3The majority of foreigners staying in Thailand are not able to speak even basic Thai. In most cases they don't make any efforts to studying Thai at all because they are told that it is just "too difficult". This is not true, in fact learning Thai is easier than learning Western languages like English, French or German. The only real challenge during the beginning of your Thai language studies is to getting used to the five tones (low, mid, high, falling and rising) as well as to the other two elements of pronouncing words correctly: the vowel length and the pronunciation of the final consonant. The other group of foreigners that do want to make some effort on learning Thai fail simply because they have trouble in finding a suitable learning method. Being a foreigner myself and having studied the Thai language for several years I know exactly how an easy to use and efficient Thai beginner's book should be written and structured. The Thai Beginner's Course is not just the most efficient but also the most practical English textbook available. The Thai Beginner's Course contains an extensive pronunciation guide with detailed instructions on how to pronounce all consonants and vowels used in the transliteration of Thai script, the tone marks, the vowel length and the pronunciation of final consonants. There are ten easy lessons built on one another and structured didactically each covering its own topic or situation of everyday life (i.e. small talk, going on a trip, at home). The lessons are divided into a vocabulary section followed by an explanation of grammar and terminology coming up in the lesson. Next comes the conversation and sentences part that puts all new vocabulary and grammar into practice. Each lesson concludes with a test consisting of each four sentences in Thai and English that have to be translated. The solutions can be found in the appendix. All vocabulary, conversations and sentences written in this book are provided in Thai transliteration, Thai script and English. There is no prior knowledge required for studying with the Thai Beginner's Course. By the end of lesson 10 you will not just be proficient of more than 900 Thai words, but more importantly you will not just be learning some 900 random words but the most used and important words in the Thai language, what enables you to express yourself in all different kind of real life situations - as well as understanding what Thai people are saying to you. I wish you fun and enjoyment in mastering one of the world's most interesting languages as you go along with the Thai Beginner's Course and let me assure you: Learning Thai is not as difficult as you might think. Stefan Neumair Author Thai Beginner's Course - The 10 Lessons: Lesson 1 - Introducing Yourself Introducing Yourself, Personal Pronouns, Easy Questions, Places & Colors Lesson 2 - Small Talk Verbs (1), Adjectives (1), Question Words, Cities, Countries & Nationalities Lesson 3 - In the Bar Verbs (2), Adjectives (2), Nightlife Vocabulary & Courting Lesson 4 - At Work Past Tense, Future Tense, Occupations, Days of the Week, Months Lesson 5 - Going on a Trip Vehicles, Buying a Ticket, Telling Time, Fruit, Holiday Vocabulary Lesson 6 - Food Present / Future Progressive Form ("-ing"), Thai dishes, Conversation while having a meal, Food Vocabulary Lesson 7 - Body Parts Body parts, Asking after someone's well-being, Adjectives (3) Lesson 8 - Shopping Bargaining, Clothes, Comparisons, Classifiers Lesson 9 - Family & Animals Talking about Family Members, Pets & Animals Lesson 10 - At Home Talking at Home