Good Thai Teacher For Advanced Student

[jdwphuket]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a good Thai teacher in Bangkok. My Thai is fairly advanced - I can read and write and speak pretty well. I just want to improve my fluency now and possibly study for the P6 exam. Can anyone recommend a good Thai teacher or school for a student at my level? If they're cheap, that would be a bonus!

Thanks.

[craigt3365]

Let's move this over to the Thai Language Forum. Good luck!!!

//Moved//

[Tod Daniels]

(Sorry this is long)

Sadly there is no P/6 exam given by the thai government anymore for foreigners . It's another type of proficiency testing, but. ..

Be that as it may; I know a LOT of private thai teachers who might meet your needs.

The question is; what (other than improving your 'effluency' <sic> sorry meant fluency in thai) do you want from the classes? If indeed your thai is at the level you self-assess it to be , you probably want a more custom tailored class than the bais stuff. Also there are more than enough P/1-P/6 practice test books out there at the government bookstores to self test and see what your strong areas are and what things you need to work on.

Never the less;

Here're a few questions which need to be gotten outta the way first. Questions which any potential thai teacher would need to know to 'custom fit' a class for you;

*Do you have your own study materials, or expect the teacher to provide them?

*How many hours a week and at what times are you intending to study?

*Where is a convenient location for you to meet and study?

*Do you want conversation based only, reading and then question/answer stuff to gauge your comprehension, writing exercises or a combination of all of it?

*Would you be interested in studying with a small group of foreigners with similar desires in language acquisition and a similar level of thai, (a LOT cheaper), or do you prefer one on one (more expensive)?

*After a sample lesson would you be willing to buy 'blocks' of time (say 10 hours at a whack at a discounted price) or do you prefer to pay hour by hour?

I couldn't even begin to recommend a teacher without getting those questions answered. Then again even perusing the T/V classified ads yields no shortage of alleged thai teachers, and Im sure a quick Google would turn up even more.

Strangely enough (or not ), rates vary widely. I've seen 'em as low as 150baht an hour up to a mind wobbling 750baht an hour! While in the US, a higher price point usually means a higher level of quality, I have not found this to be the case here by any wild stretch of the imagination.

In fact, some of the most expensive private thai teachers I've met here have abso-tively posi-lutely no business even attempting to teach thai to foreigners. (Theyre about as qualified as the plethora of foreigners here who have no business teaching engrish to the thais, yet do anyway). Seein as there is no vetting of ability or standardized teaching in the private thai language sector, (as most do it under the table as far as taxes, companies, etc) anyone, including their uncle Somchai and/or his pet soi dog, can simply teach thai to foreigners by handing out cards, or making flyers.

My research has shown that the privately taught thai language sector is by far the most sketchy area in the entire niche market of foreigners learning the thai language. Bang-4-the-baht varies wildly, quality of materials is haphazard at best, and there is even less recourse than offered at a welll known private thai language school (which is next to nonexistent) if things dont work out and you want customer satisfaction. Even hooking up with a known private thai language school is no guarantee that youll get quality results. It really is a crap shoot out there as far as finding a thai teacher whose ability, personality and teaching materials mesh with your goals.

The best private thai language teachers Ive met operate almost 100% by word of mouth, their current and former students refer others to them, and if they advertise at all its very little. The best ones also have prior experience in the teach thai to foreigners field, something I feel is a necessity if a thai persons gonna get into the business.

Good Luck. ..

Edited January 5, 2011 by tod-daniels

[jdwphuket]

Wow, thanks very much for a very comprehensive answer!

To answer your questions:

I want to study around six hours per week, preferably spread over weekdays although I'd consider weekends if there was no choice. The number of hours would depend on the cost of the lessons, to an extent...

I live in the Rachadaphisek area, close to Phra Ram 9 MRT. Am willing to travel on the transport network to get to the teacher, though if they could come to me that would be cool.

I want to improve my conversation, listening and reading comprehension.

I'd prefer to study privately.

I would be willing to buy lessons in blocks.

Could you perhaps send me the contact details of some of the good private language teachers you know?

Thanks

Dan

(Sorry this is long)

Sadly there is no P/6 exam given by the thai government anymore for foreigners . It's another type of proficiency testing, but. ..

Be that as it may; I know a LOT of private thai teachers who might meet your needs.

The question is; what (other than improving your 'effluency' <sic> sorry meant fluency in thai) do you want from the classes? If indeed your thai is at the level you self-assess it to be , you probably want a more custom tailored class than the bais stuff. Also there are more than enough P/1-P/6 practice test books out there at the government bookstores to self test and see what your strong areas are and what things you need to work on.

Never the less;

Here're a few questions which need to be gotten outta the way first. Questions which any potential thai teacher would need to know to 'custom fit' a class for you;

*Do you have your own study materials, or expect the teacher to provide them?

*How many hours a week and at what times are you intending to study?

*Where is a convenient location for you to meet and study?

*Do you want conversation based only, reading and then question/answer stuff to gauge your comprehension, writing exercises or a combination of all of it?

*Would you be interested in studying with a small group of foreigners with similar desires in language acquisition and a similar level of thai, (a LOT cheaper), or do you prefer one on one (more expensive)?

*After a sample lesson would you be willing to buy 'blocks' of time (say 10 hours at a whack at a discounted price) or do you prefer to pay hour by hour?

I couldn't even begin to recommend a teacher without getting those questions answered. Then again even perusing the T/V classified ads yields no shortage of alleged thai teachers, and I’m sure a quick Google would turn up even more.

Strangely enough (or not ), rates vary widely. I've seen 'em as low as 150baht an hour up to a mind wobbling 750baht an hour! While in the US, a higher price point usually means a higher level of quality, I have not found this to be the case here by any wild stretch of the imagination.

In fact, some of the most expensive private thai teachers I've met here have abso-tively posi-lutely no business even attempting to teach thai to foreigners. (They’re about as qualified as the plethora of foreigners here who have no business teaching engrish to the thais, yet do anyway). Seein as there is no vetting of ability or standardized teaching in the private thai language sector, (as most do it ‘under the table’ as far as taxes, companies, etc) anyone, including their uncle Somchai and/or his pet soi dog, can simply teach thai to foreigners by handing out cards, or making flyers.

My research has shown that the privately taught thai language sector is by far the most sketchy area in the entire niche market of foreigners learning the thai language. Bang-4-the-baht varies wildly, quality of materials is haphazard at best, and there is even less recourse than offered at a welll known private thai language school (which is next to nonexistent) if things don’t work out and you want customer satisfaction. Even hooking up with a known private thai language school is no guarantee that you’ll get quality results. It really is a crap shoot out there as far as finding a thai teacher whose ability, personality and teaching materials mesh with your goals.

The best private thai language teachers I’ve met operate almost 100% by word of mouth, their current and former students refer others to them, and if they advertise at all it’s very little. The best one’s also have prior experience in the “teach thai to foreigners” field, something I feel is a necessity if a thai person’s gonna get into the business.

Good Luck. ..

[farangnahrak]

Ask for one free lesson, and if they don't know what they are doing, don't have over the money for more lessons

I'm also an advanced learner . . . I just learn by finding difficult books and forcing myself to read through it. By difficult, I mean books on engineering, buddhism, business writing, and Isaan literature . . .