KorKai

I assume you writing about having an extension of stay not a visa. Then if your studies end you would need to leave the country and get a tourist visa.

If you had a visa you could stay until the visa runs out or every 90 days if it's is multiple entry visa.

Yes, the stamps say extention of stay.

Am I correct in that a single subject can only give you extensions of stay up to 3 years and 3 months, or have they changed the rules?

Why would a person want to change from an ED visa to tourist visa is my question.

Because an ED visa can run out, then if you want to stay longer you need another type of Visa.

I am in the same situation where I have sudied the same subject for 3 years (and 3 months), and now I need to study another subject or obtain a different type of visa that is not an ED visa.

Unless of course someone can tell me that I can go over 3 years and 3 months in the same subject.

Hi Korkai,

I think I can help you with Thai language.

I am just a newbie here, after reading your frustration with learning Thai. I think I understand your problem and be able to cure it. Yes, I'm Thai.

Thank you rakloke I have sent you a Private message with my phone number for you to contact me and hopefully we can meet up.

I can't find your Private message, both in my PM and my e-mail. My e-mail is [email protected].

I have sent you an email

Hi Korkai,

I think I can help you with Thai language.

I am just a newbie here, after reading your frustration with learning Thai. I think I understand your problem and be able to cure it. Yes, I'm Thai.

Thank you rakloke I have sent you a Private message with my phone number for you to contact me and hopefully we can meet up.

Thanks for your replies.

As to "hot" - I certainly was not referring to looks. I was referring to someone really good at teaching.

As has been pointed out, it could be the student that has to change what he is doing, and I know I am going to have to simply get out and speak more Thai every day.

I am happy to spend 2 or 3 hours a day, or even more, speaking Thai, but need some long suffering person, who can chat to me, and has the ability to correct my speech and explain stuff.... hence teacher.

What I have found, is that sticking a person in a room of people, getting them to go through a book, makes then no more of a teacher, than me standing in a car yard, makes me a car.

It does amaze me, that a language school, takes a person, and sais to them.... hey you want to be a teacher? Then off they go, with a few hours in house training.

Hense my very big disappointment from so called language schools, which are really "visa agents".

I want to stay in Pattaya, I like it here :-) If someone has experience of a really good teacher living in Pattaya, please do let me know, in the mean time, I will try to speak it more.

Many language schools promise many things...

A lot of them rely on people learning Thai to get a visa. Their actual classes are questionable.

The thing is, I have been with a language school for 1 year and 3 months, and attended all lessons and had extra lessons, and even now I am paying for private lessons, but my Thai is still very limited.

I feel rather frustrated with what is on offer.

So, what I want is someone to get me to the point where I can understand and speak Thai very well.

What I have got so far is language schools with 20 year old teachers, with no teaching experience, going through a book, which is full of stuff like "this is a pencil".

Can anyone help...

I am in Pattaya, but if a hot teacher from bkk wants to come teach me, I will pay accommodation, expenses and salary, and do full time study, if I can get to speak Thai well within the next year, I will be happy.

So far, I have only come across inexperienced teachers sticking to a book, which is not so good.

Money is not the issue, learning Thai is the issue.

If you know of a really good teacher, or if you are a really good teacher, please let me know.

If you read more this forum you will find that our teachers are actually considered very good.

Walen School - our teachers are our pride!

www.thaiwalen.com

I am not a Walen hater, far from it.

I would like to however offer some constructive feedback.

Some of your teachers are exceptionaly good, some are not so good.

As someone who has attended many lessons, both group lessons and private lessons, and as someone who's proffesion was adult education for the last 15 years, both as a teacher, a teacher of teachers and a business owner, I would like to offer a suggestion to improve what you have on offer.

As with all feedback you can take it as a gift, open it, or leave it to one side.

How I see your business is.. rather like a gym, it is about membership, who signs up, rather than who attends. Those signing up to obtain an Education visa being your income, lessons are maybe secondary to that.

I have been/am a regular attendee, but I have seen many people use your school just to get the visa, and either do not want to do the lessons, or get put off but the lack of quality of your less than best teachers.

What I have observed is that the best teachers also tend to be the best at doing the paperwork for the visas, so your students are left, quite often, with the less than best teachers most days.

I can see the focus on making money and getting the paperwork right, I can also see and speak to the unhappy students who are not getting the best possible you could offer with your better teachers.

So as to a constructive way forward:

Feedback is the way you really know how your teachers are doing. In the best adult teaching environments, the adult students are asked to fill out feedback forms about the teachers performance.

This one simple step would tell you a lot about your perceptions vs. your customers perceptions.

There is also ongoing evaluations of your rookie teachers. An experienced teacher sitting in on a class regularly (for the whole 50 minutes) and filling in a feedback sheet and offering feedback on what they are doing well and what they need to work on.

I am sure you will learn a lot if you are brave enough to put this in place.

I would like your busines to do well, I attend in Pattaya and I am a keen student.... It is often humbling to get 100% honest feedback from your customers, but if you are truely wanting Walen to be the best it can possibly be.... some humility along the way can pay off big time in a large improvement of what you offer in the future.

All the best.