Best Thai Language School

[5tash]

Normally all classes run simultaneously. But if you've never studied in their school and you're the only student that wants to study on a certain higher level, they might not organize a class for you only. In this case I would call them to ask.

Thanks Kris.

[Rionoir]

I've emailed Piammitr a few times through their website and gotten no response - i was wondering if I can qualify for ed visa while studying there?

[kriswillems]

I've emailed Piammitr a few times through their website and gotten no response - i was wondering if I can qualify for ed visa while studying there?

Most schools provide the paperwork necessary to apply for a student visa and extensions on such a visa. However, Piammitr requires you to study 3 hours per day (15 hours per week), while in some other school you could get a visa based on studying only 3 or 4 hours per week (Walen and Pro language).

180 hours per year is the legal minimum to be able to get a student visa. School like Walen and Pro Language have schedules based on this minimum and their advertisement is more about visa services than about their courses.

Things might have changed, so you better call Piammitr to be sure.

Edited July 14, 2008 by kriswillems

[library]

I've emailed Piammitr a few times through their website and gotten no response - i was wondering if I can qualify for ed visa while studying there?

Studying at Piammitr does qualify you for an ed visa. They said the longest ed visa is 8 months and you would have to pay 8 months of tuition *(8 x 5500 + 8 x 200 (book) = 45600 baht) up front as well as pay a 2000 baht administration fee to Piammitr for preparing the documents.

You would then apply for a visa out of the country (forgot how much the visa fee is at a neighboring consulate, maybe 2000 baht?) as well as pay for "extensions of stay" at immigration every 3 months (1900 baht every 3 months).

[jofrijon]

Dear All,

Good Day to You !!

I plan to take Thai Language Course in ProLanguage Bangkok since My Thai girlfriend can drive and drop me there as well learning Mandarin Chinese in ProLanguage. We are now staying in Bangduan Muang, Samutprakan. )if any near Good Thai Language School, could you please recommend me ?

I have contacted them by email and they are quite active replying all the email I sent. They offered me 9,900 Baht for 20 Lessons (which 50 mins/lesson)

Is it good price ? Well Basically, I only need conversation (I dont need any writting skills). Anyone took the Thai Language Course in ProLanguage Bangkok before. Which teacher (name) could you recommend me or feedback for this school ? I dont want something happen to me like kriswilliam although he took his course in Pattaya

Taken from kriswilliam:

Here's my feedback.

Last week was my first day at Pro Language in Pattaya and it was not too bad. The teacher was energetic, actively corrected my pronunciation and she used a book from the school which was ok.

The pro-language teacher is much better than the teacher of my last school in Pattaya. The teacher from my old school had relational problems, looked depressed, overworked (and even looked a bit suicidal).

The only disappointment at pro-language was that after 1h40min the teacher said the course was finished, because every hour should have 10 minutes break. I was told nothing about the break at the moment I paid for my 20 hours. My 20 hours are now reduced to 16h40 minutes, making the school even more expensive than before.

If I would live at the same distance from BKK as from Pattaya, I would go back to one of the union based schools in BKK because I think they have a more structured teaching method (and they are cheaper than private courses).

But for anyone that stays near Pattaya I can advice this school: it's not too bad, better than many other schools in Pattaya. Too bad it's rather expensive.

Thank you for your kind attention and really appriciated if any feedback given

Best Regards,

Jo Samudra

[SoftWater]

Another good school is AAA at Chit Lom (also called Pasawes Thai Language School).

http://www.aaathai.com/

It uses the Union system, the same system as Unity and, I guess, Piammitr. I took 1:1 lessons in two courses of reading & writing; since they were 1:1, it meant I also got to do a lot of practice listening and speaking.

I'm not sure what the class prices are, but 1:1 is 400 baht/hour, and you can only do in early morning (7-8.30am) or evening (4.30 - 8pm). If you're working like me, then the evening 1:1 is a good choice.

The school is very professional, and they insist you have different teachers when you change course, which (I can say as a Language teacher myself), is just how it should be to ensure you get a variety of input and focus. Both the teachers I had were very good, well-prepared and professional. Neither of them ever spoke any English to me, except for words like 'verb' and 'noun' and 'subject', 'object'. I looked up the thai words for these myself and started using them with the teachers, and after that they stopped using the English equivalents.

As for the materials, I guess they're probably the same as the other Union schools, but I found them quite adequate and not out-dated (so maybe not?). Particularly, the second course I did was a collection of twenty modern dialouges, and included a lot of idiomatic expressions and spoken grammar patterns I'd never picked up or heard before, but have noticed people using since. The best thing was you also learned to read and write these, too. I think that's one of the benefits of doing a R&W course 1:1.

I'd definitely recommend the school and I'll probably go back there when I do the next course in Septemer (Reading Newspapers). Having said that, I feel I'm a long way from either fluency or P6 at the moment; nor do I have much success trying to understand Thai tv news or soaps (though I'm good at reading the Thai subtitles on HBO movies!). Both of these I put down more to my own slow brain rather than the teachers or learning materials.

If I have one criticism of the school it is that they do not make available for purchase listening CDs of the material you study, which would go a long way to helping improve retention and understanding. The other is perhaps similar to what others on this thread have said, which is while the teachers and materials are good enough, neither have enough consolidation exercises of the sort we use in English language teaching that help students to fix patternns in their heads through repetition in different contexts.

[kriswillems]

I studied one month at AAA and I liked the school. The teacher was one of the best I ever had, but she left that month to start working as a webmaster (with a higher income and closer to home). They used the union method and a big part of their books was identical to the books of Piammitr and Unity (UTL), but I think they were updating and changing their books. People were constructing a new building besides the school and this was sometimes making so much noise I couldn't hear the teacher very well. Normally the building should be finished now, so that will not be a problem any more. Another thing is that most classes had more students than Piammitr. At Piammitr every student that wants to join the P.6 test can join, but not at AAA. They selected the best students to do the test, so everyone of their school would pass and get a good score. I think all of the schools that use the union system are pretty good. I don't think the system is outdated (although the contents of some of the stories might be outdated). I also think there should be more exercises in the books and another thing I don't like about the union system is that the the first books are very much based on phonetic script. I think it's better to start right away with Thai script.

[j0hnga1t]

So I'm thinking about visiting my gf for a month next year and while there, I'd like to take a Thai language course. I read a lot about the schools in BKK in this thread, but I only have one month. What school has the best (in your opinion) one month well round course for a newbie (I won't be able to take another course until the following year) I'd like to learn writing, pronunciation, reading and speaking....but then again, am I being unrealistic?

[Tod Daniels]

I had posted this in the thai language forum but it got buried. Rather than bump it back up top, I thought it was better suited to go here;

Andrew Biggs Academy - Thai Language Classes

ABA has a new Thai language program starting Tuesday August 5th, twice a week from 7-8:30PM, running for 8 weeks or 24 hours of class time.

I stopped by the school at Major Ekami Cineplex and perused the two text books. Both the beginner book and the intermediate one are well put together. A lot of time and much effort went into them. They have thai on one page and transliteration (karaoke thai) on the facing page.

The price of the school isn't really in line with the plethora of (Union/Unity) based Thai language schools in and around the Bangkok Metro area. The books are also on the pricey side 800 baht each, but I think the material more than makes up for it.

I also think they are banking on "brand name recognition" to offset the disparity in pricing.

Before you can attend you have to take a pre-screening test for placement. I knew too much thai to start in the beginner class and as of yet they have no students to schedule an intermediate class.

Their number is 02-714-2838

I am NOT affiliated with ABA in any way shape or form, and am only providing this information to those interested in the thai language.

[jfchandler]

Todd...do you have some idea what is the pricing for the course you mentioned at Major Ekamai????

It's an easy short walk from the Ekamai BTS station, and lots of nice places there for having a snack before or after...

[kriswillems]

So I'm thinking about visiting my gf for a month next year and while there, I'd like to take a Thai language course. I read a lot about the schools in BKK in this thread, but I only have one month. What school has the best (in your opinion) one month well round course for a newbie (I won't be able to take another course until the following year) I'd like to learn writing, pronunciation, reading and speaking....but then again, am I being unrealistic?

If you've only one month, you're an absolute beginner and are not going to study at home afterwards it might be best not to have too high ambitions. Just try to learn saying a number of useful sentences and questions. Knowing the numbers is also useful. I think that in this case it would be not very useful to learn to write or read.

[library]

So I'm thinking about visiting my gf for a month next year and while there, I'd like to take a Thai language course. I read a lot about the schools in BKK in this thread, but I only have one month. What school has the best (in your opinion) one month well round course for a newbie (I won't be able to take another course until the following year) I'd like to learn writing, pronunciation, reading and speaking....but then again, am I being unrealistic?

The best one month course is at Chula. 100 hours in 1 month. But the course is pricy (25000 baht) and you're expected not to miss any days. You will learn to read and write from the beginning.

I would also recommend the one month course at Unity or Piammitr. You won't learn to read/write but you will learn to speak/listen so you can function in Bangkok to some extent. Piammitr is 5500 baht for 60 hours. Unity Thai Language is 7000 baht for 80 hours (morning class) or 6000 baht for 60 hours (afternoon class).

If I were you I would just take a course at Piammitr or Unity because unless you plan to continue at Chula until completion (1 year program), the 25000 baht won't be well spent.

[luisparis]

Actually Miss Luis is very happy with Sumaa language school, but we've just moved Riverside so it's no longer convenient to go to YMCA after the office. Any school worth knowing on higher silom/sathorn/Charoen khrung ?

[andyc2006]

Another good school is AAA at Chit Lom (also called Pasawes Thai Language School).

http://www.aaathai.com/

It uses the Union system, the same system as Unity and, I guess, Piammitr. I took 1:1 lessons in two courses of reading & writing; since they were 1:1, it meant I also got to do a lot of practice listening and speaking.

I'm not sure what the class prices are, but 1:1 is 400 baht/hour, and you can only do in early morning (7-8.30am) or evening (4.30 - 8pm). If you're working like me, then the evening 1:1 is a good choice.

The school is very professional, and they insist you have different teachers when you change course, which (I can say as a Language teacher myself), is just how it should be to ensure you get a variety of input and focus. Both the teachers I had were very good, well-prepared and professional. Neither of them ever spoke any English to me, except for words like 'verb' and 'noun' and 'subject', 'object'. I looked up the thai words for these myself and started using them with the teachers, and after that they stopped using the English equivalents.

As for the materials, I guess they're probably the same as the other Union schools, but I found them quite adequate and not out-dated (so maybe not?). Particularly, the second course I did was a collection of twenty modern dialouges, and included a lot of idiomatic expressions and spoken grammar patterns I'd never picked up or heard before, but have noticed people using since. The best thing was you also learned to read and write these, too. I think that's one of the benefits of doing a R&W course 1:1.

I'd definitely recommend the school and I'll probably go back there when I do the next course in Septemer (Reading Newspapers). Having said that, I feel I'm a long way from either fluency or P6 at the moment; nor do I have much success trying to understand Thai tv news or soaps (though I'm good at reading the Thai subtitles on HBO movies!). Both of these I put down more to my own slow brain rather than the teachers or learning materials.

If I have one criticism of the school it is that they do not make available for purchase listening CDs of the material you study, which would go a long way to helping improve retention and understanding. The other is perhaps similar to what others on this thread have said, which is while the teachers and materials are good enough, neither have enough consolidation exercises of the sort we use in English language teaching that help students to fix patternns in their heads through repetition in different contexts.

I used this topic quite a bit to select a school, so now that I have, I'll report back on what little I know.

First, in 2006, I studied for 1 month at Thonglor, the school between sois 36 and 38 on Sukhumvit. They were decent. I did private lessons, 2 hours/day, and each hour they gave me a different teacher. 2 of my teachers were really good, but 1 has since left Thonglor and opened her own school. The other teachers there were ok. They spoke only Thai, which of course has advantages (forcing the student to sink or swim), but at times, I had questions that weren't answered because I could only express them in English.

This time I wanted a "better" (more formal, systematic approach), and I decided to try one of the "union" schools (AAA, Piammitr, Unity), or go with Chula or Thammasat.

I also need a visa for 8 months, so that factored into my decision, as well living on Soi Langsuan (close to Chula and AAA, not too far from Nisa either).

After visiting AAA, a 5-minute walk from my condo, I decided to go with them.

Price info/update: For a 2000 Baht administrative, they'll take care of getting your education visa. Their courses are 6200 baht/month (for 50 hours). That, the proximity to my room & the recommendations here in the topic (thanks!) were enough for me...

Another person in this topic mentioned noise from construction near AAA -- that's finished.

I'll report back after I'm 2 or 3 months into the classes.

[Jeddah Jo]

Trawled through the thread and I didn't see a single mention of Phuket.

Does anyone have any experiences of learning Thai in Phuket? When I first came I had some 1:1 lessons with a local teacher which were OK and gave me a useful grounding, but generally the teaching was not very structured and I stopped after learning very basic level Thai. Since then I have been largely self-taught and no doubt picked up loads of bad habits

Anyway, any info about more structured Thai learning on Phuket would be very much appreciated.

JJ.

[bretth7377]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a Thai language school that will teach reading and writing. I'm looking for a long term intensive course that does not change teachers everyday, and also does not use the phonetic alphabet technique. Does anyone know of such a school in Bangkok?

Thanks,

Brett

[MKAsok]

Anyone know anything about the Thammasat courses? Their website isn't particularly helpful. How do they compare to Chula in terms of depth, quality etc.? I'm assuming from the available info here that the language courses are a part of the overall Thai Studies Program. Does anyone know if they offer them as stand alone courses, not part of a degree? Or when they run/for how long /how much they cost? That kind of stuff... Thanks.

mk

[andyc2006]

Anyone know anything about the Thammasat courses? Their website isn't particularly helpful. How do they compare to Chula in terms of depth, quality etc.? I'm assuming from the available info here that the language courses are a part of the overall Thai Studies Program. Does anyone know if they offer them as stand alone courses, not part of a degree? Or when they run/for how long /how much they cost? That kind of stuff... Thanks.

mk

Hopefully the cut & paste from the Word document will be somewhat legible...

Contact [email protected] for more info:

Basic Thai for Foreigners

Department of Thai, Faculty of Liberal Arts

Thammasat University

Course Description

Reading & Writing Courses

Reading & Writing Level I

Study of the Thai alphabets : consonants, vowels and tones; basic pronunciation and spelling ; composing short sentences.

Reading & Writing Level II

Study of the vocabulary, idioms, and basic structures from passages about Thai life, tourism, and Thai culture; compose simple passages.

Reading & Writing Level III

Study of the more complex vocabulary, idioms, and structures from passages about Thai life; traditions, culture, important places and national holidays, etc. Study and practice description, letters, and notes.

Listening & Speaking Courses

Listening & Speaking Level I

Study of basic Thai pronunciation, vocabulary, idioms, and sentence structure through conversations about daily life; greetings, shopping, public services and culture.

Listening & Speaking Level II

Study of more complex Thai usage;

Vocabulary, idioms, and sentence structures. Practice listening and speaking Thai through daily life experiences, business

Communications, nations, national holidays and important places relating to Thai culture, etc.

Listening & Speaking Level III

Study of more advanced Thai usage:

Vocabulary, idioms and sentences structure for more complex communication such as news, advertising, song, religions and beliefs and Thai literary works.

Venue

Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University Thaprachan, Bangkok 10200 Thailand

Information

and

Application

Faculty of Liberal Arts, Room 107

Tel : 0-2613-2608, 0-2613-2675

Fax: 0-2221-7623

International :

66-2613-2618, 66-2613-2675

Fax: 66-2221-7623

Email: [email protected]

Tuition Fee

36 hrs. / course / 5,500 Baht, to be paid on the first day of the course.

Time

5 Aug. – 12 Sep. 2008

3 Nov. – 12 Dec. 2008

5 Jan. – 14 Feb. 2009

23 Feb. – 3 April 2009

3 Aug. – 12 Sep. 2009

Course

Selection

¯ Listening & Speaking Courses

Tuesday & Thursday

2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

¯ Reading & Writing Courses

Wednesday & Friday

2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

(May be changed if necessary)

Remarks

* Each course requires a minimum of 7 students to open.

* Tuition fees cannot be refunded except in cases when the courses cannot open.

* The students for level 2 or 3 must pass the placement test

Thai Intensive Course

Department of Thai, Faculty of Liberal Arts

Thammasat University

Speak & Understand Thai within 4 weeks

An intensive course offered for developing listening and speaking skills; learning about Thai culture for proper communication in daily life.

Venue

Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University Thaprachan, Bangkok 10200 Thailand

Information

and

Application

Faculty of Liberal Arts, Room 107

Tel : 0-2613-2608, 0-2613-2675

Fax: 0-2221-7623

International :

66-2613-2618, 66-2613-2675

Fax: 66-2221-7623

Email: [email protected]

Tuition Fee

24 hrs. / course / 4,900 Baht, to be paid (cash) on the first day of the course.

Time

1 Nov. – 22 Nov. 2008

10 Jan. – 31 Jan. 2009

28 Feb. – 21 Mar. 2009

2 May – 23 May 2009

4 Jul. – 25 Jul. 2009

Duration

¯ Every Saturday

* 9 am – 12 pm

1 pm – 4 pm

Remarks

* Each course requires a minimum of 8 students to open.

* Tuition fees cannot be refunded except in cases when the courses cannot open.

* Classes will take place every Saturday. Each class will be of 6 hours duration.

[MKAsok]

Thanks ajc - very helpful. Did you attend any of the courses? If so, how do you rate them?

[sarinya]

I recommend to study at "Thai Language School" As their curiculums are very interesting and efficeient.

lit's around Ratchadapisek road, next to Esplanade.... I guess their webite is www.mythailanguage.com

[to4ever]

Someone asked about TLA school,, They are still @ PhayaThai..

i do recommend TLA.. if you stay near BTS station..or Anutsawari,,

Phayatai Plaza Building, 20th Floor

Next to the Phaya Thai BTS Station.

Tel. 02-219-2874, 08-1906-2007

e-mail: tla_school @yahoo.com

***********

many people recommended Piammitr school..

Yes, if you visit there website, there is nothing update and info..

you can send E-mail if you have any questions to homjung@ hotmail.com

it's a manager's E-mail,,

it locates Skhumvit Soi 13.. near NANA station..

There are lots of Asian people,, Mostly Korean missionaries, Japanese, Chinese,, a few farang..

************

For more info...

http://www.utl-school.com

http://www.blsthaischool.com

http://www.piammitrschool.com

http://www.tlaschool.com

http://www.prolanguage.co.th

**********************************

i now want to study P.6.. @ Pro Langauge school????

anyone have studied P.6 there??

Edited May 9, 2009 by sbk
no emails in posts--sbk

[Familyonthemove]

Personally, I found using a school too restrictive on timing as I travel out of Thailand regularly .... but I've been using the Survival Thai course by Narisa Naropakorn. Can be done as correspondence via internet/skype if you are out of BKK.

A combination of correspondence and personal tuition fits in with my business travel. This has been working well for me so far.

email jade_theresa@ yahoo.com 081 409 4296

[Meridian007]

Are there any other schools/private teachers near Pinklao other than Thammasat? I'd love to work 1:1 but I'm willing to do small class sizes. I've looked around but not found anything yet. Thanks for any info!!

[CMU]

Check out the Chiang Mai University Language Institute Thai language classes. The URL is http://www.teflcmu.com

Good luck!!!Chiang Mai University

[andyc2006]

Thanks ajc - very helpful. Did you attend any of the courses? If so, how do you rate them?

Nope.

Currently studying at AAA/Pasawes and like it alot.

FYI, somebody posted about Chulalongkorn's intensive Thai classes here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Intensive-Th...Ad-t212821.html

[MKAsok]

Thanks AJC, I caught that Chula thread. I actually posted a link back to your post about Thammasat in there. Seriously considering the Thammasat course maybe starting at Level II - Chula's way too expensive and I don't have that kind of time on my hands - but would quite like to hear first from anyone that has experience of the course already...

[hernik]

I'm currently taking one-on-one thai lessons at Somchart Language School (http://www.somchart.com/), and is progressing well. I have found the teachers there friendly and flexible regarding schedules. For me face to face lessons works best as it gives me the most "talk time", and I have the opportunity to digress off-topic if something special is on my mind.

The school is located in Sukhumvit soi 11, 100 m from BTS Nana.

Can recommend the school.

[PATTARA]

If you are in Chiangmai, I would recommend Ajarn Pat. He has website at www.geocities.com/chiangmaithailesson/

[loganberry]

The comments about the Intensive Thai Program at Chulalongkorn (aka Chula) are pretty accurate. Price and time aside, it is well worth the investment if you are taking a serious full-time approach to learning Thai. I studied in that program and it is a one-year committment to finish the whole thing, but you will graduate from it with more knowledge than most people with a 4-year degree on the subject. Walking out of there with your certificate in-hand, you should already be in the upper echelons of society in terms of your linguistic abilities. But again, they are impacted and do not let everybody finish the program. So you see a lot of people getting kicked out for not "making the grade" as the levels progress.

If anybody wants any tips, etc., about the program at Chula and so on, don't hesitate to ask.

[jbeck]

I was planning on chiang mai university new 3 week conversational course, but can anyone recommend a similar course in/near Phuket town?

Also a more comprehensive school as well - also in /near Phuket town?

Ok, Chiang Mai alternatives as well.

So I'm asking about first hand experience, and not just if there's a course, but if you attended it and what you liked/didn't like about it.

I know it also depends on what instructor you get.

Thanks, and oh, I'm an english speaker from the US.