Thai Language Schools In Chiang Mai 2011

[Andy81]

Hi

I'm coming to Ching mai in June or July and I am interested in learning thai. I'm not into it for the visa and I would like to have 3-4 hours study a day, 5 days a week.

I did study 5 months in Bangkok last year, and I think I am at an intermidiate level.

So if anyone can recomend a serious school I would really apriciate it.

I have heard that Payap should be good, has any one atended that school?

[Genericnic]

I just finished up the first 60-hour module at Payap last Friday and would highly recommend it. I start module 2 week after next.

It is 3 hours a day (9:00 a.m. to noon) five days a week. The teacher I had for module 1 was Ajaan Noi. She is excellent.

It is an intense program but if you work at it, you will learn a lot.

If you are at an intermediate level, they will probably test your ability and suggest the module for you to begin with. If you don't read and write Thai yet, my bet is that they would start you at module 3 which is were they begin teaching those skills.

Best to you

David

[Andy81]

Thanks for the info David, and best of luck with your thai studies

Do you know the availability of intermediate classes, as I have heard that they don't start classes if they don't have enough students.

I can read and write already, altough at a slow speed

Edited April 14, 2011 by Andy81

[Genericnic]

Hi Andy. Sorry for the delay in replying.

I don't now any specifics on the availability of intermediate classes. I know what there is a 3rd level class going on now that has about 10 students, if I remember correctly. I get the impression that they will be continuing through the entire 8 modules. There are also 5 of us that have just finished level 1 and we are all planning to continue as well.

Your best bet may be to email them.

David

[jak2002003]

Hi.

I currently attend a language school in Chiang Mai called Pro Language

Its really good and I can honestly recommend it! I had tried private teachers at my own house, but the progress was far too slow. I have been at this school nearly one year and have found it to be enjoyable, stress free and very useful to me. All the teachers are very friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed and fun. They are very flexible in finding a class to suit your level, and have lots of good course books and study material. You can study private or be in a small group. I know many people are unhappy with various schools for various reasons, but I can honestly say I have had no problems at all at Pro Language, and the staff and teachers are very helpful and approachable.

I will sign up for a second year soon. I looked around other schools and they were not as well suited to me in terms of materials and schedules. I also don't like to be in a very large class.

What was best for me about this school was their flexibility. I told them how many hours a week I wanted to study and also which days and times etc. They were very accommodation.

Jason

[MacWalen]

Thank you for sharing.

[Tod Daniels]

As has been mentioned; PRO Language has a branch in Chiang Mai. I haven't been to that specific location but I HAVE been to the one in Bangkok.

They have a good program with MANY levels and choices depending on what you're wanting; be it strictly conversational Thai or speaking, learning to read and write too.

A coupla weeks ago I just sat about 4 hours of class time in various levels at their TImes Square location here in Bangkok. They teach good high frequency vocab, "phrozen-phrasez" (things you say all the time), and word substitution drills to learn sentence constructs.

If Chiang Mai is run anything like their Bangkok branch, I think you'd be fine there.

Here's their website;

PRO Language

Payap University is a "real university" and as such their course can't really be compared to the private Thai language sector. That's like comparing apples to oranges. I'm not saying the private Thai language sector isn't good because there are certainly good schools out there, only that they ain't "real universities" and usually cater to a different demographic.

Although I've never attended Payap, reading reports from people who have, it looks like a high quality very intensive course.

Here's their website too;

Payap University Intensive Thai Program

[sbk]

Hi Tod

Best to post specific knowledge when you have it, as posting about a Bangkok branch in a thread about Chiang Mai has very little relevance since experiences can vary from branch to branch. cheers

[Tod Daniels]

“sbk” you are right.

I stand corrected and I totally understand how my post may not have had the relevance to someone in Chiang Mai when my experience is only from their Bangkok branch.

SOOOO, being the enquiring mind that I am (read, a nosy person ); I called the PRO Language branch in Chiang Mai and spoke to the director of the school just now. They said they use the exact same course materials and teaching methodology that they use at their main school in Bangkok.

As I happen to have a few ‘borrowed’ copies of several levels of PRO Language’s textbooks; I asked him the titles specifically and he said they were the same titles.

I hope it sheds a little more light on what they offer up there and lends at least some credence to my O/P.

From now on I promise to do my 'homework', before I post about schools I haven't personally visited. Thanx

[khunup]

Hi all,

I'm also looking to attend a Thai language class in Chiang Mai. Payap and Pro Language both sound good. Are there any others? I'm interested in an ED visa and am also very interested in any school that jumps right into Thai script. I don't want to waste time with transliteration if possible.

Thanks!

Hi.

I currently attend a language school in Chiang Mai called Pro Language

Its really good and I can honestly recommend it! I had tried private teachers at my own house, but the progress was far too slow. I have been at this school nearly one year and have found it to be enjoyable, stress free and very useful to me. All the teachers are very friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed and fun. They are very flexible in finding a class to suit your level, and have lots of good course books and study material. You can study private or be in a small group. I know many people are unhappy with various schools for various reasons, but I can honestly say I have had no problems at all at Pro Language, and the staff and teachers are very helpful and approachable.

I will sign up for a second year soon. I looked around other schools and they were not as well suited to me in terms of materials and schedules. I also don't like to be in a very large class.

What was best for me about this school was their flexibility. I told them how many hours a week I wanted to study and also which days and times etc. They were very accommodation.

Jason

[MacWalen]

So there is only one school for you, Walen School of Thai - Chiangmai branch, please come for a demo lesson first, sit with our students, talk to them, ask them questions, talk to our teachers.

We certainly have excellent staff at the Walen school in Chiangmai, see for yourself. Also no transliteration, you learn Thai script right from the first lesson.

Walen School of Thai - try before you buy

www.thaiwalen.com

Edited June 4, 2011 by MacWalen

[MacWalen]

Do we have any Chiangmai students here wanting to express their opinion about our Chiangmai school?

[wstefanc]

Last year, I spent a couple of weeks visiting all the Thai Language Schools I could find in Chiang Mai. My goal was to find a school that would help me improve my Thai Language skills dramatically over the course of a month or two. I visited and observed a number of classes and materials from AUA, Payap, YMCA and chatted with folks at the Chiang Mai Rajabhat University about their Intensive Thai Course. I also talked to several other private Thai schools and examined their teaching materials.

At Payap, I took a brief exam consisting of some reading and conversation. They stated I should start their Thai 6 class. I was impressed with the folks I interacted with there.

At YMCA in Chiang Mai, I observed several classes including an entire reading and writing class which permitted me to participate that hit at about my level. It appeared that the beginning YMCA classes had less serious students while the advanced classes had people serious about the language.

On my last day in Chiang Mai I learned that the Chiang Mai Rajabhat University offered an Intensive Thai Course. I visited late that afternoon and talked with some people in the office. However, I wasn't able to learn much beyond the brochure they gave me. The brochure says it is a 6 hour / day 5 day a week class (204 course hours over 34 days for 20k baht). This sounded like more than I could deal with, but still intrigues me. Next time I am in Chiang Mai, I intend to go there to observe a class.

After all the visiting, which was great fun, I was left with the impression that Payap was probably the right program for me. There was a chance that CM Rajabhat is a hidden gem with another look. If I couldn't afford either of those, the YMCA "serious student" track would be the next choice, but probably wasn't intense enough.

Most Thai people I meet consider me a นักเรียนจริงจัง so what I am looking for might not be what most folks are looking for. I just love learning the language, reading, writing and speaking. I have no interest in learning Thai as means to a visa, etc.

Good luck!

[khunup]

Hi all,

I'm also looking to attend a Thai language class in Chiang Mai. Payap and Pro Language both sound good. Are there any others? I'm interested in an ED visa and am also very interested in any school that jumps right into Thai script. I don't want to waste time with transliteration if possible.

Thanks!

Hi.

I currently attend a language school in Chiang Mai called Pro Language

Its really good and I can honestly recommend it! I had tried private teachers at my own house, but the progress was far too slow. I have been at this school nearly one year and have found it to be enjoyable, stress free and very useful to me. All the teachers are very friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed and fun. They are very flexible in finding a class to suit your level, and have lots of good course books and study material. You can study private or be in a small group. I know many people are unhappy with various schools for various reasons, but I can honestly say I have had no problems at all at Pro Language, and the staff and teachers are very helpful and approachable.

I will sign up for a second year soon. I looked around other schools and they were not as well suited to me in terms of materials and schedules. I also don't like to be in a very large class.

What was best for me about this school was their flexibility. I told them how many hours a week I wanted to study and also which days and times etc. They were very accommodation.

Jason

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the reply and sorry for the delayed response. I also ended up going with Pro Language and am enjoying it quite a bit so far. Have learned a lot in a short time!

Cheers!

[khunup]

Thanks for all the good info! I ended up going to Pro Language in the end. Just to follow up, I'm really enjoying the school and learning tons. The school is run quite professionally, the facilities are good and the staff is very friendly and helpful and have gone beyond the duty of the school helping me to get oriented in CM. The teachers I've worked with have all be very knowledgable as well. I'm currently enrolled in private lessons and the school and my teacher in particular is amazing. Her knowledge of English and English grammar really helps her to explain some difficult concepts in Thai.

I'm not really able to compare Pro Language's books with the books of other schools in CM so take the following as it is: the only negative I would have to say about the school is the book materials. I find it poorly organized examples of this are:

• exercises often come before you even know the needed vocab
• the vocab is all over the place...the book will present a vocab list with the words for different occupations, and then randomly on the same list, the word for banana will just be thrown in as well
• many typos in the book and some of the vocab in Thai are incorrect.

So yeah, my big hang up is the book, but the teachers make up for that.

Cheers.

[MacWalen]

Thanks for all the good info! I ended up going to Pro Language in the end. Just to follow up, I'm really enjoying the school and learning tons. The school is run quite professionally, the facilities are good and the staff is very friendly and helpful and have gone beyond the duty of the school helping me to get oriented in CM. The teachers I've worked with have all be very knowledgable as well. I'm currently enrolled in private lessons and the school and my teacher in particular is amazing. Her knowledge of English and English grammar really helps her to explain some difficult concepts in Thai.

I'm not really able to compare Pro Language's books with the books of other schools in CM so take the following as it is: the only negative I would have to say about the school is the book materials. I find it poorly organized examples of this are:

• exercises often come before you even know the needed vocab
• the vocab is all over the place...the book will present a vocab list with the words for different occupations, and then randomly on the same list, the word for banana will just be thrown in as well
• many typos in the book and some of the vocab in Thai are incorrect.

So yeah, my big hang up is the book, but the teachers make up for that.

Cheers.

Did you visit Walen for a free demonstration? If people try Walen they will usually enroll. Also we have in our offer what nobody else has. Students can actually study for free. I am sure your other school books are full or karaoke Thai, this is really a wrong way of teaching this beautiful language.

Walen School - try before you buy

[miketanman]

Hi all,

Check out Talk Talk (http://www.chiangmaitalktalk.com) for the 1-year visa program.

The website is not great, but the class materials, format of class (Reading/Writing + Conversation) and small & casual nature is well-suited for my tastes.

I checked out other schools mentioned here before enrolling and Talk Talk worked out best for me.

Anyway, just throwing it into the mix as I didn't see it mentioned here and I only found via a past student.

Also, if you are an iPhone/iPod Touch or iPad owner, there is the most amazing Thai Dictionary by Paiboon Publishing: http://itunes.apple....d411632067?mt=8

It really deserves a 5 out of 5 and if you just try the "Explain Spelling" of any Thai word, you'll understand how it will help you so much when you don't know how the tone was computed or why there is an irregular spelling, etc.

All the best,

Mike

Edited September 19, 2011 by miketanman

[MacWalen]

Thank you for sharing, there must be a lot more other schools that work for some students in Chiangmai.

[Genericnic]

Hi all,

Check out Talk Talk (http://www.chiangmaitalktalk.com) for the 1-year visa program.

The website is not great, but the class materials, format of class (Reading/Writing + Conversation) and small & casual nature is well-suited for my tastes.

I checked out other schools mentioned here before enrolling and Talk Talk worked out best for me.

Anyway, just throwing it into the mix as I didn't see it mentioned here and I only found via a past student.

Also, if you are an iPhone/iPod Touch or iPad owner, there is the most amazing Thai Dictionary by Paiboon Publishing: http://itunes.apple....d411632067?mt=8

It really deserves a 5 out of 5 and if you just try the "Explain Spelling" of any Thai word, you'll understand how it will help you so much when you don't know how the tone was computed or why there is an irregular spelling, etc.

All the best,

Mike

+1 on the Thai Dictionary from Paiboon Publishing. It is the most expensive app on my iPhone and also the most used and most useful app. If you are studying Thai, regardless of what school you go to, this is the most useful app you are going to find. You can enter English words and it will bring up the Thai words, including the Thai script version. It will also clearly pronounce the Thai words for you. If you see a word in Thai that you want to know the definition of, you can enter the Thai script and it will bring up the definition.

David