Learning Thai

[koheesti]

Are there any Thai language classes for foreigners on Samui? What price range per course/class/hour?

[sbk]

I was just in Samui yesterday and saw a sign for a new Thai school opening on the main ring road, before Chaweng. Sorry, I was in the back of a songthaew and not really paying attention to location but if you drive along the ring road from Mae Nam to Tesco, you'll see it.

[elfe]

there is a good school called 'mind your language' opposite the ptt gas station on ring road close to the turn into chaweng (first one coming from lamai, a bit further the gas station and opposite the school). the have different courses for beginners, advanced etc. as i recall, for one course lasting one month, lesson every day, it is about 8000 baht.

[mafaso]

Living with a Thai will get you far more advanced than taking classes hands down.

I took the Mind Your Language classes at it was too much. You go every day for two hours a day and it is just too much to try and learn. You will forget most everything you learn as you try to squeeze in the new days lesson. I had just finished college so my brain was already used to absorbing vast amounts of data but the everyday classes was overkill. I wish I had my 8000 baht back.

Living with a Thai is the best way to go because you will be hearing Thai all the time and start to learn the words and how to pronounce the words which is of utmost importance. Learning the language is about practice practice practice. Get a cheap dictionary and when you want to say something in Thai look it up first and then try it on your roommate. They will help you say it correctly and you will have a better chance of remembering the word.

Just my 2 bahts worth.

[SamuiJens]

Living with a Thai will get you far more advanced than taking classes hands down.

I took the Mind Your Language classes at it was too much. You go every day for two hours a day and it is just too much to try and learn. You will forget most everything you learn as you try to squeeze in the new days lesson. I had just finished college so my brain was already used to absorbing vast amounts of data but the everyday classes was overkill. I wish I had my 8000 baht back.

Living with a Thai is the best way to go because you will be hearing Thai all the time and start to learn the words and how to pronounce the words which is of utmost importance. Learning the language is about practice practice practice. Get a cheap dictionary and when you want to say something in Thai look it up first and then try it on your roommate. They will help you say it correctly and you will have a better chance of remembering the word.

Just my 2 bahts worth.

I agree with mafaso here, in classes you kinda forget, but with a gf living with you, it's easier to ask and to have here explain the way you say a word, sentence, etc.. Well put mafaso.

[SamuiJens]

Living with a Thai will get you far more advanced than taking classes hands down.

I took the Mind Your Language classes at it was too much. You go every day for two hours a day and it is just too much to try and learn. You will forget most everything you learn as you try to squeeze in the new days lesson. I had just finished college so my brain was already used to absorbing vast amounts of data but the everyday classes was overkill. I wish I had my 8000 baht back.

Living with a Thai is the best way to go because you will be hearing Thai all the time and start to learn the words and how to pronounce the words which is of utmost importance. Learning the language is about practice practice practice. Get a cheap dictionary and when you want to say something in Thai look it up first and then try it on your roommate. They will help you say it correctly and you will have a better chance of remembering the word.

Just my 2 bahts worth.

I agree with mafaso here, in classes you kinda forget, but with a gf living with you, it's easier to ask and to have here explain the way you say a word, sentence, etc.. Well put mafaso.

[Mark Wolfe]

Having taught English as a second language from 1985 to about 1990 and having directed a school, I can say that although the mastermind of Mind Your Language has his heart in the right place (I took a four-week course there), the self-produced book is awful. Aside from trying to stuff too much grammar into the course, there is not practical order to the information you are taught. You don't even get to numbers until near the end of the book.

Also, the teacher that I had was not qualified to teach, although she had been "taught" to teach somewhere or other. Nothing wrong with her, but there are established steps to teaching beginners.

However, having said that, if a person stayed with the program, worked like a donkey to try to remember all the stuff, even the useless things, and had a live-in Thai who was willing to help (they are few and far between -- girlfriends/boyfriends are hopeless), you should be able to forge ahead.

Unfortunately, at the time I took class, there was no one to teach writing.

[martaway]

Having taught English as a second language from 1985 to about 1990 and having directed a school, I can say that although the mastermind of Mind Your Language has his heart in the right place (I took a four-week course there), the self-produced book is awful. Aside from trying to stuff too much grammar into the course, there is not practical order to the information you are taught. You don't even get to numbers until near the end of the book.

Also, the teacher that I had was not qualified to teach, although she had been "taught" to teach somewhere or other. Nothing wrong with her, but there are established steps to teaching beginners.

However, having said that, if a person stayed with the program, worked like a donkey to try to remember all the stuff, even the useless things, and had a live-in Thai who was willing to help (they are few and far between -- girlfriends/boyfriends are hopeless), you should be able to forge ahead.

Unfortunately, at the time I took class, there was no one to teach writing.

I ma a Farang living in Samui

I speak Thai and also read and write it.

I would be willing to teach for a small fee.

I live near Lamai

[juleschester]

I took a one month course at 'mind your language' back in 2002 when i first got to thailand and would definately say that it was worth that initial introduction into the thai language, there is quite a lot to fill your mind with, every day for a month, but the basic grammar/vocab learnt was worth knowing and set me up to learn and understand better, the words and phrases that I learnt talking to thai friends.

When I get the chance, I will definately do another course.

[Refresher]

I have just read the comment on the Thai school mind your language and i felt I just had to add my comment

I have been coming to samui for nine years and i have tried many different ways of learning the language, through books, cd's and via the internet. Last year i decided that i would take lessons and took two courses with Khun Jom and really enjoyed his approach to teaching.

The lessons were fun, education ,constructive and most of all interesting.

I did have a very small vocabulary of Thai when i started but realised very quickly that what I was saying was rarely in the correct tone. That was corrected quickly and over the next few weeks my unerstanding and knolwedge of Thai grew and my confidence and vocab came on leaps and bounds.

I would definetly recommend the school.

[meadish_sweetball]

For best results, try a combination of classroom learning with exposure/immersion.

People have different strengths, and if you think about it try to remember how you have learned things the best in the past. If you hated school, chances are you will not like structured Thai language classes either. If you on the other hand liked to learn things in a structured, traditional way, do so..

Try to define goals for your learning. What do you want to be able to achieve with your Thai? When you have established this, focus on those areas.

Generally, people who go for structured learning and learn how to read Thai, have better control of tones and are more sure of their grammar. This does not necessarily mean they are better communicators.

Some people reach a high level through exposure/immersion too, but many are stuck with a strong foreign accent that makes it difficult for them to communicate effectively with anybody who is not used to their way of speaking.

Bear in mind Standard Thai and the Surat dialect are two different kettle of fish altogether. If you want to be able to make yourself understood well all over Thailand, concentrate on Standard Thai.

If, on the other hand, you plan to settle down in Surat, then the local dialect will be more helpful. The alphabet as well as written Thai is based on Standard Thai, which in turn is a polished version of the dialects spoken in the Central Plains around Bangkok.

[t.s]

i would say both immersion (long haired dictionary?) and lessons are the ideal way to approach learning thai, but you have to ask yourself before you set out what kind of thai do you want coming out of your mouth and approach learning accordingly.

your thai, like your appearance will be an indicator to other thais of who you are, social class etc. if you speak a low thai, you will be thought to be low as well.

that is not to say to dump your girl freind for a society girl, but find a good teacher who can give you a solid base, and while practicing with southerners, northerners etc remember your objective. No thais will fault you for speaking politely and in central, but you will certainly get some unfavourable reactions if you find out that the thai your girlfriend taught you is actually Suay.

ts

[username36]

there is a good school called 'mind your language' opposite the ptt gas station on ring road close to the turn into chaweng (first one coming from lamai, a bit further the gas station and opposite the school). the have different courses for beginners, advanced etc. as i recall, for one course lasting one month, lesson every day, it is about 8000 baht.

Yeah great school. I can recommend too. Here the link to the school:

http://www.mindyourlanguagethailand.com

cheers

Addi

[username36]

I have just read the comment on the Thai school mind your language and i felt I just had to add my comment

I have been coming to samui for nine years and i have tried many different ways of learning the language, through books, cd's and via the internet. Last year i decided that i would take lessons and took two courses with Khun Jom and really enjoyed his approach to teaching.

The lessons were fun, education ,constructive and most of all interesting.

I did have a very small vocabulary of Thai when i started but realised very quickly that what I was saying was rarely in the correct tone. That was corrected quickly and over the next few weeks my unerstanding and knolwedge of Thai grew and my confidence and vocab came on leaps and bounds.

I would definetly recommend the school.

100 % agreed on this. I had the same experience with Jom. He is a great man in his job. He really enjoy teaching. You can feel it. Absolutely professional! I can't understand why some people give a negative comment about his school. I knew everybody who learned with me enjoyed learning with Jom and really come forward. Sanuk mak mak!

Cheers

Addi

[username36]

i would say both immersion (long haired dictionary?) and lessons are the ideal way to approach learning thai, but you have to ask yourself before you set out what kind of thai do you want coming out of your mouth and approach learning accordingly.

your thai, like your appearance will be an indicator to other thais of who you are, social class etc. if you speak a low thai, you will be thought to be low as well.

that is not to say to dump your girl freind for a society girl, but find a good teacher who can give you a solid base, and while practicing with southerners, northerners etc remember your objective. No thais will fault you for speaking politely and in central, but you will certainly get some unfavourable reactions if you find out that the thai your girlfriend taught you is actually Suay.

ts

Good words. It's right to learn as you said. Passa Klang, like they speak in Bangkok and around, everybody understand in Thailand. Thai TV is only in Passa Klang. And to speak polite is very important too if you want people respect you. Jom from Mind Your Language really cares about that. He know bad and low class words and he let you know about this words, but he insist that you don't use them in public. Only for fun with very close friends.

Thanks for the lessons Jom!

Cheers

Addi

[PoorSucker]

Also like "Mind your language"

When I was in the beginner class, there was a very, very nice girl learning to be teacher.

It would be perfect for you to live with her, then both of your questions is answerd in one...

[koheesti]

Also like "Mind your language"

When I was in the beginner class, there was a very, very nice girl learning to be teacher.

It would be perfect for you to live with her, then both of your questions is answerd in one...

It's a question asked one year ago. Someone went digging to find this thread.

[geronimo]

Living with a Thai will get you far more advanced than taking classes hands down.

I took the Mind Your Language classes at it was too much. You go every day for two hours a day and it is just too much to try and learn. You will forget most everything you learn as you try to squeeze in the new days lesson. I had just finished college so my brain was already used to absorbing vast amounts of data but the everyday classes was overkill. I wish I had my 8000 baht back.

Living with a Thai is the best way to go because you will be hearing Thai all the time and start to learn the words and how to pronounce the words which is of utmost importance. Learning the language is about practice practice practice. Get a cheap dictionary and when you want to say something in Thai look it up first and then try it on your roommate. They will help you say it correctly and you will have a better chance of remembering the word.

Just my 2 bahts worth.

I agree with mafaso here, in classes you kinda forget, but with a gf living with you, it's easier to ask and to have here explain the way you say a word, sentence, etc.. Well put mafaso.

I've been here 23 years, am fluent in Thai and have never had a lesson. I would say the besy way is to spend lots of time with Thais. Comprehension comes before speaking so listening is important. I hit several walls when I felt I wasn't improving but I kept persevering and it finally came. Find a Thai who speaks good english and then you can ask them about all the connecting words you need to make sentences, like and, but, because, in, at etc. I found Thais very helpful with language but you must be the one to push it, otherwise they will not make the effort. Rememeber it will take time!