Student Material
Proven 20-Level Thai Curriculum — From First Conversations to Advanced Reading & Writing
At TSL Chiang Mai (Pantip Plaza, near the Night Bazaar), our 20-level textbook pathway moves you from basic conversation to reading complex Thai with confidence. Every level builds real-life skills—speaking, listening, reading, writing—so you make visible progress each month.
How it works (clear, step-by-step)
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Thai 1–3: Speaking Foundation — high-frequency phrases, tones/pronunciation, everyday dialogs.
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RW 1–3: Read & Write Starter — Thai alphabet, sound–spelling rules, essential handwriting/typing.
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Thai 4–15: Alphabet-Based Fluency — grammar in context, particles, natural phrasing, real-world topics.
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RW 4–5: Advanced Literacy — speed reading, news/articles, essays; formal & informal styles.
Find your perfect starting point
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Click each textbook to preview sample pages and objectives.
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Unsure of your level? Book a free level check—we’ll place you where you’ll improve fastest.
Timeline & outcomes
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Typical duration: ~20 months to complete the full pathway (varies by schedule/experience).
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You’ll achieve: natural conversation, confident reading, and clear writing you can use in Chiang Mai and across Thailand.
Flexible study options: group classes or customized private lessons (in-person/online) using the same proven sequence.
Over 900 students each year improve their Thai skills through TSL's structured 20-level system.
Thai level 1 (with phonetic transcription)
This book is designed for students who have never learned Thai before. It includes the absolute basics of how to greet people and introduce yourself, use question words, numbers, basic verbs, and adjectives including colors and flavors. The book also includes nouns such as foods and fruits.
Thai level 2 (with phonetic transcription)
Learn how to order food and drinks in Thai with confidence!
This lesson covers essential vocabulary such as fruits, colors, classifiers, and prepositions, helping you speak naturally in everyday situations.
Thai level 3 (with phonetic transcription)
Learn how to talk about time, dates, and people in Thai with confidence.
This lesson covers time, days, months, years, seasons, occupations, and describing what people look like, helping you communicate clearly in everyday situations.
Thai level 4 (with phonetic transcription)
This book includes lessons about parts of the body, health and symptoms, giving suggestions, and making comparisons.
Thai level 5 (with phonetic transcription)
This book is for students who have demonstrated an ability to speak and understand conversations using basic verb tenses. In this book, you will learn about grammatical rules, frequency, and active and passive verb tenses.
Thai level 6 (with Thai alphabet only)
This book is for students who can use basic verb tenses but have difficulty with more complex grammar structures and sentences. In this book, you will learn the higher grammatical rules such as the prefixes “การ” and “ความ”, as well as language expression.
Thai level 7 (with Thai alphabet only)
This book is for students who have difficulty understanding simple essays, news, and technical vocabulary. You will learn more about grammatical rules, conjunction words, and more elevated diction.
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Thai level 8 (with Thai alphabet only)
Thai Level 8 is designed to help learners move beyond basic sentences and start using Thai the way people really speak. Learners practice useful structures, everyday expressions, and real-life conversations. After completing this level, learners will feel more comfortable understanding natural Thai conversations and responding more fluently in daily situations.
Thai level 9 (with Thai alphabet only)
Thai Level 9 is designed for advanced learners who want to speak Thai more naturally and confidently. This level develops listening and speaking skills while introducing practical expressions and sentence patterns used in real-life situations.
Thai level 10 (with Thai alphabet only)
Thai Level 10 is designed for advanced learners who want to move beyond daily conversation and communicate ideas, opinions, and viewpoints more naturally in Thai. This level strengthens listening and speaking skills through discussion-based lessons and advanced sentence patterns used in real Thai conversations.
Thai level 11 (with Thai alphabet only)
Thai Level 11 is designed for advanced-high learners who want to understand real spoken Thai beyond textbooks. This level strengthens listening skills and develops the ability to use natural expressions, idioms, and complex sentence patterns commonly used by native speakers.
Thai level 12 (with Thai alphabet only)
Thai Level 12 is designed for advanced-high learners who want to understand real spoken Thai beyond textbooks. This level focuses on advanced listening skills and helps learners recognize natural expressions, idioms, and complex sentence patterns used by native speakers. Learners also gain insight into Thai manners, Thai society, and basic Thai law through real-life topics and discussions, enabling more confident and culturally appropriate communication.
Thai level 13 (with Thai alphabet only)
Thai Level 13 is designed for master-level learners who want to communicate with precision and confidence in real-life situations. This level develops high-level listening and speaking skills through in-depth topics, critical thinking, and appropriate language use. Learners will be able to express opinions, respond thoughtfully, and communicate naturally in complex social contexts.
Thai level 14 (with Thai alphabet only)
Thai Level 14 is designed for master-level learners who want to understand how Thai is truly used in real situations, society, and culture.
This level develops deep listening and speaking skills through authentic topics such as beliefs, social issues, daily life, media language, and implied meanings. Learners will practice interpreting opinions, reading between the lines, and expressing personal views more naturally and confidently—like a fluent Thai speaker.
Thai level 15 (with Thai alphabet only)
Thai Level 15 is designed for master-level learners who want to use Thai with depth, accuracy, and cultural awareness. This level develops high-level reading, discussion, and analytical skills through Thai literature, social topics, debates, and real-life contexts. Learners will gain confidence expressing complex ideas, opinions, and viewpoints in natural, educated Thai, while deepening their understanding of Thai culture, society, and ways of thinking.
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Reading & Writing 1 (RW1)
Write and understand basic Thai script, vowel, tones, spelling, type of final consonant and simple written Thai alphabet.
Reading & Writing 2 (RW2)
Write and understand the change of some vowel forms, extra final consonant, initial cluster 1, initial cluster 2, pseudo cluster 1, pseudo cluster 2.
Reading & Writing 3 (RW3)
Write and understand the sound killer, using “ไ ” and “ใ “, double ” ร ร ” and final “ร “, loan words, irregular words and signs. You will learn how to spell and sound out words correctly, and know how to communicate in Thai clearly. Fluency in reading aloud will be greatly improved. Since the course focuses on high-frequency, common words used in daily life, comprehension and use of vocabulary will be enhanced. Understanding the written language and being able to read more fluently will dramatically improve your pronunciation and accent in Thai.
Reading & Writing 4 (RW4)
This book combines the skills from books 1-3. Now it’s time to begin reading short stories and answering questions to reinforce what you have learned. Additionally, most of the stories revolve around Thai culture, helping you understand why we say things the way we do.
Reading & Writing 5 (RW5)
This book is continuing what we learnt in book 4. Different fonts, a more varied collection of stories e.g. news, advertisement, and children’s tales to give you a more robust understanding of the Thai vocabulary you will see in everyday life.