Thai language school-is Walen any good?

[ricacrocre]

I am a very satisfied 3rd year student at Walen school in Pattaya. I started learning Thai, reading and writing for better pronunciation. Followed by vocabulary. This has worked out so well. I can now converse with the locals and love going to class for more lessons. The teachers are very capable and work with each student individually.

[bigwhitewarrior]

Walen Bangkok im in my 4th month and can read some Thai understand a lot even my Girlfriends Issan thai. And conversations are going great. Spoke with a taxi driver on the way to a tiger temple for 3 hours pretty much Thai all the way. Our teachers are great even today on the first day back after Songkran the few students that didn't have a hangover and turned up we all just did 3 hours of conversational thai.

[NickJ]

It seens to me that this whole business went from a real business to a rackett.....buyer be ware......learning to speak a languge should not be the focal point of a visa.....you can learn Thai in your home country......its a racket

[bigwhitewarrior]

It seens to me that this whole business went from a real business to a rackett.....buyer be ware......learning to speak a languge should not be the focal point of a visa.....you can learn Thai in your home country......its a racket

What a load of nonsense . It is impossible to learn a foreign language in your home country propperly . You need practical application of the speaking aspect and this you cannot learn in a school. There is some homework to be done ! From my experience and I speak 3 languages amd that of other people I know that are multi lingual you need to practice with the people every day. I also know farangs that have been here in thailand more than 10 years and hardly can string a sentence together ! The Visa is not a focal point of the language school but a free addition to help you study in peace without having to worry about your stay. There are now tests not only by immigration officers but also by the ministry of education.

So no cheating guys. :-)

[MacWalen]

It seens to me that this whole business went from a real business to a rackett.....buyer be ware......learning to speak a languge should not be the focal point of a visa.....you can learn Thai in your home country......its a racket

Not sure what is the nonsense you write, must be out of ignorance as I see not other reason you would write something like that. Or is that this jealousy again? Walen is a well established school with almost 14 year history and many branches in Thailand. Please educate yourself first before having a go at Walen. I give it to you straight. Come and visit our schools, talk to students, observe lessons, take even a short course and you will see that you will make quick progress. Even students who find learning languages very very hard make good progress at Walen. That is a fact! Don't try to ruin reputation of a school you know nothing about!

[chubby]

is this a yes or no question, maybe you could take his investing course too , since he made his money with the school

[bigwhitewarrior]

is this a yes or no question, maybe you could take his investing course too , since he made his money with the school

When you have run a business in a foreign country for many years successfully ..then come back and make silly comments !

[Smokin Joe]

I've seen Walen bashed before for teacher qualifications but most that I had were excellent teachers (one sucked). The teachers are trained but it is obviously in-house so they don't have some meaningless certificate to show. I wonder how many English teachers in Thailand have teaching degrees?

Also, every Thai teacher I ever met spoke English. How does that compare to the percentage of English teachers that speak Thai.

The other complaint that baffles me is that you learn to read Thai. I'm not sure why that is considered such a bad thing.

There are a few things that I think could be improved but If I was recommending a school in Pattaya for a long term learning program I would recommend starting by taking Walen for a few months, until at least comfortable in Book 2, and then taking the series of classes at AUA.

[jacky54]

Thank you for confirming walen teachers have no qualifications as teachers. Personally I do not go to unqualified dentists and do not let electricians with no papers work on the house. Likewise to learn Thai I looked for qualified persons, not amateurs.

Edited June 20, 2015 by jacky54

[konying]

is this a yes or no question, maybe you could take his investing course too , since he made his money with the school

When you have run a business in a foreign country for many years successfully ..then come back and make silly comments !

Have you run a business in foreign country?

[bigwhitewarrior]

is this a yes or no question, maybe you could take his investing course too , since he made his money with the school

When you have run a business in a foreign country for many years successfully ..then come back and make silly comments !

Have you run a business in foreign country?

Yes many and for over 25 years !

What about you?

Edited June 20, 2015 by bigwhitewarrior

[konying]

is this a yes or no question, maybe you could take his investing course too , since he made his money with the school

When you have run a business in a foreign country for many years successfully ..then come back and make silly comments !

Have you run a business in foreign country?

Yes many and for over 25 years !

What about you?

which ones?

[bigwhitewarrior]

is this a yes or no question, maybe you could take his investing course too , since he made his money with the school

When you have run a business in a foreign country for many years successfully ..then come back and make silly comments !

Have you run a business in foreign country?

Yes many and for over 25 years !

What about you?

which ones?

Mind your own business !

[Smokin Joe]

Thank you for confirming walen teachers have no qualifications as teachers. Personally I do not go to unqualified dentists and do not let electricians with no papers work on the house. Likewise to learn Thai I looked for qualified persons, not amateurs.

Pitiful

[konying]

Mind your own business !

why is that?

[bigwhitewarrior]

Thank you for confirming walen teachers have no qualifications as teachers. Personally I do not go to unqualified dentists and do not let electricians with no papers work on the house. Likewise to learn Thai I looked for qualified persons, not amateurs.

That's hardly a confirmation that's proven. I study at Walen and whatever anyone says they are doing a fantastic job. Now Jacky54 unless you have had 1st hand experience you cannot judge anything !

[falkan]

Walen Book 3 was really good and Alphabet class but few years ago teachers at Walen Phuket was around 20 years old, Sorry can't take a young girl like that seriously..

[JB300]

I've asked this question before but didn't get any replies, does anybody have any experience/comments to make about learning a non-Thai language at Walen (I'm especially interested in any thoughts about learning Chinese/Mandarin there).

[mpa]

I was considering visiting Walen School myself to ask for a year study so I visited their website...I guess the prices are farang friendly but unapproachable for the poorest folk in the forum (that's me I suspect).

[SlyAnimal]

I've asked this question before but didn't get any replies, does anybody have any experience/comments to make about learning a non-Thai language at Walen (I'm especially interested in any thoughts about learning Chinese/Mandarin there).

Generally speaking, their prices aren't that bad, although probably at the higher end of the scale since they're one of the more established schools. Most language schools in Thailand charge somewhere between 100 THB - 400 THB per hour for students to learn either English or Thai in a group session. I'd imagine that due to Chinese etc being less "popular" languages for foreigners to learn, the lessons might be a bit more expensive.

Although their private tutoring lessons are quite expensive, but I'd imagine that they probably have a curriculum which they follow for more structured lessons than if you just had a random Chinese person privately tutor you.

Generally speaking, it's probably just worthwhile to look around and find one that meets your budget requirements & has a convenient location, after all it might not be efficient to goto a cheaper school if it turns out that there's one that's closer, even if it's a bit more expensive (Since you'd spend a lot of time + money just on travelling to/from the location).

[dinga]

Thai language training options for Rayong/Klaeng - any suggestions/options?

[tw25rw]

Do I need an ed visa to do this? I'm thinking of visiting Bangkok for a few weeks and would like to do some lessons.

[DUS]

5 hours ago, tw25rw said:

Do I need an ed visa to do this? I'm thinking of visiting Bangkok for a few weeks and would like to do some lessons.

You don't need an "ED visa" for studying at any of the language schools.

[tw25rw]

7 hours ago, DUS said:

You don't need an "ED visa" for studying at any of the language schools.

Thanks.. I thought so, but their websites seem to focus on visas.

[david100]

beìng ìn bangkok

how long does ìt take to get the ED papers ready from Walen after regìstratìon?

1...2..3..4... weeks ?

ì mean, the papers requred to go to a consolate for obtaìnìng the ED vìsa :)

Edited May 18, 2017 by david100

[Techno Viking]

Bumping this up, am thinking need to learn (more) Thai language both talking and reading.

 

Is Walen still decent, does not seem to be much recent information about.

[Ace of Pop]

The Question is Anygood?.My answer is they Teach well enough but many so called Students are there for Visa reasons. If your of that ilk I can understand your dislike of the truth..[emoji67]‍[emoji310]


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[Techno Viking]

8 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

The Question is Anygood?.My answer is they Teach well enough but many so called Students are there for Visa reasons. If your of that ilk I can understand your dislike of the truth..‍


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Yeah if it was because I wanted a visa I would have asked about that but thanks for your partial on topic reply to my question though, have you attended the school ?

[Scott]

Off-topic posts removed.   When someone asks a question please respond to that question. 

[Ace of Pop]

I have recommended those who needed a Visa many times ,i learned Thai back in the Nam era but not very bothered to use it nowadays.?


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