I realize that while I have created a number of resources here, much of it isn’t very useful for a beginner that doesn’t know where to begin. So I’m offering myself to you, dear readers.
Reading is ez! It takes most people about 2 weeks* to go through the alphabet and all the tone rules, however, it will take a bit of regular practice before you are able to fully master/internalize everything. From there we start reading the Wimpy kid books. We start easy with captions and go back and forth with that while drilling essential phrases until you can handle longer passages. Then I keep feeding you useful language bits while you keep reading and working out the class/tone rules until you no longer need to think about them. I supply you with flashcards with audio for everything so you can review it.
*Individual results may vary. My system was developed over a period of about 10 years and in the last 5 years or so of teaching Thai privately, it generally took 6 hours of 1 on 1 lessons to cover all the material that you can now find in my online course. The time it takes someone to complete the 50 or so lessons in the online course will likely take you somewhere in the vicinity of 10-20 hours including review time.
Once you are ready for longer passages, we jump around in the Wimpy Kid books with you reading while I create flashcards for the more useful phrases and tell you what things mean. After you have a decent vocab and have begun to figure out how the language works, you can go off on your own or you can cut back your time spent with me and we can go through the whole book together.
It works slightly better in person because the internet in Thailand isn’t what I would call reliable, but via the magic of skype or google voice/vid chat distance really isn’t much of an obstacle.
Key Points/Strategies in my Method –
- No Textbooks
- No Phonetics/Transliteration
- Only Authentic Material that is Interesting (Wimpy Kid books!)
- SRS Flashcards (So you can’t forget)
- No Word Lists
- Fun Super-Useful Phrases (ie – 100 sentence project)
- No Pressure
- More Bang for your Baht
I am interested in learning Thai with you. I am currently at about a low intermediate level and can read and write a little. How much are private lessons?
I’ve been in Bangkok for a week now. Everyone that told me I could easily navigate the city without the use of Thai lied to me. I’ll be here for another 3 weeks and would love to learn as much as I can in that time. I have below basic understanding of the alphabet and I can say enough to get me into serious trouble. Care to offer any assistance?