Format of My Thai Lessons

BEGINNING LEVEL I

1. Self-introduction and basic information question words
   • Basic Thai grammar, basic question words.
2. Small talk and basic yes – no question words
   • Basic yes – no question words.
   • Asking about daily life, preferences, hobbies, interests.
3. Polite requests
   • How to make various kinds of polite requests.
   • Practice organizing different polite requests to respond them correctly.
4. Numbers and the counting system
   • Numbers and counting system in Thai
   • How to ask for the time and how to tell the time in Thai.
5. Time words and clock
   • About the Thai clock and general time words.
   • How to ask for the time and how to tell the time in Thai.
6. Foundation of Thai reading and writing
   • Introduction to Thai consonants and vowels.
   • Understanding the combination of consonants and vowels.

BEGINNING LEVEL II

1. Talking about the family
   • Question words denoting if the actions have been done already.
   • The term for members of the family.
2. Asking for directions
   • How to ask for and give direction.
   • Many useful phrases, expressions concerning directions.
3. Telephone
   • The basic structure of a telephone conversation.
   • How to ask for a specific person, conversation phrases
   • How to leave and take messages and other telephone mannerisms.
4. Restaurant
   • How to order food in a restaurant.
   • How to count various kind of food.
5. Daily routines
   • This lesson emphasizes on verbs used in different areas of everyday life, for example, the verbs used when doing housework, the verbs used in an office, some specific phrases to mention how to go to somewhere, etc.
6. Systematic Thai
   • Study the rules of reading connected to the tone of Thai words.
   • Use the Thai reading system to correct and improve pronunciation.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL I

1. Shopping
   • This lesson, with several new and useful words, will help you interact more comfortably while shopping and bargaining. The cultural background of Thai bargaining is also included.
2. Clothing
   • You will learn the names of clothing items. Thai customs regarding the appropriation dress code will also be taught.
   • In addition, some modifiers used for describing dress are included.
3. Housing (renting houses / apartment)
   • Short and concise expressions to use in renting or talking about details of an apartment or house will be emphasized.
4. Health and drug store
   • In this lesson we will deal with health problems. You will be learning the terms used in describing illness and how to buy medicine and talk to a doctor.
5. Recreation
   • In this lesson you will learn how to talk about things to do for enjoyment, such as, going to the cinema, playing sports and travelling around Thailand. The dialogues also include different ways to express ideas, opinions and criticism.
6. Giving opinion
   • Necessary patterns related to giving opinions will be provided.
   • Students will start to practice listening and talking about opinions.
7. Basic reading comprehension
   • Start to practice reading Thai newspaper and magazines.
   • Many words and expressions used in this field are practically provided.

INTERMEDIAT LEVEL II

1. Slang and idioms
   • The lesson will make it much easier for you to understand daily Thai conversation in which so many slang and idioms are frequently used.
2. Business Thai
   • The lesson provides different business topics according to the student’s interest, for example, finance, banking, employment, etc.
3. Thai for tourists
   • The lesson covers all important topics for a foreign tourist.
4. Thai cooking
   • This lesson gives introductions on cooking and how to cook individual Thai dishes. It includes various terms for materials and methods of Thai cooking.
5. Thai cooking
   • This lesson gives introductions on cooking and how to cook individual Thai dishes. It includes various terms for materials and methods of Thai cooking.
6. Thai for golf
   • This optional course is available to any student who prefers to communicate in Thai with caddies and other Thai players in different situations on the golf course.
7. Thai reading
   • You will read different types of documents, such as columns in newspapers, articles from magazines, advertisements and different kinds of letters.
8. Thai writing
   • You will learn and practice writing essays, different kinds of letters, and records of events.

ADVANCED LEVEL I

1. Different group of vocabulary
   • Student will intensively study all important and necessary vocabulary used in Grade 6 level.
2. Grammars and patterns
   • This part will provide a student essential grammars and patterns used to compose essays and advanced conversation.
3. Advanced conversation
   • The course provides various topics and patterns for discussion and opinion expression.
   • The lesson will explain important and interesting aspects of Thai culture and various traditions.
4. Thai reading
   • You will read more advanced documents, such as columns in newspapers, articles from magazines, advertisements and different kinds of letters.
5. Thai writing
   • You will learn and practice writing more advanced essays, different kinds of letters, records of events, dictation and speech, including translation practice on different kinds of documents, both from Thai into English and from English into Thai.

ADVANCED LEVEL II

1. Advanced conversation
   • Students will practice having conversations on different topics for deeper discussion and opinion expression.
2. Special words and phrases
   • The lesson will provide special words and phrases used in specific ways such as exclamations, complicated conjunctions and prepositions, royal words, and complicated slang and idioms.
3. Thai history and culture
   • Learning language and culture are parallel. As you learn Thai culture, the logic of Thai language will become more apparent.
   • The lesson will explain important Thai history and interesting Thai tradition.
4. Examples of Thai literature
   • Students will have a chance to experience some parts of well-known Thai literature, which generated many Thai proverbs and idioms. Thai lesson will give students insight of Thai culture, society and values especially in the past.
5. Thai reading
   • You will read complicated papers such as agreements, contracts, laws, etc.
6. Thai writing
   • You will learn and practice writing complicated documents such as drafting an agreements, contracts, or any documents related to business.

Interview With Kru Simon

Interview With Kru Simon (Sommorn Kumfoopen)

How many years have you been teaching?

Kru: Since 1981 as an English teacher and since 1987, I started to teach Thai.

Why did you chose teaching as a profession?

Kru: Educating people is the greatest way making my mind peaceful and I have been so proud of my successful learners. I chose teaching from more than 10 jobs I did in the past and I ran my own businesses before, most of them about negotiation and they consumed a lot more energy and nerve.

What are your work experiences and education?

Kru: Bachelor’s Degree in the field of mass communication from Ramkhamhaeng University, Bkk. graduated in 1985.

What would you say is your style of teaching?

Kru: Friendly, negotiable and flexible with my primary style of clearness in pronunciation.

What teaching methods do you use?

Kru: Depending upon the need of students. Mainly, natural methods are preferable. I use flash cards, textbooks, and natural communication with my students to aid in his/her learning Thai. I like to mix things up and make it as fun as possible for my students.

Where do lessons take place?

Kru: At the student’s home, one to one as private lessons or a few students can be formed up a class.

What are your costs?

Kru: The cost for Thai lessons are in varieties of the distance and the number of the hours picked up each day with the same number throughout each course, a private student who studies one hour a day on Mon – Fri is 300 Bht ($9 US) /hr. A private student who studies one hour a day for for 2 – 3 days a week is 350 Bht ($10.50 US)/hr. 50 ($1.50 US) Baht off will be offered to the student who takes 2 hours a day for each hour.

Payments are done weekly. This charge needs to be paid on Monday for the whole week in advance. No compensation for the absence of the student. The extra charge according to the distance to students’ places will be applied.

A package of 20, 30 and 50 hours of Thai lessons will less the teaching charge respectively.

Baoy’s Thoughts on Kru Simon

I bought 25 hours of private lessons with Kru Simon. 4 sessions a week with each sessions being 2 hours long. I definitely recommend Kru Simon if you are looking to learn Thai. For private lessons, you can’t beat his prices. It’s even better than the prices for many group sessions offered elsewhere. Kru Simon is also very flexible with dates and time, and very understanding if you need to reschedule. What’s nice of him is that he doesn’t charge for traveling to your location (unless you are really out of his way). His teaching program will be adapted to your personal needs and preferences.

He’s constantly looking for new ways to keep the lessons interesting and exciting. Flash cards, direct conversation in Thai, story writing, and story translating are just some of the methods he uses.

After completing 25 hours of lessons (and just as much time spent doing homework), I am already able to converse with local Thais in Thai!

I recently purchased an additional 30 hours for SKYPE lessons for when I get back to Toronto!

Contact Kru Simon

Phone:  083-480-5254

Website: Click HERE

Email: smkumfoopen@gmail.com
Skype: simonk.chiangmai

How to learn Thai successfully

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Are you looking for an intensive Thai course in Chiang Mai?

Frustrated with trying to learn a tonal language?

Tired of being ripped off when you try to negotiate?

Upset that you just can’t seem to pick up Thai,

No matter how long you’ve been here?

TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE.

Go to Website: CLICK HERE

Cheers!

Sommorn “Simon” Kumfoopen

Phone # 083-4805254

Website: http://banpasathai.com

Top 5 Thai Courses in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai Thai Courses

There are literally dozens of Thai courses and schools available in Chiang Mai to choose from. Finding the right one can be tough, but a few are consistently recommended by friends of mine here in Chiang Mai that have spent some time on the Thai language learning scene.

Below you’ll find my pics for the top 5 Thai courses in Chiang Mai. My students have studied at all 5 of these places, and with several other smaller schools and private tutors that didn’t make the cut. These seem to be not only my picks but the picks of my students as well.

So, without further ado… ( In no particular order)

My Picks for the Top 5 Thai Courses in Chiang Mai:

#5- A.U.A Language Center
Address:
73 Ratchadamnern Road
Prasing, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand
ph: +66 053 278407

Thai Courses Offered:
Thai 1, Thai 2, Thai 3, Small Talk, Basic Reading and Writing, Advanced Reading and Writing

Course Fees: 4200 Baht per course

Placement Tests / Interview: Yes (150 Baht)

Class Times:
10:00am – 12:00pm (or) 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Monday – Friday

Private Lessons: Yes (290 Baht / hr)

The good:These guys are a time tested option for ex-pats who live in Chiang Mai and want to study Thai. A lot of people have studied here and have good things to say about them. I found the classes to be good, but a bit slow.

The bad and the Ugly : They don’t offer student visas, even for long term students and the teachers also ignore the text and “teach from the hip”.

#4- YMCA Language Center
Address:
73 Ratchadamnern Road
Prasing, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand
ph: +66 053 278407

Thai Courses Offered:
Thai 1, Thai 2, Thai 3, Small Talk, Basic Reading and Writing, Advanced Reading and Writing

Course Fees: 4200 Baht per course

Placement Tests / Interview: Yes (150 Baht)

Class Times:
10:00am – 12:00pm (or) 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Monday – Friday

Private Lessons: Yes (290 Baht / hr)

The good These guys are a time tested option for ex-pats who live in Chiang Mai and want to study Thai. A lot of people have studied here and have good things to say about them. I found the classes to be good, but a bit slow.

The bad and the Ugly They don’t offer student visas, even for long term students and the teachers also ignore the text and “teach from the hip”.

#3- Chiang Mai University
Address:
239 Huay Kaew Road
Muang District, Chiang Mai
Thailand, 50200

Thai Courses Offered:

One Year Thai Language and Culture Course, Speak Thai in 15 Days Introduction Course, Thai 1, Thai 2, Thai 3

Course Fees: 5,000 per unit, or 30,000 for the One Year Program

Placement Tests / Interview: Yes

Class Times:
Vary by class / instructor availability

Private Lessons: No

The good : Chiang Mai Unversity is regarded as Northern Thailand’s number one school, and with good reason. The language institute has a good reputation for their 45 hour Thai 1 course, when it is available.

The bad and the Ugly : The 30 hour course is basically a paid educational visa program. You pay 30,000 baht, you study 4 hours a week, and you get a 1 year visa from the Thai government. The Thai 1 class is good, but often doesn’t open because of lack of students. They won’t open a class if they don’t have at least 6-8 students. The Thai 2 course rarely (if ever) has enough students, and Thai 3 has not ever opened (yet) that I am aware of. Hopefully once word spreads of their Thai programs, this will change as the Thai 1 class has gotten good reviews.

#2- Banpasa Thai Language Institute
Address:

59/9 Soi 1, Moo7, Buak-krok-noi,

Chiangmai-Sankampaeng Road,

Nongpakrang, AmphurMueng, Chiangmai 50000

Thailand.

Phone # 083-4805254

Website: http://banpasathai.com

Thai Courses Offered:
Intensive Beginner – Advanced, Private Tuition

Course Fees: 250-325 baht / hr

Placement Tests / Interview: Yes

Class Times:
Available from 8:00am – 6:00 PM

Private Lessons: Yes

The good : Of course, I have plenty of good things to say about our program, and I can confidently place us in the top 5 on this list. Granted I’m a bit biased, but we do offer private lessons from yours truely, in your home for as little as 200 baht per hour. At that price we are competitive with the other big universities and you will get more personal attention.

The bad and the Ugly :There is something to be said for studying in a class with other people. You make friends, you meet people with similar interests and you can measure your progress against your classmates. So unless you can find a study partner, it will just be you and me. Also, if you don’t have a place for us to meet, you will have to come to our school in San Kampaeng, which is about a 25 minute drive from downtown depending on traffic.

#1- Payap University
Address:
Super highway, Chiang Mai – Lamphun Rd
Chiang Mai
Thailand, 50200

Thai Courses Offered:
Intensive Thai 1-8

Course Fees:7500 Baht per course

Placement Tests / Interview: Yes

Class Times:
9:00 – 12:00 or 1:00 – 4:00

Private Lessons: No

The good : Probably one of the best, and most intensive Classroom options in Chaing Mai. The instructors are top notch, and a few are authors of popular Thai study books here in Thailand. Some teachers do “teach from the hip”, but the classes are small and these teachers know what they are doing.

The bad and the Ugly : By far the most expensive option in Chiang Mai. If you want a student visa, be ready to cough up an extra 4500 baht and 2 months tuition up front (you will need to do this every 3 months). Like CMU, there are also problems with the availability of classes after Thai 2 or 3. Thai 4 and above rarely opens as there are rarely enough students to fill classes. Because they have a large International College however, you can expect each level to open at least once a year. Try to contact someone in admissions to find out the bests time to start a “cycle” so that you can go through the classes with the students in the Thai language major.

The Best information about Thai language Courses!

Well, there you have it, my top 5 picks for Thai Schools in Chiang Mai. These are the big 5, and I’m happy to slot myself in there on that list. If you’d like to talk to some of my current or former students (many who have tried a lot of the schools in the area), give me a call, and I will gladly put you in touch with them!

Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about Thai Courses in Chaing Mai!!

All the best,

-Kru Simon

Phone # 083-4805254

Website: http://banpasathai.com

Study Thai in Chiang Mai

Study Thai in Chiang Mai – Practice with Locals for Free

Practice with locals for free!

If you don’t have the time or money to register for a Thai course, one of the best things you can do if you want to study Thai in Chiang Mai is to find some locals to practice with. This is not a difficult task, as Thai people are often excited to see any foreigner making an attempt to speak their language.

It is best when you are starting out however, to limit your conversations to locals who have experience dealing with foreigners. If you live in Chiang Mai, this means you should not start with a random hill tribe villager while on a trek through Mae Rim. Firstly, they speak a different dialect or often a different language all together, and secondly, they have less experience figuring out what you mean.

What do I mean by this? Think about it… someone who deals with foreigners every day is used to hearing bad pronunciation and poor tone use. If they are in the tourist industry, there is a good chance their sucsess in business relies on their ability to both speak english, and understand broken Thai.

So, if you want a free thai course shouldn’t you just head to a tour agency and strike up a conversation with the first Thai person you meet there? No, you shouldn’t, and that brings me to my second point. Stay away from tour guides and big name stores and restaurants. These places pride themselves on their English speaking staff and they will answer anything you say in Thai with a nearly perfect response in English. Nothing makes you feel worse than trying to speak someones langauge and having them reject your abilities by answering you in your own.

So, you’ve got to find some middle ground. Don’t worry, there are plenty of friendly Thai’s who can help you study thai in Chiang Mai. You need to find someone who has a lot of experience dealing with foreginers, but not a lot of English ability. Who are these people?

A great first conversation awaits!

Your first chance is with the person who is likely to take you anywhere, assuming you’ve not rented a motorbike. That’s right, your friendly tuk-tuk driver is a great place to start. Most of these guys speak only basic English and will be excited to hear you speaking Thai to them. Even if they try to rip you off fare wise, they are a friendly bunch and easy to talk to. Negotiating the price in Thai is a good place to start, and you will have much more sucsess getting a fair price if you speak their language.

practicing Thai at the night market

Your next stop is the Night Bazaar Ask your tuk-tuk driver to take you to the night bazaar (try night market if they can’t understand you) on Chang Klan Road. If you’ve never been, you are in for a treat. You can literally buy almost anything on this street, so it should be easy for you to find someone who will talk to you about something you are interested in. This is one of the more entertaining ways for you to study thai in Chiang Mai.

Be aware however, that many of the people who work at the night market are not actually Thai. Most come from hill tribes, burma or central Asia. Almost all of them will probably speak better Thai than you however, and this is a good place to start, with other people who speak Thai as a second language. You are likely to have similar vocabularies and tone issues, which will make it easier for both of you to understand each other.

Spend a few nights down there honing your skills and speaking with some different vendors. Wonder into some of the smaller restaurants or strike up a conversation with some of the owners of the many noodle stands and mini-bakeries.

Once you feel comfortable there, you can take it to the next level by going to one of the Thai markets. The best one for a beginer is probably Sunday walking street, on Ratchadamnun Road downtown after 5pm. There are a lot of Thai’s selling handicrafts and various wares and opportunities for conversations with real Thai people abound.

Study Thai in Chiang Mai – Taking it to the next level…

If you have mastered the local markets and feel ready to move on to something more challenging, it’s time for you to find a language exchange partner. This can be the easiest way to learn Thai, or the easiest way to get sucked into teaching someone else English for free if you aren’t careful.

Free Language Exchange Partners!

There are lots of ways to find a language exchange partner. You could post an ad for free on the Thai Visa classifieds website, or in any of the local English newspapers. The best way however, is to head over to Chiang Mai or Payap University and put up some fliers on the student bullitin boards there. If you mention that you are a Native English speaker looking for langauge exchange, and post your email address, you inbox will be full in a week.

This is where it gets tricky. Language exchange is a two way street, but if their English is better than your Thai, there is a good chance it will end up being a one way “english exchange” with you as the free teacher. The only way around this is to set up a rotating schedule where you ONLY focus on a certain language on a certain day. For example, Thai on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and English on Tuesday’s Thursdays and Saturdays. It’s ok if you speak english during the Thai sessions, but make sure the focus is on YOU learning thai, not them speaking English.

This is an easy way to learn Thai without paying a single baht! It’s cheaper than a Thai course and if you want to study Thai in Chaing Mai, it’s a great place to start!

Learn Thai in Chiang Mai

Are you someone who is eager to learn Thai in Chiang Mai? I am an instructor here in the area and I have decided to start this blog to discuss the different options students have for selecting a Thai school in Chiang Mai. There are a lot of different options available.

I will be going over many of them in upcoming posts but I think that today we will focus on some things you should be looking for in a good Thai school. While I would love it if every student that wanted to learn Thai in Chiang Mai would come to study with me, I am certainly not the only, or nessecarily the best teacher available. There are lots of good teachers in the area, and the important thing is that you find somebody and start learning Thai as soon as possible!

When you first set out to find a Thai school in Chiang Mai, you will find lots of places offering a few classes a week for a yearly tuition. Be wary of these places, genreally the purpose of these schools is to offer Foreigners a way to get a 1 year education visa (at a very steep price) in exchange for a few very low quality Thai language classes or “culture lessons” 2-3 days a week.

This is a great option if you want a casual introduction to the basics of Thai language or you are looking for a way to stay in Chiang Mai for a year at a time without going through the effort of making visa runs.

For serious people who are interested in learning Thai however, these places just don’t meet the need. If you want to learn Thai in Chiang Mai, look for a school that will offer:

• An Intensive program (classes meet more than 3 days a week, and for an hour or more at a time)
• A structured syllabus and curriculum
• Many different Levels and a path from beginner to advanced
• Printed materials
• Teachers who are fluent in the English language
• Placement exams

An Intensive course to Learn Thai in Chiang Mai?

What does this mean, an intensive program? Typically, an intensive program is one which offers students a chance to immerse themselves in the material for an “above average” amount of time several days in a row. Regular classes would meet, say for 45 minutes 2-3 times a week. An intensive thai program would meet for 1-3 hours a day, 5-6 days a week.

A Structured Syllabus and Curriculum

Does your teacher know where you are going, and how you are going to get there? If not there is a good chance you will never reach your destination. If your goal is to learn to speak fluent, conversational Thai and your teacher doesn’t have any idea how to get you from where you are now, to there, then you are in trouble. Unfortuantely, many instructors in Thailand use a “shotgun” approach to teaching and simply choose at random things to teach their classes each week.

They make as many flashcards as they can, walk into class, teach a little vocabulary and then fly by the seat of their pants. They often don’t work from any written material and don’t have a sound plan for developing a solid foundation of basic fundementals in their students. This is a recipe for disaster.

Language must be absorbed in small, digestable parts that are given to the student at just the right time. As an instructor, one must have a plan if they hope to do this effectively.

Many different levels, and a path from beginner to advanced

What hope do students have of making small, incremental advances in their abilities as a Thai speaker if every student in the class is at a different level and has different needs? It is important that a school has many different levels of instruction available so that students can work with a group of peers who have similar skills so that they can work together to grow their understanding of structures, grammar and vocabulary. If you plan to learn Thai in Chiang Mai, make sure you look for a place that has a multi-level program.

Printed materials

There is nothing wrong with not teaching directly from a book. It’s important to recognize that a good instructor will realize the needs of his class and use many different materials to meet those needs. Still, having some authoritative printed materials gives the class structure and direction, and guarantees that there is a path or “guide” to make progress throughout the course.

A good instructor will take the main idea from a lesson in a book, then build on this main idea by using supplemental materials from other resources based on the needs of his or her students. Homework can be assigned from the book, and this gives the students a chance to touch on what they have learned and get another exposure later in the day.

Choosing the right book can be the toughest part. I’ll focus more on this in a later post, but for now just make sure that when you look for a place to learn Thai in Chiang Mai, whoever you are learning from is at least loosely working from some text or written material.

A Thai Teacher who can Speak fluent English

“Immersion programs” are all the rage in modern language learning. From Rosetta Stone to bi-lingual international schools that punish students for speaking their native language in class, the current paradigm is to immerse students with the idea that they will learn their second language the same way they learned their first one.

There is one flaw with this however… once the human mind reaches a certain age, it has a “primary” language and every new language that’s learned is a secondary language.Unless you are a 2 year old, you will need a mix of immersion, memorization and association to pick up a new language.

The reason for this is that your brain has already made concrete associations between objects and their “name” in the language center of your brain. New associations can be made, but their strength will be relative to the frequency of use.

Immersion doesn’t work if you only practice it 2 hours a day, 2-3 days a week with an instructor. It’s got to be a 24 hour a day thing… That’s not to say that some immersion techniques don’t have their place… they are great for teaching basic vocabulary and structure but especially at the more intermediate levels of language learning, a student needs some things explained to him in a language he or she can understand. Again, this is something I will speak about in detail in a later post. For now, just make sure you look for a Thai teacher who can speak decent English!

Placement Exams and Assessments

This really could fall under the category of “many different levels and a path from beginner to advanced”. Again, the importance being that students of the same level should be in the same class. If a students level is too high for the class, the student will become bored and will learn very little.

Conversely, if a students level is too low for a class, they will be lost, feel frustrated and at best take nothing from the class. At worst, they will often quit altogether. When you are looking for a good place to Learn Thai in Chiang Mai, make sure they give (free) placement exams.

I had better stop myself short here, as this is becoming less of an article and more of a novel…If you can find a school that meets the above criteria at a reasonable price, you will be well on your way to becoming a speaker of the Thai language! Just remember my recommendations when you are looking for a place to Learn Thai in Chiang Mai.

Cheers!

-Simon