This article was originally posted on WomenLearnThai.com.
WLT’s 2016 Thai Language Giveaway…
Welcome to week FOUR of WLT’s seven weeks of Thai language giveaways! To catch up with the series please read Vote THAI and WIN! | SEVEN Weeks of FREE Thai Giveaways.
Jiab and Tom: Learn Thai Style…
This week Jiab and Tom from Learn Thai Style are giving away FOUR Speak Thai Courses (includes a pre-release version of Speak Thai Course with Thai script only – no transliteration).
The winners will receive lifetime access to structured worksheets, audio, video, quizzes, self study materials, learn Thai blog access, all future updates as well as access to over 900 trained teachers (UK, USA, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Skype).
NOTE: The prize covers the course materials only (time with individual teachers is not included).
Angela (Udon Thani): “The curriculum is well structured, with a good mix of vocabulary, teaching of principles, and practice. The homework is very helpful especially the listening portion. The audio and video supplements online are very good and helpful. I like the tone table and the consistency of it throughout so that you continuously are getting a grasp on the difficult task of tones. The videos are especially helpful in providing a visual and the mouth and throat diagrams are great.”
Bob (Brighton): “I have to admit to starting this course with some trepidation. I knew only a couple of words and probably mispronounced those! The tonal sounds worried me and that’s just for starters! My target was to be able to have a basic conversation and have some understanding of the structures, so that I can string together some basic sentences. Eventually, I hope to make a start on reading and writing – some time away from now, though! I have just completed chapter 6 of the first course and it all going the way I hoped. The material is jam-packed with information. The homework is great especially the audio/ listening section.”
Web: Thai Style Language Co. Ltd.
Facebook: LearnThaiStyle
Twitter: LearnThaiStyle
YouTube: ThaiStyleLanguage
Google+: Learnthaistyle
Rules for WLTs Thai Language Giveaway…
The rules are simple:
- To be included in the draw, leave comments below.
- Comment(s) need to add to the conversation (it really does matter).
- Each relevant comment gets counted, so please leave as many as you like!
- If you don’t collect your prize within a week of the announcement, it will be given away to the next person in line.
Jiab and Tom will choose the winners, so not worries, you can still win if we are best buds or worse. And it doesn’t matter if you’ve won before either, you can keep entering to win.
The draw will run from now until 19 June (Sunday), 6pm Thai time. After the winners have been selected a comment will be put below and I’ll create a dedicated post as well.
Thank you Jiab and Tom for sponsoring WLT’s eight year celebration!
Congrats!!! 2016 WINNERS: Learn Thai Style
gaelee, yes, books are wrapped but no reason to be shy. I can ask everywhere if someone can open for me the plastic cover, and it is always allright. If there is nobody to ask for, I don’t hesitate to open, slowly, carefully – and I don’t always try to put the book back in the transparent glove. It it better to let at least one book unsealed… What I don’t understand is some people looking at the book, read an bit and buy this very one, but not a proper sealed one. I never buy an unsealed one, unless I opened myself the last one on the shelf (sometime I ask if they have in stock, maybe…).
Learning Thai is a long ( long, long…)
term project, requiring many different types of materials. Whether a given course, book, song, newspaper, activity helps us depends on where we are on our journey, and of course, what we do with it. I just say this because I hope people don’t get discouraged if they don’t get where they want to be as fast as they hope.
Any material we use takes an investment of time and possibly money. I very much appreciate having samples available so you know what you are getting.
I almost said I wouldn’t buy a book without looking inside first, but then again, in Thailand books are often wrapped in plastic so no chance to look inside. Alas!
I have to agree with you, Bernard. The new edition with no translit is as great addition to Thai Style’s offerings. I have looked at their samples and like the presentation alot. It is clean and straight to the point.
Another thing I appreciate in the written, aural, and video materials is that they show alternate sentences you may encounter in normal everyday speech. They may give you a five word sentence but then tell you that a Thai might leave out three of the words. That sort of thing is hard to figure out on your own and makes understanding spoken Thai particularly challenging.
OK, I finally decide for entering the draw, at the last minutes…
It is that, I know, I know, Catherine, I have already a lot of ressources. And for now I’m working full steam with the online Learn Thai Podcast Intermediate Course and with Glossika (as a «brain changing» game, like some people use special bit music made for auto-hypnotism – looks like working).
OK, but it isn’t like when I collect objects and pieces of artworks at home. Thai is a different beast as I can use it (vine if it is most of the time with myself ) and put in practice.
So why an another course ?
Well, I already got almost all and every post, PDF, audio… that Khruu Jiab (who created Thai Style course , organisation and teachers network) has posted during the three last years on Thai Style site, on FCLTL Facebook page or on Cathrine’s site Women Learning Thai… (and guys like me can learn too).
In 2014 and 2015, Khruu Jiab did even post few parts of her course, and I discovered she is one of very few teacher who can give clear explanations about how to construct patterns and build sentences.
Thai grammar seems simple, and most of the time schools for foreigners are always telling us that is “so simple”… but in real it is not that easy. Because it is not grammar as we think of in european languages ; it is patterns and so many idiomatic ways to build sentences, differently for different occasions, situations, contexts… so it is something more complex than easy coming.
What I decided me, this morning, to compete for this draw, is that reading the description Catherine wrote about the course, the full course seems to be now in Thai script, and that is something important for me.
Of all the courses I have at home, only the book Everyday Thai for Beginner (by Wiworn Kesavatana-Dohrs) and the online Learn Thai Podcast are in Thai script only (if I don’t count the Thai school books which are of course in thai only). Glossika has IPA transliteration and writes sentences with «spaces» between each words ! All other courses for foreigners always mix Thai with English (which is not my mother tongue) and transliteration, and the thai sentences, usually in small fonts, are difficult to read and lost in the diddle of nowhere. That’s a pity ! And understand that transliteration can help, but must be left as quickly as possible when you study (and better never touch it at all).
As I spent, and continue to spend, time and energy to read and write in Thai, I don’t open anymore books that have transliteration ; it deeply disturbs me – no books has the same transliteration system as another one. So Thai Style only Thai script course could be in fact one of the main resource for me in the future.
Good luck to everyone, and good time at leaning Thai.
I have already gained so much from visiting your website ,”learnthaistyle.com”,
which i discovered after one of your early youtube videos appeared in my search foray for “Thai language” resources. I have watched the complete series on pronunciation ( consonants, vowels, tones and even a little grammar). These are classic videos which i visit as often as I can. The way you have de-constructed each sound , carefully described how one would go about replicating it , and then given specific instructions, is very unique and it really works, especially when many of these sounds need to be learnt in a new way. If your course material is anything like this I am sure you have many learners who are happy to be understood by local Thais. Thats a celebration in itself! You also introduced me to a Thai music site which offered translated lyrics. I have spent many hours listening to Thai music on this site and trying to figure out what all the “rak”ing was about, usually in vane, but nevertheless enjoyed listening and sometimes resorted to the translations. Your site has grown rapidly and is a fantastic concept, truly offering a personal Thai Language learning experience to the globe. Love it! Thanks , I look forward to more.
Anne, I’m like you (but, sure, not for the same reasons ; we are all different each other).
After many years learning Thai, I still can’t mostly understand Thai people and express myself in Thai, even with the knowledge (modest one) I have now of the language.
I have dozens of books, courses, video, audio… that I already red and studied. I had also teachers (in class or private). Went to Thai university in Chiang Mai. All that didn’t help me.
For now, I think that you have nothing to learn in books more than you already learnt. You have to train your ears and brain by listening and your tongue muscles by mimicking, and no course will do that for you.
The only one training that starts to help me – a little more than others – is Glossika, as it is based only on audio.
But anyway, if you don’t decide “really” to overcome your fear of speaking and don’t go to speak to others, you will go no where with your Thai. No need to learn more.
Even if some system as Glossika can help, a good way to do that is to get someone “real”. A Thai of course, with a very minimal knowledge of English, and start session of listening to him/her speaking in Thai about daily life things. Then try yourself to exchange too. Not a teacher, just a “language helper”.
At lest for the ears, you could starts with the very good video from AUA Bangkok (it is free and you have all detail and link on the Catherine web site, the very one we are posting now).
The other perspective is to decide, a bit like I did, to learn Thai as you could learn Latin or Ancient Greek, just for the pleasure and to maintain your brain in a good mood. I have overcome the fear. Thai is today my main hobby. Perhaps one day, something will open in my brain and I will suddenly start to speak with everyone in Thai… but is it no more a goal. And I don’t believe in miracles.
But pursue learning Thai, always know more words and better how to construct sentences, read books and also write, that’s something I can manage, and be happy with !
If you aren’t happy doing something, stop doing it, and try another thing. Then, perhaps, come back later for a new experience. Happiness is the most important thing.
I am not sure if this course would be able to help me or not. I have tried several others, and found them of little help, and in general a waste of money. I was deterred from ordering this course, when I first looked at it some time ago, by the inclusion of transliteration. Having learned here that it is now available without that distraction, perhaps I should reconsider.
I am able to read Thai, and have a vocabulary of about 3000 words. I have studied Thai grammar from several textbooks. But I understand almost nothing that I hear in Thai, whoever is speaking, and am unable to hold any kind of conversation in Thai. I still order food mostly by pointing, and muttering something in English. I am intensely embarrassed by my poor attempts at expressing my desires, and now am almost unable to overcome my fear of speaking at all. After 3 years in Thailand I am forced to consider moving to an English speaking country because I am so socially isolated by my inability to speak or understand the language . As an elderly single female I do not fit into any of the social categories found among the expat community either.
I would love the opportunity to get the free material. Been struggling to get ahead after the basics and reading and writing. My vocabulary needs a lot of improvement.
I came across this website a while back and I’ve frequented it ever since. As a “self-learning” Thai learner, I’ve found the articles and resources both helpful and encouraging for my Thai learning journey.
I saw this Learn Thai Style give-away and after looking over the course, it seems like a great option for all of us self learners out there who could benefit from having some quality, structured, matrials for our self study.
I was glad to see that this course give-away only includes the Thai script, as this year I’ve been focusing on improving my ability to read and write the Thai script. I realize that if I want to improve my pronunciation and understanding of the language, I need to veer from relying on transliterations and dive into the Thai script.
Good luck everyone!
Hello
First, congrats to Catherine for the good results in the blabla competition and thank you for organising the draw. Thank you also to the sponsors.
I am very impressed by the idea of learnthaistyle.com because they offer a method and teachers in 4 of the 5 continents! Maybe Africa is on the way?
I have reviewed the sample materials on and I love the fact that there is a Thai script edition (a non Thai script edition is also available) : no need to waste time in transliteration .
systems: use Thai script.
As I am living in Switzerland and I hope to be able to be selected and have so the opportunity to book online courses.
I love the fact that you can chose the location of your teacher and the price that each teacher has decided to charge.
I also love the fact that I can, as a male, chose a male teacher. Thai being a tonal language, I dont want to take the risk to pick a girly way of speaking!
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I can only say that if the material offered is anything like the amazingly high standard of articles that I see posted by Joan and Tom on WLT and Facebook groups such as FCLT then whoever wins would be a very lucky person indeed. Not too mention the freely given YouTube videos.
But, of course, some effort and hard work is required too. Even with great material, learning to speak and read Thai won’t come automatically. Enthusiasm helps too. So good material guided by well trained teachers can really be effective in helping your learning process. No one said it would be easy but it’s definitely worth it. Good luck everyone.