Though we've used snippets of comments and reviews throughout, you can find the full comment/feedback here.
We included this as your language-learning journey and any struggles to date might resemble theirs. Several of the longer conversations shown, with Sandy, Brock, and Emiliusz, were via email.
Note: all images here are Amazon reviews.
“Thanks for sending the books so quickly. I've started to read them and I think your teaching technique is very good, much better than other books I've seen…”
(Julian Wheeler, Chonburi, Thailand)
"After only having your book and the app for about 3 weeks, I am able to sound out Thai words pretty accurately. Every chance I get I attempt to sound out phrases and check my pronunciation with Google Translate, which I find to be very accurate for the most part.
At this rate I feel I will be about to speak fluently very soon. I get practice and pointers when speaking on Skype with my Thai friends. The hardest part is remembering words after you learn them but your books made learning the pronunciation and alphabet very easy. Thanks again."
(Allen Mitchell)
"I want to thank you for creating a system in which learning Thai is much much more natural rather than filled with the "technical jargon" as you have pointed out, somewhere…
Maybe you get quite a bit of these, but I am really thankful because learning Thai has become easy thanks to you."
(Emiliusz Smorczewski, Illinois, USA)
Well, I agree that your app and those posts are like a speed-of-light catalyst in terms teaching one the Thai script and reading it within literally two days (in my experience) which I find extraordinary.
I have received Thai books from Thai friends in Thailand that are honestly a collection of hard to understand jargon that instead of starting with the basics, bombard one with so much information that should be reserved for the middle stages of language learning instead of the beginning (or maybe I have a personal problem when it comes to dry material...). Maybe, those books follow the 'if you want to learn how to swim quickly, you have to be thrown in the deep end of the pool' philosophy.
Or maybe I have received technical books, a bad batch to begin learning Thai with. They had no clear direction... moreover, one book that I've gotten came with a CD which isn't structured in any order whatsoever. The content on it is spoken Thai in no particular order, perhaps to get the learner familiar with spoken Thai, but the function wasn't really explained.
Having completed TEFL myself, without a clear structure, understandable and most importantly engaging and 'fun' material, having a function clearly presented so it will be clearly understood, teaching becomes redundant and the student becomes either frustrated or bored.
(Emiliusz Smorczewski, Illinois, USA)
“…your method really appeals to me and is FUN as well as clear. Thanks so much for all your hard work – I hope it all pays off for you both!”
(Uda Goode, Chippenham, UK)
I was at the point where I was ready to give up learning Thai and then I found your website. I’ve been sceptical about other books as I haven’t gotten anywhere with them and they seem to just confuse things. I’m pleased to say I didn’t listen to myself for once and decided to buy your great adventure book
You make it sound easy and logical and it’s filled a lot of gaps the others left. I’ve just bought your other two books from Amazon.
(Marie James, Cambridge, UK)
"This is great Duangta and Russ. I never thought I’d be able to progress past the initial stages but I’m surprised at how quickly and easily this is sinking in. It’s great and is going to take my next trip to a whole new level."
(Mitch Costello, Sydney, Australia)
I purchased the ‘Learn Thai Alphabet’ app for my desk top computer. I did this because I hope one day to settle in Thailand, and naturally therefore would like to be able to speak, read and write Thai, for me this would be an awesome achievement.
I already have a learn to speak Colloquial Thai language book and tapes. Although useful, I find I’m not learning quickly enough, and this is where your product comes in, already I have achieved more than I would have thought possible in such a short space of time.
I decided to study the Middle and High class consonants first over a two day period (as together a total 20 consonants), then the next two days I devoted to the Low class consonants (24). I followed the same pattern with the vowels, so no rush.
Suddenly I was looking at Thai writing and beginning to see some of the words forming ... fantastic!! This has been a brilliant start for me Duangta and Russ, thanks mainly to your app. Your colour code and picture aids make learning so much easier and the great thing is, whenever I feel I am forgetting anything, it’s so easy to refresh my memory from your app.
Now what has got me even more excited is the Reading Thai feature in the members area, which I did not realise I had access to before .. double fantastic, and I am very much looking forward to your How To Read Thai (pdf) when it is released later this year.
I must say, for me your product has been a great help, well worth the small price paid, and, would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn to read and write Thai.
Many thanks,
Orville Earle
I had spent a year in Thailand many years ago but didn't want to take the time to learn to read/write, since I thought that would take a long time.
Since there were a number of transliterations, I looked at various ones of those in several books which I purchased while there, and I realized that none really could imitate the sounds of Thai perfectly (much less the tones).
So I "invented" my own phonetic transliteration as a combination of some of the established ones, some French sounds that more closely represented some of the sounds, etc. This way, I could begin creating and adding to my own "vocabulary lists". But relying on ANY transliteration --- even my own ---- meant that I couldn't look up words in a Thai dictionary.
So I spent LOTS of time trying to save time by not learning the alphabet. What a waste! Very shortsighted. I could do some basic conversation and phrases, but it was difficult to add vocabulary.
Fast forward to many years later in a continuing attempt to learn Thai, when I came across Russ and Duangta's "Learning Thai Your Great Adventure" book and bought that.
But before I got very far into it, they had done Memory Aids and the online App.
Having bought both books as well as the App, I found that learning the initial/final sounds of the consonants was quick, easy... and crucial. How simple an idea in Memory Aids!! And I would recommend doing that, along with the online App first and then moving into LTYGA book later.
These resources are making the learning of Thai finally a reality after numerous false starts. Every bit of time spent with Memory Aids book, the online App and LTYGA should save you a LOT of time later and really help you to learn more Thai more quickly.
I would strongly urge that you use the App --- especially for vowel sounds, since the words used in Memory Aids are pronounced differently depending upon where in the English-speaking world you live.
So hearing the vowel sounds will let you modify the key word in the pictures so that the sound will mimic the actual Thai sound, even if you would pronounce the English word differently --- the picture still reminds you of the correct sound you build in your mind, and that is the important part.
And even the sounds of those words, as they point out in the book, can't exactly mimic some of the Thai sounds anyway, but the App has male and female voices saying each of the vowels, so THAT is what you learn, while the picture is the memory aid that triggers that sound in your mind.
I highly recommend the books and the App and the investment in the time to do those early enough in your learning of Thai, since I think it will make a tremendous difference in how quickly and how much of the language you pick up as time goes on, regardless of what methods you use in learning the spoken language.
You can learn initial/final consonant sounds in a week or less. But the ideal is to spend time with each group a little each day and continue to revisit those. The longer you spend doing it, the more entrenched they become.
But the simplicity of the system breaks down the psychological barriers to attacking the idea of reading/writing Thai.
I'm looking forward to working more with the reading part but really want to master all the Memory Aids, App and LTYGA material as I simultaneously work on the spoken language.
If you are serious about learning Thai, you will not regret any of the time you spend early on with this material.
(Brock Estes, Richmond, VA)
I tried the free 3 day trial of the "Learn Thai Alphabet web application". After about 4 hours of playing with the program I was hooked! I couldn't put it down because I was actually learning!
My fears of the Thai language were overtaking me until I used this program. Within the first 4 hours I had the consonants down pat! I have a medical condition that causes severe memory issues, but I was retaining what I was learning! I decided to wait till the next day to see exactly how much I retained.
I only got 1 wrong on the test! For me this was amazing!
I opted to not wait out the 3 day trial and I purchased the entire program complete with all 4 of the books. I now feel confident I can learn and retain what I am learning. I have tried numerous other products and they made no sense what so ever!
The on time support with other products I have purchased (and don't use) was not very good. Russ is very quick to respond and very thorough in his answers. I would highly recommend this software and the eBooks that go with it.
The eBooks give a lot more detailed info regarding the program and help to answer any questions you may have. Since purchasing this software I am amazed at my progress with a language I NEVER thought I could learn!
The Thai language is very intimidating and this program has taken the fear away!
I would give it an 11 out of 10 points!! Thanks Duangta and Russ!
(Sandy Ching, Ecuador)
I will inform you that learning Thai with the help of LTYGA and your online application has never been easier.
Moreover, I must say that the resources that you have created are the best that I've found to learn the Thai script because all the necessary knowledge is in one place and these resources, I feel, are based on the student's needs to learn; to learn Thai without the hassles of jargon. LTYGA and your online application are to the point. I like that a lot.
Having spent a month on Thai, I feel confident pronouncing Thai, reading in Thai, and writing in Thai. Of course, I practice with a native Thai speaker as much as I can and I also started watching Namtan Mai Thai drama with English subtitles to get used to the language and well... drill it in my head unconsciously as I have done with English so many years ago.
I am glad that you skipped technical jargon or rules because I've found out that even the Thai speakers I work with don't know them, or often told me "I do not know how to teach you to read..." That makes me believe that language is learned through patterns and habit as I've found out myself, not rules, and rules are learned unconsciously.
Even when I am teaching my Hispanic student English, it is very effective to teach him through pictures, role plays, and various TV shows with subtitles that adhere to his interest and his needs.
Having said that, without your two valuable resources that you have put together, I think I would still be struggling with the Thai script, desperately searching online for answers that are hardly there... but I found your book and your app and I am thankful that I have.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you,
Emiliusz
(Emiliusz Smorczewski, Illinois, USA)
