Is learning Thai easy or difficult? I have been here 2 years and I am still not sure. Some people tell me it should be easy and when they give me the reasons I agree. No tenses, fewer grammar rules and less vocabulary to learn. I am also an intermediate level French speaker so I know I can learn languages. So why cant I speak at least a decent level of Thai after being here for so long?
No Singing Voice
The tonal nature of Thai means you have to constantly change the sound and pitch of your voice. I think there is a link back to your ability to sing. Anyone who has heard me sing would say that I’m awful at it. My voice only works with one tone and if I try to find a different tone it cracks.
This is why I cant make the correct tones and Thai people don’t understand me. To be honest I can make the tones but the problem comes when I need to make whole sentences, not just say a word. The ability to quickly and fluently change tones is seemingly beyond me.
I know others who have this same issue, maybe we need to hit singing school before starting Thai lessons.
Tinglish
Over 2 years I have managed to survive and battle through conversations using Tinglish ( a mixture of Thai and English ). I have forced Thai people to try understand and use English with me where they can. I realize this is unfair but it seems most people will at least try. From taxi drivers to shop assistants I am guilty of doing this every day.
I have fallen into the trap of feeling this is acceptable and know certain situations where I can get away doing this. Any situation where I can use words like “Ok” I will jump straight to it. This sort of communication has meant I feel like I don’t need to bother learning real Thai as I seem to get by well enough.
Lack of Motivation
Learning a language requires motivation. You cant go into it at 50%. You need a goal, a time frame and a way of measuring yourself. I arrived here all starry-eyed, wanting to be the perfect expat and be able to have fluent conversations in Thai within a year.
In the first few months all my friends were English speakers and apart from being able to give directions to a taxi driver I didn’t really learn much Thai. Working at a Thai high school the students taught me Thai words, but only little phrases and often just rude things they wanted to hear me say!
Then I met my girlfriend who speaks a very high level of English. A year in America and lots of extra practice means that she is fluent. She even dealt and translated all the legal papers when I bought my condo. She is too nice and helps me out whenever I need Thai translation. Because of this whenever we are out she looks after the talking.
I also feel it is possible to live here without speaking any Thai. Thailand is very popular with tourists and if you live in a big city or tourist destination then you will find English speakers everywhere.
How Can You Avoid My Mistakes?
I guess the main point I am making is to try start learning as soon as possible. I think I am in a position now where I lack real motivation. Despite several promises to start learning again I never quite make it.
Try and have a time related goal. This will mean you can try reach a level or achieve something meaningful. For example if you have a Thai partner try aim to have one day a week where you only speak Thai. If you work in a school try and have a full conversation in Thai with a colleague over lunch. It’s these little things that will give you the continued motivation to keep learning.
Update December 2015
I have been using the website ThaiPod101 for the last couple of months and have seen my Thai improve. They have audio lessons as well as vocab lists to help you. The sentences are explained in Thai and English and cover a large variety of real life situations.
The lessons are only about 10-15 minutes each and range from absolute beginner through to advanced levels. They always seem to have a sale on too which means you can get access to the course from around $5 a month.
Let us know about your Thai learning experiences, is learning Thai easy or difficult?
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