ศาลาชุมนุม

[Helixator]

There was an earlier thread on a Thai school ( posted by jonboy). I found it interesting because I am looking for a school myself. Is i ok to broaden the topic a little and ask for either a list of schools viewers think are good, or one they would reccomend? ( Apologies if this topic has been covered before, but I am new here and couldnt find it in the blog roll).

In particular I am looking for a school in Bangkok close to the BTS or MRT stations as I dont know Bangkok well, and dont really want to go to far from the trains.

I speak a little Thai and would like to improve my skills and learn to read an write. I speak 3 other languages, so know a bit about langauge learning. What works for me is a very structured approach (rather than "free talking" ). However, its really important for me that the once the teacher has drilled and explained grammar points, that they are able to help me actually use it ( e.g. role plays or Q&A sessions). Also, I want a teacher not a computer. I already have several computer programs, and while they are good for vocabualry I personally feel I need the assistance of a good quality teacher. (Not picking a fight here...its just what works for me )

I look forward to reading your suggestions.

[David and Bui]

You may also wish to look at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/592 ... ge-school/ which contains a lengthy and on-going discussion regarding Thai language schools. Many students have posted comments and reviews on a number of schools in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand.

Best of luck in your studies!

[tod-daniels]

I've self studied Thai for a little over three years now. I did attend a well known private Thai language school (which shall remain nameless ) for a year, although I could already read Thai when I attended.

I taught myself to read from the site http://www.teachthai.com. I’ve taught myself to speak something which resembles Thai enough (albeit with an American accent) that Thais understand me, and I understand them too.

In my quest to learn, I noticed after touring some private Thai language schools that there is a great disparity between methodologies, qualities of teachers, materials, pricing, etc.

Shameless plug to follow ;
I decided to visit as many Thai schools as I could here in Bangkok and "review" them on a base line set of criteria; staff, methodology, material, teachers, location, efficacy of the method, does the material build on what's previously learned, do the lessons tie together, etc. I also sit a "free class" if it's available so I can see how they teach Thai and more importantly to talk with currently enrolled students during the break . I would also give my “bang-4-the-baht” assessment, or how much value does a student get out of their tuition fee.

I used to post these reviews when ever someone would ask about one school or another on a very well-known forum for Thailand. Alas however, I am now "banned" , for the official reason of "recommending schools which do not purchase sponsorship or ad space". There is certainly more to the story than that, but suffice to say that I was unsuccessful in my attempts to "over-turn" the ban. Thankfully, at least at the time I posted this, all my posts can still be read there .

A friend was gracious enough to offer me a "guest writer" slot on her website called; “Women Learning Thai, and some men too” at http://www.womenlearnthai.com. About every month I review a Thai language school here in Bangkok.

If anyone is interested in attending a private Thai language school here in Bangkok which I haven't reviewed (on one site or another, seeing as I write under some form of "Tod Daniels" on them all ), post it in this thread; I'll go peruse the school, and write back about it here.

Granted it'll be a 'condensed review'; but after touring 25+ schools here I can tell after looking their materials, talking to their staff, and if possible taking a free lesson how a school is gonna stack up against the ones I've been to before.

If anyone tries to tell you; "this is the ONLY way you can learn Thai, or this is the BEST method to learn Thai", don’t walk away, run away as FAST as you can.

Remember; There is NO single best method to learn anything; just a method which works best for you. ..

Good luck in your learning Thai endeavors.

NOTE 2 Modz: if I have violated ANY forum rules, please feel free to edit my post or remove it. ..

Tod Daniels

[David and Bui]

Tod,

Good thing that Glenn has created an "ad-free" zone here. He does not accept paid advertising not does he tolerate spam-like plugs from those-who-would-advertise.

On the other hand, we moderators are tolerant of individual, native-Thai-speaker posters who sell their language teaching services on this forum, as long as such postings don't get to be habitual and annoying. We allow these posts under the theory that our participants here might wish to take advantage of these services and are appreciative of knowing about them.

Thanks for letting us know about your recurring column on Catherine's website. And, you are certainly welcome to post here anytime. Please, however, continue to show the common courtesy and judicious language in your posts as you usually do.

Glad to see you posting here again!

[DanR]

The owner of Sumaa Language School (http://www.sumaa.net) is an old friend of my wife so I feel duty bound to give it a mention here (hope that's OK). It's certainly not the cheapest school in Bangkok (I think it's probably closer to the other end of the spectrum) but it's easy to get to and they know what they're doing; Nuu, the manager, taught on the Chula intensive course for quite a few years before starting up Sumaa so they've got as good a background in teaching Thai as you can hope for. I think Nuu did her BA and MA in Thai Language & Literature so she's also got a more specifically academic background to draw on, though I don't know any of the other teachers they have there.