Ymca Thai For Foreigners?

[TXBeth]

Has anyone taken these courses? Opinions? Is it recommended to take standard Thai level 1 and Thai script level 1 at the same time? How do they compare to, say, Payap?

Thanks!

[eyecatcher]

Unless you have a lot of free time on your hands, doing thai speaking and writing will be very tough. The teachers there used to suggest getting to level 3 in speaking before you even attempted to over burden yourself with the writing aswell.

The classes there generally mon;weds, fri and the speaking in the morning, the writing in the pm.

As a complete beginner tackling level 1 will be mentally challenging in itself.

JIMHO

[junglechef]

I've taken a few classes there as well as other places and the Y's were my favorite. It seemed like most of my classmates in level 1 felt like they needed to do it over again before moving forward, but most probably due to the lack of studying like myself or that for some students English was there second language (I had Koreans and Japanese in my class which was nice)

[BB1955]

YMCA is great for learning Thai . I have gone through levels 1 through 6 and really enjoyed the teachers and the classes . At Level three I took level 1 writing . It was too much at one time . I would not recomend doing that . You will have enough to think about just taking one course . The costs of the classes are the most reasonable as well .....

[JeffreyMcCollum]

• Cost ?
  
• How long are the classes each day ?
  
• How many weeks does a level go ?
  

[Joop50]

1 year membership 150 b.

1 level 1850 b.

book 150 b.

2 houres per day (10 min break), 3 days a week, 6 weeks per level.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

1 year membership 150 b.

1 level 1850 b.

book 150 b.

2 houres per day (10 min break), 3 days a week, 6 weeks per level.

Thanks, Seems like a good deal. I been saying for too long I will go to class, now is the time !

[NancyL]

I was going to post earlier and then realized my information may be a bit dated,

When I was taking classes at the Y, they wouldn't let anyone take the "Thai script" classes until they had a few levels of Conversational Thai under their belts. They had Conversational Thai in the mornings, five week sessions, up to Level 8 and were talking about going to Level 9 but didn't while I was there.

My two biggest "problems" where in the lower levels, where they didn't introduce meaningful vocabulary early enough and in the higher levels of Conversational Thai where they were still using transliterated Thai despite the fact that every student could read Thai at that point. The teacher ended up writing everything from the book on the blackboard in real Thai for us.

Otherwise, it was a pretty good program, with good teachers and a good price.

They don't offer ED visas with their program and I've found that makes for a better group of students -- people who really want to learn Thai.

[eyecatcher]

1 year membership 150 b.

1 level 1850 b.

book 150 b.

2 houres per day (10 min break), 3 days a week, 6 weeks per level.

If I may just correct a detail. its actually 5 week course (30hrs total...6hr a week), but it is 6wks between the start of each level.

and i need to get back on the horse aswell.

[DavidMavec]

I wanted to recommend my 1-1 Thai teacher to other foreigners who live in Chiang Mai (no I am not getting a comission, she is just great so I want to let people know and she now has a schedule opening).

Before I started working with her 3-4 months ago I took 1 six week group class at a local institute and really didn’t learn much (I think I am partly to blame as I don’t learn so well in group settings). Then I started taking classes with my private teacher and couldn’t be happier. We meet at a coffee shop 2-3 times a week for two hours each time, just us two. My Thai is not fluent yet but I am thrilled with the progress I have made in four months and it is largely because of her teaching style (she cares a lot about her students, is full of energy, and tailors her lessons to each student’s pace and interests).

Before working with her Thai people couldn’t understand what the heck I was saying; now they understand me 80-90% of the time. She works on the tones with me a lot too. Now I can have conversations with anybody I meet and understand a lot. She even taught me to read, I never thought it would be possible! Also her rates are affordable.

Send me a private message if you are interested in studying with her.