There is an idiom that the Thais use to describe how their culture is seen by the outside world, 'Pak Chee Loy Naa', or literally, 'Corriander leaves floating on top'. The pretty decorative green leaves that the observer sees on top of the Thai 'soup' give no indication of what is submerged just below the surface. And so it is with the Thai culture.

     You can live in this country for decades, work, marry, have children, but still be very little aware of how those around you think and feel. Most Thais will let you see only what is on the surface. Your relationships here may never rise to more than superficial. But you may want more than that. If you want to take a peak beneath the facade your first step is to learn Thai.

     Especially for the native English speaker, Thai is one of the more difficult languages in the world for us to learn. Besides having consonants and vowels that our mouths find almost impossible to form, it is a tonal language. A word with the same consonant and vowel sounds will have completely different meanings when the tone changes. If your tones aren't correct, no matter how much they smile, no one will understand you.

     Life is so much fuller when you become proficient in Thai. Sure, you will be able to order food correctly in a restaurant, and buy toilet paper at the corner store, and tell your gardener which trees to prune, but you will also be able to converse with and share your ideas with friends and your spouse and others around you, and in doing so find out a little of what they are thinking. It is so sad to see a Frarang speaking broken English to a Thai responding in broken English. This is not communication.

     It's best to learn Thai with a good teacher. There are two basic Thai language teaching philosophies used throughout the country. When choosing a school or tutor to take Thai lessons from you would need to decide which one is correct for you.

     Some schools emphasise speaking, especially stressing the correct production of Thai tones. Schools like those of The American University Alumni Language Centers (AUA), who have been at it as long as anyone, stress speaking and pronunciation in their early levels. This works best when our objective is to quickly learn how to communicate. As for reading and writing, I spoke Thai for more than 25 years before teaching myself to read and write, and hardest of all, type in Thai. So you can easily get by for a long time without being able to read.

     Other schools will emphasise reading and writing from the beginning. These are more academic in scope. Universities like Payap University in Chiang Mai and Tammasat University in Bangkok will be more for the scholar. We all learn differently and this might suit your needs.

     Choose a school that will best meet your objectives. Once you understand Thai you will realise that the Thai language is unbelievably rich. The person you once looked at as simple and uninteresting when speaking fractured English may turn into an intelligent raconteur when speaking Thai. And your relationships might just become a little deeper and your Thai experience a little fuller.