How to Complain About Someone

[gemguy]

Best way, is to Complain to members on Thai Visa.

Problem solved, as you will receive the most astute advice every given in the whole universe as Thai Visa membership consists of all knowing experts about any and all subject matters imaginable....a veritable treasure trove of advice and information ....lol

Cheers

[Briggsy]

It may be that your Thai contains many fossilised errors of pronunciation, tone usage, grammar, syntax, etc. Perhaps the teacher was teaching the basics because the basics were seriously flawed.

But if you're not happy, ask for a teacher change. It is very common at language schools.

[gyrosman]

They themselves are not a qualified teacher in Thailand, they work in these private schools because they speak English and able to present material only, the hard work is all on you.

[gemguy]

There may be some schools or language lesson teachers that are good at teaching foreigners how to speak Thai language that pick up on it quickly...but overall very few can supply you with focused lessons that leaves a person speaking the basics that would be needed to at least communicate with Thai people

But where would one start if you have only 1 month before you have to start using Thai language in say your business applications...such as the OP is implying.

What should you learn first or what would be considered important to learn???

Nearly every Thai language book I have seen written by Thai people is all the more confusing than helpful...in the beginning of course...but even later it is still confusing.

In every language there is at least 100 words or simple sentences that anyone would have to learn to make it easier to move about.

Such as: Learn the numbers

Such as: Asking How much money for this or that..... after you learn the numbers, obviously

Such as: Where is the bathroom

Such as: Where is a restaurant

Such as: Can you help me

Such as: What is the name of this or what is the name of that

Such as: What name or word do Thai people use for this thing or this object or that thing or that object

Such as: Can you speak English

Such as: Can you help me

Such as: Can you help me learn Thai language.

I could go on but I have never seen a Thai language book that teaches you the practicable and logical basics needed to begin talking to Thai people so you can accomplish many common needs or daily needs or simple objectives.

Most of the books immediately go into subject matters like: "How is you mother doing" and "what about the weather" and "how we went to the beach and had so much fun".... and a whole lot of unimportant lessons that leave the average person more confused.

I went to 2 different language schools for a short 1 month course and later a 2 month course while I ended up teaching the girls more about English than they taught me Thai ...going by the book that is, while that being the case I decided I had to take the initiative and more or less learn to learn on my own, in many respects.

So.....simple enough, while combined with the language lessons I realized I had to learn to how to ask Thai people about this or that or anything that I wanted to know about or needed to learn and write it down...so you can reference the word later on.

After learning the basics of the numbers and the polite mannerisms etc..... then, If I wanted to know the name of something such as a chair and needed to ask Thai people what is the Thai language name of a chair or the name of a glass or a fork or a car or anything at all, then you have to know how to ask a Thai person to inform you what you want to know about.

What is this?..Can you explain?....Nee Arai? .....Kaw Koon Atti-Bi, Di My

Such as you have to learn how to say: What is this?...or what is that? ( while pointing at a glass on the table or held in your hand) Nee Arai? or Nahn Arai?...What is this? or what is that?...what name?..Nee, Cher Aria?

Such as: What is the name used in Thai language: Kohn Thai, Lree-ick Wah Aria

Such as : How do you say in Thai language: Pasa Thai, Pood Wah Aria

Please say again: Pood Ick Krung Nung

Speak slowly: Pood Cha Cha Noi

I do not understand: Pom My Kow Jai

Please say one more time: Kaw Pood Ick Krung Nung

Please help me to learn Thai language: Kaw Koon Chu-woy Pom Ree-en Passa Thai Di My

I want to practice Thai language, can you help me: Pom Hut Pood Pasa Thai...... Kaw Khoon Chew-woy Pom Ree-en Pasa Thai, Di My?

Learning words and simple sentences such as those will allow you to start a conversation with Thai people while asking them to help you learn while trying to remember the words that you specifically want to learn and remember.

You can sit there and point at a hundred different objects or items all around you and ask them what is the name of this or that item or object...but you first have to learn how to ask

Such as: What are the names of a fork and spoon...so you have to learn how to ask what is the name of a fork and spoon....Nee Arai?

Pom Kaw Lroo, Nee Arai?....Nee, Cher Aria?..... I want to know what is this? ..What name?

Basic stuff that allows you to learn on your own if you have the desire to do so...besides the valuable languages lessons or the Thai language book you carry about with you.

Then, you have to make up your own little language note book and write down the sound of the spoken words you hear spoken in Thai language and write down the "sound" of the word or words in a manner such that later on you can read the word and be saying it correctly with the rising or falling tone and other little Thai language nuances that will trip you up if you do not say it clearly or precisely as there are many Thai words that have to be said correctly or the Thai people will be confused by your incorrect spoken word and your foreigner accent that confuses them all the more.

Not making like I am an expert by any means but 90 Percent of the Foreigners that I have met, over the 28 years here, that went to Thai language lessons basically wanted to give up on learning the language and or struggled a whole lot learning the language while the language lesson were too much, all at once and learned from the Thai language books in that manner.

Cheers

Edited July 30, 2016 by gemguy

[DUS]

They themselves are not a qualified teacher in Thailand, they work in these private schools because they speak English and able to present material only, the hard work is all on you.

I agree with you on that part where you say "the hard work is all on you". Learning a foreign language is always hard work for the learner and requires commitment and real determination.

I cannot argue with you on your very generalistic verdict that all tutors/teachers at language schools are not qualified. I simply haven´t been to enough language schools around the country to know this. Mind you, the few teachers I´ve had the pleasure working with so far have all been great. I´ve learnt quite a few languages over the years (and decades) and have come across many professional teachers doing so. Based on my limited experience here in BKK I cannot fault the teachers at all, they are equally good if not better than those "fully qualified and professional" teachers back in Europe.

[MisterTee]

There may be some schools or language lesson teachers that are good at teaching foreigners how to speak Thai language that pick up on it quickly...but overall very few can supply you with focused lessons that leaves a person speaking the basics that would be needed to at least communicate with Thai people

But where would one start if you have only 1 month before you have to start using Thai language in say your business applications...such as the OP is implying.

What should you learn first or what would be considered important to learn???

Nearly every Thai language book I have seen written by Thai people is all the more confusing than helpful...in the beginning of course...but even later it is still confusing.

In every language there is at least 100 words or simple sentences that anyone would have to learn to make it easier to move about.

Such as: Learn the numbers

Such as: Asking How much money for this or that..... after you learn the numbers, obviously

Such as: Where is the bathroom

Such as: Where is a restaurant

Such as: Can you help me

Such as: What is the name of this or what is the name of that

Such as: What name or word do Thai people use for this thing or this object or that thing or that object

Such as: Can you speak English

Such as: Can you help me

Such as: Can you help me learn Thai language.

I could go on but I have never seen a Thai language book that teaches you the practicable and logical basics needed to begin talking to Thai people so you can accomplish many common needs or daily needs or simple objectives.

Most of the books immediately go into subject matters like: "How is you mother doing" and "what about the weather" and "how we went to the beach and had so much fun".... and a whole lot of unimportant lessons that leave the average person more confused.

I went to 2 different language schools for a short 1 month course and later a 2 month course while I ended up teaching the girls more about English than they taught me Thai ...going by the book that is, while that being the case I decided I had to take the initiative and more or less learn to learn on my own, in many respects.

So.....simple enough, while combined with the language lessons I realized I had to learn to how to ask Thai people about this or that or anything that I wanted to know about or needed to learn and write it down...so you can reference the word later on.

After learning the basics of the numbers and the polite mannerisms etc..... then, If I wanted to know the name of something such as a chair and needed to ask Thai people what is the Thai language name of a chair or the name of a glass or a fork or a car or anything at all, then you have to know how to ask a Thai person to inform you what you want to know about.

What is this?..Can you explain?....Nee Arai? .....Kaw Koon Atti-Bi, Di My

Such as you have to learn how to say: What is this?...or what is that? ( while pointing at a glass on the table or held in your hand) Nee Arai? or Nahn Arai?...What is this? or what is that?...what name?..Nee, Cher Aria?

Such as: What is the name used in Thai language: Kohn Thai, Lree-ick Wah Aria

Such as : How do you say in Thai language: Pasa Thai, Pood Wah Aria

Please say again: Pood Ick Krung Nung

Speak slowly: Pood Cha Cha Noi

I do not understand: Pom My Kow Jai

Please say one more time: Kaw Pood Ick Krung Nung

Please help me to learn Thai language: Kaw Koon Chu-woy Pom Ree-en Passa Thai Di My

I want to practice Thai language, can you help me: Pom Hut Pood Pasa Thai...... Kaw Khoon Chew-woy Pom Ree-en Pasa Thai, Di My?

Learning words and simple sentences such as those will allow you to start a conversation with Thai people while asking them to help you learn while trying to remember the words that you specifically want to learn and remember.

You can sit there and point at a hundred different objects or items all around you and ask them what is the name of this or that item or object...but you first have to learn how to ask

Such as: What are the names of a fork and spoon...so you have to learn how to ask what is the name of a fork and spoon....Nee Arai?

Pom Kaw Lroo, Nee Arai?....Nee, Cher Aria?..... I want to know what is this? ..What name?

Basic stuff that allows you to learn on your own if you have the desire to do so...besides the valuable languages lessons or the Thai language book you carry about with you.

Then, you have to make up your own little language note book and write down the sound of the spoken words you hear spoken in Thai language and write down the "sound" of the word or words in a manner such that later on you can read the word and be saying it correctly with the rising or falling tone and other little Thai language nuances that will trip you up if you do not say it clearly or precisely as there are many Thai words that have to be said correctly or the Thai people will be confused by your incorrect spoken word and your foreigner accent that confuses them all the more.

Not making like I am an expert by any means but 90 Percent of the Foreigners that I have met, over the 28 years here, that went to Thai language lessons basically wanted to give up on learning the language and or struggled a whole lot learning the language while the language lesson were too much, all at once and learned from the Thai language books in that manner.

Cheers

Good post.

You're saying in a very detailed way what was said concisely in post #5.

Immerse yourself in the culture and you are almost sure to gain proficiency in the language.

[ThailandLOS]

"

So I feel that there are two problems:

a) she doesn't know/care about my goals

she has no lesson plans"

You should be happy that she showed up at all, and on time! Doesn't happen very often around here.

[gemguy]

There may be some schools or language lesson teachers that are good at teaching foreigners how to speak Thai language that pick up on it quickly...but overall very few can supply you with focused lessons that leaves a person speaking the basics that would be needed to at least communicate with Thai people

But where would one start if you have only 1 month before you have to start using Thai language in say your business applications...such as the OP is implying.

What should you learn first or what would be considered important to learn???

Nearly every Thai language book I have seen written by Thai people is all the more confusing than helpful...in the beginning of course...but even later it is still confusing.

In every language there is at least 100 words or simple sentences that anyone would have to learn to make it easier to move about.

Such as: Learn the numbers

Such as: Asking How much money for this or that..... after you learn the numbers, obviously

Such as: Where is the bathroom

Such as: Where is a restaurant

Such as: Can you help me

Such as: What is the name of this or what is the name of that

Such as: What name or word do Thai people use for this thing or this object or that thing or that object

Such as: Can you speak English

Such as: Can you help me

Such as: Can you help me learn Thai language.

I could go on but I have never seen a Thai language book that teaches you the practicable and logical basics needed to begin talking to Thai people so you can accomplish many common needs or daily needs or simple objectives.

Most of the books immediately go into subject matters like: "How is you mother doing" and "what about the weather" and "how we went to the beach and had so much fun".... and a whole lot of unimportant lessons that leave the average person more confused.

I went to 2 different language schools for a short 1 month course and later a 2 month course while I ended up teaching the girls more about English than they taught me Thai ...going by the book that is, while that being the case I decided I had to take the initiative and more or less learn to learn on my own, in many respects.

So.....simple enough, while combined with the language lessons I realized I had to learn to how to ask Thai people about this or that or anything that I wanted to know about or needed to learn and write it down...so you can reference the word later on.

After learning the basics of the numbers and the polite mannerisms etc..... then, If I wanted to know the name of something such as a chair and needed to ask Thai people what is the Thai language name of a chair or the name of a glass or a fork or a car or anything at all, then you have to know how to ask a Thai person to inform you what you want to know about.

What is this?..Can you explain?....Nee Arai? .....Kaw Koon Atti-Bi, Di My

Such as you have to learn how to say: What is this?...or what is that? ( while pointing at a glass on the table or held in your hand) Nee Arai? or Nahn Arai?...What is this? or what is that?...what name?..Nee, Cher Aria?

Such as: What is the name used in Thai language: Kohn Thai, Lree-ick Wah Aria

Such as : How do you say in Thai language: Pasa Thai, Pood Wah Aria

Please say again: Pood Ick Krung Nung

Speak slowly: Pood Cha Cha Noi

I do not understand: Pom My Kow Jai

Please say one more time: Kaw Pood Ick Krung Nung

Please help me to learn Thai language: Kaw Koon Chu-woy Pom Ree-en Passa Thai Di My

I want to practice Thai language, can you help me: Pom Hut Pood Pasa Thai...... Kaw Khoon Chew-woy Pom Ree-en Pasa Thai, Di My?

Learning words and simple sentences such as those will allow you to start a conversation with Thai people while asking them to help you learn while trying to remember the words that you specifically want to learn and remember.

You can sit there and point at a hundred different objects or items all around you and ask them what is the name of this or that item or object...but you first have to learn how to ask

Such as: What are the names of a fork and spoon...so you have to learn how to ask what is the name of a fork and spoon....Nee Arai?

Pom Kaw Lroo, Nee Arai?....Nee, Cher Aria?..... I want to know what is this? ..What name?

Basic stuff that allows you to learn on your own if you have the desire to do so...besides the valuable languages lessons or the Thai language book you carry about with you.

Then, you have to make up your own little language note book and write down the sound of the spoken words you hear spoken in Thai language and write down the "sound" of the word or words in a manner such that later on you can read the word and be saying it correctly with the rising or falling tone and other little Thai language nuances that will trip you up if you do not say it clearly or precisely as there are many Thai words that have to be said correctly or the Thai people will be confused by your incorrect spoken word and your foreigner accent that confuses them all the more.

Not making like I am an expert by any means but 90 Percent of the Foreigners that I have met, over the 28 years here, that went to Thai language lessons basically wanted to give up on learning the language and or struggled a whole lot learning the language while the language lesson were too much, all at once and learned from the Thai language books in that manner.

Cheers

Good post.

You're saying in a very detailed way what was said concisely in post #5.

Immerse yourself in the culture and you are almost sure to gain proficiency in the language.

That and I highly recommend the OP gets himself a walking, talking human dictionary Thai GF ...as you would be pleasantly surprised at all the many extra, extra and very important Thai words you can learn and easily remember when you point at certain "things" and ask: "What is this and what is that and teach me the names in Thai language...lol

I clearly remember those certain words were the ones that immediately stuck in my mind and easily remembered...if you know what I mean...lol

Cheers

[JHolmesJr]

Challenging an asian authority figure….insta fail…bound to end in tears.

No authority to me. A human who isn't doing their job. And doing it with my money. In a small school two can play at the "losing face" game, but I'd rather not do that.

Of course she's not an authority…but she sees it differently…in asian culture you don't tell the teacher what to teach.

Forget reasoning with her…show your displeasure by dropping out.

[smo]

Then, you have to make up your own little language note book and write down the sound of the spoken words you hear spoken in Thai language and write down the "sound" of the word or words in a manner such that later on you can read the word and be saying it correctly with the rising or falling tone and other little Thai language nuances that will trip you up if you do not say it clearly or precisely as there are many Thai words that have to be said correctly or the Thai people will be confused by your incorrect spoken word and your foreigner accent that confuses them all the more.

Not making like I am an expert by any means but 90 Percent of the Foreigners that I have met, over the 28 years here, that went to Thai language lessons basically wanted to give up on learning the language and or struggled a whole lot learning the language while the language lesson were too much, all at once and learned from the Thai language books in that manner.

Cheers

Excellent if not Best advice so far (this thread shoud be moved to the thai langguage forum for more appropriate context. Complaining about your language teacher is different from complaining about your neighbor, dentist, boss, etc.)

Anyway back to the subject at hand. Yes, the Sound. A few examples:

In English we have only b and p. Thai has many variations including b(h)- and p(h)-.

ch, sh and to a certain extent j in thai are a jambalaya mixture of all c,s and h/j. That's why the Thais can not pronounce "check": let me check always comes out as let me shake.

and the deadliest of all sounds are their combined vowels (2 or 3 or more god help us.) Just to be able to hear and distinguish "tired" from "butter" is already a monumental task to me, let alone pronounce them. Right next down the list are the final consonants the vowels often are wedded to. Try to hear the difference when it's a final n or a final ng.

Then there are the 5 deadly sins, I mean tones (with or without the sound-shifting tone markers).

This is where if you have an operatic singing background that would help tremendously,

I'm at the stage of making my little encyclopedic notebook of sounds. Actually the local folks are warming up to me when I say something they understand, tada, conversation is possible! The trick is you got to speak first and make sure they listen (as opposed to ignoring your farang face.) Warning: they are real lousy at trying to guess what you mean if you mix up your sound (which you do 95 percent of the time.)

The next big problem is that now they think I'm one of them immediately let forth a barrage of words mostly still foreign to me. All I can do is smile and do a mixture of nodding and shaking my head at the same time. God forbid if I utter a word of English, then BANG!!! that's the sound of the language barrier slamming down and I just got kicked out of the fortress...

Regarding language schools, either you've got a terrific private tutor that is worth every thousand baht you spent or signup for the language boot camp which is the chulalongkorn uni thai language program that make sure you live and breathe thai to really expect any progress. For those who don't have the budget for the former or the stamina for the latter there's really only one choice: your neighborhood soi!

(For some it means Soi Cowboy unfortunately )

Edited July 30, 2016 by smo

[gemguy]

Then, you have to make up your own little language note book and write down the sound of the spoken words you hear spoken in Thai language and write down the "sound" of the word or words in a manner such that later on you can read the word and be saying it correctly with the rising or falling tone and other little Thai language nuances that will trip you up if you do not say it clearly or precisely as there are many Thai words that have to be said correctly or the Thai people will be confused by your incorrect spoken word and your foreigner accent that confuses them all the more.

Not making like I am an expert by any means but 90 Percent of the Foreigners that I have met, over the 28 years here, that went to Thai language lessons basically wanted to give up on learning the language and or struggled a whole lot learning the language while the language lesson were too much, all at once and learned from the Thai language books in that manner.

Cheers

Excellent if not Best advice so far (this thread shoud be moved to the thai langguage forum for more appropriate context. Complaining about your language teacher is different from complaining about your neighbor, dentist, boss, etc.)

Anyway back to the subject at hand. Yes, the Sound. A few examples:

In English we have only b and p. Thai has many variations including b(h)- and p(h)-.

ch, sh and to a certain extent j in thai are a jambalaya mixture of all c,s and h/j. That's why the Thais can not pronounce "check": let me check always comes out as let me shake.

and the deadliest of all sounds are their combined vowels (2 or 3 or more god help us.) Just to be able to hear and distinguish "tired" from "butter" is already a monumental task to me, let alone pronounce them. Right next down the list are the final consonants the vowels often are wedded to. Try to hear the difference when it's a final n or a final ng.

Then there are the 5 deadly sins, I mean tones (with or without the sound-shifting tone markers).

This is where if you have an operatic singing background that would help tremendously,

I'm at the stage of making my little encyclopedic notebook of sounds. Actually the local folks are warming up to me when I say something they understand, tada, conversation is possible! The trick is you got to speak first and make sure they listen (as opposed to ignoring your farang face.) Warning: they are real lousy at trying to guess what you mean if you mix up your sound (which you do 95 percent of the time.)

The next big problem is that now they think I'm one of them immediately let forth a barrage of words mostly still foreign to me. All I can do is smile and do a mixture of nodding and shaking my head at the same time. God forbid if I utter a word of English, then BANG!!! that's the sound of the language barrier slamming down and I just got kicked out of the fortress...

Regarding language schools, either you've got a terrific private tutor that is worth every thousand baht you spent or signup for the language boot camp which is the chulalongkorn uni thai language program that make sure you live and breathe thai to really expect any progress. For those who don't have the budget for the former or the stamina for the latter there's really only one choice: your neighborhood soi!

(For some it means Soi Cowboy unfortunately )

To satisfy the Moderators and stay on the subject matter... I must say that the OP should go to the school and politely ask for another teacher. Or do not and put up with the teacher that he has.....but meantime...I would say the OP is expecting way, way too much from the teacher as there is no way for any teacher to teach all that a person would want to know.... in 1 month.

Maybe that is why she asked : "What is it you want to learn? ....meaning, for yourself, what is important or what is priority.

If you want to learn certain aspects of the words needed to be used in your work environment then you would want to focus on certain words commonly used in a work environment ...such as how to ask for a pen or pencil or the calculator and how to ask who is the accountant and who is the manager and who is a secretary and what is their position in the company...and what is their real name verses their given name: "Cher Len rue Cher Jing" ....or important questions in Thai language such as show me the data and records: "Kaw Doo Lie-Lah Eeit" ....or "Shorp Tahm You Nie, Kaw Doo Noi....( where is the pertinent information, let me look at it ) like that.....but you could not expect to learn but maybe 5% of all the conversational words needed to be used in an office / company environment....as that will take much longer.

You said : The next big problem is that now they think I'm one of them immediately let forth a barrage of words mostly still foreign to me. All I can do is smile and do a mixture of nodding and shaking my head at the same time. God forbid if I utter a word of English, then BANG!!! that's the sound of the language barrier slamming down and I just got kicked out of the fortress...

Yes.....once you start speaking Thai language a little bit then near every Thai person thinks you speak Thai language well and they will start to speak Thai at you rapidly, as if you know what they are saying while you will HAVE to learn how to say:

Excuse me, I can speak Thai language a little bit: "Kaw-Taught, Pom Pood Passa Thai Nit Noi, Cap....or .....Pood Cha Cha Di My, Paw-Wah Pom Kow Jai Pasa Thai Nit Noi Cap.....( speak slowly please because I understand Thai language a little bit ) and definitely one of the numerous important required sentences that you will need to learn....before many other words and structured sentences.

They seldom teach you the those kinds of practicable sentences...so you have to learn on your own or you specifically have to ask them how to say certain words or certain sentences such as seen above.

But you should also learn how to say in a polite and humorous way : I am not a dummy so do not assume I am one because I am new to this language and new to the Thai way of doing things...as i am a fast learner ....lol

Cheers

Edited July 30, 2016 by gemguy

[mesterm]

On 7/29/2016 at 3:05 PM, bark said:

Why waste your money for language lessons ?

Something to do with the name of this website.

[TravelTeach]

I'd just like to comment once more and update on what happened.
.

I agree with the fact that learning a language is primarily on the learner. But there is a methodology, science, art, and willingness to teach anything. And there is an obligation to employ this if you're being paid. Being a "Thai language school teacher" is not a blank check not to actually teach and I think suggesting that's OK or to be expected is at best lazy and at worst racist.

 

I calmed down and approached the teacher with a lot of compliments and some slight suggestions to steer her towards more dialogue-based learning. I tried creating a lesson plan based on target vocabulary and sentence patterns. I even went so far as to bring in visual aids.

 

It became clear after a short time that this woman cannot deviate from whatever system she's learned. I think a good teacher is able to chunk down knowledge a student needs to learn, and can observe where a student is struggling. I mean that's just basic. And she can't do that. She's not interested in the person in front of her, and that won't change. I'm not going to go over step by step what I asked her, but I basically offered to create what I wanted to learn and she was pleased with that. I brought it to class, she translated all the words to Thai and said "what else?". I told her "just you speaking these words doesn't mean I now can use them", and she looked confused. And that's where the teaching comes in. If translation was all that you needed, then we'd all just get talking dictionaries and have no need for language schools.

 

So, the only solution was just to smile and say something like "I trust you to teach me." at which point she rambled on about a few things and I wrote down what I thought was important, occasionally asking her questions. Before I get attacked for complaining about this, let me just tell you she was trying to teach me the phrases "The southern three provinces of Thailand need to separate because they're Muslim." and "This city is where the Burmese are always illegally entering Thailand." Interesting, but perhaps I should learn how to understand directions to the 7-11 before using such information to go on political expeditions.

 

Unfortunately all the teachers were booked up so I couldn't switch teachers. However, her "reign" is over as of today and a new, far more experienced teacher will be taking the rest of the lessons -- with her showing up once or twice more, which I can handle.

 

I don't think this is indicative of all language schools, as I've studied at other Thai schools and studied other languages. I think saying Thai language teachers (or any language teachers) are bad is a bit like saying all mechanics will screw you over and don't really know how to fix your car. I worked in a garage and there were certainly some bad dudes, but overall the average person was alright. There's no need to tar them all with the same brush.

 

I also agree with the enormous amount of garbage that the language school textbook is trying to teach. Pages and pages on vocabulary that are unnecessary for someone just arriving in Thailand or learning basic Thai. Extensive variations on chicken dishes, or types of engineers are just not as important to me as being able to say "When will be laundry be done?" and understand the answer.(which I still don't know and couldn't get the teacher to explain today!!!)

 

Once this is over, and I have my basics, I'm going to review them constantly while increasing my vocabulary and doing ThaiPod lessons when I can. I think that's the best thing.

 

Thanks all for the help! If nothing else it was a good lesson in patience, and perhaps not to pay in advance.

 

 

[DUS]

40 minutes ago, TravelTeach said:

Thanks all for the help! If nothing else it was a good lesson in patience, and perhaps not to pay in advance.

 

 

Thanks for the update!

 

In terms of the "lesson learnt" aspect of your feedback it should read that the lesson to learn from your experience is to analyse the teaching material and to agree on a curriculum first before signing up with a school! If you had done that, paying in advance wouldn´t have been an issue at all. So your experience and thread might turn out to be useful for a few people in the future.

[MobileContent]

On 7/29/2016 at 3:05 PM, bark said:

When you only pay 50 baht/hour; you get what you pay for. Better to pay a working girl at Nana Plaza.

Why waste your money for language lessons ?

 

I know some farangs that learn the Thai language from bar girls and as soon they talk Thai everyone knows that they are mingling around with bar girls.

[joeyg]

On 7/29/2016 at 3:22 PM, Agent Sumo said:

Perhaps because he doesn't want to speak the kind of rough, coarse Thai the average bar skank does.

takes one to know one...

[Youbloodybeauty]

18 hours ago, TravelTeach said:

increasing my vocabulary and doing ThaiPod lessons when I can. I think that's the best thing

 

 

If this is all marketing for ThaiPod, then you got me.

I'm signed up