This course introduces students to spoken and written Thai, the language spoken in Thailand and by the Thai diaspora worldwide. It is appropriate for students without any background in Thai language. Students will learn the tones, consonants, vowels, essential grammar, and the writing system of the Thai language. They are the building blocks of students' reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Students will learn, practise, and employ a range of simple sentence structures with appropriate polite particles through a series of situational dialogues. The language use and topics cover greetings and self-introduction, giving basic information on self, family and friends, time and date, description of objects, and asking for help, information and directions. Cultural issues involved language use and politeness will be included. The course also covers basic knowledge of Thailand. By the end of the course, students will be able to read and write basic Thai sentences and use the language in simple day-to-day communication and situations. This course will prepare students for the second course of Thai.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Use an active Thai vocabulary of about 350 items.
- Recognise and pronounce all Thai tones, consonants, and vowels.
- Read, write, and reproduce basic sentences.
- Use basic Thai grammar and sentence structures, conjunctions, simple modifiers, and particles.
- Use simple Thai to speak and write about self and family, time and date, ask for help, information and direction, and describe objects.
- Demonstrate an understanding of basic Thai cultural issues in relation to language use and politeness.
Other Information
This course is 100% online.
On successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to engage at an Introductory level of Thai.
Students with native speaker proficiency (may include cognate languages and dialects) must review the language proficiency assessment site and contact the CAP Student Centre for appropriate enrolment advice. Students with previous “language experience or exposure” are required to undertake a language proficiency assessment to ensure enrolment at the most appropriate level.
Relevant past experience includes:
- Previous study of the language (both formal and informal, for example but not limited to, at school, or, home, or through online activities, etc.)
- Being exposed to the language in childhood via a family member or friend
- Travel or living in a country where the language is spoken
- The language being spoken in your home (even if you do not speak it yourself)
Students who are not sure if they need to undertake a language proficiency assessment should seek advice from the course or language convenor. Students who intentionally misrepresent their language proficiency level may be investigated under the Academic Integrity Rule 2021 as having failed to comply with assessment directions and having sought unfair advantage. This may results in a penalty such as reduced grades or failure of the course.
Students are not permitted to enrol in a language course below one that they have already successfully completed, exc
Indicative Assessment
- Participation (10) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- 8 Periodic quizzes (2.5% each) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- 5 Periodic homework (4% each) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Mid-semester assessment (The written conponent requires students to write 30 words in Thai.) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
- Final assessment (The written conponent requires students to write 50 words in Thai.) (30) [LO 1,2,3,4,5,6]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The total workload for the subject is 130 hours over 12 weeks of class and the examination period.
Each week students are expected to study for 6 hours as follows:
- 90 minutes, before online lecture, working on the written and audio materials for the week, and revising the written and spoken contents as well as vocabulary.
- 180 minutes, participating in two 90-minute sessions via zoom
- 90 minutes, completing weekly exercises.
In addition, students are expected to spend at least 4 hours of individual study practising the week's written and spoken language forms, vocabulary, and reviewing feedback on their work.
Prescribed Texts
Details of the required text books will be published in the class summary.
Supplementary materials will be provided on Wattle.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OUA Online | ||||||
| 2064 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | Online | N/A |
| ANU Online | ||||||
| 2319 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | Online | N/A |