Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand August / September 2015 - Art & Education Issue | Page 27
Education
meanings to that single word. My
Thai teacher explained from day one
that whilst the five tones are very
much part of the Thai language, they
are not something to worry about
and definitely should not put us
off learning Thai. We rarely speak in
one-word sentences, so even if we
try speaking Thai and get a tone of a
certain word wrong, most Thais will
be able to figure out what we want to
say given the context of the sentence.
5
“WHENEVER I
TRY TO SPEAK
THAI, THE THAIS
JUST SPEAK
ENGLISH BACK.”
don’t have to speak in English. Many
Thais are just as shy or lazy to speak
English as we are to speak Thai. Yet,
they know it’s kind of expected from
them with any foreigner. They feel the
pressure, too.
WHY PEOPLE
DON’T LEARN THAI:
MYTH OR FACT?
I have heard many reasons for not
wanting to learn Thai, too. Some of
them are valid and some are not.
1
“EVERYONE
SPEAKS ENGLISH,
SO I DON’T FEEL I
NEED TO.”
Fact. Most Thais do speak a degree of
English, especially in parts of Thailand
where more foreigners visit or live, so
it is every easy in these areas to get
by with English.
2
speakers sound to us when they
speak English. There’s no need to feel
embarrassed.
3
“I DON’T WANT
TO KNOW WHAT
THEY ARE SAYING
ABOUT ME.”
Generally a myth. I can only speak
from personal experience and can
wholeheartedly say that, even when
I have been in situations where no
one knows I can understand, I have
only ever heard good things said
about me!
4
“I WILL NEVER BE
ABLE TO WORK
OUT THE TONES.”
Fact, but an unimportant one, in my
opinion. Indeed, we know that one
word can be said in five different
tones, giving five completely different
Fact but unimportant. Yes, often Thais
will speak English back if you try
speaking Thai. They want to practice
their English! I have held many
conversations where I speak Thai and
the Thai speaks English. We both get
to practice.
TOP TIPS FOR
LEARNING THAI
1. To be able to speak basic
Thai requires approximately 20 hours of lessons. The
quicker you do this, the faster you learn.
2. Don’t let the fear of the
tones put you off!
3. Take your Thai skills out
of the classroom. The best
practice is out there with
real people in the real world.
THE PERKS OF
SPEAKING THAI
My partner and I have lived in
Thailand now for 6.5 years. Only when
“WHEN I E%