Language Centre
Thai Elementary Course
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Key information
Key information
- Duration
- 1 term per sub-level; 10 weeks per term
- Attendance mode
- Part-time, online/blended learning
Course overview
This course aims to build on the knowledge and skills gained during the Beginners level. New grammatical concepts will be introduced and students will get extensive reading practice in the Thai script.
The course aims to build up vocabulary for practical daily use and improve all four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). As the course progresses, it aims to provide you with further confidence and vocabulary to discuss more complex topics, write and read more challenging texts in the language.
Method
The course covers the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. At this level all texts are provided in Thai script. Students will also get to practise conversational skills by acting out pre-written dialogues and customising them. You are expected to attend regularly, participate in class and complete homework regularly to ensure learning progress.
This will be achieved through 20 hours of blended learning: this is composed of 15 hours of online structured lessons with the teacher. This is supplemented by a minimum of 5 hours of guided independent learning supported by complementary material. The course objective will be achieved within the 10-week course.
Materials
Elementary 1 has a compulsory textbook: Complete Thai: Teach Yourself David Smyth (2017)
ISBN-13 : 978-1444101911.
Elementary 2-3: Materials are provided by the teacher.
Course materials are not included in the course fee and can be purchased from the SOAS bookshop bookshop@soas.ac.uk (We strongly recommend waiting until your course is confirmed before purchasing the textbook).
Entry requirements and progression route
To join any of the Thai Elementary courses, you should have completed Beginners 1-3 at SOAS Language Centre or have an equivalent knowledge of Thai. The progression route from Thai Elementary 1 is to Thai Elementary 2; from Elementary 2 to Elementary 3.
Upon successful completion of Thai Elementary 3 you will be able to progress to the Pre-Intermediate level course in Thai.
Please note, that each term, courses are subject to quorum requirements.
For course dates and information, please see our timetables.
Related information
See the full list of Language Centre short courses in Thai on the Thai homepage.
Structure
Thai Elementary 1
By the end of the course you should be able to:
- talk about your interests
- talk about work
- describe people and emotions
- link sentences together using conjunctions
- talk about items for sale
- describe your feelings
- talk about your family
- describe your house
- talk about birthdays and parties
Thai Elementary 2
By the end of the course you should be able to:
- describe the geography of Thailand or other countries
- employ a variety of useful phrases when eating out
- talk about your experience learning Thai
- talk about university
- talk about work and family in greater detail
- talk about moving and describing homes in detail
- talk about travelling in greater detail
- make comparisons
- talk about things going wrong
Thai Elementary 3
By the end of the course you should be able to:
- describe your family in greater detail
- talk about traffic and transport
- talk about food and restaurants in greater detail
- describe a party including food and directions
- talk about shopping and markets in greater detail
- interact in more complex shopping scenarios
- talk about holidays and time off
- talk about language learning in greater detail
- use a wide variety of time phrases
The above is an indication of content that may be covered over the duration of the course but it could vary depending on the level and progress of students in the class.
Disclaimer
Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules.
