I am an Australian, 55 years of age, currently residing in Pattaya having been here, this time around, for five weeks on top of several brief visits previously.The occasional sea breeze is worth it's weight in gold in the hot season ! All up I would have spent very close to four years in Thailand. I lived in Chiangmai for almost all of that time.I first visited Chiangmai in 1977 when I was 21- a wonderful backpacking experience. My Thai language ability is negligible. I have in the past made some concerted, unsuccessful efforts to learn Thai. I enrolled in a language school and obtained a study visa when I commenced my extended stint in CM about 6 years ago. It was an immersion type program and I attended private classes for two hours a day, five days a week, for several months or so. I also did 2-3 hours of homework every week-day night in preparation for class the next day. It was a bad method. I was overwhelmed, pushed too far too fast and I did not succeed in creating a workable approach to exploiting my everyday experience to benefit my learning. That bit was my fault. Too many acquaintances who preferred to speak in English and generally a pretty crappy lifestyle. Anyway, later, having dropped my Study Visa, which they were often called then, I had a couple of goes at Introductory Thai at CM Uni which was a very good short course. I also used Becker's Thai for Beginners which I found really good. However, I did not consolidate and, long story short, eventually gave up.
I did a BA at Sydney University many moons ago majoring in English while also studying Linguistics, French and Indonesian Language and Culture. So I have some experience with studying languages but by no means do I consider myself an expert. Overall, I think common sense largely dictates what is effective but of course that will always be a matter of opinion. Currently I am recommencing my study of the Thai language primarily with the online program HighSpeedThai. It is an approach which makes sense to me. I will also use Becker as an adjunct along with attending classes at the North Star Library which is attached to the Father Ray Foundation Redemptorist Vocational School for the Disabled here in Pattaya. In large part I will attend those classes to socialize and to fill my day with wholesome activities as much as possible ! I'm tired just thinking about it - time for a beer !
Just kidding. I am really looking forward to studying again particularly as I am most impressed with the HST approach ( that's not a plug, I am just saying ). With some concerted effort I can definitely see myself making some meaningful progress this time around and that motivates me a lot after more than a few false starts.Well, that was a bit long-winded. In closing I must add that this website is most impressive and I think it will play a big part in inspiring me to making a big effort this time around.
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