Thai courses foster both students’ personal goals and Australian national interests by equipping graduates for deep and positive engagement with Thailand, Southeast Asia and other culturally diverse settings. Students develop Thai language skills in conjunction with an understanding of relevant social, political, cultural and historical contexts. The specialisation employs an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach, supporting the growth of analytical and other scholarly skills. Over the course of the specialisation, students can develop competencies that will enable them to access valuable native language resources, engage constructively in a broad range of social and professional contexts, and effectively share their academic insights.
Students in this minor are encouraged to spend time studying in Thailand. This can be done either through intensive in-country study in the summer or winter breaks, or through a year of study in the Year in Asia program. Competitive scholarships are available to qualified students.
A student may not take a course if that course is a prerequisite for another course which they have already passed, or a course that is a lower level than a course they have already passed.
Students with prior knowledge of the language will be required to take a placement test and may be exempted from the compulsory course.
Career opportunities
This specialisation will advance your career in language-related and cross-cultural work in government and non-government organisations, language technologies or as an independent language practitioner or researcher.
Learning Outcomes
On satisfying the requirements of this specialisation, students will have the knowledge and skills at an upper Intermediate level of Thai to:
1. Demonstrate confident, accurate recognition and production of Thai phonemes, including tones, to distinguish accurately between close pairs in listening and in speech and to use intonation appropriate to various scenarios.
2. Recognise and use transliteration; recognise various Thai script fonts and use a Thai computer keyboard.
3. Recognise and use vocabulary drawn from readings and discussions using royal language and Thai-Lao terms.
4. Read and easily comprehend longer documents that employ a wide range of structural forms, including markers to indicate linking of ideas and arguments.
5. Communicate personal views and offer descriptions in impromptu language situations, drawing on a base of known patterns.
6. Demonstrate a familiar understanding of cultural practices and beliefs of higher and lower echelons of Thai society, past and present.
Other Information
A student may not take a course that is a prerequisite or a lower level than a course which they have already passed.
Students that are commencing language studies who have prior knowledge of the language will be required to take a placement test before enrolling for the first time. Students will not be permitted to enrol in a course at a lower than the level they achieve in the placement test, and may be exempted from compulsory courses.
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
This specialisation requires the completion of 24 units, which must consist of:
A minimum of 18 units must come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| THAI6102 | Thai 1 | 6 |
| THAI6103 | Thai 2 | 6 |
| THAI6002 | Thai 3 | 6 |
| THAI6003 | Thai 4 | 6 |
| THAI6502 | Thai 5 | 6 |
| THAI6008 | Thai 6 | 6 |
| THAI6525 | Learning Language Locally: Thailand | 6-12 |
| ASIA6083 | Research Topics in South and Southeast Asian Languages A | 6 |
| ASIA6108 | Research Topics in South and Southeast Asian Languages B | 6 |
A maximum of 6 units may come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| LANG6001 | Translation across Languages: The Translation of Literary Texts | 6 |
| LANG6002 | Translation across Languages: Specialised Materials | 6 |
| LANG6016 | Translation Project | 6 |
