Cheap Thai Lessons For Foreigners In Bangkok

[schoopinij]

Thank you for checking this Topic .

I'm 22 years old Thai woman , who's just graduated from Faculty of Law , Thammasat University.

Since I was a law student so I have out standing speaking and writing skill in Thai .

I can teach you to speak basic Thai for everyday conversation that can help you to survive in the area that full of local people that don't speak English .

I can also teach you about Thai Culture and history , I think that it is quite important to you if you would like to speak Thai , because I have some foreigner friends and sometimes I found that they know the words but they have some kind of face expressions that are not polite for Thai people , and the tones you use is the big problem .

Thai language has variety levels and I can teach you any level you want to learn, but basically I will teach you the middle level which is polite in every situation .

For those who would like to learn formal Thai for being a good foreigner business man or for communicating with your Thai subordinates I can teach you some useful words too.

the price will be 250 thb per hour/person .. and I suggest you should study only 3 hours a week .. maybe 1.30 hour a day .. 2 days a week .. or more if you have free times

that was the price for one on one class ... and for small group class

a group of 2 persons will cost 400 thb

a group of 3-4 persons will cost 600 thb

by the way I don't have a school or work place so the lessons might take place in some coffee shops or the lovely park nearby your place

or to somewhere near bts or mrt

I'm gonna refuse to teach in the apartment room or in any 'private place' because I don't want any trouble.

thank you for spending your time on my offer and if you're interested in the offer please contact me by sending an e-mail to

[email protected]

or [email protected]

please kindly mention to this post on your topic.

Thank you.

[Tod Daniels]

Would you be open to the possibility of T/V thai language learners forming a ‘thai conversation’ class? Something where you could teach a small-ish group (5-7 students) who have relatively the same level of thai a more conversational thai based program.

I’ve found over all, after touring more thai language schools than I can even remember that most thai conversation classes are quite lacking in both substance (material), and quality (something I call “bang-4-the-baht”) .

The ones I remember with the most distaste were ones where the teacher spent the better part of the class spouting her views to the class, (valueless) and there was very little actual conversation going on by the students.

The other equally meaningless ones were conversations about “thai-culture”. I have yet to see how knowing anything more than basic politeness (in any society) equates to a better understanding of the language. IMHO I feel ‘thai cultural indoctrination’ is something you don’t need to know, to speak polite thai, by any stretch of the imagination. I have also found it often holds no interest for some foreigners; as we’re pretty much “exempt” from the rigid cultural ‘rules’ which thais follow.

If a class program could be designed where some article or short story is read, and then discussed I think it could be a real benefit to raising everyone’s conversational abilities past the ‘routine pleasantries’ or ‘mundane yes/no question’ level.

What do you think schoopinij?

Would you be up for undertaking something like that?

[schoopinij]

thank you mr.Todd-Daniels for your reply .

you make me realized some good points

I don't really know how could I answer all your questions but I will just let you know about my teaching plan

since I studied English by myself , I reckon that we always do our best if we really interested to speak that language and have strong feeling to communicate with the native speakers of that language ... those factors keep everyone motivated

So.. my plan is ... I'm going to teach some necessary things that you haven't learn. Because I'm not gonna let my students pay without knowing important things ............. that include CULTURE too.

I'm gonna ask you a question ... do you think that Language is a part of a culture?

if you think so or don't think so please give me one good reason. ( I'm open minded just tell me how do you think )

And I don't mind a class of 4-7 students .. I think it's gonna be fun and I can give you special Price that we're gonna talk about it later.

So .. Khun Tod-Daniels Please answer the question

[Tod Daniels]

<deleted>??? (As in What The <deleted>??)

Why did you write your reply in a GIANT FONT??

To answer your question;

No I don't think the culture of any place you decide to live has ANYTHING to do with the language you are trying to learn, AT ALL!! But, maybe I don't have the experience, (as I've only lived in 5 countries other than the US) so I could be very wrong on this ...

IF a person speaks POLITE, (no matter what country or language) it is MORE than enough ..

As long as you're not speaking "horse-peak" <-(slang for how a whore would speak) or a very low level version of the language, you're pretty much okay no matter where you go, or who you speak to. Face it few of us, IF any are gonna meet thai royalty. So for a foreigner that part is nonsense to learn!!

(Strange though, I've met 4 P/M's here, yet spoke engrish EVERY time and too a person, they answered in engrish too, go figure! EVEN Samak)

FWIW: I have abso-tively, posi-lutely NO interest in 'thai culture'. This is NOT my country, just some country which I decided to live in. Yet despite that, I interact and talk to many different 'levels' of thais on a daily basis. We converse about various topics in thai; politics, super-stars, religion, weather, b/s stuff, etc.

Am I wrong with my line of thought? NO, I am a "foreigner", now living here, for just over 5 years, (yet I've only studied thai semi-seriously, for close to 3 years now). Still, for the most part, I'm 'exempt' from actions thai people would think are a inherently a 'thai cultural' thing, if only by the fact; that I AM a foreigner.

I just asked you (before the MODZ block your email) if you would be interested in teaching a thai conversation course that DIDN'T revolve around how great this country is.. Because really, it is NO worse and NO better than most other countries in the ENTIRE world!!

Sadly, if you can't see (or accept) that fact; you are NOT the teacher for me or the people I have lined up to take a course..

In thai-speak I will tell you; Good luck for you in your life, I hope some day, some time, you will remember that we had this conversation, and not be TOOOO sad!!!

Thanx though. I almost thought I had a teacher for thai conversation.

Edited August 18, 2010 by tod-daniels

[edwardandtubs]

Your fees are not competitive. Many Thai graduates are looking for "foreigner friends" and would be happy to do a language exchange for free.

[Groongthep]

Khun schoopinij, do you have any experience teaching, in particular teaching Thai to foreigners? Did you take any teaching classes at Thammasat or anywhere else? Do you know how to put together and follow a lesson plan? What sort of textbook and/or teaching materials do you plan on using? Bangkok has lots of well educated people fluent in their native Thai language, but being fluent and educated in law does not necessarily mean that one has the skill to be a good language teacher. Maybe you do, we don't know, but you need to tell us a little more about your teaching qualifications.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Groongthep

[Peppy]

....I don't think the culture of any place you decide to live has ANYTHING to do with the language you are trying to learn, AT ALL!!

.....

IF a person speaks POLITE, (no matter what country or language) it is MORE than enough ..  

I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree with you here, Todd. If by culture, you mean the BS about how some people in Thailand are better than others and need to be treated as if they were better--well, I do think that's utter claptrap designed to keep the poor down and the rich up. But I think many aspects of culture are relevant and useful when learning a language. Holidays, music, religious ceremonies, movies, politics, history, superstitions, traditions, fashion, food: All of these things are part of culture, and while knowledge of them is not absolutely necessary for a language student, it will help to enrich their understanding of who the people that speak a particular language are, what they think about, what they believe--and this understanding makes it easier to relate to and communicate with speakers of that language.

There's far more to culture than just being polite. (And I've never studied Thai formally, so how don't know how they go about it, but I hope the Thai language teachers out there who make "culture" part of their teachings realize this.)

[Tod Daniels]

The poster known as "Groongthep" raised some valid points.

I know too many thais that are fairly well educated, yet they couldn't teach thai to foreigners if they had to. For one they don't have the patience, nor the necessary skills to run a class room of foreign students (who don't act like thais), and finally they have NO lesson plan, no textbooks, no workbooks, making it just another futile attempt to learn the language.

And now on to a snippet of what the poster known as "Peppy" said;

Holidays, music, religious ceremonies, movies, politics, history, superstitions, traditions, fashion, food

Sadly on this we must agree to disagree. (but don't take it personally, because I sure don't)..

Holidays: NO, I've never been to a country that's got as many frickin' holiday's as this one. They seem to 'adopt' any foreign holiday where you give gifts, and '&lt;deleted&gt;' the rest. Plus there are more holiday's here tied into their religion than you could shake a frickin' stick at.

Music: Yes, SOME music is good, and some music here is shit. Pretty much just like any country, . ..

Religious Ceremonies: That's their deal NOT mine. I ain't buddhist, and while I respect they are, that's about where it ends for me.

Movies: Tell me when did you actually see a GOOD thai movie. ..

Politics: It's the same the world over, except the corruption is a little more 'in your face'.

History: Sorry man, don't care about thai history. This ain't my country, I live here by choice NOT chance. While I have studied 'recent' thai political history as it relates to the turmoil today, that's about it.

Superstitions: They are funny in an anecdotal way, as it relates to idioms.

Traditions: Covered under the heading "History"..

Fashion: This evolves SOO fast the world over, that I can't even keep up with it, but from what I've seen, thais are copiers, not innovators in this area.

Food: Thai food is thai food, just like food in Brazil is brazil food.

So after giving my rebuttal of those 10 points; I still think a foreigner COULD safely speak POLITE thai (as in mid-level) and get away with just about anything else, based soley on the fact that they're a foreigner.

Is it right, probably not, but will it fly, probably so.

Sadly, (mostly for the thais); my goal is NOT to understand ‘who these people are’, but to communicate to them in an efficient and language neutral manner. (By language neutral, I mean I neither speak down to them nor do they speak down to me). By no wild stretch of my imagination do I wanna be everyone’s friend here. I just wanna understand what they’re saying to me and have them understand me when I talk to ‘em too.

That's why I asked if the O/P would be interested in teaching a thai conversation class. But now, after knowing my obvious 'limitations' in thai I highly doubt it.. Anyway it was worth a shot. Anything to increase my thai language skills.. .. BTW; what's the colloquial idiom for that "any port in a storm"??

[makescents]

Your fees are not competitive. Many Thai graduates are looking for "foreigner friends" and would be happy to do a language exchange for free.

Just language?

Apologies for going off-topic.

[harrry]

I have no doubt you are genuine but you are very expensive for a new graduate. The fees you are charging are the same or more than those for a fully qualified and experienced teacher who has qualifications in linguistics and in teaching and who can provide a designed teaching environment with full university support and has many already developed lesson plans and strategies to handle the problems individual students have. In time you ma become a teacher of thai, at the moment you are merely a new graduate who has some skill in using the language and who is keen and thinks she knows all there is to know. I wish you well. You seem a nice person who is keen and a credit to your family sadly your expectations are too high with this though.

Edited August 18, 2010 by harrry

[bifftastic]

With regard to the cultural aspects of language, it's such a broad term.

I think it can be useful and, for me anyway, interesting if handled correctly. Language is part of a country's culture and if learning is well planned and executed, the history of language can give an insight to it's development and modern use.

It can help you to understand why people speak in a certain way, what words, phrases or styles of grammar come from what root.

In English, there are words and grammar rules that come from Norman French, Anglo Saxon, Latin and Greek. An understanding of the basics of this can help someone understand a lot about the language. Especially some of the odd spellings!

(It's why we, in the UK, put the 'u' in colour, flavour, neighbour etc. and where some of our vowel pronunciation comes from).

That particular angle may not be to everyone's tastes but I think it might be a mistake to write something off because it contains the word 'culture'.

I do agree, however, that this can be badly done and perpetuating social divisions or class structures would, more than likely, prove to be unpopular with people who, given the fact that they have left their country of birth and relocated, are more likely to be independent, free thinking individuals and not necessarily inclined to become too bogged down in the politics or history of their chosen new home.

So it needs to be well balanced and relevant to the ability to communicate in the language being taught and aid understanding of the nuances of what's being said.

Hard to judge from the mention of the word 'culture' in the description of the proposed lessons whether what the OP has in mind would be useful or not but, in my opinion, shouldn't necessarily be a 'deal breaker'.

[kikenyoy]

Movies: Tell me when did you actually see a GOOD thai movie. ..

13 Game Sayong

Cheuan

The Letter

Faen Chan

Saeb Sanit

Last Life in the Universe

Baan Chan...

[kikenyoy]

Your fees are not competitive. Many Thai graduates are looking for "foreigner friends" and would be happy to do a language exchange for free.

Just language?

Apologies for going off-topic.

Yes. I meet a Thai teacher once per week at a coffee shop...she helps me with Thai and I help her with English. No money is exchanged.

[Groongthep]

Movies: Tell me when did you actually see a GOOD thai movie. ..

13 Game Sayong

Cheuan

The Letter

Faen Chan

Saeb Sanit

Last Life in the Universe

Baan Chan...

Good list. I would also add Sip Haa Kham Deuan Sib Ed (๑๕ ค่ำ เดือน ๑๑)

[dobadoy]

Hellfire, poor old schoopinij, she must be thinking teaching foreigners was not such a good idea after reading this lot.

Bifftastic has got it right about 'culture'. If you think culture its not relevant to language, you haven't learned enough idioms, or don't realise how many idioms are used in ordinary speech.

As for her prices, they sound reasonable to me. The fact that graduates of education (who - from what i've seen - are not that well-versed in teaching methodology anyway given the rigor of their courses, nor half-as-clued up as law grads in general intellectual abilities) might be charging less, or experienced teachers charging the same, only says that they are underpaid. Really, if you think 250baht/hr is too much to pay for a lesson in Thai, chances are you ain't much interested in learning Thai anyway. It's less than you'd pay a taxi driver to take you to the airport, and how long does that take?

Seems like Mr tod daniels has flamed the poor girl on the grounds that he didn't like her challenging him about his notion of 'culture'; seems to me that he assumed an awful lot about what she meant given all she did was pose a questin and leave it hanging. That's not a very traditional 'thai' thing to do in itself, so could be she's got a bit of nous about her, and is not yer traditional Thai rote-parrot-follow-me style of person.

But, hey, the only real way to find out is give her an hour of your time and the measy prize of 250baht and see for yourself. It's hardly the end of the world either way is it?

To ms schoopinij, I'm afraid I'm not a potential student - my wife handles all of that but I wish you luck, and hope you get some politer and more appreciative responses than the ones you've had so far.

โชคดีครับ

[kokesaat]

You post, tod, speaks volumes about your disregard for culture. Maybe schoolpinij scared you off with her " the tones you use is the big problem" comment. Give the girl a break!

I think a lot of folks are wrapped up with 'teacher qualifications' (whether they're Thais teaching Thai or foreigners teaching English). I tried learning Thai from a Thai teacher.....she sucked.....insisted I learn the alphabet frontwards/backwards before teaching me anything else. I ended up learning to the ?intermediate? level with a 2year college grad (no particular major) who's mom is a school teacher. She was well-enough versed in grammar and got me through tones, alphabet, Manii series, and the Mary Haas series. Now I'm reviewing my own self-study lessons with a wheelchair-bound neighbor who knows far more Thai than I'll ever know......he had a trakaw accident when he was in M.2 and was unable to go back to school). He checks my reading and hammers home my tone/pronunciation problems.

manomanomanoman!

[dobadoy]

BTW, did you spot the connection between her poster name and degree major? Or maybe use that as the topic of discussion for your first 'non-cultural' thai lesson?

[schoopinij]

hahaha I'm quite happy to see that there're my post becomes a bit popular now !

thank you everyone for visiting and thank you every messages especially 'all the COMMENTS' I really appreciate that.. so now I know what have I done wrong

First thing I would like to say sorry to the webmaster I forgot that I shouldn't leave my private e-mail address here! but I believe that it's ok to post about the offers like this .. am I right?

To Mr.Todd

I will have to say thank you to let me know that ' Foreigners don't have to learn the culture of the place they live' it's a new thing for me!

but I can guess why you believe that this idea is alright.

I'm not saying that you're wrong Mr.Todd cause everyone can think different ! We're in the land of DEMOCRACY!( someone wouldn't agree with that tho lol )

so your opinion is reasonable !!!!!! and I can accept that so .. if you really don't mind the lessons which might have some arguments

p.s. Sorry for the EXTRA FONT .. there was something wrong with my laptop . last night the letters I saw was sooooo small so I increased the size of the texts and I didn't know that it will be this bad ! SORRY na ka!! ><"

Dear Mr.Edwardandtub

Thank you for your comment and I've had enough foreigner friends and I taught them something for free but now I just have an idea to start to teach it for money

Dear Khun Grungthep

Thank you for the questions . They're good questions . I have a plan how to teach but I didn't wanna post it here cause it might make my posts too long and some people would get bored of reading

but if you would like to know I don't mind to tell you .

Honestly I don't have an experience in TEACHING Thai lessons but I've taught some of my foreigner friends and some told me that I should start to have an idea to teach for money.

And now I'm studying English in the Language school in the city . I can say that it's a FREE English class because the school needs students for the trainees that are studying to get there certificate to teach English.

So I have an idea to teach from how the trainees teach me.

I have an idea that I need to get my students to do Pre-Tests so I will know what level they're and what do I have to teach them and how would they be happy to study.

My way to teach would make you feel like you're a kid cause I will give you many pictures and make you describe the picture as much as you can.

I will give you the papers with vocabularies in English and teach you what are those words in Thai . I will make you remember and I will give you a test .

I will keep teaching you in Thai and talk to you in Thai and I think that you will learn to use Thai that way too .. because that's the way I learn English .. I just speak a lot and listen a lot.

And as it is just conversation lesson I might just take you for a walk and point out to someone and ask you what's she/he doing.. or what is this..

I will make you learn like a child ! and make you speak ! ... I will speak Thai even you don't understand it ! cause I taught my nephew that way too and he's learnt a lot ! lol

AND This would make you unhappy cause I don't have text book for you.... My aim is to teach you to speak and when you can speak I can teach you to write later

well

that's something about my lesson plan You might be happy or unhappy with it .

And I added that I've graduated from Law School because I was thinking that this post is like a CV ! and I'm trying to apply for a career lol I know that degree has nothing to do with teaching but I want to let you know that I'm quite well educated. I'm sorry if that annoyed you

By the way I agree that there're some good Thai movies but this is just about the taste so I can say that I agree or disagree ! but Fan Chaan is one of my favorites!

Dear Khun Peppy

Thank you for your reply and I agree with you about your view of culture.~! and it's quite embarrassing to say that I've been living in Thailand for 22 years and I always learn something new about Thai culture ! Culture is a mysterious thing , isn't it ? .. You just know that it exists but you barely know how did it happen !

And in my opinion , nobody has to change their culture to be in other countries but at least they should "RESPECT" the cultures in where the live in as well as the local people will respect the foreigners' cultures because they're foreigners and because they believe that human beings could learn the mistake and do something with it ... right?

Dear Khun Makescent

Hahaha I'm not sure what are you talking about maybe they wanna exchange culture , travel experience , or ........ something else?

Dear Khun Harrry

Thank you for your reply.

I know about that point too but honestly I'm not so keen on being Thai Teacher for all my life cause I have 2 Masters to do in Australia and Europe in next 2 years.

I just trying to find someone that 'would' like my teaching style and sorry I didn't leave the information about how will I teach.. that's a big mistake in this post.

I started to think about this teaching style because I studied to speak English by talking to my professors in university and my mixed cousins and my dad .. the way they helped me learn was to talk to me in English and let me struggle in curiosity but finally i found that I can understand them ! and for me TEXTBOOK is important too but it couldn't help me to speak English that much !

Dear Khun Bifftastic

Thank you for your reply and thank you for supporting something in my mind for a bit

well I think learning Thai culture would be useful for speaking Thai because just so you know. Thai language has many levels and we use different words in different situations

and I just want my students to speak right Thai for right situations .. so it would worth there money ! lol

Dear Khun Kikenyoy

just like I've told someone before ... I've had enough of language exchange so I just wanna start to make money but thanks for the information

Dear Khun Dobadoy

Thank you for your support I really appreciate that .

Well I know that the way I questioned Khub Todd was not Thai way ... I got it from my foreigner teacher .. he always leave the question like this ! lol and I found that this kind of question always bring someone's idea out !

And all the posts are ok for me .. I'm not a weak mind lady who's gonna cry when I got complaint ! I accepted or the opinion and I will learn the mistake and do something with it !

But thank you for your kind text again ! and thank you for wishing me a luck na ka

Dear Khun Kokesaat

Thank you for your reply I reckon that I should answer you in Thai but my laptop cannot type Thai right now ( it's all because the virus from free download files ~~~ T^T )

so I find that it's hard to learn to WRITE before you have an idea what sounds this language has or some words.

Even Thai students in kindergarten learn to speak English by conversation with foreigner teachers ( and they get paid more that 35k a month which is really cool! ) then they teach them some alphabets then teach them how to mix the alphabets to make the words ! and that's the way it should be ..

it would be harder in Thai cause we have many sounds ... such as ... 4 different 'p' sounds , M , CH sounds, and so on ! ... but I know the way to manage those sounds and how to use them easily but on top of that

you need to know some words or phrases first !

and it will be so &lt;deleted&gt; easy if you know many phrases and words before you can write

good to hear that you're getting improve with Thai language by the way

i think that's enough for tonight I wish my reply will make my post clearer .. thank you everyone and all the messages sent to my inbox about the lessons

goodnight !

[Groongthep]

You post, tod, speaks volumes about your disregard for culture. Maybe schoolpinij scared you off with her " the tones you use is the big problem" comment. Give the girl a break!

I think a lot of folks are wrapped up with 'teacher qualifications' (whether they're Thais teaching Thai or foreigners teaching English). I tried learning Thai from a Thai teacher.....she sucked.....insisted I learn the alphabet frontwards/backwards before teaching me anything else. I ended up learning to the ?intermediate? level with a 2year college grad (no particular major) who's mom is a school teacher. She was well-enough versed in grammar and got me through tones, alphabet, Manii series, and the Mary Haas series. Now I'm reviewing my own self-study lessons with a wheelchair-bound neighbor who knows far more Thai than I'll ever know......he had a trakaw accident when he was in M.2 and was unable to go back to school). He checks my reading and hammers home my tone/pronunciation problems.

manomanomanoman!

I think your learning experience is more the exception than the rule kokesaat. I think in general, trained teachers with experience and certified qualifications are much more likely to be successful in getting their students to learn a new language than those who are just "winging" it. It would be an interesting poll to see how those Thaivisa members who are most fluent in Thai (I'm thinking Rikker, sabaijai and a few others) whose native language is not Thai learned the language. My guess would be that most learned from formal schools and University programs.

[Richard7]

If anyone fancies trying to teach me some basic Thai over Skype I will pay by PayPal.. nothing serious!

I'll even buy you a few drinks when I arrive next month!

[Groongthep]

Thank you for the questions . They're good questions . I have a plan how to teach but I didn't wanna post it here cause it might make my posts too long and some people would get bored of reading

All I wanted to know Khun schoopinij is if you had one. I didn't expect you to provide it to us here.

Honestly I don't have an experience in TEACHING Thai lessons but I've taught some of my foreigner friends and some told me that I should start to have an idea to teach for money.

I don't believe this is a very strong selling point for your services Khun schoopanij.

AND This would make you unhappy cause I don't have text book for you.... My aim is to teach you to speak and when you can speak I can teach you to write later.

Not having a textbook doesn't bother me at all, but by not having one you will have to put together a lot of materials on your own so that the students will have something they can follow as your conversation lessons progress. I find it interesting that your proposed method is just the opposite of that of the very experienced Thai teacher Professor Wiworn Kesavatana-Dohrs Ph.d of the University of Washington. She has recently published a book distributed by Silkworm Press here in Thailand in which she states that "basic reading and writing ability in Thai should be learned from the onset in order to avoid using transliteration systems that hinder the mastery of correct pronunciation and itonation".

And I added that I've graduated from Law School because I was thinking that this post is like a CV ! and I'm trying to apply for a career lol I know that degree has nothing to do with teaching but I want to let you know that I'm quite well educated. I'm sorry if that annoyed you.

This did not annoy me in the least either. I value education and am happy for you that you have earned a Law degree from Thammasat. I have a university degree myself. My point was that being well trained in Law doesn't necessarity mean that you are well trained to teach language. You might be an excellent teacher, I don't know, but one would normally expect someone with a degree in linguistics or education to be the better teacher of the Thai language than someone trained in Law.

Edited August 19, 2010 by Groongthep

[Richard7]

She has been honest.

She has set a price.

I guess people can choose not to use her services... :/

[Macx]

I think it's great that you're taking the initiative to market your services on TV. 250baht/hr is a fair price for Bangkok. And FWIW, your written English is much better than my Thai teacher's. He charged 350b/hr.

I'm sure you'll have many students soon. Keep marketing yourself in various ways and keep clear of unsavory "prospective" students.

Good luck!

[SoftWater]

Professor Wiworn Kesavatana-Dohrs Ph.d of the University of Washington...has recently published a book distributed by Silkworm Press here in Thailand in which she states that "basic reading and writing ability in Thai should be learned from the onset in order to avoid using transliteration systems that hinder the mastery of correct pronunciation and itonation".

I think that theory is a bit of a myth actually, and I've certainly yet to see any empirical reseach to prove it. Reading doesn't teach you correct pronunciation and intonation - copying native speakers does.

Edited August 20, 2010 by SoftWater

[Tod Daniels]

Professor Wiworn Kesavatana-Dohrs Ph.d of the University of Washington...<SNIP>

I think that theory is a bit of a myth actually, and I've certainly yet to see any empirical reseach to prove it. Reading doesn't teach you correct pronunciation and intonation - copying native speakers does.

She's the one whose got a book out called "Everyday Thai for Beginners". It's got abso-tively posi-lutely NO engrish transliteration or transcription. Sadly neither does it even have the RID pronunciation guide; which once you can read thai gets you pretty close to a words pronunciation.

I hafta agree with "SoftWater" and his response. I can read fine, back translate most everything I read into engrish (meaning I am comprehending what I am reading). However, my pronunciation and intonation when I read aloud to my thai friends often leaves them almost rolling on the floor with laughter as it's so off the mark . I pause at the wrong time during a sentence (like in the middle of a compound word, use the wrong tone or vowel length for a word, or something else.

[Tod Daniels]

Note to the O/P and the illustrious posters in the T/V Thai Language Sub-Forum:

Quite honestly, (despite my very curt and acerbic writing style) I didn't mean the O/P any disrespect when I mentioned my lack-'o-interest in thai culture.

It's just been my experience, that once you get basic/intermediate spoken thai down to a degree, the next class offered in almost EVERY private thai language school seems to revolve around 'thai culture'. I am not downing it by any means, (having sat in on a fair number of them) only commenting that it personally isn't 'my cup 'o tea' . I'd rather read and talk about something else; be it, current world or thai events, articles in the thai papers, gossip about the thai superstars, even thai politics, wouldn't be that bad.

I sincerely hope if the O/P is planning on teaching thai to foreigners, that either she already has or will develop some 'thick skin', and doesn't take any of the questions or valid points raised by any poster(s) here to heart.

Again, although I rarely apologize in my life for anything I do (with my life motto being along the lines of; NEVER forgive, NEVER forget & NEVER apologize), this time I offer my heartfelt apology if I've offended the O/P or any of the posters here with my comments.

I'd also ask, if anyone does take a lesson with her to post their experience here too.

Good luck to the O/P in her endeavor. ..

[inthepink]

Never forgive, never forget and never apologise? That sounds like rather a sad existence...

I found reading helped me learn the pronunciation of words much more quickly. For a start you don't have to find someone to say them to you any more as you know what they are supposed to sound like from the way they are written (the vast majority of them anyway).

250 baht an hour sounds fine to me by the way. I can't see why anyone would think it was very expensive.

Edited August 20, 2010 by inthepink

[kokesaat]

To take the 'culture' thought through one more page:

I've lived in Thailand for 14 years, but only started seriously studying Thai 5 years ago. Reading Thomas Gething's Intermediate reader series and now reading through Isaan folk tales, I've gained an insight into Thai culture that I didn't get when reading English versions of the same subject. Maybe that's because I have to focus on what I'm reading, read it several times to fully understand it, and then use it in my neighborhood Thai class as a reading/discussion item. A few examples are: the lesson on spirit houses (lesson 40), Death (lesson 43), Personal Spirits (ขวัญ) (lesson 50) ((if the neighborhood kids falls down and you say "ขวัญเอ๋ยขวัญ มาอยู่กับเนื้อกับตัว" you'll be the hit of the neighborhood)). I agree that I'd not want to sit in on a English language discussion of such things......but I certainly have enjoyed learning about them as a part of my Thai studies.

[zzdocxx]

schoopinij, you sound like a real go-getter, more power to you!

[bifftastic]

Note to the O/P and the illustrious posters in the T/V Thai Language Sub-Forum:

Quite honestly, (despite my very curt and acerbic writing style) I didn't mean the O/P any disrespect when I mentioned my lack-'o-interest in thai culture.

It's just been my experience, that once you get basic/intermediate spoken thai down to a degree, the next class offered in almost EVERY private thai language school seems to revolve around 'thai culture'. I am not downing it by any means, (having sat in on a fair number of them) only commenting that it personally isn't 'my cup 'o tea' . I'd rather read and talk about something else; be it, current world or thai events, articles in the thai papers, gossip about the thai superstars, even thai politics, wouldn't be that bad.

I sincerely hope if the O/P is planning on teaching thai to foreigners, that either she already has or will develop some 'thick skin', and doesn't take any of the questions or valid points raised by any poster(s) here to heart.

Again, although I rarely apologize in my life for anything I do (with my life motto being along the lines of; NEVER forgive, NEVER forget & NEVER apologize), this time I offer my heartfelt apology if I've offended the O/P or any of the posters here with my comments.

I'd also ask, if anyone does take a lesson with her to post their experience here too.

Good luck to the O/P in her endeavor. ..

I think the word 'culture' has such a broad meaning.

It's important to design any learning around something interesting in order to keep the students attention.

All the things you mention, current events, superstars, politics etc. are all culture, so it depends what the OP means by her use of the word.

It would, indeed, be a shame if she were to merely duplicate what is already on offer.