Live Thai Classes: Groups of 4 & One-to-One

Read Thai in 10 hours.
Read it without thinking in 30 hours.

Live classes that teach the Thai script from lesson one, with no romanised Thai. It's harder for the first few weeks. Every week after that is easier.

A man and a woman on a sofa in a Thai living room, smiling at a computer screen showing a CuppaThai Thai lesson
Real spoken Thai, step by step
Register your interestSee the courses

Why we start with the script

Romanised Thai feels easier for the first few weeks, and then it stops working. It has no way to show tone. It misrepresents sounds that English doesn't have. And it leaves you dependent on a system that Thailand itself doesn't use, so every menu, every sign, every message stays closed to you.

Learning the script first is harder at the start. Every week after that gets easier, because you're no longer learning two systems at once. You're building fluency directly on top of the one Thailand actually uses.

Your teacher

Fluent Thai speaker, teaches in English

Every lesson is delivered in English, so you don't need any Thai to begin. Grammar, tone rules, and why a sound works the way it does are all explained in English, at the pace of a normal conversation.

Every tone and every sound is modelled correctly, and the rules behind them are explained from the ground up, so you're not just copying sounds, you understand why they work the way they do.

The curriculum used in these classes was developed by CuppaThai, written from scratch for English speakers learning Thai, around 150 pages. It is not adapted from materials designed for Thai learners; every rule is explained the way an English speaker needs to hear it.

CuppaThai curriculum, ~150 pagesTaught in English

The courses

Every course runs in 10-week terms: twice a week, 20 lessons per term. Groups are small, four learners, on fixed start dates. Each course is also available one-to-one, with your two weekly times set around you.

Recommended

The Full Path

Two terms · twice a week · 20 weeks · 40 lessons

Term 1 is Read Thai, in 30-minute reading lessons. Term 2 is Thai Fundamentals, in 1-hour lessons. It is the same group, on the same days and at the same time, so you carry on with people you already know. Thirty hours, start to finish, from no Thai at all to reading the script without thinking about it.

Course 1

Read Thai

One term · 20 lessons · 30 minutes each · twice a week for 10 weeks

The complete writing system: the three consonant classes, every vowel form, the tone rules, and the final sound groups, in an order where each step rests on the one before. By the end you can work out any word on the page, with the correct tone, using the rules rather than guessing. Reading is still slow at this point; speed comes later, from volume. For complete beginners, and for anyone who speaks some Thai but never learned to read it.

Course 2

Thai Fundamentals

One term · 20 lessons · 1 hour each · twice a week for 10 weeks

Grammar, vocabulary and conversation taught entirely in Thai script. That is the point: twenty hours of constant exposure is what turns decoding into reading. Covers introductions, questions, negation, directions, numbers and classifiers, time, the body, feelings, comparisons, shopping, ordering food, and making plans, around 600 words, used out loud from the first lesson rather than memorised for later.

Needs reading ability: finish Read Thai, or pass a free 30-minute reading check.

Personalised packs

One-to-one lessons on a subject you choose, in one-hour sessions on Wednesdays. Bring a topic, such as a meeting, a conversation you want to be able to have, or something you love talking about, and the lessons are built around it, in Thai script.

Free Thai content

Grammar, vocabulary, tones and reading

Short picture posts on Thai grammar, vocabulary, tones and reading. Open one, swipe through, and see how we teach.

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What to expect

  • Bring a notebook. Handwriting the script is part of learning to read it.
  • Homework is 15–20 minutes between lessons, short on purpose.
  • Headphones help for tone work.
  • Lessons are online, with a video link that stays the same for the whole course.
Frequently asked questions
I'm a complete beginner. Where do I start?

Start with Read Thai, or with The Full Path if you want to carry on into Fundamentals with the same group. You reserve a seat for free, and you pay only when the class is ready to start.

Do I really read Thai after 10 hours?

By the end of Read Thai (20 lessons, 10 hours) you can work out any word on the page, with the correct tone, using the rules, but you are still slow, because you are decoding rather than reading fluently. Speed comes from volume, which is exactly what Thai Fundamentals' twenty further hours of constant script exposure builds.

I already speak some Thai but never learned to read. Which course?

Everyone starts with Read Thai unless they can already read. If you can, a free 30-minute reading check with your teacher can place you straight into Fundamentals, in a spare seat in Term 2 of a Full Path group.

Can I join Fundamentals without doing Read Thai?

Fundamentals needs reading ability, because everything is taught in Thai script. You can show that by finishing Read Thai, or by passing the free 30-minute reading check.

Will 30 hours make me fluent in Thai?

No. Thirty hours will not make anyone fluent in Thai. What The Full Path gives you is the ability to read the script without thinking about it and a working foundation of grammar and around 600 words, a real base to keep building on, not fluency itself.

Group or one-to-one?

Groups are four learners on fixed start dates. One-to-one follows the same 10-week terms, with your two weekly times set around you, and the same curriculum.

What happens if I miss a lesson?

Every lesson is recorded, and your teacher tells the group at the start. If you miss one, the recording is sent to you and stays available for 7 days, together with the homework. You can turn your own camera off at any time.

Register your interest

Reserving a seat is free, and you pay only when your class is ready to start. Send us a short message and we'll reply with pricing, cohort times, and answer any questions you have. Everyone starts with Read Thai unless they can already read.
Register your interest

CUPPATHAI Co., Ltd.