Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

Name: Stephen Thomas “ไกร”
Nationality: British
Age range: 40-50
Sex: Male
Location: Bangkok
Profession: Actor
Web presence: Facebook: Stephen Thomas | Stephen Thomas and People On Wheels

What is your Thai level?

Intermediate.

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

Probably more street Thai. Professional Thai has a lot more complicated and redundant grammar, though it can be useful if I am having trouble getting my point across. It’s important to know the proper rules of any language I think. I see and hear grammatical catastrophes in English all the time which people have just come to accept and don’t even know they are wrong. I don’t really want to sound like that in Thai but of course I’m late out of the gate and racing to catch up.

I do use some Isaan language. I have several Isaan friends and a lot of the vendors I go to regularly are Isaan or Lao. It’s also a good way to show that I’m not just a tourist who learned a few phrases, especially when going into touristy areas. It’s a fun and friendly dialect, and whenever people call me “Farang” I tell them I’m “Bak Seeda.”

What were your reasons for learning Thai?

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.

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

Yes, I came here in September 2009, ostensibly for another holiday after a particularly hard year. I’d been wanting to return since spending 3 months in Thailand in 2006, and I finally decided I wasn’t going to wait any longer. I planned to be here for 3 – 5 months, and a year later I realised I was still here!

I’d met and become friends with an up-and-coming film director named Pakphum Wongjinda in 2006, and when I came back I got in touch with him. He was starting work on a film for Baa-Ram-Ewe and invited me to visit the set. One day he called me up and asked if I would be interested in doing one scene for the film. I said yes and it turned out to be a scene with one of Thailand’s top actresses Sinjai Plengphanich. He then asked me to play in a short film for Channel 3 with Bank Pavarit that would be shown on Boxing Day 2006.

In February the first film reached #1 opening week and my scene was well received by audiences and critics. He then invited me to be in the first movie in a new series of Sunday afternoon films for Channel 3. It wasn’t until I showed photos of the shoot to a friend of mine that I realised how big this production was. It was a huge hit and we’ve done a sequel already and a third one is planned. I’ve continued to do films for him in the series as well as branch out into other films, a huge stage musical (Rak Ther Samer) and even opera!

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

Officially for 14 months. Before that I was picking it up in the street and off of friends, that started in 2006, but when I returned to New York I didn’t really continue until over a year later when I began to meet a group of Thai friends who were working in the states. I was still chatting with friends in Thailand over the internet and meeting more and more through Myspace which I was using to promote my music. Once I began blogging about my experiences in Thailand I became friends with more Thais who were interested in what I was saying. I probably picked up a few more words during that time as well, but it wasn’t until I came back that I really started learning again.

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

Many prongs, many starts… The very first Thai words I learned were from a guy I used to work with in an office in Hackensack. I actually had no idea Thailand would play a part in my future at that time, though my cousins had told me I should visit. I learned hello, goodbye, thank you and monkey which I always think are important words to know in any language.

The next was start was in preparation for my first trip to Thailand in February 2006. That was with the book and CD set from Teach Yourself which I got less than half-way through. A great advantage to that lesson set is that it taught you how to read and write Thai as well. When I arrived in Bangkok my friend wanted to show off my skill. She’d point at a sign and say, “Read!” and I’d stumble through it. Then another one, a little harder. Finally she pointed at a sign with a simplified font and I simply could not make head or tail of it. Every day I would watch store signs and billboards with various fonts go by on the bus, and after about 3 weeks I was finally able to decipher them. It made me aware of how varied the same set of letters can really be. And if you consider the Latin alphabet has uppercase, lowercase, and both cursive and block writing, then all the various fonts… It’s quite amazing how our brains recognise letters.

During that trip my friend arranged for another friend to stay with us as well. She was studying English and would show me around Bangkok while my other friend was at work. I learned a lot of Thai words from her, probably asking for the same word more than once on some occasions, but every day my vocabulary built up bit by bit. I tried to speak as much Thai as I could and use words I’d learned to make them stick. The way a child babbles when they’re learning to speak, I’m sure!

By the evening I would usually be exhausted by the time my friend got off work so I would barely be able to communicate with her. I did, however listen to them talking and started picking up repeated words and phrases.

We would also watch Ching Roy Ching Lan and Mum Show on TV and I can remember suddenly be able to understand something being said, so I used to tell people I learned Thai from watching Mum Jokmok!

I began exploring Thailand on my own and anywhere I stayed I would talk to the staff. I don’t mean the people at the desk, I mean the cleaners, the gardeners… It was during the emergency elections when protesters were gathering in Sanam Luang so everyone was discussing politics. I couldn’t get into deep conversation, but people enjoyed telling me their opinions and asking me what I felt about it, and each day I think I learned another word.

As soon as I got back to New York I knew I would return to Thailand and meant to study Thai language. That didn’t happen, and for about a year I really didn’t expand at all on the small foundation I had.

In 2008 I became friends with a group of Thais working in Westchester County in New York and soon began spending considerable time with them. Most of them were Isaan and I began picking up a couple of Lao words. I would try to speak Thai when I could, and other than the cold weather I would often forget what continent we were actually on. That was when I realised that my heart really wasn’t where I was. I was working in video and film production and as soon as the projects I was working on were finished I came back to Thailand.

Right away I began talking with the vendors and people in my neighbourhood and picking up language from them. I also began visiting the set of a film my friend was making for Baa-Ram-Ewe Studio. A film set being like a second home to me I was able to connect what people were saying to a meaning I already knew. I also began acting for this director and with each script I would learn more words.

I was given one script with very formal dialogue, not like I’d had to speak before. I spent a lot of time learning it, reading it over and over, getting the meaning of each word. Unfortunately when I got in front of the camera I realised that my brain knew the words, but my tongue did not. Reading and speaking are two very different tricks. It was miserable. Afterwards I vowed to never let that happen again.

I enrolled at Walen School in Times Square near Asok. While it’s not an intensive course, its schedule is such that I can have time to go off and do films or plays, though when I’m not working I do wish I could spend more time studying.

I’ve also resumed the Teach Yourself book, though I find I’ve since learnt most of the words that were remaining. It is good to get a mix of grammar though as one book may teach this way to say something and another book will teach another way. There’s also the tried and true method that we all hated as school kids, writing down vocabulary words 10 or 20 times. I’ve been doing that recently for the words that just haven’t been sticking, and it actually does work.

There’s a fun and informative series on Youtube by BonOnstage called Learn Thai The Bon Way. I found out about her from friends watching her character based comedy bits, but she created a series of short Thai language lessons that’s really quite helpful.

Another method was working as an acting coach. Sometimes we had classes or else were performing workshops in schools, where the students didn’t speak English. We had an interpreter with us and I learned just as much from that as anything else. And of course continued total immersion. It is the ONLY way to develop listening skills and is important for pronunciation.

14 months after that disastrous day on the film set I got a phone call from Grammy, completely in Thai, asking me to go in and meet with them about playing a small part in a lakorn on Channel 5. I went down there and they gave me a script with 2 scenes to read, and I passed the audition. That really made me feel like I’d accomplished something.

Did you stick to a regular study schedule?

Once I started classes, yes, I have a regular schedule of 2 nights a week, which really isn’t enough, but it allows me to go off and do films or plays, then come back. The class continues through the book until you’re ready to move onto the next level.

What Thai language learning methods did you try?

The first method I used was the book and CD set Teach Yourself which I think does a very good job, though I’ve been told some of what I learned is “old fashioned”. One thing I think is invaluable in that book is that it teaches you to read and write Thai which is vital for correct pronunciation.

The next method was picking it up in the streets or at work which will give you listening skills, teach you which words people actually use, rather than the overly formal words you often find in phrase books, and you’ll learn words they wouldn’t necessarily print in language books. :) However, a pitfall here is that you can pick up the wrong pronunciation or else use a rude word in the wrong setting.

Finally I went to Walen School which uses Thai script and teaches vocabulary with question and answer exercises. The teachers are entertaining and will stray from the book to show other uses of the word or to teach other words that could mean the same thing. Conversation is best way to learn a language, and I often converse with the teachers outside of class also.

Did one method stand out over all others?

Once I started taking classes at Walen my friends told me my Thai was improving drastically.

How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?

Right away. The Teach Yourself system has it’s own Romanisation (which actually makes more sense than most) but encourages you to learn to read Thai and prints the dialogues side by side in both formats.

The reading/writing lessons in Teach Yourself broke the alphabet down into about 10 characters per lesson, between consonants and vowels. The method was to write each character while saying the sound, “Dor… Dor… Dor…” over and over. Once they’d taught enough letters they began building up short sentences one word at a time to get you used to the lack of spaces between words. Then the book showed you some of the more complicated spelling rules, like those for words borrowed from Khmer.

The two things I didn’t like about Teach Yourself’s method is that it didn’t give you the names of the letters, which I have since learned at Walen, and it didn’t teach the alphabetical order, which I still don’t know and would really like to. Walen has an alphabet class that all students start out in, but I went straight into Book 2 when I enrolled.

Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

I seem to remember it being fairly quick to learn, though I’ve always been fond of alphabets anyway. It took me a few weeks before I started recognising Thai letters in different fonts and longer before I could read handwritten Thai.

I’ve built up my reading speed by trying to read the signs on buses to see where they go. Now sometimes when I’m at the movies my eyes will pick up the Thai subtitles. On a slower song I can sometimes read along the Thai words on a karaoke machine, but I wouldn’t put bets on it!

What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?

There have been a few. The first I recall was when I was watching Mum on TV and understood something he said. I don’t remember what it was now, but that was definitely a moment comparable to waving a bone in front of The Monolith.

I also recall going into the Omyai market to buy some fruit one morning and the vendor eyeing me with trepidation. When I asked for papaya in Thai she called out to someone, “Hey, this farang speaks Thai!” I responded and she said even more surprised, “He understands Thai too!”

More recently and on a higher level we were rehearsing a show to perform in front of hundreds of very young school kids. We came up with the idea of a kind of choose-it-yourself adventure where we’d let the kids decide between 2 possible routes during each scene. One outcome led to a wizard who would then transform us into animals of the children’s choosing. During rehearsal someone called out, “Maa” which depending on the tone could mean horse or dog. My partner in this endeavour was luk kreung and has much more experience with Thai than I do, so when I saw him act like a dog I thought, “Damn, I was sure he said horse.” The actor playing the wizard watched us prancing about, barking an yapping, and said casually, “Actually, I said horse.” That was a breakthrough moment for me.

How do you learn languages?

In English we have different words that mean the same thing which you might use in different circumstances. Learning a language is just learning another word for the same thing. Though I know that’s not physically true. I think they’ve done EEGs that show multi-linguists use different parts of their brains for different languages, unless I’m mistaken about that.

I know a little Burmese girl about 2 or 3 years old in the market and she has been picking up Thai language by imitating people around. Sometimes she’ll say things and this one Burmese friend of mine says she doesn’t know what language she’s speaking, but I can hear that she’s mixing the two languages. I think that’s normal at that age for children growing up around multiple languages, but at some point they do separate them and speak wholly in one or the other. I had a friend in the states whose wife was French and he’d learnt French as well. His son wouldn’t speak English to him, though if anyone came to visit he would speak English fluently.

Language is very complex because it’s an important part of human evolution. Our brains are largely built for that purpose and we use so much of our senses and utilities in order to communicate. How often do we have miscommunication on the telephone because we can’t see the person who is talking. And how often do you see people gesturing and nodding their head when talking on the telephone? We use our eyes and ears and then process that through deep analytical functions to make sense of it all at an alarmingly fast pace!

I saw a programme about 3 different species of monkeys who lived in the same area. Not only did they have their own calls for different types of threats, they knew the calls of the other monkeys as well. They also discovered grammar syntax in the calls so that by stringing calls together in a different order they would convey a different meaning.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I used to dread having to speak Thai on the telephone. It’s still more difficult, though not as bad as before. I have a hard time with telephones in general. After all this time you’d think they would improve the sound. I know it’s possible because when people talk on Viber it’s 1,000 times clearer. Even in English you can’t discern between S and Th or V and F on the telephone. You only know because of you know what the words are supposed to be, same as speaking to someone with a lisp or speaking in spoonerisms.

The lackadaisical habit of substituting ล for ร or dropping ล after ก has led to my confusion on more than one occasion. I love Joey Cheuancheun’s routine about Ror Reua is Ror Reua and Lor Ling is Lor Ling. But it’s the same as americans substituting D for T or the New York and London use of glottal stops or substituting N for Ng at the end of verbs. That’s why learning in the street is so important.

I hate forgetting vocabulary that I don’t use as often, but again this happens in English too, only you usually have another word to fall back on in that case.

As for strengths, the only strength I can really say is that I’m not afraid to make mistakes. I’ll try out a new way to say something or make a joke, and if it works great, if not then I learn from that.

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

That you can get by using Romanisation. There are consonant and vowel sounds that appear in Thai that we simply don’t have in English. Plus the vowels we use pull double and triple duty. In Thai a vowel is that vowel sound only, with the exception of a few vowel combinations which are considered separate diphthongs in their own right. The letter A on its own is used to represent 4 different Thai vowels. In English I can substitute one A sound for another in a word and you recognise that it’s the same letter, but to a Thai person you’ve completely changed the spelling. Also some vowels in Thai are held longer than others but we don’t have a way of noting that in The Latin Alphabet which leads to putting the stress on the wrong syllable which again results in a completely different spelling.

Whenever I see a name or a place written in Roman letters I look for the Thai in order to see how it’s really pronounced. Some assistant directors have offered me “karaoke” scripts and I tell them no.

Can you make your way around any other languages?

Not to the extent that I can Thai. I took Latin in high school and that along with having a large English vocabulary to begin with, I can often make some sense out of reading bits of French. Our languages are so closely related. Probably Italians and Spaniards make jokes about English and French being one and the same!

I began to learn Cantonese in the mid-1990s but didn’t have anyone to practice with so I gave up on it. That wound up being helpful to Thai because it introduced me to tones and also some of the vowel and consonant sounds, in particular the initial Ng sound which westerners have such a hard time with.

I’ve always enjoyed learning words in other languages and have made it a point to be able to say hello and thank you. Growing up around New York City you naturally know a few words of Spanish, but not enough to have conversation.

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

I used to do Basic computer programming in the 1980s. During the Myspace era I was using css to customise my page. I started using the internet back when you had to type some Unix in order to get anywhere, this was before graphical browsers, but I never got deeply into coding.

Do you have a passion for music?

“Absolutely. I have 2 albums on iTunes and various other online outlets,” he said taking the opportunity to shamelessly promote himself. “Stephen Thomas and People On Wheels: The Story So Far, and Stephen Thomas & The Reptiles: INANUTSHELL. I also co-produced an album with Incomplete Denial called Our Existence Is An Accident and used to have a band with my brother Paul Damon Thomas and friend Doug Freed, called Sigmund Boo. I’ve been talking to some people in Thailand about recording songs in Thai which could become the next very exciting project for me.”

I’ve performed with Opera Siam, and last September we took our production of Mae Naak to London. I have friends ranging from pop singers to jazz musicians to classical Thai musicians. One of the things I love about living in Bangkok is the great cultural diversity. There really is a lot going on in this city, though it’s not always easy to find out about.

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

No, not really. Some Lao/Isaan words, but not to the point that I would say I’m studying Lao. One comedian I’ve worked with wanted me to learn Northern Thai, but I told him one language at a time!

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

Find people who don’t speak English and talk to them. I hear foreigners say in Bangkok they don’t have to use Thai. I’m not sure where they go, but I can easily go outside and find many people who can’t speak a word of English. Start out by buying your morning coffee from a street vendor instead of Starbucks. Strike up a simple conversation. It will be slow at first but after a month you’ll realise how much you improved and you will have met other people in the neighbourhood who will want to talk to you too.

Learning songs is also a great way to learn, and one that I haven’t been doing to be honest. The couple of times I have learned a song I’ve seen how much faster it sinks in. Again I think it’s to do with the evolutionary mechanisms of our brain. That’s why songs are so important to us and why you can still remember songs from your childhood from historical lessons to toy commercials!

Stephen Thomas “ไกร”
Facebook: Stephen Thomas | Stephen Thomas and People On Wheels

The Series: Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

My personal thanks for this series goes to: Stephen Thomas, James (Jim) Higbie, Mark Hollow, Marc Spiegel, Adam Bradshaw, Fabian Blandford, Luke Cassady-Dorion, Nils Bastedo, Grace Robinson, 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, 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.

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

Name: James Higbie
Nationality: American
Age range: 60+
Sex: Male
Location: Sierra Leone
Profession: Work for NGO in Education Development
Thai level: Intermediate to Advanced
Website: Thai Language / Lao Language
Books: From Orchid Press: Thai Reference Grammar, Essential Thai, Let’s Speak Thai, Let’s Speak Lao; From Hippocrene Books: Dictionary and Phrasebooks for Thai and Lao

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

I try to speak both street and professional Thai depending on the situation. I lived in Laos for eight years and also speak Lao which is basically the same as Issan. At this point, though, I’ve been working in Africa for seven years so I’m not as fluent as I was when I lived in Thailand and Laos. I can still speak both languages when I go back but it would take some time to be as fluent in Thai as when I was writing Thai Reference Grammar.

What were your reasons for learning Thai?

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.

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

I came in 1980 and worked in a refugee camp in Chonburi Province, living in a town called Phanat Nikhom. It’s a very nice town and there was a big staff of Thais and foreigners. A lot of the foreigners could speak Thai and the Thai staff were very helpful so it was a good situation for learning Thai. I lived in Thailand for 16 years, the whole time in Phanat Nikhom.

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

I wasn’t serious about learning Thai the first three years but then a friend who worked in the camp (an Australian) one day told me how terrible my Thai sounded when I tried to speak it. That made me think I’d better start working on it. I’d been thinking about writing a book on English as a Second Language (I have an MA in ESL from the University of Hawaii and worked in English teaching and curriculum development in the camp) but at that point I decided to write a book on Thai.

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

I would say that through writing the books I learned to speak Thai. I worked closely with Snea Thinsan, my co-author, and over seven or eight years got a good understanding of grammar and vocabulary. Living in a rural area gave me the chance to speak Thai all the time. I’m not a quick language learner. Some people I knew could speak Thai fluently in a year.

Did you stick to a regular study schedule?

I used to study Thai in the morning and spent free time and weekends reading. That was before the internet, so there weren’t so many distractions.

What Thai language learning methods did you try?

At first I went through all the books written up to the early 80s, which were mostly “Fundamentals” and Gordon Allison’s books. They were interesting books but I felt they didn’t have the real language in them – some of it was old-fashioned formal Thai which wasn’t what I was hearing people speak. (Interestingly I heard some of those old fashioned constructions in Laos.) I thought Thai was difficult because of the lack of materials, which was one reason why I wrote the books. I’m sure it would have helped going to a language school but I was living in the country.

Did one method stand out over all others?

Keeping notebooks of vocabulary and phrases was the best method for me. I used to spend weekends at Ko Samet talking to people and writing down new things I heard them say.

How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?

I started right away.

Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

I thought writing Thai was difficult because of the spelling and I only got to the point where I could write a short letter. I thought reading was easier and I read mostly magazines – music and movie star magazines, love advice magazines and all the things they sell which are great for learning about Thai culture.

What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?

I was in the North and a bus went by going to Phan. On the front were just three letters – “p, ah, n” and I thought “wow, I can read Thai”.

How do you learn languages?

I need to learn how to say sentences in a very front brain manner. I can’t pick up a language by letting it wash over me.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I’m better at analyzing than at remembering vocabulary. Especially at first, I thought Thai words were hard to remember because they were mostly a single syllable and they all sounded the same to me. My ear wasn’t good enough to pick up tones just by hearing other people speak. I developed the visual transliteration system in my books at first to help myself visualize the sound of the words. It helped me learn to speak with the correct tones and vowel lengths.

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

Some people say the tones aren’t important but your Thai will sound pretty ragged if you don’t learn them.

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

The only experience I have is developing the tone/vowel length markers used in the transliteration system in my books. We used a program called Fontographer to do that.

Do you have a passion for music?

Yes, I played drums in rock bands with refugee camp workers and in Laos. We played covers of Rolling Stones, etc for parties, and some Thai and Lao songs. We had both foreign and Thai or Lao musicians which was a lot of fun. They were good rock musicians.

Can you make your way around any other languages?

My high school French isn’t very good.

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

No. I concentrated on Thai.

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

I would say it’s important to learn how to say things exactly the way Thais say them. Don’t try to learn a lot of vocabulary then make up your own sentences. Also, don’t feel that using ka or krup is demeaning. Use it a lot, especially with older people and even at first when you talk to people your own age. People in Thailand really appreciate politeness. Don’t hang out with foreigners all the time.

James Higbie
Thai Language / Lao Language

The Series: Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

My personal thanks for this series goes to: James (Jim) Higbie, Mark Hollow, Marc Spiegel, Adam Bradshaw, Fabian Blandford, Luke Cassady-Dorion, Nils Bastedo, Grace Robinson, 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, 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.

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

Name: Mark Hollow
Nationality: British
Age: mid-30′s
Sex: Male
Location: Bangkok
Profession: Formerly an IT project manager, currently just studying.
Twitter: @hmmbug

What is your Thai level?

I can speak reasonably well, although my ability and confidence varies according to the subject but can usually find my way around most conversation topics. I’m a better reader than speaker, regularly practising with reading newspaper articles, short novels and modern poetry. I don’t practice writing often enough, what I do write is mostly just short notes, or SMS/facebook messages.

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

Professional/textbook Thai, I guess. I probably sound a bit “stiff” to locals as I’m likely missing some of the idioms and common sayings that a native speaker uses to make their speech sound truly natural.

What were your reasons for learning Thai?

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!

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

Yes, in Bangkok. I first lived here for about 5-6 months during 2009. When my work in Singapore ended in mid-January 2010 I took just a few weeks to pack up my life in Singapore, then flew to Bangkok.

How long have you been a student of the Thai language? Did you learn Thai right away, or was it a many-pronged approach? Did you stick to a regular study schedule? What Thai language learning methods did you try?

Initially I learnt some tourist Thai during holidays in Thailand between 2004-2008 – the usual stuff like numbers, food, please/thank you, “where’s the toilet?” and other essentials. At the time I was using Pimsleur’s Thai CDs and Benjawan Poomsan Becker’s Thai for Beginners.

During 2009 I tried learning more seriously but still largely on my own. That year I also met my now-fiancée who helped whenever I had questions but I was on my own and somewhat lost for structuring my learning: she’s a nurse, not a teacher and I was a project manager, not a student! I didn’t have a set learning schedule and work often took priority. I thought learning basic grammar (from David Smyth’s Thai: An Essential Grammar) would help with putting vocabulary together correctly. However, I didn’t really know much vocabulary to put together so that attempt died. I think it’s fair to say 2009 was a failure as far as language-learning was concerned.

It was only since leaving work that I was able to start learning seriously. On returning to Bangkok I immediately signed up with a private language school. I decided on Baan Aksorn because I’d read positive reviews about them and they gave a good impression when I visited. The building itself was different too – a cosy converted house, rather than a dull office in a tower block. It turned out to be a good choice for me.

Did one method stand out over all others?

Well, I can only really comment on my studies at school as my prior attempts weren’t successful.

Except for one month, I’ve only had one-on-one tuition which I’ve enjoyed. The teachers were rotated periodically which gave variety to both the lessons and the learning approach. For the one month that I studied with another student I felt like I was holding him back – he was a Singaporean and, like many of his fellow countrymen, already a polyglot from growing up in a multicultural & multilingual society so I returned to one-to-one lessons.

How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai? Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

I began learning reading and writing as soon as I started school and in parallel with the speaking lessons so learned from phonetic spellings for about four months until my Thai reading was at an adequate standard to swap over to Thai-only course materials.

I found learning the alphabet very difficult. Learning by rote and with no context is almost impossible for me so I made a story out of the alphabet to provide the context eg. ท thor tahaan (soldier) is a patriotic chap likes to stand next to ธ thor thong (flag), next to him is… etc.. it’s all silly stuff but through the story I could remember.

The tone rules were difficult too at first but I found similar ways to link them together as an aide to my memory. Applying them while reading was a slow progress too but over time it becomes more natural.

What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?

I don’t really think I’ve had any big ‘ah hah’ moments, just a gradual progression. I remember a “ขายยา” sign outside a pharmacy was probably the first multi-word sign that I read in the wild. Being able to do that put a smile on my face. Getting through the Ministry of Education’s Thai Language Competency Exam was a milestone too.

I do find that I go through a cycles of optimism and then pessimism about my studies and abilities. Usually the pessimism arises if I try to push myself too hard, eg. reading about a specialised topic when I know very little of the vocabulary. Documents about religious or royal subjects can easily do this. I think it’s important to understand your limits and not push yourself too hard.

How do you learn languages?

For the first month or two I was very quiet and said little at school. I would learn vocabulary and language patterns but didn’t start speaking much Thai until I had more vocabulary (and confidence). I saw no benefit in speaking in the classroom unless it was mostly in Thai.

For the first six months I kept a notebook on me and wrote down new vocabulary, at first it would only be words I saw frequently as there were so many words I didn’t know. The notebook was later replaced by a smart phone flashcard application which I found more convenient and sometimes quicker (eg. the ability to take a photo of an advert, sign etc).

Most of my time at home was spent reading reference and course materials. This was very intensive, sometimes up to 10 hours a day. I’d often have the TV or radio on in the background for a few hours too just to let the sounds sink in, regardless of whether I understand or not.

As my reading ability grew I started buying Thai books and reading Thai websites. I’ve found modern poetry to be a fun way to learn as it often evokes an emotional reaction and therefore (for me at least) makes it easier to remember the vocabulary. Contemporary poems are also often quite short – perfect for a quick read on the skytrain.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

My enthusiasm for learning is probably my greatest strength. Weaknesses? Vocabulary retention especially those with irregular spellings such as loanwords.

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

That learning to read/write is too difficult or not necessary. Yes, it takes a long time and regular practice but it’s not too difficult. The benefits from being able to read are immense.

Can you make your way around any other languages?

Not now – I did learn some French and German at secondary school but they were the lowest-graded subjects of my school exams. Languages just weren’t important to me at that time.

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

No, one’s enough!

Are you a computer programmer, or do you have programming experience? Do you have a passion for music and/or do you play an instrument?

Computers and music are both very much intertwined for me. I started learning to program computers when I was very young, perhaps eight or nine years old. Over the years I’ve learned a range of computer languages (C, java, python, PHP, and even some SPARC assembly). In my opinion though they’ve nothing in common with human languages.

During my early teens I learned the piano and continued learning music through to university, studying both classical music and music technology. After graduation I worked for the university’s IT department while starting a PhD researching user interface design for music software but quit that to develop the IT career that I’ve now left behind for language studies.

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

Persist.

Mark Hollow,
Twitter: @hmmbug

The Series: Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

My personal thanks for this series goes to: Mark Hollow, Marc Spiegel, Adam Bradshaw, Fabian Blandford, Luke Cassady-Dorion, Nils Bastedo, Grace Robinson, 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, 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.

Jeff Netto’s Thai Challenge…

Jeff is a serious language learner. If you remember, he started his Thai language challenge with ziltch Thai. Nada. In addition to the 6 week challenge Jeff set himself 19 months to learn as much Thai as he can. Reason? A friend is learning Thai too, only in Thailand.

I’ve seen other language challenges but I’ve never seen the likes of what Jeff got up to. During the challenge, Jeff studied four hours a day, six hours a day, ten hours a day even. Impressive.

And Jeff has real excuses to avoid studying (I have a handful of my own). I mean, he works ten hour days, has a young family, yet he still drove himself to study long hours.

Jeff didn’t stop at learning Thai either. Alongside Thai, Jeff concentrated on Serbian, Xhosa and Spanish. Again, impressive.

How did Jeff manage? During the day he grabbed opportunities where he could and after work he studied long after his household was asleep. Given the choice of sleeping or studying languages, Jeff chose languages.

This, my friends, is a man with a serious language passion.

Interview with inspirational polyglot Jeff Netto…

Understandably, Jeff is still busy concentrating on his Thai challenge so instead of my usual long list of questions I’ve kept the interview to the bare minimum.

Jeff, what is your mother tongue?

(Brazilian) Portuguese.

When did your passion for learning languages develop?

Well, it started when I was a kid learning martial arts, Japanese was the first language I ventured on at age 14. Almost at the same time I started to have English classes at school as part of the Brazilian Public School’s Curriculum. Later on came French (age 17) influenced by a couple friends who were engaged in a government project for foreign languages training.

But what REALLY took me for a loop was an exercise given by a college professor back in Brazil. The class was “Instrumental English” (aimed at preparing the student to do peer reviews and bibliographical research in the Biology field), and the exercise was basically to interpret texts in different languages by using visual or cognate material in the text itself, no dictionaries or any other aid material.

Each week she brought a different text: Spanish, Italian, Japanese… those three didn’t really offer many difficulties, but when she finally brought the text in German everything changed!

I remember it was a Mickey Mouse comics page, and I could only give the meaning of three words out of the whole story! I can’t express the frustration I felt…

I remember ditching the second block of classes and going straight to the university library. I pulled out a German dictionary and a German grammar book and started to translate the little story. Well, as you know, dictionaries don’t list conjugated or declined (case) words, so I decided to appeal to the Internet.

As soon as I typed “German Grammar” on Altavista (yeah, I know it is old…) I came across the website: “travlang.com/Languages” (that is actually still active) which offered the basics for about 70 different languages with links to support material. And then the rest you already know… chain reaction! German, Russian, Korean, Hebrew, Swahili, you name it!

This happened in 2000, and I haven’t stopped since.

You mentioned the importance of changing out activities, to not overdo. Could you please explain further?

When you decide to study a language you need to make sure that you have a balance between the main skills of a language: writing, reading, listening and speaking. Otherwise you may have a counterproductive effect, which actually happened to me after the last day of the challenge. I studied over 24 hours of Thai straight, so even with changing methods my brain got sick of it! I couldn’t touch a Thai book for nearly a month.

I have to admit that it was quite embarrassing, but it does serve as an example to others who are considering a similar challenge whereas they put an excessive amount of study hours in one single language!

Which Shadowing method are you using?

:) It is hard to define which type I followed, I definitely didn’t walk back-and-forth in a park reciting Thai out loud! I don’t think I would EVER do that. What I call shadowing, is in essence the very same thing others do: listen to audio files repeating out loud the expression while trying to get as close as possible from the native pronunciation (like the guy from Pimsleur always says…).

But beyond that I modify the sentences to fit my goals. It is quite effective when you are doing some sort of manual labor which requires mechanical movements, because you can let your mind run free while your arms and legs operate on “auto-pilot”.

Now that it’s over, what are your overall thoughts on your six week Thai challenge?

It was amazing, and I intend to participate in many others! Probably with different languages, but I’ll definitely keep going with Thai.

The Challenge gave a different taste to the tedious study process, which can be extremely motivating at times.

How will your 19 month Thai challenge be planned out?

Well, taking into consideration that I need to juggle 17 college credits and off-record language study at the same time, I’m still studying the possibilities. But I intend to find a steady study-buddy and keep on until life intervenes. :)

What are your suggestions for language learners aiming to emulate your studies?

There are a couple guidelines that I think would give learners some leverage:

1. Find a concrete interest to support your language study. Be it to impress that one girl in French class or read the Old Testament in Hebrew, it doesn’t matter what the interest is, as long as it exists;
2. Find out how you learn things (wikipedia: Learning Styles), your study time will be most effective if you know how information sticks to your brain!
3. (in case you are not living in the country where the languages is spoken) Immerse yourself as much as you can. Music, TV, radio, any and everything you can find in that language;
4. Be humble about it! If you can’t understand after reading three times, ask somebody with experience. At the end of the day you’ll need to interact anyway, right?!
5. NEVER, EVER let obstacles or other people’s comments demotivate you! You can do it! No matter what it is, you can do it!

Jeff Netto,
twitter: JNatAlkhimia
YouTube: JNatAlkhimia
Blog: The Thai Challenge

Jeff Netto’s impressive Thai language learning timeline on twitter…

I followed Jeff’s tweets from the beginning. And from the start of the 6 week challenge Jeff stayed at the top of the pack.

But what really interested me was his pattern of study and how he switched out the focus. He’d write for a bit, watch a video on YouTube, study vocabulary, and then perhaps get back to writing.

And if Stu Jay Raj had a twitter challenge timeline I imagine it’d look similar. I’ll ask.

Because I was curious, I kept a rolling record of Jeff’s progress. I’ve tidied it up a bit so you can get some language learning inspiration too.

Pdf download: Jeff’s Twitter Thai Challenge

NOTE: As mentioned, in addition to Thai Jeff was studying other languages but I only kept the Thai tweets.

The Thai language learning community comes out in support…

Many in the Thai language community followed Jeff’s progress. I was chuffed to hear that the top three Thai language products were so generous in their support of his Thai challenge.

Learn Thai Podcast was on Jeff’s twitter timeline from the very beginning. And when LTP discovered Jeff’s passion for language learning, Jo and Jay gifted him with the entire LTP package. Fantastic.

Jeff started with Rosetta Stone but when he played around with a free version of L-lingo, Rosetta Stone was out and L-lingo was in. And also watching his progress were the good folks at L-lingo who graciously gave Jeff their software version.

Benjawan Becker from Paiboon Publishing was also curious about Jeff’s Thai challenge. Always one to support avid students of Thai, Benjawan sent her entire collection of learning Thai CD’s.

Jeff is plugging away at another language challenge so when he comes up for air I’ll ask for a brief review of Learn Thai Podcast, L-lingo, and the Thai language CD’s at Paiboon Publishing.

Interview: Terry Clayton is getting by in Thai…

Name: Terry Clayton
Nationality: Canadian
Age range: 59
Sex: Male
Location: Udon Thani
Profession: Science Writer / Teacher / Farmer
Web: Red Plough

Getting by in Thai…

What is your Thai level? Intermediate / Intermediate + / Intermediate ++

Speaking: probably lower intermediate. Listening: Beginner. Pathetic given how long I’ve lived here.

What percentage of conversational Thai do you understand?

Depends on the topic. Simple day-to-day conversations, as much as 80 to 100 percent. More complicated topics like politics, economics, social issues, my comprehension drops to near zero. Mind you, that’s true in English as well.

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

I’m a street Thai speaker. I’ve embarrassed myself trying to speak Thai in meetings. At home, my wife and I have our own unique patois of English/Thai/Isan.

What were your reasons for learning the Thai language?

I’ve been living in Thailand for the last 20 years. I hope to get another 20. I don’t have much in common with the expats where I live (Isan) and much prefer to interact with Thais. Isan would be the logical choice but for business it’s got to be Thai.

When did you become a student of the Thai language?

The day I landed in January 1989.

How much time do you currently spend learning Thai?

I do spurts of on and off. Now I’m on an ‘on’ jag. I do a Learn Thai Podcast daily.

Do you stick to a regular study schedule?

I’ve heard of this ‘regular schedule’ thing but like the Higgs Boson it eludes me.

What Thai language learning methods are you using (resources needed)?

I like the Learn Thai Podcast, Rosetta Stone and Courage software. LTP I like the way they break down a sample of real spoken Thai. Rosetta Stone I like the way I can alter the lesson so I can repeat the same lessons but different ways. Courage for the same reason.

Does one method stand out over all others?

Don’t think so. What does not work is traditional classroom teaching.

Have you started reading and writing Thai yet?

Yes! Should have done that from day 1. Reading is fantastic because a) there are things to read just about everywhere you go (signage, billboards, menus, etc.) and b) you see the language as it should be spoke proper.

If so, do you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

Learning the alphabet was tedious but there is no shortcut there. After that, it’s not particularly difficulty. It’s pretty much completely phonetic so that helps.

How long did it take you to pluck up the courage to actually try using your Thai skills?

None at all. I’m immune to embarrassment.

How soon was it before you could make yourself understood in Thai (even just a little bit)?

It depends on who I’m talking to. I’ve got a half dozen amusing stories (I think they’re amusing) about speaking to Thai’s in Thai, knowing that I’ve said something intelligible because that utterance has been understood before, and having my interlocutor say to me “No speak English” and run off to get a friend to rescue them. It’s my biggest frustration.

What are your most embarrassing moments when speaking Thai?

“Embarrassing” moments usually turn into a good laugh and my most memorable lessons. How I learned the expression “up to you” really was funny. Later.

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

That’s it’s difficult. That they can’t master the tones.

What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?

A friend of mine mapped out negation for me in a simple grid. Ah ha.

How do you learn languages?

In the beginning, I mimic sounds. I’m very good at it. I can speak phrases and not know which sounds are words. I can learn to say something like, “A bottle of water please” and people will “You speak (fill in the blank) very well!”. The downside is people assume I am more fluent that I really am.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Strengths: immune to embarrassment; ability to mimic sounds; Weakness: lack of self-discipline.

Can you make your way around any other languages?

Not now, but in the past I’ve mastered basic Spanish, Russian and enough Khmer to supervise a team of movers.

Has learning Thai affected your knowledge of the other languages you speak?

Not particularly.

How many foreign languages have you attempted to use (while abroad, or talking to native speakers of the language at home, even armed with a phrase book)?

As above: Spanish, Russian, Khmer.

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

No.

Do you currently live in Thailand, or have you ever lived in Thailand? If so, how long for?

Since 1989.

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

No.

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

No.

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

Stop telling yourself that learning Thai is difficult. Stop telling yourself you can’t learn Thai. Listen to the sound of the language. It took me a week to master the ‘ng’ sound. But I got it.

What is your Thai language study plan for the next six months? The next year?

Work through Learn Thai Podcasts; redo Rosetta Stone lessons (again); install an older version of Windows on one of my laptops so I can run Courage; get the prescribed textbooks for Thai language used in the school system and start working through those.

And the clincher: Do you agree to report back with your progress in six months?

Absolutely. 



Terry Clayton
Red Plough

Getting by in Thai…

Thank you Terry, Dan, Tod, Snap, Talen and Greg. And for others out there – if you’d like be involved in the Getting by in Thai series, contact me. And please remember the clincher: the idea for the series is interview those getting by as well as regenerate an interest in learning Thai.

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

Name: Marc Spiegel
Nationality: American
Sex: Male
Location: Bangkok
Profession: Management
Website: Linkedin:marcspiegel

What is your Thai level?

Intermediate.

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

Professional Thai.

What were your reasons for learning Thai?

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.

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

September 2008.

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

I studied approximately 600 hours (reading, writing and speaking).

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

I studied 4 hours per day, 5 days per week.

Did you stick to a regular study schedule?

Yes

What Thai language learning methods did you try?

I studied at Baan Aksorn.

How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?

Immediately.

Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

Reading was not so difficult to learn once you master the alphabet, but writing is another story, especially when it comes to tone marks.

How do you learn languages?

I’ve always learned languages by studying in school and then reinforcing and expanding my capabilities through practice and use.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I have a natural knack for languages; however, as I am not the most patient person I am sometimes challenged by the speed in which I become conversant in a foreign language. I have a tendency to try and move too fast sometimes.

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

Thinking you can get by learning transliteration. Of course you can learn the language, and I do have friends who are fluent; however, their pronunciation is quite poor and there are many instances where Thai people do not understand what they are saying until they hear most of the conversation and can understand the topic they are trying to speak about. In order to truly master Thai I strongly believe you must learn to read Thai properly.

Can you make your way around any other languages?

I speak French proficiently (business vocabulary as well), and I know some German, Italian and Spanish.

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

No.

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

No.

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

I have always had a passion for music and I did play the drums for a short period of my life.

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

Stick with it! It’s difficult in the beginning, but the more you practice and use the language the easier it gets.

Marc Spiegel,
Linkedin:marcspiegel

The Series: Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

My personal thanks for this series goes to: Marc Spiegel, Adam Bradshaw, Fabian Blandford, Luke Cassady-Dorion, Nils Bastedo, Grace Robinson, 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, 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.

Enjoy…