Thai Language for Foreigners (Sponsor)

Where to find instruction in Thai, English and other languages around Udon Thani.
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mathusalah80
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Thai Language for Foreigners

Post by mathusalah80 » September 10, 2012, 9:43 am

Urban legend wrote:To make sure you are getting good value listen for a slight American accent :roll: and good, (AMERICAN?), pronounciation for a good indercation??) that this lady is educated.

Yeah. Good advice :roll: Yes, you know, I mean, like should she like speak ENGLISH with an ENGLISH accent and pronumciation, or indeed anything other than an American accent then obviously I mean, you will know immediately, I mean you know like this would be a good, even an amazing or awesome INDICATION that she is like, well, you know, I mean, uneducated! \:D/ :-" .

Ideally also students should check she is teaching spoken American accented Thai, as clearly that would substantially improve the phonetic quality of the language. :-" :D \:D/



fdimike
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Post by fdimike » September 10, 2012, 9:54 am

It appears to me that Mr Urban is just not interested in learning Thai. I couldn't agree more with Mac, & Udonsmiles. A number of us (American, British & I believe Aussie) studied with Chuan over an extended period of time. I always found her to be a competent & caring teacher even before she obtained her BA in English. She always made learning what I would consider to be a difficult language an enjoyable time.
An ex-pat in the Land of Smile

akwoodworker
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Post by akwoodworker » September 10, 2012, 10:18 am

If there are any other members interested in getting together to drop the cost of the class' let me know. This is my first time spending more than a month in Thailand so it is time for me to learn the language. Plans to bicycle tour the country will be easier with a solid understanding.

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losername
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Post by losername » September 10, 2012, 2:11 pm

Please add my recommendation to all of the above. Learning Thai with Chuan is enjoyable, interesting and rewarding. You need have no worries about her abilities in Thai or English and she is a genuine teacher (not just a native Thai speaker) who understands the teaching and learning processes. Compared to some others she is offering good value in her pricing.

It is not an easy language to learn, but not impossible either. Worry about your ability not Chuan's.

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Irish Alan
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Post by Irish Alan » September 10, 2012, 4:04 pm

urban legend AKA Mighty Chang wrote:odd that I have never learned a single thai word on a bus on the infamous Som -Tam social mat in the VIllages where Thai is the only language spoken .. I think you need a Teacher that is fluent in both Thai and English language Especially when you are a beginner, therefore I will not participate untill a good report comes from a valuable friend or associate full stop . [-X
Danny, you are hardly going to be taking lessons when you do not even live in Udon. Chuan is an excellent teacher and just like Malc123 and FDMike I can attest to her excellent teaching skills and cannot recommend her highly enough.

I know you love trolling but you have crossed the line here. This is a genuine young lady merely trying to make a career doing what she does best and that is teaching. You should be ashamed of yourself.

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losername
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Post by losername » September 10, 2012, 8:44 pm

Irish Alan wrote:This is a genuine young lady merely trying to make a career doing what she does best and that is teaching. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Well done Alan. You say it as it is.

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Galee
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Post by Galee » September 11, 2012, 7:59 am

I've had Chuan teach me for a little while. Good teacher and a nice personality.

I did have one problem though. She was to darn attractive and I couldn't concentrate properly. :oops:

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Photoman
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Post by Photoman » September 12, 2012, 10:15 pm

Hi , Does anybody have a contact number for Chuan please .

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karonsteve
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Post by karonsteve » September 12, 2012, 11:31 pm

Photoman wrote:Hi , Does anybody have a contact number for Chuan please .
Tel. 094-121-4590 (Chuan) More than 10 years teaching experience...taken from the OP.

fdimike
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Post by fdimike » September 13, 2012, 3:01 am

See the original post for her tel number
An ex-pat in the Land of Smile

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redwolf
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Post by redwolf » September 13, 2012, 4:18 am

that's a lot of solid recommendations. if urban legend can't see the value or accept that this teacher is above par, no problem because it's this type of student that wears the patience thin.

no offense, just speaking from experience from 3 years of read/write/speaking study in a thai language school.

also, -anyone considering group study, -be advised that often, the monetary savings are not worth the loss of forward progress & one-on-one attention to detail. time is money. especially your time.

the teacher is often banking on the students following a lecture format w/ small Q&A along the way, but it can backfire if there are 1 or 2 deeply analytical students on hand who naturally want to get into every detail.

that's why it's great to study 1-on-1 and build up the knowledge within the context of your life here. try to learn how to read/write first, then speak. otherwise the fundamentals never really sink in.
AUT VIAM INVENIAM AUT FACIAM | ARCANA IMPERII | ALIS AQUILAE

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parrot
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Post by parrot » October 3, 2012, 11:15 am

My experience over the years of 'playing' with the Thai language is that the best resources are produced outside the country:
A few examples: Benjawan Poomsan Becker's beginner/intermediate/advanced books help break the tone code for me. She was born in Thailand, but spent many years in Japan teaching for Berlitz and in California teaching at Stanford. Her books/Cds are readily available in Udon.
One of my all-time early favorites at http://www.seasite.niu.edu:85/thai/ (Northern Illinois University)......detailed explanations of the alphabet, tones, grammar. MP3 sound tracks and PDF files for a wide variety of beginner/intermediate reading materials. If you want to crack the code of reading Thai, try skipping learning the alphabet first.....go to the Maani reading series at this site and begin reading Thai from lesson one. It's a big morale booster! The entire series of Mary Haas intermediate reading series with sound/pdf is also at this site.

My latest free find is at http://thairecordings.com/ A site created by a Swiss guy learning Thai. His intermediate reading series has pdf files and sound files created by Thais speaking at natural speed.

Most all these sites pattern their language in a way that emphasizes repeating vocabulary and sentence patterns.



For those who have spouses/gfs that want to learn English, google is your friend. If she/he wants to practice 'greetings' for example, google 'esl greetings' and you'll find a wealth of well-produced sites, most all with sound and pdf files. ESL stands for 'english as a second language'.

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maaka
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Post by maaka » October 3, 2012, 4:44 pm

i met a BIB in Udon who spoke with an american accent, and when I asked him where in America he learnt to speak english, he said he never go to America, he hired farang video movies, and learn from watching them..so the theory of listening for an american accent as good proof of a good teacher, sort of doesnt cut the mustard. :lol:

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merchant seaman
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Post by merchant seaman » October 3, 2012, 6:23 pm

What is an American accent? Please explain to me what an American accent is. Boston accent? New York accent? Cajun accent? Texan accent? My wife's younger sister who works Kisakorn Bankin Ban Dung learned her English singing karaoke.

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jackspratt
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Post by jackspratt » October 4, 2012, 10:48 am

merchant seaman wrote:What is an American accent? Please explain to me what an American accent is. Boston accent? New York accent? Cajun accent? Texan accent? My wife's younger sister who works Kisakorn Bankin Ban Dung learned her English singing karaoke.
Here you go MS - hope this helps. =D>



ps is "Kisakorn Bankin" the American way of saying "Kasikorn Bank in" ? :D

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parrot
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Post by parrot » October 4, 2012, 1:58 pm

Thanks for that link, JS. My Thai 'teacher' trades off some Thai for some English lessons.......and I'm trying to break her of her terrible habit of saying heych. Yech!

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parrot
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Post by parrot » October 25, 2012, 1:26 pm

Here's a handy trick for translating:
On your google search box type: translate to thai my father's buffalo is sick and he needs money

Not always perfect, but it's about as simple as it gets

mrmazinkle
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Post by mrmazinkle » February 7, 2013, 8:44 am

fdimike wrote:The lady has a BA with a major in English and speaks the language quite well. However, lets not forget she is teaching Thai and not English.
Let us not forget also,many buy their degrees ,masters,here..Most of the Thai teachers are involved in this paper chase to improve their salaries.I don't know this girl.Maybe she gives value for money.Having said that I know many Thais with masters degrees teaching here who have no language OR teaching skills.

fdimike
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Post by fdimike » February 7, 2013, 3:06 pm

I can tell you to the best of my knowledge she did not buy her degree. I helped her and her classmates on several occasions to include assisting them with producing a 1 act play. I met her professor who did not impress me very much despite possessing a Phd from an Ozzie University. While she didn't impress me with her skill I don't think she was offerring a passing grade for money. I studied with her for more than a year and thought she was an excellent Thai language teacher.
An ex-pat in the Land of Smile

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Thai Language for Foreigners

Post by KB_Texas » February 7, 2013, 6:10 pm

mrmazinkle wrote: Let us not forget also,many buy their degrees ,masters,here..Most of the Thai teachers are involved in this paper chase to improve their salaries.I don't know this girl.Maybe she gives value for money.Having said that I know many Thais with masters degrees teaching here who have no language OR teaching skills.
And if you assume everyone with an advanced degree bought it, then you do a great disservice to the many (probably more than 80%) who actually did the work and got their degree. My wife has a Masters, and she most certainly did not buy it. Nor did her sister. As for 'teaching skills', I am not sure teachers in the West are any better anymore, but that is another subject.

KB

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