High Speed Thai Course

[ThaiSold]

I'll just add my two cents here, I'm fluent in Thai Language I speak much better than Vincent ever will and the owner of Walen for that matter. I don't see how or why anyone would want to learn Thai from anyone or even any program where the maker of that program isn't fluent themselves. I don't care how good you think High Speed Thai is the fact is Vincent (the maker of High speed Thai) is far from profficient enough to teach the Thai language. I see the price has now jumped to $220 and without any credentials as a Teacher or accredited by the Thai language association I can't see why would you purchase this product. In my mind it's only worth $49 at best but because of his advertising costs it's $220. If you want to throw money away then buy this program. @thaisold

Very confident you are.

I must admit Mr Walen that your Thai language school is the best school in Thailand and I encourage everyone who wants to stay in Thailand on an ED visa to go with your school over any other school. Hope my comments didn't offend you even though my Thai is better than yours I think everyone here should know that I study at your school กูก็มันใจว่ากูพูดไทยเก่งกว่าคุณวินเซ่นนะคงเก่งกว่าคุณอีกต่างหากแต่ก็ชอบโรงเรียนคุณมากที่สุดนะ If someone wants to learn Thai they are better off going to Walen than anywhere else and wouldn't encourage anyone to waste a cent on this course and go to Walen. However if this course was more reasonably priced at say $49 then I would say it would be worth it as a complimentary course. I just feel that the cost is way over priced for what you get. If you want a program like this you can go to Pantip plaza and buy rosetta stone for 100 baht and you'll get more out of it. This is not a paid advertisment or anything for Walen or anything either, simply from a guy who already speaks the language with extreme proficiency and has seen enough "learn thai" programs to know when people are being ripped off. Lower the price Vincent don't increase it man or maybe break it up into parts let's say beginners 1-7 and charge 29.95 for each part that makes more sense than the huge $220 price tag. You can go to walen get a visa for an entire year for only a few hundred more think about it dude.

[SimonN]

กูก็มันใจว่ากูพูดไทยเก่งกว่าคุณวินเซ่นนะคงเก่งกว่าคุณอีกต่างหากแต่ก็ชอบโรงเรียนคุณมากที่สุดนะ

Walen teach you to speak like this?:bah:

[ThaiSold]

กูก็มันใจว่ากูพูดไทยเก่งกว่าคุณวินเซ่นนะคงเก่งกว่าคุณอีกต่างหากแต่ก็ชอบโรงเรียนคุณมากที่สุดนะ

Walen teach you to speak like this?:bah:

Walen like every other school and thai course only teaches you how to speak proper Thai. Nothing wrong with that except there are many things teachers don't teach you. Similar to when we went to school, the teachers didn't teach you how to curse or talk improper but the other students did so in a way Walen could teach you depending on the people in the class

[RickBradford]

^^^Thaisold

Are you saying you did study at Walen?

In that case, can you clarify what you mean in your 'Learn Thai' e-mail when you write:

I didn't want to go to boring classroom courses that had a strict time table and had to learn at the same pace as other students. I wanted to learn to the fastest and the easiest way would be to get a tutor but it was too expensive to do that...

----

I didn't really talk to many Thai people either, I found they were more of a distraction than a help.

----

Now I must have spent probably $500 USD on these books and software, not at the same time mind you, but I know people who come to Thailand and spend thousands of dollars on language courses and they still couldn't speak Thai.

... all of which strongly suggests that you disdain the school-based approach in favour of home study

[ThaiSold]

^^^Thaisold

Are you saying you did study at Walen?

In that case, can you clarify what you mean in your 'Learn Thai' e-mail when you write:

I didn't want to go to boring classroom courses that had a strict time table and had to learn at the same pace as other students. I wanted to learn to the fastest and the easiest way would be to get a tutor but it was too expensive to do that...

----

I didn't really talk to many Thai people either, I found they were more of a distraction than a help.

----

Now I must have spent probably $500 USD on these books and software, not at the same time mind you, but I know people who come to Thailand and spend thousands of dollars on language courses and they still couldn't speak Thai.

... all of which strongly suggests that you disdain the school-based approach in favour of home study

I currently go to Walen 1 for the ED visa and 2 Mr Walen hires some real babes to work for him and finally just so i can meet people from around town but I didn't learn Thai at Walen I learned it studying thai language books at home. BTW glad you signed up to the blog

[canuckamuck]

I'll just add my two cents here, I'm fluent in Thai Language I speak much better than Vincent ever will and the owner of Walen for that matter. I don't see how or why anyone would want to learn Thai from anyone or even any program where the maker of that program isn't fluent themselves. I don't care how good you think High Speed Thai is the fact is Vincent (the maker of High speed Thai) is far from profficient enough to teach the Thai language. I see the price has now jumped to $220 and without any credentials as a Teacher or accredited by the Thai language association I can't see why would you purchase this product. In my mind it's only worth $49 at best but because of his advertising costs it's $220. If you want to throw money away then buy this program. @thaisold

Very confident you are.

I must admit Mr Walen that your Thai language school is the best school in Thailand and I encourage everyone who wants to stay in Thailand on an ED visa to go with your school over any other school. Hope my comments didn't offend you even though my Thai is better than yours I think everyone here should know that I study at your school กูก็มันใจว่ากูพูดไทยเก่งกว่าคุณวินเซ่นนะคงเก่งกว่าคุณอีกต่างหากแต่ก็ชอบโรงเรียนคุณมากที่สุดนะ If someone wants to learn Thai they are better off going to Walen than anywhere else and wouldn't encourage anyone to waste a cent on this course and go to Walen. However if this course was more reasonably priced at say $49 then I would say it would be worth it as a complimentary course. I just feel that the cost is way over priced for what you get. If you want a program like this you can go to Pantip plaza and buy rosetta stone for 100 baht and you'll get more out of it. This is not a paid advertisment or anything for Walen or anything either, simply from a guy who already speaks the language with extreme proficiency and has seen enough "learn thai" programs to know when people are being ripped off. Lower the price Vincent don't increase it man or maybe break it up into parts let's say beginners 1-7 and charge 29.95 for each part that makes more sense than the huge $220 price tag. You can go to walen get a visa for an entire year for only a few hundred more think about it dude.

Best in Thailand??? surely you mean best at streamlining the visa process or has the prettiest teachers (which is the genius behind the school, appealing to the basic motivators of expats).

I took the Walen course to the end and did well on all the tests. But I found the content of the course to be nearly impossible to put into real life. Just like Rosetta Stone. HST at least has conversational language. HST is the best I have found so far, My Thai conversation skills improved nearly immediately when I started this course.

[RickBradford]

^^^Thaisold

Are you saying you did study at Walen?

In that case, can you clarify what you mean in your 'Learn Thai' e-mail when you write:

I didn't want to go to boring classroom courses that had a strict time table and had to learn at the same pace as other students. I wanted to learn to the fastest and the easiest way would be to get a tutor but it was too expensive to do that...

----

I didn't really talk to many Thai people either, I found they were more of a distraction than a help.

----

Now I must have spent probably $500 USD on these books and software, not at the same time mind you, but I know people who come to Thailand and spend thousands of dollars on language courses and they still couldn't speak Thai.

... all of which strongly suggests that you disdain the school-based approach in favour of home study

I currently go to Walen 1 for the ED visa and 2 Mr Walen hires some real babes to work for him and finally just so i can meet people from around town but I didn't learn Thai at Walen I learned it studying thai language books at home. BTW glad you signed up to the blog

@Thaisold

Thanks for the clarification.

I can now better evaluate your statements that "I must admit Mr Walen that your Thai language school is the best school in Thailand" and "If someone wants to learn Thai they are better off going to Walen than anywhere else."

[ThaiSold]

Thanks for the clarification.

I can now better evaluate your statements that "I must admit Mr Walen that your Thai language school is the best school in Thailand" and "If someone wants to learn Thai they are better off going to Walen than anywhere else."

Admittedly I failed English in High School What I should have said is "if someone wants to learn Thai at a Thai language school they are better off going to Walen than any other school". "And if you want to be fluent you will have to study further at home".

If the high speed Thai course is as good as some of the people here are saying then maybe Vincent will send me a copy to review and I'll be happy to post an honest review on my blog and here on Thai Visa. What do you say Vincent?

[RickBradford]

Thanks for the clarification.

I can now better evaluate your statements that "I must admit Mr Walen that your Thai language school is the best school in Thailand" and "If someone wants to learn Thai they are better off going to Walen than anywhere else."

Admittedly I failed English in High School What I should have said is "if someone wants to learn Thai at a Thai language school they are better off going to Walen than any other school". "And if you want to be fluent you will have to study further at home".

If the high speed Thai course is as good as some of the people here are saying then maybe Vincent will send me a copy to review and I'll be happy to post an honest review on my blog and here on Thai Visa. What do you say Vincent?

@Thaisold

I'm not criticising your English.

I'm asking you why, since you admit you rely on home study and are only going to Walen for the ED visa and the "real babes", what credibility (or right) you have to state that "if someone wants to learn Thai at a Thai language school they are better off going to Walen than any other school"?

[ThaiSold]

Thanks for the clarification.

I can now better evaluate your statements that "I must admit Mr Walen that your Thai language school is the best school in Thailand" and "If someone wants to learn Thai they are better off going to Walen than anywhere else."

Admittedly I failed English in High School What I should have said is "if someone wants to learn Thai at a Thai language school they are better off going to Walen than any other school". "And if you want to be fluent you will have to study further at home".

If the high speed Thai course is as good as some of the people here are saying then maybe Vincent will send me a copy to review and I'll be happy to post an honest review on my blog and here on Thai Visa. What do you say Vincent?

@Thaisold

I'm not criticising your English.

I'm asking you why, since you admit you rely on home study and are only going to Walen for the ED visa and the "real babes", what credibility (or right) you have to state that "if someone wants to learn Thai at a Thai language school they are better off going to Walen than any other school"?

It is my own opinion noone actually has to listen to me in fact I'm sure many people don't, though I am fluent in the language I checked out every single language school in Chiang Mai and only went with Walen because the language books were better than the other schools I'd seen so it was credibility that I chose Walen. Credibility is also the reason why Walen is a good choice for those who want to stay here to learn the language wether you rely on the schools teaching methods or not. Every time I go to immigration to renew my visa and they ask me what school I go to and I speak to the officer and he knows I go to Walen this is also adding credibility to Walen whether I actually learned Thai there or not. Hope that makes sense.

[RickBradford]

Every time I go to immigration to renew my visa and they ask me what school I go to and I speak to the officer and he knows I go to Walen this is also adding credibility to Walen whether I actually learned Thai there or not.

----

Credibility is also the reason why Walen is a good choice for those who want to stay here to learn the language wether you rely on the schools teaching methods or not.

Ah, I get it now -- credibility is all to do with renewing visas rather than anything to do with actually learning the Thai language -- that was the piece of the jigsaw I was missing. Not to forget the "real babes", of course.

Hope that makes sense

Perfect sense, thank you.

[ThaiSold]

Every time I go to immigration to renew my visa and they ask me what school I go to and I speak to the officer and he knows I go to Walen this is also adding credibility to Walen whether I actually learned Thai there or not.

----

Credibility is also the reason why Walen is a good choice for those who want to stay here to learn the language wether you rely on the schools teaching methods or not.

Ah, I get it now -- credibility is all to do with renewing visas rather than anything to do with actually learning the Thai language -- that was the piece of the jigsaw I was missing. Not to forget the "real babes", of course.

Hope that makes sense

Perfect sense, thank you.

Well you completely quoted me out of context. Remember I said that I went to all the other schools in the area and Walen had the best program. If i'm going to associate myself with any school it certainly wouldn't be the likes of AUA which you suggested people look at in your interview with women learn Thai. They have probably the worst Thai language program I've ever seen, they should stick to teaching English and even that there not good at. Your condecending reply wins no points with me.

[SimonN]

กูก็มันใจว่ากูพูดไทยเก่งกว่าคุณวินเซ่นนะคงเก่งกว่าคุณอีกต่างหากแต่ก็ชอบโรงเรียนคุณมากที่สุดนะ

I am fluent in the language

There's nothing "fluent" about your Thai sentence... In fact it's quite impolite.

[RickBradford]

Remember I said that I went to all the other schools in the area and Walen had the best program.

Why would you care what the program is like, when, to quote you directly in context, you "currently go to Walen 1 for the ED visa and 2 Mr Walen hires some real babes to work for him and finally just so i can meet people from around town."

But never mind -- you clearly have your own reasons for supporting Walen, and that's fine.

What I do not think you have the right to do is to initiate outspoken attacks on the makers of language courses which you have never tried (and do not regard as a good method of learning Thai in any case). To accuse the maker of "ripping people off" and to declare that he is not competent to produce a language course is way out of order.

Your stance on this seems to come from your belief that you speak better Thai than Vincent (or Walen, for that matter), a comparison which is utterly irrelevant to the creation of a language course.

I might be more skilled at multivariate integration than some other mathematicians, but that doesn't mean they can't produce a perfectly workable textbook on mathematics for beginners and intermediate learners. To state that they shouldn't produce a textbook because they are not as good at mathematics as me would be arrogant, narcissistic, immature, attention-seeking behaviour of the worst kind.

I will neither attack or defend HST as a course, as I have never used it (and structured courses are not my kind of thing, either).

But I am interested in people's views of all learning methods -- but only ones that they have personally tried, which is the case for most people on this thread.

[longway]

I'll just add my two cents here, I'm fluent in Thai Language I speak much better than Vincent ever will and the owner of Walen for that matter. I don't see how or why anyone would want to learn Thai from anyone or even any program where the maker of that program isn't fluent themselves. I don't care how good you think High Speed Thai is the fact is Vincent (the maker of High speed Thai) is far from profficient enough to teach the Thai language. I see the price has now jumped to $220 and without any credentials as a Teacher or accredited by the Thai language association I can't see why would you purchase this product. In my mind it's only worth $49 at best but because of his advertising costs it's $220. If you want to throw money away then buy this program. @thaisold

Who or what is the the 'Thai language association? I just googled and came up with no relevant results.

Internationally they have Thai Associations that are able to give such accreditations however within Thailand I'm pretty sure it would be the Ministry of Education. Mr Walen would be the expert on these things not me so who gives the accreditation don't take my word for it.

That's funny you should say we should not take your word for it on many levels, as well the one being you are the one who brought this fictional organisation up.

They have international Thai Assciations that give out accreditations? Who are they? Or are these also something else you are not an expert in.

You re not even sure that the MoE gives out accreditations for these type of self-study courses either. Whatever dude.

[Parvis]

Internationally they have Thai Associations that are able to give such accreditations however within Thailand I'm pretty sure it would be the Ministry of Education. Mr Walen would be the expert on these things not me so who gives the accreditation don't take my word for it.

Yes indeed he would be an "expert" in those things.

When asked what his "teachers" qualifications are. His answer:

"Our teacher speak all better Thai than our students"

When asked for his academic qualifications as an Educator:

No answer

Edited October 9, 2011 by Parvis

[RickBradford]

It is only my humble opinion that I said the price tag for this program is overpriced, if it was accredited and the guy selling the program was like a super guru or something then ok fair enough, however neither is the case.

Your opinions may be many things; humble they ain't.

Nor do they seem to be particularly consistent.

For example, you write:

"I spent my first week learning the Alphabet, then I used a combination of books for about an hour a day and then I used the software for about 3 hours a day. Within a year of this I was fluent." which doesn't square with your statement that "I speak/read/write thai at a thai grade 4 level after 2 years by doing this."

Well, which is it?

Then you write: "Remember I said that I went to all the other schools in the area and Walen had the best program" yet recently in another thread you wrote "Payap it seems has the best program".

...plus it is a little bit hard to square your current enthusiastic and focused support for Walen with your earlier remark that: "The thai language schools are private institutions just trying to make a buck and could care less about your ability."

And did it cost you "virtually nothing", as you write, or have you "spent probably $500 USD on these books and software."

[MacWalen]

Guys, the best is to come to our Walen school in Chiangmai and see for yourself. Talk to our lovely teachers, talk to students, sit in a class and then decide. What Walen does works. We have great many happy students in every location where we have a school. This cannot be just an accident as there are many schools teaching Thai and offering an ED visa assistance. So there must be some good reasons why people chose Walen and the main reason is quality and the Walen culture.

Walen School - try us first

[sbk]

This is an extraordinarily nasty aggressive and rude thread, I really don't know what is wrong with people sometimes, that manners are so hard to come by but let me make a few things clear

We do NOT endorse products and this thread is now closed since it doesn't seem to be anything but flame contest.

//CLOSED//