There are many foreigners from almost every country in the world who live in Thailand. Many of them try to learn Thai and most are disappointed in themselves after a sustained effort trying to master this very difficult language. Speaking, writing and reading Thai is difficult for foreigners, no doubt about that.
It’s funny that, as visitors to Thailand, we also look around at the level of English that Thais speak and marvel that they don’t seem to understand it and speak at a higher level than they do. It’s really not that disconcerting when you consider the reverse: visitors generally can’t speak more than a few words, or at most two or three sentences in Thai. Even then, they may not speak Thai properly with the proper tone and respect.
The Thai alphabet has thirty-two vowels. Sounds a lot compared to the English language that has five? For me it does! To be fair, there are only twenty basic vowel sounds, which sounds a bit more manageable.
Most Thai learners start to learn by speaking Thai because it is actually easier to make a little progress than to read and write it. This is the wrong way to learn Thai because the complexities of pronunciation must be learned early on in order to be successful. There are sounds used in the Thai language that have no English equivalent … sounds like: ng, dt, dth, neu and many more that require repetitive practice and ideally, the assessment of a native Thai speaker.
Recommendations for learning the Thai language:
1. Find a good book to help you learn the Thai alphabet and learn all consonant and vowel sounds before anything else. A good book will have the Thai characters paired with photos of some other scenes that are familiar to you. Many foreigners are using the proven e-book “Learn Thai Alphabet in 60 Minutes” which I mention in a link below.
2. Ask a native Thai speaker to teach you the nuances of these sounds that are sure to be new to you.
3. In addition to learning the Thai alphabet, write pneumonic clues to help you with pronunciation when you are studying Thai on your own. Record your learning sessions so you can replay and learn outside of class time.
4. Study daily and practice speaking words and sentences to Thai people frequently.
5. Learn to read signs in Thai: This will help you save money and find the shops and restaurants you are looking for much more quickly.
6. Download some free podcasts from the Apple iTunes store. There is a couple who are right and help a lot because they were created by Thai people who explain how to speak Thai.
Good luck with your learning the Thai language, remember, it is the practice that counts more than anything.
