Understand spoken language

Thai alphabet lesson

Submitted by Hugh on 27 January 2013

After six months of learning Thai using only a listening and speaking approach (aural-oral), I decided that it was more and more necessary to learn to read Thai.  My principal aim is still to learn to understand and speak Thai (rather than to read it and write it), but I was beginning to feel frustration sometimes that I could not read some of the material that might help me to understand and speak.  So, this week, I made the decision that I would now make the effort to learn to read Thai.

Thai dialogues also given the Literal breakdown column treatment

Submitted by Hugh on 21 January 2013

In the Index of Thai dialogues I have now added a "Literal breakdown" column, similar to the one I have just added for the index of Thai phrases.  Here the phrases in the breakdown have been arranged in an unordered list for clarity, rather than in a single row.  The adding of the dialogue breakdown makes this index much more easy to use, since it is clear at a glance what each dialogue contains.

Literal breakdown column in dictionary of Thai phrases

Submitted by Hugh on 21 January 2013

I'm pleased to have now added in the Dictionary of Thai phrases a column which shows the literal breakdown on a given phrase.  This was already available when you went into the phrase, but it is a lot more convenient to be able to see it at a glance in the table.  It also helps me to see  more clearly which phrases still need to have the literal breakdown added or finished!

What is a quiz?

Submitted by admin on 22 November 2012

A quiz consists of up to 10 questions taken from a particular lesson, and is the main way in which Lingopolo teaches you the words and phrases. Each question in the quiz is scored either right or wrong.

How exactly does this spaced repetition system work?

Submitted by admin on 22 November 2012

All you really need to know is the simplified answer which is in the "What do the levels mean for the words in a lesson?".  So make sure you've read that before reading on here.

What follows is a very geeky answer, so you can stop now unless you're really interested to know all the geeky detail.

A card is the term given for a word or phrase in the context of moving through the system of boxes.

What do the levels for the words and phrases mean?

Submitted by admin on 22 November 2012

The levels make sure you are learning the words and phrases in the most efficient way. We use a scientifically proven method called Spaced Repetition. All you have to remember is that the website will automatically calculate which is the best word or phrase to ask you next. The system ensures that you are gradually learning new words, that you get lots of revision of the most recent words or those words which you are having problems with, and that you are still revising old words.

How do I use Lingopolo to learn a language?

Submitted by admin on 19 November 2012

Lingopolo organises lessons into sets of words, and trains you to understand these words by quizzing you with flashcards.  Each quiz consists of 10 words.  At the start of each quiz, you will be shown your current knowledge of the set of words, and at the end of each quiz, you will be shown your new knowledge level.  The idea is that you move each set of words along from having a starting knowledge of 0% to the point where for each set you have a knowledge of 100%.

See also:

What is Lingopolo?

Submitted by admin on 19 November 2012

Lingopolo is a free website designed to teach you to understand and speak languages.  It does this through online lessons taught through quizzes.

For example, here is an example of a multi-choice question:

Multi-choice question

You can study the language with dozens of different themes:

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