- Innovative new learning tool for the student of the Thai language - Complementary to the study of spoken Thai - Downloadable MP3 audio files to support the lessons In order to master the Thai language, one must become adept at reading Thai. Students who rely on books with phonetic transliterations of Thai will make limited progress. In addition, some sounds in Thai have no direct equivalent in the Roman alphabet, so even the best transliterations cannot capture all the nuances of the language. Learning to read Thai is the path to a more profound grasp of the language. This book is based on years of experience teaching foreigners to speak and read Thai, and builds on the author's observations in the classroom about which rules of grammar, spelling and pronunciation most commonly impede their progress. Introduction to Thai Reading, designed to be a comprehensive foundation of 24 progressive lessons, will pave the way towards a solid and advanced knowledge of the Thai language. Those who complete the book will have acquired not only essential Thai reading skills, but also the vocabulary and grammar needed for basic Thai speaking. Includes downloadable MP3 audio files to accompany the text. Contents: PART 1 - LESSON 1: Introduction; LESSON 2: Consonants; LESSON 3: Vowels; LESSON 4: Initial Consonants; LESSON 5: Final Consonants; LESSON 6: Tones; LESSON 7: The Key Four Words; LESSON 8: How to Read Groups of Words; LESSON 9: Irregular Phonetics; LESSON 10: Two Initial Consonants; LESSON 11: Pronunciation Irregularities; LESSON 12: Rules; LESSON 13: Miscellaneous Signs; LESSON 14: Silent Vowels & Consonants; LESSON 15: About; LESSON 16: Unusual Spellings; LESSON 17: Twenty Thai Words; LESSON 18: Words of Similar Pronunciation; LESSON 19: Main Vocabulary Lists; LESSON 20: Additional Useful Vocabulary; LESSON 21: Menus, Forms, Labels, Signs; LESSON 22: Calendar and Geography; LESSON 23: Questions, Games, Crosswords; PART 2 - LESSON 24: How to Form Phrases and Sentences; PART 3 - Keys to Exercises.