- The biggest difference between schools is how they teach: whether class is in Thai, when you start reading Thai script, and how much you speak. Union-style schools drill tones in Thai only, Duke gets you talking first, and universities add exams and early reading.
- For structure and a credential, Chula's Intensive Thai Program is the most rigorous. It is also the most expensive per hour, at about ฿295.
- For value, Union and AAA (Bangkok, about ฿120–130/h) and CMU (Chiang Mai, ฿25,000 for 6 months) are hard to beat.
- Duke suits beginners who want to speak quickly and need evening or weekend classes. Its fees aren't on its website, but a month-long course costs ฿8,000.
- Since 2025, an ED visa means real attendance, usually 70–80%. A DTV is not a reliable way to get a visa for language study, but if you already hold one, you can enrol at any school.
The short answer
No single โรงเรียนroong-riian (school) is "best". The right one depends on what you want to be able to do in a year, where you live, and whether you need the school to sponsor your visa. If you only read one section, read this one. Still deciding between a school, a tutor and self-study? Start with how to learn Thai.
Best Thai language schools in Bangkok
Bangkok has the widest choice of places to learn Thai. Chula ITP is the most rigorous, at about ฿295 an hour. Union gives the most hours for the money: 80 a month, taught only in Thai, for ฿9,600. Duke suits beginners who want to talk from day one, with evening and weekend terms. AAA Thai is the cheapest full-year ED visa, and Rak Thai has evening classes for people who work.
Best Thai language schools in Chiang Mai
To learn Thai in Chiang Mai on a budget, CMU is the cheapest university option: a certificate for ฿25,000 per six months. Payap suits academic learners, with 180 hours per level and a path to a B.A. TSL has the most flexible monthly plans, and Pro Language has the lowest published ED prices in the city, with branches in Bangkok and Pattaya too.
How Thai schools teach
Price tells you what a school costs; the method tells you what you'll actually do for three hours a day. Before comparing fees, find out three things about any school: how much of the class is in Thai, when you start reading Thai script, and how much of each lesson you spend speaking. Most schools in Thailand follow one of four approaches, and each puts a different weight on พูดpûut (speaking), ฟังfang (listening) and อ่านàan (reading).
Speak-first
Dialogues and lots of speaking from the first lesson, with a tone-marked romanization under the Thai. Script starts in the fourth course.
Union method
Dialogues and drills taught entirely in Thai, through a phonetic script that marks tones for three levels, then Thai script. Intensive hours.
Listen-first (ALG)
Hundreds of hours watching teachers act out stories before you're asked to speak. There's no textbook and no drills. AUA's Bangkok school made it famous; today it runs online.
University course
Levelled courses with a syllabus, homework and exams covering all four skills. Chula starts the script at Level 2.
Speak-first
Duke gets you talking in the first lesson. Each chapter of its own textbooks has two short comic-strip dialogues and a set of key sentence patterns, which you practise in drills, role plays and pairs. The books print every line in Thai script with a tone-marked romanization underneath, so you can speak before you can read. Reading and writing wait for the Explore courses, the fourth to sixth of nine month-long courses. Learners say teachers stay in Thai about 95% of the time, acting words out and holding up objects. RouterGods, a learner who has filmed his Duke classes on YouTube since 2023, describes each class opening with questions round the room about your day, then vocabulary, grammar, skits and a lot of charades. By the Connect courses, students mostly talk to each other while the teacher steps back.
Works well if you want to use Thai at work or at the market within weeks. The trade-off is pace and timing: each course fits a whole book into four weeks, which RouterGods called a firehose, and you read later, so three months of romanization can leave habits to unlearn.
The Union method
Union Language School was founded in 1955 to prepare missionaries, and its approach lives on at Rak Thai and AAA. Everything happens in Thai from the first day. For the first three levels you read through a phonetic script that marks every tone, so tones are drilled from the start. A review describes Union's routine: new vocabulary, then the dialogue as a group, then in pairs while the teacher goes round correcting pronunciation, then one-on-one with the teacher. Thai script comes after Level 3.
Works well for disciplined learners who want accurate tones and lots of hours. The trade-off is intensity and repetition, and you still learn the script from scratch at Level 4. Rak Thai rewrote the dialogues to sound more modern and teaches with pictures and gestures; AAA follows the same path with the cheapest full-year ED package.
Listen-first (ALG)
Automatic Language Growth was developed by the linguist J. Marvin Brown at AUA in Bangkok, where it started in 1985. The idea is that adults learn the way children do, by understanding a great deal before trying to speak. Two teachers act out stories, trips and conversations with props and drawings while students listen. There's no textbook and no drills, and ALG's own history says speaking emerged at around 700–800 class hours. Learners report that AUA's Bangkok ALG program closed during COVID; ALG World now teaches it online.
Works well for patient learners who want natural-sounding Thai and a strong ear. The trade-off is time: you won't say much for months, and because it's online it can't support an ED visa.
University courses
Chula, CMU and Payap run levelled courses with a syllabus, homework and exams that cover all four skills. At Chula, Level 1 is listening and speaking with a phonetic system, Thai script starts at Level 2, and certificates come after Levels 3, 6 and 9. RouterGods, who filmed every day of Level 5 in 2024, describes classes that take real Thai (condo notices, crime reports, weather forecasts) apart one sentence at a time. Every week he gave a 5-minute presentation and answered questions on it, handed in a page of handwritten Thai with every error marked, and sat a two-hour quiz. CMU teaches in English and Thai, uses drills, role plays and group work, and makes homework part of the contract. Payap publishes little about its classes, so ask for a syllabus.
Works well if you want reading, formal Thai and a credential. The trade-off is less speaking time and a heavy workload. RouterGods put Chula's Level 5 at about 80% lecture and spent 3–5 hours a night on homework, and a CMU learner found lessons heavy on teacher talk.
Frequency-first and private lessons
TSL in Chiang Mai teaches the most frequent words and patterns first, through role plays, situational dialogues and tone drills. Reading is optional at first, and its books use Thai script only from Thai 6. Jentana teaches one-to-one with a question-and-answer system developed by its founder, mostly in Thai, with script optional from the intermediate step.
Method at a glance
What each school says about its classes, with learner reports where the school doesn't say.
| School | Taught in | Thai script | Class size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chula ITP University course | Nearly all Thai (learners) | From Level 2 of 9 | About 10 |
| CMU Communicative | English and Thai | Level 1, a learner says; romanization in early courses | Up to 15 |
| Duke Speak-first | About 95% Thai (learners) | From course 4 of 9 | 7 to start; 10–17 reported |
| AUA Communicative | Not stated | Separate modules | "Small" |
| Union Union method | Thai only | From Level 4 | 3–10 |
| Rak Thai Union-style | Mostly Thai | After Speaking 3 | 5–12 |
| AAA Union-style | Thai only | After 3 speaking levels | "Small"; 3–12 reported |
| Pro Language Conversational | Not stated | Separate book | Not stated |
| TSL Frequency-first | Not stated | Optional at first; script-only books from Thai 6 | 5–15 |
| Payap University course | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Jentana Private | Mainly Thai | Optional from Step 3 | One-to-one |
How schools teach tones
Thai has five tones, and how a school handles them shapes your accent for years. Union, Rak Thai and AAA mark tones in their phonetic script from the first lesson and drill them hard; one review calls AAA's teachers merciless about tones and vowel length. Duke marks tones in its romanization and teaches the written tone rules in Explore 1. Chula trains you to hear and say tones in Level 1, then adds the tone marks with the script in Level 2. TSL advertises systematic tone drills with teacher feedback. ALG relies on your ear alone.
AUA vs Union: which Bangkok classic?
Both are long-established Bangkok names, and older guides set them up as opposites: Union drills you from the first morning, while AUA's ALG classes asked you not to speak until you'd heard hundreds of hours. That contrast is out of date. Learners report that AUA's Bangkok ALG program closed during COVID, and AUA now teaches conventional conversation courses. Listen-first lives on online, through ALG World.
| Union | AUA today | |
|---|---|---|
| In class | Drills and dialogues, taught entirely in Thai | Conversation, role plays, small classes |
| Speaking | From day one | From day one |
| Script | Phonetic script, Thai script from Level 4 | Separate reading and writing modules |
| Hours | 80 a month, every morning | 48 h over 6 weeks (Beginner I) |
| Price | ฿9,600 a month (about ฿120/h) | Not published in Bangkok UNVERIFIED |
| Suits | Disciplined learners who want intensive hours | Beginners who want a gentler pace |
If you specifically want listen-first, try ALG World's free online trial hour. If you want the most class time for your money, Union is hard to beat.
Duke vs Chula: one learner tried both
Bangkok's two best-known serious options teach very differently. RouterGods, the YouTube learner quoted above, started at Duke in Journey 3, tested into Chula's Level 5 after about seven months, and went back to Duke's advanced courses afterwards. This is how he compared them.
| Duke | Chula ITP | |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom | U-shaped; students talk to each other | Rows; everyone answers the teacher |
| Speaking | "One day of speaking at Duke is about one to two weeks at Chula" | About 80% lecture at Level 5 |
| Homework | 15–30 minutes a night | 3–5 hours a night |
| Tests | Short quizzes in early courses, no finals | Four 2-hour quizzes and a 3-hour final per level |
| Presentations | One short talk in Explore 3 | A 5-minute talk with questions every week |
| Corrections | Lenient | Every error marked |
| Getting in | Walk-in spoken level check and a free trial class | Pay first, then a 50-question test in Thai and a video |
| Full program | 9 courses, about 9 months | 9 levels, about 18 months |
He called Duke "a tough school that's affordable and fun" and Chula a course where you'll learn a huge amount and have no life outside it. His advice is not to pick one forever: Duke for speaking, Chula for formal reading, writing and presentations, in whichever order suits you.
For more detail, watch his guide to switching from Duke to Chula and his day-by-day diaries in the Chula Intensive Thai playlist.
Find your school
Choose your city, goal and visa needs. Schools that don't fit are dimmed, not hidden, so you can still see the trade-offs.
Which school fits you?
●●● Union method, all-Thai฿120/hED: ask2Rak Thai · Bangkok (Ploenchit)
●●● Union-style฿142/hED visa3TSL · Chiang Mai + online
●●● Frequency-first฿150/hED visa4Duke · Bangkok (Sukhumvit 13) + online
●●● Speak-first฿200/hED visa5Jentana · Bangkok (Sukhumvit 31) + online
●●● Private, tailoredAskno ED visa6AAA · Bangkok (Phaya Thai)
●●○ Union-style฿132/hED visa7Payap · Chiang Mai (Mae Khao)
●●○ University course฿167/hED visa8CMU · Chiang Mai
●●○ Communicative, university฿231/hED visa9Chula ITP · Bangkok
●●○ University course฿295/hED visa10AUA · Bangkok (Rajdamri) + branches
●●○ CommunicativeAskED: ask11Pro Language · Bangkok · Chiang Mai · Pattaya + online
●●○ Conversational฿25,900–32,000 / yrED visa
Comparison table
| Method | Price | Online | Best for | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chula ITP Bangkok | University course | ฿295 | ฿29,500 / 100 h | Yes | Yes | Serious long-term learners, academics, diplomats, anyone who wants a transcript. |
| CMU Chiang Mai | Communicative, university | ฿231 | ฿25,000 / 108 h | Yes | No | Long-stayers in the north who want a university certificate on a budget. |
| Duke Bangkok + online | Speak-first | ฿200 | ฿8,000 / 40 h | Yes | Yes | Beginners and working expats who want polished materials and flexible class times. |
| AUA Bangkok + branches | Communicative | n/a | AskUNVERIFIED | Ask | No | Beginners who want conversation classes at a well-known centre, in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. |
| Union Bangkok | Union method, all-Thai | ฿120 | ฿9,600 / 80 h | Ask | No | Disciplined learners who want intensive daily classes taught only in Thai. |
| Rak Thai Bangkok | Union-style | ฿142 incl. breaks | ฿8,500 / 60 h | Yes | No | Serious learners who like the Union approach but want fresher material. |
| AAA Bangkok | Union-style | ฿132 | ฿7,900 / 60 h | Yes | No | Anyone who needs a full-time ED visa in Bangkok on the smallest budget. |
| Pro Language Bangkok · Chiang Mai · Pattaya + online | Conversational | n/a | ฿25,900–32,000 / yr | Yes | Yes | Visa-driven learners, especially in Pattaya or Chiang Mai. |
| TSL Chiang Mai + online | Frequency-first | ฿150 | ฿55,000 / yr ED | Yes | Yes | Chiang Mai expats who want a social school with a big community. |
| Payap Chiang Mai | University course | ฿167 | ฿30,000 / 180 h | Yes | No | Learners who want university credit, or a full B.A. in Thai. |
| Jentana Bangkok + online | Private, tailored | n/a | AskUNVERIFIED | No | Yes | Busy professionals, corporate teams and spouses who already have a visa. |
Price per hour is the course fee divided by teaching hours, so packages can be compared directly. Visa, embassy and textbook fees are extra. Rak Thai's advertised hours include a 10-minute break each hour.
School profiles
Each profile covers what the school is like, what it costs and who it suits. Prices change, so confirm with the school before you pay.
Chulalongkorn University — Intensive Thai Program
- Price
- ฿29,500 / 100 h
- Per hour
- ฿295
- ED visa
- Yes
- Format
- 6-week courses, Mon–Fri 3 h/day (100 h incl. culture), with a 1–2-week break between levels. 9 levels, about 18 months in all. Entry by a 50-question placement test in Thai and a short video introduction, after you pay.
The most rigorous option. A 100-hour course every six weeks, with exams, a transcript and a route into a master’s degree.
A structured university course with a fixed syllabus and graded assessments. RouterGods, a learner who filmed his Level 5 course on YouTube in 2024, estimates it at about 80% lecture. Teachers take real material (condo notices, news articles, weather forecasts) apart line by line on a big screen, and students answer the teacher rather than each other. Every week brings a 5-minute presentation followed by questions, a handwritten page of writing with every error marked, and a two-hour quiz; quizzes and the final exam are 40% of the grade each. He spent 3–5 hours a night on homework. Classes have about 10 students.
- Taught in
- Thai, nearly all the time, RouterGods reports. The handbook and quiz instructions are in Thai too.
- Thai script
- Level 1 is listening and speaking, using a phonetic system. Thai script starts at Level 2.
- Tones
- Hearing and saying them from Level 1; writing tone marks from Level 2.
Full pricing: ฿29,500 per 6-week course (on-site) · ฿23,000 online · Visa: On-site ITP only. Letter of admission takes 45+ business days.
- Clear 9-level path with assessments
- Detailed written feedback on every presentation and piece of writing
- Certificates and transcripts after Levels 3, 6 and 9
- Leads into Chula’s MA in Thai as a Foreign Language
- Highest price per hour here
- Little speaking time in class; mostly lecture
- 3–5 hours of homework a night, one learner reports
- Fixed intakes; classes fill months ahead
Chiang Mai University — Language Institute
- Price
- ฿25,000 / 108 h
- Per hour
- ฿231
- ED visa
- Yes
- Format
- 108 class hours per 6 months, on weekdays. New beginner groups start most months; 8–15 students per class.
The budget university option. A CMU certificate and ED-visa support for ฿25,000 per six months, but few class hours, so plan to study on your own too.
A communicative university course over eight levels, Beginner to Advanced. Drills, role plays, group work and peer teaching, plus Thai TV, radio and newspapers. Up to 15 students. Homework is required, and the certificate depends on attendance, tests and teacher approval. One learner found lessons heavy on teacher talk.
- Taught in
- English and Thai. You're encouraged to speak Thai from the first day.
- Thai script
- The communicative courses use romanization. The certificate course covers reading and writing throughout, and one learner says script starts at Level 1.
Full pricing: ฿25,000 per 6 months (108 h) · ฿45,000 per 12 months (216 h) · Visa: Visa letters in 3-month blocks for the length of your course. More than 5 absences in 6 months ends your enrolment and your visa.
- University certificate at private-school prices
- Small classes
- Frequent start dates
- Only about 18 class hours a month
- Romanization early on
- ฿10,000 admin fee comes off any refund; none once classes start
Duke Language School
- Price
- ฿8,000 / 40 h
- Per hour
- ฿200
- ED visa
- Yes
- Format
- Month-long group courses of 20 two-hour weekday classes (morning, afternoon or night), plus weekend, private and online. A course needs 7 students to start; learners report 10–17. Nine courses in all.
Bangkok’s most popular beginner school. You start speaking on day one and there are class times to fit a job. Fees aren’t on its website, but it charges ฿8,000 for a month-long course.
Speaking first, from Duke’s own textbooks: Journey 1–3 for speaking, Explore 1–3 for reading and writing, and Connect 1–3 for all four skills. RouterGods, a learner who has filmed his Duke classes on YouTube since 2023, describes the routine: round-the-room questions about your day, then vocabulary, grammar, skits and charades from the book's comic-strip dialogues. Explore adds dictation and writing from picture cards; the Connect courses turn into discussions between students. Early courses have short quizzes; homework is 15–30 minutes a night, and there are no final exams.
- Taught in
- Thai about 95% of the time, learners report. Teachers act words out, hold up objects and draw, and give an English word only when the whole class is stuck.
- Thai script
- From Explore 1, the fourth course, which covers all 44 consonants and the tone rules in four weeks. Before that, the books print each line in Thai script with a tone-marked romanization underneath, but you work from the romanization.
- Tones
- Introduced in the first chapter and marked in the romanization, though one learner found Journey teachers lenient about them. From Explore 1, teachers correct tones and vowel length on the spot.
Full pricing: ฿8,000 per month-long course, confirmed at the school in Oct 2026. Learners report 20 two-hour classes (40 h), a ฿500 textbook, and discounts for buying several courses. · Visa: 8- or 14-month programs; 14 months needs a second visa. No visa service fee. Refund minus ฿2,000 if the Ministry of Education refuses, nothing if the embassy or immigration does.
- Polished in-house textbooks with audio
- Classes in the evenings and at weekends
- Talking from the first lesson
- A free trial class, and a spoken level check that can skip you ahead
- Fees not on its website; ask in person or by message
- Fast pace: each course packs a book into four weeks
- With 10–15 students, each turn to speak is short
- Popular classes are booked 1–3 months ahead
AUA Language Center
- Price
- AskUNVERIFIED
- Per hour
- n/a
- ED visa
- Ask
- Format
- Speaking courses of 48 h over 6 weeks (Beginner I) up to 192 h over 12 weeks (four levels); reading and writing taught separately.
A big, long-running language centre now teaching conventional conversation courses. If you want its old listen-first ALG method, that now runs online as ALG World.
Communicative "Thai for Communication" courses. AUA was famous for ALG (listen-first), but learners report its Bangkok ALG program closed during COVID. Speaking and listening from day one, with role plays and interactive activities in small classes. Six modules: Speaking for Beginners I–II and Intermediate I–II, and Reading and Writing for Beginner and Intermediate.
- Taught in
- Not stated for Bangkok, but you need basic English to enrol. A Chiang Mai review says no English was used in class.
- Thai script
- Taught in separate Reading and Writing modules, alongside the speaking courses.
Full pricing: Bangkok: not published. Chiang Mai: ~฿4,500 per 20-hour course and ~฿400/h private, from one review. · Visa: Current pages don’t mention ED visas. Ask first.
- Speaking from the first class
- Reading and writing as separate modules
- Branches outside Bangkok
- Bangkok prices not published
- Visa support unclear in 2026
- Older reviews still describe the ALG program
Union Language School
- Price
- ฿9,600 / 80 h
- Per hour
- ฿120
- ED visa
- Ask
- Format
- Morning group, 80 h/month, 3–10 students; afternoon semi-private, 40 h/month.
The intensive classic of over 60 years. Eighty hours a month taught only in Thai, at the lowest price per hour we found.
The original "Union method": dialogues and drills, taught entirely in Thai. The school was founded in 1955 to teach missionaries. A review describes the routine: vocabulary first, then the dialogue as a group, then in pairs while the teacher goes round correcting pronunciation, then one-on-one with the teacher. One textbook per level, included in the fee. The path runs to Level 11 (Thai society and culture), with electives such as newspaper reading.
- Taught in
- Thai only, from the first day.
- Thai script
- A phonetic script in Levels 1–3, then Thai reading and writing in Levels 4–6.
- Tones
- Taught with the phonetic script from Level 1. A review describes a heavy early focus on getting them right.
Full pricing: ฿9,600 / month (80 h) · ฿12,600 / month semi-private (40 h), textbook included · Visa: Unclear: a 2026 review says it helps with ED visas, a 2025 learner says it doesn’t, and the school’s site doesn’t say. Ask first.
- Lowest price per hour on this list
- 80 hours a month of immersion
- Advanced electives (news, medical, folk tales)
- Intense: 4 hours every morning
- Cash on day one
- Visa support unconfirmed
- Christian roots: some electives are Bible study
Rak Thai Language School
- Price
- ฿8,500 / 60 h
- Per hour
- ฿142 incl. breaks
- ED visa
- Yes
- Format
- Month-long group courses, weekdays: 3 h/day morning or afternoon, or 2 h/day evening (10-minute break each hour). Private and online.
A Union-method school with more modern dialogues, at a similar price per hour, and an evening option for people who work.
A Union-style curriculum with rewritten, more modern dialogues. Choral pronunciation drills and quick-fire questions from the teacher, then dialogues in pairs and one-on-one with the teacher. Five to twelve students. The reading courses add daily dictation and homework.
- Taught in
- Mostly Thai, with pictures and gestures. One learner estimates 80% Thai, with English dropping away by Level 3.
- Thai script
- A phonetic writing system in Speaking 1–3, then Thai reading and writing.
- Tones
- The five tones in Speaking 1; the written tone rules in Reading 2.
Full pricing: ฿8,500 / month (morning or afternoon, 60 h) · ฿9,500 / month (evening, 40 h) · ฿200 textbook · private ฿600/h · ED package ฿27,500 per 3–6-month stage · Visa: Up to 14 months in three stages. Immigration fees extra; the school’s visa page still describes 2024 rules.
- Union structure, more modern dialogues
- Central location
- Well above the visa minimum hours
- Daily homework and a demanding pace
- Some learners found placement over LINE slow
- Not every level runs every month
AAA Thai Language School
- Price
- ฿7,900 / 60 h
- Per hour
- ฿132
- ED visa
- Yes
- Format
- Intensive group: 60 h per level over 20 weekdays, 3 h morning or afternoon, new term every month. Private lessons too.
The cheapest full-time ED-visa package in Bangkok: ฿36,600 for 11+ months. Learners consistently praise the teachers.
A Union-style curriculum: three speaking levels, then four reading and writing levels, then advanced subjects. The teacher reads each dialogue aloud and students repeat it, followed by discussion in Thai. Each level has its own textbook and audio. A placement test is needed to join the upper levels.
- Taught in
- Thai only.
- Thai script
- A phonetic transcription in the three speaking levels; Thai script from Reading & Writing 1.
- Tones
- The written tone rules in Reading & Writing 1. A review says teachers are strict about tones and vowel length.
Full pricing: ฿7,900 per 60-hour level + ฿500 materials · ED packages ฿18,800 (6 months, 2 levels) · ฿36,600 (11+ months, 4 levels) · private ฿6,000 per 10 h · Visa: 70% attendance; you must live in Greater Bangkok. Fees are non-refundable unless the Ministry of Education refuses the letter.
- Cheapest full-time ED package in Bangkok
- Clear, published packages
- Fewer levels per year than intensive schools
- Bangkok address required
- Classes can be bigger than reviews suggest (one learner had 8–12)
Pro Language
- Price
- ฿25,900–32,000 / yr
- Per hour
- n/a
- ED visa
- Yes
- Format
- Group, private and online.
A multi-city chain with published ED prices. A practical choice outside Bangkok, especially in Pattaya.
Conversational, with its own books for six levels (A1–C2) and a separate reading and writing book. A review describes pair speaking, reading aloud, questions from the teacher and lots of repetition, with weekly homework. A placement test sets your level.
- Taught in
- Not stated. Its teachers speak English.
- Thai script
- Covered in a separate Reading and Writing book. One reviewer started reading at intermediate level.
- Tones
- A review says the first class covers tones and vowels.
Full pricing: ED 6 / 12 months: BKK ฿25,000 / ฿32,000 · CM ฿18,700 / ฿29,600 · Pattaya ฿18,500 / ฿25,900 · Visa: Embassy and extension fees extra. Age limits by branch (BKK 15–65, CM 12–65, Pattaya 12–50).
- Three cities plus online
- Published ED prices
- Low yearly cost
- Fewer details on teaching hours
- Learners report groups shrinking to a few students
- Markets a DTV "culture" package (see the visa section)
TSL (Thai as a Second Language) Chiang Mai
- Price
- ฿55,000 / yr ED
- Per hour
- ฿150
- ED visa
- Yes
- Format
- Group 24 h/month (3 days × 2 h a week), 5–15 students; intensive 72 h/month; private at school or online.
Chiang Mai’s big private school. Flexible monthly group plans, an active community, and online classes.
"TSL Method": the most frequent words and patterns first, built around conversation, across 20 textbook levels. Role plays, situational dialogues and real audio. Normally 5–15 students, with recorded lesson videos for review. The school estimates about 18 months to reach Thai 15.
- Taught in
- Not stated.
- Thai script
- Not needed at first. Thai 1–5 include a phonetic transcription, reading courses RW 1–3 follow Thai 1–3, and books from Thai 6 use Thai script only.
- Tones
- Systematic tone drills with teacher feedback.
Full pricing: Group ฿3,600 / month · intensive ฿9,900 / month · 1-year ED ฿55,000 · private ฿15,000 per 30 h (฿13,500 online) · Visa: 80% attendance per 90-day period. ED applicants up to age 50.
- Flexible monthly plans
- Large expat community and culture classes
- Online option
- The yearly ED price has risen sharply (was ฿32,500)
- Teacher fit and pace vary; some beginners found Thai 1 rushed
- Its own claims (CEFR A1–C2, 5,000+ students) are unverified
Payap University — International College
- Price
- ฿30,000 / 180 h
- Per hour
- ฿167
- ED visa
- Yes
- Format
- 180 h over 6 months per level.
The academic option in Chiang Mai: 180 hours per level and a path to a full B.A.
A university certificate covering all four skills, worth 12 credits per level, with a 4-year B.A. path. Payap publishes little about how classes run, so ask for the syllabus before you enrol.
- Taught in
- Not stated.
- Thai script
- Listening, speaking, reading and writing from the start; the school doesn't say when script begins.
Full pricing: ฿30,000 per level for the Nov 2026 intake (also in the 2026 admissions fee table). Payap’s general page lists ฿40,000 for the May–Oct 2026 intake, so get a written quote for yours. · Visa: ED-visa support advertised for the Nov 2026 intake.
- 180 hours per level
- Credit and a B.A. pathway
- All four skills
- Campus is outside the city
- Fixed intakes, and prices differ between them
- Few recent learner reviews
Jentana & Associates
- Price
- AskUNVERIFIED
- Per hour
- n/a
- ED visa
- No
- Format
- Mostly private 90-minute lessons at its Sukhumvit 31 school, your home or office, or online; groups on request. Mon–Sat, 7:00–19:30.
Private tutoring that comes to your home or office. Good if you already have a visa and little spare time.
Private lessons built on a question-and-answer system developed by the founder, over six steps from Survival to Expert. Situation-based lessons and stories with comprehension questions. The school recommends 15–20 minutes of self-study a day.
- Taught in
- Mainly Thai; English only when you're stuck.
- Thai script
- Optional from Step 3 (Intermediate), taking about 30 minutes of each 90-minute lesson. The books mix transliteration, Thai and English, and script-only workbooks are available.
- Tones
- Lessons 1–10 cover tones, vowels and consonants.
Full pricing: Not published. A 2023 learner paid about ฿600/h for home visits. · Visa: Its site doesn’t mention ED visas.
- Fully tailored to you
- They come to you
- More than 25 years teaching foreigners
- Learners consistently praise the teachers
- No visa support mentioned
- Prices not published
- One 2025 review complains about slow payment receipts
Other schools learners recommend
These came up in 2025–26 learner discussions, but we haven't reviewed them in the same depth, so check prices and visa support yourself.
| School | Where | Why it comes up |
|---|---|---|
| Lanna Language School | Chiang Mai | A year-long student praised its field trips and help with immigration paperwork. |
| We Learn Thai | Chiang Mai | Recommended in Chiang Mai threads in 2024 and 2026. |
| EasyABC | Pattaya | Recommended in three separate 2025 Pattaya discussions. |
| Beyond Language School | Phuket (Rawai) | Several Phuket learners praised its teachers in 2025. |
| Mind Your Language | Koh Samui | Learners like the teaching; it also runs short courses of a week or two. |
| Next Level Language School | Khon Kaen | Publishes prices (฿25,000 for a 120-hour beginner course) and offers ED help. We found no learner reviews yet. |
How long does it take to learn Thai at a school?
For a sense of scale, the US Foreign Service Institute estimates about 1,012 class hours (44 weeks of full-time study) for an English speaker to reach professional working proficiency in Thai. No school here gets you there in a year. Even the most intensive ones teach fewer hours than that in twelve months, and some programs end sooner: Duke's nine courses add up to about 360 hours.
| School | Class hours a month | Class hours in a year |
|---|---|---|
| Union (morning group) | 80 | up to 960 |
| TSL (intensive) | 72 | up to 864 |
| Chula ITP 100 h per 6-week level; 9 levels, 900 h over about 18 months | 72 | up to 864 |
| AAA · Rak Thai (day) | 60 | up to 720 |
| Duke 9 month-long courses | 40 | 360, the full program |
| TSL (group) | 24 | up to 288 |
| CMU 108 h per 6 months | 18 | up to 216 |
You don't need professional proficiency to get by. Expect 3–6 months of intensive classes before you can hold a simple conversation. After a school's program ends, progress comes from a tutor, self-study and using Thai every day. Reviewing new words daily between classes is what makes the hours count. For milestones by hours and a calculator for your own pace, see how long it takes to learn Thai.
The ED visa in 2026
Many people choose a school partly for the Non-Immigrant ED (education) visa. That's legitimate, but the rules tightened in 2025 and schools now have to prove that you attend.
- Jan 2025Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568: a language-school ED visa starts at 90 days and is extended in blocks of up to 90 days, to a maximum of about one year from entry. Each extension costs ฿1,900.
- Feb 2025Immigration and labour officials raided a Bangkok language school over foreign teachers without work permits. It taught Korean to Thai students; no Thai school on this list has been named in a raid.
- May 2025A Higher Education Ministry rule capped university short courses at 180 days, with 60% on-site attendance, and made universities report foreign students' attendance every month.
- Aug 2025About 10,000 student visas were revoked for non-compliance, in universities' non-degree short courses.
- 2025–26Thai language schools were reportedly removed from the DTV "soft power" list. Official DTV pages list Muay Thai and cooking but don't mention Thai lessons either way.
- Aug 2026DTV applicants now need a criminal record clearance certificate, and the proof-of-residence rules changed.
- Sep 2026The 60-day visa exemption ended on 15 September. Eligible passports now get 30 days, which may not be long enough to sort out an ED visa after you arrive.
After the first year. Officers generally won't keep extending the same language course for more than about a year; you're expected to move up to a different course or stop. This isn't written in a public regulation, so ask your school and your immigration office before you plan a second year.
Typical all-in cost for a year: ฿25,000–60,000 in tuition, plus extensions (฿1,900 each), a re-entry permit if you travel (฿1,000 single or ฿3,800 multiple), and your embassy's visa fee. Chula sponsors visas only for on-site ITP students. TSL accepts ED applicants up to age 50 and CMU up to 60, and Pro Language sets age limits by branch.
Start early. School paperwork takes weeks (Chula quotes 45 business days, TSL 30–45 days), and since 15 September 2026 most visa-exempt arrivals get 30 days, not 60. Apply for the ED from home rather than counting on sorting it out after you land.
Your ครู teaches it. ThaiFlip helps it stick.
Paste each week's class vocab and get audio, real example sentences and spaced review between lessons. ThaiFlip works alongside any school on this list.
FAQ
How much does a Thai language school cost?
Group classes on this list cost about ฿120–295 an hour, from ฿9,600 a month for 80 hours at Union to ฿29,500 for a 100-hour, six-week course at Chula. A year of ED-visa study usually costs ฿25,000–60,000 in tuition, plus ฿1,900 for each visa extension. Private tutors charge about ฿500–600 an hour.
What is the best Thai language school in Bangkok?
It depends on your goal. Chula's Intensive Thai Program is the most rigorous and gives you a transcript. Union gives the most hours for the money. Duke is the easiest start for beginners who want evening or weekend classes. AAA Thai is the cheapest full-year ED visa.
What is the best Thai language school in Chiang Mai?
CMU's Language Institute is the cheapest university option: a certificate and ED-visa support for ฿25,000 per six months, though with only about 18 class hours a month. Payap suits academic learners, with 180 hours per level and a B.A. path. TSL has the most flexible monthly plans and a large expat community.
Which teaching method is best for learning Thai?
There's no single best method; it depends on how you learn. Union-style schools (Union, Rak Thai, AAA) drill tones and dialogues entirely in Thai and suit disciplined learners. Duke gets you speaking fast, using romanization before script. University courses (Chula, CMU, Payap) add homework, exams and earlier reading. Listen-first (ALG, now online) suits patient learners who want to absorb Thai by ear. A trial class is the best test.
Do Thai language schools teach in English or in Thai?
Many teach in Thai from the first day. Union and AAA say they teach only in Thai, learners report the same at Duke, and Rak Thai uses mostly Thai with pictures and gestures. CMU teaches in English and Thai. Jentana's private teachers use mainly Thai and switch to English when you're stuck.
Is a language school worth it, compared with an app or a tutor?
A school is worth it if you need structure, live tone correction or an ED visa. A private tutor (about ฿500–600/h) is better if your schedule is unpredictable. Apps are best for the daily review that classes can't do. Most successful learners combine two of the three.
Are group classes or private lessons better?
Group classes are cheaper per hour, and they're what ED-visa courses are built around. Private lessons (about ฿500–600 an hour) move at your pace and fit a changing schedule. A common mix is group classes plus one private hour a week for speaking practice.
Can I get an ED visa for online classes?
Usually not. Chula, for example, sponsors visas only for on-site ITP students. ED-visa schools expect you to attend in Thailand, and since 2025 they report your attendance. Ask the school before you pay.
Can I renew a language-school ED visa every year?
Not indefinitely. A language-course ED visa is extended in blocks of up to 90 days, to about a year from entry. After that, officers generally won't keep extending the same language course, although this isn't written in a public regulation. Duke's 14-month program, for example, needs a second visa. Ask your school what happens after year one.
Can I study Thai on a DTV?
Yes, if you already have one. A DTV you got for another reason, such as remote work or Muay Thai, lets you stay up to 180 days per entry, and you can take classes at any school, including part-time, evening or private lessons. What isn't reliable is getting a DTV for Thai lessons: language schools were reportedly removed from the DTV soft-power list in 2025–26, and official DTV pages list Muay Thai and cooking but don't mention Thai lessons. If you need a visa in order to study, use the ED.
How long until I can hold a conversation?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Thai in its "hard" group for English speakers, at about 44 weeks of full-time study (1,012 class hours) to professional working proficiency. For everyday conversation, expect 3–6 months of intensive classes (60–80 h/month) plus daily review.
What about Pattaya, Phuket or studying online?
Pro Language has a Pattaya branch with published ED prices (฿18,500 for six months, ฿25,900 for twelve), and learners in Pattaya also recommend EasyABC. In Phuket, learners mention Beyond Language School, and on Koh Samui, Mind Your Language; we haven't reviewed these yet. Chula, Duke, TSL and Jentana all teach online, but online classes won't get you an ED visa.
Should I learn the Thai script from the start?
Yes, if you plan to study longer than a few months. Romanization schemes disagree with each other and hide tone rules that the script makes visible.
Is there an age limit?
There's no national limit, but some schools set one: TSL accepts ED applicants up to 50 and CMU up to 60, and Pro Language's limits vary by branch (Pattaya 12–50, Bangkok 15–65).
ThaiFlip has no commercial relationship with any school here: no affiliate links, no paid placements. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll recheck it. We review this article every quarter.
