Pro Language, Peeraya

[endlessnights]

hey folks,

so I want to take formal thai lessons and it looks like I've narrowed it down to pro language and peeraya. I have done a search on this forum to read other peoples reviews which were very helpful.

I will soon make an appt for a trial lesson at pro language.. does peeraya have a website with more information?

I visited pro language the other day - the only problem I have is this - I hope I understood this correctly - the course is divided into 6 courses (two levels each of beginner/intermediate/advanced).. each course is 20 units each (each unit is about 1hr and 40mins).. let's say (but not likely) I end up doing it three days a week, that means it'll take about two months to complete one course. what sucks is that the first three courses focuses on conversation.. and you don't learn reading/writing until around the second intermediate course - I don't know but I don't want to waste 6 months (I'll only be here a year) learning conversation without learning to read and write.

I probably am more of an intermediate level - I know the alphabet and many of the vowels so I can get buy reading some words (longer sentences are harder).. my understand is pretty good.. but my speaking is poor, most likely due to not speaking it much. I CAN be placed for a higher level but then again I want to have a strong foundation of the basics and I am afraid I might miss something if I skip to the intermediate course.

another great thing about pro language is the price.. for a group of 4-5 students for one course - 3000 baht.. very hard to beat.. that's a little over 100 baht/hr.

just wondering if anyone has gone through a few courses of pro language that could shed some to this...

what I read about peeraya.. actually sounds pretty good and what I'm looking for.. I will give them a call tomorrow to see if I can get more info, but any other input on this school would be great as well.. thanks!!

[Spee]

I probably am more of an intermediate level - I know the alphabet and many of the vowels so I can get buy reading some words (longer sentences are harder).. my understand is pretty good.. but my speaking is poor, most likely due to not speaking it much.  I CAN be placed for a higher level but then again I want to have a strong foundation of the basics and I am afraid I might miss something if I skip to the intermediate course.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just an opinion from a novice with the language ... but I think you are probably over-estimating your skill with the language.

From a point of reference, the way you described your fluency level would put you approximately where I am at near the end of the first semester of the Thai Beginner's program at the U. Of London. The Beginner's program runs for three semesters (10 weeks/semester=30 weeks total) before changing into the Intermediate program, which also runs for three semesters (again 30 weeks total).

My suggestion would be to begin at the Beginer's level and concentrate in it seriously by focusing in on your self-admitted shortcomings in speech and pronounciation.

Or possibly you can negotiate moving up the the intermediate after a month or so if you are absolutely bored stiff in the beginner course.

HTH,

Spee

[ProfessorFart]

I'm with Spee. If you can't even read fluently let alone understand you are still firmly in the beginner stage.

If you jump too far ahead at this stage you're going to be left behind pretty quickly and wind up wasting your time and money.

Start from the beginning even if it means going over old ground. You'll be glad you did in the long run.

[endlessnights]

thanks everyone for your opinions.. I think the better solution would be to find a different program.. anyone that can read and write knows how useful it is in the long run and that it helps much more for pronunciation. I don't mind at all starting from a beginner's point from sratch but I don't think any program should take 6 months of conversation before reading and writing.

and I am not overestimating my skills - my brother in law took 3-4 semesters of thai at a university and I can understand WAY more than he can with little effort.. b/c he was formally trained, he can read and write much better than me.

I'm with Spee. If you can't even read fluently let alone understand you are still firmly in the beginner stage.

If you jump too far ahead at this stage you're going to be left behind pretty quickly and wind up wasting your time and money.

Start from the beginning even if it means going over old ground. You'll be glad you did in the long run.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[ProfessorFart]

I don't think any program should take 6 months of conversation before reading and writing.

I agree. Any good course should each the three simultaneously.

[meadish_sweetball]

thanks everyone for your opinions.. I think the better solution would be to find a different program.. anyone that can read and write knows how useful it is in the long run and that it helps much more for pronunciation.  I don't mind at all starting from a beginner's point from sratch but I don't think any program should take 6 months of conversation before reading and writing.

and I am not overestimating my skills - my brother in law took 3-4 semesters of thai at a university and I can understand WAY more than he can with little effort.. b/c he was formally trained, he can read and write much better than me.

I'm with Spee. If you can't even read fluently let alone understand you are still firmly in the beginner stage.

If you jump too far ahead at this stage you're going to be left behind pretty quickly and wind up wasting your time and money.

Start from the beginning even if it means going over old ground. You'll be glad you did in the long run.

I think you are 100% right in your thoughts of finding a different program.

If your hearing comprehension is already quite advanced as you say, then your number one priority should probably be to eradicate your sound and tone shortcomings. This can be hard work because it involves "rewiring" old established links in your brain and changing familiar tongue positions when speaking.

In our group at uni, we had a guy who had already lived for two years in Thailand, with some beginner's AUA Bangkok studies under his belt. He was good at mimicking Thai sentences, had a fair vocabulary and knew a great many idiomatic expressions, but could not hear or produce the difference between the tones and aspirated/unaspirated sounds, for example. He knew the more common letters but had no structure to his knowledge. In some ways he was far beyond me and some others when we started, but he quickly was left behind because he could/would not take the structural lessons seriously.

Of course, we all learn differently. Just like ProfessorFart, in most cases I'd recommend a structured course that teaches all aspects of Thai simultaneously, just like most universities do. Starting with conversation before having gone through the sound system properly is not a good idea, because it is very likely to give you more of an accent when you speak. Also, linking the right sound straight to the Thai letter is also good because you won't have to rely on imperfect transliterations into Latin letters.