Thailand Theme Parks

At some point on this vacation, I'm going to have to get the nippers to a theme park. Any ideas?

^just don't take'em to rayong...crappy fireworks

Dreamworld! @ rangsit its super cheesy, but the tykes will like it [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/icecream.gif]

Siam Park was fun. Been there 4 month ago.

Quote Originally Posted by stfranalum View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815417) its super cheesy, but the tykes will like it With a scared 5 year old yes. But they now have a couple of good coasters, and nice flume ride and the such. Its about 500 for an all day pass. Siam Park is also nice and has a water park as well. About 900 for all day and both parks. Siam Park has the more heavy duty coasters, Dreamworld more family friendly stuff. Hua Hin has a small water park, with a wakeboard and ski park attached.

Quote Originally Posted by fred flintstone View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815416) just don't take'em to rayong...crappy fireworks Not crappy. Different.

Quote Originally Posted by Anna Key View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815504) Not crappy. Different. as in.."The bathroom smells different than the other rooms of the house"....got it

Quote Originally Posted by Tutor Martin View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815418) Been there 4 month ago. You are an English teacher, right?

The Dinosaur Park near Khon Kaen. http://www.thaiguidetothailand.com/t...ark-khon-kaen/ (http://www.thaiguidetothailand.com/thailand-attractions/dinosaur-park-khon-kaen/)

Quote Originally Posted by aging one View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815497) Hua Hin has a small water park, with a wakeboard and ski park attached. Black Mountain. Was fun and not busy at all when we went.

Quote Originally Posted by provocateur View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815513) Quote Originally Posted by Tutor Martin View Post Been there 4 month ago. You are an English teacher, right? Scouse. Or that side of Warrington anyway, Colonel Pickering. Now - where is that damned flower-girl? [media: http://www.youtube.com/v/EAYUuspQ6BY]

Quote Originally Posted by Tungsten View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815515) The Dinosaur Park near Khon Kaen. But is it accessible by airport link?[image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/rock.gif]

Quote Originally Posted by Tutor Martin View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815418) Siam Park was fun. Been there 4 month ago. Next up why not try 'Grammar Basics World'. It has been some amazing rides. [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/grin.gif]

Quote Originally Posted by provocateur View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815513) You are an English teacher, right? actually "been there 4 months ago" is perfectly acceptable as a speech act in this context, even for an english teacher yes- maybe especially for a good eng teacher if you wanna debate that, let's do a thread...[image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/smile.gif]

Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks.html#post1815552) speech act That Kenneth Branagh - eh? [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/deadhorse.gif]

Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-post1815552.html#post1815552) actually "been there 4 months ago" is perfectly acceptable as a speech act in this context, It's one of those Englishes, innit, Matthew. It's not like the guy wrote it purposelessly. All is good on Planet Valid in the constellation of Patronyse.

Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-post1815552.html#post1815552) actually "been there 4 months ago" is perfectly acceptable as a speech act in this context, even for an english teacher yes- maybe especially for a good eng teacher if you wanna debate that, let's do a thread... Really? Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that we do not use expressions like 'four months ago' with the present prefect tense in English. Thus 'I have been there four months ago should, in fact, be 'I went there two months ago', which would be correct use of the past simple tense. The past simple tense is used for finished actions in the past. This is a very basic grammar point. If I am wrong please explain to me! [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/smile.gif]

Quote Originally Posted by provocateur View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815578) Really? Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that we do not use expressions like 'four months ago' with the present prefect tense in English. Thus 'I have been there four months ago should, in fact, be 'I went there two months ago', which would be correct use of the past simple tense. The past simple tense is used for finished actions in the past. This is a very basic grammar point. If I am wrong please explain to me! Grammar "points" are rules of thumb that describe a system in process not a final product. In pedagogical terms, they are simply crutches used until the learner can appreciate all the actual variance - which is where the good stuff is. Spoken English in dialogue (which is really the mode here as well) has it's own 'grammar' system which involves much more than isolatable syntax patterns. The very concept of 'sentence' isn't particularly useful here. Being consciously flexible with ostensibly 'solid' rules of basic grammar is how people express notions of remoteness/closeness and social messages. In "been there 4 months ago"...been = went. The speaker is 'lazily' letting it slide because it expresses comfort/ease around the listener, which in turn might benefit the speaker. It expresses certain shades of meaning/feeling through what's there, what's tweeked, and what's missing. We do this all the time; this is 'real'. That turn being highly marked for intentional casualness is also signaled by the lack of a subject. You didn't pick up on that part, but if you're going to insist on "the basic rules of grammar" without acknowledging any more complex and 'real' features of discourse, you'd end up insisting on that as well. If you actually applied that misplaced standard 24-hours a day, you'd change your mind soon enough. This's one way to look at it anyway. There are others..what they have in common is that they put one-dimensional notions of language in more perspective. So-called "exceptions" to grammar rules are correct. It's their variance from a norm that gives them significance. This is how most human ideas that involve subtler layers of meaning are communicated. See that as 'wrong' and you're ignoring how language works beyond 3rd grade. ---Update--- Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815585) correct use of the past simple tense Tenses are just tools to convey meanings well beyond 'time frame' as well, and are stretched out in all kinds of ways to do so.

Sa-leep land

Pro, I love this book and highly, highly recommend it: Amazon.com: Teaching Language: From Grammar to Grammaring (9780838466759): Diane Larsen-Freeman: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Language-From-Grammar-Grammaring/dp/0838466753) Here's a really good little account of a T's change in perspective re: 'grammar'..http://jaltcue.org/files/OnCUE/OCJ3-...wa-pp86-96.pdf (http://jaltcue.org/files/OnCUE/OCJ3-1articles/OCJ3-1-Ozawa-pp86-96.pdf) ---Update--- *hides out, fearing someone's gonna come mock him for recommending a TEFL book...[image: http://ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/peepwall.gif] (and/or not get the humor in being paranoid about that here, compounding their impressions of me as an impossible egomaniac) oh the self-consciousness. hopefully someone out there is chuckling...[image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/icon_salut.gif]

Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815585) Spoken English in dialogue (which is really the mode here as well) has it's own 'grammar' system which involves much more than isolatable syntax patterns. The very concept of 'sentence' isn't particularly useful here. Being consciously flexible with ostensibly 'solid' rules of basic grammar is how people express notions of remoteness/closeness and social messages. In "been there 4 months ago"...been = went. The speaker is 'lazily' letting it slide because it expresses comfort/ease around the listener, which in turn might benefit the speaker. It expresses certain shades of meaning/feeling through what's there, what's tweeked, and what's missing. Again, correct me if I am wrong, but the aforementioned error was in written English - nothing to do with speaking. Of course, conversational analysis is distinct and does not go by the same rules and structures as written discourse. Would you teach 'I have been there two months ago' to a group of second language learners - I certainly hope not... I not trying to be a smartarse or patronize anyone. It just seemed like a bizarre mistake for a native speaker to make - in both writing and speaking!

Quote Originally Posted by provocateur View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815599) Again, correct me if I am wrong, but the aforementioned error was in written English - nothing to do with speaking. Of course, conversational analysis is distinct and does not go by the same rules and structures as written discourse. I just think posts (especially standard short ones like the one in question, the majority of them probably) on a forum like this while typed/written, are absolutely conversational in nature, and can/should be taken as such. Is this really 'written discourse', like letters in ELT Journal? I don't think so, but could be convinced... Would you teach 'I have been there two months ago' to a group of second language learners - I certainly hope not... No, of course not. Like I implied above, grammar used is not grammar taught. And sometimes the other way around. It just seemed like a bizarre mistake for a native speaker to make - in both writing and speaking! Well..there is a chance that the poster isn't a native speaker. In which case it may well have been a error. If so, I'd still flinch at making a "you teach English?!?" remark. Non-native speakers can be perfectly excellent English teachers while making occasional minor mistakes in their own private English use. To insist there's something wrong with that is potentially to propagate the idea of the native speaker as the essential, exclusive model of English in the world along with pedagogy as primarily transmissive, flowing out of the native speaker's perfection. Plenty of issues an NNS might have to inspire someone's doubt/mockery...also for NS teachers. But who gets the brunt of it? And, take Thailand..which population do you REALLY imagine being better teachers overall? Plenty to recommend the NNS speaking teacher up against the neophyte NS one. This is a different thread though :P I not trying to be a smartarse or patronize anyone. One does seem to need to walk on eggshells around here sometimes, but the more of us who don't subscribe to the weird hypersensitivities that tend to crop up, the better..carry on swingin'...please...

See Matthew 'likes' that one. You've been arsed to spend 10 minutes typing something that ... well... the rest of us just think of as akin to explaining to a fellow 'non colour blind' person how red is different from green. 'aforementioned' and similar words suggest though that you're not really.... hip to the hip..hop..a diggidy dop and the slam bang boogie fun.... not mastered the master 'n droppin the names like mah maestro widdowson... So you might lose points for that. ---Update--- Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815605) weird hypersensitivities Oh physician...did ye get healed? [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/laugh.gif]

not gonna bite [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/grin.gif]

Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815605) Well..there is a chance that the poster isn't a native speaker. In which case it may well have been a error. If so, I'd still flinch at making a "you teach English?!?" remark. Non-native speakers can be perfectly excellent English teachers while making occasional minor mistakes in their own private English use. To insist there's something wrong with that is potentially to propagate the idea of the native speaker as the essential, exclusive model of English in the world along with pedagogy as primarily transmissive, flowing out of the native speaker's perfection. Plenty of issues an NNS might have to inspire someone's doubt/mockery...also for NS teachers. But who gets the brunt of it? And, take Thailand..which population do you REALLY imagine being better teachers overall? Plenty to recommend the NNS speaking teacher up against the neophyte NS one. This is a different thread though :P My experience working with non-native speakers hasn't been great. One lady I worked with on the pre-sessional course at an English university couldn't pronounce my name correctly, or my co-workers. I mean she had a complete inability to produce basic English phonemes. So my colleague Tracy became 'Teresa' as she could not accurately produce 'Tracy'. She also asked me a string of bizarre questions such as 'what's this?' 'what do I do with this?' when given an essay to mark for an EAP module... Unfortunately, most of the UK university MA TESOL courses are kept going by international students and getting their MAs is essentially a formality. This women came with a large group from the middle east, fail one and you lose the cash cow for the following year! She did have a few redeeming qualities such as a good understanding of Arabic speakers' learner errors. Unfortunately, her complete lack of understanding English syntax and inability to produce accurate spoken English meant that her students received a very mediocre education. The assistant head of my department at my current University here in Thailand is not a native speaker. Similarly, he cannot produce accurate spoken English due to heavy interference from his L1. I was chatting with him a while ago, and as we parted for the weekend he said with a broad smile 'have a happy pleasure'.... This is only my own subjective experience of working with non-native speakers. It could well be entirely inaccurate and unrepresentative. It's hard to have a discussion about this issue without being called a racist or a snob. I am sure there are many quality non-native speaker teachers.

Oh for fuck sake. What happened to the theme park thread. Grammar, grammar, grammar. can't we stop talking in technical riddles mumbo jumbo for 5 minutes. Smart arses need their own threads on a different forum preferably.

Quote Originally Posted by peelieorion View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815673) Oh for fuck sake. What happened to the theme park thread. Grammar, grammar, grammar. can't we stop talking in technical riddles mumbo jumbo for 5 minutes. [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/laugh.gif] It's all just to soften us up, ready for the unveiling of Matthew's latest project: 'Grammar Land'. 100 hectares of EFL fun for all the family. Dare you bravely ride The Infinitive Splitter? Be dangled from the 40 metre high Participle! Roll Up! Roll Up! All Englishes welcomed.

Dream world has the snow park (small and pretty useless), and a 4d cinema (only in Thai) and a spattering over kiddies rides. Siam Park is much better, has something for everyone and has a waterpark attached. If you come back to Bkk often, it might be worth getting an annual ticket there... if I remember it is about 1000bht to get in for the day or 2500 for the year. ---Update--- Quote Originally Posted by Anna Key View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815674) Dare you ride The Infinitive Splitter? Be dangled from the 40 metre high Participle! Roll Up! Roll Up! All Englishes welcomed. [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/grin.gif]

Quote Originally Posted by peelieorion View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-2.html#post1815673) Oh for fuck sake. What happened to the theme park thread. Thank you. I go away for a friggin' day and Matt and his cronies turn the thread into a damn grammar lesson.

Heh, sorry dude..The language-oriented geek out is VERY outro these days...how many amusement parks could there be in Thailand? Not counting random death trap provincial messes.

Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-post1815683.html#post1815683) The language-oriented geek out is VERY outro these days [image: http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/images/smilies/grin.gif] Quote Originally Posted by Matthew View Post (http://www.ajarnforum.net/vb/dining-and-entertainment-in-thailand/73881-thailand-theme-parks-post1815683.html#post1815683) how many amusement parks could there be in Thailand? Not too many, I suppose. I haven't been to one of them. Hence the thread.