For those who are interested in learning Thai, or any other language for that matter, there are so many options available that you almost need to take a course in order to choose the best method, program or class. Which is the best way to learn Thai? Which is the most effective way to learn Thai? And more importantly - which is the easiest way to learn Thai?

In order to answer this question we need to look at those who successfully learn a language, and consider how they do it. We don't need to look very far, the answer lies in each every one of us. As children the vast majority of us learned to speak our native language quite easily. But, until relatively recently it was an accepted fact that children learn languages more easily than adults. The standard view was that our brains change as we age, and we lose the ability we had as children to pick up languages easily.

Now however, it is becoming more commonly accepted, that our brain doesn't change as a direct result of the aging process, but rather we forget how to learn and think in certain ways, simply because we don't practice or use those areas of our brains. Instead we use more advanced analytical skills which hide or cover the learning processes we used as children.

As children who are unable to communicate in the new world we've been born in to, our senses are alert. Our ears are highly tuned to listening and learning how to communicate. At this stage it's a matter of survival. As we grow older the urgency to be able to communicate lessens, and gradually our listening skills weaken. We become less able to identify subtle differences in language sounds and tones as our brains become trained in our native tongue, and in essence, our basic need to communicate has been met. The good news is - this is reversible. If listening comprehension is made a key aspect of learning a second language, an adult student can improve his/her ability to understand different sounds, and interpret them into something meaningful.

In addition to possessing acute listening skills, as children we learn words not only by hearing them, but by relating them to an action, an object, or an emotion. Consider the word "smile" as an example. We learn the word smile when our parents say something along the lines of "Oh, that's a lovely smile!" while we're laying there looking up smiling. The word smile will repeatedly come up when we experience a smile, be it our own or someone else's. After a while we have a deep understanding of the word "smile" because we have repeatedly been exposed to and experienced the action, the emotion and the word, all in combination with each other, in many varied scenarios. This makes it easy to learn. We don't struggle to remember what the word smile means, we know innately, as its meaning is deeply ingrained within us.

These methods of learning tend to be ignored as we grow older and the logical brain starts to take over. In order to understand something we try to logically provide an explanation. When it comes to learning a second language we achieve this by translating the word to our own language. Unfortunately this reduces our chances of learning the second language successfully as we are always drawing on the emotions and memory traces of our native language, instead of the one we are trying to learn. Fortunately however, we have not lost the ability to learn through experience, emotion and our senses, more to the point, we have not been taught in that way for a long time, so our brain has forgotten how to do it.

The easiest way to learn Thai, or any other language, is to retrain our brains to learn in the way a child learns. To place an extremely large emphasis on listening comprehension and to learn through doing and experiencing in as many varied scenarios as possible.

Follow this link for an example of how these principles can be incorporated into a Thai language course.
http://www.effective-thai-language-classes.com/thai-lesson-videos.html

This article was produced by Paula Westberg, Managing Director of Lanta International Language School. Lanta International Language School is a Thai language school offering fast, fun and effective Thai language courses. Based on the latest findings in educational science, their new methods of teaching combine activity learning, e-learning and brain-friendly reading lessons to create a unique blend of Thai language courses for beginners, intermediate and advanced students.

http://www.effective-thai-language-classes.com