure will be to moderately formal language, so you should pick up language like a kid in a posh family, rather than the street urchins you mention.

And if the claims of the AUA are correct, you'll avoid a major problem I had with Mandarin - pronounciation. Although I learned a lot of vocab and grammar in classes & the UK and self-study, I never quite got some sounds right, until I went to China and got one to one tuition for a few weeks. An ALG explanation of this would be that I hadn't had enough exposure to the Mandarin sound system to really hear the sounds - hence the need for coaching (which children after all don't generally need). The Thai sound system is at least as alien to an English speaker as the Mandarin one, so getting in hundreds of hours of exposure to Thai - so you can really hear and distinguish between the sounds you need to make before you make them - before speaking, and reinforcing bad habits of approximating sounds that you can't yet recognise properly, ought to reduce or prevent that.

Here's a blog who's been to AUA:

http://journeytothai.blogspot.com/

His email's there if you feel like asking him about it

Anyway, good luck!

Edited January 4, 2007 by onebir