Why Learn Thai?
There are many reasons to Learn Thai the most important of which in my view is to integrate with the culture within which you are living. Consider these five advantages to you:
1. Acceptance and Respect – by those you work and live with
2. Understanding – of your environment and what is going on around you + what are people talking about!
3. Control – if you know what is going around you and you have more respect of those working with and for you and you will achieve increased control of your situation whether on personal or business level
4. Independence – Able to manage on your own in any Thai environment
5. Finally Communication – While this is the end goal there are so many other benefits to be had along the way
The benefits outweigh the effort to learn the language!
Learning a language does not happen in a linear fashion. It is learned with a combination of ways, classroom, situational, and environmental (i.e. TV, radio, music). At Thai Language Hut we focus on teaching farang using a varied selection of teaching techniques that are enjoyable, stimulating, and actually help memory retention. We do not believe that learning using standard lecture classroom training techniques alone works well particularly for foreigners. For learning to work it should be fun, interactive, and interesting. We call our approach ‘Active Learning’.
Further, successful memory experts, ‘associate’. This means they link what it is they wish to remember a picture, situation, and activity. In addition, there are no better situations in which to learn than real-life situations. We have adopted this approach to language training and although we do work from a book we mix in different styles of delivery and different environments (Walk About Training) to produce an enjoyable and highly successful learning approach.
Methodology
We have found that particularly for beginners it is better where possible to train on a 1 to 1 basis. Why? To get the full attention of the teacher in the vital early language learning process, i.e. Tones, sounds, and general confidence this results in a big return on your educational investment. So many foreigners have taken group classes only to be frustrated by a lack of communication progress in the real world. Let’s face it if your tone is only slightly wrong you are saying something completely different to what you think you are saying!
Approach – So how do we do this?
- Review student goals
- Undertake a Thai Educational Needs Assessment (TENA)
- Develop a personal program
- Review Multiple Delivery Options
- Classroom (our site)
- ‘At Your Desk’ – at your company
- ‘Walk About’ – shopping, eating, drinking coffee.
- Group/Private
- Agree on a program and training schedule
- Review periodically
We have successfully trained foreigners from all walks of life and backgrounds and are confident that we will be able to help you learn this challenging language.
