Good Curry

In order to be able to communicate a bit better with the children, I got my coordinator to teach me some useful, basic phrases in Thai. (Slightly pointless in some ways, as part of the challenge of teaching these children is that many of them do not understand much Thai, but it makes more sense for me to try and communicate in Thai than to be introducing yet another language i.e. English)
So I now have a handful of phrases, mostly to do with behaviour management, as that is the main focus at the moment:

• Listen to the teacher
• Look at the teacher
• Sit down
• Stand up
• Sit in a circle
• Sit in your group
• Variations on the theme of Don't hit/ punch/ kick your friend
• Don't run around the classroom
• Speak quietly
• Well done
• Very good

We were practising them in the office yesterday, much to the amusement of any Thai speakers within earshot. I'm finding some of the pronunciation quite difficult. My coordinator keeps correcting me, but the problem is that I can't hear the difference between what he is saying and what I thought I said.

So today in school, a child came to show me his work and I said what I thought was Very Good, except that due to some subtle vowel change that I have yet to understand I apparently did not say Very Good, but curry. So to the children who came to show me their work after that I smiled broadly, gave a big thumbs up and said in English "Good Curry!" After all, tone of voice, facial expression and body language are so much more important in human communication than mere words!!

(P.S. Apologies to anyone who was anticipating a post on a mouth-watering culinary theme!)