Help Deciding Which Language School In Chiang Mai

[mja1906]

I have been living inThailand for the past few years on various visas (tourist, non-imm O) and now asingle entry non-Imm B which is due to expire soon. I am looking to do a Thailanguage course in Chiang Mai so that I can obtain an ED visa and stay inThailand for another year. However I am also genuinely interested in learning Thaiand are not only doing it for visa reasons. There seem to be quite a few options in CM:

1.AUA

2. Walen

3 Payap

4. ChiangMai University

5. ProLanguage

Allof the above options seem like they know their stuff in terms of visa assistance (not sure about AUA though?). I am hoping I will able toconvert my non-Imm B to ED at immigration in CM (instead of exiting country to apply for new Ed visa).

I am wondering which would schoolwould be right for me. I can hold basic daily conversation, can read very basicThai. I would like to concentrate more on reading+writing (as this is behind myspoken level of Thai) and also wouldprefer to attend only weekend classes

Any experiences/ suggestionsfor pros/cons of the above options, which would help me choose is muchappreciated

Thanks,

[Hillside4Phil]

I did study Thai at Payup, as the title says Intensive Thai, it is for me anyway intensive but I did enjoy the challenge. Some of the other member's of the class who had Thai experience before did find the teaching different from what they had learnt previous and so at times for them there was discussions in class about the use of the teacher's Thai and the student's interpretation of what they had learned previous.

A tuk tuk driver said he could tell I learnt Thai at school and did not learn Thai from a bar or wife etc.

You are asked to do homework and sometimes when I was stuck I would ask the reception staff the building I stayed and they would often say, they even found some of the tasks a little odd as the grammar was different from the day to day Thai and possibly my short hand sucked as well.

My Thai friends would say that my Thai ws improving but it was still very formal and day to day chat.

I did not have a motor bike or car so used taxi to get to and from Payup so proved a wee bit expensive.

The admin staff at Payup were also very good and handled visa applications etc very well, which made life going to immigration a little better and I would try to speak in Thai at immigration they would smile and say come back in 90 days.

do not know if this helps you

[khaan]

I will also be needing to make a similar decision to you mja

ChiangMai University told me when I went to see them they no longer teach Thai at their language Institute?

I believe also quite a few people lost their money after they suddenly cancelled the course last year so that doesn't seem to be an option any more.

With regards to 2 and 5 in your list you may wish to consider what has been " debated " in the following thread.

http://www.thaivisa....r-pro-language/

Also AUA sent a reply to my enquiry on the basis that there is no guarantee they would accept just anyone

on their course so with that one there is also no guarantee either.

If you happen to go to a free language lesson at Walen and Pro-language which they both let you do

to help you reach your decision and which I haven't done yet , I would be interested to read your comments

and observations.

Edited November 28, 2011 by khaan

[Hillside4Phil]

I lost 30k Bht with CMU

I have been following your other thread Pro Language/ Walen I cannot do the free lesson as I am home here in Perth.

But am looking at all the possibilities

[jak2002003]

Hello.

I would like to recommend Pro Language as a very good school, especially for the reading and writing that you want to improve. They are also very efficient at the ED Visa. I have been studying there for nearly 3 years and have found them to be extremely helpful in all respects. You can study either as a small group, or in a private one to one class.

One of the best things about this school is the teachers are all properly qualified to teach, which is not always the case in other schools. Another plus point is they are very good at finding the right level for you. They would make sure you are in a class that is appropriate for your level of Thai. I have found the course material to be a very good standard.

One a last note, I know that they offer many options for the days and times you would like to study. Because they are an established school and have a lot of students, it is easy for them to schedule you into a class for the days or times you want to study. I used to study just on a Saturday for 6 hours each week, so I know its quite possible to study at a weekend like you want to do.

Please check this school out. Its really worth it. I tried several schools and found this to be far the best. Oh, they also do a free trial lesson for prospective students, so perhaps you can go and give them a try.

Good Luck

Jason.

[khaan]

Hello.

I would like to recommend Pro Language as a very good school, especially for the reading and writing that you want to improve. They are also very efficient at the ED Visa. I have been studying there for nearly 3 years and have found them to be extremely helpful in all respects. You can study either as a small group, or in a private one to one class.

One of the best things about this school is the teachers are all properly qualified to teach, which is not always the case in other schools. Another plus point is they are very good at finding the right level for you. They would make sure you are in a class that is appropriate for your level of Thai. I have found the course material to be a very good standard.

One a last note, I know that they offer many options for the days and times you would like to study. Because they are an established school and have a lot of students, it is easy for them to schedule you into a class for the days or times you want to study. I used to study just on a Saturday for 6 hours each week, so I know its quite possible to study at a weekend like you want to do.

Please check this school out. Its really worth it. I tried several schools and found this to be far the best. Oh, they also do a free trial lesson for prospective students, so perhaps you can go and give them a try.

Good Luck

Jason.

Hi Jason.

Thank you very much for your informative reply because not many people seem to ever comment about Pro Language.

If you have been doing it for three years you must be pretty good at speaking Thai by now ? And presumably your reading skills are good also?

So if you have been there all that time it means you would also have made many visits to the immigration Department in Chiang Mai i.e. everytime you renewed your Visa. Did the immigration officers test you as many people here have discussed and was it a tough experience ?

Edited December 2, 2011 by khaan

[MacWalen]

Walen has had the busiest month ever in Chiang Mai. We certainly are doing something right!

Students certainly are learning Thai and yes, we also provide first class visa assistance with the possibility of transfer to other locations if students change their location. We are looking at opening a new school in Chiang Rai and possibly in Mae Sai also. Due to overwhelming support of our students the Walen school has funds for further expansion and building more branches to satisfy the demand.

A few grumpy foreigners obviously do not have a negative impact on the Walen School's business. Probably just the opposite as the readers can make their own mind about some of the posters.

Walen School - we keep growing!

[eek]

For me it boiled down to one thing really..i did not want to be further studying my thai with bloody awful phonetic thai. So for me, once i weighed up the alternatives, Walen was the only one viable (in terms of cost and location). I went along to a couple of pro language classes, but i found the pace was too slow (of course just could have been the classes i attended. However, i also did not like the pokey small classrooms. I felt claustrophobic in there). I attended Payap 6 years ago, but its cost and its location were negatives for me..plus, they use overly formal Thai, which, in my personal opinion, is not helpful for everyday life. YMCA was ok for short stints, good value but no Ed Visa.

My main bugbear with Walen is the vocab and questions. To be honest i feel disappointed in that area. I would have liked more relevant practical vocab, and questions that seemed less..um.. well... stupid (sorry walen!). No complaints about the venue though..nice and airy. The seats are comfy for me because im slim, but the bigger guys have issues though, so more practical seating would be good. Most teachers are lovely, but with a couple (one in particular) i wonder if there has been any real training or experience behind them (and there seems to be an agreement across the board on this one, as many students have discussed this together). I also get the feeling that Walen only want to hire cute young teachers. Fine, if the really know how to teach, but im there to learn, not to look at eye candy (well being a female i may have a different stand point of course..but i would feel the same about male eye candy..but there are no male teachers..wonder why..hmm?). (..and heard from a student that the teachers are told to say they are single even if not.. because they always do say they are single..even when not..which is really kind of bizarre tbh...)

But anyway, no real regrets with Walen as my choice. Just wish the books would be re-evaluated. If you want conversational skills though, Walen is not the one (imo), or you would need to supplement your learning with a conversational class. I see many students at Walen who can read, and are learning, but seem to have absolutely no idea how to form a sentence or basic communication.

This is meant as constructive criticism. No offense intended.

[MacWalen]

It can be true that students who read answers from the book when they are supposed to answer on their own will not develop good speaking skill, we are improving it as students are encouraged to answer without reading.

Regarding vocabulary, those are basic Thai words, if you have any suggestions send me pm. Teachers are receiving regular training but if they if there are issues with some please write or put your comments in the suggestion box.

Appreciate your contribution eek.

[leosmith]

It can be true that students who read answers from the book when they are supposed to answer on their own will not develop good speaking skill, we are improving it as students are encouraged to answer without reading.

For anyone expecting to acquire conversation skills, this statement should eliminate Walen from your list. A school whose only method of teaching conversation is having students answer a set of fixed questions is not a good choice. I've never heard of a language school that places such little importance on conversation. Incidentally, conversation is the number 1 desired skill by language learners.

[leosmith]

My main bugbear with Walen is the vocab and questions. To be honest i feel disappointed in that area. I would have liked more relevant practical vocab, and questions that seemed less..um.. well... stupid (sorry walen!).

Could you give some examples?

[MacWalen]

My main bugbear with Walen is the vocab and questions. To be honest i feel disappointed in that area. I would have liked more relevant practical vocab, and questions that seemed less..um.. well... stupid (sorry walen!).

Could you give some examples?

Good question, I am interested to hear it myself. It is always very easy to criticize. But sure, we can improve if the need be.

[MJo]

Could you guys keep your bickering in one thread or by pm. Actually interested on the topic so please let this continue without dragging it down once again. Or is it too late already...

[jdinasia]

Could you guys keep your bickering in one thread or by pm. Actually interested on the topic so please let this continue without dragging it down once again. Or is it too late already...

I think the discussion is relevant ....

Conversational language versus rote repetition from books is huge ....

When I was learning (and trust me I will go back to taking classes again soon so I keep up on these threads) .... we weren't taught from a cookie cutter. We would have the lesson plan from the book and then as a group would discuss the 'ins and outs' of other ways to talk about the topic from the lesson. The lesson was almost always in quite formal Central Thai ... but the class would cover the local variants (in BKK the class would cover informal as well as some regional variants, in HKT the class would cover Central Thai variants and Southern Thai variants.

There are lots of choices out there for where to study ... dig into them enough to rule out those that are not a good fit for one reason or another.

[bazmlb]

Could you guys keep your bickering in one thread or by pm. Actually interested on the topic so please let this continue without dragging it down once again. Or is it too late already...

Agreed, lets keep on topic and not attack each other, several posts have been removed, anymore and it will result in suspensions.

[MJo]

Could you guys keep your bickering in one thread or by pm. Actually interested on the topic so please let this continue without dragging it down once again. Or is it too late already...

I think the discussion is relevant ....

Conversational language versus rote repetition from books is huge ....

When I was learning (and trust me I will go back to taking classes again soon so I keep up on these threads) .... we weren't taught from a cookie cutter. We would have the lesson plan from the book and then as a group would discuss the 'ins and outs' of other ways to talk about the topic from the lesson. The lesson was almost always in quite formal Central Thai ... but the class would cover the local variants (in BKK the class would cover informal as well as some regional variants, in HKT the class would cover Central Thai variants and Southern Thai variants.

There are lots of choices out there for where to study ... dig into them enough to rule out those that are not a good fit for one reason or another.

I Would be more interested to hear where you have studied and what you think of the different method's ? Maybe it helps us beginners to avoid some of the trial and error when hearing others experiences.

[PaulCM]

Hi,

Well hope you search is going well. Just like to say I can highly recommend Pro Language as a good school for you. I have been there for just over 2 years now and find their standard to be very high and the teaching methods fun and interesting. I am at quite a good level now, thanks to the good teachers (who are all properly qualified).

I enjoy the group classes, which usually have about 6 people in them. But some people like the private classes. The school offers both. Also the school is very careful to assess your skills and level and make sure you are put into the right class for you. One school I went to before Pro Language put me in a class where the level was too high for me and they could not move me as they did not have enough students. I was very demotivated and left, which cost me money.

The Pro Language school also give anyone interested in them a free trial lesson.

On the visa side, I have had no problems at all. The school is well regarded by the immigration in CM and its got a professional and good reputation.

Good luck.

[khaan]

Hi,

Well hope you search is going well. Just like to say I can highly recommend Pro Language as a good school for you. I have been there for just over 2 years now and find their standard to be very high and the teaching methods fun and interesting. I am at quite a good level now, thanks to the good teachers (who are all properly qualified).

I enjoy the group classes, which usually have about 6 people in them. But some people like the private classes. The school offers both. Also the school is very careful to assess your skills and level and make sure you are put into the right class for you. One school I went to before Pro Language put me in a class where the level was too high for me and they could not move me as they did not have enough students. I was very demotivated and left, which cost me money.

The Pro Language school also give anyone interested in them a free trial lesson.

On the visa side, I have had no problems at all. The school is well regarded by the immigration in CM and its got a professional and good reputation.

Good luck.

Useful information - thanks

As a matter of interest... does Pro Language get involved in this business of trying to get its

students to get other people to sign up for their course as well ?

Edited December 16, 2011 by khaan

[Rockhopper]

I have studied at University Payap (and will be returning) for almost a year. Have also done RosettaStone and Pimsler both of which are almost useless.

Regarding Payap; I took Thai 1, 2 ,3, 4 and 5. After 1 week of Thai 5 I went back to Thai 3 as the instructor only spoke Thai and I could not follow him. After a two month break I returned to take Thai 3 again. At the end of this month I will take Thai 1 and 2 again.

My observation? If you are old and lost your short term memory you better think twice about trying to learn Thai. BTW, I have a MS in psychology and studied educational psych.

[AbeSurd]

I recently started attending group classes at a Walen school (not Chiang Mai). I enjoy the classes and have to say I think it's pretty good.

Previous to this a few years ago I did about a year and a half of one-to-one classes at another school (not Pro Language).

Comprehension - speaking - reading - writing: I'm still an advanced beginner.

I've started on Walen's Book One and I find it pretty testing. I wouldn't have wanted anything more advanced.

The teachers are all good, professional and, yes, pretty too. And, very important for a farang learning to read and write Thai, they all speak Thai clearly with a proper ror rua (R sound).

If the Walen school in Chiang Mai is anything like the Walen school I'm going to, I would say Walen should be good if you want to try and learn Thai properly.

If your emphasis is a more casual approach - you just want a bit of conversation and basics like how to order food etc then perhaps there are better places.

But I'm happy where I am and will be sticking with Walen for now.

Disclaimer: I'm just an ordinary student at Walen.