Application “Learn to write” is my answer to the problem. I think everyone will agree that learning how to write or read letters is a basic skill that is needed to communicate in any language.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Learning of the Thai language requires learning new letters which are completely new compared to the Latin alphabet languages. Sometimes, at the university I had a 5-20 minute break when I could just practise but I didn’t always have something to write with – of course, I could buy it. However, most often, I had a tablet with me that works great for taking notes. Of course, learning letters on the tablet went well, especially with ready PDFs, but something was missing – no correct or even similar pronunciation of the letter while writing it, without asking my friends for pronunciation. It would also be nice to have it all organized in one place, without searching the best sources, etc.
Another thing is that if someone has children and wants to organize their time using technology, the application is the answer to the needs of that person. Especially today, when a lot of people work from home and need time to organize time for kids. Organizing activities for children may not be an easy thing, but technology can be a good educational support for children.
If there was an application that quickly moved the user to write letters with the pronunciation of a given letter as you write, then in a faster and more comfortable way you could master the basics of any language. Educational toys for children work very similarly, after pressing the button with a given letter, a child can hear the pronunciation of that letter. Muscle memory training is especially important for learning to write by hand. With the ability to write by hand, we can easily learn to read. Thus, the application will allow you to develop basic language skills.
Alpha version
Classically, writing in a notebook gives the effect of learning if we do regular exercises. By moving from a notebook card to the tablet screen, the effect is practically the same (the difference may be the resistance of the material on which we are writing). The first attempt of the application was simply applying a photo with examples of letters and writing without sound commands.
I realized that after spending a lot of time writing the new letters I did not know their exact pronunciation. Hence, the idea to add sound commands.
So muscle memory exercise + auditory stimuli increase the speed of learning and understanding what we are learning. In a similar way, you can read books faster by listening to an audio book and at the same time reading a written book. This topic is expanded in the video below.
Learning to write
The application I created was written based on the Flutter framework and the Dart language. App is simple, contains its list of languages that we can practice (currently English, Thai and Polish – soon more). Then a list of letters of the language that we can practice. After switching to the screen where we practice writing and after finishing touch (e.g. after writing a letter), the system voice informs us what letter we are currently writing. In the application we have the option to write whole the most commonly used words.
Colors (red-orange and its shades) that were used to increase the confidence, safety and optimism that is needed during the study. Pastel colors are more child-friendly.
The best method used in the application is to use a tablet and stylus. We can arrange the stylus ourselves if we don’t have one.
The application is available on Google Play. I invite you to download and leave a positive rating and a comment.
Future
Better fonts. If you know the font that I can use in my project, please leave a comment with the source
Pictures to better associate words/letters
Arrow instruction how to write letters
new alphabets
Publication app on the Apple Store for iOS
Translations
If you like my project and want to support it, I would like to ask you to donate. This will allow me to publish the application on the Apple Store and buy fonts, or better graphics.
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So how to learn the Thai alphabet? Download the application and launch it. Set 10-20 on the timer and practice during this time only! Don’t forget to leave a positive app rating.