Learning Thai as a foreign language

[EricTh]

Does anybody know where is the best place in Chiang Mai to learn Thai as a foreign language that progressively teaches their students up to at least upper intermediate level? That would be equivalent to the different levels of IELTS.

 

I've asked at Chiang Mai university and they only teach 'appreciation' courses that would be equivalent to primary school standard one or two for Thai students. They don't have anything beyond that level in a classroom setting. 

[jak2002003]

Hi.  I used to go to a small private language school in Chiang Mai called Pro Language.

 

It was expensive if you wanted to learn Thai with the ED visa... but much better if you just paid for Thai lessons only.

 

I went there a few years ago for 4 years altogether and was really happy with it.  They had group classes and also private ones.  The thing I liked about it was that they would make the private lessons to meet what you wanted to learn... so I think they would be able to meet your level.  They used to do free trail lessons.... and you could sit in with a group.  Not sure they still do that or not.

 

 

[EricTh]

1 hour ago, jak2002003 said:

Hi.  I used to go to a small private language school in Chiang Mai called Pro Language.

 

It was expensive if you wanted to learn Thai with the ED visa... but much better if you just paid for Thai lessons only.

 

I went there a few years ago for 4 years altogether and was really happy with it.  They had group classes and also private ones.  The thing I liked about it was that they would make the private lessons to meet what you wanted to learn... so I think they would be able to meet your level.  They used to do free trail lessons.... and you could sit in with a group.  Not sure they still do that or not.

 

 

 

How many levels of proficiency do they have?

How many months of teaching do they take to teach each level?

 

I've also heard of Walen, how do they compare with them?

 

[stubuzz]

If you are living in Thailand, you will be learning Thai as a second language.

[jak2002003]

4 hours ago, xng said:

 

How many levels of proficiency do they have?

How many months of teaching do they take to teach each level?

 

I've also heard of Walen, how do they compare with them?

 

As I said they can go as high in proficiency as you want them to... they may not have the work books and a set course at such a high level.. but the teachers are very good and should be able to cater for you.... just go and ask the school about it... nothing to loose.

 

I think Walen is closed down now... not sure.. maybe moved. 

 

 

[MrBrad]

5 hours ago, stubuzz said:

If you are living in Thailand, you will be learning Thai as a second language.

Not always true.  I don't know what your point is, but if one already speaks a few languages or more, learning Thai would not be one's second language.  Also, it doesn't matter where one is studying, although learning Thai in Thailand should be easier than elsewhere. 

[KhonKaenKowboy]

I think you can do it as a uni major at payap u..  I've been leaning towards www.welearnthaichiangmai.com.....looked at cmuli and it was quite a bit more costly and seemed to include a lot of cultural mush.

[krey]

Most of the schools such as Pro Language, Walen and so forth will teach you the basics to start but focus more on formal Thai and not casual.  Those courses are really all about the same and it depends on the teacher and the students in your class if you are going to learn in a good environment .  Most of those schools allow you to sit in on lesson so you can go and see for yourself.  You can learn on your own pace as well and use the schools as a starting point.

 

Payap University actually has a a special program for learning Thai called Intensive Thai as seen with the link below.  IT is seven levels and it is I believe 4 hours a day every day of the week (not weekends) for 5 weeks for each level?  Can't remember exactly.  You can expect homework, skits in front of the class, talking in front of the class, etc

http://ic.payap.ac.th/certificate-programs/intensive-thai/

 

As I have said before the best way to really learn it is to go out and speak it all over the place, Listen to television, radio etc, but the key is to speak it and learn from your surely many many mistakes, however not everyone has the confidence to do this as you will get a lot of confused looks from the Thais as you struggle to learn it, however most Thais in reality will try to help you out.

 

[EricTh]

8 hours ago, xng said:

19 minutes ago, krey said:

 

Payap University actually has a a special program for learning Thai called Intensive Thai as seen with the link below.  IT is seven levels and it is I believe 4 hours a day every day of the week (not weekends) for 5 weeks for each level?  

http://ic.payap.ac.th/certificate-programs/intensive-thai/

 

 

 

Payap's course proficiency levels is exactly what I want except that I don't like the intensive nature of the program.

 

So we are supposed to talk, speak and write Thai with high proficieny in 8 * 5 = 40 weeks, which is less than a year? I think this is unrealistic for most foreigners.

 

How much can they truly absorb in such a short time? I know some guys who can't even speak more than a few simple sentences of Thai after living a few years in Thailand. The writing system is quite complex.

 

One proficiency level which takes around 3 to 6 months to complete would have been more realistic.

 

Chiang Mai university's one year Thai program only teaches up to level 2 (my estimate) of Payap's program and they take one whole year.

 

Edited October 19, 2016 by xng

[MrBrad]

Most of the Thai that I know--and that includes reading, writing, listening and speaking--was accomplished 22 years ago in 10 weeks in an intensive summer course at the University of Wisconsin. 

 

The instructors were all native Thais, one in particular from here in Chiang Mai.  Class was held during 4 hours in the mornings.  Afternoons were devoted to homework, practice readings and comprehension and listening to tapes.  Most evenings involved a cultural happening, whether a movie, live dance or other music performances and the like.

 

The course consisted of 1-year's worth of university-level study, with full college credits applicable.   We pretty much completed a chapter each day.   It was grueling, but worth every minute of the agony.  Having studied Spanish, German, and Hmong over much longer periods of time, I now believe that the best way to learn a language (including English, of course) is by hard-core immersion. 

 

If interested, I notice that the SouthEast Asian Summer Studies Institute (SEASSI) has an online program in addition to the fulltime summer program.

 

SEASSI

[krey]

I was not really saying you would walk out of Payap fluent I just think out of all your school options they are probably the best for one that is serious about learning.  They test your level of Thai, place you in a class of your skill level with students who are also at your level and then get down to business.  Yes it is a lot of Thai to take in and I did one course myself a year or so back, they put me in level 4 I think at the time.. I gained a lot from it at the time and found it better than going to schools around the area

 

Problem with the pro language type schools is they often throw all sorts of students in one class, all different levels which makes learning difficult.  I have also noticed that many of the teachers do not correct the students as they are used to hearing bad Thai pronunciation from foreigners and do not correct it, then that same student goes out into the real world with that same bad pronunciation to get puzzled faces staring back at them.  If I was going to go with one of those schools i would probably stick to private classes, cost more but I think you get more out of them.

 

As for the Chiang Mai university 1 year program , i think its pretty basic as you describe, going to level 2 of PAyap or perhaps three but they do other things as well such as cooking classes, learning about Thai culture and so forth.. I think both courses have uses for those interested in learning more.. everything helps even the pro language type schools do have things to offer, especially if you end up getting a solid teacher

Edited October 19, 2016 by krey

[hmficc]

16 hours ago, stubuzz said:

If you are living in Thailand, you will be learning Thai as a second language.

Hilltribe!

[hmficc]

7 hours ago, xng said:

 

Payap's course proficiency levels is exactly what I want except that I don't like the intensive nature of the program.

 

So we are supposed to talk, speak and write Thai with high proficieny in 8 * 5 = 40 weeks, which is less than a year? I think this is unrealistic for most foreigners.

 

How much can they truly absorb in such a short time? I know some guys who can't even speak more than a few simple sentences of Thai after living a few years in Thailand. The writing system is quite complex.

 

One proficiency level which takes around 3 to 6 months to complete would have been more realistic.

 

Chiang Mai university's one year Thai program only teaches up to level 2 (my estimate) of Payap's program and they take one whole year.

 

 

Some years ago I gave my wife a programmed workbook which taught one to read Thai Script for English speakers. She had no vocabulary but, was able to read Thai phoneticly within one week.

it is best to learn to read script before learning vocabulary because the various Thai  to English English letters systems are confusing and only near matches.

It is a delightfully simple language. No singular/ plural, verb tense, masculine/ feminine word endings and many monosyllabic words. The classifieds a a small burden. 

If you are past 16 years of age your brain has pared the neural circuitry to master tones. Tones are the mountain you must clime.

 

 

[stubuzz]

2 hours ago, hmficc said:

Hilltribe!

Read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language

[EricTh]

7 hours ago, hmficc said:

 

 

It is a delightfully simple language. No singular/ plural, verb tense, masculine/ feminine word endings and many monosyllabic words.

 

 

 

It's a simple language if you don't include the tons of long sanskrit words that confuse people because it's a mix of monosyllabic and polysyllabic words and for the beginner, we can't distinguish which is which because Thai words are not separated by spaces.

 

 

 

[EricTh]

13 hours ago, krey said:

, they put me in level 4 I think at the time.. I gained a lot from it at the time and found it better than going to schools around the area

 

As for the Chiang Mai university 1 year program ,

 

Wow! Level 4 is at least lower intermediate level (Thai level and not foreigner level) so it seems that you had already learnt Thai somewhere before you enrolled in Payap which makes you a non-average case.

 

I think from what you wrote, here is a good summary of the three types of language classes in Thailand.

 

1. The language and culture immersion program

Chiang Mai university - learn basic language, immerse in Thai culture and cooking. This program is more for beginners.

 

2. The language appreciation program

Learn basic to lower intermediate language but with no effort to correct students mistakes due to limited time and resources. They don't have government approved exams at the end of each level. The students end up speaking grammatical incorrect sentences and pronouncing wrongly.

 

3. The serious language program

Payap university for serious Thai language learners. I guess they do conduct government approved and recognized exams at the end of each level before going to the next level.

 

Is my summary correct?  I wish that Payap university has a second non-intensive program in addition to their intensive program so that students can choose.

 

Edited October 20, 2016 by xng

[hmficc]

8 hours ago, xng said:

 

It's a simple language if you don't include the tons of long sanskrit words that confuse people because it's a mix of monosyllabic and polysyllabic words and for the beginner, we can't distinguish which is which because Thai words are not separated by spaces.

 

 

 

R

 

8 hours ago, xng said:

 

Wow! Level 4 is at least lower intermediate level (Thai level and not foreigner level) so it seems that you had already learnt Thai somewhere before you enrolled in Payap which makes you a non-average case.

 

I think from what you wrote, here is a good summary of the three types of language classes in Thailand.

 

1. The language and culture immersion program

Chiang Mai university - learn basic language, immerse in Thai culture and cooking. This program is more for beginners.

 

2. The language appreciation program

Learn basic to lower intermediate language but with no effort to correct students mistakes due to limited time and resources. They don't have government approved exams at the end of each level. The students end up speaking grammatical incorrect sentences and pronouncing wrongly.

 

3. The serious language program

Payap university for serious Thai language learners. I guess they do conduct government approved and recognized exams at the end of each level before going to the next level.

 

Is my summary correct?  I wish that Payap university has a second non-intensive program in addition to their intensive program so that students can choose.

 

Yes, those folks from Ceylon mucked up the language. Of the bright side Sanskrit is most often to be found in things Royal, Governmental, astrological etc. if you don't care what month your order will be ready, no problem.

[krey]

9 hours ago, xng said:

 

Wow! Level 4 is at least lower intermediate level (Thai level and not foreigner level) so it seems that you had already learnt Thai somewhere before you enrolled in Payap which makes you a non-average case.

 

I think from what you wrote, here is a good summary of the three types of language classes in Thailand.

 

1. The language and culture immersion program

Chiang Mai university - learn basic language, immerse in Thai culture and cooking. This program is more for beginners.

 

2. The language appreciation program

Learn basic to lower intermediate language but with no effort to correct students mistakes due to limited time and resources. They don't have government approved exams at the end of each level. The students end up speaking grammatical incorrect sentences and pronouncing wrongly.

 

3. The serious language program

Payap university for serious Thai language learners. I guess they do conduct government approved and recognized exams at the end of each level before going to the next level.

 

Is my summary correct?  I wish that Payap university has a second non-intensive program in addition to their intensive program so that students can choose.

 

1. Yes

2. For the most part, there are always exceptions as I stated with finding a strong teacher or students in your group that are more focused on learning

3. More serious yes as you are thrown into a lot of Thai, not a lot of time to joke around and from what I have seen at least in my class is the teacher did not want to hear much English coming out of you, just when you really got stuck., I don't remember having to take  a govt test .  I met a couple of the teachers, they asked me to read some Thai, asked me to spell some Thai and then asked me a series of questions in Thai to see where I was at then made a judgement call on where they would put me, I actually found the level i was in was a bit  hard for me, the other students seemed to be more at ease, however they started from level 1 and knew the system.

 

To be honest between the schools in 2 and 3 you are kind of learning the same thing, its just presented differently.  One will be more casual, more forgiving to tones, more English speaking while the other will be more intense with more focus on not speaking English, tones and trying to hammer the language into your head more with  a constant amount of Thai vocab and grammar in a short amount of time.

 

you might also want to check out some of the online courses, i got a couple of links i can show you if you message me and my thoughts on those courses, just dont want to spam here.. cheers

Edited October 20, 2016 by krey

[EricTh]

30 minutes ago, krey said:

I don't remember having to take  a govt test . 

 

you might also want to check out some of the online courses, 

 

I am surprised that Payap didn't even require the students to take a written and speaking test at the end of each level. There's not much difference between program 2 and 3 then. They don't really care how much you've really learned and pronounced correctly.

 

Sorry, I am not interested in online courses, I prefer a classroom environment where I can make friends and interact with other students.

 

I found a video of a student learning Thai level 1 at Payap university. From the limited Thai I know, he doesn't even pronounce his tones correctly.

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2016 by xng