A couple of years ago, I took several intensive courses of Thai language instruction at Piammitr Language School in Bangkok, Thailand. Known as one of the best Thai language schools in the country and popular with foreign students from all over the world, there is a reason why Piammitr Language School is so popular. It really is excellent.
During my several months of classes, my class met five days a week for 3 hours a day.
That meant classes started at 9am and finished at noon, Monday thru Friday, with a 15 minute break around 10:30.
During the first month, we studied Thai vowels and consonants and sounds that go with them all, and then moved onto simple sentences and vocabulary.
In the second month, we expanded our ability to create simple Thai sentences, and, in the third month, even more complex vocabulary and grammar.
With three months of classes under my belt though, I can honestly say I learnt 10 times more Thai in those three months than in the 6 years I had lived in Thailand before that.
In fact, once I had finished the courses, I could hold a conversation with a taxi driver, a street vendor or Thai friends as the school is so serious about you learning they insist on you speaking Thai the majority of the time.
Classes at Piammitr Language School are also in Thai (ie: no explanations in English unless absolutely necessary), which you would think would be confusing but it’s not.
The teacher (who was amazing) does actions for everything if you don’t understand the vocabulary until you figure out what the word or sentence you are studying means.
We covered vocabulary for telling the time, shopping at markets, all the question words (when, how, why, where etc.) as well as how to order food, watching TV, days of the week, numbers, family members (vocab. for mother, father, sister in law, aunt, grandmother etc.), traveling and many other useful vocabulary and grammar points.
Classes at Piammitr are small, with no more than five or six students at a time and often less, so you get a lot of individual attention. And a Thai language course is extremely cheap!! Only 6,000 (under $200) for the month – which works out at 100 baht ($3.30) per hour (60 hours of instruction).
The classes do cover a lot of information and you cannot afford to miss any classes, but it is well worth it.
The school itself is in a nice office building, has extremely professional staff, and the students themselves are interesting.
If you are looking to make friends with a vast array of people, this is the place to do it, as you will meet Koreans, Japanese, Thais, Vietnamese, Malaysians, French, Italian – you name it — people from all over the world take Thai language classes here.
If you are looking for the best school in Bangkok to learn Thai, I highly recommend Piammitr Language School. You can learn for as little as a month or for as long as you like as the school allows you to pay as you go.
Piammitr Language School is at 10/49 The Trendy Plaza 2nd Floor, Sukhumvit 13, Klongtoey-