Southeast Asia language texts

More formal language texts are appropriate for those looking to get beyond "Where is the bus station?" However, before you go and buy a whole collection of learning texts, consider how much time you have to put into serious language self-study.

Pimsleur Direct has an excellent reference dealing with the question "How long do I need to learn a language?" They use the FSI (Foreign Service Institute) Rating Scale and suggest that to gain a minimum professional level of proficiency in Khmer, Lao, Thai or Vietnamese, you're looking at around 44 weeks, or 1,320 hours of study -- that's study via the FSI intensive course where one "studies a language for six hours a day, five days a week, in a class of no more than 10 students, led by an experienced linguist and a well-trained native drillmaster".

What that means is it could take you a good deal longer if you're doing an hour a day during your lunch break.

But don't be put off -- the more you study, the more you'll get out of your trip, so even if you're fitting in just 45 minutes a day, you'll have a firm basis in the language before you arrive. After all, once you're in-country, unlike FSI students, you'll be experiencing the language 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Here are some introductory language texts that come recommended -- they're a stepping stone between a phrasebook and 1,320 hours of study with a Goverment Foreign Service agent. Those marked with Our choice! indicate we've used the book ourselves and think it's pretty good.

Cambodia

• Modern Spoken Cambodian Our choice!
• Colloquial Cambodian
• Cambodian Dictionary

Laos

• Lao for Beginners Our choice!
• Lao for Beginners (same title, different book)
• Lao Dictionary

Thailand

• Thai for Beginners Our choice!
• Speak Like A Thai Volume 1
• Basic Thai
• Thai Dictionary

Vietnam

• Vietnamese for Beginners Our choice!
• Basic Vietnamese
• Vietnamese Dictionary