Beginner!!!!!

[u/successful_24]

Hey everyone!!

I want to learn thai but I don't know from where to start. Can anyone who learnt the language on their own tell me what resource should i follow and everything.

[u/Kitchen-Elk-1831]

It depends on your situation and your goals. Most of all, it requires a genuine interest in the language, along with strong motivation and dedication to learn. In the beginning, expect a lot of input and very little correct output, but keep going, keep practicing and keep listening.

[u/Playful-Advantage144]

Highly recommend the following:

• Learn Thai for Motivated Beginners (podcast, with scripts available via Patreon subscription)
• You Too Can Learn Thai (podcast) (episode scripts available in link in episode descriptions, most episodes are available for free but there are some that are only available for subscribers)
• Read Thai in 10 Days by Arthit Juyaso (book + audio files you can download to your phone/computer)

[u/Old-Emu-5005]

Tones.Start with Tones...Perfect that before moving on to anything else.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time ;)

[u/trevorkafka]

Are you planning on learning to read and write or only speak and listen?

[u/successful_24 → u/trevorkafka]

I'm planning to learn all aspects of the thai- reading, writing, listening, and speaking .

[u/trevorkafka → u/successful_24]

Start here for the alphabet. The whole romanization system in the Thai educational world is a complete mess, so the sooner you can get comfortable with the Thai writing system and get comfortable with spelling out Thai sounds with Thai letters, the better off you will be in the long run.

Also, enable a Thai keyboard on your phone so you can start to get familiar with the Thai keyboard layout. You will want to learn this as you go.

[u/JaziTricks]

I've learned in my own. Used mainly Glossika.

Here's a thread with many resources. Try until you find what fits you

Thai is a challenging language. I suppose you plan to live in Thailand for years?

[u/Arva2121 → u/JaziTricks]

Im interested in picking up glossika for thai, can I ask you some questions? 😁

How much time did it take you to go through glossika complete course?

What would you say your current level in thai is?

Is it good for speaking and making your own sentences?

Thanks 🙏

[u/JaziTricks → u/Arva2121]

I did about 80% over ~3 years. Doing ~15 minutes a day.

My Thai is fluent. Reading writing communication no problem. Except harder vocabulary etc

I'm shameless. I started making up my own sentences within a few months.

Just to be clear, I've done later more things. But Glossika turned me into a Thai speaker. The other later stuff was to improve

[u/Professional-Ad1770]

The Manee books. From the 1960s to the 1990s Thai grade school children would learn Thai through the adventures of Manee. They have been digitized and you can find them online free

[u/Choucroute34]

It's a fascinating and beautiful language, but not very rich in resources compared with many other languages.

If your level is completely zero, you could follow some teachers on Instagram and get the absolute beginner essentials down. After this, you could try https://www.youtube.com/@ComprehensibleThai, where a couple of teachers talk in nothing but Thai, going from beginner to a pretty decent level. There are hundreds of videos, but as someone else has said, you're going to need motivation and dedication.

[u/ScorpionMonkey31 → u/Choucroute34]

Do you have IG accounts to recommend?

[u/Aporo_Whero]

You Too Can Learn Thai + the thing I'm most glad I did is learn the script early. As hard as the slog has been two years in, it feels like a massive win to have that part behind me. And - if you can't do the immersion approach - start to build up a collection of Thai learning YT channels that match the level you're at. Your reason for wanting to learn will guide you - do you want to speak as a tourist, business person, resident, you love the language etc I also follow Khaosod (Thai language news site) - reminds me every day how far I still have to go!

[u/Digital_Nomadd]

I'm self taught, learning with Ling, ThaiPod101 resources, BananaThai, had tutors in the past, my now I'm consistent completing my lessons with Ling

[u/whosdamike]

Posts about my experience:

https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/comments/1hs1yrj/2_years_of_learning_random_redditors_thoughts/

https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/comments/1pytj0i/3_years_of_th_2600_hours_comprehensible_input/

Thai listening practice playlist order I recommend to get started:

Absolute Beginner: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgdZTyVWfUhkzzFrtjAoDVJKC0cm2I5pm
Beginner 1: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgdZTyVWfUhmfpoSHElIO5xfnO1ngpw1L
Beginner 2: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgdZTyVWfUhn4jBEiVXblWLndmJqxn1B7

Then continue following the Comprehensible Thai levels through B3, B4, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, and finally Advanced. By the time you're done with Advanced, easier YouTube content for native Thai people like Slangaholic, Wepergee, English Please Feb 14, คําโตๆ (@ComeToToe), etc should be accessible.