Where Is A Good Thai Language School In Pattaya ?

[dmax]

i want to learn some thai when im staying in pattaya to relieve some boredom when im not on the beach or in the bar...i dont want to commit myself to an hour everyday at a certain time....i would like something like 3 classes per week for an hour a time or just to pay for an hourly class or one 2 one when ever i feel like it...can anyone advise me please.

[kriswillems]

i want to learn some thai when im staying in pattaya to relieve some boredom when im not on the beach or in the bar...i dont want to commit myself to an hour everyday at a certain time....i would like something like 3 classes per week for an hour a time or just to pay for an hourly class or one 2 one when ever i feel like it...can anyone advise me please.

I've tried many schools in Pattaya and there quality is far below of what you can find in BKK.

For advanced learners there are no good schools in Pattaya.

For beginners I can advice Pro Language or AUA.

Learning Thai requires some motivation. If you're only willing to study when you feel like it, you might progress very slowly. I think you might learn more Thai in a bar than in a school if you're planning to study with a schedule like this (please don't this as an insult, I really think it's better to stay in a bar an talk Thai to the girls than studying this way).

Edited September 19, 2009 by kriswillems

[MacWalen]

kris, you forgot to mention Walen School of Thai. Was it intentional?

We offer free demonstration lessons so you have no money risk at all, If you like you enroll and if not you just don't enroll.

Also our lovely staff will take good care of your learning needs. Walen has many classes available so you can chose from different study options. Check our location on the website. Very easy to find.

Walen School - Well established in Pattaya

www.thaiwalen.com

[SoftWater]

i want to learn some thai when im staying in pattaya to relieve some boredom when im not on the beach or in the bar...i dont want to commit myself to an hour everyday at a certain time....i would like something like 3 classes per week for an hour a time or just to pay for an hourly class or one 2 one when ever i feel like it...can anyone advise me please.

If you're not in a bar or on the beach, and just want to kill time with picking up a few phrases for a laugh, I don't think it matters much which school you go to. Just try one and see if you enjoy it. For a change of scenery you could cross to the other coast and got to Koh Lanta and join Lanta school of Thai. They'll shout 'jump' in Thai and watch to see how high you can jump. They say its a very effective way to learn...I'm dubious about that, but it'll certainly relieve your boredom!

[kriswillems]

kris, you forgot to mention Walen School of Thai. Was it intentional?

We offer free demonstration lessons so you have no money risk at all, If you like you enroll and if not you just don't enroll.

Also our lovely staff will take good care of your learning needs. Walen has many classes available so you can chose from different study options. Check our location on the website. Very easy to find.

Walen School - Well established in Pattaya

www.thaiwalen.com

Yes, it was. I didn't study at your school, so I can't advice it.

I just came to have a quick look at your course material and "lovely staff" in BKK:

Your "lovely staff" looks ok.

Edited September 21, 2009 by kriswillems

[petethailand]

I use a genuine nice guy who will teach you one 2 one hes an excellent teacher & will fit you in whenever you want to go. He will teach you what you want to learn with no set rules just tell him what you want. His name is Pi Cham give him a ring on 0861506793 give him a try alot of brits use him

[dmax]

thanks pete ,,i will look him up

[Meg_2003]

Pro Language in Pattaya is a very good school.

[MacWalen]

How do you determine if a school is good or not?

Meg, you were one of Walen students but you did not have patience to wait for the start of the next book when our school was just opened in Pattaya last year. You could perhaps express your opinion and compare if you were a student at the other school. We have plenty of groups now, letting you know if you wanted to continue your book 2 studies.

Just stating something is good or bad without any additional information is not helping us much.

Walen School - Many good reasons to try us!

www.thaiwalen.com

Edited September 30, 2009 by macwalen

[SoftWater]

Yes, I too would really like to know exactly why 'impatient' Meg, apparently having tried both ProLanguage and Walen, recommends only ProLanguage (perhaps they were more patient with her??). Of course, she is under no compunction to explain her recommendation if she does not wish to, particularly if she doesn't relish the thought of having her experience picked over and rejected in a public forum.

One criterion of a bad school might be criticising former students who find other schools more to their liking.

[MacWalen]

Softwater, nobody criticizes Meg, it was just a simple statement. It is a forum and one line statements are not helping us with learning much about what is available on the market. If somebody says Lexus is a good car I would like to know why.

As opposed to some posters I am not trying to pick up a fight with anybody or fight over words. I am also not saying that the Walen school is perfect, that all the Walen teachers are perfect or the Walen method is perfect. But we know much more about Walen than about any other school as the results or various posts about Walen so all I did was asked for the reason why another school was good.

I also do not have anything against you khun Softwater and value your contribution in the forum and read your posts.

Walen School - Your friendly school

www.thaiwalen.com

[sweden4ever]

Softwater, nobody criticizes Meg, it was just a simple statement. It is a forum and one line statements are not helping us with learning much about what is available on the market. If somebody says Lexus is a good car I would like to know why.

As opposed to some posters I am not trying to pick up a fight with anybody or fight over words. I am also not saying that the Walen school is perfect, that all the Walen teachers are perfect or the Walen method is perfect. But we know much more about Walen than about any other school as the results or various posts about Walen so all I did was asked for the reason why another school was good.

I also do not have anything against you khun Softwater and value your contribution in the forum and read your posts.

Walen School - Your friendly school

www.thaiwalen.com

I have read all of your replies and it's obvious that you can not take criticism. It doesn't matter if someone tries to explain to you why macwallén is not a good school. You [don't listen and] always have some excuse.

[SoftWater]

I have read all of your replies and it's obvious that you can not take criticism. It doesn't matter if someone tries to explain to you why macwallén is not a good school. You [don't listen and] always have some excuse.

I sometimes wonder if the poster known as 'macwalen' doesn't actually work for another competing school and is trying to deliberately harm the good reputation of Walen School of Thai with his posts. Still, as I'm sure macwalen will be quick to tell us, they are very popular and have huge numbers of students therefore they are doing something right.

(not a hounding, or even a criticism, just an observation).

[MacWalen]

From today, 1st of October, we offer Thai course of 14 months in duration for 24,960 Baht. It is a very competitive price.

Also we offer one week for free for all who want to try our method, it is totally risk free. If you do not like after a week you do not pay. If you like you pay for the lessons taken.

Try Walen, it is free for a week!

Walen School of Thai - An offer you can't refuse

www.thaiwalen.com

[SoftWater]

From today, 1st of October, we offer Thai course of 14 months in duration for 24,960 Baht. It is a very competitive price.

Also we offer one week for free for all who want to try our method, it is totally risk free. If you do not like after a week you do not pay. If you like you pay for the lessons taken.

Try Walen, it is free for a week!

Walen School of Thai - An offer you can't refuse

www.thaiwalen.com

That sounds like a good deal, Walen. Since this now seems to have become and advertising thread, can I ask how many hours of study will a student get over 14 months for the price of 24,960 baht?

[MacWalen]

The same amount as before, that is 180 lessons, we have lowered our price to make it more affordable and at the same time we are offering longer visa assistance.

1. Lower price per lesson
   
2. Longer visa assistance of 14 months
   

24,960 Baht is a good price for Walen.

Walen School - good deal!

www.thaiwalen.com

Ps. This is not an advertising thread, I just inform readers about Walen and make other comments as a regular member of TV.

[puuchai299]

Of course it's not an advertising thread.

Walen School - Well established in Pattaya

Walen School - Many good reasons to try us!

Walen School - Your friendly school

Try Walen, it is free for a week!

Walen School - good deal!

I would like to ask you how many of your staff have teaching qualifications,and what degrees/qualifications do they hold ?

Also what do you think your existing students will think about your sudden price reductions? Thankyou.

[kriswillems]

The same amount as before, that is 180 lessons, we have lowered our price to make it more affordable and at the same time we are offering longer visa assistance.

1. Lower price per lesson
   
2. Longer visa assistance of 14 months
   

24,960 Baht is a good price for Walen.

Walen School - good deal!

www.thaiwalen.com

Ps. This is not an advertising thread, I just inform readers about Walen and make other comments as a regular member of TV.

Before you used to have 180 lesson on 1 year and now 180 lessons on 14 months?

Are that still enough hours per year to keep your visa business legal?

Or do you offer visa assistence for 14 months while your students can only study 12 months for that amount? And if so, is that not illegal (providing a visa that runs longer than the education)?

Edited October 2, 2009 by kriswillems

[MacWalen]

Kris, all we do is legal. Facts are as stated.

Also Walen school is not a visa business, please refrain from using this kind of statements again as this is both unkind and untrue. Also you are not doing anybody any favor making this kind of remarks in the context of ED visas. If authorities decide as a result of posts like yours to do restrict ED visas it will be to a great disadvantage of a large number of legitimate students.

Think before you speak. If you have nothing positive to say it's better to say nothing.

Walen School - Thai course for 24,960 Baht plus 14 months visa.

www.thaiwalen.com

Edited October 3, 2009 by macwalen

[MacWalen]

Of course it's not an advertising thread.

Walen School - Well established in Pattaya

Walen School - Many good reasons to try us!

Walen School - Your friendly school

Try Walen, it is free for a week!

Walen School - good deal!

I would like to ask you how many of your staff have teaching qualifications,and what degrees/qualifications do they hold ?

Also what do you think your existing students will think about your sudden price reductions? Thankyou.

The school should be judged by the quality of teaching it produces. All teachers have degrees and speak Thai much better than students who study at our school. They are trained to use the Walen method and they follow it. They do not have to write their own lessons. Their qualifications are sufficient to work as teacher at out school. We are a system bases school and not a personality based.

Regarding the reduction in price, students who study next year will also pay less. This should be good news and students should be happy about the fact that the price is now below 25,000 Baht for 14 months.

Walen School of Thai - more affordable than ever!

www.thaiwalen.com

Edited October 3, 2009 by macwalen

[smint]

Regarding the reduction in price, students who study next year will also pay less. This should be good news and students should be happy about the fact that the price is now below 25,000 Baht for 14 months.

Then what about the students who would have paid well over 29,000 baht upfront ? You mean they will also pay less?

Will the current students on 29,000 baht for 180 lessons not feel unfair and shortchanged? Or will there be more lessons to make up for it?

Edited October 3, 2009 by smint

[MacWalen]

Nobody paid 29,000 for a long time, the price was 27,900 Baht for quite some time. The price applies to new students and those who will renew. Those students who paid more agreed to that price, otherwise would not pay, we do not wrong anybody. The school has the right to offer promotions, increase or decrease prices. It is a standard business practice to adjust to the current market conditions. Reducing prices should be a good thing. 24,960 Baht for 14 months is a good offer to new Walen students as well as to those who continue and delivers significant savings.

It is interesting that people complain about reducing the price, I thought it should be just the opposite.

Walen School - always delivering

www.thaiwalen.com

Edited October 3, 2009 by macwalen

[smint]

"Complain" might not be a good word to use, especially on your potential customers or students. The course rounds up to about 29,000 baht, no? You mean the students who sign up for 180 lessons do not need to spend 390 baht to buy the textbook? And not just textbook, but textbooks, ie. book one, book two, possibly book three....

I'm stating 29,000 which even excludes what students for pay for 180 lessons if they have the visa kindly made by Walen School...

Then they have the 1900 baht 90 day renewals, and also have to pay more if they want to re-enter Thailand, I believe, since the visa is only single entry, and you have to pay to get out of Thailand. But I believe this issue is for another day, I'm just including the cost of the textbook, to be sure and not mislead other forummers reading..

Of course, rightly so, and fair enough, these are additional costs and shouldn't be added in. But I'm just saying that there's possibly a significant additional cost, as the readers would have known by reading through this forum, and paying the 1900 baht numerous times, and also excluding the plane ticket to get out of the country for the first time...

Thus I don't think that "nobody paid 29,000 baht for a long time", rather, perhaps most students in Walen paid more than 29,000 baht for a long time...

Edited October 3, 2009 by smint

[MacWalen]

It sounded like a complaint and I say that reducing price is overall a good thing for both the existing and new students. Not sure about other schools, if they include course materials in the price or not but I would imagine that you would also pay extra. 390 baht for a text book is an affordable price.

So what do you suggest? Should Walen raise the price back to what it was? Now with the savings you have one extension and all 3 books for free. Saves a lot of money.

Walen School - more for less

www.thaiwalen.com

Edited October 3, 2009 by macwalen

[smint]

Reducing the price would be good for new students, not sure about existing ones... They might probably be faced with a deluge of new, clueless students who start with them on page 80, possibly slowing the lessons down considerably...

Really, any benefits for existing students?

But yes, I agree that reducing the price would entice more new students I wish you good luck with your business... or School, whichever the name you prefer to call it

Though I believe Pro Language does not charge for the textbook.

Edited October 3, 2009 by smint

[kriswillems]

Macwalen, you didn't answer my questions.

Are the 180 hours spread over 14 months or 12 months?

I always thought it was that 180/hours per year is the minimum amount of hours a school should organize the offer to be able the offer non-immigrant-ED visas to a student.

In case you teach 180 hours during 1 year I guess you use a schedule similar to this:

time 0: enter Thailand with ED visa

time 80 days: first extension

time 160 days:second extension

time 240 days: third extension

time 330 days: fourth extension, valid until 420 days = 14 month

... so you let the student apply for a 3 months extension, while the student has only 1 month of study time left ....

That sounds very much like a visa business to me although it might be only the edge of what is legally possible.

I am only guessing here, because you didn't answer my question.

Edited October 3, 2009 by kriswillems

[Meg_2003]

Apologies for my delayed response, I don't come to check out the Language forum very often.

The title of the thread is 'Where is a good Thai Language school in Pattaya", correct?

The OP is not asking for information on where posters have studied and their reasons for recommending other schools. I did not mention that I had previously studied at Walen as I did not come on here to jump on the 'We-hate-Walen-Brigade', But since you have pointed this out and demand to know the reasons for my recommendation, then no problem! If I had come on here and said "Don't study at Walen! Go to Pro-language", then I would understand your reason for requesting an explanation on why, But I did not. Ok, here goes.

I am going to state nothing but facts here.

Walen is a good school if you are focused on learning to read and write in Thai language. I must admit that it is because of Walen that I can read and write Thai as I can today. At first I felt a little bit like I was being 'thrown in at the deep end' having to read out letters of the Thai alphabet which I had never seen in my life before, but its surprising how fast it comes to you when you know that you HAVE TO read it out to the class. Fast learning. Pro-language uses a slower process of learning the Thai alphabet. For example they will teach 5-10 letters at a time, and stick to smaller words before moving on to larger vocabulary.

However, For the speaking part of the language, I am sorry but I do prefer Pro Language. For example, The first things I learnt at Walen was "This is a pen" and sentences like "This table is not taller than that table, but this table is shorter than that table" where as at Pro Language, the first things we were taught was "My name is (name), I come from (country), I work as a (profession)"

I feel that for beginners to Thai Language, Then Walen is NOT a good choice. For example, in the 3 months that I studied at Walen, I was never taught how to say "Hello, my name is....", the things that we NEED to use in everyday life. The things that we WANT to learn. Basic Conversation. I was never taught at Walen how to tell anyone my name, Where Im from, what I work, or anything about me. So if I was a beginner to Thai language, Then I STILL wouldn't be able to tell anyone anything about me, even after 3 months of studying, but I would be able to tell them that "This is a book"

I feel that students who are keen on learning the Thai language obviously want to learn basic conversation before learning things like "This table is bigger than that table".

At Pro Language, The first few books is Basic conversation, (The things we WILL use in every day life conversations). In the few months I studied at Pro Language, I was taught Self Introduction (Learning how to answer questions about myself and my family and how to ask others about them and their family) , How to talk about mine and other peoples hobbies, what we like to do, what we have done today.. For example "Have you eaten today?" and how to answer. We were taught how to ask for things, the classifiers for everything. We were taught directions, how to ask and give directions in Thai. How to order food in restaurants. What to say on a phone call.. What we need to know when we are out shopping, how to ask for discount, how to ask for a different color ect. How to tell someone we're ill, and how to explain our illness, in thai.

At Walen, I didn't really learn anything that I needed to know for everyday life. For example, I would much prefer to learn how to ask someone what they have eaten today, or if they would like to go shopping with me, rather than "No, You didn't close the door, but you opened the book" (<taken straight from the Walen book)

I feel that Walen is a good school for advanced Thai speakers. For the people who already know the basic Thai conversation. I think it is pretty poor that after 3 months of learning at Walen, my classmates who were beginners to Thai language still could NOT say for example "My name is (name), I come from (country)" .. They could NOT answer any questions that would be asked in every day life.

For myself, I am not a beginner to Thai language, but I just want practice to get over shyness of speaking it in public. Having been here 8+ years, I can understand a lot of Thai, and I know a lot of vocab. I can understand most of the news on the TV, I can understand Thai conversation, but I needed help with getting over the shyness, and getting the pronunciation correct. I wanted to practice 'chit-chat'

After 3 months of studying at Walen, I hadn't practiced any chit chat, and I never got the opportunity to be able to use what I had learnt and tell them that this chair is bigger than that one for example. After a few months of learning at Pro Language, I am now speaking Thai everywhere I go. I have had many, many compliments on how fluent I am.

As I said previously. I apologize to Walen if some of the above is not what you were wanting to hear, but I am sorry, I do not recommend Walen for beginners to Thai language. I believe that when you are learning a language, the FIRST thing you want to learn is how to greet somebody, tell them about yourself and ask them the same questions, to ask for directions ect. How to tell someone you are not feeling well. These are the IMPORTANT things that we need to use in every day life.

One MAJOR big difference between the 2 schools is the teachers. I am sorry, but when someone is trying to learn a new language, I think it is VERY important to have a teacher who speaks your own language FLUENTLY. At Pro Language, my teacher speaks Fluent english. Sometimes I think she knows more English then me! But at Walen, the teachers are NOT fluent English, unfortunately. They have broken English and I noticed that many many times, The teachers were NOT able to fully explain the meaning of something. For example, sometimes when a student asked for an explanation of something they didn't understand, the experienced students of the class had to explain due to the teacher not being able to explain in proper fluent English. Sometimes, the student would have been told to wait until the end of the class when they could then ask the boss. No disrespect to my teachers at Walen, but their english is far from fluent, and it was not sufficient to fully explain and answer the questions of the beginner students.

As for the reason for not continuing my studies at Walen, I do not appreciate you saying that I did not have the patience. I had paid for my lessons, and then half way through my lessons, You wanted to change my class time to early morning, because most of my classmates had to start again at the beginning of book 1 because they were not getting anywhere! (At their expense, of course) The morning class was not a good time for me, and you insisted that I must either join the morning class, or I must wait for another afternoon class to come along. When I asked how long I would have to wait to join another afternoon class, the response was unknown. I had paid for my lessons and I did not want to hang around waiting for you to get a class together when you didn't know how long it would take. So, I asked for my money back for the lessons which I had not taken (Paid for 60 and had taken 30) .. I was then told that it was not Walens fault that I could not join the morning class, and then after some time with my Boyfriend on the phone to Walen, It was agreed that I would be refunded, Which I was happy with and which I think was fair. Hence not coming online and expressing my true opinions of Walen, out of respect.

So they are my opinions having been a student at both Pro Language and Walen.

As I said previously. My intentions were NOT to come in here and pick an argument, hence completely not mentioning Walen at all in my first post, However you, Macwalen, have pointed out that I am an ex student and asked for my reason on not recommending your school.

I presume that you are going to come and 'pick' at my post now. Exactly the reason for not posting this in the first place and not even mentioning Walen. So maybe it would be a better idea, to accept the opinions of ex-students and just keep it in mind, Instead of trying to change the opinions of others or start arguments about it. After all, It is just like you said to one student when we were sat in class one day when he asked something about the Thai vocab, and you answered "We just need to learn to accept it the way it is, we cannot change it, so we have to accept it the way it is and not question it". The student did not get an answer to his original question and sat red faced and said "I'm not trying to change it, I just wanted to know the reason why".

I hope this is helpful to other users who are also trying to decide which is a good language school for them. If you are focusing on reading and writing Thai, and already know basic conversation, Then Walen is a good school. But for learning basic conversation, everyday conversation, chit chat and slowly learning to read and write, Pro Language seems to better meet those needs.

I do not have the time to sit arguing about this, I am happy at Pro language and above are my personal opinions, So I would appreciate it if you would have some respect and not start arguing over my opinions, as it just makes your school look unprofessional.

Thank you.

[Meg_2003]

One more thing that I would like to add, Regarding my observations of my classmates in both schools.

In Walen, The beginner students who did not know any Thai before joining Walen, all had to start at book 1 again after finishing the first book, at their own expense. It was only the experienced speakers who had either been here for several years, or had studied somewhere else previously, who were allowed to continue onto book 2. One student in particular was so nervous about having to read out the to letters to spell out the words in the book, that he knew the Thai alphabet perfectly, but he couldn't speak or understand a word of Thai. I feel that the class is focused too much on the reading out the words, instead of focusing on proper conversation.

At Pro, I studied with a Japanese girl who moved here 1 month before joining Pro Language. She didn't know a word of Thai on her first day. Now, she can have a basic conversation with someone in Thai. She can understand, read and write Thai very good. Her results were shocking. At Pro-Language, we play games.. We have card games, and we are not forced to read through the same book all throughout each class like at Walen. Pro Language is more of an easy going, fun learning class. Having conversations with each other, playing games, Playing hang man to get used to the Thai letters for example. I feel that Pro Language have a good way of teaching the language in a fun way, without making the student nervous.

These are just my observations and my views on what I have seen at both schools.

[pattaya_girl]

Well I have not looked at any other Language Schools in Pattaya so I cannot comment on them, but seing how Meg has progressed, she is able to have conversations with Thai people, she can read and write in Thai, I am VERY VERY impressed.

I intend to be signing up for Pro Language on Pattaya Klang for a Year's Lessons very soon.

It is amazing to listen to her in Thai converstation, The School has done her proud, and after only 1 Year.

[Meg_2003]

The School has done her proud, and after only 1 Year.

Not a year yet.. I've studied at Pro for just over 8 months

Edited October 4, 2009 by Meg_2003