Short lessons introduce students to basic grammar and vocabulary while exercises reinforce newly-introduced concepts.

This is a concise, do–it– yourself guide to the Lao language Lao Basics teaches conversational Lao from the very beginning with an emphasis on reading and writing an is the easiest way to learn Lao. Students of Thai will find Lao quite simple, as much of these two languages are the same or very similar. These languages derive from Sanskrit and share many of the same consonants, vowels, vocabulary and grammar. Lao Basics is organized so that you first learn to read Lao, write Lao, speak Lao and comprehend the 26 consonants in their tonal classes. Once you have mastered these you will study the 28 vowels in subsets. Within each vowel grouping, you will learn vocabulary, conversational phrases, alphabetical order and sentence structure through exercises that grow more challenging as your vocabulary increases. As you progress through Lao Basics, vocabulary from previous lessons will be repeated regularly and our command of the written and spoken language will steadily improve. And you can do all this on your own. Each chapter's Lao words and exercises have been recorded on the accompanying downloadable audio, and all of the exercises answers are in the back of the book. Highlights of this book are: Throughout, review exercises with answer keys help you polish your skills. The vocabulary and phrases are written in Lao script, and are accompanied by pronunciations that help English speakers to say them accurately. The downloadable audio includes every vocabulary item, sample phrases, and exercises, so that you can learn from native voices.

This is an effective and concise self–study Lao language book. Lao for Beginners is for the person who is beginning to learn Lao. It is an incredibly useful introduction to spoken Lao for tourists, businesspeople or students. Lao for Beginners is primarily a workbook full of exercises to help beginners practice and acquire the ability to communicate with Lao people in spoken Lao. It is not a phrase book to scratch the surface of the Lao language. The book has been tested in classrooms and by individuals who have used it successfully to learn Lao. This beginning Lao text was designed for people who want to learn how to speak Lao fast. The book mainly teaches speaking Lao although there is a section which teaches reading Lao. The vocabulary in the whole text is limited to the 1,000 most frequently used words in everyday speech based on one of the author's own research in Vietnamese. The Lao words are listed in a special glossary for beginners which is arranged in English alphabetical order. To make studying easier, all exercises are written in phonetic Lao as well as authentic Lao script. As an additional aid, a review of the major features of Lao grammar is condensed into only 16 pages (including very useful tables) and is located in one place so that it can be read quickly and used as a reference frequently. Lao for Beginners is organized in five parts: Part 1: How to speak Lao. Part 2: Grammar Review. Part 3: How to Read Lao. Part 4: Lao–English Glossary for Beginners.