When learning the thai alphabet, don't worry about the how it is written....for example, while ก is, indeed, gaw gai, just know that when it begins a word, it has the sound like the word gai..chicken.

Lean the name of what the letter represent..ก is gai, จ is jaan, for example. This, again, only works for beginning consonants. Ending consonants may or may not sound the same, as was already said.

Learning to read thai is a challenge but great fun.