Learning Thai Language: One Student's Experience - Lessons Learned and Tips for Success 

Hi Tony! Great job by making the effort to learn to speak and write in Thai. Unfortunately, there are many expats in Thailand who have lived there for over 10 years who cannot speak Thai. As a guest in a foreign country, it is incumbent on the visitor to learn Thai rather than expecting the locals to speak his/her native language such as English. By having a basic knowledge of Thai, this will open many opportunities for you with the Thai community. I look forward to hearing your speak Thai more often in your videos! Btw…I am Thai-American who is fluent in English and Thai.

Haha found it. Your channel is awesome!!

Great info, as always! My adventure is on the works. Passport expired during COVID, so that is gonna slow me down. Thanks!

Great information. Thank you for the shout-out! Dan

Invaluable. Thanks mate

Thank you!

Excellent advice. Thank you. I'm really excited to hopefully take Thai classes in-person in Chiang Mai. I appreciate that you are sharing your experience.

Good job... keep on keepin' on

Thanks for the insight on learning Thai, we are planning to attend the school you go to after we move their this summer. Being that learning Thai is important, which I agree, maybe after each video you could share a language tidbit or word of the day?

Thank you for the tips.

Great advice. Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m retiring in two years and planning to move to Thailand. I enjoy learning languages and I’ve been wondering about the best approach to learning time. Your suggestions are very helpful.

Hi Tony! Great info. I knew there were variations in Thai in the North but didn't know many of the things that you shared. Love the videos. I'm planning to visit near Chiang Mai on April on a short trip and will be lodging near Thapae Gate and your videos are going to be very helpful when I travel there. Great job!

Wow you can write Thai , that impressing !

Very sound advice, especially regarding reading. Transliteration just confuses people.

Lanna Language School, CNX Dan's School 🤯🤯🤯 👍👍👍

I'll add a language tip... to become fluent in French, I'd spend an hour every day literally talking out loud to myself, making up one silly sentence after another. I'd do it during "down time" like driving or taking a shower, so easy to fit into a day. I'd be driving and see a guy walking his dog, so I'd try to say, "There is a man. He has a dog. The dog is brown. Do I want a dog? No, I want a bird." And so on. That helped me to speak so well, rather than just practicing words and memorization. I have a question for you. I found TSL online as it seems to be the major CM school, and was thinking of going there for my next extended stay in CM. Did you check it out, and what made Lanna better? Thanks! Continued best wishes.

So... Patya.... another word you din't learn yet in Thailand, since it is Pattaya! PA TA YA!

Great video, Tony, really useful information. It inspires me to add some thoughts of my own that may be of interest - or not. Other knowledgeable people may add or correct if I'm missing something or am wrong. You mentioned 3 variations of the language, there are more. They are truly different languages, not just dialects. The 'official' Thai language is the language of the central region and is spoken throughout the country. Lanna thai is the language of the north, my wife speaks it with her friends and elders but she says that it's no longer used much by younger generations. The language of Isaan is Lao, by is also influenced by Khmer in the southern areas if Isaan bordering Cambodia. I'm told that southwest 'tail' of Thailand also has its own language. You mentioned 'maa' as the commonly used word for dog, as opposed to the formal 'soonak'. Yes, when spoken with rising tone. Horse when spoken with high tone. Three other things (that I don't know) when spoken with low, middle, or falling tone. There are numerous other Thai 'words' that have multiple meanings depending on the tone with which they are spoken. Tone is, I think, perhaps the trickiest part of learning and speaking Thai for westerners and others whose native language is, like English, not a tonal language. Tonality also supports your argument that learning to read and write Thai is an essential part of learning the language. The Thai alphabet has many more consonants and vowels than the Roman (aka Latin) alphabet used by the English, western European, and some other languages. Thai has multiple symbols (letters) for the same 'sound' so as to indicate the tone to be used, and also symbols that indicate tone only. Some symbols are written above or below the other symbols. Also, written Thai does not have punctuation marks, and does not leave a space between words or sentences, making it difficult to parse the text. There are more 'tricks' to the language, but I've probably written too much already. Maybe others can add , or perhaps you may want make some follow-up videos sharing more the interesting details you've learned about the Thai language.

I am trying to learn Thai at Pro Language School in Niman. I have had 2 months of lessons so far. I did it for the 1 year Education visa. TONES, time oh boy...Thanks for the warning about being tested at the immigration office. I thought immigration officers randomly came to view the lessons.

In Phuket most Thai's don't wear helmets (90%) farangs (50%) wear a helmet if the police stop you it's a 400 baht payment, also make sure you have an international licence (UK 🇬🇧 or European licence not accepted) it's a 1000 baht fine on the spot.😅

Does italki qualify for an ED Visa if you document 15 hours a week?

Are you really learning Nothern Thai? Seems like an odd choice since everyone in Thailand, including in Chiang Mai, learns central thai and speaks it fluently and then in some areas they'll also have their local dialect like you mentioned. So if you learn central thai you can communicate with anyone throughout the country but if you learn Northern Thai you can only communicate with people in the North.

Transliteration creates so much confusion. I’m splitting time between Chiang mai and Udon Thani. Hopefully they’re not so different if I start online with Lana it won’t be a waste in communicating with the Issan folks. They are very unique in pronunciation and the words they use.