Workshop In Chiangmai: Learn To Read Thai In 4 Afternoons

[richard10365]

You can study at Payap University (120 hours) and get a visa for only 20,200 baht.

Payap's Intensive Thai Program

[engrin]

RapidLL, contacted me and was able to trace my purchase and gave me a full refund. Very professional. Thank you.

[RapidMethod]

Thai Visa Promotional Offer

OK, here's the deal: buy the online course for 2,750 baht and then come to the first session on Saturday July 9 for free. The coffees and cakes are on me.

Even if you don't complete the workshop series, you will still have a very firm grounding for completing the rest of the course online by yourself at your own convenience.

I'm hoping you'll want to attend the remaining workshops, in which case I'll reduce the price depending on your circumstances on a case by case basis.

I want you to show off your newfound literacy skills to your friends.

All I ask is that you publish a short review of your experiences (good or bad) on TV and also on www.facebook.com/rapidlanguagelearning in the I did it discussion topic.

[mallmagician]

What a refreshing professional response to criticism. Well done. I am more interested in this than certain other institutions that I now feel don't deserve my business. Will give this some serious thought.

Thai Visa Promotional Offer

OK, here's the deal: buy the online course for 2,750 baht and then come to the first session on Saturday July 9 for free. The coffees and cakes are on me.

Even if you don't complete the workshop series, you will still have a very firm grounding for completing the rest of the course online by yourself at your own convenience.

I'm hoping you'll want to attend the remaining workshops, in which case I'll reduce the price depending on your circumstances on a case by case basis.

I want you to show off your newfound literacy skills to your friends.

All I ask is that you publish a short review of your experiences (good or bad) on TV and also on www.facebook.com/rapidlanguagelearning in the I did it discussion topic.

[PlanetX]

What a refreshing professional response to criticism. Well done. I am more interested in this than certain other institutions that I now feel don't deserve my business. Will give this some serious thought.

Thai Visa Promotional Offer

OK, here's the deal: buy the online course for 2,750 baht and then come to the first session on Saturday July 9 for free. The coffees and cakes are on me.

Even if you don't complete the workshop series, you will still have a very firm grounding for completing the rest of the course online by yourself at your own convenience.

I'm hoping you'll want to attend the remaining workshops, in which case I'll reduce the price depending on your circumstances on a case by case basis.

I want you to show off your newfound literacy skills to your friends.

All I ask is that you publish a short review of your experiences (good or bad) on TV and also on www.facebook.com/rapidlanguagelearning in the I did it discussion topic.

I too really appreciated this effort and bought the online course today. I really enjoyed the free material that is offered on the website so I am looking forward to the course and the first session.

[THAIPHUKET]

It was the unconventional approach that fascinated me, hence I signed up for the complete course.

I believe the educational systems everywhere are too slow in trying/ applying advances in alternative learning.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

Or do it properly in 60 hours of lessons at the YMCA for 4,000bht

I have heard of this YMCA classes. Can any one tell me more please. Where is the YMCA and about the class

[NancyL]

Or do it properly in 60 hours of lessons at the YMCA for 4,000bht

I have heard of this YMCA classes. Can any one tell me more please. Where is the YMCA and about the class

The YMCA is located near the Kad Suan Kaew mall. In case I have trouble posting the link you can use google to find it with the search words "YMCA thai language class Chiang Mai"

http://www.ymcachiangmai.org/newym/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=66&lang=en

[PlanetX]

Went to the first session on saturday.

I really enjoyed it. At the end of the 4 hour session I was able to recognize and sound out the main consonants and some of the vowels. I was also able to read some small basic words which I felt great about.

If you want to READ Thai I would definitely check out his website and review the free material to see if it works for you. The pictures definitely stuck in my head and most importantly it was fun and gave me confidence that I could do it.

I originally just bought the online program for the 1st session free promotion but will sign up for the entire workshop. I really enjoyed it.

[F4UCorsair]

This reminds me of many years ago when I had to learn morse code, and a guy in Sydney had this supposedly revolutionary 'association' system that enable one to 'learn morse code in a day', and taking 15 words (75 symbols through a headset) per minute the next day.

He based that, somewhat deceptively, on being able to learn four morse symbols in an hour, extrapolating that to the entire 26 in less than seven hours. The first four were E (a single dot), I (two dots), T (a single dash), and M (two dashes).

Then is became difficult with Q (- - . -) and Y (- . - -) and a dozen similarly confusing letters/symbols.

I spent a few years in Japan, and apart from kanji (Chinese symbols writing) with 6000 current symbols and 3000 in daily use, there are two alphabets, identical sounds, but different symbols, with 106 characters in each, and there is no easy way to learn. Some kanji symbols have 20+ brush/pen strokes, and they must be made in a particular order.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is a scam, but it's my view that at best it's an exaggerated claim. It does the business owner no good except short term financial gain if paying customers don't achieve at the advertised rate.

The offer the RapidLL makes is a generous one and he must be confident of his system. Good luck with it, and I wish you success.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Not everyone will remember every single consonant and vowel in 4 afternoons. But they will definitely understand the concepts involved in Thai writing, and be able to apply them sucessfully. After understanding the concepts, all you need to do is buy a 40 baht alphabet poster for kids, but it on your toilet wall and look at it everyday while taking a dump.

[sfokevin]

Is this the same Class that has been advertised recently to the Expats Club for 8,000 baht and includes the online access free?

[THAIPHUKET]

PlanetX says it all. I was there too, it does work, some will be faster, some slower, naturally.

Try to be a bit more positive about this world, not everyone is out to get you.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Try to be a bit more positive about this world, not everyone is out to get you.

[RapidMethod]

4FU, what can I do to convince people like you? You haven't even bothered to check it out yourself with the copious amount of free material available on my website - and yet you tell all and sundry that if it's not a scam it must be dishonest is some way!

I had 10 people in my class yesterday and all except two people managed to easily read dozens of simple words by the end of the afternoon. (The two who didn't hadn't done the prerequisite preparation, so they were a bit overwhelmed at being hit by so many unfamiliar concepts all at once.)

Remember Roger Bannister? For years, the 4-minute mile was considered not merely unreachable but, according to physiologists of the time, dangerous to the health of any athlete who attempted to reach it!

But what was even more remarkable than the fact that Roger Bannister did it was the fact that John Landy (who had tried but failed to break this "impossible" physiological barrier) was able to do it about 6 weeks after Bannister did it. And within the same year, 16 other runners managed to achieve it too.

It wasn't so much that Bannister was a freak of some kind, but simply the fact that everybody else at the time believed that it was impossible. Nowadays, there is nothing particularly special about doing the mile in 4 minutes. In fact the record now is something like 3 minutes 43 seconds!

Using similar 'Rapid' techniques, it won't take as long as one day to learn the Morse Code, but to achieve 15 words a minute would require several hours of physical practising. I started to work on a system for the Morse Code several years ago, but abandoned it because who's going to want it?

Now, Japanese and Chinese is a different matter. I'm developing a 'Rapid' system for Japanese now, and will expand it to Chinese also. The "kana" are relatively easy to learn (much easier than Thai) and this can be learnt in about a day (compared with 16 hours for Thai).

The kanji or hanzi will require a lot more time, simply because there are so many more characters (3,000 for Japanese, about double to be practically fluent for Chinese).

But it won't take 12 years to learn them, like it does for native speakers who spend an hour every day practising to write the characters. I'm not sure yet because it's not completed yet, but I think one can learn the kanji in about 1-3 years and the hanzi in about 2-5 years - just doing 10-20 minutes a day.

That's pretty remarkable, considering how long it takes native Japanese or Chinese to learn to read their own language!

But, like you, their education system focuses on the "niceties" rather than on what's practical. It is completely unnecessary to practice writing the characters, nor to remember the stroke order. Once you dispense with this need to master calligraphy, the task becomes much more managable.

The 'Rapid' method takes a picture and spins a mini-epic around it, which encapsulates many things you need to know about the letter. In Thai, it'll be the sound, the sex (class), the distinguishing features of the letter (which helps to recognize the stylized modern fonts) and from this the appropriate tone to apply.

For kanji and hanzi, the same thing will be required, except that the stories are more convoluted. One doesn't need to concern oneself with tones in Japanese, but each kanji has at least two sounds, one for Japanese, the other from Chinese, plus it's meaning. I'm reading some kanji at the moment - I have no idea how to say them in Japanese but I know what they mean. I'm also learning spoken Japanese, also using the 'Rapid' system, but I still have to marry the two features together. As with Thai, being able to read kanji significantly accelerates the learning of spoken Japanese.

As for hanzi, there is usually only one sound for each character, but it usually has a tone. This actually makes things a lot easier. Every language has tones, so it's quite easy to find a way to "attach" a tone to each word.

And, actually, I'm starting to find that kanji/hanzi are not all that difficult to learn after all, once you've achieved the first 400 or so basic characters. The next 3,000 characters are combinations of the first 400, so it's just a matter of elaborating the stories. If you know one character is "moon" and the other character is "sun" then seeing both of them in the sky at the same time will make an otherwise dull day much "brighter"...

In a way, Japanese and Chinese are the same in terms of the quantity of facts you need to learn. For Japanese, there are at least two sounds for each character, so even though there are (only) 3,000 characters, you still end up learning as many 'factoids' as in Chinese, which has many more characters to learn. If you start with Japanese first, you get to learn a good chunk of Chinese as a free bonus. But if you start with Chinese, you will already know most of the Japanese kanji and all the Chinese sounds, so there won't be that much extra to learn.

The first phase of Rapid Chinese (for beginners) should be available about this time next year.

So hasta la vista, baby

[F4UCorsair]

RapidLL, I'm not going to get into a pi$$ing contest with you. I did not say it was 'dishonest in some way' but that "in my opinion it was an exaggerated claim." If you don't understand the difference, then perhaps your comprehension is such that you shouldn't be teaching a language??

I used the analogy of learning morse code and how some symbols are significantly easier to learn than others so it's no surprise that some students managed to "read dozens of simple words by the afternoon".

If students have to do preparatory work, then does it meet the claim that is advertised. Am I required to do a number of hours work at home PRIOR to a lesson to meet the advertised claim?? Isn't that self taught?

Once again, the easy morse code symbols are just that, easy, but more complex symbols are easy to confuse with others, just as the further one gets into learning a language, the more difficult it becomes.

Association learning systems have been around as long as learning itself, and the only comment I would make on yours is that the 'U Boat" association for letter 'B' is so quirky (both the symbol and using the second letter) that it's tenuous at best; not a criticism, but my observation only and others may see it quite differently.

Let me tell you that even with a 'rapid learning system' one will not reach receiving 15 words per minute standard in 'several hours of physical practising", and that's an absurd claim. You probably made a wise decision not pursuing an 'easy' system of learning morse code. I don't think even pilots use it these days.

Re learning Kanji, I worked with Japanese in their 40's who couldn't tell me what signs written in kanji meant and they'd learnt it from prep!! Imagine when there were 12,000 symbols to learn, presumably before the hiragana alphabet was created.

I said you'd made a generous offer and wished you luck. What more can I do?? Write in in blood??

That's the end of it for me. I am entitled to an opinion and I expressed it. You've done the same, but misrepresented what I said.

[THAIPHUKET]

haven't we seen enough of such patronizing comments in the long running WalenSchool thread? Any slightest divergent thinking is enough to launch personal attacks.

Fortunately closed by moderators.

[jdinasia]

I do invite people to go back and look at both the Poll and the OP.

For those that found the session to meet their needs/expectations I say --- Great!

My opinion hasn't changed and isn't likely to change. I have no stake in the success or failure of participants. (I would suggest that those who ponied up 16K might have a stake in it)

With 16 hours of instruction AND doing homework you should be able to learn the alphabet just using any old coloring book with the added advantage of being able to spell something out if you need to on the phone etc ... which you would not be able to do with the program offered here. Yes I have had to spell a word or two out when speaking to Thais, but more to the point so has my Thai BF.

[PlanetX]

I do invite people to go back and look at both the Poll and the OP.

For those that found the session to meet their needs/expectations I say --- Great!

My opinion hasn't changed and isn't likely to change. I have no stake in the success or failure of participants. (I would suggest that those who ponied up 16K might have a stake in it)

With 16 hours of instruction AND doing homework you should be able to learn the alphabet just using any old coloring book with the added advantage of being able to spell something out if you need to on the phone etc ... which you would not be able to do with the program offered here. Yes I have had to spell a word or two out when speaking to Thais, but more to the point so has my Thai BF.

I really dont find these comments helpful because you have no interest in the program and already have the mindset that your opinion isnt likely to change

[jdinasia]

I do invite people to go back and look at both the Poll and the OP.

For those that found the session to meet their needs/expectations I say --- Great!

My opinion hasn't changed and isn't likely to change. I have no stake in the success or failure of participants. (I would suggest that those who ponied up 16K might have a stake in it)

With 16 hours of instruction AND doing homework you should be able to learn the alphabet just using any old coloring book with the added advantage of being able to spell something out if you need to on the phone etc ... which you would not be able to do with the program offered here. Yes I have had to spell a word or two out when speaking to Thais, but more to the point so has my Thai BF.

I really dont find these comments helpful because you have no interest in the program and already have the mindset that your opinion isnt likely to change

"I would suggest that those that have ponied up 16K might have a stake in it", because to have spent so much for something that is available elsewhere more affordably AND that teaches you the proper names of the vowels and consonants that at some point you WILL have to know might be embarrassing.

feel free to see post 4 in this thread ....

and note my explanations there and in the post that you quoted here already.

[PlanetX]

I do invite people to go back and look at both the Poll and the OP.

For those that found the session to meet their needs/expectations I say --- Great!

My opinion hasn't changed and isn't likely to change. I have no stake in the success or failure of participants. (I would suggest that those who ponied up 16K might have a stake in it)

With 16 hours of instruction AND doing homework you should be able to learn the alphabet just using any old coloring book with the added advantage of being able to spell something out if you need to on the phone etc ... which you would not be able to do with the program offered here. Yes I have had to spell a word or two out when speaking to Thais, but more to the point so has my Thai BF.

I really dont find these comments helpful because you have no interest in the program and already have the mindset that your opinion isnt likely to change

"I would suggest that those that have ponied up 16K might have a stake in it", because to have spent so much for something that is available elsewhere more affordably AND that teaches you the proper names of the vowels and consonants that at some point you WILL have to know might be embarrassing.

feel free to see post 4 in this thread .... http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4524218

and note my explanations there and in the post that you quoted here already.

Obviously you have strong opinions on something that you are not willing to try yourself and also feel the need to discredit those that have actually tried it by saying they are foolish with their money.

All I know is I actually did try it, liked it, and was very excited about the results

I learned a long time ago that some TV posters absolutely must have an opinion on EVERYTHING and if you disagree with said OPINION expect a slew of nonsensical posts

[jdinasia]

PlanetX --- you need to go back and reread what I have written.

For those that found the session to meet their needs/expectations I say --- Great!

I don't need what is on offer. I read Thai. If I have a question I can ring up my BF and ask him what a word means (rarely ever happens) and spell the word to him. Something you won't be able to do with "U-Boat".

What I did say is that people who pay for it have a stake in the outcome.

I don't THINK I said anything nonsensical (nor aggressive .. etc)

I do invite you again to tale a look at the poll, the topic, the questions asked and answered.

So, again, for those that found that the session met their needs and expectations I say, Great!

[PlanetX]

PlanetX --- you need to go back and reread what I have written.

For those that found the session to meet their needs/expectations I say --- Great!

I don't need what is on offer. I read Thai. If I have a question I can ring up my BF and ask him what a word means (rarely ever happens) and spell the word to him. Something you won't be able to do with "U-Boat".

What I did say is that people who pay for it have a stake in the outcome.

I don't THINK I said anything nonsensical (nor aggressive .. etc)

I do invite you again to tale a look at the poll, the topic, the questions asked and answered.

So, again, for those that found that the session met their needs and expectations I say, Great!

If you don't need the offer and already read Thai plus have the resource of a TBF, why are you all over this thread?

[jdinasia]

Because the OP asked for opinions? (One of the reasons I invited you to look at the OP, thread title, and poll, again ) And yes, the sponsor deserves kudos for being open to criticism and asking for it

I am interested in Thai language, (and Lao and Khmer) and tend to participate in threads about things that interest me. (I also have the resources of 4 co-workers and 15 employees and various friends/clients/colleagues)

Yet again, if the session worked for you and met your needs/expectations ..... Great!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

PlanetX --- you need to go back and reread what I have written.

For those that found the session to meet their needs/expectations I say --- Great!

I don't need what is on offer. I read Thai. If I have a question I can ring up my BF and ask him what a word means (rarely ever happens) and spell the word to him. Something you won't be able to do with "U-Boat".

What I did say is that people who pay for it have a stake in the outcome.

I don't THINK I said anything nonsensical (nor aggressive .. etc)

I do invite you again to tale a look at the poll, the topic, the questions asked and answered.

So, again, for those that found that the session met their needs and expectations I say, Great!

If you don't need the offer and already read Thai plus have the resource of a TBF, why are you all over this thread?

For the silly bickering.

You'd think he could get his share of that in the News subforum.

Some people just like the drama over nothing.

[jdinasia]

Thanks winnie .. I, as always, appreciate your well considered input

[F4UCorsair]

I'm with you jdinasia.

I offered an opinion and was swamped by the purveyor of the rapid learning course for expressing my opinion and daring to suggest that anybody could not learn morse code to a receiving speed of 15 words per minute in just a few hours.

I thought I was more than generous. I may yet take him up on his offer of the free introductory course though, and if I was harsh in may assessment, he will receive an apology.

[jayinoz]

Good work to attempt to get 'true' anonymous feedback. As you will only hear the truth from newby's to advanced in Thai reading, writing and speaking via anonymous forums.

Most need a push start or serious motivation to keep it up IMO or you get lazy with just knowing the 500 odd words\phrases that you can 'get by on' . Visualization, seeing and doing is the best method for most in learning anything new- as it has been proven for most. Most wish too... yet the motivation lacks to follow through and long termers can even get embarrassed that they did not take the time and effort. Then never bother and stick to key expat areas- which is fine for most. Real incentives need to be there... just as with anything. This is the greatest hurdle IMO. We all come up with excuses unless it an essential NEED or VALUE for us to learn more. Or most (95%+) will just wish to get by... such as in nearly everything in life IMO.

The free half day a good idea.... conversion rate will be poorer than expected I feel. Yet a lot better than if nothing offered.

All of us need to be focused, motivated and learn the way you feel is fastest for you. Most may not have tried accelerated learning (Visual queues) and it never sticks unless you reapply daily for a few months. Then you need to use at least weekly and preferably daily. Yet after being in classes or learning online- getting out and applying by doing is the only real way.

Compared to the schools of AUA, and others listed it is very expensive. That is a 'give me' unless great ongoing support offered. Having done AUA it was good... yet back to homeland on a contract and most lost. The best in AUA would apply that lesson in real life to real people and 2-3 guys advanced far faster than the rest of us.Others more naturally born\self taught to learn languages as a buddy could speak and write very fluent Thai in less than 3 intensive months. Plus knows 15 or so others.... gifted yet has cues plastered all over his Condo walls and visual DIY methods when in intense learning phase. He can apply his learning to anything, so chooses all languages. Sounds similar to RLL method.

I think you know you need to bring overall pricing down to get more students or offer a lot of ongoing support for the rates. That comes with a guarantee- knowing some around here they will exercise the guarantee. Personally I would follow up often on those who applied for free lessons on Web Site or attended freebees. As offering x4 over period of month, most will think NO something will come up and I cannot attend. Adding that attendees may come along to following missed days will add value. Plus some sort of ongoing support is promoted. Good sales Reps can be trained to follow up on all that applied over web, phone, classes, etc. My 2 cents.

Cheers JAY