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Location
  • Thailand
    • Bangkok
Industry
Education Tourism

Program Details

Compensation
Unpaid
Timeframe
Year Round
Housing
Apartment
Language
English

Pricing

Starting Price
1395
Price Details
- 120 Hour Online TEFL course
- Friendly pre-departure support and advice
- Airport pick-up and transfers
- Accommodation and meals
- Full orientation in Ayutthaya
- 7 weeks practical teaching experience
- Ongoing support
What's Included
Accommodation Airport Transfers Some Meals Transportation
Aug 18, 2021
May 16, 2018
Wish List
10 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Ready to visit the land of smiles? Start teaching English in Thailand on our 2 months teaching internship. This fantastic opportunity will take you to beautiful Kanchanaburi to embark on an amazing teach and travel adventure.

You'll start with an exciting orientation in Ayutthaya, which acts a great location to familiarize yourself with your new stunning surroundings whilst you get to know your fellow TEFL travelers.

Once you're settled in, you'll start 7 weeks of hands-on teaching experience in Kanchanaburi where you'll work in small local towns and villages. The children here may never have experienced a native-English speaking teacher before, so the impact on your students will be invaluable.

After you complete your amazing internship you'll have the chance to visit the exotic island of Koh Samet where you can celebrate on the beach with all the other your fellow teaching travelers on the program.

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Video and Photos

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Thai class
Teacher in Thailand with her class
Teaching in Thailand
Thailand Interns
Scuba near the beach
Interns on day out at Kanchanaburi
Intern with her class
Kanchanaburi
Relax by the beach

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Program Highlights

  • No degree, teaching experience or specific passport required!
  • 7 week volunteer internship placement
  • 120 Hour Online TEFL course included
  • Orientation & full support throughout
  • Group 20+ interns

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Program Reviews

3.78 Rating
based on 9 reviews
Leave a Review
  • 5 rating 44.44%
  • 4 rating 22.22%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 33.33%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Growth 3.8
  • Support 3.1
  • Fun 4.25
  • Housing 4.35
  • Safety 3.9
Showing 9 - 9 of 9 reviews
Default avatar
Chris
39
Female
2/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Falsely advertised as an Internship

Aug 5, 2011

Although I had an awesome time on this Internship, that was in spite of the programme not because of it.

Anyway, here are some pros and cons of the internship. Hopefully some things have changed for the better since we did it.....

Pros

1. I was placed in a nice modern hotel building with 12 other lovely interns. It was so nice to have the support.

2. The city we were placed in was in the middle of nowhere but I loved the place, the people were so kind!

3. Thailand is an awesome country. It is likely that you will be placed off the tourist trail too which is nice.

4. It is only for 6 months so is a good tester if you have never taught before or are nervous to commit to a whole year.

Cons

1. Upon arriving in Thailand we quickly found out that this wasn`t actually an internship . In fact our schools were actually lied to and told that we were all already experienced teachers! We were put in the classroom with 50 screaming kids from day 1 with absolutely no guidance or support.

2. You get ripped off. Let`s face it! The schools paid a wage of 27000 baht a month. We would see 12,000 of that, maybe 4000 would go towards our accommodation. The rest would all go to i To i (again, the schools are lied to about this and think that all the money is going to the teacher. When my school found out they were really upset).

This would have been fine if we had been receiving the ammount of support that had been promised to us but that was not the case at all. After the 1st month we were more or less on our own. In fact, we even had to go to the hospital alone several times including my friend having an operation there without any help from our supervisor. I don`t want to blame my supervisor though, she was lovely. It was just that she was so busy with other i to i volunteer jobs too that she had little time to help us.
At my school there were 8 foreign teachers. 3 of us were with i to and got paid 12,000 a month, 5 had the exact same job but were from another company and they got paid a full 32,000 a month for the exact same job!!!! Do your research first!

3. The orientation is fun but doesn`t prepare you for the realities of the Thai classroom. In the orientation we learned heaps of fun pair and group activities but on arrival to my classroom of 6 and 7 year olds i realised this was impossible. So we basically had to discard all we were taught at orientation and learn on the job.

4. You may have a long commute. It took one friend over 1 1/2 hours to get to school everyday.

5. Think that at least all your visas and paperwork will be sorted out properly? Think again! I had a huge issue with my visa (My passport date was stamped incorrectly on entrance into Thailand) that my school noticed that my supervisor said over and over again was fine. Then all of a sudden one day she said that I had to get it fixed ASAP or i could get arrested and have to pay a hefty fine! It got sorted out in the end but was handled poorly.

All and all I would say DO NOT join the i to i internship. They were too dishonest and didn`t care about the local people or their teachers. They just want to get as many people on the progamme as possible so as to make more money.
I know teaching overseas for the first time is scary but this is not the best way to go about it.

32 people found this review helpful.
Helpful
Response from

Hi Chris,

Thank you for taking the time to post your review about the Thailand TEFL Internship program. We’re very sorry to hear that you were not happy with the service provided to you during your time on the internship in Thailand. Here at i-to-i we appreciate all feedback, and analyse it on a case by case basis to work with our partners to improve their internship program for future interns.

I have taken a look at your account and can see that you completed the Thailand TEFL internship back in 2009. Since then, i-to-i have made a number of changes to the way the Thailand internship is run, including securing a new partners in Thailand to support the internship.

Therefore, I hope that you will give us the opportunity to respond to your points and show how we have improved the service as below:

Since the 2009 internship i-to-i have changed our partners in Thailand and now work with GES. We no longer work with the partners who you travelled with in 2009. GES have an excellent track record in providing fantastic intern experiences in Thailand and the feedback from all of the interns that have completed the program has been excellent. All of our interns are fully supported by GES and are placed on the correct teaching visa for Thailand according to the current government requirements.

There is also now an opportunity after signing up to the internship to preference your location in Thailand. As you mentioned above, you loved the small village setting that you were placed in but if you did prefer to be in a big city (with a larger expat community) this could now be accommodated. This new service has been very popular with interns in recent years.

It is correct that as an intern you would not receive the same salary as a fully trained teacher. However it is also true that all of the partner schools in Thailand are aware that they are getting an intern who will not be expected to complete the same duties as a fully paid member of staff. This is reflected in the intern’s work schedule (interns teach for under half of the hours of a regular teacher) and the level of training and support provided. There are also other perks associated with the internship, including free accommodation, airport pick up, a tailored TEFL course specifically geared to teaching in Thailand, an in-depth orientation week, a short term contract that is not usually available and complete support during your time in Thailand.

If you have any more questions or would like to speak with our customer services team further regarding your internship and your review, please do not hesitate to contact us on customersupport@i-to-i.com.

Kind Regards,
Kat

By spillchampion on January 7, 2015

Questions & Answers

Does this actually count as a TEFL certification?

This does count! :)

By Go Overseas on March 27, 2018

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Racheal Forster

Program
Teach and Travel in Thailand: Volunteering TEFL Internship
Racheal Forster is 22, from Northumberland, England and currently works as an English Teacher at Little London English School in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China. She graduated from Northumbria University with a Bachelor of Laws and has now jumped off the deep end and into the world that is CHINA! She enjoys being outdoors, running the track, loves Mongolian hotpot, Chinese tea and a lovely alcoholic beverage called Baijiu! When in China...

What inspired you to teach ESL?

Racheal: Teaching is something I've always considered. I love children and I've always had a passion to inspire young minds. I thought that by teaching English as a foreign language I could really help inspire children and also help them learn a valuable skill, as English is one of the most widely spoken languages and is very sought after in today's growing world. It's a handy skill to have if students wish to study in Western countries and for those who have a passion for languages. It's one that should be on everyone's bucket list.

Why did you choose LoveTEFL?

Racheal: I had done a lot of research into TEFL companies and I didn't want to go with just anyone. LoveTEFL was a new company but with lots of experience in the TEFL field. The package on offer is amazing and a very good deal to anyone who fits the criteria, which isn't a lot to be honest. The three guys who run the company are down to earth, honest, quick with responses to any questions and really passionate about getting the right people into teaching English. Everything from the website down to the very last remark on an email suited me perfectly.

LoveTEFL's Welcome Night in Inner Mongolia

Describe your day to day activities as a teacher in China.

Racheal: The schedule at Little London is far different from what I imagined teaching to be. I teach one evening a week, Saturday and Sundays. In total, I teach 22 classes per week unless I'm asked to do more. The main focus of our teaching is to get the students who range from ages 5-15 to converse in English. They will sit exams, but the Chinese English teachers prepare them for this. It is a joint effort with us to teach them how to survive in an English speaking country. We play games and it is a fun learning environment but there is much focus on sentence structure and vocabulary expansion. We lesson plan with our counterpart Chinese teachers and all give demo classes to one another to improve our teaching and our own learning. We help each other like one big family.

How has this experience impacted your future?

Racheal: This experience has changed my entire life. What I had planned for myself academically, personally and professionally have all now been muddled up and I've honestly got no idea what I'm doing. Having said that, it doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It's good, for me at least. I welcome upheaval and change, so far this experience has changed me. I'm different, I'm better. I have a lot more aspirations now than I ever had before, my desire to travel the world is only reinforced and I'm so much more determined to experience as much of the world and it's cultures as I can. I don't miss home, except my dog and my car. Personally this experience suits me perfectly. There are others who are here with me who are finding being away from home very difficult but I think it's liberating. There are so many opportunities for advancement in career and knowledge. I may even do my masters degree out here. To be honest I don't know what the future holds but I'm excited to see what happens and it's going to be a memorable journey full of adventure and hopefully include my amazing friends I've met so far.

Racheal at a traditional yurt in the grasslands

What is one piece of advice you would give to others thinking about teaching abroad?

Racheal: GO FOR IT! If you don't do it now you'll regret it. Its definitely the single most amazing thing I've ever decided to do. I never want to go home. The possibilities once you're out here are endless. The people I've met are truly wonderful and friends for life, the experience and totally different atmosphere is mesmerizing. This is China, this is Hohhot, this is my life and I'm going to live it! All I can say is take the leap, dive off the deep end and into a world of unpredictable changes, dizzying differences and ultimately a great opportunity and lasting memories.

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Sam Hudson

Program
Teach and Travel in Thailand: Volunteering TEFL Internship
Sam has worked for LoveTEFL for around 2 years now and has sent many teachers to their dream jobs in various countries but predominantly in South East Asia.
Thumbnail

What position do you hold at LoveTEFL? What has been your career path so far?

I’ve travelled across the world and taught / volunteered at countless schools and institutions. The majority of my experience is within teaching English to European school children and this has been an extremely rewarding career path so far. My job at LoveTEFL is to source teachers from across the globe to get trained in TEFL and to find brilliant work opportunities abroad.

Did YOU teach abroad?! If so, where and what inspired you to go?

I’ve taught in Belgium for a long time teaching mixed groups of children from countries including Russia, France, Germany, Brazil, Spain and various other non-native English speaking countries. I was inspired to go because teaching was something new to me and I wanted to boost my skillset and learn things such as, how to control a classroom and how to create engaging lessons.

What does the future hold for LoveTEFL - any exciting new programs to share?

Yes, in fact we have just launched a brand new short programme in Thailand which allows people to get a taste of TEFL in a small supported group but also provides the opportunity to experience other cultural aspects of Thailand including volunteering with elephants and travelling to the beautiful southern islands to celebrate the end of the teaching trip.

What about the future of the TEFL abroad industry? How do you think international education will change over the next 10 years?

The TEFL abroad industry is an ever-growing industry. Countries such as China are constantly seeking more and more TEFL teachers as there is a huge demand for English teachers in Asia. The future looks very bright indeed for aspiring TEFL teachers as more schools in countries all over the world are wishing to spruce up on their English training.

About i-to-i TEFL

Established in 1994, i-to-i TEFL are one of the world’s leading TEFL course providers - with over 210,000 of their happy graduates teaching English both online and abroad. They offer a range of US & UK Government regulated and accredited TEFL courses, both online and classroom-based in more than 30 locations worldwide. i-to-i has an excellent...

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