I’m an artist. I’ve always been an artist ever since I can remember. Four years old? Mainly, because it clicked with me.

I didn’t understand how to explain it until I read ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’. And there it was. Its’ the click.

Some people click with art, some with maths, some with languages.

Much rarer are those who can explain the click. The ‘ah ha’s.

And I do have a mental block when it comes to languages. I dance around, but I haven’t gotten over that fear yet (not sure what to call it).

I believe I’m not alone in this.

And it’s not like I’m painfully shy anymore (as was part of my problem in France). Or (ditto) that the locals don’t do what they can to make it a pleasant experience (I know of no other country where learning a language is so fun).

Motivation. Yes. It’s the little things about motivation actually. Deciding what learning method to go for. Then sticking to it. Making a learning schedule. And keeping to it.

‘help them find that next sentence that will build on what they know as it relates to their situation’

I have a great interest in acquiring sentences that work for me. I get frustrated when I’m given sentences (such as with AUA), then told that I’ll never use them because they are obsolete. That they are there purely to teach rhythm, etc…

So please, bring on the methods. And the clicks!

I know your joking, but its that mindset that keeps you from believing you can do it. I’m not special or some super-genius, its partially time..partially method and mostly being consistent. If you do anything long enough, you will get kinda good at it.

Grammar complicates things. You aren’t thinking about subjects are tenses when you are speaking in your language and neither is your teacher when they are explaining theirs. So just stop. If thats all your teacher does…get a new one. The biggest problem people have is motivation and thats where I’m trying to come in – as a type of guide. I try to keep people pointed in the right direction and help them find that next sentence that will build on what they know as it relates to their situation. Random information you have no need for in the near future. Anyone can do what I did with the right guidance and though I don’t like saying it, I’m sure there are loads of people who can do it better if they just went about it the right way. Its methods of study that I found via numerous trials and plenty of errors. Anyone can do it – even you.

And I do have a Thai teacher, but sometimes I feel she’s wrapping the answers in too much cotton wool. Making them way more complicated than they should be.

Don’t get me wrong, she’s great. But it took me a long while (and many baht) to realise that I learn Thai a totally different way than it’s being taught.

I’m surprised that you can’t teach Japanese here as it’s such a big push in Thailand. Well, in BKK anyway. There’s a school just across the main street from me (but I don’t know how active they are or if it’s even financially feasible to teach there).

‘with no formal or informal study’… I came across that earlier. Impressive. It also had me scrambling for the online version of The Fundamentals of the Thai Language.

Yeah, like I’m going to suddenly take on the brain cells of a polyglot? Not likely, but I’m aiming to follow the best I can.

I’ve spent about 2 years each of p/t classroom study with Chinese and Japanese, 2+ years of private Korean lessons and 5+ years of living in Thailand with no formal or informal study and the only one anyone will pay me to teach them is Thai.

I can teach the alphabet in 5-6 sessions over 2 weeks or less and they can start reading the supposedly “Advanced” level books within 2 months of practice. Its not hard at all. The problem is that the options for Thai just plain suck.

I’m at the opposite end… the beginning stages of learning Thai. Being accountable is my main push, but I have hopes that jotting it all down while it’s fresh would help someone besides myself.

Your phrases are similar to what Hawke suggests for those learning a foreign language. Only, as he doesn’t know Thai, there are redundancies.

You need to know the equivalent of these phrases before you can begin to do anything else in any language. Even as I work on this, I’m surprised and disappointed at which ones I can’t say in Chinese, Korean or Japanese, but at the same time, most stuff like this just isn’t laid out right (if at all) in textbooks and it really should be.

I translated suggested phrases from the Quick and Dirty Guide to Learning Languages Fast (Hawke) but I’ve yet to put them into a format I can use. Time…