ศาลาชุมนุม

[jonboy]

Hi, the Baan Aksorn website presents the school in a very professional light and I would like to know if anyone has tried studying there and what they think of the teachers/school/effectiveness of their methods?

My wife and I have both been learning Thai at SOAS in London for 2 hrs a week for a year and a half, so we have basic conversation, reading and writing skills. We are travelling to Thailand for a year and would like to study Thai more intensively. We would most likely look for private tuition (for 2 people) - studying in bursts of say one month at a time and then taking a short break before picking up studies again for another month.

We have been lucky enough to have an excellent teacher in London, so we are hoping to find the same in BKK.

Thanks very much for reading

jonboy

[David and Bui]

Johboy,

I would like to suggest that you consider another alternative. Instead of obtaining instruction at one of the commercial schools, go to a local, government high-school and inquire whether one of its teachers might wish to supplement his or her income by taking on tutoring foreign students. If you want a teacher with good English skills, you would ask for an English language teacher to teach you Thai; if your Thai is good enough to accept instruction in Thai, then you would ask for a Thai language teacher. There are several advantages:

1. You would be helping to supplement the income of an underpaid segment of Thai civil service;
2. The hourly rate would likely be less than that charged by a commercial establishment; and,
3. You could choose your own curriculum and text or learn by the texts used in Thai elementary and secondary schools.

The potential downside of such an arrangement is that you would not be able to have lessons during normal school hours.

Alternatively, you might post a note on the bulletin board of one of the Bangkok universities and hire a university student to teach you.

Best of luck in your studies.

[jonboy]

Thanks for the advice David, we'll definitely consider that as an option. One of the challenges is finding the 'right' person who can structure the teaching for us as we would be looking for someone to take the lead on this. We also would benefit from the official nature of the teaching at a language school because of the possibility of getting a visa. Thanks for taking the time to reply David, jonboy

[jonboy]

Anyone else have any experience of Baan Aksorn?

[mhollow]

Hi Jonboy,

I hope my reply isn't too late for you... as a student at Baan Aksorn I'm pleased with my progress with them. I've been having private tuition there for a year now, completing their standard courses for spoken Thai, reading/writing and now progressing through a bespoke grammar course, plus reading exercises to improve my vocabulary and understanding. The teachers are experienced and the lessons enjoyable.

They are professional and this was obvious when I first visited - they were one of the few schools I visited which didn't try to sell me a visa as soon I walked in the door! FWIW, I know at least one government (Singapore) regularly send their embassy staff there to learn Thai.

Cheers,
Mark

[jonboy]

Hi Mark,
Not too late at all, as we are heading out to Thailand in a few months, thanks very much for taking the time to pass on your experience with the school. Glad to hear you are enjoying your lessons and making progress too! Cheers, Jonboy

[jackdaniel220]

I have found a lot of useful information from here. I'm having a great time around here. Keep up the good work.

[tod-daniels]

Baan Aksorn is definitely up there near the "top of the heap" as far as private Thai language schools go. They have a wide variety of levels and programs you can take. It doesn’t matter if your main goal is strictly conversational Thai, reading & writing, or a combination of all of 'em. They have very qualified teachers who have plenty of experience teaching Thai to foreigners (Something which is a MUST for foreigners to learn this language!)

I give them a "very good" rating in terms of "bang-4-the-baht". That's a term I coined to mean "what you receive in instruction in relation to what you pay in tuition". ..

I dunno about finding a Thai language teacher from any regular Thai school and getting any measurable results from it (other than helping offset the abysmally low pay scale they're on ).

I've sat many Thai language grade school classes both up-country and in Bangkok. Given almost EVERY subject is taught here "by rote learning", I honestly doubt your 'run-o-the-mill' Thai language teacher would have the necessary skill-set to even be qualified enough to teach Thai to a non-native speaker. They are not used to being questioned about the "whyz-in-thai", or why something is done in Thai differently from English. In fact most of the classes I sat didn't even have a question and answer period after the lessons were taught. Also remember even in the kindergarten Thai language classes ALL the students ALREADY speak Thai far better than foreigners who’re just starting out.

I think you're far better looking in the private Thai language school sector for a school which fits your needs as far as what you want to learn and meshes with how you learn things too.

[John_smith]

you'll find some useful resources to help you to understand the Thai Language better

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[singharat]

hey guys!
some years ago i studies thai at baan aksorn.
i found it the best way for me since i already have some knowledge and having the possibility to customize the lessons.
it's a nice environment, good and pedagogic teachers even though the prices are a bit expensive if you ask me.

actually i'll be back there in a couple of weeks.
see you there

johan from sweden