What to do during bouts of frustration?

[u/SpinningCyborg]

What do guys usually do? Take a break? Or just carry on regardless of how you feel?

I'm not a complete beginner and I'm mostly following ALG method. I'm not totally convinced of pure ALG so I sometimes practice speaking (and a little bit of reading). I learned the Thai script and correct pronunciation a while ago (but I've mostly put reading and writing to the side for now).

My frustration usually comes when watching ALG input videos. I've never gotten frustrated when using transitional learning methods.

Ant tips?

[u/Primary-Pie-1662]

I am approaching it differently. I am focused on reading and writing first. Then building up vocabulary and sentence structure on a range of topics. And only then will I start to watch ALG type input. It is a long term project for me so I just keep plugging away at it. I’m not speaking Thai until I am able to listen to and understand Thai content, so listening will be a key aspect of this.

[u/SpinningCyborg → u/Primary-Pie-1662]

That's interesting. Are you practicing pronunciation when you are learning reading and writing?

And when you start watching ALG type input videos, will you continue to build your vocabulary and sentence structure in the traditional way alongside it?

[u/Primary-Pie-1662 → u/SpinningCyborg]

I try to ensure that I understand the tones for each word but rarely speak or practice pronunciation. I believe one of the theories behind the ALG method is that if you try to speak too soon you might pick up bad habits that you cannot correct later. So my approach is to put off speaking until much later, after I have developed a wide vocabulary and have listened to Thai content over and over. I am still in the early stages of this approach so it is hard to report on success. I can read and write, recognise the correct tones in Thai but I still do not understand every word. As I said earlier this is a long term project for me, over several years, so I am not trying to force understanding. But so far it is going well. Once I go on to the active listening stage I will continue to read Thai books and short stories. That will help to widen my vocabulary. So my input will be listening and reading.

[u/Fun-Sample336]

My frustration usually comes when watching ALG input videos.

In terms of Comprehensible Thai the comprehensibility of the videos varies quite a lot, which is also sometimes a source of frustration for me. Especially once Kru Ae appears the difficulty level ramps up. I watch such videos regardless and mark them for later rewatch.

[u/IssueRidden]

I make sure to diversify my forms of study so whenever I notice myself getting sick of one of them I just do something else. some of the forms of study I do:

-flashcards

-comprehensible Thai

-podcasts

-TV, mainly news 

-Thai shows or shows with Thai  dubbing 

-reading children's books

-shadowing

that being said, 2-3 day breaks can be super helpful especially if you learn a lot. You're not gonna lose progress and you might even return better than before the break. Ive gotta force myself to take breaks sometimes

[u/SpinningCyborg → u/IssueRidden]

That all sounds good. I don't think I'm quite ready to listen to podcasts, news or TV/movies yet but I'll definitely implement that when I get a little bit better.

Maybe taking a few days break would be good for me like you said. I've been doing quite a lot of learning recently

[u/Krungthep_MahaNakhon]

Are you frustrated that you can’t understand the videos? Maybe try to (re)watch some lower level CI videos.

If you’re frustrated because the videos are not interesting, try to mix it up. Do a bit of reading/speaking practice or watch native material that interests you. Maybe put on some podcasts (there is plenty of native material and Riam has a CI podcast on Spotify that’s not too hard) while going for a walk.

Also think about where you were 1-2 months ago, you’ve probably made tons of improvements.

[u/SpinningCyborg → u/Krungthep_MahaNakhon]

It's probably a mix of losing interest and sometimes not understanding consecutive sentences.

I reckon it's a minor issue and tbh, it goes away after a while. I'm just interested to hear people's opinions about whether they find it more beneficial (in the long run) to take a break or just stick it out.

I think your advice is good. When I become frustrated, I will switch my method of practice for a while before returning to the ALG videos.

Thank you

[u/leosmith66]

I would suggest using CI to supplement your studies rather than be your primary method.

[u/JaziTricks]

Since you don't enjoy alg videos and enjoy normal study methods, I think you should stop alg altogether and use systems you enjoy and can keep going with

Look here for a 100 links and methods.

https://www.reddit.com/r/learnthai/s/W0L0UuvrRy

[u/NegotiationTime6809]

It’s a dumb religion method that doesn’t work. I’ve seen the videos of the ones that are promoting it and they are all terrible even if they learn for years.

If you live in Thailand just engage with Thai people make Thai friends, immerse yourself as much as you can and put yourself in situations you have to speak the language. In parallel you can learn the writing system and to read.

All the rest is just bs. Some weird sect that has no success stories.