jonboy Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Does anybody have any information about these guys? http://www.olainter.ac.th/index.html Apparently just 12,500 for 1 year ED visa(online). Dont see any links on Thaivisa for them?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristo Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 hmmm prices looks clearly cheaper than other providers. you wanna get ED visa? i am looking for it too. do you need to see a link on this website to rely on them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meithai Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the info OP, I also want to do another course of Thai, have to be careful here though, nothing is ever set in stone here!!! Previously I signed up with what I thought was one of the best universities in the land, Chiang Mai Uni, Paid for a 1 year course, they shut the course down after 5 months due to internal corruption issues involving an Australian running the course, the new language deptartment director told me in person. P.S. Still no compensation to date!!! I am still P+ssed Off!!! Back to the subject I have emailed a set of questions to Ola, let's see what they say. Edited June 12, 2011 by meithai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digital Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I signed up for this recently. Price is very good and I have not complaints so far, although i have not started the actual lessons yet. I have all the documents ready to get the visa from KL at the end of this month, they got the Moe letter quickly and returned all documents by post. They told me they guarantee "1000%" will get visa and extensions for 1 year. they also have this websiste... pasathaionline dot com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I doubt you will get 1 year extensions, I think you will get 90 day extensions. 1 year extensions are nrmally only given to university students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digital Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I doubt you will get 1 year extensions, I think you will get 90 day extensions. 1 year extensions are nrmally only given to university students. yes this is what i meant, Initial Visa 90 days + 90 day immigration extensions for duration of 1 year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 It seems the course price is for 1 year, but if you want you can study longer and pay for another year. As long as you study you can get the 90 day extensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonboy Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 Seems too good to be true. I did a search 1 week ago and the cheapest I found was 22,000 baht. The others were around the 25-30k price. Why is this one so much cheaper? (not that I'm complaining....just don't wanna get stung) Anybody else used them already? Thanks for the input digital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESB7 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 'Too good to be true'..... ..whats good about having to spend almost 40-50K just to stay here for a year...initial visa, travel, hotels, extensions, course fees.....anyone that spends that amount must be blooming crazy..why not just go to Cambodia, get a business visa $250 for a year and better still you can even work behind a bar!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supaprik Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) sounds rather cheap but when you add in the other expenses as ESB7 noted its not really cheap but I do agree by comparison to their peers it seems to be, the only thing I would add is if you are REALLY interested in learning Thai, online is NOT the way to do it.IMO, you really need interaction with native speakers to get anywhere but to each their own, good luck which ever way you go Edited June 13, 2011 by supaprik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCA Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) Their other website seems to infer that there is no spoken tuition - this is an "assistant tool". I understand Walen School uses Skype and Yahoo Messenger and there are scheduled lessons to take part in with a teacher, so this might be why this one is so cheap: Perfect assistant tool when study Thai with a teacher Even you are studying with a Thai LanguageTime teacher, online self-study course is still very useful as it is compatible with the textbook. It's perfect for class preparation and review. http://www.pasathaio...ine-page-2.html Edited to say, oops, I've just seen this on their site too - "Just connect a headset (webcams are optional) to your computer (Windows, Macintosh, or Linux), and you can learn Thai online in real time from highly experienced, native Thai teachers." So I'm none the wiser. Maybe poster 'digital' who has signed up with them has some details on the class structure and content? Edited June 13, 2011 by TCA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meithai Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I signed up for this recently. Price is very good and I have not complaints so far, although i have not started the actual lessons yet. I have all the documents ready to get the visa from KL at the end of this month, they got the Moe letter quickly and returned all documents by post. They told me they guarantee "1000%" will get visa and extensions for 1 year. they also have this websiste... pasathaionline dot com When will you start your course? I would love to hear your opinion of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 There are a lot of competitors on the market. If you go with Walen you will get good quality and reliable service. If you want to spend less there are definitely cheaper schools but you get what you pay for. If that school got in trouble with the immigration do not fool yourself, you will be in trouble too and explaining to the immigration that you thought they were a good school etc will not help much. Walen School - ED visa most reliable assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meithai Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 There are a lot of competitors on the market. If you go with Walen you will get good quality and reliable service. If you want to spend less there are definitely cheaper schools but you get what you pay for. If that school got in trouble with the immigration do not fool yourself, you will be in trouble too and explaining to the immigration that you thought they were a good school etc will not help much. Walen School - ED visa most reliable assistance. And what is it that you are actually implying here, '' If that school got in trouble with the immigration,'' Mr. competition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
block2 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Anyone actually find the link on their site to test out the demo course? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) There are a lot of competitors on the market. If you go with Walen you will get good quality and reliable service. If you want to spend less there are definitely cheaper schools but you get what you pay for. If that school got in trouble with the immigration do not fool yourself, you will be in trouble too and explaining to the immigration that you thought they were a good school etc will not help much. Walen School - ED visa most reliable assistance. And what is it that you are actually implying here, '' If that school got in trouble with the immigration,'' Mr. competition? Yes, at least one school that I know is in history books now and students blacklisted. They also had very good deals, but unfortunately no more. Just feel sorry for the students who got in trouble. Guys, I am fine with competition, we have a lot of students so no problem here. You can go for the very cheapest school available and expect first class service. Still Walen is here if you needed reliable service, not the cheapest though. 22,000 is quite common price, you can save 200 baht a month. With Walen you can also get what you will not get with any other school, but this is a different topic. Edited June 13, 2011 by MacWalen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCA Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 If you want to spend less there are definitely cheaper schools but you get what you pay for. If that school got in trouble with the immigration do not fool yourself, you will be in trouble too and explaining to the immigration that you thought they were a good school etc will not help much. Walen School - ED visa most reliable assistance. Why would a student get into trouble with immigration if he/she has enrolled with a school which is accredited and authorised by the Ministry of Education? Does this not mean that its teaching methods (and presumably attendance/online class completion records) have been recognised as acceptable? If it's good enough for the MoE to issue the paperwork for a visa (and subsequent visa to be issued by a Thai consulate), under what circumstances would a student find themselves in difficulty if he/she had complied with the study requirements which had been authorised by the MoE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonboy Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 If you want to spend less there are definitely cheaper schools but you get what you pay for. If that school got in trouble with the immigration do not fool yourself, you will be in trouble too and explaining to the immigration that you thought they were a good school etc will not help much. Walen School - ED visa most reliable assistance. Why would a student get into trouble with immigration if he/she has enrolled with a school which is accredited and authorised by the Ministry of Education? Does this not mean that its teaching methods (and presumably attendance/online class completion records) have been recognised as acceptable? If it's good enough for the MoE to issue the paperwork for a visa (and subsequent visa to be issued by a Thai consulate), under what circumstances would a student find themselves in difficulty if he/she had complied with the study requirements which had been authorised by the MoE? Exactly. It seems to me MacWalen is trying out his scare tactics. MacWalen unless you have any real evidence please refrain from bad mouthing them. I only want first hand experiences. Has anybody else other than digital signed up with them or even heard of them before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meithai Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) See this previous thread: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/411471-learning-thai-online-with-skype/ Edited June 16, 2011 by Lite Beer Off topic comment edited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swissie Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 'Too good to be true'..... ..whats good about having to spend almost 40-50K just to stay here for a year...initial visa, travel, hotels, extensions, course fees.....anyone that spends that amount must be blooming crazy..why not just go to Cambodia, get a business visa $250 for a year and better still you can even work behind a bar!!!!! Due to the never ending visa-circus in Thailand, I am considering as an alternative to have my place of residence in Cambodia instead of Thailand in the future. (And whenever I feel the urge to visit Thailand, it's just a short hop away by plane.) Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) If you want to spend less there are definitely cheaper schools but you get what you pay for. If that school got in trouble with the immigration do not fool yourself, you will be in trouble too and explaining to the immigration that you thought they were a good school etc will not help much. Walen School - ED visa most reliable assistance. Why would a student get into trouble with immigration if he/she has enrolled with a school which is accredited and authorised by the Ministry of Education? Does this not mean that its teaching methods (and presumably attendance/online class completion records) have been recognised as acceptable? If it's good enough for the MoE to issue the paperwork for a visa (and subsequent visa to be issued by a Thai consulate), under what circumstances would a student find themselves in difficulty if he/she had complied with the study requirements which had been authorised by the MoE? Exactly. It seems to me MacWalen is trying out his scare tactics. MacWalen unless you have any real evidence please refrain from bad mouthing them. I only want first hand experiences. Has anybody else other than digital signed up with them or even heard of them before? I've told a real story. Do as you want. The good news is that Walen can do better as people can study at our school totally for free. We have a way to reduce cost of study at Walen to 0 Baht. Walen School - you can study for free Edited June 15, 2011 by MacWalen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 If you want to spend less there are definitely cheaper schools but you get what you pay for. If that school got in trouble with the immigration do not fool yourself, you will be in trouble too and explaining to the immigration that you thought they were a good school etc will not help much. Walen School - ED visa most reliable assistance. Why would a student get into trouble with immigration if he/she has enrolled with a school which is accredited and authorised by the Ministry of Education? Does this not mean that its teaching methods (and presumably attendance/online class completion records) have been recognised as acceptable? If it's good enough for the MoE to issue the paperwork for a visa (and subsequent visa to be issued by a Thai consulate), under what circumstances would a student find themselves in difficulty if he/she had complied with the study requirements which had been authorised by the MoE? If a school despite registration does things not the right way that school can lose a license from the Ministry of Education. It happened before, I know at least two examples, the most famous one is Chiangmai University. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacWalen Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 See this previous thread: http://www.thaivisa....ine-with-skype/ Walen online courses are real courses with real teachers in real time, not just receiving some study materials by email. More or less the same as in a classroom, very popular. School in question does not offer this kind of courses from what I understand, in any case that would not be Walen anyway and the interest here seems to be in an ED visa alone never mind learning Thai. Walen School - leader in teaching Thai online Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 the skype topic was interesting as it seemed that no-one really was licensed to do it. But I would also like to know about the OLA course, but not interested in the VISA. I emailed them, but still no reply (2 days and counting). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 the topic is about OLA and who they are. So does anyone else know of them, no advertisements for other language centers or other comments please. I have sent them an email, but as of yet no reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybangkok Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I was looking infos on schools for having ed-visa . On May 23rd I went to Time Square Walen School and ask informations regarding the processus to obtain one. The office girl give good advise and I had made the choice right away to go to this school. I tell her that I have to go out of Thailand June 8 as my visa expire on this date.. I ask her if the whole process of papers will be ok for this date. She tell me that it may take 2 to 4 weeks to have the papers back to the school. I ask her if she assure me to have the papers on time. She cannot assure me. But she tell me that if I want to speed up the process I have to pay 5,000 bahts more right away and she promise me that the papers will arrive in 10 days. Also I have to give in advance the 25,000 bahts for the course. I suddenly back off and tell her I want to think about it. I went to another school . Same good advise for the girl for the infos. I explain my situation & tell her that I have to go out of Thailand June 8. No problems she tell me. The papers will arrive within 10 days. Are you sure I ask. Yes absolutely sure. So I paid a deposit of 15,000 b ,the rest payable when she received the papers. 8 days later May 31 she call me and said she have received the papers. I was very happy. I went therre paid the rest of the course, went to Laos and come back with my ed-visa The question is WHY Walen school charge 5,000 b for having a visa in 10 days if other school can have the same visa in 8 days FREE of charge Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonboy Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 the topic is about OLA and who they are. So does anyone else know of them, no advertisements for other language centers or other comments please. I have sent them an email, but as of yet no reply. As Beano said....back on topic please. Has anybody else used OLA school yet? Also Beano I sent them an email (I sent direct to them and didnt use their online message form) and received a message back from them in just a few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digital Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Here is what has happened for me so far if its of any use to anybody: 14 May: Transfer payment to bank account 19 May: I sent completed application forms which was sent to me by mail, passport copies, education certificate copies, 7 photo's. 20 May Documents I sent EMS arrived with OLA. 1 June: OLA email me to say they have the documents ready now and send back same day registered post. 8 June: Documents arrived to my address ....In English: Class enrollment form confirmation, Letter of accepting admission. ....In Thai: letter requesting Visa, original & copy of MOE approval letter, 6 page document that looks like the schools registration, copy of house registration, copy of ID card. I've always had quick replies to my emails (except for 1 which was next day), sent 4 mails before payments and more during and after. I am going to KL end of the month to obtain my Ed-Visa. They said to me they have more than 30 student now in Phuket and Krabi and guarantee 1000% there is no problem for visa and 3 month extensions. (I asked about Phuket because this is where I will go for extensions) There is 1 hour per week of live Skype lessons and they will send lessons every week ( I took this to mean 1 hour of taught lessons per week plus the rest self study, there is something on the website about daily quizzes and tests + video chat room for practice with other students). Since I signed up they now seem to have some arrangement with island tefl who now seem to be handling the appliactions/marketing (think??) School started in 2532 (1989?) I think from trying to understand the documents. I am scheduled to start lessons 1st August. Any more questions I will share what I know, will post back after getting Visa and once lessons start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieWhite Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) Hi there, I can confirm that this totally legit and above board. Also has endorsement from the Thai Ministry of Education. Also, there are no hidden costs it is a flat fee of 12,500 baht. If anyone wishes to take advantage of this please do not hesitate to private message me and I will provide all the information. We have had many satisfied customers. We have testimonials etc from these people. Edited for spelling! Edited June 15, 2011 by RichieWhite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meithai Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 (edited) Here is what has happened for me so far if its of any use to anybody: 14 May: Transfer payment to bank account 19 May: I sent completed application forms which was sent to me by mail, passport copies, education certificate copies, 7 photo's. 20 May Documents I sent EMS arrived with OLA. 1 June: OLA email me to say they have the documents ready now and send back same day registered post. 8 June: Documents arrived to my address ....In English: Class enrollment form confirmation, Letter of accepting admission. ....In Thai: letter requesting Visa, original & copy of MOE approval letter, 6 page document that looks like the schools registration, copy of house registration, copy of ID card. I've always had quick replies to my emails (except for 1 which was next day), sent 4 mails before payments and more during and after. I am going to KL end of the month to obtain my Ed-Visa. They said to me they have more than 30 student now in Phuket and Krabi and guarantee 1000% there is no problem for visa and 3 month extensions. (I asked about Phuket because this is where I will go for extensions) There is 1 hour per week of live Skype lessons and they will send lessons every week ( I took this to mean 1 hour of taught lessons per week plus the rest self study, there is something on the website about daily quizzes and tests + video chat room for practice with other students). Since I signed up they now seem to have some arrangement with island tefl who now seem to be handling the appliactions/marketing (think??) School started in 2532 (1989?) I think from trying to understand the documents. I am scheduled to start lessons 1st August. Any more questions I will share what I know, will post back after getting Visa and once lessons start. Thanks for the update on the subject. Sounds good so far. I would love to hear that they can provide, then I will sign up to practice more Thai. It does look like a group, Ola International & Island Tefl around since 89, but I have my reservations because pasathaionlie.com was created in: Creation Date: 28-mar-2011 You can check here: http://who.godaddy.c...prog_id=GoDaddy Although, I am not saying there is anything wrong with a new start up, I just want to know they can deliver. P'S. digital. They told me I would be doing 200 hours, if you did 1 hour a week, it would take you around 4 years to complete. Edited June 15, 2011 by meithai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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