#thai language learning

[zimmbzon]

If you are my Thai teacher this is the shit you have to put up with:

[zimmbzon]

Thai language learning update

Hi, I'm sick again which means it's Tumblr time!

In April last year I wrote words about my Thai language learning journey here, and then @visualtaehyun linked it in answering an ask here, which made me realise that I really need to write an update on what happened next?!?!>!?

I started learning Thai from scratch using the ALG method in November of 2023 after watching Cutie Pie on Viki and being so entranced by details of culture and language play in the subtitles that I just HAD TO KNOW MORE

So I started with this video from Comprehensible Thai's B0 playlist (for absolute beginners).

(actually I started by watching these videos about the ALG method - I was already familiar with how children learn their first languages so I read the video transcripts because I'm way too adhd+millennial to sit through all that talking)

I committed to 3 hours per day (which I managed for quite a while tbh) and moved up through the playlists. I branched out to more ALG style YouTube channels: Understand Thai, Thai Conversation Cafe, Riam Thai and AUR Thai Online. As well as the trusty Comprehensible Thai of course. I absolutely could not maintain 3 hours per day after a while but as you will find out, that didn't really matter that much.

And honestly it was working and it was fun. Like so fun. I just chill, and pay attention (the adds mean I need to add sensory input to coax my dopamines into doing dope shit). But what really stepped it up for me was joining in on ALG style lessons. All of the teachers running the channels listed above provide lessons (Comprehensible Thai is like a gathering place of lots of teachers, but you can also find links to the individual teachers).

The lessons look like this: * I join the video call and I just kinda chill. * The teacher (or teachers) is captivating and funny for the entire hour (or however long the lesson is), constantly adjusting their conversation style so that I can follow along, feel included and learn new shit. * I leave the lesson feeling so fucking refreshed because I had a chill time while the teacher(s) was doing ALL the work

It's like a revolution in adult language learning - at least for me. (Also some of these teachers offer group classes too, but I've only been to a couple because the timing doesn't work for me, they were rad though).

So after 500 hours of input I decided to do something wild and I packed up and went to Thailand for 3 months. GIRL I HAD NEVER BEEN TO ASIA, I had never travelled alone, I had never been anywhere people didn't speak English as the dominant language. I'd been learning Thai for like 10 months.

And I was actually okay. Like for reals I was talking in single word sentences to start with, but I could understand what the people selling me stuff were saying to me. And I reckon one of the reasons I felt so safe was because I could understand enough to get by. It was the best and I had a ball! By the end of the 3 months me and the taxi (Grab) drivers were having full (basic) conversations at like 10pm.

Because the thing about the ALG method is that it sets you up to not be reliant on the teachers or the study materials. Once you get into the swing of ALG you start learning language from everywhere you are exposed to it. Which is how watching Thai TV series has become the main place I get my Thai input (I still do lessons, but I spend more hours watching shows). I also watch Thai geoguessers, listen to podcasts where my fave musicians are being interviewed, and watch some of those Thai variety shows. I still watch/listen to the channels linked above but I kinda do it podcast styles now - listen while I walk or clean my room. If you like spooky stories Understand Thai has a couple of playlists of mysteries to listen to.

So now I reckon I'm at maybe 1000 hours (I stopped counting long ago tbh, so that's a guess. I watch Thai shows without subtitles (I've never used subtitles because I need my brain to understand Thai is it's own language and not an extension of English - and yes brains will get there in time when English (or another language) is used along side Thai, but I didn't want to go through the process of linking Thai to English and then having to break that link later. ALG doesn't use translations because breaking that link can be incredibly hard (like the person you know who still has a very strong accent or makes obvious grammar errors even though they've been speaking the language for 10 years). It can be done, but it's hard - and you might have picked up that I like this method because it is so chill. I don't wanna do hard work in my hobby time.

And I have learnt other languages before using traditional methods and I was good at them - but the moment I was no longer hitting the books, I lost them. But because ALG set me up to keep learning even if I step away from the ALG material or ALG teachers, I a keep on learning, If I take a break from everything Thai, I still retain my understanding when I come back to it.

Also this is what 2000 hours of learning Thai ALG styles looks like. (warning: if you read the comments, do so with a grain of salt - most of those people came from Reddit).

I dunno if you will notice, but the most striking thing about this method (from what Thai people told me / how they reacted) is that the learners talk like Thai people - yeh they make accent errors and grammar mistakes but the word and phrase choices are like that of a Thai conversation. While in Thailand I met foreigners who had studied Thai the traditional way (textbooks) and their grammar and vocabulary blew mine away, like they had knowledge for days. But they didn't sound like the people I talked to on the streets. And honestly I think it just comes down to different priorities. They wanted to learn all the things, I just wanted to chill, watch my shows and chat with strangers.

I still can't read, but I am learning to recognise script and decipher the code. I haven't been taught, it's just sort of happening naturally with my growing understanding.

Anyway I started here in November of 2023, and now I am here. I understand anywhere from 50-90% of what is being said. It's pretty fun. I'm having a good time, and it is a hobby after all, it should be fun.

And that's a big disclaimer: Learn the way that brings you joy! ALG brings me joy, it might not for you. Do what makes you happy.

Oh shit I haven't talked about tones!

So the thing is I don't and have never thought about them. Originally I was terrified of the tones, but the ALG method is clear about not thinking about it and just letting and trusting your brain to understand that tones have meaning all by you brain's-self, WITHOUT explicit teaching, without thinking about it, without memorisation. Brains are good at patterns, so I just stepped back and let my brain do its pattern recognition thing. And I honestly do not think I would have ever learnt a tonal language if I had to do it the traditional way. I find the concept of memorising tones so overwhelming that I start to panic. So no, I have never thought about tones but yes I can hear them and I can say them. No I cannot label the tone for you, but I can tell you when that person says "mai" whether they are talking about a microphone, wood, something new, something burnt, or saying no.

Okay, this was a lot. Hit me up if you want to know more. There is a discord too.

Bye now,

Zimmbs

[zimmbzon]

Studying Thai when suddenly !!! Murder!

[zimmbzon]

I was recently in Thailand for 10 days and a very interesting thing happened to my command of the Thai language while I was there - it got worse.

I mean it's not great to start with, but it's not bad. The first thing people tend to say when I speak Thai is loosely translated to "very clear!" as in my speech clarity is pretty good. I can generally follow what people say to me and they can generally understand me. Or at least they could at the start of the trip. By the end of my holiday people were having a much harder time understanding me than they were at the start.

Thai speech sounds are wide and back in the mouth. My english speaking accent is central, rounded and forward in my mouth. Basically the opposite of Thai. Also while english does also differentiate between long and short vowels, one of the consonants has to change to change the vowel length (think "fat" vs "fad"). In Thai the consonant, vowel and tone combination can be the same, but the length changes and that change the meaning. I was significantly messing these up from around day 5, but I was doing pretty well before that.

Whhyyyyyyyy???

Because the ratio of good Thai (native speakers) versus not-good Thai (me) that I was listening got all messed up. Typically at home I would listen to many hours of native speakers and only talk for a couple of hours per week, if that. So my listening ratio of native speaker : non-native speaker was like 20:1. But in Thailand I was talking more and didn't have time to watch my shows so the ratio changed to like 1:1. And now you can see the problem. My brain was hearing me speak and filing that away as correct, and it wasn't getting enough native speaker input to challenge that assumption. And it happened so quickly!

Brains will always do what they have always done. So you've got to feed your brain what you want it to do, because everything is food to the brain. In this case I was feeding my brain (via my ears) my mistaken patterns, which is going to happen. The key is to flood my brain with the correct (native) input at such a high comparative volume that my brain recognises the native input as "what is has always done" and does that. My mouth will follow.

Thems are my learning from my recent Thailand adventure. Thought I would share.

[zimmbzon]

I’m learning how to read Thai and I swear ข, ช, and ซ are trying to kill me. They are so hard to tell apart on my little phone screen.

[zimmbzon]

Also today we discovered that I find the word “Australia” really hard to say in Thai, so sometimes I say “this country” which causes my teacher to do this 🧐 but I pretend not to notice because I’m too busy walking around in circles.

[zimmbzon]

In the continuing adventures of the weird shit I ask my Thai teacher, today’s topic was: “in Thailand do the beds at ikea have open space under them, or is bottom barricaded off on account of the ghosts?”

For context I have been talking with this teacher for years and this question is probably a lot more expected than “is taking the tail off of a shrimp for another person a declaration of love?” and “do sponge baths really cure 1 day colds that were caused by going to bed with slightly wet hair?”

[zimmbzon]

My Thai teacher: aow (เอา) is a short word, I know Thai people sometimes make it longer, but you are still learning, you don’t know how to do that well. You need to say it correctly.

Me, a connoisseur of Thai bl having watched hundreds of hours of men flirt on tv and is now apparently developing the speaking style of a particular type of queer Thai man: mai aooowwwwwwwwwwww