Learning Thai

[scottish-guy]

Hell no - the last time I searched for "WEE" I got some very kinky videos

[sglad]

Very interesting discussion! Thanks!

If I decide to work/retire in Thailand, I will certainly work hard on [unintentional pun??] learning Thai...

At almost 70, learning a new language will not be easy, even though I am quite fluent in five or so languages. Will it ever be possible to master Thai at an old age??

Please provide more information: There are a lot of suggestions here about textbooks and other materials. What schools would you suggest for arranging good teachers for private lessons?

Of course, learning a language is a life-time project. I continue to learn much about my native language, French. For example, French slang, especially that of young people, is very different say in Canada, Senegal, and Paris, than in my native Switzerland.

Hi Werner

Where would you like to take your private lessons? I can recommend a couple of schools in Bangkok. I'm still in the process of getting to know the Thai as a foreign language teaching scene in Chiang Mai.

I remember reading somewhere that it is easier to learn a foreign language if you've successfully studied other foreign languages previously so you're off to a good start. The trick is to find a teacher that is best suited to your needs and to set realistic goals. You have the right attitude and I think you'll be able to pull this off.

I agree that this is an interesting thread and thank PeterUK for starting it.

[sglad]

Hell no - the last time I searched for "WEE" I got some very kinky videos

And did you get wet after?

[werner]

Hi Werner

Where would you like to take your private lessons? I can recommend a couple of schools in Bangkok. I'm still in the process of getting to know the Thai as a foreign language teaching scene in Chiang Mai.

I remember reading somewhere that it is easier to learn a foreign language if you've successfully studied other foreign languages previously so you're off to a good start. The trick is to find a teacher that is best suited to your needs and to set realistic goals. You have the right attitude and I think you'll be able to pull this off.

I agree that this is an interesting thread and thank PeterUK for starting it.

Sglad, Thanks.

If I work or retire in Thailand, I would want to learn Thai in Bangkok. Please do recommend some schools that offer private tutorials.

I was just lucky in learning languages. (1) I am from Switzerland, where people are supposed to speak a couple languages, although some Swiss people, unfortunately, have too much pride in their own language. (2) When I was a child, several languages were spoken at home, and I lived in Japan for about seven years. (3) I went to the university in the U.S. and thus mastered English.

I am probably too old to learn a new language easily, although my brain is programmed to think and speak in several languages.

[arsenal]

100 years from now no one will bother with all these silly local languages such as Thai, Chinese, French and American. Everyone will speak English.

[werner]

100 years from now, the United States will no longer be the dominant power, and students around the world will be learning Chinese.

[arsenal]

Werner: I agree with your first part (not even the dominant power now in my opinion) but not your second. Chinese is a rather unwieldy and poorly designed language.

[werner]

Well, I wish my country Switzerland would drop the fiction that Romansch/Rumantsch [or however you want to spell it] is an "official" language of the country, and just let this language die out.

[fountainhall]

100 years from now, the United States will no longer be the dominant power, and students around the world will be learning Chinese.

Not just learning - they'll be speaking it as a second language if not a first.

A sign of the times? Trump's 4-year old granddaughter has been learning Mandarin Chinese since she started talking.

[sglad]

Sglad, Thanks.

If I work or retire in Thailand, I would want to learn Thai in Bangkok. Please do recommend some schools that offer private tutorials...

I am probably too old to learn a new language easily, although my brain is programmed to think and speak in several languages.

We're all too old to learn a new language easily - once we hit puberty our capacity for acquiring a second language declines. And whether we're successful at learning a new language depends on our personal motivation, aptitude, teachers, level of commitment, support of friends and the target language itself. You have an advantage in that your "brain is programmed to think and speak in several languages" which is a powerful tool so use that to motivate you. My Thai teachers say that the people who drop out are the ones who tend not to have clear goals as to why they want to learn the language and because they face no repercussions if they do drop out. My studies are sponsored by an organisation where my Thai language skills will be put to good use after I graduate. The two Japanese girls in my class hope to become Thai language teachers in Japan so they take their Thai studies very seriously. And you don't even have to like and respect the culture to excel in the language as in the case of missionaries who answer to a higher calling. I've spoken to a few and they claim to have become fluent in six months of study, starting from scratch. Six hours a day, five days a week and they are constantly tested by their organisation so as to make them ready for field work within six months. Mad. But don't stress and please don't be intimidated - I was only giving examples of how committed some people can be. I think 2 hours twice a week or 1.5 hours 3 times a week is enough for someone who is holding down a full-time job, provided you are consistent with your studies (and that includes self-study).

You'll find that all schools offer one-to-one lessons but there are two which I've heard good things about from friends who have attended, including seniors working in the Foreign Service. One is Baan Aksorn in Sukhumvit 33. This school is popular with East and Southeast Asians: Japanese executives, Korean housewives, expats from Singapore. One of the more expensive schools around but worth the money. They