Best Thai Language School

[Bjamie]

The comments about the Intensive Thai Program at Chulalongkorn (aka Chula) are pretty accurate. Price and time aside, it is well worth the investment if you are taking a serious full-time approach to learning Thai. I studied in that program and it is a one-year committment to finish the whole thing, but you will graduate from it with more knowledge than most people with a 4-year degree on the subject. Walking out of there with your certificate in-hand, you should already be in the upper echelons of society in terms of your linguistic abilities. But again, they are impacted and do not let everybody finish the program. So you see a lot of people getting kicked out for not "making the grade" as the levels progress.

If anybody wants any tips, etc., about the program at Chula and so on, don't hesitate to ask.

I've very interested with the Intensive Thai Program at Chula ... must agree that it is extremely pricy! wondering if I will get the quality for what I will pay for? This is a very serious investment that I'm actually considering.

How many students are there per class? Do they only issue the certificate after you completed the Advanced Level 3 or each level?

How's the teaching environment there like? Picture on the website makes it looks really intense. I'm not prepared to be one of those that didn't make the grade!

Not too sure if I should study Thai full time with no job or get a job and do part time Thai studies in one of those Thai schools as recommended above. I'm utterly confused! Wondering if this Certificate from Chula would boost my job prospects?

I welcome all comments ....

Regards

confused Jamie

[MTLae]

Hello Jamie,

Chulalongkorn program is definetly a good program for the students who really wants intensive lessons ( study the whole day + homework at night).

Personally, I do not believe that we can learn a language in a short period because to remember the words, you'll need to use it and if you learn too many words everyday, you'll never get the chance to use them especially if you're stucked in a school the whole day but once more, it's only my opinion.

However if you're interested to learn Thai Language step by step and take your time to use the words, you're welcome to visit our school My Thai Language School on Ratchadaphisek Road. We give interactive and interesting lessons. For more information, you can click in our link on the top pf this page.

Kind Regards.

MTL Ae.

[Bjamie]

Hello Jamie,

Chulalongkorn program is definetly a good program for the students who really wants intensive lessons ( study the whole day + homework at night).

Personally, I do not believe that we can learn a language in a short period because to remember the words, you'll need to use it and if you learn too many words everyday, you'll never get the chance to use them especially if you're stucked in a school the whole day but once more, it's only my opinion.

However if you're interested to learn Thai Language step by step and take your time to use the words, you're welcome to visit our school My Thai Language School on Ratchadaphisek Road. We give interactive and interesting lessons. For more information, you can click in our link on the top pf this page.

Kind Regards.

MTL Ae.

That's what I thought about it too. It could be too much. There's pro and con. Well, anyway, your website is noted in my favourite list. =) will probably drop by when I'm in BKK.

Thanks people for all the information ....

[5tash]

The comments about the Intensive Thai Program at Chulalongkorn (aka Chula) are pretty accurate. Price and time aside, it is well worth the investment if you are taking a serious full-time approach to learning Thai. I studied in that program and it is a one-year committment to finish the whole thing, but you will graduate from it with more knowledge than most people with a 4-year degree on the subject. Walking out of there with your certificate in-hand, you should already be in the upper echelons of society in terms of your linguistic abilities. But again, they are impacted and do not let everybody finish the program. So you see a lot of people getting kicked out for not "making the grade" as the levels progress.

If anybody wants any tips, etc., about the program at Chula and so on, don't hesitate to ask.

I believe this post was referring to a post by someone who attended the 1 Year Intensive Thai Program at Chulalongkorn. I remember it well because it was very descriptive and gave a lot of information for anyone wishing to attend the course. Now I can't locate the post, I'd say it was posted 3 or 4 months ago. Can anyone else locate it?

Cheers.

[rozerjack]

many websites available on thai language school.

[MacWalen]

Don't forget guys that you are always welcome to come for a free demonstration as well as you can observe an actual class at the Walen school in Bangkok or in Pattaya. Check your options before you make a decision.

Mac

Walen School

www.thaiwalen.com

Please register for priority service

www.dcs.walenschool.com/1mw290910.eng

Edited February 28, 2011 by macwalen

[MKAsok]

I believe this post was referring to a post by someone who attended the 1 Year Intensive Thai Program at Chulalongkorn. I remember it well because it was very descriptive and gave a lot of information for anyone wishing to attend the course. Now I can't locate the post, I'd say it was posted 3 or 4 months ago. Can anyone else locate it?

Cheers.

Do you mean this post?

[5tash]

I believe this post was referring to a post by someone who attended the 1 Year Intensive Thai Program at Chulalongkorn. I remember it well because it was very descriptive and gave a lot of information for anyone wishing to attend the course. Now I can't locate the post, I'd say it was posted 3 or 4 months ago. Can anyone else locate it?

Cheers.

Do you mean this post?

Yep, that's the one. I thought it was in this "pinned", I didn't realise it had it's own thread.

Thanks.

[Marcati]

I have been going to Baan Aksorn Language School for the last 6 weeks. I have been doing one-on-one, 4 hours per day (2 hours reading/writing, and 2 hours speaking), with 4 different teachers in rotation. The school is extremely good, teachers very professional and easy to get to from Prom Pong BTS. They have many types of programs depending on what you want to study, how you want to study and whether you want individual lessons or group.

After 6 weeks I was able to read my wedding speech in Thai (5 minutes long). I cannot write as well as I can read, but with the exception of the new Thai font I have no problems to read Thai language. I was able to memorize the alphabet and vowels after 1 1/2 weeks, so I've never had to use phonetics.

You can check out their website here: baanaksorn.com

Good luck!

Marc

[easylife]

Can anybody recommend a good professional Thai language school on the saphan taksin bts line(close proximity).

Thanks.

[bbahngdori]

Has anyone attended Walen?

I am getting an ED visa through them and like to know if anyone actually took classes from them.

Thanks.

[MTLae]

Dear Easylife,

I represent a Thai Language school called My Thai Language School, we're not really closed to Saphan Thaksin BTS but we're only one minute walk from MRT station Thailand cultural centre.

We provide quality lesson at affordable price and we assist our students with non-immigrant ED visa.

If you're interested, please feel free to contact me.

Best regards.

MTL Ae.

[MacWalen]

Can anybody recommend a good professional Thai language school on the saphan taksin bts line(close proximity).

Thanks.

Walen School is on BTS line, you are welcome to come for a free demonstration of our method.

www.thaiwalen.com

Walen School of Thai

Please register for priority service

www.dcs.walenschool.com/1mw290910.eng

Edited February 28, 2011 by macwalen

[loganberry]

Hi Jamie, sorry for getting back to you so late on your question. There seems to be no notifcation system really working when people reply to the topic. But as you asked, the Chulalongkorn Intensive Thai program is well worth the time and investment. There is only one other school that equates to the quality of that program... and that is at the University of Hawaii. They actually send some of their student over to Chula sometimes to study for a year and get credit towards the end of their language degree.

The classes are typically around 6-12 people.... always changing. You go through 9 different levels which are 5 weeks each, 10am to 3pm Mon-Fri. You get a week off in between completing each level. It IS intensive and I do not recommend working if you want to make it all the way through. It is comparable to studying full-time at any other university. The staff is English fluent and the they rotate teachers daily among about 5 or 6 of them. Some of them are very good and speak more than just English and Thai, ie. Korean, Japanese, French, Indian... and one of them even has his PhD in Sansrkit. They teach you a full background of using the Thai language based on history, social class, government, professional communication, and of course a week or two teaching to dirty stuff... like teenager slang and what not.

Each course gets progressively harder, or at least they involve the student much more. In the first 2 levels it is pretty easy if you have a knack for language. By the 3rd level, or 11th week of studying... you will be able to write, pronounce, and understand how to spell Thai words correctly. The rest of the course expands on vocabulary by reading subject specific articles every day, giving presentations, class discussion, daily quizes, etc.

While it is expensive... around 20 or 25,000 baht each 5 week term.... it does impact you exposure in career options. I came here at 25 yrs old and started looking for full-time work and I was treated like every other foreign applicant (crappy jobs, low pay, etc.) So I went to Chula and did the program and within 2 months of leaving Chula I was picked up by an IT consulting/software firm, moved on to do private consulting, and am now doing HR consulting for a Thai-owned company which is absolutely splendid. Best job I ever had... even better than the US. I got a lot of recognition from employers for my ability to read, write, and speak Thai extremely well. I even did a lot of my papers at Chula on my computer so I learned to type.

Overall, I still highly recommend it. I honestly would not be where I am at today without the knowledge I gained from Chula. They realize how much time students spent studying in the Intensive Thai Program and make a great effort to incorporate societal, environment, and cultural updates into the lesson plans so that student can keep up with Thailand ongoings through their studies. That is about all I have in mind right now, but you (or anybody else for that matter) please feel free to reach me on my personal email... I would be happy to answer questions about the experience there.

[songhklasid]

I just completed 60 hrs thai language course @LC language school soi6/1 pattaya, I completed this over 3 trips 18 months @ a cost of 18000 baht ($ 600 at the time) have a certificate, my 1 on 1 teacher recommended a book called thai for beginners by benjawan becker, dont be fooled by the title, It is indepth, with 2 cd's & I'll buy 1 more to leave in my house in thailand, I listen to the cd's in the car,& can recommend this product.

regards songkhlasid.

[Groongthep]

Can anybody recommend a good professional Thai language school on the saphan taksin bts line(close proximity).

Thanks.

Walen School is on BTS line, you are welcome to come for a free demonstration of our method.

Mac

Walen School of Thai

Walen is in the Times Square building near the Asoke station on the Sukhumvit BTS Line. It is nowhere near the Saphan Taksin (Silom) BTS line as the OP asked.

[Roly69440]

Does anyone know of a Thai language school in or around Sikhio/Korat that would allow me to study for three weeks in school and study by internet for six weeks?

I'm working on a six week, three week work rotation spending all of my three weeks in a village outside Sikhio

[MacWalen]

Can anybody recommend a good professional Thai language school on the saphan taksin bts line(close proximity).

Thanks.

Walen School is on BTS line, you are welcome to come for a free demonstration of our method.

Mac

Walen School of Thai

No offense, Mac, but I have met people before who apparently studied Thai at Walen for several months and I wasn't impressed by any means. I realize that students differ on a case by case basis, but this guy was just.......... better keeping to English.

I am not sure what you are talking about. The same some are saying about the Callan Method. Those students have made better progress that they would have otherwise with other traditional methods. This is a fact! How many have you spoken with? Can you be a little more specific? 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10? You mean you were talking to them in Thai and after that you concluded that their Thai sucks? Is that the case? It amazes me when people like you constantly are trying to attack our school. I guess I just have to get used to it.

Walen School - www.thaiwalen.com

Please register for priority service

www.dcs.walenschool.com/1mw290910.eng

Edited February 28, 2011 by macwalen

[kriswillems]

Can anybody recommend a good professional Thai language school on the saphan taksin bts line(close proximity).

Thanks.

Walen School is on BTS line, you are welcome to come for a free demonstration of our method.

Mac

Walen School of Thai

No offense, Mac, but I have met people before who apparently studied Thai at Walen for several months and I wasn't impressed by any means. I realize that students differ on a case by case basis, but this guy was just.......... better keeping to English.

I am not sure what you are talking about. The same some are saying about the Callan Method. Those students have made better progress that they would have otherwise with other traditional methods. This is a fact! How many have you spoken with? Can you be a little more specific? 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10? You mean you were talking to them in Thai and after that you concluded that their Thai sucks? Is that the case? It amazes me when people like you constantly are trying to attack our school. I guess I just have to get used to it.

Mac

Walen School, www.thaiwalen.com

I don't want to interfere with your discussion, but if you want to know the level of the students in a specific school you can ask for the number of students that could pass the old ป. 6 test or what the average score of the students was that joined the Thai level test at the end of November last year (2551). The results should come out soon. This test is organized by Thai government and NOT by language schools and thus objective. All other claims about methods and success rates are rather meaningless and very difficult to prove.

[asia_pilot]

Just checking if anyone has used Walen as their school. Wht have been the results?

[yunshen]

Just checking if anyone has used Walen as their school. Wht have been the results?

ya,anyone?i am comparing between mtl and walen.mtl give u materials for free and u can practice at home,as the books have thai words in english pronociation,and walen textbooks are thai wordings,if i want to pratice,i cant,i also will wish to pratice at home,the teaching method is different.

btw,with the student visa,can i apply for a mobile line here?

ps:not towards any schools.just my 1 cent worth of comments.cheers!

[Lite Beer]

Defamatory post deleted.

[Mario2008]

Defametory post and follow-ups deleted.

[kriswillems]

I think 180 or 200 hours of Thai education per year is much less than a normal student can handle. I think a normal student, that is not working, can handle 3 to 4 hours per day, that's 660 hours per year.

If you've got the money and time, I would go to Chula. If you've time only and not much money, I think there are many schools that can let you study at a higher speed (more than 200h/year) without being too expensive.

The magic number of 180 or 200 years per year is not so much based on a good educational schedule but it's based on the minimum number of hours you would need to study to get a visa. It's a way to keep price of possibility to stay in Thailand low. Almost all school that offer such schedules will use the possibility to get a visa in their advertisement.

In reality all legal schools offer visa services, so I don't think that's a point that can distinguish some school from another and using it in advertisement is strange.

The price per hour in schools that follow the 200h or 180h per year schedule is very often higher than the price per hour in schools that offer a full time (3h or 4h per day) education. Of course Chula is an exception.

Edited February 16, 2009 by kriswillems

[aussiebebe]

Hi everyone! This is my first post in the Thai language forum, I thought that I'd add to this thread instead of opening a new one;

1. The nearest malls to where I live are The Mall Bangkapee and I can get to Central Bang Na, Seacon and Seri - could anyone reccomend a Thai language centre near or around these areas - Srinakarin?

2. I've found a Thai teacher willing to teach privately for 250baht per hour. What's a reasonable going rate? or is it a case of how long's a piece of string?

[echozulu]

HAS ANYONE ATTENDED A THAI LANGUAGE SCHOOL THAT PROMISES "SATISFACTION GUARANTEED" BUT WILL NOT REFUND THE COURSE FEES IF NOT SATISFIED? THAT IS THE SITUATION I AM HAVING NOW.

[jdinasia]

Hi everyone! This is my first post in the Thai language forum, I thought that I'd add to this thread instead of opening a new one;

1. The nearest malls to where I live are The Mall Bangkapee and I can get to Central Bang Na, Seacon and Seri - could anyone reccomend a Thai language centre near or around these areas - Srinakarin?

2. I've found a Thai teacher willing to teach privately for 250baht per hour. What's a reasonable going rate? or is it a case of how long's a piece of string?

You can always get down into lower Suk pretty easily from where you are.

250 an hour isn't crazy, but have they had any real experience (and success) teaching foreigners 1:1?

Take a look at UTL, they have an afternoon class and it isn't that hard to get in to using Khlong Saen Saep

[andyc2006]

HAS ANYONE ATTENDED A THAI LANGUAGE SCHOOL THAT PROMISES "SATISFACTION GUARANTEED" BUT WILL NOT REFUND THE COURSE FEES IF NOT SATISFIED? THAT IS THE SITUATION I AM HAVING NOW.

This is Southeast Asia, not the West. You're in a "buyer beware" culture.

"Refunds" are nearly unheard of. You hand money to somebody here, and you should do it knowing that you'll never see it again.

"Satisfaction guaranteed" isn't equivalent to "refund if not satisfied," by the way. At best, it means that if you complain, they'll try to adjust things so that you're happy.

[echozulu]

HAS ANYONE ATTENDED A THAI LANGUAGE SCHOOL THAT PROMISES "SATISFACTION GUARANTEED" BUT WILL NOT REFUND THE COURSE FEES IF NOT SATISFIED? THAT IS THE SITUATION I AM HAVING NOW.

This is Southeast Asia, not the West. You're in a "buyer beware" culture.

"Refunds" are nearly unheard of. You hand money to somebody here, and you should do it knowing that you'll never see it again.

"Satisfaction guaranteed" isn't equivalent to "refund if not satisfied," by the way. At best, it means that if you complain, they'll try to adjust things so that you're happy.

I WOULD EXPECT MORE FROM A WESTERN OWNED SCHOOL THAT IT IS, AND COMPLAINING TO THE SCHOOL HASNT EVEN GOTTEN ME A REPLY VIA PHONE OR EMAIL....

ARE THERE REALLY DIFFERENT STANDARDS HERE THAT I SHOULD EXPECT ?

[echozulu]

HAS ANYONE ATTENDED A THAI LANGUAGE SCHOOL THAT PROMISES "SATISFACTION GUARANTEED" BUT WILL NOT REFUND THE COURSE FEES IF NOT SATISFIED? THAT IS THE SITUATION I AM HAVING NOW.

This is Southeast Asia, not the West. You're in a "buyer beware" culture.

"Refunds" are nearly unheard of. You hand money to somebody here, and you should do it knowing that you'll never see it again.

"Satisfaction guaranteed" isn't equivalent to "refund if not satisfied," by the way. At best, it means that if you complain, they'll try to adjust things so that you're happy.

I'M NOT ASKING FOR MY BEER TAB OR A BARFINE REFUNDED , THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY THIS SCHOOL HAS TAKEN AND NOT EVEN GIVEN ME ONE CLASS YET WITH NO CONTACT TO ME IN MONTHS! I WONDER HOW THEY JUSTIFY THIS???