NOTE: These will be available for sale in 2025
There are both substantive and subtle changes to the Thai Alphabet Cards. For the Thai Consonants, we add the ten numbers (0-9) as ten additional cards, and then on the consonant cards themselves, the significant changes are:
The five tones of Central Thai (Siamese) have idealized forms that are produced and have been tested synthetically to determine recongition boundaries. However, in running speech there is considerable variation that can be Intraspeaker differences (different tone articulations at different points in time) Interspeaker differences (differences between individuals and between groups) Stressed syllables High and ... Read more
Thai language learning happens, regardless of teaching and learning methods are used. The question is which methods are more efficient and more enjoyable. As the educator Shanahan once compared teaching methods to medicine: "The iron lung is a good intervention, the polio vaccine is better". Theories and Methods There is nothing so useful as a ... Read more
Thai people do not learn tone rules per se, at least not until around the 3rd or 4th grade (age 10 or so). Even then, few get a firm understanding of the various rules for tones that adult foreigners are taught. Rather they know how to speak Thai correctly because they have learned the skill ... Read more
For someone who is learning Thai as a second language (and knows English), it is useful to get an overview of the differences between the languages so that certain assumptions don't impede language acquisition. Differences in Written Thai from Written English The Thai script is used, and may include use of Thai numerals (Thais also ... Read more
Olly Richards' Story Learning Olly Richards' a polyglot, has a method for language learning he calls story learning. He has actually taken out a trademark on this term, and claims that it protects "the invention of a powerful new method." But in fact patent protects inventions, trademarks only protect trade marks. That said, there is ... Read more
This is about learning how to hear a new language. Many so-called experts recommend trying to speak immediately, but one cannot say what one cannot hear. Also, while in some cases sounds are considered the same, there are nonetheless differences. Capturing and recognizing these differences is important. Pigeon Holes When there are recognized sounds that ... Read more
Language learning progression and vocabulary lists are not the same thing. However, good lists -- those that focus on the more frequently occurring lemmas -- can be enormously helpful in efficient language learning acquisition.
Anki is one of the most popular flashcard software programs for memorization, and it is one of the first. It includes a spaced repetition algorithm for optimized learning, and a host of configuration options. Anki is multi-platform (Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, iOS), and free (except for iOS). There is also a web version, and all ... Read more
> In linguistics, prosody is concerned with those elements of speech that are not individual phonetic segments (vowels and consonants) but are properties of syllables and larger units of speech, including linguistic functions such as intonation, tone, stress, and rhythm. Such elements are known as suprasegmentals. Prosody vs. Discrete Phonology In learning Thai, or any ... Read more