Japanese Course

[Gingertea]

Understand this is the thai language forum, just wonder if anyone can suggest me the good language school to study Japanese. In fact, I am learning private at TPA but the course fee is quite expensive. I was told Pimmitr located at Trandy plaza is not bad. Does anyone even studied or studying at this school? Any comments?

[Tod Daniels]

Sorry, I’ve got no knowledge of Piammitr's Japanese course.

You also don’t mention your nationality (so the following may not apply to you), but;

The school known as TLS in the Times Square Building offers a Japanese course for Thais.

Here's their website;

TLS - Japanese Program

The class I observed was taught IN Thai (and Japanese). It used a Thai based phonetic system along with the Japanese and Thai script to get you speaking pretty quickly.

I can’t read or speak a SINGLE word of Japanese ; but I can read Thai pretty well .

When I sat in on their class, I was able to read along in the books, understand what the teacher was explaining and reproduce the vocabulary words pretty well.

The Thai students in that class sure got a kick out of an American native English speaker learning Japanese by using the Thai language . After the class the teacher even told me, for a foreigner , I was pretty close with my pronunciation! (I didn't bother to point out as far as learning Japanese the Thais were actually "foreigners" too.)

[Gaccha]

My three reasons for commenting:

1. I studied Thai at Piammitr

2. I know and chatted to the Japanese Language Teachers (one Thai and one Japanese)

3. I speak a very high level of Japanese

Piammitr is cheap as chips (about 5,000 baht a month). The staff always tried hard and I can't see what else they could do to make things better.

The Japanese teachers seemed just as professional and my conversations with them were enjoyable.

My Japanese improved while studying there because of the sheer number of Japanese students in the Thai learning programme. I was the de facto translator. I even did the questionnaire translation for Piammitir.

Your alternative of TLS is interesting. The owner has published a few books and appeared on Japanese TV. I have one of his books as a useful Thai-Japanese vocab builder (if I say it once I say it a hundred times-- Why is there no vocab builder book in English??).

A further alternative is the Japan Foundation. This is the Japanese equivalent of the British Council etc. It has a **very** wide range of courses. I recall a course on listening to Japanese soap operas to improve listening ability.

I think any of your choices will be okay.

[Monokuro]

Waseda has the reputation as being the best (full time) Japanese school in Bangkok - but it's not cheap and the work load is intense.

Lessons are taught totally in Japanese (which seems rare for Thailand) so you really get immersed.

[Gingertea]

Thanks for all the information!!

I called TLS Silom and Piammitr and glad to learn that they allow me to join their group lesson. Btw, I'm from Hong Kong, studied thai at UTL until level 4. I'm able to handle basic conversation with Thais, read and write basic thai.

Why I said 'allow'? Becos all the language schools I called before strongly discourage me to study group lesson becos I'm not Thais, according to the staffs I should not be able to understand when comes to grammar learning. That's why I studying private lesson.

You know what? I signed up 24 hours with the 1st school and they changed 3 teachers for me. The 2nd school is very costly, 788 bht /hour and takes me 240 hours to finish Minna no nihongo book 1 & 2.

Actually, do I need to be very good in thai then can study with group?