In the northern areas of Thailand, such as Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, many of the local children have not been fortunate enough to have access to any type of formal education, most commonly those without Thai citizenship - some are required to work in the fields with their families, others are too poor to be able to afford the travelling costs, resources or uniforms. Education in Thailand is possible, but difficult, for stateless children. For those able to go to school, resources are at a premium, staff are hardpressed, and the free education will end for many, before those with citizenship would be able to graduate. There is a real need for volunteers to assist in the education of not only young children, but also adults from surrounding hill tribes and local villages. These lessons and activities take place at our own school in Fang district (Chiang Mai province), with a range of ages and abilities, and resources dependent on donations.
The area around our school is home to thousands of hilltribe people, although the majority are Tai Yai (Shan) who have migrated from Myanmar, which is about an hour away by car.
The Indoor programme is based around teaching, but encompasses so much more. Lessons can include practical activities such as gardening, games, and sports.
Volunteers are instructed on methods of teaching, lesson planning, and how to enter the plans into our Lesson Planning Database. The database carries records of every lesson, and is of vital importance to the continuity of the curriculum and the progress of individual classes.
Extra information
Requirements
- Native English speaker
- Non-native speakers must supply a certificate of English language
- Clean national police check*
- Valid health insurance
- Agree to Terms & Conditions
- Deposit payment**
- Balance to be paid on arrival (cash - Thai Baht)
*At least 1 week prior to programme start date
**At least 2 weeks prior to programme start date
Duties
Teaching English
- onsite classroom teaching and educational activities
- games and school-based activities
- teach the teacher (childcare, primary)
Lesson planning
- Develop and write up lesson plans
- Evaluate lessons and write up, post-class
Resource development
- Creating flashcards and other teaching resources
- Treating the resources with care and attention
- Cleaning where applicable
Dress code
We are required by schools, hospital and temple to maintain a certain standard of dress.
Teaching dress code
- Plain coloured long trousers/pants
- Must be down to the ankles
- No leggings or yoga pants
- No skirts, shorts or dresses
- Volunteers are supplied a T-shirt and traditional top for class
- Clothing must be smart, clean, plain colours, no rips
- Shoulders must be covered at all times
- No cleavage to be shown
- Always wear a bra
- Tattoos must be covered
- No earrings and other facial jewellery
Notes
It is important to note that we rely largely on donations of resources for teaching. If volunteers can bring resources or buy them locally, this is very helpful. If photocopies are wanted for teaching, we ask that volunteers pay for these copies themselves, as the volunteer fee does not cover extras such as this.
FAQs
Indoor FAQs
I've never taught before - is that a problem?
I've never taught before - is that a problem?
No, and in some ways it's an advantage. We use a particular method of teaching, which is ideal for novice teachers.
We spend the afternoon of your orientation day training you in our teaching methods, and we rarely ask a new volunteer to teach on their own. Most of the year, we have staff or Thai intern students to assist in translating for you, although the method we use should mean that you can teach without knowing a single word of Thai or a hilltribe language.
- Category: FAQs Indoor
Is the Indoor programme available all year?
Yes, but there are certain periods when there is less, or no teaching at school. Effectively, all of March, April, May and October - all schools are shut for holidays. In the 1-2 weeks leading up to these holidays students are taking exams, and the first week back can be subject to lessons being cancelled at short notice. There is not much we can do about this, so understanding is needed from you.
There are also national holidays which means schools are shut or engaged in other activities, such as New Year, with the result that we cannot teach. Whilst we can usually fill up the time with English camps, and making teaching resources, there are inevitably periods when there is not enough to fill the day. During these periods we expect indoor volunteers to be flexible in their attitude, be proactive, and sometimes help on the outdoor programme.
Should I bring resources with me?
Should I bring resources with me?
If you can, then great! We are always in need of resources - stationery, notebooks, sports equipment, stickers, games, etc...
But, if you can't then it's not a problem.
To save on weight, and to help maintain the local economy, we would encourage you to buy here in Chiang Rai, rather than bring items from home.
- Category: FAQs Indoor
What is a typical week like?
What is a typical teaching week like?
Example of a standard week for Indoor volunteers
The Indoor volunteer programme covers a variety of teaching, mainly aimed at conversational English to stateless students, with volunteers working and staying at the school premises during their working week. The schedule and working days are set in stone as far as possible - schedules change term-to-term, and sometimes lessons are cancelled or are changed at short notice, but the table below shows a normal week.
|
Day |
Time |
Details |
|
Tuesday |
8.00am |
Breakfast |
|
8.30am |
Morning meeting – brief for the day and transport details. Opportunity for volunteers to ask questions or raise issues. |
|
|
9am |
Indoor meeting in volunteer office to allocate teaching activities |
|
|
12pm |
Lunch at Mirror |
|
|
12.30pm |
Depart for teaching venues 12.45 – 14.30 – Teach Grades 1-2, and 3-4 at Thung Lung Primary |
|
|
4 / 4.30pm |
Daily debrief with volunteers to discuss teaching, feedback. |
|
|
5pm |
Dinner |
|
|
Wednesday |
8.00am |
Breakfast |
|
8.30am |
Morning meeting (as above) |
|
|
9am |
Depart for Khua Khrae Primary School |
|
|
9.30 – 10am |
Teaching activities with childcare 2 and 3 – 30 minutes. |
|
|
10am – 11am |
Teach Grades 1–3 at Khua Khrae Primary School – 1hr |
|
|
12pm |
Lunch at the school |
|
|
1-3pm |
Teach Grades 4-6 at Khua Khrae Primary School – 2hrs |
|
|
4 / 4.30pm |
Daily debrief with volunteers |
|
|
Thursday |
8.00am |
Breakfast |
|
8.30am |
Morning meeting (as above) |
|
|
9am |
Depart for teaching at Huay Fai Primary School |
|
|
9.30 – 10am |
Volunteers to split into two groups to teach childcare classes - 30 minutes. |
|
|
10am – 11am |
Teach Grades 1-3 at Huay Fai Primary – 1hr |
|
|
12pm |
Lunch at Mirror |
|
|
12.30pm |
Depart for Prakaew Temple to teach university students. |
|
| 1-3pm |
Teach 3 classes - Easy, Intermediate and Advanced – 2hrs |
|
|
4 / 4.30pm |
Daily debrief with volunteers |
|
|
Friday |
8.00am |
Breakfast |
|
8.30am |
Morning meeting |
|
|
9am |
Depart for Huay Fai Primary School |
|
|
9.30-10.00am 10-11am |
Volunteers to split into two groups to teach childcare classes - 30 minutes. Teach Grade 4-6 for 1 hr. |
|
|
12pm |
Lunch at Mirror
|
|
|
12.20pm |
Depart for Pa Yang Mon Primary School Teach 1-2.30pm - Teach Grade 4-6. |
|
|
4 / 4.30pm |
Daily debrief with volunteers |
|
|
Saturday |
8.00am |
Breakfast |
|
8.30am |
Morning meeting / debrief end of week |
|
|
9am |
Depart for Sai Mun Community Hall 9.30am – 11am – Teach Grades 1-3 (limited, intermediate), Grades 4-6 |
|
|
12pm |
Lunch at Mirror |
|
|
12pm-1pm |
Clean up / tidy up as per cleaning rota |
|
|
1pm |
Depart for days off / end of program |
|
|
Sun - Mon |
Days off – return to Mirror by 10pm on Monday evening |
- Category: FAQs Indoor
Fees
Fees (Indoor)
- 1 week: N/A
- 2 weeks: 20,700฿
- 3 weeks: 21,850฿
- 4 weeks: 23,000฿
- 5 weeks: 26,450฿
- 6 weeks: 29,900฿
- 7 weeks: 33,350฿
- 8 weeks: 36,800฿
- 9 weeks: 40,250฿
- 10 weeks: 43,700฿
- 11 weeks: 47,150฿
- 12 weeks: 50,600฿
Notes
- Includes 5,000฿ registration fee
- Does not include transaction fees (+6%)