This article was originally posted on WomenLearnThai.com.
Speak Read Write Thai…
Blogging about the Thai language can be a lonely business, so when Sean Harley decided to create Speak Read Write Thai to share his extensive knowledge of Thai, I got the grins on.
But as most of you know, with FB, comments get sucked into a bottomless void, never to be seen again (so much for being told that, “everything you post on the internet will always be there to haunt you”).
If you want to preserve information, websites/blogs are the way to go. Not Facebook. And now we have Sean authoring Speak Read Write Thai. Wicked.
Sean: The learning process is very much like a journey, a never-ending one but always a wild adventure filled with surprises at every turn. Along my Thai journey I have scribbled, jotted, and written down everything Thai in trusty notebooks. I invite you along for the ride as I share what I’ve learned about Thai.
Sean decided to focus his site on intermediate and above students of Thai instead of beginner. Makes sense. There’s an excess of resources for beginners, but for intermediate, decent ones are almost non-existent.
Three main subjects are what we get: Thai Language, Thai Culture, and Everything Else Thai. There’s not much online at the moment, but no worries, it’ll grow.
To take advantage of the commenting ease of Facebook, Sean also has a restricted Speak Read Thai FB group. An experienced FB Mod (mum’s the word), Sean keeps a tight control of the membership to make sure comments stay relevant.
The main purpose for having this group is for discussion of the blog posts in Speak Read Write Thai. In-line with the theme of the Speak Read Write Thai blog, this group is for non-beginners only. Absolutely no transliteration will be tolerated.
Only proven serious learners who already know how to read and write Thai and with the ability to contribute in a significant way need apply to join. Kindly note that a majority of our current members will be consulted when considering whether or not to accept a join request so do not take it personally if your application is not accepted.
Note: With everything that’s been going on (creating a new site is a timesucker) Sean has been adding members on SRWThai’s FB group slowly, so don’t be surprised if it takes awhile to get any sort of a reply.
For sharing new posts and other learning Thai resources there’s also @SRWThai on twitter as well.
Important Points for Learning Thai…
For a quick peek into where Sean is coming from read his thoughtful notes on Important Points for Learning Thai. I found them quite enlightening and hope you do as well.
Important Point Number One: Before even thinking about output, serious learners need to get a lot of quality input. One hundred words learned well will always trump one thousand words badly learned and hastily memorized.
Important Point Number Two: We need to understand the culture if we are to understand the language. For example, study what Thais of a similar status to you would say or do in any given situation.
Important Point Number Three: To help you understand why some things are the way they are in the Thai language, study the concept of Thainess. Two important points to consider are 1) being the ideal citizen (even if only superficially) and 2) face.
Important Point Number Four: To understand the face of Thai education, first learn how to crawl (formal Central Thai) before you learn how to walk (casual Thai).
Important Point Number Five: Keeping abreast with groupthink is important (not just what’s popular today, but who you can use it with) because then you’ll be clued into what’s currently a fad in the Thai language.
Important Point Number Six: Loanwords and loan phrases often sound similar, but that does not mean that they will have the exact same essence in Thai. Always be aware that groupthink determines the final outcome.
Important Point Number Seven: Understand that your English ways (accent and grammar) can interfere in the Thai learning process. To head this problem off, spend time studying the porosity of real spoken Thai.
Important Point Number Eight: Try to keep an open mind during this Thai language learning journey. Be prepared to consider surprising and sometimes opposing views.
Speak Read Write Thai…
Website: Speak Read Write Thai
Facebook: Speak Read Write Thai
Twitter: @SRWThai
SRWT’s site design: pixelers
I think I’d like to come to and learn Thai, but I really want to learn how to say phrases like “Muppet Show” (which is airing new episodes on TV right now) and “M&Ms and chocolate.” How long would it take to learn to this intermediate level? It’s worth it if I get to see an old friend again. 🙂
Thanks, Ryan. Not only for a fabulously designed blog but also for your professionalism throughout the design process and even after hand over of the project.
Dan R, so Sanskrit’s on top now, huh? No worries, you’ll get on top of it soon enough. Then you’ll be able to turn up the heat on your Thai studies with an extra burner (Sanskrit).
This is a follow up to my previous comment:
Dear readers of Speak Read Write Thai, the issue with the subscription form has now been resolved and I encourage you all sign up to the blog by following this direct link: http://speakreadwritethai.com/#subscription-section
For my part, I would like to apologize to all of you for the inconvenience caused by this issue. I won’t bore you all with tech speak but in short, it wasn’t an easy bug to fix. Thank you for your patience and enjoy the blog!
In reply to Dan R, there is the option to make both Facebook comments and standard blog comments.
Thanks Sean. I’m busy with Sanskrit at the moment so my Thai studies are gently bubbling at the back of the hob at the moment – they get the occasional stir but not much more than that. Once I get on top of Sanskrit though (that won’t take long, right?), I’ll certainly play closer attention.
Cat, I’ve got so many things to thank you for and you know it! So I’m not gonna try to sound like a broken record here. I lied. Thanks Cat!
Dan, thanks for your support and for caring enough to be the first to send me an e-mail. I’ll never forget that. Whatever platform you’re comfortable with, you’re always welcome in my place.
Gordon, welcome to the group. By shutting out time wasters, I’ll have more time to interact in a meaningful way with members.
Gordon, “You old elitist, you!” Well, it’s not my group but I do get to enjoy it 🙂
Dan, there are comments on both FB and the blog posts, and the FB comments get sucked over to the blog, so nothing is lost. Some people are just more comfortable on FB and others on blogs (I often get more comments about my posts on FB).
Can’t help thinking that it’s a mistake to use Facebook, especially since it seems that the group sits on top of/derives from a blog. Wouldn’t it be easier and more logical just to run comments on each post? I haven’t bothered applying for the group – one major reason for this is that I really dislike using Facebook (though given the entry requirements, my application would probably be pointless anyway). I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels like this. Still, I hope it’s a success for all those involved.
Thanks Cat. I wonder how much sleep I’ll lose wondering what I am missing in this “Secret Group” ? You old elitist, you! lol
Gordon, I don’t think you’ll have a problem getting into the group 🙂 Besides, everyone can read the FB group and learn from it, only nonmembers can’t comment.
Banning is absolutely an option that Sean is sure to use (he’s had plenty of practice, I’m sure).
On FCLT we learned the hard way that to keep the peace (and spammers out) mods need to rotate through 24 hours a day. But with Sean’s method, the mods don’t have to dedicate hours of their time babysitting, like we do. I used to be such a sweet person …
Instead of opening the gates to most everyone, then waiting to see if they’ll mess up, he’s slowing taking on new members (going for quality over quantity). This very same method is used in the secret group Sean mods for and it works.
You are welcome Ryan. I don’t usually link to web designers when reviewing Thai resources but you’d done such a wonderful job I thought you deserved a mention.
Thanks for linking back to us, Cat. And thanks for the useful input along the way.
We loved building this site and we’re sure it’s gonna be a success.
Dan, it could be due to being a FB mod for two years. It does something to a person.
Slightly off-putting T&Cs for the Facebook group but the website looks interesting.