Women Learning Thai… and some men too ;-)

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More free Thai learning resources… There are several ways of getting around Learning Thai the Easy Way. One is via their sidebar nav. And there is an additional way, their Free Thai Resources page. I don’t believe it gets you into everything on their site, but does make it easy to skim for free subject [...]

This Thai learning Thai… Unfortunately there was no mystical transference or osmosis of language from mother to womb. So I am an American born woman who is ironically half Thai and half Chinese. Ironically because my ethnic makeup is very Thai, something I learned when I moved here as an adult. There are many Thai-Chinese [...]

Considerations for Thai phrase book apps on your iPhone… Choosing a Thai language phrase book for your iPhone is similar to choosing a hardcopy Thai language phrase book. But not quite. For instance: If you aim to go clubbing, the higher Apple ratings may be a draw; if you are not technically savvy, a help [...]

Is the Thai language easy to learn?… The Thai language is immensely different to most western languages. As a high context tonal language, with its own alphabet consisting of 44 consonants and 36 vowels, studying Thai can be enough to make your head spin to the point of explosion. Add the fact that the language [...]

“Mai pen rai” means “no problem” or “no worries”… All languages are pointers to understanding the culture of a country or nation, and the Thai language is an excellent example of this. However, it is important to understand that an awareness of the culture, is also essential in understanding how to interpret the language. The [...]

The Quick and Dirty Guide to Learning Languages Fast… A little over a week after launching Women Learn Thai, I wrote my first book review: The Quick and Dirty Guide to Learning Languages Fast. But I didn’t just review A. G. Hawke’s book, I followed his instructions (up to a point). Getting help from my [...]

Thai resources on Google Books… As what usually happens when blogging, one subject leads to another. For instance, this week I posted about Mary Haas Thai-English Student’s Dictionary in Bangkok. And then, after a suggestion made in the comments (thanks Aksara Anwa Akson Thai), I was led to create a post on Thai learning resources [...]

Even more Thai phrase books… When I went on my Thai phrase book buying spree, several that were not quite right got caught up in the effort. And instead of ignoring their contribution, I decided to include them here. Bua Luang Phrase HandBook Author: Samorn Chaiyana Publisher: Bua Luang Pub. Co. Date: 2003 Third Edition [...]

The guts of a phrase book… Before embarking on this review, I held preconceived notions of what to expect from phrase books: handy phrases, brief dictionary, small in size, an easy to skim layout and design. After the books started arriving (thanks Danny!) a serious rethink came into play. I now know that most Thai [...]

Yeah! You are on your way to Thailand!… You purchased a Thai language phrase book, shoved it into the bottom of your backpack or luggage, and off you went to Thailand. So wrong. In Traveling with Thai Phrase Books, I learned a simple lesson, which is: you get out of phrase books what you put [...]

Learning Thai family style… When living in Bangkok I tried. I tried hard – I bought the books, hired a tutor, and befriended many Thais for conversation. But I just couldn’t get the language. And with Bangkok having so many English speakers of varying degrees and my rudimentary Thai, plus body language, I was able [...]

FREE Thai language learning resources… For months I’ve been promising to clean up Women Learning Thai’s messy Learning Thai resources. After mulling it over, I’ve gone whole hog with FREE. Note: The updated resources are here: Learn Thai for FREE Free online Thai courses… FSI Thai Basic Course Thai language course developed by the Foreign [...]

Back, back, back to kinder… Going back to kindergarten. Hmmm. But, if that’s what it takes to read Thai, then so be it. Thai is a tonal language, so being able to listen while you read is especially important for those clinging to training wheels (like me). And (I hear) even for intermediate readers. Some [...]

So let the language learning games begin… I ended My Thai Language Experience with… I know there has to be an easier way to learn Thai. I just have to find it. Or, design a program to suit how I learn. No. I’m not ignoring the amount of hard work it will take to learn [...]