Project summary

Volunteer as a teaching assistant in a very friendly college in Bangkok, helping to teach English to students aged from 15-21 years old.

It is a large vocational college with over 4,000 students. The students are aged from 15-21 years old, mainly female, studying a variety of subjects including computer science, marketing, accounting, and secretarial skills.

A typical day

Your role will be to work alongside the English teachers at the college. The college teachers will be responsible for preparing, teaching and managing the classes and your role is to join in the lessons and help the students to practise English as much as possible.

The students are extremely friendly and inquisitive and having native English speakers in the classes generates a lot of excitement and fun! It is hoped that this will really spark their interest to learn more English. It is also a great opportunity to learn more about each other's culture.

As it is a big college there are often activities such as exhibitions and festivals and you are encouraged to attend and participate in these.

You will work for around 5 hours per day from Monday-Thursday, leaving you long weekends to explore Bangkok and the surrounding areas.

The location

The college is located in outer Bangkok and in an excellent location for exploring Bangkok, not far from Bangkok's 'Sky Train' system, so very easy to travel into the centre of Bangkok and visit the temples, palaces and other sights there, enjoy the nightlife or just go shopping!

How you can make a difference

For the Thai people, good English means good opportunities. Many of these students will go on to jobs where English will be needed and help them to progress.

In the classes there are often large student numbers so it makes a big difference to have teaching assistants who can help the students to practise English. It's also a great opportunity for cultural exchange.

Even though the college is based in Bangkok, the students do not often have the chance to meet westerners so you will be highly appreciated and receive a very warm welcome!

What's included

• A comprehensive information booklet and pre-departure support
• Travel advice and assistance
• Being met on arrival at Bangkok airport
• Introduction to the college and the area
• Introduction to Thai language and culture
• Accommodation for 1 month (can be extended)
• Support from the teaching staff at the college

What else to budget for

The following items are not included and estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights (£450-£600), visa (free if less than 30 days, £45 if not), travel insurance, personal spending / living costs (£50-£75 per week).

Other projects you might also be interested in....

* Teaching on the island of Koh Phangan (Thailand)

* Summer English Camps (Thailand)

* Street children and orphan schools in Vietnam

* Teaching in Nepal

* Teaching in Tanzania

You can also combine Thailand teaching with any of our other Thailand placements e.g. teaching + elephant care.

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More details

Volunteer accommodation and food

We organise your accommodation for the first month, located just a few minutes walk from the college. It is based in a hotel / apartment building and you will have a very comfortable room with air conditioning, TV and fridge. The building also has a roof garden to relax in.

If you are staying longer than a month you can continue to stay here (approx £200 per month) or there are basic options from £90 a month. Homestays can also be arranged.

Freetime and travel opportunities

With long weekends free to explore, there are some fantastic options all within a few hours of Bangkok. Popular choices include the beaches on the island of Koh Samet, visiting the ancient city and temples of Ayuthaya, and the Bridge over the River Kwai at Kanchanaburi.

The teachers at the college will help to provide suggestions for places to visit and activities to do, both locally and further afield. The college is also keen for small groups of students to show you some sights at the weekends - a chance for them to practise their English!

Challenges

The placement is designed for volunteers who are happy to be quite independent and it may be possible that you are the only volunteer there.

We also like to warn volunteers that the area the college is in is a typical Bangkok suburb and not particularly pretty! People can initially find Bangkok a bit overwhelming even though after the first week they are usually raving about it!

Where does your money go

PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. 

For PoD’s most recent financial year, almost 70% of volunteer fees went to the countries and projects they were working in, the remainder covering UK costs.

Volunteer reviews

Click here to read volunteer reviews for our Bangkok teaching volunteer project.