Attempting to Learn Thai 11

April 17, 2007
Months in Thailand: 9.5
Hours at AUA: ~820 (Level 5-10)
Other study: None since I started at AUA (before that, some minimal self-study and 6 very poor classes at another school)

In Class:
No update. AUA closed for Songran back on the 6th, so there is nothing to tell.

Out of Class:
I went to Chiang Mai for Songkran with 6 friends: one other American, a Malay guy who works in Singapore, and four Thais. During the trip (which I will post about soon) there was a lot of English being spoken, but also a great deal of Thai. In particular, when it was just me and some combination of the Thais, it was usually Thai, and I was definitely a part of the conversation. I didn't follow 100%, but I was understanding the gist almost all the time, and following the details the majority of the time. I was speaking quite a bit too and being well understood, though I still can't really express complex or nuanced thoughts very well at all. All told, for the first time I felt that I was fully participating in long, fully Thai conversations, rather than speaking one-on-one with someone who is substantially adjusting their speech for me. Amazing.

Attempting to Learn Thai 10

April 2, 2007
Months in Thailand: 9
Hours at AUA: ~800 (Level 5-10)
Other study: None since I started at AUA (before that, some minimal self-study and 6 very poor classes at another school)

In Class:

Nothing big, but incremental improvements in AT5-10 understanding. I am going to make a prediction: AT1 and 2 took about 150 hours to plateau, AT3-4 took about 250, and AT5-10 is going to take 400. That is 300 hours from now... it is strange to think that I might be able to stop going to AUA listening classes in the near future. Sad, almost...

Out of Class:

Here is the real reason for my post. Last night, I watched a Thai movie in the theater and I followed it! I had the gist at all times and understood the majority of the dialouge well. My understanding was similar to an average hour of AT5-10, something like 70%! It was definitely an unusually easy movie to understand (just the night before I watched a Korean movie dubbed with spoken Thai, and my understanding was like 20-30%) but nevertheless, this is a real milestone.

A week before, I also noticed that I could follow this one drama (ok, soap opera may be more accurate) on TV. It's not that I get all the vocab or even all the dialouge, but I can follow it between about 60-80%.

I believe I have hit critical mass, reached the point at which I understand enough to learn from things around me. In many cases (like the Korean movie), things are over my head, but I am getting enough to benefit from it.