JaiGuruDev Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Are all English schools created equal? A friend of mine is interested in taking some English lessons, and I?m wondering if some schools are better than others. If so, which are the good ones? How do AUA schools rank? Any idea on course prices? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckrisg Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I seem to remember Bangkok Phil and Stickman doing a story on English Schools on their Websites might be a bit dated now. Personnally my GF went to ECC Silom it was expensive (she did English and computer studies) but really good, her English improved a vast amount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiGuruDev Posted December 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Thanks for the information. I did get the below from Stickman's Website, but have no idea how dated it might be. Siam Computer, Conversation, 30 hour course, 2,000 baht. IEG, TOEFL preparation, 30 hour course, 7,300 baht. AUA, General English, 30 hour course, 1,500 baht. * The Siam Computer and AUA courses do not include the course book which must be bought and these cost about 250 - 300 baht. ** These prices may be negotiable. At some schools, an automatic discount system kicks in so that the more you study, the bigger the discount gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whosyourdaddy Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 It would depend on what your girl wants (TOEFL, business ENglish, General English etc) her age and her background. ECC, Siam computer are the bottom of the list. They pay poorly and get backpackers etc to teach the class. AUA is a bit better for level 6 and up. The put all the new teachers at the lower levels. Go international with Chula would be ok for kids/ teens Private schools like Bangkok school of Management, IDP etc are better but tend to be upper class university students. Wallstreet is the worst I have seen. Very professional looking but basically a self taugh computer program that is very very expensive for what you get. ] Classroom courses range from 80-200B a hour. My wife did some courses at Bangkok School of Management at chitlom BTS and we were pleased with the school. It is hard to find a good school, most language schools dont have the resources to do a good enough job. The ones that do are a bit expensive. But she should improve if she is motivated to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiGuruDev Posted January 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 Thanks for the information, WYD. My friend is 41 and speaks a little English already, albeit haltingly. I believe they would like to improve their conversational English, and learn to read and write. They are prolly not interested in English for business or computer purposes. I believe they are motivated to improve, but you know how it is; we?ll find out a lot when the rubber hits the road? They are currently trying to learn English from a book (which is a good sign), and I?ve noticed an improvement in the last couple weeks (which is also a good sign) so I think attending a school could be a good thing for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckrisg Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 whosyourdaddy said:It would depend on what your girl wants (TOEFL, business ENglish, General English etc) her age and her background. ECC, Siam computer are the bottom of the list. They pay poorly and get backpackers etc to teach the class. Thats a very broad personal view WYD its not what I experienced at ECC, no backpackers at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whosyourdaddy Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 At your branch, what percentage of the teachers would be experienced teachers with a few years under their belt with tonnes of resources? ECC is the largest school in LOS with one of the lowest pay. "you work 100-115 hours per month (average 25-29 hours per week), . It is usual to work a six-day week in Thailand, this includes teachers. Full-time contract teachers based in Bangkok earn between 26,000 Baht and 35,000 Baht. " (ecc website) This is criminal. This many contact hours would kill the teacher and hence any quality education ECC is also an official sponsor of http://www.khaosanroad.com website Everyone has to start somewhere and ECC for many is the starting ground usually as soon as the teacher is more confident they will move on. ECC knows this and as a result tries to steal 10,000B from you( for work permit they say) if you leave before the contract is up. But maybe it has changed and I look forward to hearing more about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckrisg Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 WYD I dont work for ECC as I said my GF went there received a good education and all of her teachers that I met were experienced ones no backpackers and no one under 30. You have your view of ECC and I have mine. Its upto JGD to make a choice. :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaiGuruDev Posted January 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 Thanks for the information. But it?s not up to me to decide; I?m just willing to offer a little advice if it will help them. Here?s an update: They chose AUA. The next course starts on 10 January. The course costs 2,100 THB, the workbook is ?about? 500 THB, and AUA charges 300 THB for a placement test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummigut Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 Oh great! Maybe I'll see them around the campus!!! Maybe you better warn them to stay away from me!!! <<burp>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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