Walen Thai School

[zenplay]

Hello,

Is anyone knows Walen Thai language school in Bangkok ?

Is it a good school to learn Thai ?

Thank you

[SoftWater]

This question has been done to death, and then some, on this forum.

Try searching.

[Rumblecat]

I've attended Walen- they're very efficient, the staff are friendly and helpful, and the teachers are all good. I do have some doubt about the method though. The biggest problem is that it requires you to read and understand Thai in order to progress, but it doesn't teach that. Grammar rules, sentence construction, vowel sounds, how tone marks are affected by what class the consonant is... nothing. I had to hire a private tutor in order to learn the things that I feel I should have been learning at school. And joining a class and being plunged into the book mid-way through can be quite dispiriting- especially if your Thai vocabulary doesn't extend much beyond hello and good-bye. I've seen people quickly discouraged by this.

I genuinely think Walen could improve by doing two simple things-

1. Have an introductory session for all new pupils. One or two hours where they get taken through the first few pages of the book (to learn those essential classroom words that crop up again and again), where they have very basic things explained (like how to introduce yourself or say you do or don't understand) and where the basics of how written Thai works is introduced.

2. And have one or two classes a week dedicated to teaching reading and grammar. Yes, you are expected to learn which letters are which, but that still produces no understanding of how vowels fit into words or sentences, or the many weird quirks of Thai grammar. Because if you don't have the first clue about how written Thai works, it can be incredibly difficult to get your head round it initially, especially without any guidance.

Don't get me wrong- I like the people who work there, I've enjoyed attending classes and I've learnt a lot. Unfortunately in order to progress I'm going to have to switch to another school, as I'm wanting to learn to read and write as well as speak.

Part of the problem is mine- I attended the school without ever sitting in on a lesson first. So I'd say definitely check out the school, I know a lot of people there who have got a lot out of it, but make sure you drop in first to see if it's for you. If you show up at the school, they will let you attend some classes to get a feel for it. So give it a shot- you can judge for yourself.

[klons]

I've managed to obtain an undercover classroom video. They seem a bit strict, but should be OK if you leave your cellphone at home.

http://www.ch7.com/n...&p=376&d=104163

Edit: The clip is not about Walen.

mario2008

[canuckamuck]

I've managed to obtain an undercover classroom video. They seem a bit strict, but should be OK if you leave your cellphone at home.

http://www.ch7.com/news/news_thailand_detail.aspx?c=2&p=376&d=104163

Lol, they broke my phone too

[Tod Daniels]

As has been mentioned by a previous poster; the merits (or shortcomings) of the Walen Method to learn the thai language has been done to death here. Also, as they are a forum sponsor you're unlikely to find overly critical posts about them on here .

When Mac first opened the thai language section of his school over 3 years ago, I attended for a year. I was between 'visas'. My non-O Multi was running out and I was too young to 'retire'.

Now I could already read some thai going in, so wasn't just 'dead in the water' like so many new students I observed in that year. It did increase my recognition of written thai words, but it did NOT teach me any valuable tools to speak thai better. In fact, it doesn’t appear to concentrate on spoken thai at all other than parroting the answers to the question the teacher asks out of the book. Currently there are A4 posters in the class rooms which say something like 'stick to the method', 'teach according to the book', 'never use phonetics to spell a thai word', 'save questions for break time', blah-blah-blah. Not the most student friendly class enviroment, lol.

I have said it before, I possibly know HUNDREDS of former and current Walen students as well as most of their teachers. As I live directly behind the Times Square Building, I’ve walked past the school every day several times a day for over 3 years now, as its located right where the crossover to the BTS is. I also routinely eat lunch with current students, and former teachers.

I’ve NEVER EVER in all that time seen someone come into that school ‘cold’ (knowing neither how to speak or read thai) and come out after a year with anything resembling even a modicum of proficiency in either skill.

Did the students become accomplished at parroting the answers from the text book? YES they did! (In fact, they are some of the best trained 'parrots' I've ever come across, yet often when pressed had abso-tively posi-lutely NO frickin' clue what they'd just said)

Were any students able to read even the most basic thai signage, or info outside the class? Not unless they stood there looking at it for quite a while to decipher it .

Were any that I’ve met able to take the vocabulary learned and use it to construct simple thai sentences? Nope, I’ve never yet met a single student who could do that.

In fact most students I know who actually progressed in their spoken thai skills either took private lessons from another teacher not affiliated with the school, or engaged in some supplemental study program outside the 4 hours of class they attended per week.

Yes, it is disconcerting to show up for the first day in class only to be on page 50 of a book some of the students had already gone thru 10 times. You do have the option to wait until the book gets back to page one and start at that time though, if you ask.

I agree they DO need an orientation, and broached this subject with Mac Walen all too many times during the year I attended and several times after that. However, nothing ever came of it.

I'd say, there is NO shortage of private thai language schools in the greater Bangkok Metro Area. Most are offering the same tuition/hours, etc structure; currently about 25K baht for a year's study of between 180 and 200 hours). Some schools include text books, some places you buy them.

BEFORE you pay A single satang to ANY school go and sit their free class. After sales customer satisfaction or customer service and/or refunds are some things nearly unheard of here in the glorious "Land 'O Thais". The last thing you want is 200 hours of class time in a school which ultimately sucks as far as learning thai.

Good Luck, read the reviews in the pinned topic of "Best Thai Language Schools" at the top of this forum. You'll get more than enough information to make up your mind about where you want to go.

As an aside to klons; funny video, sadly NOT Walen's school, but still funny in it's own right.

Moral of that video; 'thai teachers don't let thai students play video games via mobiles in class'.

Good luck.

[Mario2008]

Some will recommend a school while others will say it is worthless. We are all different and what is the best school for you also depends on you. You have to find a school with a teaching method that suits your personality and preferences.

Best is as suggested to just visit some schools and sit in on a class to get a feel if this school is for you. I'm sure that Walen will offer you that possibility.

[Parvis]

Some will recommend a school while others will say it is worthless. We are all different and what is the best school for you also depends on you. You have to find a school with a teaching method that suits your personality and preferences.

Best is as suggested to just visit some schools and sit in on a class to get a feel if this school is for you. I'm sure that Walen will offer you that possibility.

Well - probably true - but I was not offered this possibility about a year ago and was sucked in through slick advertising (some of it now elliminated) - and still feel - I was robbed of 22,500 baht.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Parvis

[Fookhaht]

I've managed to obtain an undercover classroom video. They seem a bit strict, but should be OK if you leave your cellphone at home.

http://www.ch7.com/n...&p=376&d=104163

Lol, they broke my phone too

Hilarious!

That Thai university professor followed through on what every other teacher in Thailand has thought about doing, I'm sure. (I sure have!)

[Rikker]

There's basically no reason for this thread to exist--this topic has been done to death. Please use forum search and read the lengthy discussion elsewhere, like the pinned Thai language school thread.