Can anyone refer me to a good Thai class in Chiang Mai? I actually know quite a bit of Thai but can't speak it so well so the focus should be on conversation. I would like to do it for 2 weeks to start!

Hi Girl X,

There was a long thread on this subject about 3 months ago.

Just look back about 12 -18 pages and you will find it.

Enjoy your stay in CM.

TP

Hi Girl X,

There was a long thread on this subject about 3 months ago.

Just look back about 12 -18 pages and you will find it.

Enjoy your stay in CM.

TP

Send me a PM and I'll give you the info on a professional teacher.

hmm thanks i did look it up and i know there are big schools that have classes, but i am just thinking like 2 hours a day 5 days a week or something (don't have time for more than that), with a group that can encourage my talking in thai and are able to correct me. any other suggestions?

You know there are a few approaches to consider; it's all up to what will get you to work best at it. I'm always a supporter of 1:1 learning either with a Thai or with a Farang - yes, Farang can teach Thai and in many cases do it well because we understand your thinking and your sticking points. It's a topic well covered in the language section of the forum.

Another approach is to make one place your hangout where there are a few Thais good in Eng who want to really help you and talk with you every day n do an exchange. Make a friend.

I like all of that better than a class...but that's just me. I find sometimes a class has a great teacher and gets momentum. But alot of the time however, I find them places where people go to get agreement that Thai is hard and can't be learned, thus dragging the whole group down.

Go to AUA.

Seriously; they don't use the ridiculous technique that plagues (plagued?) Bangkok AUA.

hmm thanks i did look it up and i know there are big schools that have classes, but i am just thinking like 2 hours a day 5 days a week or something (don't have time for more than that), with a group that can encourage my talking in thai and are able to correct me. any other suggestions?

If you speak some Thai then the solution is simple - walk around the city, the market, the streets, anywhere there are Thai people and TALK TO THEM. You can get a good foundation in Thai from books but to converse you need to speak and to do it often. Thais are very helpfull with farung trying to speak/learn Thai. I used to have regular spots where I would speak to the staff and they would encourage me to speak and comment on my progress. Keep your phrase book with you and a small dictionary helps as well but avoid trying to construct sentences by just looking up words. Use the phrase book at a restaurant and use the point and speak method. With a little encouragement the Thais will correct your pronunciation and you will improve.

It is much more fun, cheaper, and more usefull than sitting in a classroom learning "my plane has been delayed - when is the next flight to Pattaya?"

Good luck

CB

If you speak some Thai then the solution is simple - walk around the city, the market, the streets, anywhere there are Thai people and TALK TO THEM. You can get a good foundation in Thai from books but to converse you need to speak and to do it often. Thais are very helpfull with farung trying to speak/learn Thai. I used to have regular spots where I would speak to the staff and they would encourage me to speak and comment on my progress. Keep your phrase book with you and a small dictionary helps as well but avoid trying to construct sentences by just looking up words. Use the phrase book at a restaurant and use the point and speak method. With a little encouragement the Thais will correct your pronunciation and you will improve.

It is much more fun, cheaper, and more usefull than sitting in a classroom learning "my plane has been delayed - when is the next flight to Pattaya?"

Good luck

CB

IMO trying to go into detail with an everyday Thai about words would be like trying to get or give directions.....mindbendingly slow with an occasional glimpse of light. Maybe OK if you have the patience of a saint and matching time to spare.

If you speak some Thai then the solution is simple - walk around the city, the market, the streets, anywhere there are Thai people and TALK TO THEM. You can get a good foundation in Thai from books but to converse you need to speak and to do it often. Thais are very helpfull with farung trying to speak/learn Thai. I used to have regular spots where I would speak to the staff and they would encourage me to speak and comment on my progress. Keep your phrase book with you and a small dictionary helps as well but avoid trying to construct sentences by just looking up words. Use the phrase book at a restaurant and use the point and speak method. With a little encouragement the Thais will correct your pronunciation and you will improve.

It is much more fun, cheaper, and more usefull than sitting in a classroom learning "my plane has been delayed - when is the next flight to Pattaya?"

Good luck

CB

IMO trying to go into detail with an everyday Thai about words would be like trying to get or give directions.....mindbendingly slow with an occasional glimpse of light. Maybe OK if you have the patience of a saint and matching time to spare.

While I was a teacher, I found it very easy to talk about 'how to get..?' with students, because it is almost a direction translation, to Thai/English, so it is very easy to give directions if you know some simple Thai and English.

As for a school for a couple of hours per day, I recommend AUA, and Ajarn Oranute as the teacher...

Go to AUA.

Seriously; they don't use the ridiculous technique that plagues (plagued?) Bangkok AUA.

I had one great teacher there.

The other one sucked severely.

As for a school for a couple of hours per day, I recommend AUA, and Ajarn Oranute as the teacher...

If you're thinking of the same Ajarn Oranute that taught me many years ago, then I recommend her too - she teaches you to use very clear and precise Central Thai pronunciation - a benefit that still pays off today on those few occasions when I do get into a conversation in Thai, and don't have enough vocabulary - describing what you're trying to say, if you don't know the word, works in Thai as well as English.

i had my first private lesson yesterday at AUA. ###### expensive (435 baht for an hour and a half) but very worth it! i learned more thai in that hour and a half than i have in the last 6 months! the teacher (whose name i forgot to ask, will post it when i get it) is an older lady, and she made me speak thai the entire time. she was very good about explaining the grammar rules. definitely recommended.

Could it be Ajarn Mali perhaps? Very competent lady to whom I owe a lot of my progress in Thai.

I had one great teacher there.

The other one sucked severely.

So you preferred the other one?

oh my teacher was Oranute, i just found out today... i think she is really good!