Quick Overview
Our English teaching program in Thailand gives you the chance to get beneath the country that tourists see, and discover the incredibly friendly people and unique culture that define this beautiful country. Community work is critical and you will find volunteering really makes a difference here. Social development issues such as unemployment and lack of education is high. Our teaching programs support children who can benefit from English literacy.
Our teaching programme in Thailand is based in Surin giveing you the unique opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the local community, and experience life in a typical Thai town. With support from our team you will teach English in a local school where the students wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to interact with native English speakers. The majority of the students are young learners and can get very excited when you arrive!
What’s Involved
For our teaching program in Thailand, you will be based in Surin, Northern Thailand. Surin is a vibrant Thai town, and whilst not as developed as big cities, it is packed with character and charm. The people are friendly, the food is tasty, spicy, and cheap; and spending time here will be an unforgettable and authentic Thai experience. The teaching program is ideal for students on a gap year, studying, or looking for an alternative holiday as you can make a real difference as a volunteer teacher abroad.
As a teacher you will get the opportunity to teach in local primary/elementary schools and occasionally local secondary/high schools depending on your comfort levels and ground needs. We usually place our volunteers in primary schools teaching children aged between 6 and 12 years old. With emphasis for volunteers teaching spoken English, you’ll spend your time creating lessons that can increase your students’ vocabulary and also communication skills. Past volunteers have left behind a number of teaching aids to help you with your lesson planning and local coordinators are always available to offer advice and support. On average there will be between 20 to 30 students per class, but some schools may have classes as small as 12 students.
It is possible to work in a secondary school on request; here the children will be from about 13 to 16 years old.The ages of your students will range from kindergarten age to sixth graders aged up to 12 years and you will be teaching one hour of English a week to grades 1-3 and two hours of English each week to grades 4-6. You will be co-teaching with a Thai English teacher who will guide you and support you whenever you need and the teachers we work with are always open to new teaching techniques, so you can rally contribute something positive to each lesson.
Our teaching programs play a vital role in helping Thai children learn important life skills such as English and to build confidence as they grow and develop as individuals. Volunteering to teach English in Thailand will help to break the poverty cycle and it will give you a chance to engage in meaningful travel whilst forming deep connections with all those you meet along the way.
All The Details
Surin, Thailand
Please note that teaching programs will not run in April, May and October due to school holidays.
JAN | JUL | ||||
1/3/2020 | 1/10/2020 | 1/24/2020 | 7/3/2020 | 7/17/2020 | 7/24/2020 |
FEB | AUG | ||||
2/7/2020 | 2/21/2020 | 8/7/2020 | 8/21/2020 | ||
SEP | |||||
9/4/2020 | 9/18/2020 | ||||
MAY | NOV | ||||
5/15/2020 | 5/15/2020 | 11/6/2020 | 11/20/2020 | ||
JUN | DEC | ||||
6/5/2020 | 6/19/2020 | 12/4/2020 |
All our rates are in USD $ per person
NUMBER OF WEEKS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
USD $ | n/a | $1,199.00 | $1,349.00 | $1,419.00 | $1,589.00 | $1,759.00 | $1,929.00 | $2,099.00 | $2,269.00 | $2,439.00 |
What’s Included?
- Pre-departure support and materials – to prepare you for your trip
- Accommodation
- Experienced bilingual local staff team
- Airport Transfers (for Surin)
- Location orientation – a walking tour showing you the local markets for food, ATMs and amenities.
- Project training with the local Program Manager
- 24 hour support in your location.
- Transport to project sites
- Donation to school
Whats Not Included in your program fee :
- Flights to the program destination
- Daily Meals
- Medical and travel insurance (compulsory)
- Visa costs
- Personal shopping and gratuities
- Local excursions
Getting There
- The nearest airport for Surin Teaching the nearest airport is Bangkok.
- You can get visas on arrival for Thailand.
- Travel Insurance is compulsory on this program. You can get in touch with our team if you need travel insurance organised.
- We work with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for travel to Thailand. Goto www.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo to find out how best to avoid trouble when abroad. Packed with essential travel advice and tips, the website also offers up-to-date country information.
- For support on any of the above email us hello@volunteeringjourneys.com
What Happens When I Arrive?

Arrangements for Volunteers in Thailand:
On arrival at Bangkok you will be living in a guesthouse with other volunteers arriving on the same day at the famous Khao San Road. This part of Bangkok will give you the vibe of Asias hustle and bustle. Expect some noisy nights! The accommodation in Surin is in dormitory style shared houses close to the centre of town. Bathrooms are shared with your fellow travellers and have Western style toilets. There is a basic kitchen for you to use, and of course the accommodation has WIFI.
Your meals are not included in the program fee as culturally most Thai’s eat at the local markets. Everyday you can grab some food at the local morning and evening markets where you can get authentic local Thai cuisine. The food is fresh and delicious at these markets and its a great way of soaking in local culture and seeing how the locals live. There are some great options for both vegetarians and non vegetarians.
Daily Project transport to the schools will be arranged by the local team.

Health and Safety :
When you join our programs you can be assured we have carried out Risk Assessments to identify potential safety and health risks on projects and in the community. We share this information with you in our pre departure documents and on arrival. Our local staff are well trained and we provide 24/7 emergency numbers to all participants.
Weekends :
As you volunteer Monday to Friday your weekends will be free to explore Thailand or surrounding countries. In Surin there are many local bars, shops and restaurants in the town plus a night food market. The city is an extremely safe place to stay. Surin province once belonged to the Khmer empire (now Cambodia) so you’ll find scattered ancient temples from the same period as the temples of Angkor in Cambodia. The land border crossing in to Cambodia is located just an hour from Surin and is easily accessible from the town’s bus station. We highly recommend a short weekend trip to Cambodia if you can squeeze that in!