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 Monday, May 28th, 23:59 pm German time. Thailand is 5 hrs ahead of Germany so that means by Tuesday morning I’ll finally get to breathe. So… if you haven’t voted could you pretty please do so? I’d love your support.

And now on to the interviews…

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. Aaron’s latest project is the I Love Thailand show where he battled through 45 minutes of speaking Thai.

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.

Blog: blog.markhollow.com
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!

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!