Learning Thai In Chaingmai?

[Blinky Bill]

BTW, I have never had a lesson in the Thai language, just mixed and worked with Thai people for many years.

Me too, and I've been able to bring many of them down to my own level.

And your level is much lower than my level Bokka.

[siam2007]

Has anybody ever attended the Thai language classes at the Language Institute at CMU? They seem less intense then AUA. Any experiences?

Thanks

I aongly recomend it. I speak thai allready but currently finishing the first course at CMU and can stro the course has been invaluable in helping me use better tones.ngly recomend it. I spoke thai before I started however the course has been invaluable in improving my terrible tones. I am continuing the second course. A side benifit is that you get may of the advantages of a CMU student, the gym the library and the swimming pool. Just being on campus has given me a view of thailand I never had when I lived here 30 years ago.

Is it an intensive course? How many hours per week? How many students per class? How good are the teachers?

my experience at cmu are different from yours. last year, i took the beginning and reading courses at the language institute of cmu, and this year i have just taken book 2 at aua, under the amazing (ly good) kun boonmark. aua is in a completely different class than cmu. i would highly recommend going the aua route. you will be able to actually speak thai, rather than just parrot back a few phrases.

I had the unbelievable luck to experience Khun BOONMARK in Level ONE and TWO at AUA, which I now know was like winning the big prize in the lottery. Only then I knew how great the teaching style of BOONMARK was (apart from his pleasant personality which meant learning was always SANOOK MAAK MAAK), when I started level 3, where I had a female teacher who talked 90% of the time, while the students were only listening. no interaction whatsoever between the students, no group-work, no material was handed out...... just a waste of time. From what I learned from other students during the daily short breaks, all those other teachers are pretty much the same. Old-fashioned and no teaching style that would be appropriate for Farang.

Boonmark has created his own teaching materials, and he really made an effort ! whereas the AUA book is almost 30 years old and hasnt been modified since ages! And they are obviously too stingy to get it updated properly. Thai language in daily life has changed A LOT since then, and thanks god, Khun Boonmark introduced us a plethora of words that you wont find in AUA's pathetic books. After the 2 first terms with him, I had a stunning vocabulary of 900 words and terms in my book....

I am pretty sure that MOST of the good reputation that AUA seems to have, is the merit of Boonmark.

If only he would be a little more adventurous and start his own school....

Edited January 14, 2009 by siam2007

[Blinky Bill]

Thai language in daily life has changed A LOT since then, and thanks god, Khun Boonmark introduced us a plethora of words that you wont find in AUA's pathetic books.

Please explain how the Thai language has changed a lot in the past 30 years.

With your stunning vocabulary of 900 words, it seems you are an intermediate student of the Thai language so how would you know this?

[keo]

Khorthort, pom aahaan pasa Thai my dai.

อาหารไทยไม่ได้เหรอ ทำไมล่ะ หะหะ

But it appears what ever course you did take, you got your satungs worth, chia mai? Did you end up taking a university course?

I did a 1 month (60 hours) course at Payap. The first week of that I spent in the beginner class, which was absolute torture and terribly taught. I got moved up to the intermediate class, which was a lot better, but I could still see huge holes in the thai teaching methods used. I did learn to read and write though, but don't really feel I got my 8,000 Bahts worth, no.

Maybe I'll try out this amazing Boonmark chap.

Heard Ajaarn Bargirl is pretty good too.