- Paperback: 234 pages
- Publisher: See Sip Publications; 2nd edition (2011)
- ISBN-10: 6119028404
- ISBN-13: 978-6119028401
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 81,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Speak Thai Volume 1 is an essential book and DVD language learning solution that teaches you to speak practical conversational Thai with the correct pronunciation.
It teaches language foundations and grammar, key phrases and words, speaking and listening skills, correct pronunciation and tones, and insight into language and culture. It is ideal for absolute beginners and for those who know some Thai but wish to improve their pronunciation skills. It will also benefit anyone wishing to broaden their Thai conversational abilities within highly relevant everyday situations.
The book provides the knowledge and insight into the language framework and usage. The 3 hour DVD featuring the see, hear, speak system ensures you learn the correct tones and pronunciation of all the Thai words and phrases in the book. You see the word or phrase, hear the word or phrase spoken by a native Thai speaker, and then speak the word or phrase replicating the pronunciation and tones. Together with the dedicated chapter on pronunciation and the focus on how to say and hear tones, it is the most effective way of learning the correct pronunciation and tone of Thai words.
Speak Thai Volume 1 has an accurate, easy to read phonetic transliteration system, clear tone mark symbols, and over 1000 colour coded words and phrases that immediately show what every word in a phrase means. It also features helpful check your learning exercises, and an extensive English-Thai glossary. The PAL dual layer DVD is region free.
Speak Thai and Speak Isaan Thai Volume 1 and Volume 2 are best sellers within Asia Book stores throughout Thailand. Both titles are available here on Amazon.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Speak Thai Volume 1 (Book + DVD) (Speak Thai)
Speak Thai is a fantastic book and DVD that has really helped me to speak passable Thai in the common everyday situations I find myself in Thailand. Living in Thailand as I do, that's a really important result, especially as I have been struggling to speak and understand the language so much in the past. After many years of trying to learn Thai, I have many well thumbed Thai language learning books on my shelf. None have come close to providing me with the practical language and conversation knowledge that this one has, and none has actually got me speaking Thai with the confidence I now have when speaking Thai. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not perfect but I can get by so much better now than before.
Why is that? Well, for starters, Speak Thai has succeeded where so many other books and courses on the Thai language had failed for me before, that of teaching me the correct pronunciation and tones of words. I really do feel that I have made a major step forward in mastering the pronunciation of Thai words and tones.
Just as importantly, I'm actually speaking the language with greater ease than ever before (which means I'm struggling but not struggling quite so much!). This is partly because the way situations are covered in the book. Not only are they highly relevant and practical, they are covered in a depth and breath I've not seen in other Thai language learning books. This provides great preparation for the real life conversations that you find yourself in on a daily basis as you have the range of vocabulary and language knowledge to cope with pretty much anything that comes up in the conversation. The eating section of the book in particular is paying dividends time and time again. The nine main food related questions featured really do keep coming up, and are ones you will get lots of mileage and brownie points on when you use them yourself. Well, I seem to be anyway!
Speak Thai comes as a book and DVD learning package which work together to teach you to speak Thai. So firstly, what can be said about the book?
If truth be told I almost didn't buy Speak Thai. When I looked at the contents covered in the five chapters, I was worried I wouldn't be learning enough. Yet, having taken the plunge and got the book, I actually couldn't believe just how much I was learning from each chapter. Sure the content is focused but at the end of each chapter I kept finding myself thinking, wow! have I learnt a lot! ... and much of it with relevance far beyond the topic of the chapter content. By the end of the book there is no question that they have covered the gambit to ensure you know all the key grammar and language points you need to know to get by in Thai across any conversation situation. I'm hearing so much of the vocabulary and phrases taught in this book day in day out, and that cannot be said from other sources of Thai language learning I have used in the past.
The book teaches the key grammar and language knowledge in a very structured way. The beginning of every chapter covers some key language / grammar points. Then within each chapter, when other important language points crop up in any word or phrase, the book explains them then and there. In additional, cultural points arising out of the situation or language covered are also covered then and there, which not only broadens your understanding of language usage and Thai culture, but helps make the whole thing a really interesting read, quite unlike most Thai language books I have.
A notable aspect of Speak Thai is that it focuses a lot on the questions and range of answers you can give to questions within the area covered, more so than any other Thai language learning book I have. This really is a very unique approach to learning Thai but one that makes sense when I reflect on the conversations I have in Thailand. As farangs we do get bombarded with questions. Indeed, most conversations I have are based around questions. Having studied this book not only was I far more able to answer the countless questions that I am asked, but am much more able to initiate questions myself.
All words and phrases are shown in Phonetic Thai, Thai script and English translation. One of its big plusses is the colour coding of each word in a phrase, both in the book and on the DVD. A word will have the same colour in the Phonetic Thai, Thai script and English translation. This enables you to look across to the English translation and know instantly what the Thai phonetic word means. This is really very helpful, because in most books you either have to find the vocabulary list somewhere in the chapter or go to the back glossary to figure out what a word means.
The phonetic system Speak Thai uses is really very good, possibly the best I have come across. How you pronounce a word is really very well represented in the English phonetic representation. Those who are familiar with the Thai language will know that there is no one good transliteration system that accurately reflects how a Thai word is spelt. As a consequence there are many different transliteration systems being used. These range from poor to adequate to pretty good. I have struggled with learning Thai from many books that feature the former.
The phonetic system used by Speak Thai for me ranks in a new category somewhere in the pretty damned good level! Not only is it very representative of how the word should be pronounced, the phonetic pronunciation is very effectively reinforced by the DVD audio, which features all the words and phrases contained in the book. Just as importantly there is no `new' alphabet to learn which means you start learning the language immediately rather than wasting precious time and brain cells trying to get your head around any `weird' phonetic system being used. With Speak Thai, all sounds are accurately represented using the normal western a,b,c alphabet. What you see is how you say it. Simple!
Speak Thai also benefits from a very clear system of indicating the tone of a word. I really liked the way the word tones are graphically shown. Nice big clear tone symbols which conveyed the tone of the words without you having to stop and think what the tone sign means. Too many Thai books I have read have unclear graphic systems or a graphic representation so small that it is almost impossible to determine what tone is being shown, even with a magnifying glass! Still, at least these books have some kind of way of indicating tones. I have some Thai learning books that don't even show the tone, even though Thai is a tonal language! Crazy! The Speak Thai system is good. It shows the tones of all words with clear large graphics - line under the word = low tone, line above the word = high tone, rising line above the word = rising tone, falling line above the word = falling tone. No tone mark = mid tone. Dead simple and effective.
Finally, I must say that I found the overall nature of the book very helpful and encouraging. When reading the book, it really felt like the author was sitting with me, anticipating potential language difficulties and providing advice and encouragement to help me through. A contrast I think from some other Thai language learning books where the language is presented by a teacher that has gone AWOL. The task of learning is also lightened through the use of humorous picture that illustrate some of the language or culture points covered and through the provision of interesting insight into language or culture points. I found this quite a refreshing approach and it did help enliven my learning experience. Picking up the book was never a drag. There was always the prospect of learning some new interesting facet of Thai culture or life.
So what about the DVD? The concept of the book and DVD is an interesting one. As the author explains the book and DVD need to be used together. The book helps provide the language learning, whilst the DVD provides the teaching of correct pronunciation and tones.
It's a long DVD at 3 hours. It feels like that anyway possibly because it is so crammed full of words and phrases. All the word and phrases in the book appear on the DVD, in the same order and sequence of the book. The DVD has a master menu and chapter menu to help you get to the part of program you want to listen to which is very helpful. Each word or phrase is shown, spoken clearly in English and Thai and then there is time for you to repeat the word or phrase copying the pronunciation, what the book calls the `see, hear' speak' system. This, plus a very good section on pronunciation really helped me to make good progress on my own pronunciation, which has always been a big liability for me when it came to speaking Thai.
The pacing of the DVD is pretty good too, neither too fast nor too slow. I really liked the audio quality and speed of speaking employed by the native Thai speaker. The lady has a lovely speaking voice which even after repeated listens does not jar. She is so clear in her pronunciation of words and tones, and you definitely hear the difference between long and short vowel sounds in any given word. No question about it, the DVD really did help me immeasurably in getting my own pronunciation up to a better standard, but also as important, I got a far better feel for the language rhythm than ever before.
One thing that has always been a problem for me, and many other farangs I know, is in getting the word tone right, and indeed, in being to determine what the tone of a word you hear spoken is. This DVD was extremely helpful in sorting out this problem. Read more ›
Speak Thai is a fantastic book and DVD that has really helped me to speak passable Thai in the common everyday situations I find myself in Thailand. Living in Thailand as I do, that's a really important result, especially as I have been struggling to speak and understand the language so much in the past. After many years of trying to learn Thai, I have many well thumbed Thai language learning books on my shelf. None have come close to providing me with the practical language and conversation knowledge that this one has, and none has actually got me speaking Thai with the confidence I now have when speaking Thai. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not perfect but I can get by so much better now than before.
Why is that? Well, for starters, Speak Thai has succeeded where so many other books and courses on the Thai language had failed for me before, that of teaching me the correct pronunciation and tones of words. I really do feel that I have made a major step forward in mastering the pronunciation of Thai words and tones.
Just as importantly, I'm actually speaking the language with greater ease than ever before (which means I'm struggling but not struggling quite so much!). This is partly because the way situations are covered in the book. Not only are they highly relevant and practical, they are covered in a depth and breath I've not seen in other Thai language learning books. This provides great preparation for the real life conversations that you find yourself in on a daily basis as you have the range of vocabulary and language knowledge to cope with pretty much anything that comes up in the conversation. The eating section of the book in particular is paying dividends time and time again. The nine main food related questions featured really do keep coming up, and are ones you will get lots of mileage and brownie points on when you use them yourself. Well, I seem to be anyway!
Speak Thai comes as a book and DVD learning package which work together to teach you to speak Thai. So firstly, what can be said about the book?
If truth be told I almost didn't buy Speak Thai. When I looked at the contents covered in the five chapters, I was worried I wouldn't be learning enough. Yet, having taken the plunge and got the book, I actually couldn't believe just how much I was learning from each chapter. Sure the content is focused but at the end of each chapter I kept finding myself thinking, wow! have I learnt a lot! ... and much of it with relevance far beyond the topic of the chapter content. By the end of the book there is no question that they have covered the gambit to ensure you know all the key grammar and language points you need to know to get by in Thai across any conversation situation. I'm hearing so much of the vocabulary and phrases taught in this book day in day out, and that cannot be said from other sources of Thai language learning I have used in the past.
The book teaches the key grammar and language knowledge in a very structured way. The beginning of every chapter covers some key language / grammar points. Then within each chapter, when other important language points crop up in any word or phrase, the book explains them then and there. In additional, cultural points arising out of the situation or language covered are also covered then and there, which not only broadens your understanding of language usage and Thai culture, but helps make the whole thing a really interesting read, quite unlike most Thai language books I have.
A notable aspect of Speak Thai is that it focuses a lot on the questions and range of answers you can give to questions within the area covered, more so than any other Thai language learning book I have. This really is a very unique approach to learning Thai but one that makes sense when I reflect on the conversations I have in Thailand. As farangs we do get bombarded with questions. Indeed, most conversations I have are based around questions. Having studied this book not only was I far more able to answer the countless questions that I am asked, but am much more able to initiate questions myself.
All words and phrases are shown in Phonetic Thai, Thai script and English translation. One of its big plusses is the colour coding of each word in a phrase, both in the book and on the DVD. A word will have the same colour in the Phonetic Thai, Thai script and English translation. This enables you to look across to the English translation and know instantly what the Thai phonetic word means. This is really very helpful, because in most books you either have to find the vocabulary list somewhere in the chapter or go to the back glossary to figure out what a word means.
The phonetic system Speak Thai uses is really very good, possibly the best I have come across. How you pronounce a word is really very well represented in the English phonetic representation. Those who are familiar with the Thai language will know that there is no one good transliteration system that accurately reflects how a Thai word is spelt. As a consequence there are many different transliteration systems being used. These range from poor to adequate to pretty good. I have struggled with learning Thai from many books that feature the former.
The phonetic system used by Speak Thai for me ranks in a new category somewhere in the pretty damned good level! Not only is it very representative of how the word should be pronounced, the phonetic pronunciation is very effectively reinforced by the DVD audio, which features all the words and phrases contained in the book. Just as importantly there is no `new' alphabet to learn which means you start learning the language immediately rather than wasting precious time and brain cells trying to get your head around any `weird' phonetic system being used. With Speak Thai, all sounds are accurately represented using the normal western a,b,c alphabet. What you see is how you say it. Simple!
Speak Thai also benefits from a very clear system of indicating the tone of a word. I really liked the way the word tones are graphically shown. Nice big clear tone symbols which conveyed the tone of the words without you having to stop and think what the tone sign means. Too many Thai books I have read have unclear graphic systems or a graphic representation so small that it is almost impossible to determine what tone is being shown, even with a magnifying glass! Still, at least these books have some kind of way of indicating tones. I have some Thai learning books that don't even show the tone, even though Thai is a tonal language! Crazy! The Speak Thai system is good. It shows the tones of all words with clear large graphics - line under the word = low tone, line above the word = high tone, rising line above the word = rising tone, falling line above the word = falling tone. No tone mark = mid tone. Dead simple and effective.
Finally, I must say that I found the overall nature of the book very helpful and encouraging. When reading the book, it really felt like the author was sitting with me, anticipating potential language difficulties and providing advice and encouragement to help me through. A contrast I think from some other Thai language learning books where the language is presented by a teacher that has gone AWOL. The task of learning is also lightened through the use of humorous picture that illustrate some of the language or culture points covered and through the provision of interesting insight into language or culture points. I found this quite a refreshing approach and it did help enliven my learning experience. Picking up the book was never a drag. There was always the prospect of learning some new interesting facet of Thai culture or life.
So what about the DVD? The concept of the book and DVD is an interesting one. As the author explains the book and DVD need to be used together. The book helps provide the language learning, whilst the DVD provides the teaching of correct pronunciation and tones.
It's a long DVD at 3 hours. It feels like that anyway possibly because it is so crammed full of words and phrases. All the word and phrases in the book appear on the DVD, in the same order and sequence of the book. The DVD has a master menu and chapter menu to help you get to the part of program you want to listen to which is very helpful. Each word or phrase is shown, spoken clearly in English and Thai and then there is time for you to repeat the word or phrase copying the pronunciation, what the book calls the `see, hear' speak' system. This, plus a very good section on pronunciation really helped me to make good progress on my own pronunciation, which has always been a big liability for me when it came to speaking Thai.
The pacing of the DVD is pretty good too, neither too fast nor too slow. I really liked the audio quality and speed of speaking employed by the native Thai speaker. The lady has a lovely speaking voice which even after repeated listens does not jar. She is so clear in her pronunciation of words and tones, and you definitely hear the difference between long and short vowel sounds in any given word. No question about it, the DVD really did help me immeasurably in getting my own pronunciation up to a better standard, but also as important, I got a far better feel for the language rhythm than ever before.
One thing that has always been a problem for me, and many other farangs I know, is in getting the word tone right, and indeed, in being to determine what the tone of a word you hear spoken is. This DVD was extremely helpful in sorting out this problem. Read more ›
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
I ordered Speak Isaan Thai Volume 1 and was so happy with it that I also ordered Speak Thai Volume 1. I spoke already some Thai, but especially these DVD's give me a lot more insight into the rhythm and melody of Thai sentences. I realise that this is very important to be understood.
The colour coding and tonemarks make it very easy to learn Thai. With all the other book you need to learn a system first before you can start learning the language and then you still must look up words in a dictionary. I learn quickly a lot more, without distraction because of strange phonetics.
Speak Thai Volume 1 also fills a lot of holes in my knowledge of Thai, because of the logical order words and sentences are being presented. I wished I had these books and DVD's when I first came to Thailand. It would have saved me a lot of misunderstandings being able to communicate well with Thais.
The colour coding and tonemarks make it very easy to learn Thai. With all the other book you need to learn a system first before you can start learning the language and then you still must look up words in a dictionary. I learn quickly a lot more, without distraction because of strange phonetics.
Speak Thai Volume 1 also fills a lot of holes in my knowledge of Thai, because of the logical order words and sentences are being presented. I wished I had these books and DVD's when I first came to Thailand. It would have saved me a lot of misunderstandings being able to communicate well with Thais.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
If you have been to Thailand and intend returning to the Land of Smiles, however you want to be ablr to communicate more, then this is an ideal way to learn basic Thai. The interaction between book and DVD is perfct for getting those difficult tones correct. As with everything it needs a bit of work. I'm waiting for the time I can order the second volume.Speak Thai Volume 1 (Book + DVD) (Speak Thai)
Most Recent Customer Reviews
learn to speak thai
Book and DVD are great. Really easy to understand and an undaunting start to my thai lessons! I can'[t wait to get good enough to order the second book.
Published 4 months ago by debbieeng
Seems to be good
I have learned quyite a few langauages... but Thai seemed to be up there with Russian... The best thing about this book is that it colour codes the words to make it easier to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by G. Jones
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