Thai for Intermediate Learners [Paperback]

Benjawan Poomsan Becker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 1998

The continuation of Thai for Beginners. Users are expected to be able to read basic Thai language. There is a little transliteration when new words are introduced.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Thank you for helping me to understand the Thai language in such a short time. -- Peter Coquillard

The best self-teaching materials for Thai. -- Paul Heneghan

About the Author

Benjawan Poomsan Becker was born in Bangkok and spent her childhood in Yasothon, a small province in Northeast Thailand. Her family is ethnic Laotian, so she grew up speaking both Thai and Lao. She graduated from Khon Kaen University in Thailand in 1990, with a B.A. in English. Benjawan gained extensive experience teaching Thai to foreigners while studying for her M.A. in Japan with the Japan-Thailand Trade Association and Berlitz Language School, and in the US with Thai temples, Stanford University and private students. She now resides in Berkeley, California where she continues to write and publish books on the Thai and Lao languages. Her books include "Thai for Beginners", "Thai for Intermediate Learners", "Thai for Advanced Readers", "Thai-English/English-Thai Dictionary for Non-Thai Speakers", "Improving Your Thai Pronunciation", "Practical Thai Conversation DVD Series", the popular "Speak Like a Thai Series" and many other titles on the Thai language.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Paiboon Publishing; Bilingual edition (August 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887521011
• ISBN-13: 978-1887521017
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Thai
  • #10 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Southeast Asian
  • #56 in Books > Travel > Asia > Southeast

More About the Author

Benjawan Poomsan Becker was born in Bangkok and spent her childhood in Yasothon, a small province in Northeast Thailand. Her family is ethnic Laotian, so she grew up speaking both Thai and Lao. She recevied a B.A. in English with first class honor from Khon Kaen University, Thailand. While obtaining her M.A. in Japan, she gained extensive experience teaching Thai to foreigners at the Japan Thailand Trade Association and the Berlitz Language School. In the United States, she taught Thai language at Stanford University, at several Thai temples, and in private classes. She operated a successful Thai and Lao translation business and is a registered Thai and Lao court interpreter in the state of California. She now resides in Berkeley, California where she continues to write and publish the leading learning books on the Thai and Lao languages. Her latest book, "The Interpreter's Journal" is the recipient of the 2011 Asian Book Publishing Award for Best Book / Best Writer on Asian Socio-Economic or Media scene.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'optional' tapes are required, April 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Thai for Intermediate Learners (Paperback)

Just to make it real clear and easy for everyone trying to figure this out: Yes, you need to buy the tapes too. The typical way language courses are taught is with a) a book, AND b) tapes and/or instructor. There is no way anyone can learn Thai pronunciation from just reading a text, especially this one. That is the purpose of the tapes, which are a lot cheaper than hiring a live instructor to do the same thing. Amazon sells the book and the tapes separately but in this case they were not designed to be used that way.

That said, the Becker series (Thai for Beginners; Thai for Intermediate Learners; Thai for Advanced Readers) is the best I've seen for learning Thai, and I've prowled a lot of bookstores in and outside of Thailand over the past three years.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thai for Intermediate Learners, June 18, 2000

By 

Ronald Williams (Arcata, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thai for Intermediate Learners (Paperback)

This book is designed to increase your vocabulary in Thai. It assumes you already know how to speak and read Thai. It has sections on Thai province names, holidays, street names in Bangkok, English words borrowed in Thai, Thai food, Thai nicknames and common first names, etc. To learn Thai it is best to have a person who speaks Thai help you. If that is not possible then you should order the tapes that are made for the book. This will increase the actual price of the book by about ( ). It would have been better if the book was sold with the tapes.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book, a Service to Those Who Wish to Learn Thai, September 5, 2005

By 

R. Childress (Near Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thai for Intermediate Learners (Paperback)

All three books in the series are excellent. They address the need for a systematic and thorough, yet informal and highly accessible, introduction to the Thai language for native speakers of English. One receives the impression that the author has taken great care to ensure her books provide the maximum possible benefit to assist students who wish to learn Thai.

The books teach both the spoken and written aspects of the language, unlike other textbooks which would leave the student effectively illiterate. Throughout the series, the author stresses the advantages of learning written Thai as opposed to relying upon a system of transliteration. In this, the second book in the series, it is finally possible to dispense with transliteration altogether and focus on Thai in Thai.

Since my wife is Thai, I had a ready source to assist me with pronunciation. Otherwise I would certainly have purchased the audio materials that correspond to the books, for it is impossible to learn Thai sounds simply by reading about their approximate descriptions from a book.