Thai Language School Review: UTL Unity Thai Language School…

Review: UTL Unity Thai Language School
Website: utl-school.com
Address: 18th floor Times Square Building, 246 Sukhumvit Rd, Khlongtoey, Khlongtoey, Bangkok Thailand 10110
Telephone Number: 02-653-1538
Email: info@utl-school.com

Location: UTL Unity is in the Times Square Building. The school is easy to get to by either the MRT (Sukhumvit Road Station), or the BTS (Asok Station). From the MRT, go up to the sky walk to the Sky Train and follow it around until you walk directly into Times Square, and then up to the 18th floor. Note: if you’re coming from the MRT, you can’t get thru Asok Station without paying, so use the sky-walk for Terminal 21 because it jumps Asok stations turnstiles and connects to the skywalk.

Basic Info: UTL Unity is another Union Thai Method school. The method was designed to teach foreign missionaries who washed up on Thai shores. UTL Unity’s website says the school itself has been around for over 10 years, which I totally believe. I’ve lived behind the Times Square building for the last 7 years and they were already there when I arrived. UTL also mentions that the material was designed over 40 years ago. And given some of the out-of-date phrases in their books, I believe that too.

Materials: UTL Unity concentrates on teaching spoken Thai first. The books use phonetics (karaoke Thai). You’re unlikely to find it in any other Thai course books, except for other Union Clone schools. It’s not as wacky as other phonetic systems but it’s squirrelly enough that you first need to learn the system before you can get anywhere.

UTL Unity has two ‘modules’ (a fancy way of saying ‘books’) for conversational Thai. The books ONLY have karaoke Thai and English translations. There is NO Thai script at all.

Before you are exposed to Thai script (starting at module three) you work thru modules one and two to develop proficiency in speaking Thai.

Surprisingly, the books are quite intensive. By the time you get thru with the second book you’ve got a really good ‘getting by in Thai’ grasp of the language.

To me, the methodology could be improved by including the Thai script in the beginner books. This is so that students can at least begin to see what real Thai looks like.

From module three on students are exposed to the Thai writing system. Module three also concentrates on conversation as well. Note: You have to do both module three AND four to learn all the Thai consonants and vowels.

Beginning at module four you are given homework for writing the most commonly used Thai words, short answers to questions, etc.

Module five is where you really learn to read and write Thai via short stories, essays, etc. It’s also where your homework starts to dial in your writing ability.

Module six is conversation based. It teaches slang, idiomatic expressions, and focuses on increasing the speed of a persons reading ability, as well as writing longer essays.

UTL Unity has a LOT of topics for advanced learners (more than I care to list, that’s for sure). Some are the same beat-to-death stuff you see at every Thai language school in Bangkok: Thai culture, Buddhism, social customs, etc. Some are pretty good though. The subjects touch on proverbs, newspapers, and current events.

UTL also offers a program which starts in the fall (I believe) and prepares students for the government Thai Proficiency Exam given in December.

Method: In the group class I sat (6 years ago), the classes were conversation based. They started out with the standard fare of meeting greeting, asking your name, etc. The teacher said the vocab words, we repeated (as a group), and then the teacher went around one by one, having us repeat back to her. She covered the dialog drill and we repeated in a group, then broke into pairs to practice the drills. It is a dialog substitution type format, where the words that can be switched out are marked and other vocabulary is used.

Teachers: I must admit that I have experience with only one teacher at UTL Unity. She taught the beginners’ class. In fact, she ONLY taught that class (and from her ease of teaching it, for a good long while). She was very well versed with the material and incredibly supportive of students abysmal attempts at toning and vowel length, and not too heavy handed in errant pronunciation corrections. She made extreme facial expressions, and much to the amusement of the students, used mime very effectively in class to get points across.

Classes: UTL Unity is like several other Union Clones which offer Intensive Thai classes. Intensive Thai runs in the morning for four hours a day M-F, and is three weeks long. The afternoon class is the same only its three hours a day. For your run-of-the-mill-foreigner lookin’ to learn conversational Thai, it’s really intense!!

The intensive Thai class moves along at a good clip; there’s not a whole lotta time spent on the “whyz-in-thai (why is Thai like this but English is like that). In fact, if I remember correctly, most of those type of questions were answered with, “That’s just how Thai is…” (FWIW: I hate that answer because everything they do in Thai has rules whether they know it or not.)

Now don’t get me wrong, perhaps had my motivation been different way back when, I’da gotten a LOT outta it. However, my class, not surprisingly enough, was composed entirely of foreign missionaries (people I have less in common with than I do Thais). Needless to say, it was not fun to go to, or sit thru. It was not a class I looked forward doing, at all.

ED Visa: As UTL Unity is registered with the Ministry of Education it provides ED visa support for students. UTL has a deal where if you buy so many modules they give you the documentation needed to secure your ED visa at a neighboring country’s Thai Embassy. UTL Unity provides in-country extension documentation too. They DON’T have a ED visa program where you can study Thai a mere 4 hours a week to live here. This is a school that makes NO bones about the fact that you’re gonna learn Thai come hell or high water.

Bang-4-The-Baht: As I said, this is not the school for someone looking to live in Thailand on the ED visa. For the serious learner of Thai, I’d give this school a very high “bang-4-the baht” rating. But I’m telling you, you’re gonna hafta be diligent to retain anything out of those intensive courses. You’ve gotta practice the dialog outside of class with someone. You miss a single day and you miss the material covered. And if you’re fresh off the boat, you’re gonna be overwhelmed early on.

I personally know several people who went thru to module six and they came away reading, writing and speaking super clear, well structured and enunciated Thai.

I hafta be completely honest, (well no, actually I don’t, but I will…) This is the first school review where I couldn’t personally go in to write this review. I had to send in a plant (a foreigner dressed as a small shrub actually).

When I first moved to Thailand I went to UTL Unity for their intensive Thai program. As I said, I was less than impressed with the entire endeavor. Perhaps, looking back (if I can even remember back 6+ years ago), my motivation for learning Thai wasn’t what it is today.

Of course, being typical American, I had a meeting with the principal where I made my dissatisfaction only too well known. Evidently I made such an impression on the entire staff that when I went into the school six months ago to check on their Thai Proficiency Training course, the girls at the front desk STILL remembered me!! Suffice to say, they were less than cordial (especially for Thais) in answering my questions, and made it clear my business was not wanted or needed.

Still, this review is accurate insofar as the information I’m relating. I hope you found it of marginal value.

Tod Daniels | toddaniels at gmail dot com
Reviewing Thai Language Schools in Bangkok
(BTW: Tod is NOT affiliated with any Thai language school)

Thai Language School Review: Rak Thai…

Review: RTL – Rak Thai Language School
Website: www.rtl-school.com
Address: 888/104 Mahatun Plaza 10 Fl., Ploenchit Rd. Lumpini Patumwan, Bangkok 10330
Telephone Number: 02-255-3036

Location: Rak Thai Language School is easy to get to from the Ploenchit BTS exit. The only tricky part is to enter the Mahatun Plaza building you hafta go around to the west side of the building, as you can’t enter from the front. Other than that, take the lift to the 10th floor and you’re there. Just a note: IF you go to their website, the Google Maps ‘stick pin’ is in the wrong location for the school (it’s incorrectly marked as Chidlom Station and the school is in front of Ploenchit Station).

Basic Info: Rak Thai is a brand spanking new Thai language school. It is what I call a Union Clone school insofar as its methodology is based on the original Union Thai method designed and written 40+ years ago to teach foreign missionaries to be proficient in Thai (or at least proficient enough to undertake their task of converting Buddhist Thais to Christianity).

Rak Thai Language School is nicely laid out with well lit classrooms, a small sitting area for breaks, and a really fresh feel to it. I found everyone, from the principal right down to the teachers, great to interact with.

Materials: As I said the original materials were written quite a while ago (as in 40+ years). At Rak Thai Language School the director decided that while the Union methodology was good, the materials weren’t up to date. So Rak Thai re-wrote almost every book to include more contemporary dialog. This was an excellent decision as the Union stuff was really antiquated. Updating the materials gives the best of both worlds (at least as far as this school is concerned), with a proven methodology and updated, current materials.

Method: Seeing as Rak Thai Language School is a Union Clone it should come as no surprise that they follow the original Union methodology. In a nutshell, BEFORE exposing students to reading and writing, it teaches conversational Thai via phonetics with no accompanying Thai script (just the English translation). Once you understand their particular quirks the phonetics are legible.

Note: I’m still on the fence about the phonetics only methodology for the first 4 levels. My own opinion (and seeing as this is my review I can do as I like) is this: exposing students to the Thai script, as in just including in the book along with the phonetics and not even teaching it, would give them a heads up when they advance to the levels where they’re starting to read and write Thai. There is no downside to doing this, and it familiarizes the students with what Thai script looks like, what groups of characters (BTW: called words) look like in real Thai versus karaoke. I see something like this as a win/win for students and not that critical of a change in how the material is taught either.

There are 5 books which teach only Thai speaking/conversation. The lessons build on each other to reinforce the learning process. Each book or level comprises 60 hours of class time. There are also 4 levels of reading/writing and advanced topics of specialized study with topics such as social problems and current Thai news.

Rak Thai Language School also offers the prep course for the Ministry of Education Thai Proficiency Exam.

Teachers: Rak Thai Language School has a motivated group of teachers who are well versed in the material. They all came from another well-known Union Clone school, so again, no surprises there. While I am not party to what caused the mass exodus, I can say that Rak Thai appears to be the cream of the Union crop. Although I have no proof, from meeting most of the teachers I am lead to believe the other school, as far as quality teachers goes, is perhaps at a disadvantage.

The person I spoke with, Juntima, is an interesting and engaging person who came across as sincerely and wholeheartedly believing in the methodology and material.

Classes: Classes at Rak Thai Language School run 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, for a total of 60 hours. If you don’t invest serious time into the materials you’ll wash out after a coupla days. Plain and simple, this school is not playing the “study Thai 4 hours a week just so you can live here” game. There are enough schools hawking their visa programs, so go elsewhere if all you wanna do is live in Thailand.

The material is covered thoroughly in class thru vocab and sample dialog. The students study the dialog in class by pairing up, and then again one-on-one with the teacher. Because these classes are 3 hours long, and because they run 5 days a week, there is no way students are gonna retain the material without studying and reviewing it outside the class. It is just too fast paced and too intensive to even think you’re going to get away without additional study.

The sample class I sat was a Level 4 conversation class. Honestly, I didn’t want to sit it, and it was only after Juntima’s urging that I did. I tend to do poorly when put under pressure; my comprehension and clarity in speaking Thai takes a noticeable and precipitous dip.

Upon entering the classroom the teacher introduced me to the other students and then had them ask me questions in Thai. I was sweating bullets, being put on the spot like that. Plus, the teacher was pretty merciless about me using my internal tilde key to toggle between Thai and English. She chided me several times to speak Thai NOT English unless I honestly didn’t know the Thai word.

My classmates included a Japanese woman and an American woman (both who in my opinion spoke Thai FAR clearer than the off-toned stuff comin’ outta my mouth). The American had only been in Thailand 7 months yet her Thai was really clear and totally understandable!

Anyway, after this question answer period (which seemed to go on forever), we covered new vocabulary which had come up in our free-speaking dialog. It was the most continuous Thai I’d spoken in over a month. I came tottering out of that class drenched in sweat and limp as a noodle from speaking that much Thai at one time.

It was possibly the most fun I’ve had in a Thai language class in quite a while.

ED Visa: Rak Thai Language School does offer ED visa support and has several promotions for people interested in studying Thai and getting an ED visa too. It’s pretty much the same as other schools although I believe due to the intensity of the classes (60 hours), there’s some tricky twists as far as studying, taking time off, etc. Certainly studying Thai 60 hours in a month meets the 4 hour a week minimum set up by the Thai Ministry of Education. Check with the school for current promotions and schedules

Bang-4-The-Baht: Like I mentioned, Rak Thai Language School has to be at the top of the heap for a Union Clone school. I say that not only because of their excellent teachers but because of the re-write in their material. Most of the other clones of this methodology are still using the original material which is quite stale, often too formal, and not all that applicable in Thai society today. But using this method certainly does get students speaking something resembling Thai with both a good vocabulary base and good grammar structure.

I 100% recommend ANY student of the Thai language who is sincere about learning Thai to go visit this school, take a level test, and sit a sample class. As far as price point they are in line with, or a little cheaper, than other Union Clone schools.

Classes are intensive and run on very clearly defined timetables (as opposed to schools who’s material repeats endlessly so you can jump in when ever you want). So after you enroll, you might need to wait until the next cycle begins to start your class from book one, page one. That’s NOT a negative thing at all and given the intensity of these classes actually makes pretty good sense.

I give this school possibly the highest “bang-4-the-baht” rating I’ve ever given a Union Clone school. Rak Thai Language School is well worth checking out..

I hope you found this review of interest. Good Luck.

Tod Daniels | toddaniels at gmail dot com
Reviewing Thai Language Schools in Bangkok
(BTW: Tod is NOT affiliated with any Thai language school)

Thai Language School Review: AAA Thai…

School: AAA Thai (Advance Alliance Academy Thai Language Center)
Website: AAA Thai
Telephone Number: 02-655-5629
Address: AAA Thai Language Center, 6th floor, 29 Vanissa Building Chitlom Rd, Patumwam, Bangkok Thailand 10330

Location: Traveling by the BTS sky train, get off at Chitlom station and walk through Central Department Store or walk along Chitlom about 50 meters.

Basic Info: AAA Thai was founded by one of the original Union School teachers. If I’m not mistaken the Union School and its methodology have been around more than 30 years. The method was originally created to teach Thai to foreign missionaries.

The engaging principal of AAA Thai, Patcharee, took far more time with me than was necessary to explain the method, show their text books, and outline the various Thai programs offered. After seeing SO many different schools I am rarely impressed, but to have an owner of a school devote so much time to me was refreshing.

AAA Thai is the first school I’ve visited where my cover of being a newbie wanting to learn Thai was almost blown. A student coming out of a class saw me sitting in my usual attire of KISS t-shirt ‘n Levis and asked, “Hey aren’t you tod-daniels, the guy who’s now banned from the Thai Visa forum? The one who wrote stuff about Thai language schools?” I said I was and he mentioned he read my posts, lol. None of the school staff paid any attention to our interaction, so for now my cover is still good. Although pretending to be a newbie just washed up on the shores of the glorious “Land ‘O Thais” isn’t that easy now that I can read & speak Thai fairly well.

Materials: As I mentioned earlier, AAA Thai uses the Union-based methodology. The books are near perfect copies of Unity Thai and other Union-based Thai language schools. So perfectly copied, they all have the same color jackets. Thankfully, their transcription (karaoke Thai) is close to Benjawan Becker’s so it’s easy to understand.

AAA Thai has three levels of spoken Thai textbooks with Thai, English and phonetics. The chapters are broken down into meeting/greeting, basic pleasantries, asking/answering simple questions, etc. To teach a solid foundation in conversational Thai the lessons build on previous levels, getting progressively harder as the levels increase.

For students who wish to learn to read and write Thai, AAA Thai has four levels. The books are fairly well designed, starting out with writing Thai consonants and vowels, with the low class Thai consonants being taught first. In most schools they teach either the high class or middle class first, leaving anything else to be low class, but here the teaching is reversed.

Method: The conversation Thai lessons follow the typical Union structure. Using phonetics, conversations are read aloud by the teacher, followed by the students. The method gets students speaking something resembling Thai quite rather quickly.

The teachers at AAA Thai are merciless when getting proper intonation and vowel length (both critical in being understood in Thai). They spend a good deal of time (even in a group setting) getting a student as close as possible to the correct pronunciation before moving on. And I’ll bet that in one-on-one classes the teachers would be even more merciless!

Teachers: This school has quality teachers who’re well versed in using the Union method to teach Thai to foreigners. The teachers are engaging, speak clearly, and stick to the format quite well. And if a student has a specific question that can’t be answered during class, it’s written on the board for further discussion during break. This keeps a group class moving along rather than getting bogged down in the minutia of the ‘whyz-in-thai’. Sadly, the day I showed up they didn’t have a class for me to observe; this was told to me by a student on break. I’ve yet to sit an actual class, sorry about that.

Classes: The class size is purposely kept small, around 3-5 students. AAA Thai encourages students with a basic grasp of the Thai language to enroll in private lessons versus group. This makes sense because if you start a group lesson with people who have disparate levels of Thai, the teacher is compelled to teach to the person who knows the least, reducing the bang-4-the-baht for a student with a better grasp of the Thai language.

AAA Thai offers VERY competitive rates on blocks of private hours. For myself, group lessons have a dynamic conducive to new learners of the Thai language, but only if everyone is on the same page. Whereas private lessons can be much more focused on overcoming individual shortcomings (like mine).

At AAA Thai I took a comprehension test by silently reading a short story in Thai, and then answering questions put to me by the principal. Unfortunately the principal also asked me to read aloud. I’ve found when a Thai covers their mouth with their hand to hide their smile it’s not the best thing going. To the principal’s credit she didn’t actually guffaw, although a few Thai teachers lurking about the counter did snicker and snort. In the ever so tactful Thai round about way of handing out criticism, the principal said that she’d never met a student who could speak something close to Thai in free conversation, read/understand Thai as well as I could, yet when reading Thai out loud was so far off the mark on pronunciation. Obviously she couched it more politely than that. Sad, but she sure hit the nail on the head with her observations.

AAA Thai is also big on 60 hour intensive Thai courses where students go five days a week, three hours a day, for 20 days. If you choose to go this route, you can do a one-month-on – one-month-off sort of study dealy. So 1 month you study for 60 hours and the next month you take a break from class, resuming the following month.

ED Visa: AAA Thai has ED visas for students who wish to study the Thai language. I’d really like to explain the options (as they have TONZ of ‘em). However, there is quite an intricate system of the many ways a person can study and still qualify for ED visas and 90 day extensions. In fact, it’s so diverse that even after I had Patcharee lay it all out, I’m at a loss on how to explain it to readers. Suffice it to say that I’ve NEVER EVER seen a school that is so accommodating in helping foreigners genuinely interested in learning the Thai language.

This isn’t a ‘visa-mill’ by ANY stretch of the imagination. AAA Thai has a program to study Thai that meets students’ needs AND the requirements of the MOE as well.

Bang-4-The-Baht: I’d rate this school right up there as far as bang-4-the-baht. Due to a previous bad experience of an un-named Union based school I’m not a fan of the Union methodology BUT it does work, and work quite well. In fact, almost every foreign missionary I’ve spoken to in Thailand has been taught at a Union type school and they’re pretty darned good foreign speakers of Thai.

I do recommend potential students to check out AAA Thai and sit a free observational class. And as always, I hope you found this review of interest.

Tod Daniels | toddaniels at gmail dot com
Reviewing Thai Language Schools in Bangkok
(BTW: Tod is NOT affiliated with any Thai language school)

The Three Way Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary…

Benjawan Poomsan Becker & Chris Pirazzi have been working around the clock (seriously) to give us the best Talking Thai-English-Thai dictionary on the market. And it doesn’t matter if you are into actual books, smart phones, or computers, Benjawan and Chris have it covered.

I’ve been using a version of the Three-Way Talking Thai Dictionary for years. I started with the small dictionary in paperback form and then purchased the Three-Way Thai–English, English–Thai Pocket Dictionary when it came out.

I love actual books but I do spend a lot of time on my computer, so when the PC version was available (the Three-Way Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary), I was all over it.

Following fast came the iPhone Dictionary app which morphed into the Three-Way Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app. What more could you ask for?

Well, not only did all the dictionaries get a heavy update, but the Android version of the Thai-English-Thai dictionary launched this week as well. Finally, the rest of the smart phone world can see what all the shouting has been about.

I don’t have an Android phone so Snap from Learn Thai in Chiang mai offered to review it for us. Thanks Snap!

Snap’s Android App Review: Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary…

Let me first say, that I was tickled pink to be included in the testing of Paiboon’s Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary app for Android phones, tickled pink, but perhaps not worthy, as a now lagging learner of Thai.

After, I’m sure, an incredible amount of work and tweaking by it’s creators, I was more than happy to purchase the finished product. The T-E-T Dictionary is one of three Thai dictionaries I have on my Android phone, the other two I haven’t consulted since.

Already very familiar with the basic layout and functions, having used the PC version for about a year now, I found it very easy to navigate through it’s various ‘sections’ of the menu: English, Thai, Sound (English transliteration), Configure Thai sound and Help…although as yet I’ve found no need to consult the latter.

Once you’ve located whichever word you’re looking for, you have several choices:

• Play Sound: which is, in my humble opinion, essential for anyone learning a new language…especially one that is tonal. And, because this app is pocket portable, could save one from avoiding those grinding (heart sunken) halts, when we realise that we’ve been pronouncing a word embarrassingly wrong. If all else fails, at least you have the option of clicking play and letting it do the talking for you.
• Go: well, is just that, ‘Go’, which will take you from one section to another. Look up a word in English and select the Thai word and ‘Go’ will plonk you in the appropriate Thai – English part of the dictionary etc.
• See Real World Fonts: As someone who’s sat staring for tens of minutes at signs on Thai streets, this function also is a blessing. I remember my first encounter trying to figure out which Thai letter could possibly have been morphed into a backwards ‘S’!!!!
• Find Words Inside: For me, this is the piece de resistance! As someone who loves to dissect things…like Thai words, this function is a dream come true. Not only does it find words inside, but it finds words inside the words inside. Now, if I cling to the notion (possible myth) that there are only about 3000 individual words in the Thai language and all others are compounds of those words, and I just learn those, I’ll be set, right?
• Explain Spelling: A function that students would love. ‘Explain Spelling’ addresses why the word is the tone that it is, breaks the words down into syllables/consonant and vowel clusters, and feeds you the sounds bit by bit. Want to know more? Select any of those sounds to find out more about ‘vowels and syllables’ or ‘consonants’, which are two of the many subjects in the ‘Reading and Writing’ chapter of the app.
  It seems the more you dig, the deeper you go with this dictionary.
• Google Search: Self explanatory, but handy. Particularly if you want to test (where possible) the accuracy or appropriateness of a word using Google’s ‘Image’ search.

Even if you’re not serious about learning Thai and just heading to the LOS for a vacation, this app is worth every penny and more. Just imagine ordering food and actually getting what you thought you ordered, not what you actually ordered! Or, getting unlost instead of continuing on a wild goose chase around town…or simply making pidgin Thai conversation and enjoying interacting with the locals.

Now if I could only find an app half as good as this one, in Khmer!

Snap,
Learning Thai In Chiang Mai – My Journal!

Note: To see how to install and use the Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary, check out this video.

iPhone App Review: Paiboon’s Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary…

As Snap covered the basic features I’ll mainly share the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch/PC update.

The PC version of the Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary (reviewed on Hugh Leong’s site) started out with 42,000 entries, high-quality sound recordings, English to Thai, Thai to English, sound to Thai, multiple pronunciation systems, instant search, and typing in Thai.

That was in 2010 and it was considered smoking hot back then. And 2011 brought us even more entries.

Then a few months ago, when Chris Pirazzi contacted previous beta testers to check out the 1.6 iPhone/iPad/iPod update, he wowed us even more:

What’s new in 1.6:

This release delivers another massive increase in the number of dictionary entries, from more than 100,000 entries to more than 150,000 entries (from 134,000 translations to more than 220,000 translations), plus another 28,000 entries (not counted above) containing the names of cities, subdistricts, districts, and provinces of Thailand.

As always, there is a high-quality sound recording of a native Thai speaker for every single Thai word in the dictionary.

In addition to the huge increase in entries, this release also adds:

• A new setting on the iOS platform called “Show Playback Buttons” that lets you turn on the display of little speaker icons right inline with each Thai word on-screen, so that you can hear any word with just one touch, as you can also do on the Windows and Android platforms.
• A handy new unified Quick Click Chart in our Help section on Reading and Writing which shows all Thai consonants and vowels at once on your screen, allowing you to click to hear each one or to go to its details in the relevant section.
• A large number of small improvements to the Help including a lot more sound recordings for sample phrases, more sample words, and playback icons in our charts of Thai vowels.

An no. They are not done yet. In fact, Benjawan Poomsan Becker wants to hear from you:

We will continue to add words to future updates of the app that I come across or that are suggested by our customers. Therefore, we want to reassure readers that if they do happen to come across a word that they feel needs to be added to our dictionary it can be included in future updates. I look forward to seeing suggestions.

To submit new words email: support@word-in-the-hand

For a detailed list of goodies, read the overview at Word in the Hand.

Using the various Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionaries…

I bounce between three electronic versions of the Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary. The dictionary app is on both my iPhone and iPad, and the PC version on my Mac with an emulator.

When I’m running around town, logically, the iPhone is the one I use. And when I’m at home or traveling, I prefer the iPad because the screen is larger. But when I’m compiling Thai vocabulary lists and need to cut and paste into excel files, the PC version is invaluable.

It’s not expensive to run all three versions. My original copy was for the iPhone but it sucks into my iPad without an additional charge. And the massive upgrade for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch as well as the PC is free. Totally free.

ATTENTION: If you don’t have an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary app I’m giving away 3… but… not for a week. Yeah. So if you don’t want to wait RUSH over to Talen’s Talking Thai-English-Thai Dictionary App Giveaway going on now.

Learn Thai by Speaking Your Language…

Over a decade ago I learned Thai by using a method called Speak Your Language. I wrote a post on what Speak Your Language is, but to summarize: I learned to speak Thai by starting with what I knew about English, slowly converting it into Thai one word and one grammar point at a time. By using the Thai I knew, filling in any gaps with English, I was able to communicate right away, and at the same time focus on what I needed to know next.

Times have changed over the last 10 years and so have I. I am now a father of four children living on the opposite side of the world (at least as far as time zones go). I am not living in a fully immersed atmosphere of Thai language 24/7. Despite that, I can still perfect my Thai. And I do that by using the Speak Your Language method.

Don’t you already know Thai?…

Let me ask that question another way. Despite being a native English speaker, do I know all there is to know about the English language? The answer is no. I have gaps in the lingo of lawyers, doctors, politics, cars, and the list goes on. My ability to talk incomprehensibly about any of those subjects vary considerably. And while I might be able to hold conversations in Thai, depending on the subject they are talking about, keeping up on the news is hit and miss. So there is always room for improvement.

When I learned Thai, I was a missionary. As missionaries we sacrifice many outside pleasures. One of those pleasures is watching TV or reading anything that is not related to the church. We got to go to an Internet Cafe once a week to send an email home and that was it. Now speed up 10 years and I am no longer living as a missionary. I have the new challenges of being a full-time working father with four children.

Ten years ago high-speed internet in the home was a novelty. It was the swimming pool in the back yard. We all know someone who had one, but never had one ourselves. There are now many advances in technology that I would never have dreamed possible when I first learned to speak Thai. Logically, to take advantage of these useful tools, I upgraded how I use Speaking Your Language.

Record yourself speaking to the wall…

The wall is such a nice conversational partner. It never talks back. It will listen to you ramble on and on. I’ve been told that steering wheels have a similar personality. Don’t just talk to the wall, record yourself while you talk. Digital recorders are fantastic upgrades from the tape recorders of old. They are not only smaller, but let you separate the recordings into individual files that can be kept independent from each other.

With digital recorders, you can record yourself talking about any subject you want. And as you fill in the gaps with English, you can figure out more words and phrases you want to learn. You can also record yourself translating TV, Radio, or whatever.

Use Anki to practice the words you need to learn…

Now that you have these words and phrases you need to learn, what do you do with them? Back in the day I would have made a list or flash cards. It’s not a bad method but flash cards are so old-fashioned. If you want to be hip and with the times you use a spaced repetition system, known as SRS. There are many on the web for free; the one I like the best is Anki.

Why is SRS better? It’s like flash cards on steroids. SRS gives you a new list of words to review every day based upon how successful you were in the past. Words you need to work on more come up more frequently. On the flip side, those you know better appear less often, but are not taken out entirely, so you still get a chance for a review. It’s like having a tutor pick which words and phrases you should review that day.

Post your Thai online using social media…

Just because you are not sitting in a street vendor’s fold up chair waiting for a plate of kài jieow mŏo sàp, doesn’t mean you can’t have the benefit of having a native correct you. There are many websites like lang-8.com or thai-language.com that let you post something online for others to correct. Twitter and Facebook have also proven to be useful tools. The great part is that you can continue to use English to fill in the gaps, while getting instant feedback from native speakers on how to say what you want to say.

The point I’m making is that it’s not the tools that improve your Thai, it’s how you use them. The point is that with Speaking Your Language, you need to speak as much Thai as possible, while using English to bridge the gap. And the more you speak Thai, the better you will become.

Justin Travis Mair
I Want To Speak Thai | I Want To Speak Spanish
Successful Thai Language Learner: Justin Travis Mair

Thai chili scale: A spicy secret to ordering Thai food…

I’ve been eating Thai food for like a gazillion years now and while I can order เผ็ดเผ็ด /pèt-pèt/ just fine, what arrives is almost never “up to me”. Tom Stephan has the same difficulties, only in a slightly different direction.

Tom: I wish I knew how to say “I’d like to order the Pad Thai, but moderately spicy. Not bland, but not number 5 on the scale. Maybe a 3?”

Me: A new one on me… I have the opposite problem – getting Thais to believe me when I say I want super spicy (especially as I don’t eat rice, used to cool down the mouth). I’ve settled on เผ็ดเผ็ด (and lots of praying to the pepper gods). Can’t you just say spicy a little bit? But all in all, what you get often comes down to the cook’s belief in what you can handle more than anything else.

Tom: Yeah, most of the time when you ask for spicy, the waitresses at the local Thai eateries (there are a dozen) kind of look at you like one regards a small child asking for his own glass of whiskey; adorable, but…no.

Thai chili ranges…

After chatting with Thai friends an easily understood chili range was agreed on. Number 1 being for (cough) (cough) wimps, with the chilis getting progressively hotter from there.

1. Western style spicy: เผ็ดแบบฝรั่ง /pèt bàep fà-ràng/ (or not spicy: ไม่เผ็ด /mâi pèt/)
2. A little spicy: เผ็ดนิดหน่อย /pèt nít-nòi/
3. Moderately spicy: เผ็ดปานกลาง /pèt bpaan-glaang/
4. Somewhat spicy: ค่อนข้างเผ็ด /kôn kâang pèt/
5. Very spicy: เผ็ดๆ /pèt-pèt/, เผ็ดมากๆ /pèt mâak mâak/
6. Thai style spicy: เผ็ดแบบไทย /pèt bàep tai/
7. Super spicy (the most spicy): เผ็ดสุดๆ /pèt sùt sùt/

[See post to listen to audio]

So if you want to take a stab at getting your Thai food at a hotness suitable for your tastes, you’d say something like this:

น้องๆ ขอส้มตำไม่เผ็ดหนึ่งจาน
nóng nóng kŏr sôm-dtam mâi pèt nèung-jaan
Waitress, I want one plate of somtam, not spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอลาบไก่เผ็ดนิดหน่อยหนึ่งจาน
kŏr lâap gài pèt nít-nòi nèung jaan
I want one plate of mixed chicken salad, a little spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอผัดกระเพราไก่เผ็ดปานกลางหนึ่งจาน
kŏr pàt grà prao gài pèt bpaan-glaang nèung jaan
I want one plate of chicken with basal leaf, moderately spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอแกงเขียวหวานไก่ค่อนข้างเผ็ดหนึ่งถ้วย
kŏr gaeng kĭeow wăan gài kôn kâang pèt nèung tûay
I want one bowl of green (sweet) chicken curry, somewhat spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอต้มยำไก่เผ็ดๆหนึ่งชาม
kŏr dtôm yam gài pèt pèt nèung chaam
I want one bowl of Tom Yam Chicken, spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

small bowl: ถ้วย /tûay/
big bowl: ชาม /chaam/

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอผัดเผ็ดขี้เมาทะเลเผ็ดสุดๆหนึ่งจาน
kŏr pàt pèt kêe-mao tá-lay pèt sùt sùt nèung jaan
I want one plate of stir fried drunken seafood, super spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

When your Thai food is not spicy hot enough…

Often (for me) a dish will arrive and it’s not spicy enough. It’s a good thing that most Thai restaurants have a condiment selection on the table.

Condiments: เครื่องปรุง /krêuang bprung/
Dried crushed chili: พริกป่น /prík bpòn/
Shrimp paste with oil: น้ำพริกเผา /nám prík păo/
Vinegar with fresh chili: พริกน้ำส้ม /prík náam sôm/
White sugar: น้ำตาล /nám dtaan/

[See post to listen to audio]

If you can’t find what you like, you’ll need to ask the waitress. What you ask for sometimes depends upon the dish. But, as they say in Thailand, up to you.

I’m not fussy (I just want hot), so if there isn’t a chili pot on the table I ask for น้ำปลาพริกขี้หนู /nám bplaa prík kêe-nŏo/ (fresh mouse dropping chili and lime in fish sauce).

[See post to listen to audio]

But if you want to be more traditional, here are a few dish/chili combos:

Papaya salad: ส้มตำ /sôm-dtam/
Ask for either พริกป่น /prík bpòn/ or พริกขี้หนู /prík kêe-nŏo/

[See post to listen to audio]

Minced chicken salad: ลาบไก่ /lâap gài/
Ask for พริกป่น /prík bpòn/

[See post to listen to audio]

Chicken with basal leaf: ผัดกระเพราไก่ /pàt grà prao gài/
Ask for น้ำปลาพริกขี้หนู /nám bplaa prík kêe-nŏo/

[See post to listen to audio]

Green chicken curry: แกงเขียวหวานไก่ /gaeng kĭeow wăan gài/
Ask for น้ำปลาพริกขี้หนู /nám bplaa prík kêe-nŏo/

[See post to listen to audio]

Tom Yam: ต้มยำ /dtôm-yam/
Ask for either น้ำพริกเผา /nám prík păo/, or พริกป่น /prík bpòn/, or พริกขี้หนู /prík kêe-nŏo/

[See post to listen to audio]

To get what you want just say:

Waitress, I’d like… + your chili of choice
น้องๆ ขอ /nóng nóng kŏr…/

[See post to listen to audio]

Spicy downloads…

If you are not confident enough to speak Thai I’ve prepared audio downloads. So all you need to do is stick the audio on your smart phone, and when needed, play your chili needs for your waitress. And pray.

Zip format: Thai Chili Pepper Scale
Zip format: Thai Chili Conversations

Good luck and good eating!

It’s all relative (ญาติ /yâat/)…

I just returned from visiting my son and daughter-in-law in the U.S. and meeting my grand children for the first time. It was a great experience, especially for my wife Pikun who could use her hard-won mothering skills to hold and feed and take care of some little ones once again. That got me to thinking about how the Thais refer to their relatives. I am always getting some relationship word wrong so I put together the following chart, mostly for my own edification. I thought I would share it with our readers. See if you can remember them all. Pop quiz on Friday.

Note: Just to make things a bit more complicated, most of the following terms can be used with people who are not your real relatives but simply with people who are of a similar age to them. Thus you get the situation where your Thai friend introduces you to someone she calls “my sister” (she’s thinking of the term พี่ /pêe/), but the person being introduced could be a sibling, or a cousin, a classmate, a coworker, or maybe just a friend.

And these are just the most common terms in use. There are lots more.

Example: The Thai word for “child” or “offspring” could be the more common/ลูก/ lôok, or one you might find in writing บุตร /bùt/, or ทายาท /taa-​yâat/ which I have only seen in dictionaries and has more of the meaning “heir”.

Grandparents’ generation (ตายาย /dtaa-​yaai/)…

The names Thais use for grandparents depends on whether they are on your mother’s side (maternal) or your father’s side (paternal). Collectively they are referred to as ตายาย /dtaa-​yaai/. Quite often these terms are used as endearments in familiar settings with any older men or women, even if we don’t know them.

• Maternal grandmother (ยาย /yaai/)
• Maternal grandfather (ตา /data/)
• Paternal grandmother (ย่า /yâa/)
• Paternal grandfather (ปู่ /bpòo/)

Note: The word for great grand parent is ทวด /tûat/. To be specific we can add it to the above.

Example: Maternal great grandfather becomes ตาทวด /dtaa-​tûat/, etc.

Parents’ generation (พ่อแม่ /pôr-​mâe/)…

If your parents have siblings these would simply be your aunts and uncles in English. In Thai we have to know whether they are on your mother’s side or your father’s and we also need to know whether they are their older or younger sibling.

On your mother’s side:

• Mother (แม่ /​mâe/)
• Sisters (Your maternal aunts)
• Older (ป้า /bpâa/)
• Younger (น้า /náa/)
• Brothers (Your maternal uncles)
• Older (ลุง /lung/)
• Younger (น้า /náa/)

On your father’s side:

• Father (พ่อ /pôr/)
• Sisters (Your paternal aunts)
• Older (ป้า /bpâa/)
• Younger (อา /aa/)
• Brothers (Your paternal uncles)
• Older (ลุง /lung/)
• Younger (อา /aa/)

Note: The word ลุง /lung/ can be used as an endearment with men old enough to be your parents’ age. The word ป้า /bpâa/ is the female equivalent.

Wife’s parents:

• Mother-in-law (แม่ยาย mâe-​yaai): combines the words for mother and maternal grandmother.
• Father-in-law (พ่อตา pôr-​dtaa): combines the words for father and maternal grandfather.

Husband’s parents:

• Mother-in-law (แม่ย่า mâe-​yâa): combines words for mother and paternal grand mother.
• Father-in-law (พ่อปู่ /pôr-​bpòo/): combines words for father and paternal grand father.

Your generation…

You (คุณ /kun/), your siblings (พี่น้อง /pêe-​nóng/), your cousins (ลูกพี่ลูกน้อง /lôok-​pêe-​lôok-​nóng/), your spouse (แฟน /faen/), and children (ลูก /lôok/).

• Siblings (พี่น้อง /pêe-​nóng/)
• Older sister (พี่สาว /pêe-​sǎao/)
• Younger sister (น้องสาว /nóng-​sǎao/)
• Older brother (พี่ชาย /pêe-​chaai/)
• Younger brother (น้องชาย /nóng-​chaai/)
• Cousins (ลูกพี่ลูกน้อง /lôok-​pêe-​lôok-​nóng/)
• Older cousin (พี่ /pêe/)
• Younger cousin (น้อง /nóng/)

Note: We can use พี่ /pêe/ and น้อง /nóng/ as a personal pronoun with close friend and other relatives (referring to them as well as ourselves). Since finding out someone’s age is very important linguistically as well as socially, you’ll need to know whether someone is older or younger than you. Asking someone’s age is not the best way to do this. The best ways I have seen is to 1. Ask what sign of the Chinese Zodiac they are (which would tell you within a 12 year cycle who came first), or 2. Ask what year they finished school (before you did or after).

• Spouse (คู่ครอง /kôo-​krong/ is formal, แฟน /faen/ is more familiar)
• Wife (ภรรยา /pan-​rá~​yaa/)
• Husband (สามี /sǎa-​mee/)

Note: It is best to avoid using the terms ผัว /pǔa/ for husband and เมีย /mia/ for wife in polite company. They can be construed as being derogatory by some people and it is usually best to err on the side of politeness.

• Sister-in-law
• Wife of your younger brother (น้องสะใภ้ nóng-​sà~​pái)
• Wife of your older brother (พี่สะใภ้ pêe-​sà~​pái)
• Brother-in-law
• Husband of your younger sister (น้องเขย nóng-​kǒie)
• Husband of your older sister (พี่เขย pêe-​kǒie)

Note: The use of พี่ /pêe/ and น้อง /nóng/ for the in-laws is determined by the age of your sibling, not the age of the person (in-law).

The next generation…

• Children (ลูก /lôok/)
• Daughter (ลูกสาว /lôok-​sǎao/)
• Son-in-law (ลูกเขย /lôok-​kǒie/)
• Son (ลูกชาย /lôok-​chaai/)
• Daughter-in-law (ลูกสะใภ้ /lôok-​sà~​pái/)
• Children of aunts and uncles (หลาน lǎan)
• Niece (หลานสาว lǎan-​sǎao)
• Nephew (หลานชาย lǎan-​chaa)

And the next…

• Grandchildren (หลาน /lǎan/)
• Granddaughter (หลานสาว /lǎan-​sǎao/)
• Grandson (หลานชาย /lǎan-​chaai/)

And the next…

• Great grandchildren (เหลน /lǎyn/)

And all the rest…

• Relative/relation/kin (ญาติ /yâat/) or (ญาติพี่น้อง /yâat-​pêe-​nóng/)

Hugh Leong
Retire 2 Thailand
Retire 2 Thailand: Blog

Thai Abbreviations Can Help Us Learn Vocabulary, Spelling and Pronunciation…

One chief bugaboo that has plagued me in my endeavors to learn to read Thai is the numerous abbreviations scattered all about newspapers and magazines. I usually end up skipping them when I read, but as they are usually integral to the story line I am forced to look them up later.

After a while (and in my case a long while) I remember a few. And it turns out that once I know what the abbreviation letters stand for, I can remember them more easily. And, as an added attraction, it helps me learn more vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.

Below are a few abbreviations that you will often run into. Breaking them down is a good way to add to your vocabulary. When you get stuck trying to decipher Thai abbreviations a good resource is thai-language.com where you can look up most of them. It also has a nice list of lots and lots of abbreviations in their reference section.

Bangkok: กทม.
กรุงเทพมหานคร /grung-tâyp-má-hǎa-ná-kon/

กรุง /grung/ (city, capital)
เทพ /tâyp/ (angel)
มหา /má-hǎa/ (great),
นคร /ná-kon/ (city,town)

Literally: The Great (Capital) City of Angels

Motorcycle: จยย.
จักรยานยนต์ /jàk-grà-yaan-yon/

จักร /jàk/ (circle)
ยาน /yaan/ (vehicle)
ยนต์ /yon/ (engine)

Note: Most new learners of Thai will be familiar with the loan word for “motorcycle” มอเตอร์ไซค์ /mor-dter-sai/. จักรยานยนต์ /jàk-grà-yaan-yon/ is more formal, seen more often in writing. When speaking, I use the loan word just like everyone else does. By the way, the word จักรยาน /jàk-grà-yaan/ by itself means “bicycle” (two circles) so จักรยานยนต์ /jàk-grà-yaan-yon/ can mean “a bicycle with an engine”.

Medical Doctor: นพ.
นายแพทย์ /naai-pâet/, and (พญ.) แพทย์หญิง /pâet-yǐng/

นาย /naai/ (Mr.)
แพทย์ /pâet/ (physician)
หญิง /yǐng/ (lady, female)

Note: There are two different words for physicians, one for males and one for females. Thai also uses another abbreviation for Doctor “ดร.” which is a direct transcription of “Dr.”

Director: ผอ.
ผู้อำนวยการ /pôo-am-nuay-gaan/

ผู้ /pôo/ (person, one who…)
อำนวย /am-nuay/ (to give, produce)
การ /gaan/ (action)
อำนวยการ /am-nuay-gaan/ (to direct)

Buddhist Era, B.E.: พ.ศ.
พุทธศักราช /pút-tá-sàk-gà-ràat/

พุทธ /pút, also pút-tá/ (Buddha, Buddhist)
ศักราช /sàk-gà-ràat/ (era, period)

School: ร.ร.
โรงเรียน /rohng-rian/

โรง /rohng/ (hall, house, building)
เรียน /rian/ (to study)

Hospital: รพ.
โรงพยาบาล /rohng-pá-yaa-baan/

โรง /rohng/ (hall, house, building)
พยาบาล /pá-yaa-baan/ (to care for, cure)

Note: The word พยาบาล /pá-yaa-baan/ is also used to mean “nurse”. Both the noun and the verb form.

Police Station: สน.
สถานีตำรวจ /sà-tǎa-nee-dtam-rùat/

สถานี /sà-tǎa-nee/ (station)
ตำรวจ /dtam-rùat/ (law enforcement officer, police)

Note: The abbreviation for “police man” is ตร. (ตำรวจ /dtam-rùat/).

Member of Parliament: ส.ส.
สมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎร /sà-maa-chík-sà-paa-pôo-taen-râat-sà-don/

สมาชิก /sà-maa-chík/ (member)
สภา /sà-pa/ (parliament)
ผู้แทน /pôo-taen/ (representative)
ราษฎร râat-sà-don/ (citizen)

Provincial Governor: ผวจ.
ผู้ว่าราชการจังหวัด /pôo-wâa-râat-chá-gaan jang-wàt/

ผู้ว่า /pôo-wâa/ (governor)
ราชการ /râat-chá-gaan/ (government service)
จังหวัด /jang-wàt/ (province

Note: ผว. (governor) is an abbreviation of the abbreviation ผวจ. (provincial governor).

Kilometer: กม.
กิโลเมตร /gì-loh-máyt/

กิโล /gì-loh/ (kilo, loan word)
เมตร /máyt/ (meter, loan word)

Some common single letter abbreviations can’t be broken down into parts but are fairly obvious once we know what Thai words they stand for:

Province: จ., sometimes จว.
จังหวัด /jang-wàt/

Alley, lane: ซ.
ซอย /soi/

Meter: ม.
เมตร /máyt/
Loan word from “meter”

Teacher: อ.
อาจารย์ /aa-jaan/

Mister: มร.
มิสเตอร์
Transcription of the loan word “Mister”

O’clock: น.
นาฬิกา /naa-lí-gaa/

Using นาฬิกา /naa-lí-gaa/ (as in สิบสามนาฬิกา /sìp-sǎam naa-lí-gaa/, 13:00 hours, or 1pm) is the more formal way of telling time. This word can also mean “clock” or “watch”

Hugh Leong
Retire 2 Thailand
Retire 2 Thailand: Blog

Please vote for the Top 100 Language Learning Blogs of 2012…

Each year the Top 100 Language Learning international competition put on by bab.la and Lexiophiles has gradually gotten tougher. But this year the quality of the sites have taken a noticeable leap, meaning it’s a win win for anyone interested in learning languages. It also means that you have even less excuses for not learning a second or even a third language. Yeah, I’m bad.

Which reminds me… if you don’t want to read all the way to the bottom of this post before voting, just click on the button to your right. Tip: Scroll all the way to the w’s for Women Learning Thai… and some men too ;-)

No doubt, competing in the Top 100 Language Learning Blog competition has improved WLT immensely. It’s also taught me that qualifying for the competition isn’t about making pretty right before the event, but working on improvements throughout the year.

In the early days I concentrated on tweaking WLT’s design, creating posts and series useful to students of Thai, and adding knowledgeable guest authors (megga thanks go especially to Hugh, Tod(d), Rikker, and Luke).

Something must have worked because WLT is now listed as a go-to resource for learning Thai on BBC – Languages – A Guide to Thai, CNNgo, Yahoo, and elsewhere.

When I first entered the Top 100 Language Learning Blogs competition, I took Lexio’s suggestions on what makes a good language blog to heart. In 2009, competing against more popular languages such as English, Chinese, French and German, WLT came in 85th place. Sweet. In 2010 I kept up with the improvements, and even though I mostly quit blogging about learning Thai during the Red Shirt protests (it was too heartbreaking), WLT came in 54th place. Not too shabby (especially as I didn’t expect to place at all).

Last year was a shocker when WLT came 10th in Top 25 Language Learning Blogs 2011 and 19th in the Top 100 Language Lovers 2011. Understandably, I was surprised and totally chuffed at the leap.

Shortly after the competition a tweet came through stating that placing where it did, WLT was representing Thailand. It was then that I realised that the Language Learning Blog competition was not just about the language learning community. It was about my responsibility to Thailand as well.

Seriously, it was a sobering thought. And with sobriety comes much responsibility.

No doubt, I have fun researching and writing posts for WLT. And I also enjoy being in the position to give back to Thailand (reason why I donate all proceeds from WLT to the SET Foundation). But ever since that tweet the idea of taking WLT to another level has been a concern.

After months of going through options to improve WLT I decided to focus on two main projects. One, started after the competition last year, will take more time to complete (and I’ll need even more of your help). But the other, already three years in the making, will launch following this post.

Project 1: Top 100 Thai vocabulary…

Since starting WLT I’ve learned that it’s not unusual for students to fizzle out soon after embarking on their Thai language adventure. And while it’s clearly a worry, I wasn’t quite sure what I could do about it.

From what I’m seeing the problems with learning any new language are: memory, available time, and sustained motivation. But confidence is also high on the list (especially for a tonal language such as Thai).

If you remember, last September I reviewed The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. The resources mentioned lead me to an idea that just might work as a mini Thai course.

The idea is simple. Start out by learning your way around the 100 most useful words in your target language. This includes using those mere 100 words to learn basic grammar. And if you make it through to the end, and still have an interest, work out from there. And if you don’t, you won’t have wasted too much time. Correct?

Choosing the top 100 Thai words was an adventure. These days I’m staying busy creating workable phrases (words on their own are just words) but I continue to tweak the list.

To see how the method operates I purchased several top 100 courses, but in Italian. Seems they all fudge on what they are calling 100 words (some shamefully) so back to square one I went. But whoever said that necessity is the mother of invention has it soooo very right because getting around the hurdles made me very creative indeed. And in the coming mini-course I’ll only cheat a little. Promise.

Disclaimer: In no way can you communicate fully by learning 100 words and choice phrases. But, with the right 100 words one can get a taste of a language. My hope is that a taste will tantalise students enough to push them over the quitting hump and into the excitement of learning more Thai.

People learn in different ways so I’ll be using a combo of resources (most free): BYKI, Learning with Texts and Brainscape. Scott came to my rescue with LWT so it’ll be implemented first. Ta Scott :-)

Even though I’ve been working on this project since last year, more time and collaboration is needed. That’s right. I’m in the need for guinea pigs. And if you want to pig out on Thai, please contact me.

Project 2: Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation series…

In 2009 I started the Successful Thai Language Learners series. One, two, three years have now gone by, with over 50 talented students and former students of the Thai language being interviewed.

Some of their replies were surprising, some quirky, and all were totally interesting. Well into the series a suggestion was made to tally the results, so I did. Wanting to share what I found, a compilation series was put together.

The compilation series will start next week. I seriously hope you enjoy reading the results as much as I have.

Oh. And btw. After sending out a zillion emails for the Successful Thai Language Learners series, I was able to interview 47 men and 3 women. So, as it turns out, I chose an appropriate tongue-in-cheek name after all. True?

Now back to voting for your favourite Top 100 Language blogs…

There are four categories to vote for. Please note that you are allowed just one vote for each section.

• Language Learning Blogs
• Language Professional
• Language Facebook Page
• Language Twitter Account

Other Thai blogs to vote for…

As before, there are other Thai blogs entered in the contest (three). Would I love your vote? Absolutely. But please check them out (if you haven’t already).

• Learning Thai
• Thai Language Hut
• Learn Thai from a White Guy

Before I sign off I’d like to thank the teams at bab.la and Lexiophiles. As I mentioned before, it’s clear that without their yearly competition and advice, WLT wouldn’t be the site it is today.

Once again, stop by Lexiophiles Top 100 Language Learning Blogs to leave your vote. Ta!

Café Dīcō: Talk • Share • Learn…

There are several Thai-English social language exchange groups in Bangkok. Meetup’s Thailand Language/Culture Exchange is just one. Another came to my attention just this week: Café Dīcō.

Café Dīcō is a learning environment for those who wish to be proficient in a language. Dīcō in Latin means to talk. We believe that the most effective way to be fluent in a language is to use it daily by speaking with those who are native to the language and also with learners alike.

Café Dīcō is not a language institute. Instead, it is a club where people practice using a language through socializing. Café Dīcō aims to allow people to immerse in a language with others by providing an engaging and relaxing atmosphere where they can talk, share, and learn.

If you are interested attending Café Dīcō’s next get-together, sign up to be notified. And if you do attend, please let us know how it went (I’m always curious).

Review: GoldList Method for Long-term Memory…

Are you familiar with the GoldList Method? I wasn’t until Stuart emailed to ask if I’d heard about it. No. I hadn’t heard of the GoldList but I do enjoy trying out new methods! Thanks Stuart.

After poking around I discovered that the GoldList Method was created by quite a character, British born David J. James. James, an accountant residing in Poland, is known as Uncle Davey on Youtube (not sure why).

Once you understand the method (and now I sort of do), you just might enjoy its simplicity. Warning. The method is simple but many explanations are not.

The GoldList theory in a nutshell…

GoldList Theory: Physically writing out new words and phrases burns them in your long-term memory. Distilling words (throwing them away) tricks your mind into putting discarded words into long-term memory.

GoldList Method: Note that we tend to lose and spend time looking for things which we intended to keep and often put in a special hiding place, but we rarely forget the things that we have thrown away or given away. We don’t usually think we still have them and look around for them. So the very conscious act of discarding tricks the subconscious memory, namely the long-term memory, into being sure it jolly well has got those discarded bits. So if in doubt, discard rather than merge, when distilling.

By not revisiting words for two weeks to up to two months, the words go into your long-term memory instead of your short-term memory.

Before I get to the intricacies of the method, please remember this: The GoldList Method is all about going for the gold, but not all rules mentioned are set in gold.

Goldlist is a game of solitaire. You play against yourself so how you play is a matter of individual preference.

Before you start the GoldList Method…

You first need to acquire a feel for the sounds and rhymes of your target language. To do this, David suggests completing at least one audio course such as Michael Thomas or Pimsleur. Michael Thomas doesn’t have a Thai version (pity, because the MT method works) but Pimsleur (such as it is) does.

Assimil Thai is another course that’s chockfull of audio but beware of the odd phrases. Actually, Pimsleur’s Thai phrases aren’t anything to write home about either but as your aim is to get used to Thai, either will do.

What you’ll need for the GoldList Method…

The required list of materials for using the GoldList Method is sweetly short.

Materials: A4 hardcover notebooks, pen or pencil, timer.
Vocabulary list: 2000-2500 words.

James Higbie’s Essential Thai would be my top Thai pick. Essential Thai is not only a great course but it has the needed 2000 word vocabulary list.

There are 3 other decent Thai courses to consider but they don’t have the vocabulary count. Benjawan Poomsan Becker’s Thai for Beginners has 880 words, David Smyth’s Teach Yourself Thai Complete has 400, and Spoken World Thai has around 300.

Grammar: For additional grammar (if that’s your thing), it would have to be James Higbie’s Thai Reference Grammar and/or David Smyth’s Thai: An Essential Grammar. David also has a Kindle version: Thai: An Essential Grammar.

The GoldList Method (as I understand it)…

Over 4 sessions the goal is to distill each lot of 20-35 headwords by around 30% each time, down to a semi-final shortlist of around 7-9 words. The shortlists are then thrown together and distilled until nothing is left (or you wander off).

And distilling (choosing which words get cut) just might be the hardest part of this method.

GoldList Method: When to distill a word:

1. When you see the word in the target language, you know its meaning(s).
2. When someone says that word to you, you can write it down, spelling it properly.
3. From seeing it written down, you know how to pronounce it.
4. You know all the unusual grammar exceptions applying just to that word (at least those covered in your study approach so far).

Obviously, if your initial aim isn’t to learn how to spell using Thai script, then pass on number two.

If you find that you can’t distill a sizeable chunk you can always cobble words together to create mini-phrases or a poem, match the words with their opposites, or put extra words all on one line.

Remember when I said that all of the GoldList rules are not set in gold? Well, I believe this one is (sort of):

It harms this method to go over the list several times. That switches on short-term memory functions. You should do it once, at a leisurely pace so that you enjoy doing it, and then go on to the next page and the next 25 of headlist if you are on the headlist, after a short 10 minute break.

In the comments on David’s site readers complained about not being able to find, compile, write and read aloud their 20-25 words all within that tight 20 minute timeframe. David replied that you can indeed separate the chores but you still need to keep the sessions to 25 minutes with 10 minute breaks between.

With that in mind, perhaps this is a possibility: In one 20 minute session read the materials and carefully write out your words (or phrases) and notes. Take a ten minute break. Then, for the next 20 minutes, carefully read the words and say them out loud. And since you’ve got more time to kill you could also listen to accompanying sound files as well. David, what say you?

Timing: Revisit headwords every two to eight weeks (but no longer). You can have up to 10 sessions of headwords on day one, and 10 more sessions of headwords on day two, and so on. But they will be different lots of 20-35 headwords because you won’t start distilling until day 14 (the soonest).

Tips for keeping track: To keep up with which lists need to be distilled when, create alerts via Google Calendar. You can also send word lists to yourself via email. [link]

Individual headword sessions…

Walking you through the method is more complicated than actually doing the method. But, here we go… explanations in both graphics and text.

List 1, Session One: Write down the first 20-25 words (headwords) on the left hand page of your notebook. Write, read, and say out loud the headwords one time only. Number the words and date the session.

Depending on your aim, include phrases and notes on grammar. For Thai, adding classifiers (where applicable), would be beneficial. And as previously mentioned, if you don’t have time to source words plus do everything else, after 20 minutes take a ten minute break before going back for a second session.

List 1, Session Two: After 2 weeks or more (but no longer than 2 months) go back to List 1, Session One to see how many words you remember.

You can test yourself by covering over the English, but that is not the best way. The best is to say “I know that I must now discard 8 of these 25 words which are on the top of the left page and write 17 of them on the top of the right page. Which do I think I have remembered best?

To distill by 30%, put an X next to each word you do know. Carefully rewrite the words you don’t know on the opposite page, right hand side (around 15-17 words). Read those words out loud. Date the session.

List 1, Session Three: Go through the last list, putting an X next to the 5 or so words you know best. Write the remaining list of 10-12 words underneath Session Two. Don’t forget to read the words out loud. Date the session.

List 1, Session Four: Mark 4 words with an X. That will leave 7-9 words. Write them underneath Session One. Say them out load. Include the date.

Combining: Distill Session Four. Write the remaining words in a second GoldList notebook, or on a different page in your main notebook. Up to you.

At 5 headword sessions a day, with 20-25 words per headword list, you’ll be adding 100-150 new words a day. If you take weekends off, after five days you’ll have 500-625 new words rolling around your head. In 2 weeks you’ll have introduced something like 1000-1250 new words in your target language. And here’s the thing… unless you add more hours of study, due to distilling the previous lists, at 2 weeks the introduction of new words slows down. By juggling lists you can add 25-60 new words a day until the 2000-2500 mark is reached.

Using the GoldList method with the Thai alphabet…

Learning the Thai alphabet using the GoldList method should be fairly straightforward. You can go the tough route (Thai grade school materials) or go an easier route by creating lists from 60 Minutes Thai Alphabet. And as you’ll want to get the sounds down I suggest making good use of audio files too.

The GoldList method elsewhere…

I realise your Google finger is not broken, but here are a few GoldList discussions I found interesting.

Huliganov TV: Grammar and the Goldlist
Huliganov TV: The stubborn ear of the first-time linguist
Huliganov TV: An amusing thought about the Goldlist vs Flashcards
Huliganov TV: Answering a person who is not attracted to the Goldlist system

YouTube: Uncle Davey lectures on Gold List System at Moscow BKC-IH
YouTube: Techniques for language learning – Goldlist Method and Captioning
YouTube: The gold list system of vocab learning

Language Geek: The Gold List vocabulary method

LingQ forum: The Goldlist Method
how-to-learn-any-language.com forum: Has anybody tried the Gold List method?

Have you used the Goldlist Method? I’m quite interested hearing from those who have played around with the Method for awhile.

Assimil Thai…

In his post, How to use Assimil Courses, Josh at Language Geek shares Assimil’s (often) missing instructions. Now, I’m not here to sell you on Assimil Thai out-of-the-box. With 50 lessons, Assimil Thai is a decent enough program but that’s if you don’t mind using transliteration (only). There is no Thai script in Assimil Thai. And come to think of it, there’s no English either because it’s for the French speaking market.

I don’t mind the French so much (I can almost muddle my way through). But I’ve never been able to get my head around Thai transliteration. So did I switch all of Assimil’s 50 lessons to Thai script? You betcha, but more on that later.

It’s the Assimil method I’m attracted to. It works (just ask the members of how-to-learn-any-language.com). And I believe the method can be used with most any language course.

Using the Assimil Method with Essential Thai…

As I’m a huge fan of Essential Thai by James Higbie, I chose to run it through a modified Assimil Method. With Essential Thai you can follow Assimil’s Method pretty closely, but given the differences in the materials, tweaks come in handy.

The Assimil Method has us reading through the explanations after we listen, read, and listen again many times. Fair enough. But Assimil Thai’s audio files are Thai only, while Essential Thai’s audio files are a mixture of English and Thai.

If you aim to follow Assimil exactly, and are extraordinarily ambitious, you’ll have to extract the Thai audio from the English. A no brainer, a fair bit of time will be needed.

Just my opinion… with the combination of Thai and English in Essential Thai’s audio files, reading the English translation (as often) isn’t necessary.

Essential Thai the Assimil way (sort of):

1. Read an entire lesson (or a manageable chunk).
2. Listen to the accompanying audio files on their own.
3. Listen to the audio files while looking at the Thai.
4. Read the Thai text aloud. Take time to understand the meanings.
5. Read the Thai text again, but this time without looking at the translation.
6. Listen to the audio files while looking at the Thai.
7. Listen to the audio files with the book closed.
8. Repeat after each word or phrase.
9. Read the explanations until you understand the lesson.

Note: 1 & 2 are interchangeable.

Obviously, whether you chose to read script or transliteration is totally up to your Thai level. And even if you are past beginners level, Essential Thai is good for reading practice.

Tip: To control the audio speed or extract the Thai phrases, drag the files into Audacity.

Updating Assimil Thai…

If you have your heart set on Assimil Thai, I strongly suggest studying with Thai Skype teacher Khun Narissa.

You see, after getting the Thai script typed the way I wanted it, I showed it to Khun Narisa in order to get a professional walk-through of the materials. Khun Narisa tisk-tisked at the many iffy phrases, and for Thai practice, guided me through a rewrite.

When I showed the updated Assimil materials to a Thai friend (another Thai teacher, just not mine) she looked surprised and said, “this is REAL Thai”. And that’s exactly what I want in Thai language materials. Real Thai, not old-fashioned Thai, poetic Thai, or faranged Thai.

If you do study with Khun Narisa using the corrected Assimil materials, to keep to the spirit of copyright you’ll still need to purchase Assimil. But that’s only fair.

Khun Narissa can be contacted at Thai Skype Teacher.

Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation…

Before I get to the post, a word from our sponsors. Kidding. I just want to mention that the Top 100 Language Learners Bloggers competition ends on May 28th, 23:59 pm German time. Thailand is 5 hrs ahead of Germany so that means around 7pm Monday evening I’ll finally get to breathe. So… if you haven’t voted could you pretty please do so? I’d love your support. Honest.

And now on to the real stuff…

Have you ever wondered what drives people to take on the immense challenge (and sometimes the chore) of becoming successful in a foreign language? I mean, we are talking about heaps of hours dedicated to listening, reading, and sometimes writing in a strange language. And don’t forget communicating.

That’s a whole load of hours where they could be doing something else. Like. Watching TV. Or sleeping. You know. Useful stuff.

When I put the question, ‘What Were Your Reasons for Learning Thai?’ to the 50 in this interview, polyglot Stu Jay Raj came back with ‘live life’. And that makes perfect sense because we all know how polyglots absorb languages the same as breathing.

But what about the rest of us? What about those who don’t have a passion for gobbling up 10 or 20 or 30 languages in our lifetime?

Chris Pirazzi saw learning Thai as a way to escape from the drudgery of Silicon Valley. And do I ever sympathise! A nine to nine life in the suburbs is not for me.

Scanning down the remaining answers received in the interview, 34 listed necessity (living or working in Thailand), 8 aimed to learn more about the Thai language and Thai culture, and 5 wanted to study a second language. All good reasons too.

Like Chris, I also saw Thailand as an escape but my main reason for learning Thai is because I live here. And possibly, maybe, dunno really, for the rest of my life. So like a chunk of the others my reason was sort of out of necessity. But, not really.

You don’t absolutely need to understand the Thai language to survive in Thailand. Thing is, being able to understand what the locals are saying around you gives your life more depth. It also introduces even more questions to get answers for. Exciting stuff.

What were your reasons for learning Thai?…

When I stripped down the answers for the spreadsheet I came up with an extra tidbit that you might miss, so here it is. Amongst the tally, 4 arrived in Thailand with the Peace Corp and 5 as missionaries. And from what I understand, both institutions have a substantial history in preparing their people to communicate in the local languages.

Anyway, now on to the rest of the replies.

Aaron Handel

Aaron: When I first came to Thailand, very few Thais spoke English. I traveled extensively in the North and in Issan, as an amateur photographer. I learned Thai because it was necessary. If I were to ask in English for “fried rice with chicken,” Thai people would show me to the toilet or bring me their baby pictures. This just would not do. I had to learn Thai.

Beyond basic survival, I found that Thai opened up a whole new world of light and color. Speaking Thai helped me to feel that I was present and involved, rather than just a passive observer. I became part of the picture.

Aaron Le Boutillier

Aaron: Absolute passion. I am never happier than when I have learnt a new word in the morning and then use it with ease in the afternoon. Magic!_________________________

Adam Bradshaw

Adam: Originally I learned Thai because I had to as a volunteer missionary, but I found myself falling in love with the Thai language. _________________________

Andrew Biggs

Andrew: I wanted to learn how Thais tick. I figured knowing their langauge would explain their nuances, personalities and habits, and I was right. ___________________

Celia Chessin-Yudin

Celia: I learned Thai when I came here the first time four years ago. I learned just from friends and then I went back home and studied Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Washington for two years, until I came back here to Thailand in November 2008 and have been working here ever since.

Chris Baker

Chris: I moved to Thailand in 1979-80, already married to Pasuk, and in flight from Margaret Thatcher, and thus unlikely to return. _________________________

Chris Pirazzi

Chris Pirazzi: I wanted to escape Silicon Valley in California, and Burma was having a revolution at the time.__________________________________

Colin Cotterill

Colin: I don’t believe you can live anywhere unless you can speak to and understand the natives of that place. It’s easy to slump into an environment where everyone speaks English so it helps to have an incentive. Mine was that I was working at the open university and needed to communicate with the technicians. All the Ajans spoke English. That’s where a lot of foreign English teachers fall off the motivation wagon.

Daniel B Fraser

Daniel: Survival – I knew that starting a travel company was going to require intensive ground-level logistics, and I wanted to know what was going on. _________________________

David Long

David: I moved to Thailand in 1987 and wanted very much to be integrated into Thai society. _________________________

David Smyth

David: A youthful infatuation with a Thai girl, which led me to apply to study Thai as part of a BA South East Asian Studies at SOAS. _________________________

Don Sena

Don: Was stationed in Thailand during late sixties; general passion for languages led to inquiry into language spoken and written officially in Thailand. _________________________

Doug

Doug: Living here, wanted to fully engage, then became interested in computational aspects of Thai, and points of intersection with other languages in the region. _________________________

Fabian Blandford

Fabian: My very first visit to Thailand was in 1990 coming from Hong Kong where I was in my final posting in the Army after 25 years service. A friend there had just been to Korat where our soldiers, Gurkhas, had spent a month training with the Thai Army. He came back with tales and when I decided to visit he asked me to bring a gift to a lady friend he had met there. So I went to Korat after a couple of days in Bangkok and liked the place so ended up spending nine days there.

Unlike Bangkok or Pattaya etc. very few people spoke any English so it was a struggle to communicate and I felt frustrated. I knew I would come again so went back to Hong Kong determined to start learning. I bought the Linguaphone course as soon as I could.

Gareth Marshall

Gareth: I couldn’t imagine living in a country where I can’t communicate with people or interact with the local culture/lifestyle. _________________________

Glenn Slayden

Glenn: It is still an ongoing process but I would say that the more I learned about the country and culture the more resonant it felt with me. _________________________

Grace Robinson

Grace: After first traveling in Thailand when I was 18 and then returning the next year as an NGO working on the Thai/Burma border, I felt I had left a piece of my heart in Thailand and had big dreams to live in the country. I also wanted a degree from University, so when I discovered that there was a Thai and Southeast Asian studies BA at the University of Leeds, I was very happy to find that I could combine everything I wanted to do.

Hamish Chalmers

Hamish: I came here in 2001 to work as a tour leader for an adventure travel company. My job was to pick up a bunch of tourists at Don Mueang then take them around the country for a couple of weeks, visiting ‘off the beaten track’ destinations, and catering to all their needs.

As a consequence of this ‘off-the-beaten-trackness’, knowing Thai was pretty imperative. Up-country there are far fewer people comfortable with English than there are in Bangkok. In fact, in many places our local guides would be speaking Thai as their second language: Karen, Hmong or an ear-bending Southern dialect being their first.

If I wanted to make sure the minibus driver got us safely to the right guesthouse in Nakorn Sri Thammarat, account for a passenger’s nut allergy at the Night Bazaar in Pitsanulok, or relay warnings about a hornets’ nest deep in the jungle of the Nan borderlands, it was pretty important for me to know Thai.

Hardie Karges

Hardie: I wanted to live there, and don’t like being surrounded by fields of squiggly lines and sounds that have meaning outside my field of recognition. _________________________

Herb Purnell

Herb: I originally came to Thailand as a missionary, and the language was obviously required. As my experience and proficiency increased, knowing Thai became an asset for my graduate studies, professional contacts with Thai academics and government officials, and getting involved in applied language projects. I became a linguistic consultant and had assignments in different parts of Thailand, so I needed to keep my Thai up.

Hugh Leong

Hugh: I initially came to Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer and we had three months intensive Thai training before arriving. _________________________

Ian Fereday

Ian: Having decided to move here and married the owner of a language school it was a necessity!_________________________

James (Jim) Higbie

Jim: I wanted to get into the culture. I’d been in the Peace Corps in Africa and liked the ideal of getting to know another culture through learning the language. Of course Thailand is a really nice place to live and you can enjoy it a lot more if you can speak Thai.

Joe Cummings

Joe: In the beginning, to integrate into Thai society as much as possible, and to function without using English. Later at university, and later still, in my writing career, to carry out research on Thai art, religion, history, and so on, for books and articles I was writing.

John Boegehold

John: I didn’t really have a specific reason when I started. Los Angeles has a very large Thai population. A few years ago, I discovered that Wat Thai Los Angeles was only a few miles from where I live and that there was great, cheap food available there in an open-air market setting on the weekends. A couple of my friends and I started going there occasionally to eat and hang out since it was a really great atmosphere.

One day I noticed a sign about Thai language classes being held there on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I had been toying with the idea of learning a second language at the time and figured that since I was already coming there regularly, I’d check it out.

I’d never been to Thailand and besides a Thai ex-girlfriend trying (unsuccessfully) to teach me a word or two a year earlier, I knew nothing about the language. I went to the class and was deeply confused pretty much immediately.

Maybe I have a bit of a masochistic streak, but the idea of starting from zero on a language so radically different from English really appealed to me. So, I took the plunge.

Jonas Anderson

Jonas: Based on my personal experiences I am convinced that children are very adaptable to unique cultures. I am not an expert, but I think there is a misconception that moving between very diverse cultural situations destabilizes children. They are much more resilient and capable of handling culture shocks than adults I believe. Moving here simply became the “new normal” for us as kids and I found the change exciting. It was peculiar to be stared at so much in upcountry Thailand and to be surrounded by so many black haired children, but I have always been a socially active person, even as a small child, so I enjoyed making new friends and learning about my new environment. I think that is the main key to my learning to speak Thai—simply wanting to talk to people.

Jonathan Thames

Jonathan: I studied Southeast Asian Studies for my B.A. and after going to Thailand the first time, I made quite a few good friends and so became truly invested in learning Thai. I had some Khmer-American friends and a Thai friend growing up, so that got me interested in the region in the first place.

Justin Travis Mair

Justin: I was a missionary for my Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). I didn’t choose where I was sent, but I am lucky I got called to where I did. We were expected to talk and teach about our church to those who were interested. We also taught English classes for free at our local churches. To do this we had to learn Thai.

Larry Daks

Larry: I joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to Thailand. Thai language study was a central aspect of our training, which took place between November 1962 and February 1963.

Luke Cassady-Dorion

Luke: Well, first off I love learning and I love learning languages. Of course, the fact that people told me that it was impossible for a foreigner to fully master this language was further reason to work hard and prove them wrong. More than that though, I feel that it shows a level of respect for the country. People who move to a new country have an obligation to learn the language and culture of their host country. I don’t think that anyone would have much sympathy for a Thai person who walked into a Boise, Idaho store and got mad because the store manager didn’t understand his Thai. Yet, the same people grow frustrated when Thais don’t understand their English, or when Thais get an order wrong because they are too embarrassed to express their inability to understand.

I don’t mean that we are obliged to adopt 100% of what it means to be Thai, just that we have to understand the language and culture if we are going to successfully co-exist.

Marc Spiegel

Marc: I believe that if you are going to live and work permanently in a country where your language is not the native language of the country then it is important to learn the language of the country in which you reside. Especially in Thailand where many people do not speak English in order to truly integrate to society here I believe it is critical to learn the language.

Marcel Barang

Marcel: The need to communicate with people. I came to Thailand as a journalist._________________________

Mark Hollow

Mark: I had been working in Singapore and in late 2009 decided I wanted to take a break from work because it was stressful and was going nowhere career-wise. However, I was fortunately made redundant due to a corporate takeover before I had chance to resign.

While not working I wanted to do something to keep my brain ticking over and learning a language seemed like a good choice. Thailand was the first Asian country I’d ever travelled to and I was fascinated by the language, in particular the writing system. So, learning Thai it was – and my plan to study for six months has turned in 1½ years so far!

Martin Clutterbuck

Martin: Get around in this country. As I’ve been living here a long time, I’ve acquired the language in depth. As to why I’ve been here a long time, it’s a self generating cycle – being good at Thai has helped me get on in Thailand to a point where I am pretty comfortable.

Nils Bastedo

Nils: I decided to leave Sweden for the tropics as early as 2002, thereby doing what so many say they wish they could. I had met some people who had lived in the tropics and quickly realized that, though talented, they were not exactly superhuman. They were just people who had had the gumption to get up and go. The reason I picked Thailand was of course that I had fallen in love with a Thai woman. When I decided to learn more about Thailand, I went there and felt immediately ‘at home’ in ‘The Land of Smiles’.

Paul Garrigan

Paul: I began learning Thai when I moved here eight years ago. As well wanting to be able to know what was going on around me, I also wanted to find out more about Thai Buddhism. I have been interested in Buddhist philosophy since my teens and wanted to be able to communicate with monks in Thai and read some of the Buddhist resources that are only available in Thai.

Peter Montalbano

Peter: I was in the Peace Corps here from 1965-67, teaching English and living in places where no one spoke any English to speak of, so it was a necessity. But it wasn’t a hardship. I love learning languages, and it has been a great adventure to learn Thai.

Rick Bradford

Rick: I simply cannot imagine living in a place where I could not speak the language. I wouldn’t be able to stand the isolation from the culture and lives of the people.

Rikker Dockum

Rikker: My reasons for learning Thai, and the path that Thai has taken me down, are perhaps atypical. My very first reason for learning Thai was because I had to. At age nineteen I signed up for volunteer missionary service. Thailand requires two years of military service from its young men. Mormons require two years of missionary service. While not strictly compulsory, it’s a strong cultural expectation, and the idea that one should put in one’s two years is planted from childhood.

Part of volunteering meant agreeing to go wherever assigned. As I recall, I was asked two questions that might have influenced my assignment. They were: 1. Have you ever learned a foreign language? (The answer was ‘Yes, two years of Spanish in high school.’) and 2. On a scale of one to five, how well do you think you could learn a foreign language if required to? (I said, ‘Five.’ I was afraid of being sent to Topeka, Kansas.) So ending up in Thailand was a very happy accident. Before leaving I took a two-month intensive crash course in Thai. 10 hours a day, 7 ways a week, 8 weeks. I found I loved the challenge right off the bat.

The missionary service lasted two years, but it was the language that really fascinated me. I returned to the U.S. to finish my university studies. I majored in linguistics, and while at school I wrote every term paper I possibly could about Thai. Sociolinguistics, semantics, syntax — I even wrote a term paper on Thai for a class on the languages of China — I convinced the professor to let me write about the influence of Chinese on Thai. There was no formal instruction in Thai of any kind, so this was my best option for keeping up my language studies. Eventually I won some grant money to come back for a few months to do a research project on Thai dictionaries, which would eventually become my senior thesis. During those months I visited the Royal Institute. I observed the work of its Dictionary Revision Committee and interviewed several of its members. This was the beginning of my interaction with Thai academia, which is what brought me back after graduation, and what continues to keep me here for now.

Ryan Zander

Ryan: My initial reason for taking up Thai was that I was already halfway through an undergraduate program in Language and Cultures of Asia at the University of Wisconsin and I needed to finish 4 semesters of an Asian language. I was really more interested in the “culture” half of the program at first and I took a bunch of courses on Indian religions, Southeast Asian history, Asian art history, etc. For the language part I initially tried to go with Sanskrit. It was very interesting, and I’m glad I was able to learn a bit of it, but my study habits at that time were just abysmal and I couldn’t keep up with it. So, I took some time off from school to travel to Nepal, and on the way I passed through Thailand. While there, I heard Thai being spoken and something about the sound of it just resonated with me. And then when I saw how simple the grammar was, I decided it was something I could get myself to study.

Scott Earle

Scott: I came to live in Bangkok as part of my job, and felt that it would be rude not to at least try. _________________________

Stephen Thomas

Stephen: At first, communication, obviously. The first time I visited Thailand in 2006 I was going to be staying with a friend who I knew couldn’t speak English, though she could read and write English. We’d been friends for a few years through instant messaging and e-mail and she offered me a place to stay. I picked up a book and CD set from Teach Yourself and began getting a basic foundation. Good thing, too! It turned out she lived in Ormnoi in Samut Sakhon where practically nobody spoke English. That was a great way to really learn the Thai way of life and to quickly hone language skills.

Stickman

Stickman: I have always wanted to learn a second language to a high level. I reached a reasonable level in German way back when I was still at school but eventually gave it away when I realised that no matter how good my German got, the average German would always be able to speak more than passable English and so making my German redundant. Also, German starts to get quite complicated as you get to the higher levels and the grammar becomes a bit of a nightmare!

When I decided that I would be moving to Thailand – and the original plan was only to stay for a year or two – it presented an opportunity to learn a second language in the country where that language was spoken. Back then I thought I would actually need to have Thai skills just to survive in Thailand, something which really isn’t true at all.

Terry Fredrickson

Terry: I was a US Peace Corp volunteer assigned to Nakornsrithammarat Teachers College.

Tod Daniels

Tod Initially I compelled the Thais I interacted with to speak English. However, that got old awfully fast, and I was limited to predominantly tourist or foreign dominated areas, speaking about what ever it was they were selling, etc. Seeing as I have very few foreigners who are what I would truly call friends – partly out of loneliness but more out of the need to communicate something besides daily pleasantries or mindless Thai ‘phrozen-phrases’ – I finally realized to get bang-4-the-baht out of my life here I’d need to learn Thai.

Tom Parker

Tom: I believe language is the key to understanding culture and aids integration which is one factor contributing to contented, successful living in Thailand. I also wanted to communicate with and understand the people that live here.

Vern Lovic

Vern: At first, necessity. There are very few good English speakers among native Thais in Ubon. Over the years I’ve added to what I know slowly, and not out of necessity but more of a general need to connect with the many amazing Thai people I meet almost daily.

The series: Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation…

And here you have it, the rest of the series to come:

• Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation
• Contributors: Successful Thai Language Learners Series
• What were your reasons for learning Thai?
• Did you learn Thai right away, or was it a many-pronged approach?
• What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?
• Did you stick to a regular study schedule?
• What Thai language learning methods did you try?
• Did one method stand out over all others?
• How do you learn languages?
• How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?
• Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Do you speak more street Thai, Issan Thai, or professional Thai?
• What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?
• What advice would you give to students of the Thai language?

Contributors: Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation…

To get 50 interviews for this series I begged, I pleaded, and I didn’t quite bribe those involved (or at least, I didn’t think I did). And because I owe, before we get to the guts of the Compilation Series I’d like to introduce those interviewed.

I’d also like to thank each one of those interviewed for taking the time to send in their contributions. I know you are all busy people (just look at your accomplishments) so my request wasn’t a small thing. Thank you.

Please note that some interviewed have quite the large public persona, while others are more private. My outlines reflect just that.

If you’d like to be interviewed as well, please contact me.

Contributors: Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation…

Aaron Handel: Author

To drill Thai into his head, armed with audio files, Aaron locked himself in a hotel room for 30 days. His persistence paid off and Aaron is now the author of Thai Phrase Book with Tones and Thai Language Course (Speaking and Listening).

Website: Thai Language Course
Twitter: @Thai_Language

Aaron Le Boutillier: Security Consultant

Aaron Le Boutillier is the author of the sobering And Then One Morning, which details his experiences as a Tsunami survivor. A Security Consultant for the Le Boutillier Group, Aaron Specialises in Women’s Self Defense, Hijack Management, Disruptive Passenger Management and Law Enforcement Training.

Website: Le Boutillier Group
Twitter: @securitybangkok
Facebook: Aaron Le Boutillier

WLT: Remembering Tsunami 2004: And Then One Morning

Adam Bradshaw: Television presenter

Adam is a television presenter, English Teacher, and entrepreneur. Due to his appearances on Wink Wink English and YouTube, Adam is popular with both Thais and expats. Personally, I’ve always been envious of natural language learners such as Adam. He doesn’t sweat the niggly bits, he just jumps in and starts speaking. Impressive.

YouTube: jadambrad, winkwinkenglish
Twitter: @AjarnAdam
Facebook: ajarnadam

Bangkok Podcast Adam Bradshaw
The Nation: It’s all in the language for Adam
The Nation: Aj.Adam Bradshaw

Andrew Biggs: TV personality etcetera

Andrew is a humongous personality in Thailand. Writer, TV producer, Tv and radio emcee, school owner … and on and on. Andrew’s penned a zillion books for the Thai market (check his site for titles) which are great for students of Thai as well. And when I start moping around, I click over to his articles at the Bangkok post for some cheer.

Website: www.andrewbiggs.com
Twitter: @andrewbiggs
Facebook: Andrew Biggs
wikipedia: Andrew Biggs
Bangkok Post Articles: Andrew Biggs

Celia Chessin-Yudin: Employed by an NGO

After experiencing a bit of Thailand with friends, Celia went back to the US to study Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Washington. Then after graduation she hightailed it back to Thailand and now works at an NGO (non-governmental organization) in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon.

Chris Baker: Writer

A highly regarded author, along with his wife (Pasuk Phongpaichit), Chris writes serious books such as The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, Thailand’s Crisis, A History of Thailand, Thaksin, and more.

wikipedia: Chris Baker

Chris Pirazzi: Software Engineer

Hands down, Chris is a Software Engineer extraordinaire in the learning Thai industry. Working with Benjawan Becker (Paiboon Publishing), Chris developed the absolute best ever Thai-English English-Thai dictionary for smart phones and the PC. Seriously, the learning Thai industry is in their debt. And if you aim to learn Thai, Chris’ website, Slice of Thai, is a must-have resource.

Websites: Slice of Thai, Word in the Hand
Book: Thailand Fever

WLT: Chris Pirazzi: How Thai Language iPad Apps are Designed
WLT: Backstage View into the Process of Creating a Thai Dictionary

Christy Gibson: Lookthung performer

Christy is talented, graced with a natural beauty, and genuinely sweet as all get out to boot. As a top expat Lookthung performer in Thailand, she totally rocks. Along with contributing to the Successful Thai Language Learners series, Christy graciously took time out of her insanely busy life to send in bits for an Expat Interview too (below).

Website: Christy Gibson
Facebook: Christy Gibson Thailand
Twitter: @ChristyGOnline

WLT: Expat Interview: Jonas Anderson and Christy Gibson

Colin Cotterill: Writer, cartoonist

While well-known for his Dr. Siri mystery series, I first came across Colin’s clever cartoons years ago when neither of us lived in Thailand. Small world. And when I first started WLT, Colin’s lovely wife Jess helped out with advice and encouragement (both were sorely needed).

Website: Colin cotterill
Blog: International Crime Authors Reality Check
wikipedia: Colin Cotterill

Expat Interviews: Colin Cotterill

Daniel B Fraser: TV personality

Daniel is a Thai TV Host and owner of the Smiling Albino (Travel Company). Another impressive Thai speaker, he hosts the popular Thai language TV Show LongKrung (หลงกรุง). To get a taste of his style watch Long Krung – Episode 1 – Have you eaten Yet? on YouTube.

Website: Smiling Albino
Facebook: Daniel B Fraser
YouTube: Smiling Albino

Bangkok Podcast Thai Language Series: Daniel Fraser

David Long: School Administrator

David become highly proficient in Thai by studying at AUA in Bangkok using the controversial ALG method (Automatic Language Growth). These days he runs the AUA Language Centre in Bangkok. Not too shabby. Yes?

Website: AUA Language Centre
Youtube: David Long on the ALG Method
Blog: David Long in Asia
Twitter: @longinasia

David Smyth: University professor

David lists his profession as university professor but his contributions to the learning Thai market have a wider reach. If I had to guess I’d say that thousands of students owe their proficiency in Thai to his materials. David’s Thai courses are easily at the top of the learning Thai market.

Products: Thai: An Essential Grammar (also on Kindle), Teach Yourself Thai, Linguaphone Thai Course (with Manas Chitakasem).

WLT: Complete Thai: David Smyth Updates Teach Yourself Thai

Don Sena: Translator

Semi-retired translator (Thai – English) and editor (English), Don is an academically minded student of the Thai language. His reworking of the paper, The Codaphrase in Thai Syntax, will keep me busy for some time! Don’s insightful comments can be found on Glenn’s Thai forum at thai-langauge.com.

Doug: Computational linguistics

Doug is a highly respected professional interested in computational linguistics. A former student of the AUA Thai method, to improve his Thai skills Doug rewrote the classic Noss’s Grammar.

Fabian Blandford: Theravada monk

After getting a decent sample of Thailand, when Fabian retired from the British Army he relocated to the country. Sometime after, Fabian married a local lass from Fang and eventually became a Theravada monk (Phra Piyadhammo). I don’t know about you but I would love to hear more of the story!

Gareth Marshall: Magazine editor

Gareth Marshall is a magazine editor with a talent for languages. As a former teacher, when it comes to the Thai language Gareth is pretty much self-taught. And after reading his interview I got the impression that he’d be the one to go to for advice on how decent Thai course materials should be structured.

Glenn Slayden: Author

Glenn is the author of one of the absolute best Thai language resources around: www.thai-language.com. Again with this being a small world, when living in Seattle, Hugh Leong’s wife Pikun taught Glenn Thai. I met up with Glenn on a trip to Seattle last year and it was the first time I’d held a real honest to goodness copy of The Fundamentals of the Thai Language. I was shameful. I drooled.

Websites: www.thai-language.com, Glenn Sladen

Grace Robinson: TV presenter

At the time of her interview Grace was a Postgrad student. She’s now a Deputy editor, writer, and TV presenter. Together with Adam Bradshaw (mentioned above), Grace appears on the Thai PBS show called Yes No Ok.

Hamish Chalmers: EAL Faculty Head

Hamish came to Thailand to work as a tour leader. He stayed on. Hamish is now employed as an EAL Faculty Head. His Thai adventure began with the now ancient Colloquial Thai and moved on to David Smyth’s Teach Yourself Thai.

Blog: Tweet Yourself Thai
Twitter: @AjarnPasa

Hardie Karges: Writer

Writer and businessman Hardie Karges takes traveling mighty serious. His new book, Hypertravel: 100 Countries in 2 Years walks you through his travels. Hardie does not live in Thailand at the moment but he absolutely has plans to return.

Blog: Thailand to Timbuktu to La Paz
TravelPod: Hardiek’s Traveler Profile
Book: Hypertravel

Herb Purnell: Linguist

As a linguist and academic, Herb spent a good part of the past 20+ years in and out of Thailand. He’s now finishing the project of a lifetime, a Mien (Yao) – English dictionary (and as soon as it gets published I’ll add the link). I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Herb’s adventures in his interview and wonder if he can be enticed to share more (if he wrote a book on his life, I’d read it).

Hugh Leong: Writer

I always learn something new on Hugh’s wonderful posts at Thai Language, Thai Culture. Hugh’s also the author of the hardback series Professional English for Thailand (Hotel, Office, Hospital, Banking), former writer for A Retiring Attitude, (retirement column for Chiang Mai City Life magazine), and even takes on freelance writing. Going further back, Hugh’s been a Peace Corps volunteer, psychotherapist, computer consultant, English teacher, and director A.U.A Chiang Mai. Whew!

Website: Retire to Thailand
Product: eBooks in Thailand
Blog: Retire to Thailand’s blog

Ian Fereday: Semi-retired

As a semi-retired owner of Patong Language School, Ian has his hands full. And seriously, I couldn’t imagine a better motivation to learn Thai! Another feather in his cap, Ian’s school is one of the few Thai language schools offering Skype lessons.

Websites: phuket-languageschool.com , study-thai-online.com, teflplus.com

WLT: Guest Post: Study Thai Online via Skype

James (Jim) Higbie: Employed by an NGO

It took me years to track Jim down for this series. And Jim swears he wasn’t hiding out, just out of touch. At the moment he’s is living in faraway Sierra Leone working for an NGO (and of course I’m trying to tempt him back to Bangkok). IMHO, Jim’s Essential Thai and Thai Reference Grammar are the perfect combo for students of the Thai language.

Website: Thai Language / Lao Language
Books: Thai Reference Grammar, Essential Thai, Let’s Speak Thai, Let’s Speak Lao, Dictionary and Phrasebooks for Thai and Lao.
Facebook: James Higbie

Joe Cummings: Writer, editor, musician

Whooh. Joe. Joe’s bio says ‘editor/writer/musician’ but if I shared all his accomplishments in detail there wouldn’t be any room left over for the rest of those interviewed. Most know Joe from his Lonely Planet guides but he’s also the Deputy Editor at the Bangkok Post, a talented musician, as well as being quite clever with the Thai language.

Website: Joe Cummings
Facebook: Joe J Cummings

Just a few outside interviews: Vagabonding update with Joe Cummings and The Truth About Life as a Travel Writer: Interview with Lonely Planet Writer & Travel Guru, Joe Cummings

John Boegehold: Musician, songwriter

In the early days I was quite sure of the connection between musicians so wasn’t surprised to see ‘songwriter-composer’ come through on John’s bio. John presently belongs to an American band called Brainforest Music, and when not out strumming, he plays around in property management.

Facebook: John Boegehold, Brainforest Music

Jonas Anderson: Lookthung performer

Jonas is a talented Lookthung performer who often performs alongside Christy Gibson. Jonas moved to Thailand as a young boy and his experiences from back then as well as his insights in learning Thai are quite an interesting read.

Facebook: Jonas in Thailand

WLT: Expat Interview: Jonas Anderson and Christy Gibson

Jonathan Thames: MPA student

When Third Culture Kid Jonathan Thames was interviewed in 2010 he was an MPA Student. He’s now a project manager at a translation company in Los Angeles, with hopes of returning to Thailand soon.

Justin Travis Mair: Student, father, receptionist

As a missionary Justin went through 2 months of Thai language training similar to FSI. Exciting for many of us at WLT was hearing about the language method Justin was taught, Speak Your Language. More Justin, please, we’d love some more.

Blog: Want 2 Speak Thai
Twitter: @want2spanish

WLT: Learn Thai by Speaking Your Language
WLT: More Learn Thai by Speaking Your Language

Larry Daks: Retired diplomat

Larry first arrived in Thailand to work as a Peace Corps volunteer, and then came back for another tour as the Director of AUA in Bangkok. Now retired from being in the U.S. Diplomatic Corps, Larry is a consultant focusing on education and cultural initiatives involving China.

Luke Cassady-Dorion: TV host, photographer, etcetera

What can I say. Guest author Luke is one talented puppy. He’s a photographer, artist, Yoga teacher, host at Farang Pok Pok on Thai TV, and recent grad from Ramkamhaeng University (it’s not one of those fluffy English speaking schools, but an all Thai language school). Luke’s latest project is the award winning documentary, The Cheer Ambassadors. Congrats Luke!

Blog: luke.org
Facebook: Luke Cassady-Dorion

WLT: Luke Cassady-Dorion: Photographer and Linguist, Grokking the Thai Writing System Part 1: Consonants, L-Lingo’s Burmese & Thai Language Learning Software, Luke Cassady-Dorion: Successful Thai Language Learner, Luke with Farang Pok Pok: Episode 1, Luke with Farang Pok Pok: Episode 2

Marc Spiegel: Manager

Marc is one of those successful students who just gets on with the business of learning Thai. His aim was to integrate into Thai society and to do that, speaking Thai is a must. In Bangkok, Marc choose Baan Aksorn for his studies (check out Tod’s Thai Language School Review: Baan Aksorn).

Marcel Barang: Translator

Marcel is an impressive translator of the Thai language. His work can be found at thaifiction.com. When reading Marcel’s interview, be sure to scroll down to the end for his word-by-word approach to translation.

Website: thaifiction.com
Blog: Marcel Barang

Mark Hollow: Student

Taking time off from his profession as an IT project manager, Mark moved to Thailand to study Thai. At the moment WLT has one post from Mark, an enlightening review of Thai grammar books. There will be more.

Twitter: @hmmbug

WLT: Review: A Guide to Thai Grammar Books

Martin Clutterbuck: In PR

Another serious student of the Thai language, Martin holds a degree in Thai Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University. Several years back Martin wrote a book I’m chuffed to have on my bookshelf (there are plans for a review): The Legend of Siamese Cats.

Website: Siamese Cats: Legends and Reality
Book: The Legend of Siamese Cats

Nils Bastedo: Martial arts instructor

Hailing from United States and Sweden, Nils has a handle on learning languages. As well as being a Taekwondo instructor, Nils is also the author of Tenses for Thais, a book written to help students of English.

Website: Lstk
Facebook: Tenses for Thais, Nils Bastedo
Book: Tenses for Thais

WLT: How to Gain Insight into the Thai Language from How Thais Learn English

Paul Garrigan: Writer

A former nurse, Paul’s clear writing can be found on Spirituality and Addiction Recovery in Thailand. He’s also embarked on the bone breaking adventure of Muay Thai. Heat in Thailand can be megga uncomfortable at times so he’s one rugged guy!

Blogs: Paul Garrigan, Middle Aged Muay Thai
Associated Content: AC: Paul Garrigan
Book: Last Escape

Peter Montalbano: Musician, writer

Musician slash writer Peter Montalbano arrived in Thailand with the Peace Corps at an interesting time in Thai history. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Peace Corps language training, it gives a solid education in Thai.

Website: montalbano.org

Rick Bradford: In Publishing

Except for being in Publishing, it doesn’t say much on Rick’s bio. But, I can tell you this. When Rick leaves comments on Thai language forums and WLT, I pay attention. Why? Because I usually come away knowing something new.

Rikker Dockum: Academic

Guest writer Rikker is a linguist and Fulbright grantee researching the ancient Thai language. His knowledge of Thai, as you can imagine, is extensive. And when I’m around Rikker, I don’t dare say nadda in Thai. Nope. Not me.

Blog: Thai 101
Wiki: Thai Video Transcripts

WLT: Thai 101 Learners Series

Ryan Zander: Podcast host, app developer, teacher

Ryan was halfway through an undergraduate program (Language and Cultures of Asia at the University of Wisconsin) when he was faced with learning an Asian language. Fast forward, he now has some of the best learning Thai apps on the market. His first app (and my favourite) is Reading Thai. When Ryan is not coding, he helps out at ThaiPod101.com.

Web: Nagaraja Rivers
Twitter: @nagarajarivers

Thai learning apps: Reading Thai, Reading Thai Alphabet, Reading Thai – Words & Sentences, Speak Thai Sanuk, Speak Shan.

Scott Earle: General Manager

My buddy Scott knows his stuff. Getting a wild hair (as I often do) a couple of years back I asked him to explain Thai tones. Off the top of his head he filled email after email with information on the Thai alphabet, tone rules, the works. I swear there’s over ten pages sitting in my inbox and one day I’ll nudge him to create a series with the materials. It’s that good.

Blog: Scott Earle

Stephen Thomas: Actor

Stephen is deeply embedded in the Thai acting profession. He’s performed with Opera Siam in Thailand and London, and rubs shoulders with pop singers, jazz musicians, and classical Thai musicians. And I’ll bet he’s a night person.

Facebook: Stephen Thomas
cdbaby.com: Stephen Thomas and People On Wheels

Stickman: Webmaster

Stickman doesn’t really need an introduction. I read Stick’s site extensively before I moved to Thailand and I still dip in ever so often. He’s interviewed the likes of Benjawan Becker (the Queen of Thai language resources at Paiboon publishing) and Christopher G Moore and many many more (see Chris, I did get you injected into this series after all).

Web: StickmanBangkok.com

Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Polyglot

I met polyglot Stu Jay Raj within six months of moving to Thailand (or thereabouts). He was teaching an amazing course called Cracking Thai Fundamentals that took away my fear of the language. Truly, the energy of his course is electrifying and worth every baht. Also worthwhile is following his YouTube channel. Just this week Stu posted There is no such word as ‘Yes’ in Thai. Yes! Check out his FB page for the feisty conversation on the subject of his video.

Web: Stu Jay Raj
YouTube: stujaystujay
Facebook: Stuart Jay Raj (王懷樂)
Twitter: @stu_jay

WLT: Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Interview Part One
WLT: Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Interview Part Two

Terry Fredrickson: Bangkok Post EDU Services Head

When Thai politics start steaming up (as it does) I head for Terry’s tweets. It’s always Terry who tweets translations of Thai speeches, TV announcements, most anything Thai politics related really. And when you live in a country like Thailand you sort of need that edge. Terry’s real job (paid) is as the head of educational services for the Bangkok Post.

Website: Read Bangkok Post
Twitter: @terryfrd

Thomas Lamosse: Teacher

Thomas is an English teacher in the Bangkok area. In addition to speaking Thai, he can make his way around Portuguese, Bali Sanskrit, and Laotian. For Thai, he takes a minimalism approach.

Tod Daniels: Retired

Guest author Tod Daniel’s interview first launched in the Getting by With Learning Thai series but he was moved to the Successful Thai Learners Series due to his Thai level being too high. Clearly, Tod works hard at learning Thai. For the past several years Tod has made it his mission to check out Bangkok Thai schools. And in a quirky style that makes me smile, that’s what Tod writes about on WLT: Thai Language Schools in Bangkok.

Tom Parker: MA graduate

Tom is another academically minded Thai student who went for a degree in Southeast Asian Studies and Language (Thai). Not ready to leave academia, Tom also bagged an MA in Southeast Asian Studies.

Vern Lovic: Internet marketer, writer, web developer

Vern has a more relaxed attitude to learning Thai than most in this series. He knows what he needs to know and that’s that. If you have a love for Thai critters then head over to his YouTube channel. Vern has them all. And if you are interested in meditation, download Vern’s 22 Day Meditation Course.

Website: Thailand eBooks
Blog: ThaiPulse.com/blog
YouTube: thaipulsedotcom

The series: Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation…

And here you have it, the rest of the series to come:

• Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation
• Contributors: Successful Thai Language Learners Series
• What were your reasons for learning Thai?
• Did you learn Thai right away, or was it a many-pronged approach?
• What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?
• Did you stick to a regular study schedule?
• What Thai language learning methods did you try?
• Did one method stand out over all others?
• How do you learn languages?
• How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?
• Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Do you speak more street Thai, Issan Thai, or professional Thai?
• What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?
• What advice would you give to students of the Thai language?

Favour: Pretty please Vote for your favorite Language Learning Blog 2012. Ta!

Project 2: Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation series…

As I mentioned in the previous post, Please Vote: Top 100 Language Learning Blogs 2012, the idea for the Successful Thai Language Learners interview series came about when the team behind the competition, bab.la and Lexiophiles, inspired me to improve WLTs content.

In a nutshell, the interview series shares successful Thai learning experiences. And now, over 50 interviews later, it’s time to post the results in a compilation series.

The series starts off with a tally of the short answers (shown below). The next post will introduce those interviewed. Following will be individual compilation posts focusing on questions going into more depth.

For over three years I’ve been thrilled to read each new interview as it arrives. I hope you’ll be equally thrilled with the compilation series. Enjoy!

Tally of the Successful Thai Language Learners series…

To get an overview of the answers (and to satisfy my anal nature) I created a spreadsheet to tally the information. Unclear answers were queried (and a huge thank you goes to those who had time to respond).

Below you’ll find the brief answers in the series (age, nationality, sex, yes/no answers). The total is from the time of their interviews (well, except for their length of time in Thailand – to keep it simple, those years have been calculated to 2012).

Nationality: 28 Americans (includes 1 American-Swedish), 15 British (includes 1 British-Dutch, 1 British-English, 1 British-Swedish), 2 Australians, 1 Canadian, 1 Fijian Indian-Australian, 1 Frenchman, 1 Irishman, and 1 New Zealander.

Age: 20-30 years old (8), 30-40 years old (11), 40-50 years old (11), 50-60 years old (7), 60+ years old (7), 70+ years old (2), and four didn’t answer the question. As you can see, the largest ages represented are in the 30-50 bracket. And except for the two 70+, the rest are not that far behind (8, 7, 7).

Sex: Out of the 50 included in this compilation there were a total of 3 women and 47 men interviewed. Please understand that the absence of women being interviewed wasn’t from a lack of trying. I would seriously love women to be better represented in this series so if you can help, contact me.

And to those weirded out by my tongue-in-cheek domain name, Women Learning Thai… and some men too ;-), it now makes sense, agreed?

Ah, this also needs a mention. Due to the high average of male responders, more often than not the answer came back “yes please”. Sigh.

Location: 34 reside in Thailand full-time, 1 splits time between Thailand and Australia, 2 between the USA and Thailand, 7 are in the USA, 1 in the UK, 1 in Scotland, 1 in Japan, 1 in New Zealand, 1 in Sierra Leone, and 1 in transit.

Do you live in Thailand? If so, when did you arrive? Those residing in Thailand are equally spread out from 2 to 35 years: 2010 (2), 2009 (2), 2008 (2), 2007 (1), 2006 (3), 2005 (3), 2004 (1), 2003 (1), 2002 (2), 2001 (2), 2000 (1), 1999 (1), 1997 (2), 1994 (1), 1993 (1), 1992 (1), 1990 (1), 1987 (1), 1985 (1), 1979 (1), 1978 (2), 1977 on and off (1).

If you live elsewhere, how often are you in Thailand? Of the 12 who do not presently live in Thailand, 4 have never lived here. The rest previously lived in Thailand for 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 14, 15, and 16 years.

Profession: The professions are all over the place. Scanning through (I won’t list everything) there are 10 writers, 9 performers (actors, MCs, Thai TV hosts), 7 retired to semi-retired (from various professions), 6 teachers, 3 translators, 3 consultants, 2 plus linguists (some didn’t list themselves as such but I know what I know), 2 Lookthung performers, 2 NGO employees, several university students, 2 past directors of AUA, 1 present director of AUA, 1 former foreign service officer, 1 martial arts instructor, and a Theravada monk.

What is your Thai level?: While I do realise that there are official tests to grade language levels, at the time I felt I was already asking a lot from those replying. Instead, as a starting point I chose the intermediate level (can converse freely in regular day-to-day conversations). Overall there are 10 intermediate students, 13 intermediate-advanced, 1 high intermediate-advanced, 10 advanced, 5 advanced-fluent, and 8 fluent. Three purposely didn’t answer but if I had to guess I’d say they are mostly advanced-fluent.

Can you make your way around any other languages? A whopping 28 said yes, 10 admitted to no longer being able to converse in other languages (except for English), 7 came back with an absolute no, and 1 can sort of fudge it.

Were you learning another language at the same time as Thai? 36 said no, 8 yes (but out of those, 1 quit studying a second language after awhile).

Are you a computer programmer, or do you have programming experience? A grand total of 21 said no (some replying NO!), and 11 said yes. The rest, 18, were so flabbergasted by the question that they didn’t answer.

Do you have a passion for music? Music got the popular vote with 31 saying yes, compared to 6 no’s. But again, 13 either chose not to answer the question or didn’t receive the question.

And why those two odd questions? Both computer programming and music were added a ways into the series when I noticed how many of both were appearing. It didn’t pan out but it’s still interesting to know.

The series: Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation…

And here you have it, the rest of the series to come:

• Successful Thai Language Learners Compilation
• Contributors: Successful Thai Language Learners Series
• What were your reasons for learning Thai?
• Did you learn Thai right away, or was it a many-pronged approach?
• What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?
• Did you stick to a regular study schedule?
• What Thai language learning methods did you try?
• Did one method stand out over all others?
• How do you learn languages?
• How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?
• Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Do you speak more street Thai, Issan Thai, or professional Thai?
• What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?
• What advice would you give to students of the Thai language?

Favour: Pretty please Vote for your favorite Language Learning Blog 2012. Ta!

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

Name: Scott Earle
Nationality: British
Age: 46
Sex: Male
Location: Bangkok
Profession: General Manager of a local software development company with a very large US parent company.
Blog: Scott Earle

What is your Thai level?

Intermediate/advanced.

Do you speak more street Thai, Issan Thai, or professional Thai?

More ‘street’ Thai, although I also tend to speak Thai almost exclusively in the office. Partially to try to speak more politely! I also speak some Isaan, but it’s pretty much the same as regular Thai with the tones shifted and a few basic words changed.

What were your reasons for learning Thai?

I came to live in Bangkok as part of my job, and felt that it would be rude not to at least try.

Do you live in Thailand? If so, when did you arrive?

Yes, I arrived in Bangkok at the beginning of January 2004.

How long have you been a student of the Thai language?

I would not call myself a student so much – I am mostly self-taught. But I have had an interest since mid-2003, when I first met a group of Thai software developers.

Did you learn Thai right away, or was it a many-pronged approach?

Initially I was working in an office full of Thai people, and tried picking up a few phrases. It was a risky business, though! Some of the guys enjoyed mis-teaching me, with hilarious consequences …

Did you stick to a regular study schedule?

Not even close. I never really have, I am afraid to say.

What Thai language learning methods did you try?

When I first came here, I used a website (no longer in existence, sadly) to learn the basic letters, and that allowed me to read some basic things like road signs and the provinces on car registration plates. After that, I started to read menus at restaurants – they have a limited vocabulary, and tend to have similar contents. I took a course of 40 hours at a Thai school in late 2005, initially learning to speak, but then switched teachers and learned the alphabet. After that, I started to chat with people online, which is a very good way of meeting Thai people willing to chat.

Did one method stand out over all others?

I think getting familiar with the letters and then learning the alphabet, is a very good way to start. However, casually chatting with people (online, and talking to people you meet everywhere) is the best way to build confidence in both writing and speaking.

How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?

Immediately – I could read/write basic phrases long before I could make myself understood by talking.

Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

Not particularly. I imagine it’s several orders of magnitude easier than learning Chinese or Japanese, for example.

What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?

When I was able to order something from a menu for the first time – and answer the questions asked as a result. It was about a year and a half after I first came here, so it really did take a long time!

How do you learn languages?

When I was 15 I lived in France, after learning French in school. I was almost fluent within 3 months. But when I first came to Thailand, it was almost a year and a half before I could make myself understood. Learning languages is *definitely* easier when you’re younger!

I started out by learning to read and ‘hear’ Thai. I listened as much as I could, read as much as I could. Read car number plate provinces, read road signs, read advertising boards, got used to the range of fonts used. Listened to Thai-language radio stations, even the ones that play ‘international’ music, for the inane chatter and ads. Just immersed myself.

Seriously, all that stuff is what I did until I got the hang of the basics and could distinguish what a tone was and how words sounded. Almost two years in, circumstances around me dictated that I needed to decide where I was going to live (UK or Thailand – I lost the contract I had had, and so would be living here without a job unless I could find one, or going ‘home’). That’s when I booked 40 hours at a Thai language school, and struggled with one teacher, then moved to another whose strength was in teaching to read/write.

I already had a bit of vocab by then (mostly food and provinces!), and so some of the words she was teaching me how they ‘worked’ already made sense, and I was just learning the mechanics of the alphabet. After that everything was quite a bit clearer, because I had never learned the ‘rules’ before.

I learned basic phrases, and learned the alphabet. Started putting the two together, and created a crib sheet to use while chatting with friends. Realised that the crib sheet could be the start of actually learning a few more phrases and expanded it, found out about online chat, and chatted with people using the crib sheet initially and then free text later. Eventually forced myself to type everything and not use the crib sheet at all.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Strengths: I can pronounce the tones pretty well, and can make myself understood pretty much anywhere.
Weaknesses: I am hopeless at ‘formal’ Thai – it’s like a whole nother language!

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

1. That the tones are not important (they really are!)
2. That you need not bother to learn to read and write. It makes a difficult job a lot easier!

Can you make your way around any other languages?

I can still speak a little French, and know a little German from School.

Were you learning another language at the same time as Thai?

No – I think my brain would have been fried. I did notice that my French started to drop off when I started to get more proficient in Thai.

Are you a computer programmer, or do you have programming experience?

I have been a programmer for 25 years.

Do you have a passion for music and/or do you play an instrument?

Not even close! I used to play guitar with my brothers 30 years ago, but have not touched one since.

What advice would you give to students of the Thai language?

Do not give up. I know it sounds silly (and obvious), but the more you can practise, the better. Most importantly, do not get put off when people don’t understand a single word you say – Thai is a strictly tonal language, and people who are not used to speaking with foreigners will not understand anything you say if you aren’t using the exact right tones and intonation at exactly the right time. It’s not your ‘fault’ that you speak using the wrong tone, because you are not used to speaking a language where it is relevant – and it’s not their ‘fault’ for not understanding you, because their brain is not tuned to listen to their language spoken with the wrong tones. Remember that people brought up speaking Central Thai will usually not understand a thing that someone in Isaan is saying (because the tones are all shifted).

So whatever you do, try and try again to speak. As much as you can. Most Thais are very keen to help you speak their language, because so few foreigners can, and so many give up before their brain has had a chance to adjust to speaking a tonal language. (Also, remember that English is also a slightly tonal language, kind of – the words PROject and proJECT have two entirely different meanings).

When you go to the local noodle shop, try ordering in Thai. Try speaking to people you meet in shops. Whenever you have the chance to speak to someone, do.

Also be aware that if you hold a conversation with someone and they say how well you speak Thai, it means they can understand you but it’s still pretty terrible! When nobody comments on it, that’s when you know you’re doing well. And no, I am not quite there yet!

regards,
Scott Earle

The Series: Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

My personal thanks for this series goes to: Scott Earle, John Boegehold, Justin Travis Mair, Stephen Thomas, James (Jim) Higbie, Mark Hollow, Marc Spiegel, Daniel B Fraser, Rick Bradford, Adam Bradshaw, Fabian Blandford, Luke Cassady-Dorion, Nils Bastedo, Grace Robinson, Aaron Le Boutillier, Ryan Zander, Joe Cummings, Hamish Chalmers, Andrew Biggs, Ian Fereday, Doug, Gareth Marshall, Martin Clutterbuck, Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj, Herb Purnell, Celia Chessin-Yudin, Stickman, Thomas Lamosse, Vern Lovic, Colin Cotterill, Jonathan Thames, Hardie Karges, Peter Montalbano, Jonas Anderson and Christy Gibson, Daniel T. Murphy, Paul Garrigan, Marcel Barang, Larry Daks, Chris Baker, Hugh Leong, Terry Fredrickson, Glenn Slayden, Rikker Dockum, David Smyth, Tom Parker, David Long, Aaron Handel, and Chris Pirazzi.

If you are a successful Thai language learner and would like to share your experiences, please contact me. I’d love to hear from you.