ศาลาชุมนุม

[billd766]

Hello, my name is Bill Dore and I am back again after a long break of some 3 years.

I need to learn to speak Thai.

I have tried unsuccessfully over the years and now I have the time and the need to do it.

I have tried Thai for Beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker but I just can't seem to get on with it.

Cheers

Bill

[claude06thailand]

Hello Bill !

Welcome to the site !
If you have the need and the time to learn Thai, you can do it for sure !
Maybe you just have to find the right method ?
Benjawan Poomsan Becker's books were good for me, maybe not so good for you ?
I would recommend you to find a good native teacher for your first steps, say 2 times a week for a few months.
Wish you fun in learning Thai !

[David and Bui]

Welcome to Thai-language.com We hope that you will continue to join with us on these forums during your language learning journey. This site contains lots of material for the learner and participants in the forums are generous with their advice.

My advice, like Claude's, is to get a Thai teacher. The sounds of Thai are so different than what we are used to in many of our Western languages and the tones so strange to us that only with a present and live teacher can you hope to build the fundamentals of the language that you need to succeed in comprehension and speaking. Books are great as a supplement, but are no substitute for a live teacher.

Best of luck with your learning experience.

[billd766]

Hi David
I have just looked at the first lesson and got no audio.

I then found the speaker in the top right hand corner is locked.

How can I unlock it?

Cheers

Bill

[David and Bui]

Bill,

Some of the lessons have full audio, some do not. Sometimes the audio exists for only individual sentences. See, for example http://www.thai-language.com/id/222818 . If you still cannot hear the audio, adjust your settings under "site settings" in the left-hand column and find the "audio" subsection.

[David and Bui]

As to the need for a teacher, it is my feeling that the interactivity between teacher and student is critical to learn a foreign language. The student may hear something on the computer or on a CD and believe that he is producing that sound exactly as he hears it. He may not be sensitive enough to hear the difference between his pronunciation and the correct production of the sound. A teacher will provide the student enough feedback until the student gets the sounds correct.

Depending on where you live, there may be commercial language schools available for a reasonable cost. Absent such schools, you could hire a local elementary or high school teacher to provide you lessons in the evening. My experience is that in rural areas 300 baht an hour is a reasonable price.

[billd766]

Sadly I live 400 km from Bangkok in Khampaeng Phet province, then 65 km southwest of there past the "big" village of Klong Lan Pattana and just beside the Mae Wong national park.

It is great out here but Thai teachers with good English skills are a bit thin on the ground.

[David and Bui]

Sadly I live 400 km from Bangkok in Khampaeng Phet province, then 65 km southwest of there past the "big" village of Klong Lan Pattana and just beside the Mae Wong national park.

It is great out here but Thai teachers with good English skills are a bit thin on the ground.

"Sadly?" Just the opposite: what a great opportunity to learn Thai in an immersion environment. Consider yourself luck!

I would not be concerned about having a teacher with good English skills. Lots of books and web sites are available in dual language. The teacher's lack of English skills means that you cannot get detailed answers to "why" questions; but dual-language material will give you plenty of opportunities to get answers to "how" questions. Employ the Thai materials for the teacher to teach you how to say things in Thai and how to listen to a Thai speaker for comprehension.

[claude06thailand]

I agree with David, you are lucky to live in Khampaeng Phet province.
Even in BKK, it would be difficult for you to find a Thai teacher able to give good explanations in english since it is not only a matter of speaking good english, but of having a good knowledge of grammar in both languages as well.
David and other people on this site, among them a few natives with good english skills, will be happy to answer your questions.

[nikkoo]

Hello, welcome to the forum
http://www.centplay.com/affiliate/id_130/