School In Bkk For A 9 Yr Old Thai Girl

[Nepal4me]

Satri Sri Suryothai in Bang Rak(a very good "royal" school just off New Road) or Assumption College. There's a good school in Din Daeng called Mae Phra Fatima. There Mater Dei on Ploen Jit road, which in my opinion is the best value for money in Central Bkk.

There's the Sacred Heart in klong Toey. There's Santa Cruz across the river near Wat Arun. There's heaps of them in fact.

There are a couple of excellent ones near Chinatown

Thanks to Neeranam for the above. Yes, it's the same question as before but w/o the question on the value of a 9 yr old niece living with us.

If I could get a bit more information on potential good schools fairly centrally located in BKK I'd really appreciate it. Any thoughts or experiences had by others at these schools would be great. Ok, to back up, my wife's 9 year old niece is coming to live with us and I need to find an appropriate school to put her into. She's Thai, speaks virtually no English now but is a very bright student at her village school which of course isn't very good. I feel she'll do well at any school because she seems quite bright and mixes well with people. My wife and I and our niece would like to visit as many appropriate Thai schools as possible before deciding on a specific school.

Please advise on schools in the Sukumvit, Silom, Sathon areas. Thanks.

[Neeranam]

You should ask the same question in the teaching forum or on www.ajarn.com

There will be many who are working in these schools.

[Pudgimelon]

She's Thai, speaks virtually no English now but is a very bright student at her village school which of course isn't very good.  I feel she'll do well at any school because she seems quite bright and mixes well with people.  My wife and I and our niece would like to visit as many appropriate Thai schools as possible before deciding on a specific school.

Please advise on schools in the Sukumvit, Silom, Sathon areas.  Thanks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If I were you, I'd hold off on putting her into an English program for at least a year or two. Tutor her in English at home, or if you don't have the time, find an afterschool program for her.

Too many Thai parents dump their kids into English Immersion Programs before they are ready and the results are mixed at best. Only the best teachers will be able to handle a kid who is way below the level of the rest of the class, and unfortunately, that is not going to be the case, even at the best schools.

Find a high-quality Thai program at one of the better government schools and your niece will be much better off. Gradually expose her to English language lessons and if she seems to have an interest or natural language ability, then consider an Immersion Program in a year or two.

Don't know if you'd planned on putting her into a Thai or English program, but just wanted to put in that bit of advice in case you were considering the English program.

Many people think it's "OK" to thrust a kid into an Immersion program with the idea that even though the kid won't understand initially, the constant exposure to English will eventually lead to better ability with the language. However, I believe this is only practical with very young learners (pre-K or Kindergarten). Older children often become very frustrated in such situations and there is a real danger of turning the child off to learning permanently.

I don't have a Thai program in mind, since I'm not familar with Bangkok-area schools, but I hope that's what you are considering for your niece.

[Nepal4me]

You should ask the same question in the teaching forum or on www.ajarn.com

There will be many who are working in these schools.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks, posted on ajarn.com. Not sure what the teaching forum is tho??

If I were you, I'd hold off on putting her into an English program for at least a year or two.  Tutor her in English at home, or if you don't have the time, find an afterschool program for her.

Too many Thai parents dump their kids into English Immersion Programs before they are ready and the results are mixed at best.  Only the best teachers will be able to handle a kid who is way below the level of the rest of the class, and unfortunately, that is not going to be the case, even at the best schools.

Find a high-quality Thai program at one of the better government schools and your niece will be much better off.  Gradually expose her to English language lessons and if she seems to have an interest or natural language ability, then consider an Immersion Program in a year or two.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is exactly what I was planning, don't want anything too too expensive and I want her to continue being Thai rather than just becoming a farang at a fully farang school. Thanks for your words of advice.

[sbk]

Would you like me to move this topic to the teaching forum then? PM me and it will be done

[sbk]

OP didn't get much help from ajarn. so, teachers?

[samran]

Dunno about the other ones, but to get into Mater Dei.....well, lets just say you have to be pretty well off and more or less hi-so. The fee's probably aren't too much, but the 'donations' you make to school are pretty hefty....plus you need connections. And yes, it is run by nuns. Go the Catholic Church - not.

[Ijustwannateach]

If you put her in an all-English environment, she'll be intimidated and unable to function- but of course she'll be passed, without any skills at all, every year.

If she only speaks Thai at this age, better to put her in an all-Thai speaking environment. The Assumption NON-EP programs are probably as good as anything for that, though you shouldn't look down on the better government schools.

"Steven"

[Nepal4me]

If you put her in an all-English environment, she'll be intimidated and unable to function- but of course she'll be passed, without any skills at all, every year.

If she only speaks Thai at this age, better to put her in an all-Thai speaking environment.  The Assumption NON-EP programs are probably as good as anything for that, though you shouldn't look down on the better government schools.

"Steven"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do they teach 'some' English at this type of school? I agree, a full-on English program wouldn't be ideal. She can't speak any English, I just want a good education in Thai and with some English courses so she can start learning English to some degree now.

How would I contact this school?

[Ijustwannateach]

They would get the standard government curriculum, which means a few hours of English a week- and since they employ foreigners, some of the English at least might be conversation-based with foreigners. It wouldn't be much, though, or even enough by itself to get her ready for any kind of all-English program. For that, you'll need some pretty intense private instruction.

I don't know how to contact Assumption, but I'd imagine you could google them or look in the phone book- they're a big Bangkok institution!

"Steven"

[otherstuff1957]

My wife's niece goes to Sacred Heart in Klong Toey - the regular school, not the EP. She's in M2 (14 years old) and understands English quite well. If my wife isn't around and my Thai isn't sufficient, she can translate what I'm trying to say to her parents. Getting her to actually open her mouth and speak on her own is something else of course .

The average class size in her school is about 20 to 25 students, however, I think the classes for the younger students may be larger. I think tuition is about 10K per semester or less.

Despite all of our moaning about how bad the Thai educational system is, a sufficiently motivated student, at a better than average school can get a decent education here.

Edited November 17, 2005 by otherstuff1957