Best Place To Learn In Chiangmai, I Found.

[baoy]

Interview With Kru Simon (Sommorn Kumfoopen)

How many years have you been teaching?

Kru: Since 1981 as an English teacher and since 1987, I started to teach Thai.

Why did you chose teaching as a profession?

Kru: Educating people is the greatest way making my mind peaceful and I have been so proud of my successful learners. I chose teaching from more than 10 jobs I did in the past and I ran my own businesses before, most of them about negotiation and they consumed a lot more energy and nerve.

What are your work experiences and education?

Kru: Bachelor's Degree in the field of mass communication from Ramkhamhaeng University, Bkk. graduated in 1985.

What would you say is your style of teaching?

Kru: Friendly, negotiable and flexible with my primary style of clearness in pronunciation.

What teaching methods do you use?

Kru: Depending upon the need of students. Mainly, natural methods are preferable. I use flash cards, textbooks, and natural communication with my students to aid in his/her learning Thai. I like to mix things up and make it as fun as possible for my students.

Where do lessons take place?

Kru: At the student's home, one to one as private lessons or a few students can be formed up a class.

What are your costs?

Kru: The cost for Thai lessons are in varieties of the distance and the number of the hours picked up each day with the same number throughout each course, a private student who studies one hour a day on Mon - Fri is 300 Bht ($9 US) /hr. A private student who studies one hour a day for for 2 - 3 days a week is 250 Bht ($8.30 US)/hr. 50 ($1.50 US) Baht off will be offered to the student who takes a package of 40 hours.

Payments are done weekly. This charge needs to be paid on Monday for the whole week in advance. No compensation for the absence of the student. The extra charge according to the distance to students' places will be applied.

A package of 20, 30 and 50 hours of Thai lessons will less the teaching charge respectively.

Baoy's Thoughts on Kru Simon

I bought 25 hours of private lessons with Kru Simon. 4 sessions a week with each sessions being 2 hours long. I definitely recommend Kru Simon if you are looking to learn Thai. For private lessons, you can't beat his prices. It's even better than the prices for many group sessions offered elsewhere. Kru Simon is also very flexible with dates and time, and very understanding if you need to reschedule. What's nice of him is that he doesn't charge for traveling to your location (unless you are really out of his way). His teaching program will be adapted to your personal needs and preferences.

He's constantly looking for new ways to keep the lessons interesting and exciting. Flash cards, direct conversation in Thai, story writing, and story translating are just some of the methods he uses.

After completing 25 hours of lessons (and just as much time spent doing homework), I am already able to converse with local Thais in Thai!

I recently purchased an additional 30 hours for SKYPE lessons for when I get back to Toronto!

Contact Kru Simon

Phone: 083-480-5254

Website: banpasathai(dot)com

Email: banpasathai(at)gmail(dot)com

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Edited July 20, 2012 by baoy

[ForumUsername]

Seems a little fishy that you only have two posts and you're the only testimonial on his (your?) website.

That being said, I was looking for something like this, so thanks for posting either way.

[HappyInCM]

Has anyone else tried him and how did they get on?

Would be very convenient to say the least.

[ForumUsername]

Yes, I actually just finished having a lesson with him today. I also go to a Thai language school part time (10 people in a class) so it's quite different. To give you the bad news first, I think he's totally booked out at the moment, as the hours I get are in quite odd (interchangeable) times, but you can try to give him a call.

He's a really good teacher, albeit slightly hard to understand at times, and has helped me remember things far quicker than the things that I've learned in school. He also gives me the reasons behind a lot of things and how Thai people would say things (rather than just how they're written in a book) which I really think helps.

That being said, I think his teaching would have been more valuable to me a month or two from now. Reason being is that a lot of the work we're doing is vocabulary, and I have quite a good system for learning new words already. I want to get more out of sentence structure and putting my vocabulary together, but my vocabulary is only on a few hundred words right now, so I'm not quite ready for it.

That being said, I'm putting in as much work as I can so that the latter end of our time together will focus on this. All in all, I do recommend him, but for me personally, it would have been better once I have more words under my belt, as I have a good structure for vocab learning already.