Who likes getting ripped off because you don’t know the language? Hmm, no one’s raising their hands… Seriously, though, if you plan to be in Thailand for any length of time, it really behooves you to learn the Thai script and make some Thai sounds with your mouth.
Enter the White Guy
Yep, the white man. He’s not here to keep you down, but get you set up with knowledge. The e-book has 30 chapters in all – if you spend an hour or so on two or three chapters, you’ll be through the book in a couple of weeks.
How much is it?
It’s $49. I’ll let him explain more here.
 What makes it worth it?
- A general, no-BS attitude (the same sort of approach I took in writing Korean Made Easy)
- Things are broken up into bite-site pieces and set up in a logical order, while the 600+ flash cards enable your own system.
- Access – beyond the PDF, there’s also has a web version to peruse.
- A familiar sort of teaching / learning style – the Western way isn’t perfect, but it sure as hell isn’t a cram school.
It’s not just the e-book – it’s the flashcards…
I wasn’t familiar with Anki before I had the chance to review this package. It turns out that while the Android, Windows, and Mac versions of the flashcard program are free, the official Anki iOS app is an additional $25. There’s no easy, official way around that, but if you’re serious about learning languages, flash cards and a SRS (Spaced Repetition System) are a great way to do it. Speaking of apps, his iPhone app covering much of the same material is online for $4.99.
Two downers…?
If you’re the sort that needs graphic design, head elsewhere. This looks and feels a bit on the minimalist side – personally, I like the focus on what you’re paying to learn, not the fluff of a swanky color design.
Also, there is zero transliteration in the book. It certainly may not be needed after a certain level, but when first starting out I’ve found it a useful crutch to lean on.
Conclusion
To be clear, there are plenty of ways to learn Thai, and anyone with some discipline could probably use any number of strategies. If you’d rather focus your energy at learning Thai, this way’s hard to beat. Head to his website, learntoreadthai.com, to check it out for yourself.
Recommended for beginners of Thai.
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Disclaimer: Chris in Thailand received a review copy of the flashcards and e-book.
You say $49. His website says $97.
I have recently been through the ‘learn to read thai in 2 weeks’ book.
I already knew the consonants and vowels, however had never put the effort into learning the tones, so thought I would use this to get me to a better standard of reading.
The first couple of chapters started off really well, I was quite impressed with the way things were being put across, and there was some humor thrown in for good measure. The anki files that accompany the book worked quite well as well. However as the book went on it felt very rushed, like the author just wanted to get it finished. For example chapter 8 talkes about the second tone mark with middle class consonants without ever actually telling you it produces a falling tone.
Another thing I think is a let down is you don’t get the proper names of every letter. You get the names for some, and the rest you’re just left to know the sound from the context used without ever learning the proper names for all of them. The majority of the low class consonants are just completely ignored and only introduced to you in words.
You also don’t learn the numbers, there’s a paragraph on reading numbers, but not actually teaching what the symbols for the numbers are.
One last point, which I noticed from the one time I went through the book, is your never introduced to the consonant ฮ
You’re given other rare and obsolete consonants thrown in at the end but ฮ is never mentioned.
Like I said I already knew how to read before hand, just without the tones, but if you we’re a complete beginner as this book is aimed at, it certainly doesn’t give you everything you need to ‘read thai in 2 weeks.’
The white guy is clearly fluent in thai and seems to be a good teacher, I was just let down by this book especially for the price, as I feel it could have had a lot more potential.