There are many foreigners from almost every country across the globe living in Thailand. Many of them try to learn Thai, and most are disappointed in themselves after even a sustained effort at attempting to master this very difficult language. Speaking, writing, and reading Thai is difficult for foreigners, there is no doubt about that.

It is humorous that, as visitors to Thailand we also look around at the level of English spoken by Thais and marvel that they do not seem to grasp it and speak at a higher level than they do. It really is not so puzzling when considered in reverse - visitors can usually speak no more than a few words, or at most two or three sentences in Thai. Even then, they probably are not speaking Thai correctly with the proper tones and respect.

The Thai alphabet has thirty-two vowels. Does that sound like a lot when compared to the English language having five? To me it does! In fairness, there are only twenty basic vowel sounds, which does sound a little more manageable.

Most students of Thai start out learning by speaking Thai because it is actually easier to progress a little bit than it is reading and writing it. This is the wrong way to go about learning Thai because the intricacies of pronunciation must be learned early on if you are to have any success. There are sounds used in the Thai language that have no equivalent in English... sounds like: ng, dt, dth, neu, and many more that require repetitive practice and ideally, evaluation from a Thai native speaker.

Recommendations for learning Thai language:

1. Find a very good book to help you learn the Thai alphabet and learn all the consonant and vowel sounds before anything else. A good book will have the Thai characters matched up with photos of some other scenes that are familiar to you. Many foreigners are using the proven, "Learn the Thai Alphabet in 60 Minutes" ebook which I mention in a link below.

2. Ask a native Thai speaker to teach you the nuances of these sounds that are sure to be new to you.

3. In addition to learning the Thai alphabet, write down pneumonic hints that will help you with pronunciation when you are studying Thai on your own. Record your learning sessions so you can play them back and learn during non-class time.

4. Study daily, and practice speaking words and sentences to Thai people often.

5. Learn to read Thai signs - this will help you save money, and find stores and restaurants you are looking for much more quickly.

6. Download some free podcasts from the Apple iTunes store. There are a couple that are right on and help a lot because they are created by Thai people explaining how to speak in Thai.

Good luck with your Thai language learning, remember, it is practice that counts more than anything.

Author, Mike Fook has dedicated himself to learning Thai over the five years he has lived as an expatriate in Thailand, the "Land of Smiles." Mike can now speak conversational Thai and has a vocabulary of nearly two-thousand words. The most helpful book he has ever found on learning Thai language is the "60 Minute Guide to Learning the Thai Alphabet" which is offered at www.ThailandeBooks.com