Learning new skills is always good – especially so for practical skills that are useful in the workplace. Even if you do not actively use certain skills for work, picking up new skills is still very useful for profiling yourself as someone constantly open to learning. Especially for Singaporeans above 25 years old, you can use SkillsFuture credits to cover your course fees. So why not! Use your time at home more meaningfully and consider learning the Thai Language today!
Learning the Thai Language will help you navigate Thailand more easily
In the Pre-Covid days, Bangkok was a must-go place for cheap apparel shopping. The wonders of Pratunam and Chatuchak will leave you hungry for more shopping trips, not to mention the delicious Thai food and Thai massage you can enjoy in Bangkok. Basic Thai speaking skills beyond “sawatdee krub/ka” can help you impress stallholders when you haggle for better prices or even get the taxi driver to give you a metered fare. Just a simple phrase “Lot noy dai mai” / (please reduce the price by a little) can save you some Thai baht to indulge in more Thai milk tea 🤩
Interested to learn the Thai Language? Here’s what you can explore!
Practice your Thai speaking skills and learn how to use Thai to express everyday small talk.
A serious Thai learner aiming to master Thai reading and writing? Start off by learning to text in Thai!
Go for regular Thai classes. Use your SkillsFuture credits to offset your Thai Language course fees!
Learning the Thai language will give you a greater appreciation of Thai/Southeast Asia culture
Learning a language is a way to widen your world view as it is entwined with a country’s culture and way of life. For example, Thai people sometimes call out “you” “you” to foreigners which can sound weird and borderline rude in English. However, this is actually polite when you translate it back into Thai language because Thais are referring to the polite version of “you” in Thai language which is “khun”. This is just one example of how learning a language is so important to prevent misunderstandings of different cultures.
Another example: The Thai language is very fluid and their favourite phrase is “mai pben rai” / no worries. This ties in with Thailand’s general laid back culture. In contrast, the Japanese language has a lot of rules and restrictions and this is reflected in their very structured society. As Singapore positions itself to be the “gateway to Southeast Asia” and serves as the HQ for the region, it is very important to have a familiarity of Southeast Asia culture to do business with the region. Learning the Thai language will also open the doors to building friendships with the Thai locals, which again will go a long way to increase your understanding and appreciation of Thai culture.
Learning Thai is fun! And Thai media is increasingly popular in Singapore.
Even though there is no “Thai wave” like how “JPop” and subsequently “KPop” swept through Asia, it is nevertheless undeniable that Thai media is increasingly popular with Singaporeans. More Thai Lakorns/dramas have made it to Singapore’s television – one of which is the very popular “Love Destiny/Bupphesanniwat” บุพเพสันนิวาส 🤩 Learning the Thai language will excite you no end when you catch familiar phrases here and there while lapping up Thai lakorns. Thai songs are increasingly popular too and understanding the meaning of Thai song lyrics will help you enjoy the song better!
If you still need more motivation to learn the Thai language, check out my blog post here on 5 recommended Thai dramas to watch!
Get help with learning to read, write and text in Thai today! 🥰
About the author – see the About page for more information
Joanne Tan is an aspiring polyglot and has so far mastered English, Chinese and Thai languages. She first started learning Thai in 2015 before staying in Bangkok for 5 months, and then continued studying Thai up to Advanced Levels at the National University of Singapore. In 2017, Joanne was awarded ‘Advanced Thai Proficiency’ by the Sirindhorn Thai Language Institute of Chulalongkorn University. Today, Joanne continues to teach her friends basic Thai speaking and helps her Thai friends actively promote Thai culture.
