Tour by Locals
LAOS
TAT License No.23/02507
Teaching English in rural school project
Offers visitors a chance in assisting local teachers interact with the children and ideally motivate them to consider an alternative future while experiencing authentic traditional rural Thai life.
Children in mountain villages face many problems getting a basic education. Even when teachers are available, they lack needed resources. There is often a language barrier, too, because many mountain people are aboriginal and don’t speak Thai well. In many villages there is only one teacher who must handle large numbers of students learning at all levels.
Sadly, many children, especially the girls give up on school and start work when very young. Girls typically marry as young as 12. Some more to the big city, not for an education but to find work in factories. Mountain kids deserve a good education focused not only the Three R’s, but on their tribal traditions and values.
When you volunteer at a village school, you’ll see traditional rural Thai live up close. You may arrive as a stranger, but when you assist the local teachers and interact with the kids, you’ll become a friend. Maybe you’ll teach an English class on your own. Most important, you could influence the children to consider an alternative future.
Rural Schools: Volunteer Requirements
Volunteer teachers must be 18, and fluent in the language they plan to teach, though no teaching certificate is needed. (A standard police background check from your home country is required, and we can help you with that.) The most important qualifications are enthusiasm, flexibility and sense of adventure. You also have to be able to travel up to a few hours to reach remote villages.
You’ll likely have a private room at the school, though in some locations you’ll have a roommate. There’s no hot water, and the toilets are low and Asian-style, but the facilities will be clean.
Thai schools are often on holiday from March to mid-May and from the end of September to the start of November, but there is enough variation that we can accommodate your volunteer work whenever you are able to come.
We will donate a percentage of the fee to the school for scholarships and teaching materials.
