You can read my review here, and you can sign-up here! Thats why I was glad when some schools made the leap and offered the beginning levels of conversational material in just plain thai script or just plain karaoke. Things like backward Cs and Us with lines through them. But of course, thats up to the individual. how to start a travel blog in under 30 minutes, here! I just got off the phone w/Duke Language School and at this time they dont offer that option. At Duke Language School, it's 6,000 baht for 4 weeks, or 17,000 baht for 12 weeks, or 30,000 baht for 24 weeks. You can sign-up here. Contrary to what one of their teachers posted here a while ago, the karaoke and Thai scripts are still together with the karaoke thai bigger and bolder than real Thai. For their minimum of 300 an hour for group lessons I could hire a Skype teacher for one-on-one lessons, and save on the transportation costs too. The atmosphere at the school is so warm. ); SafetyWing insurance Review. So its a nightmare, we all know that, but at least we can use the time productively, right? Its during these 3 modules that you learn the Thai alphabet, and ultimately, how to read and write Thai. Harder to learn than karaoke, but easier that full-up script. I want to share my experience studying Thai in Bangkok at Duke with you guys. Oops, I forgot to mention I did also a book called level 7 before going to social problems. Its got nothing at all to do with schools wanting students to pay for more levels and EVERYTHING to do with the time investment it takes to even begin to read retard thai (beginning conversational thai) with a proficiency where you could keep up in class. Please keep in perspective that how you learned thai just happened to work for you. But thats where ANY and ALL similarity ends as far as a Union Clone school. And I agree with you that you can get a perfect pronunciation by only using karaoke. Now thats not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination so dont take it as a negative. Actually I am on the point of giving up. PDF Study in Bavaria - Doctoral Programmes in English This month, Ive been studying the morning class, and in my opinion, the morning is better. Everest climb with @furtenbachadventures, Day 7 on our Everest climb with @furtenbachadventu, Day 6. Students watch a short clip or a presentation, then talk about and discuss it. Buy 1 get 1 free in 7/11? And if you just want to get cracking, use BlueHost at a discount, through me. I am convinced that your pronunciation will be just as good if you start to study with Thai script right away, just look at Luke Bauer, the last advanced Thai students that was interviewed on this website. Phak Ding to Namche Bazaar on my classic, Everest bound The team for the next couple of m, Starting my Everest expedition tomorrow. Within which group the consonant lies, that can change the tone. Ill see you there! Study Thai at Duke Language School; My Experience and Review - OneStep4Ward I got a 5 on all skills, except for writing, I got a 3 for that. That's why most schools teach speaking conversation levels in karaoke FIRST before you learn to read or write. I just read the above, and cant let it go without a comment. I had been looking for the best Bangkok Thai language school for years, trying to find a place that the schedule worked, but it was tough. Anyway, I am sorry that I high-jacked the comments to go on with this discussion (about karaoke vs Thai script). You can sign-up here. Your level of Thai must be pretty good after all these years and most schools and teachers probably know you. BTW, Ive signed up for the Duke Language school for November. Studying Thai with Duke Language School in Bangkok So I never really got a chance to learn Thai in Bangkok properly. I took a look at the website of that Baan Aksorn; it looks lovely, but it is really expensive. That is pretty cool! Similarly to Baan Aksorn, the school follows the Benjawan Poomsan Becker's Phonics method as well. When you try to recall the correct pronunciation of a word, you want Thai script to pop up in your mind, not karaoke, because thinking of karaoke gives your brain one more step to take, and that can slow you down. Thats because I learned to read/understand & type thai BEFORE I started speaking it, much like what you outlined in your own learning experience. The plan is to weed out any mistakes (it happens), get suggestions, and then make corrections and further tweak the system before the second run. God know what Ive missed out on over the years! 3 hours per day. But know that there are 5 tones in Thai. There is a HUGE (as in really big investment of time) which you have to front load when you go about learning to speak thai by using thai script. Primary 10/63, Trendy Building, 3rd floor Sukhumvit Soi 13, Wattana Bangkok, TH Get directions Employees at Duke Language School Arthit Juyaso Ian Hollinger See all employees Welcome back When you study with Duke, youre eligible for the English ED Visa. Email me on johnny@onestep4ward.com. Costs, Difficulty Etc, The Best Digital Nomad Insurance (now covering COVID-19 too! Or from 1pm to 4 pm. Time : 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Profile; Apparently it has no karaoke in it, only Thai. But the staff offered the chance to instantly have a level-check, to see which of the 9 levels you should join. The teacher really pushed me to my limits. In the Thailand flag, the red color symbolizes blood; the violence and bloodshed by Thais used to maintain their nation's independence from start to end. (aa) became , (o) became and so on. No matter where youre from or what native language you speak, our unique method of teaching will get you speaking functional Thai used everyday by Thai people, and not textbook Thai of little use outside school. "Thailand 'Saw Duang'." Hartenberger World Musical Instrument Collection, May 15, 2021. https://wmic.net/thailand-saw-duang-aurelia/. Ok, Ill give it a go. Theyve teamed up with Glossika and Jcademy (both excellent programs). GET A FREE CLASS GET A FREE THAI VOCABULARY E-BOOK Studying At ALA Language School In Bangkok Now some might have the thai script there too, but it's to familiarize the student with what thai looks like so that when they do get to the reading writing levels it clicks easier. The review you made was excellent and the course material provided by this school looks nice. It covers me while I live overseas. But I would miss out on the social interaction with other learners. Learn how your comment data is processed. It's just $10 a week, and it's amazing! I never had to do any module twice and in the end I was the only farang left. ), The Best Digital Nomad Insurance (now covering COVID-19 too! 3 hours per day, 5 days per week. Most of us simply want to communicate adequately, which is understand and speak the language. How to get an Education Visa in Thailand? You can rest easy knowing youre learning with Duke. Hands down Id recommend Duke Language School over ANY other school out there that Ive been to so far (be sure to check the date of this post against the others that went before). 2 months, Turkmenistan (can you spot me?!). Duke is NOT a school like that. I found where the school was on google map and hopped on the BTS to Nana Station. Also, (if you're like me, and awful with tech-stuff) email me and my team can get a blog up and running for you, designed and everything, for $699 - email johnny@onestep4ward.com to get started. At Duke, youre guaranteed to have lessons with students from different nationalities and cultures. . Typing thai? Then I opened the book saw it was ONLY in thai script and bought it. Conversely, the karaoke systems taught in most schools today can be acquired very rapidly, and students are able to replicate the sounds pretty darned close, pretty darned fast. And its not lost time, because in the end you would have to go through the difficulties anyway, including the difficulty of the extremely slow reading in the beginning. You said that you were reading before you were pronouncing things correctly. Duke Language School Bangkok - Full Review Part 1 - YouTube Click here to play the comic series from our textbooks. Also, if you want to start a blog, and start to change your life, I'd love to help you! So, I went to level 6 within 3 months. Private schools in Bangkok. Perhaps I would be better off taking private lessons over Skype. It is a GREAT book. But thats not the only way to avoid karaoke. But the Duke school does sound intriguing, especially if you want to hone your listening skills like I do. A daunting prospect. Me? But I dont get the 4 weeks thing is that just the length of a single level? We have plans to revise our textbooks and include both karaoke and Thai script. Each module has its own textbook specifically designed by Duke Language. ), Working on a Summer Camp in USA; My Experience, Studying My CELTA in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Its a no-brainer in todays tech-savvy world, especially with all of the resources available in internet-land. This is mostly due to the sheer number of Union type of schools in Bangkok rather than the material. | PhD Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt (LMU) Munich: www.lmu.de Targeting Therapeutic Windows in Essential Cellular Processes for Tumor Thera- Yup, no karaoke. I went to Khao Lak and Koh Yao Noi with my partner last month, missed a couple of classes, so booked 3 hours private to catch up. Duke teaches you valuable words you can use and how to use them. The other students in the class, ranging from 25-55, are all fun, and outgoing. It takes a lot for a school to wow me nowadays, but I can honestly say, with no reservations at Duke Language School I was indeed wowed! I love the country, the people and the culture so much that I want to learn Thai, Ive become a pretty darned jaded foreigner as far as how Thai is taught. To most people, its too much trouble understandingthe complexity of this unique language. Where is Duke, the best Bangkok Thai Language School? Even during this Covid-19 pandemic, their classes often sold out! Although you might want to check if your teacher has a suitable lesson plan for you. Ive never been a good student. Phak Ding to Namche Bazaar on my classic, Everest bound The team for the next couple of m, Starting my Everest expedition tomorrow. Explore 1 is all about becoming familiar with the letters. Do not learn the script before you can pronounce it. although if you really want to read the Thai, it is easy enough to cover the karaoke with a bit of paper! And I did it all from my laptop as I travel the world and live my dream. They do the typical 50 minute classes with a 10-15 minute break in between. I talk about how I did it, and how you can do it too, in my COMPLETELY FREE Ebook, all 20,000 words or so. Each Module or term lasts 4 weeks. Here's an exact list of what you get: And now, with all that off my chest and out of the way, heres the review: Website: Duke Language School Address: 10/63, Trendy Building, 3rd floor Sukhumvit Soi 13, Wattana, Bangkok Thailand 10110 Email: [emailprotected] Tel: Land: 02-168-7274 Mobile: 082-444-1595. 5 Ways To Practice Thai In The Age Of Social Distancing, 6 Cheap Spots In Bangkok For Delicious Thai Food. Duke Language School to be precise. Let me add my thoughts. The constructs are/or were contemporary, the vocab useful, and I'd say anyone could benefit from this book even if you can only read thai at a "retard level". We dont teach babies to readand Im certainly at the infancy stage in my Thai . The focus is on playing games and discovering Thailand in order to learn Thai the interesting way. Mostly because there are so few schools coming into the teach Thai to adult foreigners niche market. Teachers at Duke Language School are competent in the teaching method, are engaging, and no matter how off-toned or poorly pronounced the students are, seriously try to get them to break out of their shell and speak. ), The Best Digital Nomad Insurance (now covering COVID-19 too! Home to the Gate, Anyone fancy an October city break to Iraq (Baghda, Weve been on the Thai-Myanmar border the last f, study Thai at Duke Language School. I should add though that my vocabulary is awful, so half the time I mightnt know what it is Im actually reading, but I can read it none-the-less! Address: 10/63, Trendy Building, 3rd floor Sukhumvit Soi 13, Wattana, Bangkok Thailand 10110. Duke has broken down the Studying Thai Language process into 9 modules (you can see them here): Each module lasts 4 weeks. EDIT: Please read Duke Thai Language School: Materials Review first. I think these basic schoolbooks, with the assistance of a teacher are a very good tool to learn Thai. You wont learn anything that way! I started on Explore 1, now on Explore 2, and doing Explore 3 next month. Monday to Friday. What they do is to learn the characters as they encounter them. Both place are near my office and Im still not sure which one to choose. Have you ever had any problems trying to understand what Thai people say? Dont reason these kind of people into knowing the letters as a MUST-requirement to learn the language. COVID may have destroyed our non-profit travel company (temporarily), stripped back the traffic of my travel blog, cancelled all my adventure trips, and smashed my SEO company revenue by 80%, but it has allowed me to focus on fitness and improving my Thai. Just gotta stick at it, and having finally found a school where I like the energy, its all become so much more manageable. It makes no sense to me, but the positioning and bold text still force my eye to go there first, try to pronounce this gobbledegook, fail and then finally read the perfectly comprehensible Thai. They also offer private lessons too. Teachers: Sitting in a trial class I was impressed that the teacher went out of her way to speak clearly. All Courses; . Everyday Thai for Beginners, by Wiworn Kesavatana-Dohrs is an excellent book. In addition, my somewhat skewed opinion about what I call Union Clone schools is too well known. Yet to ignore opportunities to learn Thai that offer only karaoke thai is to narrow ones choices down drastically. All rights reserved. Here are 6 common mistakes farangs make when speaking Thai (read more), Have you ever had any problems trying to understand what Thai people say? Otherwise, you will probably be better off using karaoke. Ive never quite figured this conundrum out, seeing as theyre teaching Thai to non-native adult speakers and most Asians possess at least a basic command of English. People come from all over the world with different life stories. In the end, if I would have to choose to do 1 thing different, I would ignore the karaoke from the first minute and I would go for private courses instead of group courses. This means that we plan all lessons out with a schedule. Tones and vowel length are even more important that consonant and vowel sounds, because there is no leeway to the former but there is for the latter. The site says This is not for learning Thai from beginners level, it is for learning spoken Thai as the Thais speak it and you should already have basic Thai ability. See. My Experience. I really dont know how to say anything of much use in the real world, and am therefore very socially isolated. Frankly, I think it would take longer to learn to read that IPA than to learn to read Thai and for what? If you dont build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs, Ive lived in Thailand for years. I left Ireland broke, with no plan, with just a one-way ticket to Thailand and no money. Starting every 4 weeks. Ive been to schools where, before they teach a single word, the teacher goes thru the textbooks page by page to tell students about the mistakes. Offers Thai language courses in group or private settings that put Thai cultures in their lessons to help students understand more about Thai people. And my vocabulary is a work in progress. Rowing Across the Atlantic Ocean; My Experience, How Do Bloggers Make Money (and how much do bloggers make?! The two co-founders of Duke Language School put a TON of time weeding out the useful teaching material from the dated stuff which was garbage. It makes it almost not worth the cost to the school to offer that material in thai. Our get-togethers provide a fun opportunity for students to share traditional cuisine and artifacts. Duke offers monthly field trips which students, no matter their level of Thai, can participate in. Visit our school for a free trial lesson to let us show youhow learning Thai can be fun. in just 6 weeks, pretty amazing to be honest. Technical University of Munich (TUM): www.tum.de Systemic Neurosciences, Graduate School Dr.rer.nat. Stay in Thailand for 8 months or 14 months with the ED Visa. If you dont build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs, The Best Bangkok Thai Language School; Duke Language School, Chilly evenings Training for Everest whil, Day 15 on our @furtenbachadventures Everest climb, 2 weeks into our Everest expedition and sh*t is st, Day 11. This also helps build friendship between students no matter what module or level theyre learning at school. Since then, I started a blog, then a digital media company, Ive made more than $1,500,000 USD, bought 4 properties and visited (almost) every country in the world. I understand the tones of the language so much better. As this is a massive amount of work, it will take us a few months to complete every book. What an idiot I was. In almost all the schools Ive been at which offer the thai and karaoke; the karaoke is type set WAY TOO LARGE and its placed WAY TOO close to the thai script. I watched a foreigner test into conversation level one at a school, and while they were adamant they could read thai, what came out of their mouth sure didn't sound much like thai to my foreign ears (and I can understand some piss-poor pronounced thai from foreigners). 45+ years ago the Thai language school called Union opened with a curriculum designed to teach Thai to foreigners. Assuming it takes (at least) 10 months to get to the level of a 10 to 12 years old, the 1 month or less it takes to do study basic reading is not that huge anymore. Sternschnuppe Verlag is a company that operates in the Education industry. It got so bad that now some schools "test" you into classes if you're wanting to use thai script, so as not to take away from the other students. Words have only one possible pronunciation (in theory, however some karaoke isnt modified to show the tone exceptions like in he=). Duke Language School | 84 followers on LinkedIn. With ThaiPod101, you can a comprehensive Thailand course for all types of learners. My Thoughts On The Best Bangkok Thai Language School, Best Islands in Thailand that You Must Visit. Today we made our way to L, Day 9. Good Luck, what ever you do, DONT give up! Make sure to check their website for promotions, etc. Call +668-2444-1595; Home; Learn Thai. 6 is the level of a native speaker. You have to commit to memory (by that I mean, NOT just know about it, but being able to parrot it out every time); the 44 consonant characters, the 32 vowel sounds (and the vowels which change their form), the consonant classes, the word ending protocols, the tone marks and when the shift from making into (for low class consonants), you need to know what consonants can be a silent character for, etc. Preamble: I havent written any reviews in quite awhile. Have you ever felt that learning Thai is too difficult? Top 5 Classes to Take in Thailand for 2021 | Thaiger Anyway, I finally bought a condo in Bangkok, and loved being back in the city. Next month, Ill do a little video speaking Thai and you can see how the progress has been. Still, your reviews always look as if you were a new student, entering the school for the first time, and you really manage to get a lot of inside knowledge about the different schools. 5 day per week. Duke Language School. Our schedule helps ensure that youre getting the highest quality learning possible. Tod Daniels | toddaniels at gmail dot com Reviewing Thai Language Schools in Bangkok (BTW: Tod is NOT affiliated with any Thai language school). Writing thai by hand is so far down the list as a skill which has real value that its almost not worth the effort it takes to learn. A lot of people just want to be able to speak. Their websites are not updated but I have been informed that the following modules now applies : . Also, if you want to start a blog, and start to change your life, I'd love to help you! Some people might think that some chapters in this book might verge on nationalistic browbeating when they talk about Thais being greeng jai and polite. thai-language.com - Forums - "Hardcore" language school The colors represent the nation, the religion, and the country's King (1). taught me for 2 months Its dry to the n-th degree. At Duke Language school students are first taught how their karaoke Thai system works, what the symbols mean, and sounds are made. Learn keywords and dos and donts that will help you snag that career opportunity! And for me at least, it teaches foreigners to speak a version of Thai that hasnt been heard on the streets of Thailand perhaps ever. The third was a bit more serious, but still fun, and used audio-visual aids (ie YouTube videos) to teach the subject matter which in Journey 3 covers Thai society, culture, festivals and entertainment etc. And even if I had stuck it out, it wouldnt have paid off the way it should. Let's have a look at some of the most popular private language schools in Bangkok. Every time I was thinking about a word, the karaoke popped up in my head. Great value for an almost full-time monthly course. They are contemporary, current, and totally re-written! While the "incredibly astute thai learner" series on this site is anecdotally interesting, that's about as far as I'd go with it. ), but just training the body isnt enough, so I was determined to improve my Thai language skills. OH MY GOD. And within that time, my reading ability went from this to this:if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'onestep4ward_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_3',177,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-onestep4ward_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Living in Thailand, for years I saw TV ads, street signs, newspapers. Also, with 14 months, you could go from Beginner to pretty fluent. Moreover, the white color represents the purity of religion; Buddhism is regarded as the national and most . If you sign up to an 8 or 14-month course with Duke, they will help you secure the visa. You can even sign up if you're already overseas and traveling, pretty cool. Although for that one, I think Ill do a little video of me speaking Thai so you can see my progress. The German speaking would have no problem with it, but the Americans read it wrong. Each year Id spend 1-4 months in Bangkok, normally in 30 days stints. This is why, when I went to Duke Language Schools website and saw the format; I surmised it was another Union Clone School in methodology and course structure. The questions get progressively harder until you reach the level where you no longer understand. Everyday Thai for Beginners was a book I skipped buying for the longest time simply because of the title. Classes are from 9 am to 12 pm or 1 pm to 4 pm (3 hours), and from Monday to Friday. Which is a 7 Summit? So nervously I agreed. And thats also the level that you begin the reading and writing. The first 2 courses had plenty of edutainment games such as buying and selling stuff with funny money, or directing another student around a big map on the floor. Most of the expats that I know, and I know loads, are in my same boat. To me speaking and reading are horses of a different color. Climbing Mount Everest Everything You Need to Know from My Experience. You will learn how to speak Thai and simple patterns of language structures to be able to speak Thai in a short period of time. The discussion about yes or no karaoke is purely academic. If youre wanting to learn Thai you should definitely put Duke on your list of schools to scope out. Duke understands that everyone has different preferences. I'm totally blown away by how much I've learned. Bangkok am Inn: An Asian trying out the restaurant. Duke Language School. Try out 60 Minutes Thai Alphabet to see what I mean. This gets them speaking something which sounds a LOT like thai faster and thats the objective of thai conversation classes; hence the catchy title conversational thai. Im so impressed by their syllabus, their teachers, and the whole set-up. 30-day tourist visas are not a good solution! They contain both phonetic transliteration and Thai script in the vocabulary and dialogue sections throughout the books, in which the Thai script is written underneath the phonetic guide. Its such a huge help. No upfront fees, you just pay week by week, and you can sign up just for a week if you want, then switch it off and on whenever. Albeit the easi, Day 4/50. Im also shocked by the speed people are progressing with their Thai here. <25 Employees . I have already learned how to read, and can calculate tones. Id say I am lower intermediate, but I cant read or write a drop (at least I couldnt before this blog post! While many students are happy to be learning face-to-face, others enjoy the convenience of being able to learn from anywhere. Website: Duke Language School. In my class we used a karaoke system that matches with most European languages, but not with American English. So the same word, with a different tone, means 2 completely different things. I have one more module to study, Explore 3 before I fly home for Christmas. What is the Best Bangkok Thai Language School? Yeah, Thai phonetic script is nice. If youre quite advanced, Connect 1. It was time to take the plunge. The rest of the year was spent trying to finish my goal of, So I did a lot of researched and finally committed to, I would love to continue to study Thai in Bangkok to be perfectly honest. Unfortunately, most people Ive met who say they can read thai and that theyre going to take thai conversational classes in thai script, well they sorta remind me of an idiot savant; except without the savant part. It comes with a CD. The RID for instance says is pronounced as which is not correct (because its pronounced with a short vowel). Learn Thai Language course at Sandee Language School Bangkok Tel: 084 388-2832. Saw Duang - Duke University Musical Instrument Collections Is there any recommended language school in Bangkok which does NOT use karaoke Thai? Although, until COVID, its been more of a pitstop than a home. I have enrolled for 3 courses at Duke, starting 1st June 2018. Just finish the process by putting in your email below and Ill mail it right out to you immediately. Based on our research, Duke Language School is one of the top Thai language schools. In my first module, there were 8 of us in the class, in my second module, there are 6 of us. Thats that some of them read the karaoke as if it was their native language, leading to completely incorrect vowel sounds. At one school where I sat a level; I finally resorted to cutting a piece of paper which I could use to screen out the karaoke on the pages. By your own admission, possessing the skills you have, you still dont know how to say anything of much use in the real world, which consequently leave you in a socially isolated situation. ETSY STORE (Language Learning Resources): https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DesignsByToriReign?ref=l2-about-shopnameFOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thevictoriareign/?hl=enMixed Race Perspective - my view on life issues:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7NOynN03fvgHm8GJtTKyGO6tsq537zFFor Language Learning Tips:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7NOynN03fsrpUHzNh2k5gQ0eBV0jc2GMy Thai Language Journey:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7NOynN03fsMsnFfWphf2tg5L1VYOTTGReaction Videos:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7NOynN03fsRFD8QtYlTQk8xfAPug43LTravel Tips and Advice:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm7NOynN03ftkhRJJixcIiT-RXtaWjS5RThis is a Life, Language and Travel channel with uploads every Sunday. You want the karaoke to disappear as painlessly as possible.
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