This made my day.
I noticed this morning that VOA Thai is now posting mp3s with transcripts on their homepage. The availability of transcripts makes their site one of the best sources of comprehensible Thai input on the internet.
I don't know how long they've been doing this, but it's great. Welcome to 2007!
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Technorati tags: second language acquisition, thai language
Showing posts with label mp3s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mp3s. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Gallery of Obscure Patents
This is an amusing VOA Thai clip about the online Gallery of Obscure Patents.
Click here to listen. Posted with permission.
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Technorati tags: second language acquisition, patents, thai language
Click here to listen. Posted with permission.
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Technorati tags: second language acquisition, patents, thai language
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Superman Again
A while back, I posted a VOA news clip about Superman.
With a lot of help from my Thai wife, I have posted a transcript at the link below. I'm using it as a supplement to the audio. I hope it's helpful to other people as well.
Superman บินได้...
Transcribing this made me realize:
1. I need to learn to type Thai properly, so that I don't have to copy-paste from this tool and the online dictionaries at thai2english and thai-language.com.
2. When listening, I still often confuse the short and long "a" sounds อะ and อา.
3. I don't understand spacing rules in Thai very well.
4. Transcription takes a lot of time. :)
(VOA clip used with permission.)
Technorati tags: second language acquisition, thai language
With a lot of help from my Thai wife, I have posted a transcript at the link below. I'm using it as a supplement to the audio. I hope it's helpful to other people as well.
Superman บินได้...
Transcribing this made me realize:
1. I need to learn to type Thai properly, so that I don't have to copy-paste from this tool and the online dictionaries at thai2english and thai-language.com.
2. When listening, I still often confuse the short and long "a" sounds อะ and อา.
3. I don't understand spacing rules in Thai very well.
4. Transcription takes a lot of time. :)
(VOA clip used with permission.)
Technorati tags: second language acquisition, thai language
Monday, November 27, 2006
Superman Returns
VOA Thai recently gave me permission to post MP3 clips from their news programs.
Here is a great little clip about Superman from last summer, when Superman Returns was released in theatres.
Click here to listen
(From VOA Thai, used with permission.)
I love listening to this kind of report, in which the subject matter is very interesting* and very familiar. Even if a lot of the vocabulary is new, there are enough "hooks" to make sense out of the report, and the vocabulary becomes more familiar the more I listen.
*Superman is, of course, super-interesting!
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Technorati tags: second language acquisition, thai, thai language, superman
Here is a great little clip about Superman from last summer, when Superman Returns was released in theatres.
Click here to listen
(From VOA Thai, used with permission.)
I love listening to this kind of report, in which the subject matter is very interesting* and very familiar. Even if a lot of the vocabulary is new, there are enough "hooks" to make sense out of the report, and the vocabulary becomes more familiar the more I listen.
*Superman is, of course, super-interesting!
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Technorati tags: second language acquisition, thai, thai language, superman
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
In my search for "comprehensible input", I have been delighted to find excellent Thai language audio resources at http://www.learningthai.com. The link labeled "Listen" navigates to dialogs, essays, and stories written and read by primary school students.
I'm currently listening to the story called "Red Boat". As I repeatedly listen over time, it is becoming more and more comprehensible, reminding me of the way features used to slowly appear in old Polaroid photographs. At first, I thought I would need to work to "make" this process happen, but it doesn't seem to be necessary. I listen over and over, between watching Thai DVDs and listening to my Thai wife speak, and the stream of nonsense is starting to acquire meaning. Even if some of the story is beyond my "i+1" level at any given time, parts of the narrative are always at the proper level. This method turns everything I thought I knew about language study on its head.
I am studying Thai language once a week at the Buddhist temple near my house. It's great to meet other friendly farang who are interested in learning Thai, and to chat with the monks and Thai people who stop by the temple. I have some interest in Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, and it's wonderful to keep in touch with Buddhism as I study Thai.
The temple lessons emphasize reading and writing, which is very helpful to me. However, there is also a tendency to want to build vocabulary through translation and memorization. Since study is entirely self-directed, I may start to de-emphasize memorization for myself. Words and phrases acquired through translation and memorization are different from words acquired naturally through listening. Memorized words tend not to "stick", and there is often little internalized context for how to use them correctly. Words and phrases that I have acquired slowly through listening are "just there", along with their usage.
I'm currently listening to the story called "Red Boat". As I repeatedly listen over time, it is becoming more and more comprehensible, reminding me of the way features used to slowly appear in old Polaroid photographs. At first, I thought I would need to work to "make" this process happen, but it doesn't seem to be necessary. I listen over and over, between watching Thai DVDs and listening to my Thai wife speak, and the stream of nonsense is starting to acquire meaning. Even if some of the story is beyond my "i+1" level at any given time, parts of the narrative are always at the proper level. This method turns everything I thought I knew about language study on its head.
I am studying Thai language once a week at the Buddhist temple near my house. It's great to meet other friendly farang who are interested in learning Thai, and to chat with the monks and Thai people who stop by the temple. I have some interest in Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, and it's wonderful to keep in touch with Buddhism as I study Thai.
The temple lessons emphasize reading and writing, which is very helpful to me. However, there is also a tendency to want to build vocabulary through translation and memorization. Since study is entirely self-directed, I may start to de-emphasize memorization for myself. Words and phrases acquired through translation and memorization are different from words acquired naturally through listening. Memorized words tend not to "stick", and there is often little internalized context for how to use them correctly. Words and phrases that I have acquired slowly through listening are "just there", along with their usage.
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