The fully-supported Paid Thailand TEFL Internship gives you plenty of teaching experience whilst having an amazing time exploring your new home! But don’t just take our word for it, have a look and see what our interns have to say about their experience!
John’s story
Name: John Campbell-Wright
School: Chaiburi Pittaya High School in Chaiburi, Surat Thani, Thailand
Teaching Period: November 2014 – February 2015 (John is stayed for an additional term with Chaiburi Pittaya High School)
“When I first landed in Thailand on my birthday I was unsure what to expect. I had never flown so far by myself and had never been to Asia. The only certainty I knew was that after a week of training in Bangkok, I was going to be teaching. I was greeted by the in-country support team and taken to the hotel where I met my fellow teaching interns.
I thoroughly enjoyed my training week in Bangkok, the other interns were a truly fantastic group of people. But soon enough it was time to swap contact details and head off to our new homes.
I arrived in my new town of Chaiburi, to discover a stretch of road with little villages located along it. Chaiburi is small but I have come to love it massively. I’ve learnt that the local people are very friendly and I always get a smile and conversation in the local shops, occasionally by complete strangers. Because Chaiburi is small, the community knows who I am and as the days go by I’m slowly learning who everyone else is.
The teachers at school are fun to be around, and I play sports with them after school. The students are brilliant, they’re compassionate, fun and have a good sense of humour. I’ve learnt how to handle each class as they all respond to lessons differently. But they’re are all willing to learn when you get the hang of adapting the lessons. I can’t leave my home without being greeted by one of my students, they’re always happy to say hello when they see me out and about.
I have also been able to travel to some fantastic places during my time in Thailand, some places I’ve discovered alone and others with my fellow interns. I was lucky enough to spend one of the best New Year’s Eve of my life thanks to a local family who virtually adopted me!
The in-country support has been invaluable, providing me with good support, and helping me handle Thailand’s complicated bureaucracy, including my visa, work permit and everything else has all been handled by them.
Although my internship in Thailand has been short, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and have come to love this country and the amphur Chaiburi. I love it so much I would be overjoyed to stay; there are still so many things to see and do!”
Kenisha’s story
Name: Kenisha Naomi Douglas-Taylor
School: Anuban Surin Primary School in Surin, Thailand
Teaching Period: October 2014 – March 2015
“Being in Thailand has opened so many doors for me. The Thai people are friendly and go above and beyond when it comes to accommodating me. I’ve found that as a culture they’re very respectful to people in a higher positions, such as teachers!
Working with children has pushed me, but when I’m able to have a conversation with my students it’s the only reward I need! Living in Surin has been amazing, plus living in a proper Thai city with VERY few tourists has been so nice!
Learning the language has been a great experience for me as I’ve always been fascinated with Asian languages. Your experience with Thailand is what you make of it. If you embrace the people and culture, you will enjoy it; but if you hide because you don’t know the language, you’ll have a very bland experience.”
Emma’s story
Name: Emma Victoria Parker
School: Watsumaisuwan Primary School in Chaiburi, Surat Thani, Thailand
Teaching Period: November 2014 – March 2015
“Teaching and living in Thailand has been such a life-changing experience. In the past five months I have learnt, seen and done so many new things, and been to so many new places. I have learnt how to ride a moped, speak a bit of Thai and most importantly, teach children English.
Teaching English as a foreign language is such a fun and fulfilling thing to do. Nothing beats watching the students’ English develop thanks to my teaching, this has filled me with such pleasure and pride.
Thailand is a beautiful country, filled with warm, friendly people and amazing food. If you want to teach English, Thailand is definitely the place to do it!”
Will you be our next Thailand intern?
If you’ve been inspired to TEFL in Thailand, you can find out more information about the Thailand internship. Alternatively, we also run internships in China and Vietnam that you may be interested in too!
