Any recommendations for a language school in Bangkok please?

[Gee Bangkok]

Hi 

 

I'm looking at trying to improve my Thai! Yes I know its not easy.. New tricks old dog..... Etc. 

 

Any one recommended a good place to learn Thai. I don't need it for visa. 

 

Thanks again all

 

Gee 

 

 

[EricTh]

 

If you do not need it for visa, then I recommend online learning. 

 

https://learnthaiwithmod.com/

 

Most Thai schools teach formal Thai which is not useful anyway. Most Thai teachers do not know how to teach.

 

Kru Mod and gang will teach how not to make mistakes that most farangs make.

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, EricTh said:

 

If you do not need it for visa, then I recommend online learning. 

 

https://learnthaiwithmod.com/

 

Most Thai schools teach formal Thai which is not useful anyway. Most Thai teachers do not know how to teach.

 

Kru Mod and gang will teach how not to make mistakes that most farangs make.

Nothing like trying to send your friend business....The actual language schools do a very good job regardless of what you believe.

I used AUA and had no issues.

[EricTh]

1 minute ago, ThailandRyan said:

Nothing like trying to send your friend business....The actual language schools do a very good job regardless of what you believe.

 

BTW they are not my 'friends'. I am just recommending the better teachers after years of learning Thai and living in Thailand.

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

1 minute ago, EricTh said:

 

BTW they are not my 'friends'. I am just recommending the better teachers after years of learning Thai and living in Thailand.

 

 

Living here myself for many years, I have found that everyday speaking of the language, watching Thai news and television, as well as trying to read the dailies after having taken courses will only strengthen ones ability to speak Thai.  Classes are available everywhere in Thailand, and doing research will allow someone to make a decision.  It was while taking courses in Phuket in 2009 that I also decided that there were many different ways to learn Thai.  Pidgin Thai and Tinglish is found near bar areas, and is not an area to try and expand ones knowledge or ability.    

[EricTh]

10 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Living here myself for many years, I have found that everyday speaking of the language, watching Thai news and television, as well as trying to read the dailies after having taken courses will only strengthen ones ability to speak Thai.  Classes are available everywhere in Thailand, and doing research will allow someone to make a decision.  It was while taking courses in Phuket in 2009 that I also decided that there were many different ways to learn Thai.  Pidgin Thai and Tinglish is found near bar areas, and is not an area to try and expand ones knowledge or ability.    

 

I have had former classmates from AUA who complained that they hardly learned anything from that school.

 

Many foreigners are unaware that the Thai language that they teach are too formal and nobody use that in everyday life.

 

I learned through everyday conversation with real Thai people (not bar areas), the spoken language is so different from the formal language taught which almost always focus on Sanskrit words and Indian grammar and not real spoken Thai.

 

Eg. Panraya is a Sanskrit word.

[Iamfalang]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

I have had former classmates from AUA who complained that they hardly learned anything from that school.

In Chiang Mai, their reading course is excellent.  Speaking?  Well, we were beginners and were going to struggle anywhere.  I do remember that the teachers were professional, and the students (classmates) liked going to bars and most of them dropped out anyhow.  Some students showed up once a week, and some got too frustrated making mistakes.  I would blame the falangs 90% for not learning anything.

 

Maybe it's different in BKK.

 

 

[youreavinalaff]

There are over 60 million native Thai speakers in Thailand.

 

Every one of them is a potential reference point, partner in conversation and practice partner.

 

Why oh why go to a school and take structured classes ? Classes that are likely to concentrate on formal grammar that is not needed. 

 

Get out there into your community and learn. Why do you think Thais with money are so desparate to send their kids to international schools or abroad to study? Why are kids with English speaking fathers, who are in Thailand full time, constantly the best English speakers in their schools?

[it is what it is]

16 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

There are over 60 million native Thai speakers in Thailand.

 

Every one of them is a potential reference point, partner in conversation and practice partner.

 

Why oh why go to a school and take structured classes ? Classes that are likely to concentrate on formal grammar that is not needed. 

 

Get out there into your community and learn. Why do you think Thais with money are so desparate to send their kids to international schools or abroad to study? Why are kids with English speaking fathers, who are in Thailand full time, constantly the best English speakers in their schools?

yes, and no, if you're a complete beginner then it would be much quicker to learn the basics and get yourself started if you learn in a structured way with someone skilled in teaching and able to explain in L1. if you don't care about grammar that's fine, it's not always necessary for effective communication. however five minutes listening to someone speak my language without a grasp of grammar can quickly become tiring, not to mention the speaker tending to sound less 'educated'.

[youreavinalaff]

17 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

yes, and no, if you're a complete beginner then it would be much quicker to learn the basics and get yourself started if you learn in a structured way with someone skilled in teaching and able to explain in L1. if you don't care about grammar that's fine, it's not always necessary for effective communication. however five minutes listening to someone speak my language without a grasp of grammar can quickly become tiring, not to mention the speaker tending to sound less 'educated'.

So, how did you learn to speak your mother tongue?

 

Interesting you say that a teacher can "explain". How might they do that? I guess you mean in the language of the student. If I was in a class with a Thai teacher I would want them to speak Thai. Not English.

 

The grammar taught in classrooms is formal. Not the same grammar as general conversation. It's not needed to become a good, understandable, "educated" sounding speaker.

[Iamfalang]

On 8/25/2022 at 11:02 PM, youreavinalaff said:

If I was in a class with a Thai teacher I would want them to speak Thai. Not English.

It depends.  Some paying students might ask, "What does that word mean?"   A Thai teacher should then say it in the student's native language.   This happens quite often.

 

It's also a better "bonding" relationship if the teacher can speak a little English.

 

If the class is 1 hour and the teacher spends 2 minutes speaking English, I'm OK with that.

 

None of this stuff matters....................Did you learn?  GOOD.   Was it productive?  OK.  Worth your money?  GREAT.   If you didn't learn, it probably wasn't because they spoke some English, and then find a new teacher for the next semester.   Not the teacher's fault, per say, but it's not a good match.   

[youreavinalaff]

58 minutes ago, Iamfalang said:

It depends. 

Some paying students might ask, "What does that word mean?"   A Thai teacher should then say it in the student's native language.   This happens quite often.

 

It's also a better "bonding" relationship if the teacher can speak a little English.

 

If the class is 1 hour and the teacher spends 2 minutes speaking English, I'm OK with that.

 

None of this stuff matters....................Did you learn?  GOOD.   Was it productive?  OK.  Worth your money?  GREAT.   If you didn't learn, it probably wasn't because they spoke some English, and then find a new teacher for the next semester.   Not the teacher's fault, per say, but it's not a good match.   

You bang on about how bad Farang teachers are. How members on her should not trust them to reach correctly. You also bang on about how you are the exception to the rule and you are the greatest and holier than thou.

 

Then you come up with an amateurish comment like this. Funny.

 

I do hope you don't speak Thai in your classes. If you do uou have broken the number one rule. Not so good after all then.

[puchooay]

1 hour ago, Iamfalang said:

It depends.  Some paying students might ask, "What does that word mean?"   A Thai teacher should then say it in the student's native language.   This happens quite often.

 

It's also a better "bonding" relationship if the teacher can speak a little English.

 

If the class is 1 hour and the teacher spends 2 minutes speaking English, I'm OK with that.

 

None of this stuff matters....................Did you learn?  GOOD.   Was it productive?  OK.  Worth your money?  GREAT.   If you didn't learn, it probably wasn't because they spoke some English, and then find a new teacher for the next semester.   Not the teacher's fault, per say, but it's not a good match.   

Number one rule for language teachers. Only speak the subject language in the classroom.

 

I do hope a self confessed expert like your good self does not rattle on in Thai in your classes.

[youreavinalaff]

2 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

You bang on about how bad Farang teachers are. How members on her should not trust them to reach correctly. You also bang on about how you are the exception to the rule and you are the greatest and holier than thou.

 

Then you come up with an amateurish comment like this. Funny.

 

I do hope you don't speak Thai in your classes. If you do uou have broken the number one rule. Not so good after all then.

@transam

 

If you are confused with my comment, you clearly have not read Nanyang of @Iamfalang's comments on Asean Now.

[Nani39]

I recommend the YouTube channel "online Thai" for learning the Thai script and the basics

[AsianAtHeart]

Clearly, some here have a poor understanding of the principles of language acquisition versus language learning and how linguistic abilities in one's natural language will transfer to the new language.

 

If teaching primary students up through about grade 4, the native language, apart from behavior management, would be entirely unnecessary.  The nearer to adulthood the student gets, the more of his or her own native language will be helpful.  Adults learn by comparing the L2 back to their L1.  Small children can learn without this.

 

The "direct method" in which the L2 is the only language permitted in the classroom, has its shortcomings.  On the other hand, a method in which all instruction is translated is absolutely worthless--and illegal in the United States for the simple reason that, knowing it will be said again in their own language, students will lazily wait to hear what they understand, thus learning nothing.

 

Judicious use of the L1 during L2 instruction is important.  It can help students bond with their teacher.  It can help their minds open new schema for understanding linguistic structures of the L2 which may not be present in their L1.  And it can more efficiently communicate important knowledge that their L2 skills would be unprepared to receive.