I am currently a beginner at learning how to speak Thai. Like many others I dabbled for a couple years but never fully committed my focus and always had others things going on. This would cause me to lose focus and lose my consistency. I’ve learned that once the consistency is gone, then it can be very hard to get back.
I have learned from my time spent studying and I have reached a few conclusions on the best strategies and techniques for learning Thai. My current level of Thai is a vocab of around 2-300 words. So now that you have my background, lets get into the good stuff.
Automatic Language Growth (ALG)
Automatic Language Growth, more commonly known as ALG, is a language learning strategy where students try to learn a language the same way an infant does. To do this, students watch videos that are recorded as graded learners. With Thai, their are several channels making these videos for students such as Comprehensible Thai and Understand Thai. These channels have thousands of hours of content available for free.
One rule in ALG is that students are supposed to just listen closely and try to understand through visual hints and such. However, there is debate on whether this is necessary. Comprehensible Input is a common language learning tool used in other languages, ALG is basically just only using this study tool. I am personally not following this rule. I am using comprehensible input as my main language learning tool, but I am also learning through other methods. I would estimate that 90% of my language learning is comprehensible input.
Anki
Anki is not just an app for flashcards. It uses spaced repetition science to help you learn vocabulary. Anki is possibly the most tested and proven language learning tool their is. In 2025, you would have to be crazy to not implement Anki into your language learning plan. Their are numerous Thai language “decks” available on Anki, so you have multiple options to select which ever you like best. For instance, I have a Thai food deck downloaded that displays a picture of a Thai dish on the front and the Thai name and it pronounced on the back.
Learn to Read
I have used a popular book to learn how to read Thai. This did a lot for my confidence. After learning to read, I am more confident in my Thai language knowledge, even in other departments such as input and output (listening and talking). I was also surprised at how easy it was to learn. Don’t get me wrong, it will probably take you longer than 10 days (like some sources advertise 555) but after just a few days I was confident in my knowledge. However my knowledge was incomplete, I remembered the consonants quickly but the vowels were more challenging. After a couple of weeks though, I found I was decently confident in my abilities.
With this being said, I believe that reading is indispensable. It gives you the rules for the language that you are attempting to speak. It shows you why words sound like they do. It shows you why sentences are constructed in the way that they are. So, I believe that reading is very important to me learning Thai and I plan on committing more time to it in the future. It is also fun to learn since the letters are so unique looking.
To be Continued:
I am still a beginner to learning Thai, but I plan to spend the next couple years of my life committed to it through the strategies I have listed above. I believe I am only a few months of hard studying away from reaching intermediate status. I will continue to post updates here along the way, so stay tuned if your are interested.
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