I will be moving to Pattaya next month and want to enroll in a Thai language course. In part because it will allow me to stay in Thailand with an education Visa, (I am too young for a retirement visa) but also because I do want to learn Thai as I want to retire there. I think as long as I'm living there it will be good to know the language. I've read through the topic here regarding Walen and it seems everyone has there own opinion of the school. I think with any company or business people are going to have mixed reviews. Walen is still one of the schools I'm considering but also Pro Language.

Am fairly confused.....From what I gather from the Walen topic.... Walen is good for learning the Thai alphabet and correct pronunciations and pro language is steered more toward conversational Thai. So I'm not sure which school would be best. It seems that both would be good to study.....alphabet and conversational Thai. So My question is.....Will conversational Thai be more useful? Especially with now having to pass a test before applying for your 2nd or 3rd education Visa, or with the possibility of being quizzed or questioned by the IO when going for your 90 day report? Or is my reading of the Walen topic of base? Will Walen also teach me conversational Thai? If not, is it feasible to learn the alphabet and beginner Thai from Walen for a year and the enroll in pro language the second year to learn conversational Thai? Or would it be best to reverse that?

Thanks in advance for any guidance/opinions!

You're over thinking this. Both schools are fine. Pick the one closest to where you will be living.

If you want to learn to speak and read Thai then Walen is a very good choice. Most other schools teach transliterated Thai and we do not believe that is a good way of learning. We offer free demo lessons so you can see for yourself, also you can talk to other students and teachers before you pay. I attached a recent photo of our Pattaya team.

Walen School of Thai - you will not be disappointed

www.thaiwalen.com

No matter what school you choose you should always audit a couple of classes before you pay to determine whether their teaching methods meet you expectations!. Audit an ongoing class and talk to students at random!

Thanks everyone for the advice! I think I will take wayned's advice and sit in a couple schools first to see which schools teaching methods will suit me best.

Learning the actual Thai letters is a lot better than a transliteration.

I'm not on an Ed visa. But, I'm currently enrolled at Walen. The teachers are great. The course is fun. I plan to re-up.

Note to Mac Walen: Are there plans to revise / update the book(s)? I find the everyday Thai more useful than the formal Thai.

I agree. Pick a school that only uses actual Thai alphabet. Thai language have different sounds. Sometimes I can't tell the small difference in sound but when someone writes the word in Thai I understand better.

If you are serious then you can learn most of the alphabet before of start.

Location is probably important.

Also how many classes and levels the school has to offer.

I think several levels with definite objective for each level is good.

If your are serious then ask the other students about how serious they are and the percentage of students that are enrolled that actually attend class regularly.

☺I recommend you to try Easy ABC Language School, which is located on Tappraya Road. I enrolled in this school and my Thai conversation became better.