Customer Reviews

A.U.A. Language Center Thai Course: Reading and Writing--Mostly Reading

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great workbook besides the fact that I cannot find the reference book that goes hand and hand with it. If you want to learn Thai script and the alphabet this book is good, but like I said the referene book is a big part of it.

This book is very well written and it's a great resource for anyone wanting to learn to read and write Thai. It contains short lessons (mostly one page each) that make you understand the writing system step by step (consonants, vowels, tone rules, spelling). The workbook ("mostly writing") is not necessary to learn the alphabet and I found myself using only the "mostly reading" book. However, this is not a Thai textbook (it focuses only on the writing system) - I use it together with "Thai Language and Culture for Beginners" by Yuphaphann Hoonchamlong and find these two go very well together.

It may still be possible to obtain the workbook from AUA in Thailand. I recently (2008) contacted them about another book in this series and was told they still had it available for sale, so they probably have the workbook too. AUA email address obtainable from their website.

I have tried other books in my mission learning to read thai, but this is far the best one. The workbook is nowhere to be found on the web, but I don't feel it's a problem. I like the phonetic system used in all AUA thai books.

The book that I received was printed long ago, and the glue that held the pages in failed, so all the pages fell out. Cornell University Press has Brown's excellent books that have been reprinted recently, this book was at least 20+ years old or was stored improperly.

His books are excellent, but it is impossible to learn thai without a teacher, and it is important to get a Bangkok Thai style teacher. If you want to learn Thai on your own get Brown's audio course through interlibrary loan, or buy them with the book via Cornell, or better yet, go to Chiang Mai, and take the courses at AUA there, they are not very expensive, and the books are cheap also. The teachers are excellent and Chiang Mai is wonderful. Rent a delightful condo for $300@month (3 month minimum), rent a Honday motorbike for $30@ month, and eat like a king for $5@ day. What a wonderful place!

If you do use the book, try thai-language site online, and try to find a teacher to work with you via Skype. You can find a good teacher for $5/hour and pay them via Paypal.