Thai for Beginners on iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

The week is officially over and I would like to thank everyone for the many great comments on the Another Great Thai Language Giveaway post, all of which were added to a hat and 5 winners were dutifully selected by my beautiful assistant, Mun. You’ll have to believe me on the beautiful assistant part because unbeknownst to me she is seriously camera shy, to the point of threatening my life and other precious things if I even dared mentioned a camera. I suggested just of shot of her hand drawing the winners but seeing as she really didn’t understand why she was picking slips of paper from a hat she really didn’t care to hear about hand pictures much either.

Anyway, before I announce the winners of the Thai for Beginners iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch App I want to once again Thank Benjawan Poomsan Becker and Paiboon publishing for not only graciously giving away their hard work for free to my readers but also for taking the time to put together the most comprehensive Thai language learning products out there and continuing to update them all the time.

For those of you that didn’t win but are interested in Thai for Beginners or the excellent Thai/English – English/Thai Dictionary  please go to Paiboon Publishing and get them now, trust me you will not be disappointed and you’ll also find many more Thai and other related language products there to help you on your way.

And the Thai for Beginners Winners Are:

Grant

Nicol

Colin

SiamRick

Rambone

Congratulations to all the winners And thank you to all who participated, don’t worry if you didn’t win this time as there will be more giveaways in the future.

I’ll be sending all the winners an e-mail in a little bit with instructions for downloading the App…after I finish my BBQ coconut, I love food festivals

Related Articles of Interest:

• Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary App Giveaway Winners
• Another Great Thai Language Giveaway
• Apple’s 3G iPhone Hits Thailand
• Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary App Giveaway
• Must Have Thai Language iPhone Apps: Dr. Wit’s Library Edition

Thai for Beginners

Read to the end to find out how you can win Thai for beginners for your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch this week!

When I first started my Thai Language learning journey I did so with my trusty Thai/English/English/Thai dictionary from Benjawan Poomsan Becker and it served me well during my first 2 trips to Thailand but it was obvious by my third trip I needed a lot more help if I was going to actually speak the Thai language. It was then that I started looking into books that might teach me the basics of the Thai language.

One of the first books I found Happened to be written by Benjawan as well and it was aptly named, Thai for Beginners. The great part about the book for me was it came with tapes so I could follow along with the lessons and actually hear the correct pronunciations and playback sections I was having trouble with. Thai for beginners really pushed me in the right direction and I found I was gaining a much better understanding of the Thai language than I anticipated.

It’s been a few years since I first opened Thai for beginners but this is the one book for me that laid the foundation for learning Thai as I am sure it has done the same for many others. I really can’t say enough good things about this book or it’s author, Benjawan Poomsan Becker, the thought and time put into this book and others in the Paiboon Publishing stable of Thai Language products is clearly immense.

If Thai for Beginners wasn’t already good enough now Paiboon Publishing has released it as an iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch app that you can conveniently carry around with you anywhere you go. Having the Talking Thai/English-English/Thai Dictionary on my Ipod I can testify to just how well Paiboon Publishing has done transferring their library to the Apple apps and have no doubt the same care and consideration was taken moving Thai for Beginners to the app store as well.

Advantages of Thai for Beginners app

• Hearing the spoken Thai will help you increase the speed of learning the language that no book alone can do.
• Paiboon’s system of transliteration shows you how the Thai words are pronounced using English letters so you don’t have to be able to read the Thai script.
• Follows the same clear step-by-step instruction, which builds on what has previously been learned.
• Test your ability to hear and understand Thai with the built-in interactive exercises.
• This app allows you to learn Thai to a great degree before you exhaust its usefulness, since it even teaches how to read the Thai script. Money well spent.
• You’ll find many new opportunities to practice your Thai since your iPhone and iPod Touch will be with you all the time.

Key Features

• This app teaches you the language skills of speaking, listening and reading Thai.
• The lessons follow the format of the Thai for Beginners book, but a real Thai male and female voice speak the over 3,000 words and phrases, alternating between male and female pronunciations.
• Hear a phrase over and over until you can say it correctly. Just click on it.
• Provides examples of the five tones in Thai: low, falling, high, middle and rising tone.
• Test your ability to hear and understand Thai with the built-in interactive exercises. You can retake the exercises after studying and improve your score.
• An advanced level feature allows you to turn off the automatic spoken word so you can test your ability to read the Thai script.
• Contains many additional useful words and phrases not contained in the book.

Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Well, it is and it’s definitely worth every penny of the $24.99 price. But what if you could get Thai for beginners for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch for free? Sounds even better now doesn’t it? Well, you can get Thai for beginners for free, because Thailand, Land of Smiles is giving away 5 copies of Thai for Beginners this week.

All you have to do is comment on this post and tell us what you’ve been doing to learn the Thai language, what tips you might have or what programs you have found useful…it’s as easy as that.

On Sunday July 10th I’ll gather all the comments ( yes, multiple comments all count ) and put them in a hat and have a beautiful assistant draw 5 winners names that will receive the Thai for Beginners iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch App absolutely FREE!

Related Articles of Interest:

• And The Thai for Beginners iPhone App Winners Are…
• Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary App Giveaway Winners
• Thailand Blogs Part 4: Thai Language
• Learning the Thai Language
• I Learned to Speak Thai Fluently & You Can Too

I guess it’s safe to say I started my Thai language learning odyssey almost 6 years ago on my first trip to Thailand. It started with small words and phrases meant to help tourists get by. Getting by is generally okay if you are only here for a couple of weeks on vacation but when you increasingly spend more time in Thailand and or move to the Kingdom as I did then just getting by doesn’t even begin to cut it.

As each year passed I found new words and phrases as well as programs for the PC or iPhone that were extremely helpful but while they did keep my education in the Thai language moving forward they didn’t fulfill the desire and need to speak Thai fluently. The move to Thailand in August of 2010 would definitely begin pushing me in that direction.

As soon as I Landed in Thailand my quest for Thai language began as I checked out all the local schools in Pattaya and even sat in on classes at some. You can read more about that in a post I wrote for Women Learning Thai and Some Men too… entitled Review: Thai Language Schools in Pattaya. I finally settled on Pro Language School as I felt that their style of teaching and course books fit my style of learning better than the other classes available in Pattaya.

And so it began…

My class schedule was Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays ( Wan Jan, Wan Puut and Wan Sook ) from 1pm ( Bai Mong ) to  3pm ( Bai Sam Mong ), 2 hours each day. The class was great as that it was a structured environment where the sole focus was learning Thai, no T.V. or any other extraneous distractions. My teacher was fluent in English and made each class enjoyable as we would often go off on tangents from the written material to make the lessons more personal to our lives in Thailand. The class was small with only 4-6 students at any given time and much attention was given to detail.

A third of the way through our classes the teacher gave us the option of splitting the 2 hour lessons in half with one hour being dedicated to vocabulary, grammar and conversation with the second hour being solely devoted to reading and writing Thai. We decided that was a great idea and moved forward. Now that the class is over I am in a much better position to judge the school, materials and how far my Thai has progressed.

Beginners Thai Language Class

School: Pro Language, Pattaya Branch

Course: Beginning levels 1 & 2 Thai Language/with Education Visa

Days per Week: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Hours per Class: 2 hours

Total course hours: 180

Total Course Cost: Beginning level 1 & 2 Thai Language + ED visa 25,000 Baht

I think I made a very good choice in Schools as I have spoken to quite a few people that have taken classes at the other schools I initially reviewed and they seem to know far less than I do. This could be a ascribed to many factors and might not be solely the school. Some people learn at a different pace and some take the lessons more seriously than others but sitting in a Thai language class for 180 hours you are bound to learn at least the basics just by being present and awake.

The crux of my Thai lessons was vocabulary, grammar and conversation. In 180 hours I learned just about 1200 new Thai words and I would say that easily 800 of them have easily stuck in my mind. I still have problems remembering some words that are not used regularly but I am working with these words more often now and should have them committed to memory soon enough.

While the vocabulary taught in the beginners class is more than adequate to get you started the teacher went the extra mile by also giving us words not in the books that might be better used as well as some slang and more formal Thai depending on the lesson.

The grammar was hard to grasp at first for me as the Thai language is written in the flow of Noun+Number+Classifier, it’s not that it’s hard to remember or put into use it’s the fact that my 45 year old English language mind likes to fight the system and try to say things in a more English flow. As time goes on and I speak more Thai with Thai friends I am getting much more used to the flow and when I get it wrong they are quick to correct me which is great.

While the vocabulary, grammar and conversation part of my Thai language classes went very well my Thai reading and writing lessons didn’t go as well. It’s not that the lessons weren’t taught well but the fact that my brain had a much tougher time wrapping itself around the written Thai word. Looking at a paragraph written in Thai can best be described as one long run on sentence with no breaks between words. You have to look for certain characters or letters for endings and beginnings. As my penmanship in English can best be described as chicken scratch it came as no surprise to me that my Thai penmanship would be markedly worse.

I realized early on I would have problems with the written Thai so I started taking a 2 hour private class on Wednesdays for one on one learning to reinforce all the rules and get a better understanding of what I was looking at. Reading is definitely not my strong point and I will need extra help in the future as well but I have to say my reading of Thai has really progressed and I am very happy at this point with my progress.

I think the learning materials used by Pro language are put together well but I firmly believe that it’s the teacher that is teaching from these books that can make the class very powerful or mediocre at best. My teacher, as I said before, put together the lessons very well and in most cases expanded on each lesson with real life experiences from the class which brought up even more lessons for us.

Final Thoughts on Learning the Thai Language

After 200 hours of formal classes to learn the Thai language I am very happy with my progress. While I am not speaking Thai fluently I have my fluent moments and I can generally understand most conversations taking place around me, which can be quite fun at times. I can also communicate my needs in most situations and be understood by most Thai’s. I still get tones wrong here and there and sometimes use the wrong word but I am generally understood and thankfully the Thai’s aren’t afraid to correct me when I get it wrong.

While I started out gung ho on my Thai language classes the momentum wore a little thin at times. I found that 3 classes a week at 2 hours each was a bit more than I really like and a better balance would probably have been 2 times a week. Even if my excitement wore thin at times my Thai friends kept the passion for learning Thai high as just being around them and observing Thai conversations taught me much more than just a formal class could.

I can’t say enough about my Thai Language classes at Pro Language in Pattaya and to prove that point I begin my next round of Thai classes in June with another 180 hour class on intermediate Thai as well as more private lessons to drill on the problem areas. It might take a decade for me to get fluent but I got the time and I’m going to do it!

Note: I’ve just been to immigration for my second 3 month check in for my Education Visa as well as my reporting of place of residence. For those of you contemplating or on an Education Visa no doubt you have heard they are informally testing ED Visa holders to make sure they are actually learning. From my experience it is hit or miss as to whether you will get tested. My first trip to immigration on the ED Visa I was asked very simple things in conversation such as ” how are you today” Where do you come from” etc. This trip I said Sawat Dee Cup, my papers were looked at and I was reminded to report my adress then waived off.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Looking at Pattaya Language Schools
• Learning the Thai Language Update
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• I Learned to Speak Thai Fluently & You Can Too
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For those of you who’ve taken a holiday in Thailand will vouch for, you can get by in Thailand speaking English. However, there are a few phrases worthwhile knowing and below we feature the top 10 Thai phrases you should know. Trying these out should put you in favor with the locals and enrich your experience. Even if you get the phrases totally wrong, at least you had a go and they will appreciate that.

As Thai is very much a tonal language, the pronunciation of Thai words can often be tricky so we recommend you listen to some examples and practice before you go.

One thing to be aware of is there are different words depending on whether a male (phon or phom) is speaking or whether a female (chan) is speaking. The below phrases are written as if a man was saying them so If you are a female, just change ‘phon ‘or ‘phom’ for ‘chan’.

1. What’s your name? / My name is …
Kun-cheu-a-rai? / Phom-cheu…

2. I need a doctor
Phom-yak-pob-maw

Quite an important sentence and definitely one to memorize

3. Good Morning

A-roon-sa-wat

4. Good evening

Sa-yan-sa-wat

5. Do you speak English?

Kun poot pah-sah angrit dai mai?

A great one to start with – you may not even need any more Thai if the answer to this question is “Chai” (yes). Although if the answer comes back as “mai-chai” (no) you may have to think again.

6. Thank you very much
Kob-khun-cup/kah

Cup is the polite way of ending a sentence for a male while the female speaker will use Kah.

7. How Do You Say “[insert English word here]” In Thai?
Kam-wa-“[English word]”-nai-pa-sa-thai-pood-yang-rai?

A great phrase for picking up some new Thai words..

8. How are you? / I’m fine thanks
Sa-bai-dee-mai? / Sa-bai-dee, kob-kun

9. What’s that called in Thai?
An-nee-pa-sa-thai-reak-wa-a-rai-ka
…although this one is even better. This is usually accompanied by plenty of pointing or holding up of various objects.

10. I love you!
Phom-rak-khun
Hey…you never know who you might meet!

And for extra credit:

When ordering food these words will come in handy.

Pet-Spicy

Mai Pet-Not spicy

Pet nit noy- a little spicy

And for when dinner is over:

Where is the bathroom?

Hongnaam yu ti ni

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand Holidays 2009
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• Do You Know Enough Thai in Case of an Emergency?
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Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary iPhone App

A week ago I wrote a little bit about the great Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary iPhone app from Paiboon Publishing and word in Hand and promised to give away Apple codes for 3 copies of the Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary. Well, today is the day and the winners have been chosen:

Winners were chosen completely by random by putting numbers in a hat and having a hand attached to my beautiful Thai assistant fish out the numbers one by one. No hats or numbers were harmed in the choosing.

The Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary Winners Are:

Agenda

Poi

Melanie

I will be contacting the winners shortly with the necessary redemption codes to download your Thai–English–Thai Dictionary iPhone Apps.

I’d like to thank everyone who took part in the Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary iPhone App Giveaway as well as thank the wonderful Benjawan Poomsan Becker of Paiboon Publishing and Word in Hand for not only providing the prizes but also for all her hard work and dedication to making it easier for anyone interested in learning the Thai Language.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary App Giveaway
• And The Thai for Beginners iPhone App Winners Are…
• Another Great Thai Language Giveaway
• Must Have Thai Language iPhone Apps: Dr. Wit’s Library Edition
• An Update On Learning The Thai Language

Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary

for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

I can’t live without my iPod Touch,it’s the one piece of gear I own that is completely indispensable. It carries over 4000 songs. notes on various trips and posts I am working on, it can connect me to the internet in a pinch and it can use Apple Apps. Many of the Apps make life easier but none compare to the Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary App from Paiboon Publishing.

I was first introduced to the Thai–English–Thai Dictionary from Benjawan Poomsan Becker in paperback form which I purchased before my first trip to Thailand. While the small pocket edition book has served me well over the years it has nothing on the iPhone App which boasts over 100,000 entries with a further 30,000 entries being introduced in an upgrade to be released later this year.

From Benjawan:

People will love our new upgrade. There will be at least 30,000 more useful words, including medical, legal and other technical terms. We are also adding lots of new slang, internet/Facebook/chat terminology. I will start recording the new words in June.

I will tell you more later when we are ready to launch it around October. People who buy it now will get a life time free upgrade at this price.

The Beauty of the Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary is the multitude of ways in which it can be used. You can search for words in English, Thai script or my favorite Thai sound. There are often times when I am in a conversation and a Thai word is used that I haven’t heard before And I don’t know enough Thai script to look it up, type in the word as it sounds and the majority of the time the dictionary finds what I’m looking for in an instant. Other times my ears are way off.

Another great feature of the Thai–English–Thai Dictionary is the clear precise sound recordings that accompany each word. There is no doubt as to how the word is pronounced as it is spoken by a native speaker, Benjawan herself, and the dictionary has over 14 hours of professional sound recordings.

This has become the go to app for me, when it comes to Thai language Apps nothing else can compare. The Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary iPhone App is a bit expensive with a price tag of $24.99 but it is well worth the price when you see all the cool stuff packed into the app and the knowledge that when you buy the Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary iPhone App at this price it will be upgraded free for life.

A much more comprehensive look at the software behind the Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary  Can be found on Women Learning Thai and Some Men Too in the post entitled: Review: Three-Way Talking Thai Dictionary: Mac and PC. Also you can get more details from Word in Hand and Paiboon Publishing at Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary.

Now for the fun stuff…

Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary App Giveaway

for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch

Just recently Paiboon Publishing along with Word in Hand have become sponsors of Thailand, Land of Smiles and Benjawan graciously gave me 3 copies of the Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to give away to my readers. Contest rules are very simple, all you have to do is comment on this post and on Sunday May 1st, 2011 I will pick 3 winners to receive the 3 free download coupons. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain with this great Thai software.

Good Luck!

Disclaimer: This review of the Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary iPhone App is my honest opinion and I am not being paid for this review, nor am I an affiliate of Paiboon Publishing or Word in Hand.

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• Talking Thai–English–Thai Dictionary App Giveaway Winners
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Learning the Thai Language

It’s been almost 6 months since I started Thai Language classes at Pro Language in Pattaya. Monday I had to go to Immigration for the first 3 month check in on my Education Visa which meant confirming all my documents and having an Immigration officer test me on my Thai. The documentation portion of my visit was quick and easy and then I was handed off to a female officer to check on my Thai language skills. I’m not sure why but I was very anxious about this, probably because I’m one to freeze on tests.

As soon as I sat down the Immigration officer asked me something in Thai but she was looking away and what she said was barely audible, before I knew it I blurted out ” Khort toat cup, chuay puut ik ti dai mai cup?” in English,” Excuse me, Could you say that again?” The officer smiled and signed my passport. Not exactly what I was expecting. For some reason I was sure I would be asked about time, where I lived and other scary topics I remembered in Thai.

While I’m sure I have made leaps and bounds in learning to speak the Thai language, I have to admit the reading and writing have me cross, so much so that I have started a private class 4 hours a week dedicated to reading Thai. It’s usually the special rules that trip me up, some I have come to understand well such as the use of the consonant Ho-Hip when it is in the middle of a word. It would normally be an H sound but when in the middle of a word it becomes silent denoting that the next consonant will be spoken with a high tone.

And then we have the consonant Ro-Ruea which is more of a chameleon of sorts. If it starts out at the beginning of the word it is a “roo” sound but when it’s the second consonant in it has a “soo” sound and if it is at the end of the word that has at least 2 consonants before it then it will have an “oon” sound. Add all that together with cluster consonants and the fact that Thai sentences written out look like one long run on word, it can get confusing at times.

If you think about it English is just as confusing but most of us learned to read and write English when we were children in the first and second grade with continuing study about grammar and more complex words throughout our school careers. So, as daunting as learning to read and write Thai is for me at the moment I know it will take time just as learning English did and eventually I will get it all down.

Although the school has been excellent in giving me a leg up in the Thai language there have been other resources that have been instrumental in backing up that classroom learning. Early on I started using flashcards with all the new words and phrases I had been learning. The front of the flashcard would have the Thai word written phonetically and on the back the word in English. As I learned more on reading and writing Thai I added the proper Thai under the phonetic Thai so I could practice remembering the Thai language in a few different ways.

It has also been a huge help That I have made a lot of Thai friends that aren’t shy when it comes to correcting me, I will surely never forget that it’s proper Thai to say Doot Suay instead of saying Suay Doot Yeah, some of you will get that.

Thai Language Resources

Another invaluable resource has been online Thai courses such as Learn Thai Podcast and a program that Cat, over at Women Learning Thai, turned me on to called Byki Deluxe to aid in learning the Thai language.

Learn Thai Podcast is an excellent resource for learning the Thai language through video and podcasts where every lesson covers one topic. From Grammar to word usage spoken by native Thai speakers this system lets you move along at your own pace with the added luxury of being able to go back and repeat lessons until you are satisfied you have it down. Something that isn’t easy to do in a classroom situation where time is limited.

Each lesson is available as a video, audio or pdf file so it’s very convenient to how you want to learn and you can download to your computer or directly to your iPhone or Ipod which is great for learning on the go. I’m not being paid to say this, I really think they have a great system in place and it’s something anyone interested in learning the Thai language should check out. They have a free 6 day course and Thai language study guide you can download so click on the their logo and check them out.

talking-thai-english-dictionary-review

Another excellent resource that has really helped me out also cam from the wonderful resource of Women Learning Thai…and some men too. The Thai-English English-Thai software dictionary for your computer, iPhone or iPod by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. I have had Benjawan’s paperback Thai-English English-Thai dictionary for years and found it extremely helpful but this piece of software goes well beyond the paperback in helping with the Thai language.

You can look up words several different ways including typing in a Thai word phonetically. The words not only give you definition but you can click on them to here them spoken in a native Thai voice. Click on the logo for a much better review by Cat. But in my humble estimation if you are learning the Thai language then this is one resource you absolutely must have.

Byki Deluxe has also been a great help. There is a free version that has limited Thai available but the paid version has a lot more and you have the ability to download other modules that other Thai students and teachers have made. The real beauty of this software is the you can use it to test yourself and see your progress. You can listen to the words and phrases in Thai and then identify them by writing them in English or you can see flashcards in the Thai language that you then respond to. It not only helps by using native speakers but you also see the written Thai and start to associate it with the spoken words.

There are some minor glitches like writing words exactly including capitols or the system will mark the answer wrong but there are a few simple work arounds built in that help. All in all it has been a great help testing me on what I know and what I think I know. Click on the logo above to be taken to their free download page.

Lastly I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Women Learning Thai… and Some Men Too. Catherine Wentworth has gone way above and beyond putting together this incredible Thai language resource for everyone to use and it’s absolutely free. From interviews with Thai speakers to book and software reviews as well as cultural and news pieces, Catherine has really outdone any other Thai resource site on the internet. No doubt you’ve already heard of her site if you are learning Thai but if you are just beginning to learn the Thai language do yourself a favor and click on the logo above and bookmark Women Learning Thai…And Some Men Too. You’ll be happy you did.

So, that’s where I am at the moment learning the Thai Language, it may be a little frustrating at times but I am definitely improving.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Learning the Thai Language Update
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• Rosetta Stone Contest
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One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced in learning to read Thai hasn’t been the consonants, vowels or many rules, it’s the ever changing look of the consonants in every day signage. There is nothing more frustrating than knowing the Thai consonants and vowels only to have them change on you from sign to sign.

I love leaving my Thai Language class pumped up because I have put together a few more pieces of the Thai language puzzle and I’m ready to take on as many signs as I can on the walk home. Most signage uses the traditional Garuda font which people learning Thai are used to seeing, but then there are the multitude of other fonts.

Looking closely at these other fonts it seems that many of the Thai consonants change completely and some seemingly into English or Russian. It often makes learning to read Thai a little more difficult until you get accustomed to the different styles of fonts used.

So today I put together a PDF file containing the most often used Thai fonts that you will see in your travels around Thailand. The PDF contains all the Thai consonants in 25 different fonts that will hopefully help you to easily remember the looks of the consonants in the different font styles.

25 Commonly Used Thai Fonts

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Thai Consonant Groups

The 44 Thai consonants represent 21 initial consonant sounds when used at the beginning of a syllable and 6 final consonant sounds when used at the end of a syllable.

The tone groups break down as follows: 24 low class consonants, 9 middle class consonants and 11 high class consonants.

Some of the Thai consonants are rarely used and 2 consonants; kho khuat and kho khon ( pictured below ) are no longer used in written Thai. It’s believed that the invention of the typewriter is the cause for their demise as there were not enough keys to accommodate the Thai consonants. So, since these consonants were similar in sound to other consonants they became redundant.

Thai Consonants no longer used

With the Thai consonants broken down into tone groups I can then work with smaller groups of consonants from within each tone group. Usually I work with 5 consonants at a time in order to get the best understanding of each consonant.

I then break down the Thai vowels into smaller groups of 5  and then start putting words together with the smaller groups of Thai consonants and vowels.

Thai Vowels

While there are a few thousand different ways you could learn to start reading and writing Thai, I’ve found that breaking it all down into manageable chunks like this makes learning the Thai language much easier on me and it has provided many ah-hah moments when I realize I understand how to spell certain words and when I have been walking around town and can pick out certain words easily off of shop signs.

This has just been a brief overview of how I’m tackling reading and writing Thai. In future installments I’ll get more in depth into the consonants and vowels, including the all important rules that I am sure has led to more than one person tearing their hair out.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thai Fonts
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In this time my vocabulary has increased by about 500 Thai words, most of which I have remembered easily while some have given me problems and I need to work them into conversation more and actively commit them to memory. Making my own flash cards of all the words has been extremely helpful in this regard. On one side I have the Thai word written phonetically with the Thai script below it and on the reverse I have the English translation. This way I can look at either side and give the answer written on the opposite side.

The written Thai portion of the class is progressing very slowly and with good reason. We work with small sets of vowels and consonants and then build words and paragraphs using them. While it’s been fairly straight forward it’s now begging to get tougher with more vowels and consonants being added and new rules being introduced for their use. Even so I find myself walking home from class staring at all the signs and trying to decipher them in my mind, aside from almost being run over a few times while doing this I’m actually getting better and picking out words.

Another helpful asset in my Thai language learning arsenal has been Ying, aside from a few English words she speaks literally no English whatsoever. I may not always understand each word she is saying but I usually understand enough to get the gist of what she is saying. When I have no clue I just say “Chuay phuut ikk tii dai mai cha cha” which basically means could you say that again slowly, and sometimes I still don’t get it but I’m trying.

I think that’s the biggest hurdle for anyone picking up a new language. It’s not enough to just memorize words and phrases you have to put them to use on a daily bases if you are going to retain it.

With everything though study is the most important factor. You can go to all the classes you want but if you don’t crack the books at any other time then learning will be difficult. I’ve been setting aside 2 hours a day for studying and it’s really helped. Another thing I’ve found that really helps is to cut down on my sources of information. There are a tremendous amount of resources out there and you need to look no further than Women Learning Thai to see the overwhelming amount of material on offer for learning the Thai language.

At some point though “Overwhelming” becomes the key word and you can get lost in the different Thai language resources. I finally made the decision to cut back to what I know works for me. My main focus is on school and the lessons I am receiving with some back up from one or two other resources.

In other news I got my paperwork back this week from the Ministry of Education and I am all set to do my visa run to Laos to get my ED Visa which will give me 15 months in the Land of Smiles

Related Articles of Interest:

• Learning the Thai Language
• Rosetta Stone Contest
• Looking at Pattaya Language Schools
• Thailand Blogs Part 4: Thai Language
• I Learned to Speak Thai Fluently & You Can Too