Stu Jay Raj is back with Cracking Thai Fundamentals…

As I mentioned earlier this year – Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Interview Part One – I met polyglot Stu Jay Raj right after landing in Bangkok.

I took Stu’s workshop to gain an insight into the Thai language and culture. And I did.

Cracking Thai Fundamentals is for anyone who has just arrived in Thailand and wants to start off on the right foot or for anyone who has lived in Thailand for a long time but their knowledge of Thai sounds like a clumsy shoe falling down the stairs.

To help us to remember Thai vowels, Stu got us up doing funny things with our mouths, hands, and entire bodies. And to this day, I still smile at how Stu taught me to get the vowel า into my head.

To see what I mean, watch his video in the second part of the interview: Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Interview Part Two.

So instead of freaking out about Thai tones like everyone else newly studying Thai, I came away from Stu’s workshop with cheeky memories of saying aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah :-)

Stu took his family off to Australia months ago. Then, in late August, I got a heads up with ‘Hey Cat! I’m coming back!’ So for those of you finding yourselves in Bangkok this October – lucky you.

Date: Tues (5th) – Wed (6th) October
Time: 09.00 – 17.00

For two days, Stu’s Cracking Thai Fundamentals Bangkok Workshop will be on offer. And if I were you, I’d grab at the chance because Stu is only visiting Bangkok. Not relocating.

Btw: Those signing up for the workshop will receive a free online membership.

Mistakes people make when Learning a language…

Stu’s teaching style is chock-full of fabulous energy that sucks his students into the excitement of it all. His latest video, Mistakes People Make When Learning A Language, is a perfect example.

Some of the mistakes we make are hilarious … if you are reading this and you’ve ever been to Soi Ruamrudee in Bangkok, you need to watch the clip lest you follow the hysterical (for others) route that many have trodden before you!

Look who’s attending Stu’s Thai workshop…

The online learning Thai community is close-knit, so it was a simple matter to get quotes from two people attending Stu’s workshop. You’ll already know Talen from his popular website, Thailand Land of Smiles, or even his recent post on WLT: Review: Thai Language Schools in Pattaya.

Now that I am getting serious about learning the Thai language and taking language lessons, I am looking for anything that will help in this endeavor. The Cracking Thai Fundamentals workshop looks to be right up my alley and I am hoping that it will provide me a solid bridge into the fundamentals of the Thai language that I so desperately want to learn.

Talen (AKA Tim Bull)
Thailand Land of Smiles | Photography of Thailand | twitter: @landofsmiles

I hooked up with Claudio on twitter yaks ages ago. As we twitter back and forth pretty much daily, he was happy to give me a quote too. It sounds like he’s just as excited about the workshop as I was!

I’ve been living in Thailand for two years and find learning Thai to be a big challenge. The problem is the tonal aspect of the Thai language. In addition, I struggle with remembering the words I learn; they seem to go in one ear and right out the other.

While reading through the course description of Stu’s 2-day workshop “Cracking Thai Fundamentals”, I became very interested. I then watched some of Stu’s videos on YouTube, immediately liking his style and personality.

So far so good, but I wanted to be sure before signing up. I then reached out to my Twitter network to see if anybody had studied with him before. The responses I received from previous workshop attendees convinced me that this is a course I don’t want to miss.

I signed up for the workshop and can’t wait for it to start! I’m looking forward to a fun-filled and entertaining two days. And the prospect of finally mastering the consonant and vowel systems, as well as learning techniques to help me remember vocabulary, is exciting.

Claudio Sennhauser
Claudio Sennhauser | twitter: @DemoWell

Are you curious about the person Claudio talked to? I was too. And few tweets and emails later, Claudio’s friend and former student of Stu’s, @MrScottEddy, agreed to an interview (so watch this space).

And that’s not all. After Talen and Claudio go through Stu’s workshop, they’ll do an interview as well. Megga.

Polyglot Stu Jay Raj around town…

On WLT:

• Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Interview Part One
• Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Interview Part Two
• Successful Thai Language Learner: Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj
• Mnidcraft: The Art of Language
• Cracking Thai Fundamentals Meets Mnidcraft Over Songkran

On his home turf:

Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Language and Mind Mastery | YouTube Channel: stujaystujay | twitter: @stu_jay

Enjoy…

Fiona from Baby Steps to Fluency…

This is the seventh post in the Learn Thai via Skype series. If you’ve just arrived, feel free to start at the beginning with How to Learn Thai via Skype and work your way up from there.

When I have time to spare, I enjoy reading the experiences of other language bloggers. And not just those from the Thai persuasion. Fiona’s Baby Steps to Fluency is one I’ve started to follow recently. The post I first landed on was How to Not Learn a Language.

Young Fiona is on her way to being a polyglot (which is waaaay over my abilities), so it’s interesting to read her mindset.

And it just so happens that Fiona has a couple of posts on learning languages via Skype as well:

• Using Lang-8, LingQ and Skype for a Free Language Education
• Skype and Language Learning

I don’t have experience with language exchange partners so Fiona kindly agreed to an interview to help me out.

Interviewing Fiona about language exchange partners…

Fiona, could you please tell us about your interest in learning languages?

I’ve been interested in languages pretty much since I can remember. I grew up to an American mother in The Netherlands – and, though I didn’t speak English, I remember spending hours looking through my mom’s English books, copying different words, trying to pronounce them, and asking my mom what certain words meant. When I moved to America, I learned English ‘for real’, and the ability to talk to a whole ‘nother culture fascinated me. Throughout school, I studied languages – and now, I’m an addict ;)

When did you first start using Skype for language exchange?

The idea of using Skype for language exchange actually snuck up on me. I had been a member of a group Unilang Language chat for quite a while, when we started casually having voice chats, which, inevitably, turned into a chat with a medley of languages. After a while of doing this, I started talking to some of the members individually, and started having chats in my target languages with these people. It wasn’t until later that I realized there were actually websites based on this concept.

What is a typical Skype language exchange for you?

Typically, I get together with someone for who English or Dutch is their target language, and where Russian or Spanish is their native language. We usually spend about 30 minutes speaking in one language, and then 30 minutes in the other. When I’m speaking in one of my ‘native’ languages, I correct the other’s mistakes and answer their questions, and when we switch, I get my mistakes fixed and questions answered. To have an effective language exchange, we generally use a mix of text and voice chats, though both have their benefits – at night, usually, I’d do just text chats, whereas during the day, I prefer voice chats.

How many times a week/month do you set up a language exchange?

Depends – since I’m a student, I usually have no more than one or two chats a month during the school year – I generally have many chances to talk in my target languages during the school day. During the summer, I try to get in at least one chat a week.

How long is a regular language exchange session?

Usually an hour – 30 minutes per language. If we both have more time, we talk longer, and if we have less time, we decrease it to 15 minutes per language. However, an hour total seems to be perfect.

Do you follow a structured exchange as suggested by the Cormier method?

My language exchanges tend to be similar, but I’ve never purposely followed this method. I tend to go with the flow – if we’re having a great time talking about a subject in a specific language, we will continue talking in that language until we feel like changing. 30 minutes per language is a guideline, not a rule. I focus on having fun and learning, if that means deviating from the different methods, that’s fine!

Do you record your language exchanges? If so, what software do you use?

I try to record my language exchanges when I can. I find it very beneficial to listen to our discussions later, so that I can review corrections and listen to my accent so that I know what to improve on. I use Audacity.

Other than Skype, what other resources do you use for language exchanges?

If I am doing a voice chat, a headset is integral – it reduces echo and makes it easier to understand each other. I keep my language books close by incase I want to look something up, and as mentioned before I like using Audacity to record my conversations.

Do you prefer language exchanges with a group, or one on one?

For serious studying, I like doing languages exchanges one on one. It is easier to concentrate talking to one person, and I tend to get more done. However, for ‘fun’ discussions, group chats are great – not quite as effective, but it’s fun talking to a lot of people and listening to people with more knowledge talk can expose you to more vocabulary. So, I speak mostly one on one, but try to talk to groups as well.

Where do you normally find your language exchange partners?

Most of my language exchange partners come from message boards and other websites I’m a member of. I hardly ever go to dedicated language exchange websites. Most of my partners come from How To Learn Any Language and Unilang.

How many language exchange partners do you juggle at one time?

I don’t have more than one or two per language. Most of my partners are friends, so we usually just hit each other up when we feel like chatting, so it doesn’t feel like I’m ‘juggling’ partners, per se – I just focus on talking to a couple people that I feel are particularly knowledgeable.

Is it difficult to find a good language exchange partner fit?

It can be. Not only do you need someone that speaks your target language, you need to find someone who has similar interests (so you have something to talk about), similar goals, and knowledge of grammar and other aspects of your target language. I have gone through a lot of language partners before I found one that I really click with.

Have you ever had a teacher driven language exchange?

No, I haven’t. However, I am planning on asking my language teacher next year to do something similar – I’ll let ya know how it works!

What advice can you give to students considering a language exchange partner(s)?

Make sure you know each other’s goals so that you can both get something out of the exchange. Also, make sure it is someone with similar interests and personality, because a language exchange partner that you don’t get along with or can’t talk to won’t be your partner for very long.

Fiona,
Baby Steps to Fluency

How to learn Thai via Skype, the series…

Below is the growing list of posts written for this series. If you want to know when the next post comes along, then make it easy on yourself by signing up for my RSS feed ;-)

• How to learn Thai via Skype
• Interview: Skype Thai Teacher Khun Narisa Naropakorn
• Guest Post: Study Thai Online via Skype
• My Skype Thai Language Learning Experience
• Learn Thai via Skype: Locating Teachers and Schools
• Todd Bryant and Mixxer, the Language Exchange Community
• Baby Steps to Fluency on Skype Language Exchange Partners
• Online Language Exchange Partners
• Bangkok Radio Interview
• And more posts fluttering away in the wings…

Enjoy…

Sourcing a Thai language school in Pattaya…

On moving to Pattaya one of my first orders of business was to find a decent Thai language school that could fulfill my two main requirements: provide me with a 1 year education visa and be able to teach me to speak Thai competently.

While the Education Visa is a necessity the actual learning of the Thai language is a goal anyone seeking to to live, or stay long term, in Thailand should have.

As I have chosen to live in Pattaya the schools I will be reviewing are all Pattaya based but some do have offices in Bangkok and Chiang Mai as well. While there are a multitude of Thai language schools in Pattaya I have chosen the top 3 schools in the area based on ease of access, variety of schedules and payment plans and the fact that these three schools all offered a 1 year student visa.

Disclaimer: The following review of Thai language courses offered in Pattaya is based on my personal experience attending a free class at each school and talking with both representatives of the school and students, as well as looking over their teaching materials. These reviews constitute my opinions and my opinions only, your experience may differ.

Also keep in mind that everyone has a different learning curve and style and what may work well for one student doesn’t necessarily work well for another. Anyone interested in learning the Thai language while in Thailand should do their homework and look into the various schools/teachers available and if possible sit in on a free class to get a feel for the teachers teaching style and the methods used by the school. Only then can you make an informed decision as to what is best for you.

Also note that all the free classes I sat in on were beginner’s courses which had all just started at the beginning of the week and at most had only a few classes under their belt.

Review: Thai language schools in Pattaya…

PLC: Pattaya School of Languages and Computers

Location: 194/10-11 Moo 9 Pattaya Klang Road

Info: As the name suggests PLC offers a wide variety of classes from Language to computers and web design. The representatives I spoke to were well-informed about classes, schedules and cost.

Materials: The lessons in the text book seemed to flow together nicely and the reviews at the end of each lesson were very helpful. Since I am new to learning Thai I can’t give a comprehensive report on the text book used but in my opinion I could easily follow the lessons which were in English and Thai with phonetic spellings and tone marks which helped to get pronunciation correct.

Teacher: The teacher who taught the free class I attended was very knowledgeable and spoke both English and Thai fluently. She took her time going through the lessons to make sure everyone understood the lesson. She also corrected bad pronunciation.

Students: Students seemed eager to start class and seemed to have a good grasp of vocabulary and speaking small sentences.

Class: This was a group class that consisted of 8 people. PLC also offers individual classes and smaller classes for a different fee.

Schedule: Classes are offered Monday through Friday at varying times to fit any schedule.

Cost: Learning Thai in a group class will cost you 3000 baht for 20 hours, 9000 baht for 60 hours or 17,000 baht for 120 which includes a 1 year Education Visa. There is a 100 baht nonrefundable registration fee for all classes.

My Take: The class, teacher and method seem to be put together well but the class was rather boring, sticking strictly to the materials at hand. I think I could learn to speak Thai well here but I worry that I might lose interest over time.

Callan & Walen

Location: 194/74 Soi Paniad Chang Moo.9 Central Pattayaq Road (Pattaya Klang)

Info: Callan & Walen is a very well known School both in Pattaya and Bangkok. Their representatives were very knowledgeable about classes, schedule and pricing and the offices were very nice.

Materials: The course book seemed very well put together but unfortunately there was no phonetic spellings and much of the course book is in Thai. This is in fact part of the Walen method in which they get you to start reading Thai early on and not rely on phonetic spellings. While this may be good in theory I think a little help in the beginning is paramount when starting off with Thai. One worry is that I would be lost with the materials when studying on my own.

Teacher: The teacher seemed to follow an inflexible lesson plan that hinges on mostly repetition of words. While this method may work well for others I can’t see where this would help me to speak Thai in the long run. The teacher seemed almost mechanical and I didn’t hear her correct the pronunciation of any of the students during the class.

Students: Seemed mechanical but had a good vocabulary although sometimes pronunciation was off.

Class: The class size was nice at 6 people but you would think with that few people there would be more interaction going on between students and teacher, there wasn’t much if any.

Schedule: Classes are on offer 7 days a week with lessons to fit any schedule.

Cost: Group lessons start at 9900 baht for 60 lessons, 19, 200 baht for 120 lessons and 24, 960 baht for 180 lessons which includes a 1 year Education Visa.

My Take: While the class size is perfect I don’t feel their method of teaching will work for me. Repetition can be a good thing but without sentence structure and pronunciation into the mix I feel I would be wasting my time. A strong vocabulary is important but if I can’t put that vocabulary into proper form then I don’t think I’ll be speaking Thai.

Pro Language

Location: 116/33 Moo.9 Central Pattaya Road (Pattaya Klang)

Info: Pro Language is another outfit that has offices in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya. Their representatives were very knowledgeable about classes, schedule and pricing and even went the extra mile to make sure I learned a little Thai while signing up for the free class.

Materials: The course book is well laid out and lessons flow easily one into the next with reviews and vocabulary at the end of each lesson. The lessons are laid out in both Thai and English with phonetic spellings and tone marks to get the pronunciations correct. The beginner’s material actually has you dealing with not only words but sentence structure with later lessons dealing with reading and writing Thai.

Teacher: While the teacher followed the lesson plan he would often deviate from the lesson bringing students real lives into the examples and using real places in Pattaya to make his point. The class was much more interactive with the students being asked simple questions in Thai and giving the responses back in Thai using sentences and proper sentence structure. Emphasis was there when it came to pronunciation, tone and sentence structure.

Students: Seemed eager for class, showed great participation and had very good vocabulary and sentence skills.

Class: The class was small at just 4 people which made for a much more personal experience.

Schedule: Classes are offered 7 days a week at varying times to fit any schedule.
Cost: Group pricing starts at 9000 baht for 60 lessons up to 25,000 baht for 180 lessons and a 1 year Education Visa.

My Take: My teacher was very knowledgeable and both fluent in Thai and English. The materials are easy to follow so there should be no problem studying on your own. The class is very interactive and hands on which for me is very conducive for learning. The teacher made me feel like I was getting a one on one lesson and often used examples from the student’s lives to teach lessons which made the lesson much more personal and easy to remember.

My choice of a Thai language school in Pattaya…

After sitting in on free classes offered by these schools I decided to go with Pro Language as their methods, materials and teachers really suited my style of learning and I feel I will get the most out of their classes.

This doesn’t mean the other schools aren’t worthwhile. If you are thinking about learning the Thai language in Pattaya I encourage you to sit in on the free classes offered by these schools. You may find that one of the other methods suits your learning style better. You may also have different teachers than I had for each class and they may make the learning experience much different than what I observed.

Whatever you choose, making the choice to learn the Thai language is a daunting one but one that I think will make your experience in Thailand all the richer.

Talen (AKA Tim Bull)
Thailand Land of Smiles | Photography of Thailand

Learning Thai with Skype language exchange partners…

For the past two weeks I’ve been writing about Skype and learning Thai. How to learn Thai via Skype was a brief introduction. I then interviewed my Thai Skype Teacher, Khun Narisa Naropakorn to share how she teaches Thai via Skype. Thai language school Study Thai Online graced us with a guest post: Study Thai Online via Skype. And I even got into the act with My Skype Thai Language Learning Experience. On Monday, I went in search of Skype Teachers and Schools.

There is one more post in the wings for Skype teaching, where I will interview Mia Rongsiaw from Learn2speakthai.net. But before I do that, I’d first like to get into learning Thai via Skype, but with language exchange partners.

As I have no experience with language exchange partners, I went to Todd Bryant, who manages one of the top language exchange communities around: Mixxer. It was Todd who came up with the idea for a Skype language community during a collaboration between himself and another academic, Professor Akiko Meguro.

Todd Bryant from Mixxer, the Language Exchange Community…

Todd, as a Foreign Language Technologist at Dickinson College, what does your job entail?

I support any technology that would help the professors of foreign languages in the class. Many of our classes do Skype language exchanges. I maintain the Mixxer, update our computer labs, or organize the language exchange events for our classes. They also use a lot of social software for collaborative writing and podcasts. I give workshops on the topic and help maintain the college blog and wiki.

How do language exchange sites work?

They’re very simple. Everyone registers and specifies the language(s) they are able to teach (their native language), and the language(s) they would like to learn. They then do a search for a partner based on this criteria, so someone who speaks English and is learning Thai would do a search for Thai speakers learning English. The two people agree on a time to meet and spend half of the time in each language.

Is Mixxer set up differently than other language exchange communities?

The primary difference is that it is strictly an educational site. It’s not like the international friend and dating sites. It also provides the ability for teachers to organize “events” for their students by inviting individual learners from the Mixxer to contact their students at a given time.

How can users get the most out of Mixxer?

The most important advice is to be active. It’s helpful to have several partners, so send at least five people a message suggesting times to meet. Be sure to express your willingness to help them in the message as well.

Come prepared to the language exchange. Have some questions prepared in the target language to avoid long pauses in the conversation.

Remember that the other person isn’t a teacher. You’re going to still want to either be enrolled in a class or have a grammar book to give yourself some structure.

Some language exchange sites suggest that the users be at least intermediate level in their target language, but can beginners use the communities as well?

Our Japanese students start at the end of their first semester, when they are still very much beginners. For beginners, they need to prepare more before the exchange by writing down all of their questions and practicing the related vocabulary. It’s more of an interview for them than an open ended conversation.

Is SecondLife usable for students of the Thai language?

I’m not a big fan of SecondLife. I’ve found the system unreliable, and there’s no demarcation between users interested in learning and “griefers” or others there simply to make mischief.

Along the lines of language exchange sites utilizing Skype, what are the other online resources for students and language teachers? For instance, in a recent search I came across WiZiQ, which appears to be developed around the concept of virtual classrooms.

Those sites are set up pair teachers, which isn’t what we’re about. We focus more on open and free sites that are available to anyone. Honestly, there are so many. These are my notes on Open Content for a presentation: Notes

Teaching sites such as Mixxer, Languagelab.com, and WiZiQ are gaining in popularity with online language learners. With your extensive interest in the subject, what do you see as the future of the online teaching industry?

I think we’ll see more opportunities for language learners to be engaged within a larger community in all aspects of their learning. By being part of a community, all of their reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities can have a true practical communicative function. It may be that students become linked via the online presence of textbooks, through universities, or via websites such as the Mixxer. The challenge is to combine the grammar and content of a traditional textbook with activities and a community of language learners.

Todd Bryant
Foreign Language Liaison, Instructional Media Services, Dickinson College
Mixxer Language Exchange Community | Educational Tech Ideas

How to learn Thai via Skype, the series…

To learn more about Mixxer, please read Todd’s well-written post: The Mixxer Language Exchange Community. Todd is also into the exciting practice of learning languages via games (another new interest of mine): Trying to get them to use modal verbs while they’re being chased by a bear. It’s a recorded interview, so be sure to download the mp3.

Below you’ll find the growing list of posts written for this series. If you want to know when the next post comes along, then make it easy on yourself by signing up for my RSS feed ;-)

• How to learn Thai via Skype
• Interview: Skype Thai Teacher Khun Narisa Naropakorn
• Guest Post: Study Thai Online via Skype
• My Skype Thai Language Learning Experience
• Learn Thai via Skype: Locating Teachers and Schools
• Todd Bryant and Mixxer, the Language Exchange Community
• Baby Steps to Fluency on Skype Language Exchange Partners
• Online Language Exchange Partners
• Bangkok Radio Interview
• And more posts fluttering away in the wings…

Enjoy…

Where to find Skype teachers…

Teaching Thai via Skype is a growing industry. And learning languages via Skype is ideal because the students don’t need to be in the same exact location as their teachers. They can reside in the same city (like I do), or live on different continents.

Being in different countries means dealing with time zones and currencies. To figure out what a Skype teacher charges as well as what time they teach, below are two resources I use:

The World Clock: Time Zones
Currency Exchange Rates: Calculator

Thai Skype teachers advertise on forums, teacher/student sites, etc. And that’s helpful. The downside is that some have either stopped teaching via Skype, or they don’t answer emails.

The Thai Skype teachers listed below do both. And from what I understand, they do it rather well.

If your Skype teacher is featured below, please drop by to say ‘hi’. And if you teach Thai via Skype, or know of a reputable teacher who does, please let me know via my contact form.

Thai teachers using Skype…

Bon ratta
Website: Learn Thai the Bon’s Way
Location: Norway
Times: Sat and Sun from 9am – 5pm
Pricing: NOK per hour: 1-3 hours 310, 4 hours 260, 8 hours 210
Payment method: Paypal
Teaching materials: Not based on any particular book.

I haven’t used any books since I started teaching via Skype. I pick a theme to talk about and we expand from there. Role-play has been my favorite way to teach lately. I find it quick and effective.

Kanokkarn “Goy” Yoshihira
Location: Thailand
Website: Thailand Translator
Times: 24/7
Pricing: US$38 per hour
Payment: Paypal, Western Union, Money Transfer
Teaching materials: Normal Thai English Teaching Books and online material.

We strongly believe in a personal approach for each student. Some just need to communicate with the Thai girlfriends and some need to learn the Thai way / culture to do business in Thailand. We believe in giving each and every student a personal teaching plan that suits them. I seen many schools in Bangkok teach students things they will probably never use and it is a waste of the students time.

Ladawan Mamak
Location: Thailand
Website: My site isn’t up yet but people can contact me by teacher@thaiwithjoy.com (thaiwthjoy.com will be online in a couple weeks)
Times: 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM Monday to Friday, Bangkok Time
Pricing: US$10 per hour
Payment: Paypal
Teaching materials: Thai Lesson book (provided in PDF), white board (for reading and writing students), flashcards.

If a student is starting from scratch, we start with the basics, such as greetings, easy words, and pronunciation. Once they are comfortable, we can start putting together basic sentences and learning sentence patterns. For students that are eager to learn reading and writing I will start to add in writing lessons soon after. Otherwise, we would continue with everyday conversation and language patterns. After each lesson I will always give a homework assignment to be completed before the next lesson. And most importantly, be prepared to laugh and have fun!

Mia Rongsiaw
Location: Thailand
Website: Learn2speakthai.net
Times: 10:00-20:00 local time
Pricing: US$20 per hour
Payment: Paypal
Teaching materials: Tailor-made PDF lessons, white board, recommended books & CDs, songs, etc.

I’ve taught Thai all levels to foreigners for over 4 years. I’m currently teaching Thai in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Mostly private lessons at all levels.

In order to learn Thai, you need a tutor who speak fluent English and Thai. I will help you to speak Thai in a fun and easy way and prepare you for your next trip to Thailand.

I will adapt the lesson to your particular needs and do it at your own pace. You will achieve your goals quickly with all the support, feedback and motivation you need.

Not only you will learn to speak language but you will also learn the ways of Thai culture and tradition. In no time at all you will be speaking Thai and maybe even thinking like a Thai.

I’m offering a special free 30 minute consultation where we can get familiar with each other and plan the right curriculum for you to reach your goal.

Narisa Naropakorn
Website: Narisa Naropakorn
Location: Thailand
Times: 10 am – 10 pm Thai time
Pricing: 5,000 THB per 10 hours, 10,000 per 21 hours
Payment: Paypal, bank transfer
Teaching materials: Your choice

My natural teaching style is freeform, but I will use other materials if a request is made. I generally go with an approach called ‘student centered’. This is where I focus on my learners’ lifestyle and needs, what they interact with on a day to day basis, what their special interests are, as well as their personalities. So what this means is that each class is created on the spot, tailored to the individual student. It makes the lessons fun and lively because the students are learning phrases and vocabulary of interest to them.

I believe people learn differently according to how they perceive information. So I teach each of my students in the learning style suited to them. To discover their learning style, I have each student fill out a questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences on how people perceive the world and make decisions.

Conversation: I supplement my teaching with educational sheets from three course books I wrote called ‘Survival Thai’ and ‘Comfortable Thai’. The books were written when I headed a Thai language section in 1995. I use materials from the books to teach beginning students who can say nothing in Thai except ‘sawaddii’ (hello), to the point where they can discuss fluently in Thai to express ideas and needs. I believe the success of these books is from the method of introducing learners step-by-step to both Thai culture and language.

Thai for Tourist: This is a 2 hour short course focusing on situations, e.g. greeting, shopping, and using a taxi.

Reading and writing: For all levels I create exercises that give tips to strengthen their reading skills.

For zero beginners, to save time and costs I first recommend that they start learning the theory from available online resources. I then create exercises to strengthen their reading skills based on their lives (stories about themselves, friends and families). I also add real life reading materials (menus, street signs, etc).

Reading and writing intermediate: I create exercises that give tips to strengthen their reading skills based on their life, eg. stories of themselves or their families. I also add the real life reading material (menus, street signs).

Reading and writing advanced: I select real internet news and articles which suits the learners interest and lifestyle to read together in the class or assign as homework.

WLT: Interview with Thai Skype Teacher Khun Narisa Naropakorn

Supapan Lane (Jiab = little chicken)
Website: Thai Style
Location: United Kingdom
Times: BTS 9.00 hrs – 21.00 hrs
Pricing: Per hour: £65 for 5 lessons, £175 for 15 lessons, £300 for 31 lessons.
Payment: Paypal
Teaching materials: I have produced my own teaching material, both written and audio.

I have three courses: Beginner course, Intermediate and Advanced. For a beginner to learn the basics of Thai language, I have a 30 hour course. Using English transliterations, this course has been designed to emphasize pronunciation of the different tones and to help you understand the basic grammar. There is a large amount of vocabulary in the course. After completing the basic Thai course you should be able to get by ordering food and drinks, directions, money, time, short conversations and more. My Intermediate course is a 60 hour course incorporating speaking, reading and writing. With a basic understanding of the language you can start to learn the Thai alphabet. When you can read Thai, you can pronounce and learn new vocabulary when reading. This is the most exciting part of the course, when you are able to pronounce what you read you start to learn really quickly! After you are able to speak, read and write some Thai, you can continue to our advanced course, start learning advance levels of Thai grammar, business conversation, business correspondence, official Thai language use in radio, TV, newspapers and official vocabulary.

From my experience, I found that students in the UK want a structured course with an aim, and continuous support. Good teaching materials are not the only way to keep someone learning. It is important that you can continue to practice after each lesson, which is why my students receive both written material and audio learning files free of charge. For example, the 30 hour beginner course has 3 booklets (10 lessons in each) which can be downloaded and also a hard copy posted to my students. The audio learning files can be downloaded or emailed after every lesson.

I’ve taught Thai via Skype for two years. My students find it very convenient for them in their busy life style. Especially, in the UK, there aren’t many Thai teachers around. They can’t find a teacher in their area easily. Learning Thai via Skype is just like learning face to face in a private lesson. The only difference is that you do not need to travel to learn Thai so the cost is lower. You can fit your Thai lessons around a busy lifestyle, you can learn Thai before going to work, on a lunch break, after work, or before bed time.

My teaching methods work best in private lessons and are adaptable to any type of class or students needs. Repetition is the key of my teaching method. With my material, I start teaching from basic Thai and build up vocabulary slowly during every lesson. I always repeat what you have learned from the last lesson to see if you have misunderstood anything or are pronouncing the words wrong. Most of my students are beginners. My teaching methods for beginners emphasize correct pronunciation. The repetition helps them to remember how to pronounce Thai correctly. This method reinforces proper pronunciation of the Thai alphabet and words.

During a one hour lesson, I usually use the time as follows:

• 2-5 minutes: Meet and greet
• 15-20 minutes: Revision for the last lesson (except free trial lesson, I will use this time to introduce you to the course).
• 5-10 minutes: Vocabulary (part 1).
• 5-10 minutes: Conversations or Questions & Answers.
• 5-10 minutes: Vocabulary (part 2).
• 5-10 minutes: Conversations or Questions & Answers.

End of the lesson: If there is still some time left, the teacher can have free conversation with the student(s) but related to Thai language, Thai culture or Thai subjects.

After each lesson my students receive audio materials to listen and practice at home. Most of my students say it really helps with the learning. Along with the audio files, I send screen recordings of the lessons to my students. This allows them to watch the entire lesson again and again.

I offer every new student a free trial lesson to get started; a meet and greet to introduce them to my teaching methods. This allows them to ‘try before you buy’.

Thai schools using Skype…

Study Thai Online
Location: Thailand
Times available: 02.00 GMT until 12.00 GMT
Lesson cost: US$10 – US$15 per 50 minute lesson
Payment: Paypal
Teaching materials: Virtual classroom with our own pre-prepared materials loaded in advance.

Patong Language School introduced online Thai lessons for students that couldn’t get to Thailand to study, or had previously studied at our school in Phuket and were heading home. We have since found quite a number of students enrolling from within Thailand that can’t find a language school or teacher near where they live. Some students on Phuket find it more convenient to study online than to attend classes at our school in Patong Beach. This may be for reasons of work schedule or not wanting to drive 30 minutes from Rawai to Patong.

The materials we use online are the same books we use in our classes at the school. This can either be books using phonetics to learn conversational Thai, or our reading and writing Thai series. All books are provided in pdf format so the student can print them or keep them on-screen (we recommend using the materials in the virtual classroom to avoid looking up and down all the time at a book). The webcam was set up to allow the student to see the teacher and blackboard in the classroom, trying to make the online experience as similar to the in-class experience as possible. This didn’t work too well, as many students’ cameras weren’t good enough to clearly read the blackboard, and both the teacher and student were constantly trying to find their place in the book in front of them, then returning to the screen. This led us to investigate other options, and we ultimately settled on the browser-based virtual classroom we use now. This is way beyond being a shared whiteboard; it is a truly interactive experience with both teacher and student being able to simultaneously manipulate pages and text on-screen. The classroom allows recording of the screen and sound, and lets us upload sound clips and videos for the students. Its limits presently seem to be our imaginations!

The teachers are the same experienced Thai teachers that work in Patong Language School day-in and day-out. They have received additional training to use the new technology and are all competent computer users. Being geographically separated can make learning online a very ‘dry’ experience, so our teachers are trained to keep the classes light and fun. We feel it is very important that learning Thai be enjoyable and not a chore. The teachers occupy small, comfortable glass offices to conduct the classes, as we have found this provides greater sound and video quality.

We knew at the outset that our system must be robust and reliable. To this end we use two internet connections from different providers running though a load balancing device. This means we don’t experience connection outages – unless someone disconnects Phuket from the rest of the world! We have four PC’s running Skype and the browsers needed to provide the classes, and they all share student data from a central server. So even if we lose a PC, the teacher can connect from another one right away with no loss of information or continuity. We’ve yet to encounter a student that can’t use Skype and a browser, so we’ll stick with this simple technology and stay away from proprietary software.

As with all the services offered by Patong Language School, we strive to make Study Thai Online a professional-standard service. Having a book in front of you and meeting a teacher on Skype is a very basic way to learn Thai – we aim to offer more than that and continually improve the online experience.

WLT: Guest Post: Study Thai Online via Skype

Thai Language Hut
Location: Thailand
Time: 7am – 9pm 7 Days a week (Bangkok Time +7 GMT ICT Time Zone)
Pricing: 15 hours 8,000 baht Rates
Payment method: Bank transfer or Paypal
Teaching materials: Paiboon Publishing

We interchange our classroom training with on-line training for busy students that are either travelling or intend to move to Thailand. This means you can start on-line and complete the training in a classroom or visa-versa or just mix and match as needed. We are very flexible. We have students using a combination of these techniques to fit their personal schedules.

We focus on creating an effective, simple problem free learning environment so we can focus on the training and not get too distracted by the technology or connection problems. We use only technology from Skype which is familiar to most people ie manageable and not too scary! + minamises connection issues ie not connecting to a third party for whiteboard or other supplementary technologies.

In this vein we offer the following:

• 1 to 1 training only by Skype
• Show a part of our screen using Skype
• Use a combination of slides, flash cards, drawings on paper and exercises to support the standard exercises and learning in our course text book (Benjawan Poomsan Becker, Paiboon Publishing) – the student will have this book in front of them too!
• We give away any slides or exercises developed for the student as pdfs at the end of the training.
• We do not use separate white board systems, in our experience this diminishes the experience and does not enhance it (potential connection problems + new system to use).

How to learn Thai via Skype, the series…

• How to learn Thai via Skype
• Interview: Skype Thai Teacher Khun Narisa Naropakorn
• Guest Post: Study Thai Online via Skype
• My Skype Thai Language Learning Experience
• Learn Thai via Skype: Locating Teachers and Schools
• Todd Bryant and Mixxer, the Language Exchange Community
• Baby Steps to Fluency on Skype Language Exchange Partners
• Online Language Exchange Partners
• Bangkok Radio Interview
• And more posts fluttering away in the wings…

Enjoy…

The magic of learning Thai via Skype…

Disclaimer: Having a series about learning Thai via Skype wouldn’t be complete unless I jumped in as well. I know that. But I was a bit leery about sharing my experiences because I didn’t want to swamp Khun Narisa, my Thai Skype teacher. But after hearing that a whole lot of you are chicken when it comes to technology, I changed my mind. And here we are…

When Luca Lampariello explained the beauty of learning languages via Skype in his two part series, An Easy Way to Learn Foreign Languages, the idea caught my attention.

I was speaking with Americans who asked me “Luca, how can you speak English like that if you’ve never been to the US before?” For those who praise the mp3 as an incredible learning resource, think one better: Skype is the real deal. Audio-material (although a tapes’ sound quality was much worse) has been around for over 40 years, but Skype has been around for much less.

Skype is tailor-made for language learning, and with this wonderful software application you’ll have no more excuses for not getting proficient in languages. Because conversation with a native is an invaluable asset.

Months later, when I was asked to recommend a Skype teacher, I dug into my google results and passed over the shortlist of Thai teachers I’d collected during Luca’s series. The reminder started me thinking about the pros and cons of learning Thai via Skype, and by the end of the morning, I was sold on the idea (but for myself).

At the top of my Skype resources was a discussion about Skype teacher Khun Narisa Naropakorn. Khun Narisa’s many glowing recommendations from students gave me the confidence to contact her about a trial lesson asap.

During our email discussion, Khun Narisa offered two options:

1. Continue with my present study materials, going to Khun Narisa for clarifications.
2. Hand over the controls to Khun Narisa.

After reading even more kudos from her students, I decided to hand over control to Khun Narisa. I then sent the payment for a lesson and she sent two MS Word docs back.

Technical Check:

• Skype
• Voice recorder: Callburner (PC) Call Recorder (Mac)
• Headset: Logitech Premium Notebook
• Skype name: ;-)
• Computer advice: Virus, firewall, etc.

Student Learning Assessment:

• Background: Education, location, etc.
• Desired aims: Serious – fun.
• Class schedule: Preferred times.
• Projected study time: Months ++
• Present Thai level: Beginner – Advanced.
• Operating system: Mac, PC, Linux.

I was also instructed to collect my top 50 Thai words and the ten sentences I say most often. And as you might already know, I had a jump on that one for two sentences at least.

During my first class I was totally nervous. I was also freezing. Because in order to prepare a cool and quiet room, I’d put the ac on high two hours before my scheduled class. And I’m not depending 100% on my memory about the cold or the nerves, because Call Recorder automatically saves an mp3 of each lesson to my HD. Yeah. A recording of every mistake I make. And every shiver as well. Now, how sweet it that?

But what really helped set me at ease was Khun Narisa’s belief that video slows down the online process. A relief, because I work on my computer flat back on the sofa. Eeew. She’d be looking right up my nose.

During the first minutes of the lesson Khun Narisa felt around to discover my Thai level. To, you know, make sure that what I stated on her form (total cacca) matched my existing skills. Suffering through it all, I hemmed. I hawed. And with Mr. Bunt and Duvet being locked in their room, I blushed all on my lonesome.

I was so nervous, most of my Thai leaked away before I could sputter out anything of value. But Khun Narisa’s fun personality had me laughing, and soon we were enjoying a slow back and forth.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve managed to save a lot of the wrong Thai in my blond head. And at one point, Khun Narisa smiled (yes, you can hear a smile through Skype phones) and said that my Thai translation was kindred to Shakespeare. Quaint.

With the trial lesson over, and convinced I’d found a useful addition to my learning Thai arsenal, I signed up for the long haul. Khun Narisa sent over a bill for the tuition fee and I paid via Pay pal. Btw – there is an option for bank transfer as well.

Following soon after came a professionally written employment contract where I agreed to her simple terms: Any cancellations to be made 24 hours in advance. Easy.

And along with the employment contract was a request to take a personality test and get back to her with the results. I didn’t like what I ended up with so went around the Internet taking as many personality tests as I could find for free. But I kept coming out as a ISTJ or similar – bossy, opinionated, anal, stuff like that – which meant that I’d make a good accountant. Boring, and soooo not me. The accountant part, anyways.

When I sent her a fluffy email, she came back with a link that blew me away: ISTJ. Ok. That is soooo me. But I don’t have a serious bone in my body. Nope. Nadda. And what about this one – decides logically what should be done and works toward it steadily, regardless of distraction – hmmmm?

Now that Khun Narisa had my learning style sorted, she put me to work. The aim was to find where I’m lacking as well as clean up any bad Thai I’ve taken on board. To do this, each week I’m to come up with the Thai phrases in my life, as well as any Thai I’m iffy about.

During each lesson Khun Narisa types away, giving me grammar tips with a variety of sentence patterns (patterns are my new Thai love). And at the end of the lesson she reads the sentences again. She kindly does it this way so I don’t have to work through the entire recording to cut out the sound bites to practice later.

And it’s not that I don’t like listening to an hour of Khun Narisa all over again. It’s me that is the problem. I’ve yet to meet anyone who likes their own voice and I’m no different. In fact, I disliked hearing my voice so much the first lesson, that I whispered through my entire second lesson.

The Skype window is quite useful because I can watch in real time while Khun Narisa corrects my Thai, adds notes, and creates new patterns. Then, after we’ve signed off (and she always leaves me a flower) I copy the work from the window into a MS Word doc, extract the vocabulary, add any needed translations, and tidy up the files for viewing ease. The following day I create sentences of my own using her patterns, and drill myself on any new vocabulary.

The first half of the next lesson usually starts out with Khun Narisa checking over my newly created sentences while explaining any grammer snafus. The second half is devoted to new grammar, vocabulary, and more sentence patterns.

And here we are, at the bottom of my post. I’ve been given strict instructions from Khun Narisa to avoid sharing any gushy, glowing reports in her direction. And I have been careful so far. Agreed? But I’m going to take the chance that I bored her waaaay up there somewhere, so here’s a few:

Khun Narisa is first of all, a patient teacher. And I mean really, really patient. Along with her patience, Khun Narisa is also incredibly positive, upbeat, and seriously funny. Also, I find her ability to create lessons on the fly out of my sentences, complete with detailed grammar tips, truly outstanding. It’s like having a talking dictionary, Thai course, and grammar guide at the other end of my Skype connection.

I’ve discovered that learning languages via Skype is powerful. And having a teacher as skilled as Khun Narisa makes it what it should be.

So, do you think she’s still reading?

How to learn Thai via Skype, the series…

• How to learn Thai via Skype
• Interview: Skype Thai Teacher Khun Narisa Naropakorn
• Guest Post: Study Thai Online via Skype
• My Skype Thai Language Learning Experience
• Learn Thai via Skype: Locating Teachers and Schools
• Todd Bryant and Mixxer, the Language Exchange Community
• Baby Steps to Fluency on Skype Language Exchange Partners
• Online Language Exchange Partners
• Bangkok Radio Interview
• And more posts fluttering away in the wings…

Enjoy…