Does anyone know a good tutor/school to learn thai?

[Thor's Hammer]

I speak a few words really badly. The tone thing is hard for an Aussie. Can someone please tell me which is the best place to go for some one-on-one... and I do not mean that I want a happy ending.

 

Thanks, C.

[el_jefe]

I speak a few words really badly. The tone thing is hard for an Aussie. Can someone please tell me which is the best place to go for some one-on-one... and I do not mean that I want a happy ending.

 

Thanks, C.

 

AUA on Pattaya Nua a little bit up from second road or Pro Language. Those are arguably the best two schools in Pattaya and also good for group lessons. Definitely not Walen.

[MattL]

I'm interested in the same thing. Does anyone know about the Walen school? I've read both highly favorable and highly negative reviews about it, but seemingly nothing in between. Apparently they use another method than pro-language?

 

Also, what's AUA stand for, so I can google it? Thanks!

[travelling_man]

http://aua.buu.ac.th/pattaya/index_en.html

 

and they are moving to Central Festival Shopping Center.

 

Great school to learn Thai *AND ENGLISH* for Thais.

[Thor's Hammer]

Guys, many thanks. Off to see AUA today.

[m1rossi]

Forget Walen School a total waste of time and money. Give the Walen book to a Thai person and they will tell you it is not correct and not how Thai people speak, i paid for 180 hours at Walen and left after 60 hours and had not learned a lot i then went to TLS Language school and learned more in 20 hours than i did at Walen.

[jpduggan1]

AUA on Pattaya Nua a little bit up from second road or Pro Language. Those are arguably the best two schools in Pattaya and also good for group lessons. Definitely not Walen.

Thanks for the advice as I'm moving to Pattaya this year and was going to sign up with Walen.

Jim.

[GoforIT]

I speak a few words really badly. The tone thing is hard for an Aussie. Can someone please tell me which is the best place to go for some one-on-one... and I do not mean that I want a happy ending.

 

Thanks, C.

 

I am looking into going to auathai.com in bangkok next winter. It is not one-on-one, but has a different teaching style than the other schools. I read that over 95% of adults that try to learn a second language suffer from a fossilisation and plateau effect that hinder them from ever getting fluid in the second language.

 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/25280138/Fossilisation-and-Plateau-Effect-in-Second-Language-Acquisition

 

And with thai, this seems to be much more the case. Many foreign speakers are really bad speakers even after years of trying. The school at auathai.com claims that has to to with a wrong learning method, where you stick the new language on your already known language with the learningtools we adults usually use.

 

They claim, that you should have a long period of only listening, looking and guessing before you should start to speak. So the school give you no material, no homework, no grammar and let you only watch two teachers speak in thai with strong body language. They claim, that if you go through their program, and start speaking not before listening for 600 to 1000 hours, than you learn speaking thai much better then through normal programms.

The problem with this method is, that most of us want to learn thai to express ourselfs and want to do it yesterday. So learning for 600 hours without speaking more than a few words, is something that most of us can't do. But on the long run, it seems to be getting much better results than normal language schools.

 

There is a blog from a guy that learnd thai with this method:

http://daninbangkok.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html

 

And on youtube, the school hast some videos of lessons, so you can get a picture of it:

http://www.youtube.com/user/algworld/videos?view=pl

 

But i found out, that many language learners are hostile to this method, because it don't teach you the language in a way they know. Most adults seems to have a problem hearing a word and try to guessing what it could mean, instead of looking it up with a dictionary and make dull learning of vocabulary with flash cards. Hearing only thai without english translations seems to be like blasphemy for many guys.

 

But i will give it a try on my next vacation.

[B-Man]

I have been to a few schools here over the years and found Pro language to be the best. Avoid ABA in Soi Rungland like the plague!!

[vermut12]

I started learning Thai in Pro Language in December 2010. Went there for 2 months then got bored and stopped.

 

But they gave me a very good basis of grammar and more importantly I learned to read and write there. And this is the most important thing. I then bought several books in Bookazine and studied Thai a bit on my own.

 

My advice is to practice your Thai everywhere. Especially when you go to bars. At first it will be a mix of English and Thai but then you will be able to do small talk in Thai then more and more. Always increase your vocabulary because it the main barrier if you want to speak about something else. You will get better and better at listening comprehension and your pronunciation will improve over time. At certain point your Thai will become superior than their English (and it will happen pretty fast) and they will speak exclusively Thai with you...

[muu]

I am looking into going to auathai.com in bangkok next winter. It is not one-on-one, but has a different teaching style than the other schools. I read that over 95% of adults that try to learn a second language suffer from a fossilisation and plateau effect that hinder them from ever getting fluid in the second language.

 

http://www.scribd.co...age-Acquisition

 

And with thai, this seems to be much more the case. Many foreign speakers are really bad speakers even after years of trying. The school at auathai.com claims that has to to with a wrong learning method, where you stick the new language on your already known language with the learningtools we adults usually use.

 

They claim, that you should have a long period of only listening, looking and guessing before you should start to speak. So the school give you no material, no homework, no grammar and let you only watch two teachers speak in thai with strong body language. They claim, that if you go through their program, and start speaking not before listening for 600 to 1000 hours, than you learn speaking thai much better then through normal programms.

The problem with this method is, that most of us want to learn thai to express ourselfs and want to do it yesterday. So learning for 600 hours without speaking more than a few words, is something that most of us can't do. But on the long run, it seems to be getting much better results than normal language schools.

 

There is a blog from a guy that learnd thai with this method:

http://daninbangkok....01_archive.html

 

And on youtube, the school hast some videos of lessons, so you can get a picture of it:

http://www.youtube.c.../videos?view=pl

 

But i found out, that many language learners are hostile to this method, because it don't teach you the language in a way they know. Most adults seems to have a problem hearing a word and try to guessing what it could mean, instead of looking it up with a dictionary and make dull learning of vocabulary with flash cards. Hearing only thai without english translations seems to be like blasphemy for many guys.

 

But i will give it a try on my next vacation.

 

I visited AUA a few years ago and sat in on one of their "lessons". Basically two Thai teachers having a conversation and acting out everyday events. Students are required to listen and try to take in what is happening and being said.

 

As you say, they recommend 600-1000 hours of listening before you begin to speak. Don't kno what their current charges are but it probably means spending at least 60,000 baht before finding out if you can actually speak the language. Quite expensive if the answer is no!.

 

If you are planning on trying this on your next vacation I hope it's a long one or you'll have no time for the LBFM's.

[eXplosief]

I have no experience with them, but i hear good stories about the lessons given at the public library on sukhumvit. If you are looking for lessons to get a visa, this is not the place for you, but otherwise they seem good. I heard you can just walk in whenever you want, and it will cost you 100 or 150 Baht for 1,5 hours.

 

Would be nice to hear from someone who has experience with them.

[vermut12]

I think AUA method would be good outside of Thailand where there is a shortage of Thai speakers. You can go to a bar and listen to the bargirls talking. Turn on the TV and watch the people talking. Get a TGF and go out with her friends. They will speak Thai among themselves... You can listen till you bored. Taking such classes is a waste of time in Thailand...

 

The school should teach you the grammar, to read and to write. These are the skeleton of any language. Then you add muscles to eat which is vocabulary.

 

My first university degree was in languages and I was taught many advanced language learning technics and none of them was about just listening. I am absolutely sure it's not very efficient.

 

But learning to speak correctly in any language is a hard work. It's all about memorizing a lot of stuff and systematizing it in your brain. There is no better method.

[GoforIT]

 

I visited AUA a few years ago and sat in on one of their "lessons". Basically two Thai teachers having a conversation and acting out everyday events. Students are required to listen and try to take in what is happening and being said.

 

As you say, they recommend 600-1000 hours of listening before you begin to speak. Don't kno what their current charges are but it probably means spending at least 60,000 baht before finding out if you can actually speak the language. Quite expensive if the answer is no!.

 

This method works. I watch a AUA-Video from youtube nearly every day before i sleep and i learned much from it. Your brain sort it out eventually. You hear a word 20-50-100 times without understanding and then it makes click. You understand what it mean in this context.

I stoped translating entirely, because i think that you get unwanted language transfer from it. Like the grammar from your first language. Or a permanent translation process in your brain.

I have a few words that i learned by translation and everytime i hear this words, i feel my translation engine in my brain running. Other words that i learn from watching don't need translation. The understandig is there without translating it. A total different feeling.

 

If you are planning on trying this on your next vacation I hope it's a long one or you'll have no time for the LBFM's.

 

I don't care so much about the ladyboys. I also don't care about fucking every hole in LOS. I care about the weather first. The german winter sucks. And i don't drink much, so i need something to do in the day. My next vacation is 3 to 4 Month and i need something todo in this time. I plan to go all but three weeks(school closed) for five days per week to AUA. This would be near 300 hours. In my second year, i will reach the speaking point.

I will post how it worked.

[GoforIT]

I think AUA method would be good outside of Thailand where there is a shortage of Thai speakers. You can go to a bar and listen to the bargirls talking. Turn on the TV and watch the people talking. Get a TGF and go out with her friends. They will speak Thai among themselves... You can listen till you bored. Taking such classes is a waste of time in Thailand...

 

There is a difference between AUA and watching Thais on the street or on TV. The comprehension of the input. Normal TV and normal talk is so much out of your league that you understand to little to fill the gaps. In AUA you have levels of complexity that fits your needs. You understand enough to see the pattern of input that you don't understand. Also, you need to speak with a TGF and i think that AUA is right and it hurts to speak to early without having a ear for the language. You train yourself to say dog everytime you want to say mother. Getting rid of this false learned sounds is a pain in the arse i like to skip.

 

The school should teach you the grammar, to read and to write. These are the skeleton of any language. Then you add muscles to eat which is vocabulary.

 

I think that a understanding of the grammar is something you get for free with only listening and get understanding before you speak. You always hear the words and the structure in the natural use. When you get the understanding,you get the grammar without knowing the rules. Learning the rules on the other side is completly mechanic without a feeling for the language. So you get a process running to build you sentences while with the feeling, you use the words right without thinking about it.

 

My first university degree was in languages and I was taught many advanced language learning technics and none of them was about just listening. I am absolutely sure it's not very efficient.

 

And if you know about language, you know that nearly no adult learns a second language to speak like a native speaker. While all kids learn a second language without problems and without translations. Maybe the translation is something that hinder your learning?

And there is a good reason why this method is not used in universitys. It is because you can't measure it good enough. How will you give your students credit points without checking if they have learned 150 new words in the last semester?

 

But learning to speak correctly in any language is a hard work. It's all about memorizing a lot of stuff and systematizing it in your brain. There is no better method.

 

And the memorizing is much easier if you figure out the meaning for yourself:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070315213151.htm

 

And your brain can figure the meaning out from watching and listening to comprehensible input.

But it is ok if you think an other method is better for you.

[muu]

This method works.

 

I don't care so much about the ladyboys.

 

I have no doubt that this method works for some. I was merely pointing out that it is an expensive option compared with the more conventional schools.

 

LBFM - Little Brown Fucking Machines - not specifically LB's but they can be included in this group.

[GoforIT]

I have no doubt that this method works for some. I was merely pointing out that it is an expensive option compared with the more conventional schools.

 

It is expensive? With other schools you can build some basic sentences, but can you understand much real world spoken thai? If you want to understand Thai with other schools, i cost you also good money. Yes, for an edu-visa it is expensive, but for learning to understand the language it is ok. You can get an hour for down to 100baht.

The money is not the problem. The problem is, that many older learners want to have translations and measure how much vucabulary they learnd last month. For all those people, AUA is not the way.