Learning Thai — what actually worked for you?

Member · 10/07/2026 · Thailand

Two years in and I am stuck at taxi and restaurant level, which is embarrassing. I can read the alphabet slowly. Apps have stopped doing anything for me. For people who got to genuine conversational level as adults, what was the thing that moved the needle — a formal course, a private tutor, a Thai partner who refuses to speak English, sheer volume of listening? And roughly how many months before you could follow a conversation between two Thai people?