Highspeed Thai - Great Language Course Or What?

[notime]

HighSpeed Thai course is extensively advertised on ThaiVisa. After clicking on a link to an online lesson to try it out I was able to learn to read and write my first 3 Thai characters. I was very impressed with the thoroughness of the exercises and read a lot of very positive comments from people who are supposedly doing this course. I ordered the DVD (PC version) and it arrived promptly. Unfortunately due to being too busy during the "high season" I didn't install the material for few weeks. Later I decided to buy a new iMac so I approached Vincent from HighSpeed Thai and asked if I could swap the PC DVD for a Mac version. He advised me to install the DVD on my old PC first and transfer files to Mac with some modifing files that I was to get later. As it turned out I wasn't able to install the original material on the PC as there was an error. Ok, maybe that was caused by my old computer, I cannot be sure. But when instead of being send a Mac DVD I was told to download new large files for Mac that didn't decompress or open due to "file structure damage" as per attached screen grab I started to get frustrated. My questions about what to do next or requests for a working Mac DVD remained without answers. No course, no further communication, no offers of a refund. But I still receive emails from HighSpeed Thai with the testimonials from "Forum members" about how great the course is that only make my frustration grow.

Has anybody on this Forum ordered this product? What has been your experience? Is anybody using the Mac version?

[Genericnic]

Hi notime

I ordered the Mac version and it ran on the iMac with no problems. As for my experience with the program, here is what I said in a prior post:

"Based on the "tasters' (this one in particular) [this is the one you mentioned that teaches the 3 Thai characters] I took the plunge and bought the program. I was disappointed to find that the program did not contain this or similar videos since the one on the website was well done and allowed me to quickly learn what was presented in it. If there had been similar videos done for all the alphabet, I think it would have been a much better deal. After looking through the rest of the program, I found that is was ok but definitely overpriced for what you get. I would have returned it but was in the middle of the move from the US to Chiang Mai and missed the 30 day deadline for returning it. Would I recommend it to others? Probably not. That said, other people seem to like it and are ok with both the price and the content."

Best to you.

David

[QED]

I am using it (on PC) and think it is great. My only regret is that I don't have enough time to spend with it, and after 6 months I am still only half way through the alphabet, lol. Good part of that is after a few weeks of not using it I start from the beginning again and am now shit hot at the first few letters!

I am sure Vincent will be on here in a minute and resolve all your issues, I had a password problem a while back and it was resolved within a few hours.

Good luck.

[Iolare]

I'm very interested in this thread as I'm seriously considering ordering the course and I have an Apple MacBook. If the original poster could let us know if the problems were satisfactorily resolved by Vincent, or if he was unresponsive, I would appreciate it. From this posting and a previous one, it seems like this is a course that may require some ongoing support from the seller to make it a satisfactory learning experience, and I'd like to know we can still count on him after paying for it.

[notime]

I am using it (on PC) and think it is great. My only regret is that I don't have enough time to spend with it, and after 6 months I am still only half way through the alphabet, lol. Good part of that is after a few weeks of not using it I start from the beginning again and am now shit hot at the first few letters!

I am sure Vincent will be on here in a minute and resolve all your issues, I had a password problem a while back and it was resolved within a few hours.

Good luck.

Thank you. But so far .. no Vincent, no response about how to fix the issue, no new DVD's, no working files and no language course that I paid for :-(

[notime]

I've managed to contact Vincent on Skype. It seems he didn't receive my emails but offered support. The downloading of large files over the Internet may have been causing errors in them. After couple more days spend downloading and using a special download tool I got all the files properly decompressed and installed on my Mac. It would be much easier if I was sent a replacement DVD but hey, I'm glad that at last I have what I paid for. I hope doing the course will be more fun. Thanks to all who replied.

[Tod Daniels]

You know I hadn't really had the chance to see this in action until the other nite on someone's laptop.

While it ain't the slickest set of programs out there; it wasn't designed to be a one click open everything up type of dealy. I think this was by choice to prevent someone from just ripping it and offering it on a free download site.

Once you get everything you need open for your lesson; I hafta say it runs pretty darned good. The developer invested a LOT of time into it, and from reports on T/V is pretty good about getting back to people and resolving problems/complaints.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with ANY 'self-study' material usually lies with the student's motivation ; very rarely is it directly related to the material being used .

Now is it worth what they sell it for? I dunno as I worked thru a coupla lessons the other nite.

[vincentv]

In response to the original poster, it seems I did not get or missed his email. I check my emails a few times each day. My website also has my Skype details and a phone number, so it is not hard to get a hold of me.

You can do a search on this forum and you will find detailed feedback from ThaiVisa users who have spent lots of time with the program. You will find that anyone who has actually put time into the program really likes it. The only way to assess the program is to use it.

The program is so big that it will take someone at least a couple of months to be able to fully assess the program to a degree where they can give a fairly accurate view of how it works.

In regards to this quote:

"Based on the "tasters' (this one in particular) [this is the one you mentioned that teaches the 3 Thai characters] I took the plunge and bought the program. I was disappointed to find that the program did not contain this or similar videos since the one on the website was well done and allowed me to quickly learn what was presented in it. If there had been similar videos done for all the alphabet

Videos are not the best way to learn because they progress at a fixed rate, they do not allow you to focus in on what you are having troubles with, there is no way for a video to adjust itself according to how well you are progressing. It is also much easier for students to read detailed explanations along with examples as text at their own pace. I have specifically chosen not to teach with videos because it is not the best way to learn. The video on the site demonstrates the some of the techniques used in the program.

In regards to this “I found that is was ok but definitely overpriced for what you get” I honestly have never heard anything like this. The people that have spent time with the program almost always say the opposite. The HST program can get you from knowing nothing about the language to being quite functional. The program will keep a student busy for up to a year if he studies almost every day. Thousands of hours have been put into the program to make learning easier for you. The result is that you will save hundreds of hours of time that would otherwise be wasted studying ineffectively.

The program contains hundreds of exercises, more than 80 hours of audio, more than 1000 pages of content. But again, the media is not something that should be taken into consideration when purchasing a program, of course the most important factor is what results you get from the program when you use it. Again, please refer to the other posts from users who have completed large sections of the program.

[Tod Daniels]

vincentv thanx for responding like you do to these posts about your High Speed Thai method.

We rarely get open, honest replies from the actual developers of Thai language related stuff on the forum. Its usually just grand-standing and/or horn tooting. I think its great you take the time to respond as honestly as you do.

You already know you aint gonna please every Tom, Dick & Somchai out there who wants a magic key to unlocking the Thai language . By your responses and from the problem resolution Ive read in your posts regarding people whove purchased your HST, I think youre doin the best you can to provide good customer service.

Im supposed to meet the student who had HST on his lap-top later this evening to look at it more in depth, but from just the little I fooled around with it, I thought it DID have a lot of merit.

Like I said in the other post, the biggest impediment to learning ANYTHING by self study is the individuals motivation to stick with it. ..

Good Luck with it man. …

Oh and FWIW: I don't throw compliments around , in fact the people who know me, say I'm the most un-complimentary person they've ever met!

Edited May 4, 2011 by tod-daniels

[XOL123]

I've been using HST for a little over 7 months (I am on page 652 or lesson 30 voc.)and this is my take on the program:

: you would learn a lot of vocabulary words

1:you would learn to read and write

2:it's somewhat interactive, you have your (how do you say this? in the speaking section and the anki which is some kind of flashcard)

3: the learning section is good, I just wish they can speak the sentences at a normal pace,(not all but some sentences) a one-word would come out as 2 words if the narrator hesitates a little.

4: there are a few mistakes that I have encounter ex: sentences that are not on the reading section would be read as if they were there, and words that are being pronounce in 2 different ways without explanation.

5: on some chapters you would hear cars, birds, horns, clicking of the mouse in the background, it doesn't distorts the narrator voice but I think they should've put more effort on the quality of the sound.

6: I don't have nobody to practice Thai with so I cannot comment If I have the correct tone or not.

7: can't copy and paste ( if you want to copy a word and search it you have to type it in) unless you get a "pdf password remover" you won't be able to do it.

8: dead sentences on the vocabulary section, ex: sentences and sometimes new words are there but nobody narrating them, they can improve this section by linking them to media player

I'll give HST:

Vocabulary words 8/10

learn to read and write 8/10

speaking ???

course material 8/10

interactivity 8/10

price 7/10

overall is an OK program, the price could be better but at the end I would recommend this program to someone that is interested in learning how to read and write, and like I stated before I cannot comment on the speaking part but if I have followed the program correctly I'll be able to pronounce words.

I'll update my progress in the following months.

Edited May 10, 2011 by XOL123

[Parvis]

Vocabulary words 8/10

learn to read and write 8/10

speaking ???

course material 8/10

interactivity 8/10

price 7/10

XOL 123 - I like the way you evaluate each segment - rather than just an overall statement. There are always positives and negatives about each School/Course.

A "standardized system of evaluating" - probably should be adopted by more posters (incl. me) to get the message across more "distinctly" to potential students (and the Schools) - without misunderstandings.

Edited May 10, 2011 by Parvis

[vincentv]

Thank you for the feedback.

Can you send me an email and I will send you the latest version which will addresses some of these things.

Here are my comments on the points you have made.

2. I am also working on a second speaking section. The second speaking section is Thai only, the speaker will ask you questions in Thai and you will respond in Thai. The new exercises are a really great way to practice comprehending and using the vocab you have used.

3. If you notice a problem with a specific learning section, please let me know and I will take a look at it. The latest version of the program now includes both a female and male speaker narrating the Reading section at normal pace. Listening to this is a very good way to get exposure to Thai at its native pace. It also allows you to expose yourself to more vocab and grammar structures in less time. The "Extra Speaking Exercises - From Definitions - Lessons 1 to 40.anki" and "Sentences - From Definitions - Lessons 1 to 40.m3u" are also recorded at a fast pace to help give you listening practice.

You can also increase the pace of existing audios with a plug-in for Winamp called Pacemaker.

4. Due to the size of the program it is a mammoth size task to just check over the program one time. I have spent hundreds of hours reviewing the audios and cards, and am pretty sure I have ironed out any inconsistencies. If you find any, please let me know and I will fix them up. Either way these should very small issues and should not impact learning. In regards to words being pronounced 2 ways, the narrator is a native speaker so she reads them how they should be read. If she reads a word in two ways it is likely that the word can be pronounced in two ways. There should not be many words like this, maybe 10 in the whole program. On most occasions this will be explicitly explained.

5. Some of the earlier audios may have a bit of background noise. The noise should be very minimal and should not have any impact on learning, as you rightly said, any noise is background noise and should not interfere with the foreground speaking. In a real life situation you are always going to have background noise anyway. I actually asked one user if he thinks it would be worthwhile to rerecord these audios he felt that doing this would be a waste of time as there would be no benefit in doing this. All of the newer audios have been recorded in much stricter conditions.

6. The newer version recommends that you use voice-viewer with a microphone from time to time to compare your tones to the native speaker. The newer version also recommends you use the Anki recording plug in to do a side by side comparison of your voice against the native speaker’s voice.

7. Yes, the pdf is locked and it must be that way. Please let me know what you would like to copy from the PDF. Most of the content is also in the vocab cards and you can copy and paste from there. But please let me know what you would like to copy and paste and why. Perhaps this could lead me to creating a new set of exercises.

8. The latest version makes the vocab “clickable”. A selection of the example sentences are included in the files mentioned in point 3. When you open the Anki file in point 3, you can record yourself and compare this to the native speaker. When a user is reading through the vocab section he should know how to pronounce all of the words as the new words are pronounced aloud. All other words used to create these example sentences are taken from earlier lessons, so if you have done the earlier lessons you will be able to pronounce these words accurately.

In regards to the price, others have given the program much higher marks. I hope that a user would over look any aesthetics and mark the program on how well it works and the results one is getting. In the end this is the most important thing. The newer version also has many updates that further improve the programs efficiency, please email me for this.

I would not worry too much about speaking at the moment. The program teaches very important words that are almost essential for basic conversation right up to the last lesson. So your goal should be to finish off the program and then practice as much as you can. By the time you have finished your Thai will be better than 90+% of foreigners that have been living here for years or decades. In fact, I just got an email from one guy who has studied for over 140 hours in classes, he can hardly read or put a basic sentence together. Your current level at lesson 30 would be at least 10 times better than his, not to mention that you would have spent a fraction of what he has.

In some time I will be releasing another program that helps students further develop their vocab up to 5000 words or so

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[RickBradford]

I think the headline on this thread should be changed -- whatever people think of the course, it is evident from the amount of work that Vincent has put into this and his openness to discuss the program that it is not a 'scam'.

It would be a pity in the future if that label was to appear every time a new member wanted to find out about this product.

I do not use it myself and have no idea of its merits or otherwise -- I just think it would be the fair thing to do.

Mods?

[Jai Dee]

I think the headline on this thread should be changed -- whatever people think of the course, it is evident from the amount of work that Vincent has put into this and his openness to discuss the program that it is not a 'scam'.

It would be a pity in the future if that label was to appear every time a new member wanted to find out about this product.

I do not use it myself and have no idea of its merits or otherwise -- I just think it would be the fair thing to do.

Mods?

Good idea... done!

[canuckamuck]

I have this course and I really like it. It has taken me way further than one of the other classroom programs that advertise here (which I completed to the end of their material) even though I am only half way into the HST course.

[XOL123]

I've been using HST for a little over 7 months (I am on page 652 or lesson 30 voc.)and this is my take on the program:

: you would learn a lot of vocabulary words

1:you would learn to read and write

2:it's somewhat interactive, you have your (how do you say this? in the speaking section and the anki which is some kind of flashcard)

3: the learning section is good, I just wish they can speak the sentences at a normal pace,(not all but some sentences) a one-word would come out as 2 words if the narrator hesitates a little.

4: there are a few mistakes that I have encounter ex: sentences that are not on the reading section would be read as if they were there, and words that are being pronounce in 2 different ways without explanation.

5: on some chapters you would hear cars, birds, horns, clicking of the mouse in the background, it doesn't distorts the narrator voice but I think they should've put more effort on the quality of the sound.

6: I don't have nobody to practice Thai with so I cannot comment If I have the correct tone or not.

7: can't copy and paste ( if you want to copy a word and search it you have to type it in) unless you get a "pdf password remover" you won't be able to do it.

8: dead sentences on the vocabulary section, ex: sentences and sometimes new words are there but nobody narrating them, they can improve this section by linking them to media player

I'll give HST:

Vocabulary words 8/10

learn to read and write 8/10

speaking ???

course material 8/10

interactivity 8/10

price 7/10

overall is an OK program, the price could be better but at the end I would recommend this program to someone that is interested in learning how to read and write, and like I stated before I cannot comment on the speaking part but if I have followed the program correctly I'll be able to pronounce words.

I'll update my progress in the following months.

UPDATE:

After a quick trip to Thailand I found out that the Vocabulary and grammar words have stayed in my memory but

[XOL123]

I've been using HST for a little over 7 months (I am on page 652 or lesson 30 voc.)and this is my take on the program:

: you would learn a lot of vocabulary words

1:you would learn to read and write

2:it's somewhat interactive, you have your (how do you say this? in the speaking section and the anki which is some kind of flashcard)

3: the learning section is good, I just wish they can speak the sentences at a normal pace,(not all but some sentences) a one-word would come out as 2 words if the narrator hesitates a little.

4: there are a few mistakes that I have encounter ex: sentences that are not on the reading section would be read as if they were there, and words that are being pronounce in 2 different ways without explanation.

5: on some chapters you would hear cars, birds, horns, clicking of the mouse in the background, it doesn't distorts the narrator voice but I think they should've put more effort on the quality of the sound.

6: I don't have nobody to practice Thai with so I cannot comment If I have the correct tone or not.

7: can't copy and paste ( if you want to copy a word and search it you have to type it in) unless you get a "pdf password remover" you won't be able to do it.

8: dead sentences on the vocabulary section, ex: sentences and sometimes new words are there but nobody narrating them, they can improve this section by linking them to media player

I'll give HST:

Vocabulary words 8/10

learn to read and write 8/10

speaking ???

course material 8/10

interactivity 8/10

price 7/10

overall is an OK program, the price could be better but at the end I would recommend this program to someone that is interested in learning how to read and write, and like I stated before I cannot comment on the speaking part but if I have followed the program correctly I'll be able to pronounce words.

I'll update my progress in the following months.

UPDATE 6-15-2011:

After a quick trip to Thailand I found out that the Vocabulary and grammar words have stayed in my memory but the speaking part didn't come out so easily,

before my trip I bought Pimsleur Thai which I think is a nice tool to complement HST, the Pimsleur Thai repetition method works very good, some people thought that I could speak Thai fluently because of the grammar and vocabulary from HST and the way that I spoke the phrases from Pimsleur Thai.

So now I've finished the Pimsleur Thai Level 1 (30 audio lessons of 25-30minutes each) which has help me, now when studying HST I can go through the Learning, Voc, and Speaking lessons a lot faster.

With HST you'll be able to learn Vocabulary,writing and reading and if you are lucky enough to live in Thailand I am sure that the speaking part will come much easier compare to someone that is living outside Thailand.

[dobadoy]

The program is so big that it will take someone at least a couple of months to be able to fully assess the program to a degree where they can give a fairly accurate view of how it works.

Interesting point...given you give a 30-day period of grace to return it. So by the time I've fully figured out how it works...too late. Hmm...

[hgma]

ads are to support thaivisa

we all benefit

this one benefits too........www.langhub.com

[vincentv]

"Interesting point...given you give a 30-day period of grace to return it. So by the time I've fully figured out how it works...too late. Hmm..."

You can learn a lot in 30 days, and you should see great benefit in the program in just a few days. My point is that you will not be able to assess the whole program in 30 days. There are many different lesson types, the program is huge and is specifically designed to completed from front to back. You can not skip sections. The skills you learn in the earlier lessons are necessary to complete the later lessons. For example, you should not learn to read if you do not have a good idea about how to pronounce, you should not learn to read if you do not have a handle on the tones. You will not be able to complete the vocab lessons until you have finished the reading lessons, and you will not be able to do the advanced vocab lessons before you complete the regular vocab lessons.

In response to this comment.

"After a quick trip to Thailand I found out that the Vocabulary and grammar words have stayed in my memory but the speaking part didn't come out so easily,

before my trip I bought Pimsleur Thai which I think is a nice tool to complement HST, the Pimsleur Thai repetition method works very good, some people thought that I could speak Thai fluently because of the grammar and vocabulary from HST and the way that I spoke the phrases from Pimsleur Thai.

So now I've finished the Pimsleur Thai Level 1 (30 audio lessons of 25-30minutes each) which has help me, now when studying HST I can go through the Learning, Voc, and Speaking lessons a lot faster.

With HST you'll be able to learn Vocabulary,writing and reading and if you are lucky enough to live in Thailand I am sure that the speaking part will come much easier compare to someone that is living outside Thailand. "

First of all, Pimsuler is extremely small compared to the HighSpeedThai program. It teaches between 200 and 300 words and some basic sentence structure. HST teaches 1600 words and the amount of ideas that you can express increases somewhat exponentially to the amount of words you know. In terms of size and structure, these programs are in totally different categories. Pimsuler is 15 hours of audio where you will learn some vocab and basic sentence structure. The HST program with teach you how to pronounce correctly, help you hear and pronounce the tones, teach you to read and express yourself with exposure to 10,000+ sentences and practice forming over 7,000 sentences. The HST program includes about 80 hours of audio and 1200 pages of text.

I do not mind Pimsuler but if you were to complete the whole HighSpeedThai system and then complete Pimsuler you would probably learn nothing new, perhaps a few low frequency words. In terms of overall content, I would say Pimsuler is about one twentieth the size of the HST program.

Now, if you only have a vocab of a few hundred words, do not expect to be able to express your mind in Thai. It is simply impossible with such a small vocabulary. You are much better of spending your time acquiring the basic vocabulary that you need to have day-to-day conversations. This is what the HighSpeedThai program will help you with, by the time you are finished with the program you will be able to understand and take part in these day-to-day conversations. It will be also useful to have a dictionary on hand, you can download dictionary applications for free on the iPhone or Androd phones.

[XOL123]

First of all, Pimsuler is extremely small compared to the HighSpeedThai program. It teaches between 200 and 300 words and some basic sentence structure. HST teaches 1600 words and the amount of ideas that you can express increases somewhat exponentially to the amount of words you know. In terms of size and structure, these programs are in totally different categories. Pimsuler is 15 hours of audio where you will learn some vocab and basic sentence structure. The HST program with teach you how to pronounce correctly, help you hear and pronounce the tones, teach you to read and express yourself with exposure to 10,000+ sentences and practice forming over 7,000 sentences. The HST program includes about 80 hours of audio and 1200 pages of text.

I do not mind Pimsuler but if you were to complete the whole HighSpeedThai system and then complete Pimsuler you would probably learn nothing new, perhaps a few low frequency words. In terms of overall content, I would say Pimsuler is about one twentieth the size of the HST program.

Now, if you only have a vocab of a few hundred words, do not expect to be able to express your mind in Thai. It is simply impossible with such a small vocabulary. You are much better of spending your time acquiring the basic vocabulary that you need to have day-to-day conversations. This is what the HighSpeedThai program will help you with, by the time you are finished with the program you will be able to understand and take part in these day-to-day conversations. It will be also useful to have a dictionary on hand, you can download dictionary applications for free on the iPhone or Androd phones.

yes, you are right, I only learn a couple of new words from Pimsleur Thai and that was because I was at around lesson 20' something in the HST course, but now that I am at about lesson 35 there's nothing new that I can learn from the Pimsleur Thai course, but Pimsleur is a very efficient course when it comes to speaking phrases due to the repetition process, after all repeating 5-6 phrases per lesson for half hour you are bound to speak them effortlessly.

[thailoneus]

“vincentv” thanx for responding like you do to these posts about your High Speed Thai method.

We rarely get open, honest replies from the actual developers of Thai language related stuff on the forum. It’s usually just grand-standing and/or horn tooting. I think it’s great you take the time to respond as honestly as you do.

You already know you ain’t gonna please every Tom, Dick & Somchai out there who wants a magic key to unlocking the Thai language . By your responses and from the problem resolution I’ve read in your posts regarding people who’ve purchased your HST, I think you’re doin’ the best you can to provide good customer service.

I’m supposed to meet the student who had HST on his lap-top later this evening to look at it more in depth, but from just the little I fooled around with it, I thought it DID have a lot of merit.

Like I said in the other post, the biggest impediment to learning ANYTHING by self study is the individual’s motivation to stick with it. ..

Good Luck with it man. …

Oh and FWIW: I don't throw compliments around , in fact the people who know me, say I'm the most un-complimentary person they've ever met!

Well said TD. I wholeheartedly echo your words. Given some very derogatory comments in this thread, I felt I have to support Vincent and HST. He has provided me with extremely quick support with even the simplest problems, when necessary, on skype. If I haven't progressed as far as I wished, it was always due to my own schedule and faults. I believe that too many folk try too many courses to find a silver bullet. Staying the 'course' with what you select is probably the best method of getting anywhere with any new language.

[sbk]

defamatory post removed.

Lets wait and see how things go before posting about a bad experience. Perhaps Thaivisa can help in this matter but it won't do much good if its all on the forum before a resolution is made.

Also, please note that highspeedthai is an adsense ad and not a direct forum sponsor.

[thaiedward]

defamatory post removed.

Lets wait and see how things go before posting about a bad experience. Perhaps Thaivisa can help in this matter but it won't do much good if its all on the forum before a resolution is made.

Also, please note that highspeedthai is an adsense ad and not a direct forum sponsor.

I've devoted time and attention to seek-out the holy grail of Thai-language; and HST seemed to represent a possibility...so, within the past hour, I tried to order the over-priced(?) DVD but was unable to do so because the site would/could not accept my method of payment, a valid Visa check-card (and I don't trust PayPal).

Has nature protected me yet again?

Perhaps I'll enlist myself into the monastery at Mai Hong Son.

Thank you for your kind attention.

[vincentv]

My apologies if the website did not accept your credit card details. You have to understand that these payment processing companies must be very weary of fraud. Sometimes when a foreign credit card is being used on the internet from a Thai I.P address they classify the transaction as suspicious. Usually if you enter your correct billing address and all other information that matches the card it goes though fine. If not, other arrangement's can be made.

I do not know why you do not trust Paypal, I am not a huge fan of Paypal, but I have made many purchases and sales through them without problems.

Your comments seem somewhat distrustful, pessimistic and negative even before you have tried the program, I would prefer that you do not purchase the HighSpeedThai system.

[tjansen]

I want to delete this post. Something happened to the font. I reposted my comments about HST.

Edited August 4, 2011 by tjansen

[tjansen]

I don't recall exactly when I bought HST, maybe a year ago as a guess. It could be longer. I have tried a couple of other programs including one that I really like because it is fun, but I have settled on HST as my learning-Thai tool.

I made it through about eighteen or nineteen vocabluary lessons, then got bogged down for several weeks or a couple of months without doing much. A few weeks ago I got the energy, inspiration to finish all forty lessons. Here is the email that I just sent to Vincent, whom I have found very sincere, open, and responsive.

By the way, I am now on lesson 24 of the Vocabluary Section. I have learned much much more Thai with this program than I did while working with and being around Thais for the previous two years.

My two summary comments:

1) I recommend this course without reservation

2) I suggest, early on, finding the instructions on how to study in the High Speed Thai ebook (pdf) and designing a study plan for yourself. I experienced a lot of frustration early on floundering around in different folders not knowing what I was doing or where I was headed. Now I can go right to the folder I am working in that day and do my lesson. The course is definitely not a "push the Start Button and Go" affair, but once I settled down and read Vincent's instructions, I found them very useful in progressing on my way.

Here is the email, in quotes, that I just sent to Vincent, whom I have found to be very sincere, open, and responsive.

"Hello Vincent, I put this study plan together from your instructions in the ebook without including "extra practice" type things you mention, and I have been using it for a few weeks. Could you please comment on any essentials that I am missing?

I spend eight days on each unit, which means I should finish the course before the end of the year.

Day 1 Quick Review, following along with the appropriate text from the ebook, with some repetition as needed.

Day2 Section 1 Vocab until words are in short term memory

Day 3 Section 1 Learning with repetition as needed.

Day 4 Section 2 Vocab

Day 5 Section 2 Learning

Day 6 Reading Test using Anki

Day 7 Speaking with repetition as needed

Day 8 Anki Master File review

When you are ready to send me your updates (including male and female speakers, clickable pdf, etc, I would like some help / advice on both incorporating these new things into my folders as well as incorporating them into my current study plan."

Tom

[mandilu]

My two cents - I think its an amazing course. That there are a few errors here and there that others have mentioned is trivial - they are not spelling or syntax errors and Vincent is incredibly quick to respond to e-mails and queries that I have had. I run mine on a Mac and also on my PC at school - no problems. I've learned to read and write, and my Thai is coming along very well. I hired a private teacher to help me with pronounciation because with any self study programme, especially in a language with unfamilar sounds, you need the direct feedback. That was about a quarter of the way through the programme. I love the way that each lesson builds on another so you don't forget things you learn early on. Its clear this was not a big budget production, which means that Vincent developed this immense amount of material and carefully structured lessons with a huge investment of his time. I don't think its over priced at all for the amount of work he must have put into it. I recommend it to people all the time so if you've come to the forum to figure out if its worth it..it is!

[bct73]

Has anyone bought this download and downloaded it onto more than one pc/laptop. i'm really keen to buy but i also need to know that i can have it on more than one computer based in different locations. What i obviously don't want to do is have to buy it for each computer...thanks for help/advice suggestions.

[LuckyMisfit]

Has anyone bought this download and downloaded it onto more than one pc/laptop. i'm really keen to buy but i also need to know that i can have it on more than one computer based in different locations. What i obviously don't want to do is have to buy it for each computer...thanks for help/advice suggestions.

I've being using HST for about 6months now.

At the moment for convenience I have High Speed Thai installed on both my home and work laptops without any issues.

During the 6 months I've also I've moved job and I wrote off one personal laptop. As such I've made a total of four installs with no issues in this period.

One thing to note is that all installations have to be activated so I assume there is a limit on the amount of activations (of some of the audio files). All files are also watermarked with your personal details.

The only issue I've come across with multiple installs is that the anki user data is not synchronised. It's not a real issue as Anki is only one part of the programme and if I know the information, re-completing an exercise just reinforces my learning, and I can fly though it.

Overall I have found this to be an excellent programme which I would recommend.