Learning Thai as a complete beginner.

[tommy dee]

13 hours ago, Jambo said:

Just start with "Mai Pet" when ordering any Thai meal. It will still come at least medium spicy.

On my second trip I let a Thai girl take me to the "Ruen Thai??" restaurant in second road and let her order a meal for the two of us. I wanted it to be an authentic Thai meal so I told her to order for me just as if she was ordering for herself.

It took my head off and my mouth would not  stop burning. I was told to just eat plain rice but that didn't help. I used up copious amounts of water and that did not help either. Half of the Thai staff were around me helping the farang in distress. 🤣

Mai Pet, for ever after!

nd then go to skool, and find out its PeD not Pet 🙂

 

[tommy dee]

ok so i will fess up.  my wife is a language teacher, thai, english and german.  she is a partner in the I Pasa school near Big C

its a great idea to learn in a classroom, 1 on 1,  you will be surprised what you can do in a week or so

decide if you want to learn to read,talk  or both,  Ideally both.  if talk only its faster but you will always have issues with words, as I do.

here is a link to my 1200 thai lessons, free, I am a crap student.  so you will always be better than me

  but its one minute a day, or as many times as you want.  Its a taster really, as classroom is the way to go

 

all the best and never give up

[Lemondropkid]

6 hours ago, tko said:

I first came to Thailand over 41 years ago. Before I left I bought the book "Fundamentals of the Thai language" by, I believe, the Australian War College.  It was recommended to me be a member of the Australian detachment on our mission in Thailand. 

I then separated and went to work in KSA, so I had a lot of time to study.  I wore that book out.  One of my colleagues there had done some Peace Corps work in Thailand and could help out when I got stuck.

When that assignment ended and I got back home, I found out there are Thai temples in almost every large city, and folks there are happy to help.  They also have lessons for the children of Thai families you can listen in on.

Almost 20 years later I met the "one," and fortunately spoke enough Thai to communicate because she didn't speak much English at all.  The next couple decades with her and all the Thai/Farang or Thai/Thai  families from our local temple that we became friends with, ramped my fluency way up.

It seems to me that the books, etc, get you started, but total immersion is what gets you fluent. 

These days I'm conversationally quite fluent, to the point that on the phone Thais are surprised that I'm not Thai.  I read fairly slow and I'm sure my handwriting is atrocious.  To be fair, my handwriting is not much better when I write in English. 

Thanks for sharing that. 

I guess necessity really is the mother of invention😁 It's all to easy like me to coast by in a big city stick to English and not make the effort.

 

[Lemondropkid]

2 hours ago, tommy dee said:

ok so i will fess up.  my wife is a language teacher, thai, english and german.  she is a partner in the I Pasa school near Big C

its a great idea to learn in a classroom, 1 on 1,  you will be surprised what you can do in a week or so

decide if you want to learn to read,talk  or both,  Ideally both.  if talk only its faster but you will always have issues with words, as I do.

here is a link to my 1200 thai lessons, free, I am a crap student.  so you will always be better than me

  but its one minute a day, or as many times as you want.  Its a taster really, as classroom is the way to go

 

all the best and never give up

Thanks for that link, that's really handy Have saved that as a library in YT. I had noticed the lessons as recently have started to watch your daily news building.

As an side note, was faccinated by the A.I bot reading the news yesterday. A more pleasant liste than many of the vloggers. Hope your staff get over the bug.

Oh and of course I "liked and subscribed" 😇

Edited November 15, 2023 by Lemondropkid

[rhodie]

A free online course is https://lingopolo.org/thai/ 

Worth a look as well.

[Phantom51red]

Used to have a great app on the old phone,there's a few good ones out there,I gave up tho,kept forgetting the words and phrases I'd learnt,noticed a few thai lessons on tik tok now aswell,good luck.

[tommy dee]

8 hours ago, Lemondropkid said:

Thanks for that link, that's really handy Have saved that as a library in YT. I had noticed the lessons as recently have started to watch your daily news building.

As an side note, was faccinated by the A.I bot reading the news yesterday. A more pleasant liste than many of the vloggers. Hope your staff get over the bug.

Oh and of course I "liked and subscribed" 😇

cheers.  I am stil v hoarse and weak vocal box.  its bee a right pain.  god loves AI as backup, but hope thats done and dusted now

[Derek Dangleberries]

10 hours ago, tommy dee said:

she is a partner in the I Pasa school near Big C

I had to check that out on the map.

Thankfully you weren't referring to Big C Pattaya Tai!

When I first moved down from the village I went to the one next to Big C Tai because I really needed to clean up my Isaan Thai. I walked in, went to the reception, and they said "No need sir, you can get a Retirement Visa"

Didn't bother after that!

[Lemondropkid]

1 hour ago, rhodie said:

A free online course is https://lingopolo.org/thai/ 

Worth a look as well.

Thanks I stumbled across that one yesterday,  I will explore it.

Am starting with the numbers on Thaipod 101 on YT. 

Like the way they teach, get you to think about giving your Phone number in Thai or the numbers in the bank queue. 

Just watching one video a couple of times through,  realised I need a blank exercise book to take notes. Its how I learn

The link you shared like to do puzzles,  another good way to hopefully keep it fun.

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Lemondropkid

[Derek Dangleberries]

9 minutes ago, Lemondropkid said:

realised I need a blank exercise book to take notes. Its how I learn

That is how I learnt when I started work here in 96. Mainly because that is how I learnt Mandarin years before that..

A really useful tool !

[Jambo]

13 hours ago, Bazle said:

I think that is important for learning any language - you need to be motivated to learn.

I've always been useless at learning languages. For me, Thai is so far away from my reach that I haven't even tried, and I have little motivation as I can just about get by with English and Google.

How right you are and so was I.

I can still quote word for word my French teachers final comment on my end of year School Report:

"He is lazy, untidy and never works well."

Well I did get 11% in the mock O-Level French exam after which they threw me out French.

I mean what more do you need to know in Frog other than "Aimee vous les blow jobs?"

 

[Trip]

29 minutes ago, Jambo said:

How right you are and so was I.

I can still quote word for word my French teachers final comment on my end of year School Report:

"He is lazy, untidy and never works well."

Well I did get 11% in the mock O-Level French exam after which they threw me out French.

I mean what more do you need to know in Frog other than "Aimee vous les blow jobs?"

 

 

[Yessongs]

@Lemondropkid Hey LDK, this gal at the gym and I were just talking about this subject a few weeks back. She tells me that you really need someone in a "one on one" situation to really learn. She was asking me about how I was doing learning? I told her I struggle, and she also told me and my wife told me the same, that is NOT to try to learn Thai using English characters. I find You Tube videos to help me. I can run and re-run them and I do. Wifey tells me that she is convinced I could learn to be fluent, as what I do speak, I speak well she tells me. 

This gal "Fa" told me she worked with a guy from Germany that lives in her neighborhood for 2 years. He is married to a Thai gal. He would come over every Sat for 2 hours, she would give him assignments to work on during the week that his wife helped him with and he now speaks, reads and writes fluently. She showed me a video of him, I am impressed. Fa speaks perfect English, has a Bachelors Degree in Engineering and works as a Design Engineer at a company called "Control Logic" here. She is nice to look at too. If you ever re-locate here, she might be able to help you?? 

 

[Lemondropkid]

47 minutes ago, Yessongs said:

@Lemondropkid Hey LDK, this gal at the gym and I were just talking about this subject a few weeks back. She tells me that you really need someone in a "one on one" situation to really learn. She was asking me about how I was doing learning? I told her I struggle, and she also told me and my wife told me the same, that is NOT to try to learn Thai using English characters. I find You Tube videos to help me. I can run and re-run them and I do. Wifey tells me that she is convinced I could learn to be fluent, as what I do speak, I speak well she tells me. 

This gal "Fa" told me she worked with a guy from Germany that lives in her neighborhood for 2 years. He is married to a Thai gal. He would come over every Sat for 2 hours, she would give him assignments to work on during the week that his wife helped him with and he now speaks, reads and writes fluently. She showed me a video of him, I am impressed. Fa speaks perfect English, has a Bachelors Degree in Engineering and works as a Design Engineer at a company called "Control Logic" here. She is nice to look at too. If you ever re-locate here, she might be able to help you?? 

 

Hey Yessongs

This gym of yours seems to throw up an unending stream of gorgeous women 😍 

I'm coincidentally heading north up to Bangkok now. Have told the driver to forget Sukhumvit,  and head straight for Khun Yessongs gym!!

Enough of lovely quiet Hua Hin, BKK suburbs here I come

 

[Krapow]

I'll do you £90ph zoom meets.

Start with the practical stuff you'll use -

Boom doot, reo reo, hum noi, sabai sabai

You want my paypal?

 

[Lemondropkid]

11 hours ago, Krapow said:

I'll do you £90ph zoom meets.

Start with the practical stuff you'll use -

Boom doot, reo reo, hum noi, sabai sabai

You want my paypal?

 

Have PM'd you Ajarn Orange, just let me know where to send the ££££.

[Derek Dangleberries]

14 hours ago, Krapow said:

I'll do you £90ph zoom meets.

Start with the practical stuff you'll use -

Boom doot, reo reo, hum noi, sabai sabai

You want my paypal?

 

Yai Nom .. Grandmother's Tits !!

[Krapow]

6 hours ago, Lemondropkid said:

Have PM'd you Ajarn Orange, just let me know where to send the ££££.

Ajarn Som

Doing great already, that'll £90 please.

Krap pom!

 

[Yessongs]

I use "Pom Kong Khun Suay Jung Krap"  when I want to tell a Thai gal her hair is beautiful....they seem to like that alot. 

I had a guy at the gym teach me how to say "Are you being good for Mom today?" I struggle with that one, and am still working on it.  He told me with the amount of good looking women here with kids and many "milfs" to choose from, you will immediately get a resounding response from her when she is with her kids. He is right, there are a few in the neighborhood here that are really attractive women. Same at the mall. 

[fforest]

I think the very hardest thing about Thai is that many many words sound almost the same to the ear, and only the tone is raised or lowered to give the word a new meaning.....And if you don't do it perfectly some Thais will just simply not understand you..And will look at you like you are crazy..lol

Edited November 22, 2023 by fforest

[boydeste]

On 11/22/2023 at 7:27 AM, fforest said:

I think the very hardest thing about Thai is that many many words sound almost the same to the ear, and only the tone is raised or lowered to give the word a new meaning.....And if you don't do it perfectly some Thais will just simply not understand you..And will look at you like you are crazy..lol

That's exactly why I stopped trying to learn,  my ears don't pick up the different tones and I can't pronounce all the vowels anyway.

 

[Glasseye]

I just now saw this thread. I will be giving it a good read.

 

My issue with schools is something often comes up that would conflict with the schedule.

First school I signed up for was a 20 lesson deal at a school up near Big C on Klang. Got two lessons in then covid pulled the rug out from under that plan.

Started it here twice once in classroom with a group. The sounds of twenty people trying to pronounce words at the same time was mind numbing. 

[Zambo]

On 1/4/2024 at 1:58 PM, Glasseye said:

Started it here twice once in classroom with a group. The sounds of twenty people trying to pronounce words at the same time was mind numbing. 

That must be a tough way to learn. One to one once a week and then go off and try a few sentences would be better. But i guess that's not cheap these days. 

[Glasseye]

1 minute ago, Zambo said:

That must be a tough way to learn. One to one once a week and then go off and try a few sentences would be better. But i guess that's not cheap these days. 

Time has become more of an issue for me these days, although money is a factor.

[Lemondropkid]

22 hours ago, Zambo said:

That must be a tough way to learn. One to one once a week and then go off and try a few sentences would be better. But i guess that's not cheap these days. 

The Duke language school charges 1200 baht for a 2 hour private lesson.

2 hours is too long to concentrate fully, but at least it's a benchmark of possible cost per hour. But not cheap.