you sound exactly like atyclb in thaivisa.com.
Nevertheless, it seems that you are primarily an aural learner - you like to hear words being spelled out to you rather than see them written down in print. So maybe this "revolutionary" new approach won't suit you. But I don't understand why you feel compelled to be so cynical, especially as you are plainly a fairly advanced Thai speaker already. You probably don't enjoy reading much either, preferring to chat with people instead, right?
Yes you are perfectly right: one of the failings of the system is that it only works for people who are reasonably fluent in English. I would have to devise a totally new set of pictures for each language. If there was enough demand for a Chinese or Japanese or French version then I'd do it. Saying that, I've had French, German and Italian students attend my courses - and with a bit of tweaking here and there they've managed to get it and still be thrilled with the approach.
Peter, I know how important it is for you to spell words verbally in Thai. I'm not saying it isn't important. In fact, I said very clearly that it is necessary "when you're not sure you've heard a word correctly and need clarification".
The pont that you keep missing - and it's the crux of the 'Rapid' approach - is that for beginning students who are not yet fluent in Thai, it is the easiest and quickest way to learn Thai - without having to spend hundreds of hours in arduous study. It means you can immediately start reading stuff and use this as a basis for building up your understanding of the language.
You are also right in pointing out that the traditional way of learning Thai sucks! It's the main reason why the majority of foreigners don't bother - it's just way too complicated and confusing. Even those who have slogged through several years of Thai lessons still find it baffling and arbitrary. I've had several people attend my course who are already fluent in Thai, but still couldn't get their head around reading it. One day was usually enough for them to "get it" and they went away very happy.
The 'Rapid' system is a temporary scaffolding that disappears after a few months. In the process of learning Thai in the follow up phases, you will learn the meanings of words, some of which are used in naming the Thai letters. These names are only memorable if you already know what they mean - which is why it works for Thai children and not for foreigners.
I do not know how to verbally spell words in German, French, Spanish, Hebrew or Russian. I don't even know all the names of the letters in Thai. Yet I can speak and read and write competently in these languages, despite my ignorance of their respective alphabets. I wouldn't even begin to consider learning the names of all the katakana or kanji characters in Japanese - I just look at them and recognise them on sight. Maybe because I tend to look up words I don't know in a dictionary, rather than ask native speakers how to spell them...
The Rapid Method is obviously not for you. For everyone else:"Thank you for putting together such a wonderful reading program. I have completed it, and it is really amazing how much you retain using your method of learning. I am very pleased." April Eichholtz (a German student, what do you know!?)