Thai

At IU you can learn Thai language to achieve a wide range of goals, including, but not limited to, the enhancement of your qualifications for international business, the exploration or cultivation of family heritage, the direct access to a prominent cultural tradition, and the skill acquisition for your research in academic fields, such as the history of Southeast Asian and ASEAN countries and their art-related history.

Thai Language

The Southeast Asian Studies Program offers 4 semesters of Thai language instruction:

SEAS-T 101 Elementary Thai I
Linguistic competencies upon completion of this course (ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012):
Speaking and Listening: Novice Mid
Students can recognize and communicate minimally with highly contextualized words and memorized phrases.
Reading and Writing: Novice Low
Students can form Thai letters and can identify high-frequency words and/or phrases when strongly supported by context.
Culture competencies upon completion of this course:
Students will learn basic facts about Thailand and how to behave politely by Thai norms. Students develop insight into the nature of Thai language and culture through introduction to Thai superstitions as well as body language.

SEAS-T 102 Elementary Thai II
Linguistic competencies upon completion of this course (ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012):
Speaking and Listening: Novice High
Students can ask formulaic questions and respond to simple, direct questions or requests for information. Students can understand speech dealing with areas of practical need such as highly standardized messages, phrases, or instructions.
Reading and Writing: Novice Mid
Students can recognize high frequency words and write limited information on simple forms and documents.
Culture competencies upon completion of this course:
Students will deepen their knowledge of daily lives in Thailand. They will become familiar with unique aspects of Thai culture such as working elephants and tuk-tuks.

SEAS-T 201 Intermediate Thai I
Linguistic competencies upon completion of this course (ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012):
Speaking and Listening: Intermediate Low
Students can express personal meaning by combining and recombining what they know and what they hear from their interlocutors into short statements and discrete sentences. Students can understand some information from sentence-length speech, one utterance at a time, in basic personal and social contexts.
Reading and Writing: Novice High
Students can meet limited basic practical writing needs using lists, short messages, postcards, and simple notes. Students can understand predictable language and messages such as those found on train schedules, roadmaps, and street signs.
Culture competencies upon completion of this course:
Students understand Thai conceptions of time and of the body and are able to contrast to those of other cultures.

SEAS-T 202 Intermediate Thai II
Linguistic competencies upon completion of this course (ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012):
Speaking and Listening: Intermediate Mid
Students can ask a variety of questions when necessary to obtain simple information to satisfy basic needs, such as directions, prices, and services. Students can understand simple, sentence-length speech, one utterance at a time, in a variety of basic personal and social contexts.
Reading and Writing: Intermediate Low
Students can create statements and formulate questions based on familiar material. Students can understand some information from simple connected texts.
Culture competencies upon completion of this course:
Students understand Thai conceptions of cosmology and affective orientations and are able to contrast to those of other cultures.

For more information about these courses, please contact our Director, Dr. Margaret (Peg) Sutton.