Tod Daniels

There is a short snippet about the Birmingham consulate in the "Hull changed visas" thread;

Birmingham Reference in the Hull Thread

Here's their website too;

Royal Thai Consulate Birmingham Website

They don't list a contact email on the site (at least not one I could find ), so I guess you'll hafta call.

Hope it helps.

Umm, I'd hafta say nope, in fact HIGHLY improbable.

You post you've been here a year studying Thai via an ED visa. Am I correct in thinking you were going to Thai Immigrations and securing 90 day extensions of stay every 3 months during this last year?

If the answer to my above query is YES, and you WERE in fact going the 90 day extension route; somewhere in the "pile 'o paperwork" your school provided you every 3 months were documents from the MOE saying you are enrolled in a school which is registered with them. The ONLY reason you were getting extensions in the first place is because of that fact.

Now, you could, enroll for another year in a private language school, study Thai (or any language really) and then study something else too. There's nothin' in the rules prohibiting that being done at all.

Conversely, although you don't mention your nationality; you could send an email to a Thai consulate or embassy in your home country; see if you could enroll in a non-MOE approved school to learn something here, and wing it on back there and secure a year-long, multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type-ED visa, if they'll do it. You'd hafta "run-4-the-border" every 90 days, but with a visa like that you can get almost 15 months in-country!

Some Thai consulates and embassies are less critical in the issuing of visas like this. (However NONE of the ones in S/E Asia will do it. )

Good luck. ..

Well, I went to Berlitz yesterday to see if they indeed offered a “total immersion” type of program. I came away with a definite NOPE, for an answer.

MAN do they have totally incredible textbooks though! I perused levels 1-4 (in a book over an INCH thick!), and it was chock to the overflowing with really good stuff. It wasn’t written in centimeter high sized Thai but ‘normal size’. They had the Thai sentence constructs on one page and the facing page has your standard karaoke (Thai represented in English characters & symbols).

What I did find strange was; no where in the book were there English definitions for what the Thai words or sentences meant. Not when new vocab was introduced, not for the sentence constructs, nothing! Kinda makes puzzling out the meaning of Thai words a little difficult, doncha think? I mean you can’t mime or act out every Thai word , nor can a foreigner be expected to learn the usage of Thai words strictly by context either. Maybe they have a lot of ‘visual aids’. I dunno, as you can’t even sit in on a class or get a 'sample' lesson. ..

Anyway, they said their teachers will definitely answer you in English if you can’t ask a question in Thai (just like almost every school out there), so that rules Berlitz out as far as being a ‘total immersion’ dealy too.

What I came away with as far as what they actually mean by their usage of the term was; IF you enroll in a large number of lessons and take ‘em say 5 hours a day for a month; what you're doing is ‘immersing’ yourself in the Thai language. It would seem more than a little creative license is being used regarding this term.

Still they DO offer 10 levels which are quite involved and cover a LOT of good high value material. They did also say that as soon as you are capable of carrying on more than a “2-word-tourist-thai” conversation, they move you as fast as you can to speaking in Thai more and more.

Oh and just one more thing; Berlitz doesn't offer "free" ED visas or ED visa 'assistance' like most private Thai language schools do, not at all. Your visa to be here is your deal, not theirs. Their price point isn’t that competitive with the other schools out there either. They appear to be targeting a totally different “demographic” as far as Thai language students.

Anyway, I just wanted to report back about the visit.

To the O/P: good luck on findin’ what you’re lookin’ for.

Do post back and let us know where you end up!

I wouldn’t worry about it, spamming I mean . After a brief visit to your profile and then lookin' at your "topics/posts", it is all too evident that the 'spam' boat sailed outta the harbor some time ago .

Still, being the curious guy I am, I sent you an email to see what you really offer as far as Thai language. ..

This is not an isolated report of various Immigrations Offices and Officers trying to 'shoe-horn' you into a extension of stay based on retirement versus an extension based on marriage to a Thai national (which was possibly the reason you showed up with your wife in tow AND the mountain of support documentation too). They've tried it on "acquaintances" I've accompanied to Changwattana too. ..

Because extensions of stay based on marriage do have the "come back in 30 days and get the year extension dealy", and because they're supposed to check to see that it's a valid marriage, they have to actually 'work' (some) to issue an extension of stay of this type.

Now an intelligent person might have questioned WHY (especially after using a calculator ) the first officer you dealt with DIDN'T notice you were about 25K baht a month short of meeting the financial requirements for a retirement extension. She just handed you off to someone else.

Still in the end it worked out, (or hopefully will in another month’s time!).

Although I'm all too familiar to the deference given by rank-n-file Thais when dealing with anything to do with "officialdom" here; I'm just curious why didn't your Thai wife say anything to the first Immigrations Officer?

So if you leave within the 7 day ( after the notification date ) you should be fine.

But with the immigration officers you never know for sure.

I must beg to differ from the above piece I snipped!

I had an acquaintance 'caught out' on this exact scenario earlier this year. His 90 day report was due a few days before he was flying out of Thailand. He too mistakenly thought the 'reporting window of opportunity' was open for him.

Once he returned to the glorious "Land 'O Thais" and went to file his following 90 day report; much to his chagrin, the Immigrations officer noted his departure stamp and saw it was AFTER the date she had in the computer as far as when he was to have previously reported.

She fined him the 2000baht "standard fine" for failure to report on time. He didn't get pissy with her and thus wasn’t given the "maximum fine of 5000baht", which from personal observation seems to be reserved for the people who “piss and moan” about the injustice of it all. He just paid the fine and then turned in the new 90 day report.

It's you're choice and after all it is only 2000baht IF you're caught on it during your next reporting; BUT why not just report before you leave?

Unless I am mistaken the “window” of reporting up to 14 days early or 7 days late does NOT come into play at all, if you leave the country AFTER the date you're supposed to report.

I believe it’s merely a grace period given for people TO report; and NOT designed or interpreted as a way for people to get out of reporting, no matter how close after their report date they leave the country.

It would also appear from another thread on here that there could possibly now be a mandatory 200baht ‘service fee’ imposed by Immigrations at Suvarnabhumi to purchase a re-entry permit added to the 'regular cost' of the permit. Yet another incentive to go report and buy your re-entry permit at Changwattana.

Oh and FWIW: they do keep a remarkable amount of data on foreigners in the 90 day reporting room at Changwattana. Passport number, Nationality, DOB, Sex, current address, Last entry into - Last departure outta, current departure card number, the kind of visa you originally came in on, the type of extension of stay you’re currently on, when that extension of stay expires, stuff like that. I mean really, it’s all on the screen when they key in your passport number.

<SNIPPED>"Berlitz Total Immersion®"<SNIPPED>

“Parvis” Thanx that’s good to know!!

I’ll amble on over there today and see if I can’t figure out exactly what Berlitz’s particular definition of a “Total Immersion Method” happens to be . ..

Plus I need to revisit that school anyway for my reviews of Thai language schools in Bangkok which I do as a “hobby”.

Thanx for the heads up

While I dont like to disagree with DavidHouston as they are a FAR more learned Thai language aficionado than the likes of me.

Unless Im sorely mistaken (where I would stand humbly erected err, corrected); I dont think the official way Thai is represented in English script makes ANY delineation between vowel length, clustered - silent consonants, or toning.

While it might be the official way to do it, it is sorely lacking in its ability to provide even a close approximation to what a word actually sounds like when spoken in Thai. Thats why you see the airport spelled as Suvarnabhumi, yet pronounced in Thai as soo^L wan^M na^H phuum^M. Thai doesnt even have a V in their alphabet, they only have a W! Plus the last short vowel sound represented by the i is silent .

Thai nationals names represented in English are another nightmare in figuring out how to say them correctly. Few native English speakers break Thai written in English down Thai syllable by Thai syllable for the pronunciation. Even fewer know when something which is a silent character in Thai yet represented in the English spelling goes unvoiced. As native English speakers our brains are automatically drawn to familiar groupings of letters in English and the rules governing silent letters are pretty hard-wired (at least for me). This sometimes leads to hilarious English mis-pronunciations of Thai surnames and given first names too .

Even though there may indeed be an official way to do this, a drive down the motorway to Pattaya will yield several different spellings of it on signage as you pass thru various Amphurs along the way. It would seem there are as many different views on how Thai should be represented in English as there are people making signage. When I walked back from 7/11 I took a quick look at the various signage and it looks like the rank-n-file Thais don't seem to adhere too closely to the official way either.

Im not saying this method has no merit (only very little) in the grand scheme of things.

Thankfully, for the most part, how English words are represented in Thai is at least a little less hazy . The minute you start to see a lot of การันต์s in words, especially ANYTHING to do with technology or the internet, you can almost bet its a loan word. Even most modern ad-slicks for department, grocery, fast-food, or clothing stores have adopted using English words written in Thai for their ads targeting Thai clientele, even though Thai has words which mean the exact same thing.

vincentv thanx for responding like you do to these posts about your High Speed Thai method.

We rarely get open, honest replies from the actual developers of Thai language related stuff on the forum. Its usually just grand-standing and/or horn tooting. I think its great you take the time to respond as honestly as you do.

You already know you aint gonna please every Tom, Dick & Somchai out there who wants a magic key to unlocking the Thai language . By your responses and from the problem resolution Ive read in your posts regarding people whove purchased your HST, I think youre doin the best you can to provide good customer service.

Im supposed to meet the student who had HST on his lap-top later this evening to look at it more in depth, but from just the little I fooled around with it, I thought it DID have a lot of merit.

Like I said in the other post, the biggest impediment to learning ANYTHING by self study is the individuals motivation to stick with it. ..

Good Luck with it man. …

Oh and FWIW: I don't throw compliments around , in fact the people who know me, say I'm the most un-complimentary person they've ever met!

While this topic may have been covered before on this forum; I thought I'd "throw this against the wall, and see what sticks".

The use of ไป and มา initially seems to not make sense for a lot of new foreign Thai language learners. Especially so when they are used to show directionality in actions or events taking place in Thai sentence constructs. (I know it thru me for a loop early on, but I could just be a slow learner. ..)

I was at a private Thai language school last nite sitting a free sample class. The first part of the class was devoted to the correct use of the verbs ไป and มา as 'directionality' markers when used with another verb or activity. Actually the teacher did an excellent job of showing when each word is used with a verb and when they are used together with the activity being done between them to show it as recently completed.

The second part of the class about 'time or tense markers' was to refute a current student’s statement the previous week. He said, because there is no tensing of verbs in Thai it was a language which was ‘one dimensional’ and unable to convey the subtleties of English. This evidently riled the teacher a little.

Totally by herself, the teacher researched, typed and printed up hand outs which explained how tense or time marking most definitely DOES work in the Thai language just fine. It’s just not always represented in Thai the exact same way it is in English.

She illustrated thru various Thai sentence constructs just how Thai achieves the similar meaning in English to verb conjugation for tensing of events. Again I thought this was really well presented and the Thai teacher certainly knew her stuff in this regard (then again she made up the sheets too , but still it was of good value!).

While technically it’s true that the verb NEVER alters it's spelling or changes form; that's where the use of those "time & tense markers" come into play. She used words like จะ, คง, ควร, พึ่ง, แล้ว, อยู่, กำลัง, เมื่อ, ก่อน, นาน etc. in various combinations and with different sentence constructs to show how Thai works when tensing events, or actions.

For something NOT printed in the schools textbook, and developed only by a VERY motivated Thai language teacher to provide some clarity to the class, I thought she did an excellent job and so did the students in class. Sadly, as I was just “observing” the class I had to share the hand-out with a currently enrolled student (so didn’t get a copy for my ‘archives’ ), lol.

Anyway, I dunno if other new learners of the Thai language will find it of interest or not. ..

• a method of teaching a foreign language by the exclusive use of that language, usually at a special school.

As strange as it seems, it would appear we’re in agreement then:). That’s the EXACT definition I found on almost EVERY linguistic site which outlines methods to teach foreign languages on Google dot com. I also linked to a similar definition in my earlier post too.

I think where we’re diverging is our individual interpretation of just what that definition entails. At least to me that term would mean NO language is used in class other than the "target language" (the one being taught). That’s the definition of a “total immersion method” I gleaned from reading about 10 linguistic websites anyway. Maybe I could be "mis-remembering" what I read, dunno . ..

This only further supports my claim that AUA's branch in Bangkok is the only one I've seen which adheres to this type of teaching methodology.

I know I say it alot, but hey I'll say it again ; I've sat free ‘sample classes’ at more private Thai schools than I can even remember!! (I also attended 180 hours of class at the Walen School in Times Square back in late 2007 when they first began teaching Thai via the Walen method. The method was so new in fact, students were getting handouts when we showed up for class with the new lesson to study!)

It doesn’t matter if you go to; PRO Language, Language Express, Piamitr, TLS - Thai Language Station, Thai Solutions, Unity Thai, Paradigm, Baan Aksorn, Sumaa, MTL - My Thai Language, Sanithai, Thai Language Hut, Baan Phassa Thai, SMIT, Jentana & Associates, or _____ <- (insert your Thai language school here) If you want, I can keep listin’ ‘em; I just wrote down schools I could remember having 'toured'!

It is my first hand experience that 99.999% of the time, without fail, every private Thai language school save one, would and will explain the words/meanings/usage in English if a student asks.

I throw it all into empty plastic water bottles I’ve got and then when they’re full I give them to a ‘select-group’ of beggars who are based in my neighborhood. They live together in a small apartment and pool money to buy food, necessities, etc. I’ve known ‘em for the last 5 years and most of the same people are still in the ‘group’.

They’re ALL Thai nationals, not the foreign beggars with their ‘rent-a-child’ which normally hang around the touristy areas.

OFF TOPIC (but marginally interesting)

While I'm about as far from an emotional person as one can imagine I will relate this story that STILL to this day tugs at my heart;

I first met this group of Thai beggars when I made friends with an elderly Thai woman who had half of her left foot missing, her right leg gone from the knee down, and had NO fingers on either hand, just thumbs. FWIW; she was the most polite and courteous Thai national I’ve EVER met in almost 6 years of living here. She never begged for money from me, always said hello, asked how I was, where I was coming from, etc. One nite she introduced me to her ‘group’, and that’s how I started to know them and understand how they operated collectively. AND NO before the know it alls weigh in; they’re NOT controlled by the beggar mafia, or any other nonsense, (although the Thedsagit did make them pay every month to beg in the area).

Over time I became ‘friends’ of all of ‘em. The old lady especially, she’d help me with my Thai when ever I wanted to sit and chat with her at her spot on the crossover near my house.

Anyway, after about a year and a half of seeing her, I told her I’d give her 500 baht ONCE a month on a specific day when I’d pass by going to read my paper. I did this faithfully for over a year, never missed doing it even a single time.

Then one morning I was busy (or thought I was), I didn’t have 500 baht in my pocket (and didn’t bother to go break a 1000baht note). I told her I’d be back in the afternoon and give her the money for sure. When I came back, she wasn’t there. Later that night another beggar in her group came up to me and said; she had gone back to the apartment because she wasn’t feeling well. While she was there she ended up slipping ‘n falling in the shower and died from a skull fracture, brain hemorrhage.

To this day I wonder, if I’da just taken the frickin’ 5 minutes outta my day to break a 1000baht bill down and give her the 500baht, would she still have life or not? FWIW: I did attend her cremation and even took all the beggars in her group there and back in a taxi.

Honestly, it STILL almost brings me to tears writing this and it's be a couple years ago at least.

Anyway, that’s what I do with my spare change

Incredibly enough I actually MET another foreigner here studying the Thai language who got a year-long, multi-entry, Non-Immigrant, Type-ED visa in his country prior to showing up here to attend class!

Scant minutes ago, I was standing in line in the 7/11 at the mouth of my Soi, when a foreigner walked in with text-books I recognized as comin’ from a school in the Fico Building near Asok/Sukhumvit.

Being curious (as in being the nosy person I am ); I asked him how that school was working out for him. He said he was from Finland (he sure had the accented English to prove it! ) and he’d arrived here a coupla weeks ago. He had enrolled in the school and applied for the visa with their documentation BEFORE comin’ here. When I asked what type visa he got, he said they gave him the year-long, multi-entry ED visa.

It certainly would appear from the number of foreigners I’ve personally crossed paths with, that applying in your home country for an ED visa is the way to go.

<SNIPPED>I don't know how long immigration offices around the country will keep extending single entry visas for but those approaching the 3 year mark probably start to get a bit nervous that the end is nigh.<SNIPPED>

Another interesting thing I 'stumbled' across was a student who HAS been studying the Thai language for WELL OVER 4 years. He mentioned that his school just changed his paperwork to show the language he's studying is now Korean; although he really is still studyin' Thai. Now, I dunno how that'd actually work out for him IF Thai Immigrations spoke to him IN Korean . Anyway, that's what he told me.

I have personally heard and seen situations like this (Thai ex-girlfriend scorned & out for blood scenarios) take a precipitous turn for the worse, when the ex contacts who ever it is she can contact about a foreigner ‘working’ in Thailand. Thankfully, most are not nearly as "well-connected" as they portray themselves to be. Often times, it becomes 'cost prohibitive' for them to get someone to look into it ..

Now, on the off chance she reported this to the correct people, (NOT just run-o-the-mill rank-n-file Police which usually don’t bother to get involved; seeing as it’s NOT their rules and they don’t make anything off it); the proper authorities quite possibly would be compelled to ‘investigate’ or "go thru the motions of investigating" whether you’re in fact working on a retirement extension of stay or not.

In your case I believe the ‘proper authorities’ would be either Thai Immigrations (about a visa violation) and/or the Ministry of Labor (about working without a work permit). .. True, worst case, it can lead to some hefty fines, minor wrist slapping, possible but unlikely deportation. ..I’ve no first hand experience of things escalating to that degree unless you run amuck as in you’re REALLY ‘muck-running’.

I don’t know how much grief your personal situation could actually cause you as none of the income is deposited into a Thai bank. Still it could be worrisome and/or troublesome given the “open-for-interpretation” ways the Thai rules governing what actually constitutes ‘work’ here can be read.

As the labor rules are written, I personally think EVERY single poster on here who puts ANY helpful advice (and lives here too) could possibly be in violation of ‘working without a permit’ in Thailand, lol..

Wish I had the answers for you, really. Good Luck though, and let us know how it pans out eventually.

Putting the word in quotes and using Google Thailand in Thai I got this as the first hit;

กาก มีความหมายว่าสิ่งเหลือ สิ่งที่ไม่มีประโยชน์

Here's the link:

ไร้สาระนุกรม (uncyclopedia)

Dunno if the meaning is what you're looking for or not.

Could be new "kids-peak slang" as thai-language dot com only lists it as garbage, refuse, etc;

Definition - กาก Thai Language dot com

The Royal Institute meaning on that page did show this too;

[นาม] เดนเลือก (ใช้เป็นคำด่า) เช่น กากมนุษย์ คนกาก

That's the best I can do, but I'll ask some Thai kids (errr younger people ) when I'm out and about today. ..

It’s a good school. It’s part of a chain which has schools here in Thailand and in Japan too. Their Times Square location ONLY teaches Thai to people who speak Korean or Japanese, but their Silom location offers Thai classes to English native speakers.

There material is good, they have many levels, and overall I think you’ll get good “bang-4-the-baht” at Thai Language Station. In fact, I know a couple of the Thai teachers at that location and they're well qualified teachers who have experience teaching Thai to foreigners.

Oh, here’s their website;

Thai Language Station - Bangkok

FWIW: the Asian guy pictured in the photo on the main page (with the reddish-yellow hair) is the founder of this chain. He’s one of the most non-conventional school owners I’ve ever met! He seemed really sincere about wanting to offer a good program for teaching the Thai language.

His school also has a TON of videos on YouTube too!

Good luck.

If a person Googles the phrase "Immersion Method of learning foreign language" and then reads the actual definition of “immersion method” as it relates to learning foreign languages I think this would be cleared right up.

I still think the ONLY school in Bangkok which adheres to this methodology is AUA using their ALG (Automatic Language Growth) method and where Thai is spoken 100% of the time in classes.

In fact not, a single other private Thai language school springs to mind at all ; and believe me I’ve been to most of ‘em out there.

Sadly, it's NOT how many hours of class a student sits a week that makes a student ‘immerse themselves’ in a foreign language. It’s the fact that the language being learned is the ONLY language spoken to students WHEN it’s being taught. That would exclude most ALL private Thai language schools I've personally toured, as the teachers will explain things in English if asked.

FWIW: I'm not affiliated with ANY private Thai language school in Thailand.

I dunno if this is a "troll" or not either.

However, I'm sure we can all remember when we were; "young, dumb and full of ***" , errr headstrong ideas.

Granted over the ensuing years, some of us have changed our views; once the realities of what life is like especially outside the confines of our home country, surrounded by people who don't or won't speak english, not knowing the native language AND when you're no longer a tourist where everything is seen thru your rose-colored glasses, but an ex-pat where sometimes in the harsh light of day, things are a little bit different.

Now will he be living the “dream” or a "never-ending nite-mare", only he will find that out. .. Still I think we gotta give the O/P credit for trying.

Sheesh, even the Thais have that saying; ไม่ลองไม่รู้ (and for those who can't read Thai it's pronounced like this "mai^F laawng^M mai^F ruu^H"). It translates into the English idiom: "You never know what you can do till you try."

When ever I hear a person tell me they never failed at anything, it usually means they never tried anything all that difficult either.

To the O/P; Good Luck! Go into it with your eyes WIDE open, and remember things ain't always what they appear to be on the surface.

I called and just spoke to a really nice Mormon who also happens to be a Thai national too, at the Mormon headquarters here in Bangkok.

He said they don't need work permits for the Mormons who are on their 'mission' in Thailand, but they do extend their visas every 90 days.

At least that's what he told me, so take it for what it's worth.

I think there is more than a little disparity in the definition of the term "total immersion", especially as it relates to the O/P’s query.

While slightly off-topic, just to give everyone equal footing in this particular subject:

The various methods of foreign language acquisition are VERY WELL understood by linguistic experts in that field.

Here's a break down of various names/methods foreign languages can be taught/acquired from linguistics dot com;

Methodologies in Foreign Language Teaching

Number 10 on the list covers “total immersion”, and it’s pretty much the “cut-in-stone” definition used by far more cunning-linguists than myself, lol

Personally, I thought the sub-title of the article was quite telling too;

"Any given method is only as effective as its implementation."

In thinking about what the O/P is asking; the only private Thai language school which pops into my mind as far as abso-tively, posi-lutely having NO English spoken in class is out at AUA on Ratchadamri Road. Their ALG (Automatic Language Growth) method uses ONLY spoken Thai in their classes. There is no English translation provided, no hand-outs, no vocabulary sheets and only spoken Thai is used. Now the teachers are good at acting and mime so even a newbie can sort out what they’re on about while the teacher’s converse in Thai.

I’ve sat ‘sample’ courses at Berlitz, and in fact more private Thai language schools than I can remember! In all of those schools, teachers WILL definitely switch to English to explain things IF you can't follow the Thai version of the explanation.

Actually, this isn't an unreasonable thing to have a school do to help a student learn the Thai language. In the beginning a student simply doesn't know enough Thai vocabulary (especially in regards to grammatical terms; noun, verb, adverb, time or tense markers, classifiers, question tags, etc), to ask questions which make sense, or understand what's being explained; if it's done ONLY in Thai. If those very basic concepts aren't explained in a way you can understand them; you're left "standing out in left field" wondering how this language actually goes together. It can and often does lead to discouragement, which last time I checked, is counter productive to learning.

I did hear and read of a coupla programs offering 'home-stay' type of Thai language study. Not necessarily up-country in a one-buffalo village, but in the outlying areas of Bangkok and neighboring cities. This is where 'host families' provide accommodations and lets a foreigner studying the Thai language experience first hand how the language is spoken in a 'day-to-day' family environment. These are usually undertaken after a student has a sufficient grasp of the Thai language to "get-by-in-thai" with the basics of communication.

They can be very advantageous and the coupla students I've spoken with who've attended these types of 'programs' show a marked increase in both their understanding and clarity of spoken Thai too!

One student in particular who I spoke with not too long ago did it with a gracious Thai family for a week in Samut Prakan. Boy-o-boy could she speak some very clear Thai! Sadly, I have no idea how good her Thai was BEFORE she went to the home stay program. Therefore I couldn't really weigh in on its overall "bang-4-the-baht" in terms of her getting something out of the program, but I can’t see how it hurt either. ...

Good Luck, keep at it, don’t get discouraged. Sorry for the long post.

Hope it helped some. ..

Work is defined in the Thai law as exerting your energy for the benefit of others - or something along those lines. SNIPPED

The laws governing what actually constitutes 'work' here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais" are written (probably purposely so) with such a vague definition as to almost be laughable, well, almost anyway.

Half the time I'm afraid to use the bum-squirter or flush the toilet by myself as I don't hold a work permit. For all I know; those actions could even fall under the "list of prohibited trades" which a foreigner cannot legally do as well!!

Sorry, I dunno about the various religious sex err sects, which ply their "trade" here though.

Just as an aside; quite the quick edit job there "tombkk"!

hi,

I'm new for farm forums and would like to know about pig farm and fish farm how should i start with by the way i am Thai try to write English i apology i'm in uk thinking about start someting to do when i go back thailand next time

Start here FIRST:

Tips for Farming Forum Newbies

SNIPPED: No monk has ever tried to covert me or ask for money.

Well, there is that shady asian monk who circulates lower Sukhumvit at nite. The one who wears really good running shoes under his orange robes and always has 100 baht in his little ash-tray dealy; which I guess is where you put the money you're gonna give him; if you're stupid enough to actually give a monk money!

FWIW: When I was at Changwattana a coupla weeks ago I thought I mistakenly ended up in Salt Lake City Utah! The place was almost OVER RUN with Mormons on their 'mission' extending their visas. I mean there musta been 50 of ‘em, literally they were "thick as ticks on a hound dogs back" out there. They get their extensions at the section there that handles Education visa stuff.

I not certain but think there might be an "exemption" for people hell-bent on converting the 'heathen' Thais to what ever religion they think is better than Buddhism. I think those people (the convert-ers NOT the convert-ees ) don't need Work Permits. But I freely admit I could be wrong about this. Then again, I don't hang around with religious zealots of ANY persuasion as a rule.

Seeing as the place the Mormons stay isn't that far from where I live, next time I'm going that way I'll stop in and ask 'em (just to be nosy really ) if they need work permits to bicycle around Bangkok and do what ever it is they do every day. I've talked to a bunch of 'em and they're always good fun to interact with, up for a chat and man-o-man they can speak some CLEAR Thai! Possibly, with this being Thailand and all, that'd be kinda a prerequisite wouldn't it?

Sorry in advance for the overly long post , I hope if you stick with it you may find it of at least marginal value.

I think what you need to concentrate on is acquiring the Thai vocabulary you're gonna use, and use, and USE some more in every day life. Once you get your head wrapped around how things are structured Thai language wise, learn the most common "phrozen-phrasez" (trademark pending; but those are things you say again and again to almost every thai you interact with, with no variation) and basic sentence constructs which you switch out the subject/object but the construct stays the same to ask or answer different things which, I call "topic substitution": suddenly youre speaking tongues, err I mean Thai.

As far as private Thai tutors go:

A private Thai tutor is ONLY as good as the material they bring to teach you (or the material you MAKE them use, if their stuff bites!) Simply being a native Thai speaker who happens to also speak engrish doesn't a quality private tutor make. I've taken free 'sample lessons' from over a dozen alleged Thai tutors and they vary in "bang-4-the-baht" quite markedly. About the best and ONLY one I'd recommend is Jentana and Associates. That company doesn't fool around with or offer ED visas, they don't offer group classes, they don't rely on marginal material, AND they're totally in line with what most other private Thai tutors in Bangkok are asking price-wise.

Private Thai Language Schools;

I've also sat MANY, many lessons at private Thai language schools. Some teach you mostly worthless Thai vocabulary, like things you'd NEVER EVER say or ask here in a gazillion years. Others have low quality material, or unskilled teachers running the classes. I strongly suggest ; if you contemplate going to a private Thai language school, visit as MANY as you can, and sit as many free classes as you can BEFORE you pay a single satang's worth of your hard earned baht.

(BTW: I'm not affiliated with ANY private Thai language school, I go scope 'em out and review 'em for a hobby ).

I got enough "regular" Thai vocab cluttering my brain already . I don't need to waste the time or effort into learning a word in Thai for something I've either got no interest in or am not gonna use in my personal "game plan" for "speaking Thai 2 Thais in Thailand".

There's a pinned thread at the top of this forum (I think its still there) which has a list of the top 3000 Thai words by spoken & written frequency. That's a good place to start, as those would be very high-usage words indeed. Those online flash-card programs are excellent to use with material like this.

Face it, most day to day stuff a person does in Thailand can be carried out almost completely with either "phrozen-phrasez" or simple sentence constructs using "topic substitution". We ain't trying to solve world hunger or talk about global warming here.

We're trying to get things accomplished! Things like finding where things you need are sold, knowing how to get to those places. For me it comes down to being able to ask people the correct questions in as few words as possible to get the answers I need to live amongst the Thais.

*Now if your particular goal here IS actually solving world hunger or discussing global warming with the Thais; well my advice could be worng, errr wrong.

Good luck, dont let it get you down, dont give up, and certainly dont take it too seriously! Sheesh, were talkin about learning the Thai language here right? We're not sequencing the human genome or something serious are we?

Above all; HAVE FUN WITH IT!!!!

Even though this is quite an old publication from 1987, it was put out by the Peace Corp so you may find it of general value.

Mushroom Cultivation In Thailand

Hope it helps. .. Some at least. ..