Paid Teach English in Thailand Program with Greenheart Travel

I experienced a misunderstanding between myself and XploreAsia during the placement portion of my TESOL course. Instead of supporting me and seeking resolution the Senior Program Manager at Greenheart Travel sent me an aggressive email in an attempt to put me in my place. This made my placement process even more difficult while navigating culture differences.

I paid a premium to work with Greenheart Travel again and expected a higher level of support while aboard. It was only after a string of emails with the Director of Greenheart Travel that any wrong doing was admitted.

I would recommend saving your money and going with a cheaper organization that might offer better support and act more professional towards participants.

I absolutely loved green heart they were beyond helpful with everything I needed and with preparing for my trip.
Kara was absolutely amazing and made the entire process very easy and with very minimal stress. She kept me on schedule and if I had forgotten to do anything she was always there to remind me.
Great organization, very efficient, great communication, great team

They checked in regularly and throughout the entire process of planning the trip it can be overwhelming and stressful. For myself the entire visa process and trying to book everything in time was overwhelming, Kara and greenheart coach you through the entire process and make sure all forms and documents are completed to standard for nothing is a surprise for your arrival

I usually never leave reviews for things, but looking back I am so incredibly grateful to Greenheart for all that they provided that I felt like I had to. This program is awesome. I am currently teaching in Bangkok and having the time of my life. Moving halfway around the world is obviously a little scary and can be daunting at times but Greenheart did an awesome job of setting expectations and being upfront and forthcoming with all necessary information. I also want to give a special shoutout to Kara, who was so gracious as to welcome me and my much more anxious mom to the office to meet and go over any questions we had. She really went above and beyond and I am so grateful for that. Greenheart is easy to keep in contact with and did a great job of establishing a personal connection so I never felt alone going on this adventure.

Living and working Thailand was one of the most amazing things I have ever done and it wouldn't have been possible with Greenheart. Or at least it would have been much, much harder. They prepared me so well before I left the United States, helping with each and every step along the way. The Thai visa process is a bit complicated but the staff at Greenheart made it seem so easy. Once arriving in Thailand, we were transferred to a company called Xplore Asia, which was not made clear before leaving, but worked out extremely well. Greenheart was still approachable and helpful throughout the entire time I was living in Thailand, as well as the amazing staff at Xplore Asia. This is definitely a lifetime experience that everyone should have! I am so grateful for the time I spent there and everything I learned.

My partner and I were placed to teach in the same town, even the same school during our time in Thailand. Before we went overseas, we had plenty of questions and Greenheart was easy to reach, patient, and so kind! We felt prepared and knew expectations/next steps for every part of our journey. Once we went overseas, the partner organization was incredibly helpful throughout our experience including navigating visas, Thai culture, and teaching! As for Thailand, an absolutely magical place. We were paid well enough to live comfortably and save some for travelling around Southeast Asia.
Tips for Thailand: embrace the bum gun, bring coffee from home if you like coffee, prepare for sugar to be added into everything!
10/10 I would recommend again!

Greenheart travel was great! There was a lot of support leading up to me leaving for Thailand. I would have been completely lost without their help and honestly I don’t think I would have ever moved to Thailand without their guidance. Once we arrived they set us up with another company but continued to check in a few more times. I am very happy with my experience with Greenheart.
I ended up spending one semester in Northern Thailand in a small town called Mae Chan located in Chiang Rai. I couldn’t have asked for a better placement. The town was absolutely beautiful. We had everything that I needed including a gym and a big Tesco. My students were incredible however they did challenge me on a daily basis. I will forever be happy that I went.

Greenheart Travel was incredibly helpful in connecting us with Xplore Asia and helping us to get our feet on the ground in Thailand. The coordinators helped to calm our nerves about our trip and we felt we were treated with kindness and compassion throughout our time working with Greenheart Travel. If you are looking for an incredible experience and immersion in a beautiful culture I would highly suggest this program. Working with the kids has been my favorite work experience so far. I feel that I grew significantly in this program. One of the best parts was that my wife and I were placed in the same school, so if you looking for a program that accommodates couples, look no further! If you're a foodie this is definitely the right program for you. 10 out of 10 would recommend this experience to anyone.

I did plenty of research about teaching abroad before choosing Greenheart Travel. TEFL certification and placement programs come a dime a dozen now. The difference with Greenheart, though is I felt support from initial contact even up to now almost a year later. The school yera has concluded and the memories I've made as a EFL teacher in Thailand I owe much of the smooth transition to Greenheart.

I appreciated that my questions were answered promptly and the staff were helpful and professional. Their partner in Asia that actually handles the teacher placement portion on the ground work well with the Greenheart setup.

Although I have a masters degree and prior TEFL certification, I chose to add on the optional TEFL course. I highly recommend you so so too! If you've taught in a classroom before, great. But teaching in Thailand, to Thai kids, in a Thai school setting will be very different. The TEFL course not only included a jam-packed orientation week, but the conclusion of the course required a 2-day teaching camp and that was life-changing! Those kids changed my ideas about wanting to be a teacher. Their energy, smiles and warmth oozed through my soul. It's because of the TEFL program that I decided I wanted to continue teaching.
Had I just taken my placement after the orientation week and skipped the TEFL course I would've sorely missed bonding experiences with other program mates (some I mad great friends with!), learning valuable techniques to teaching in a Thai classroom, and made transitioning to Thailand life much smoother.

Marie Kondo was on to something in her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The book centered around the question “Does it spark joy?”...for me this simple question changed my life. As a overworked American passionate person about education, I found myself experiencing a burnout that was draining my life. I knew I needed change and my wanderlust soul was beginning to consume my thoughts. That's when I found Greenheart Travel...and I would have to say that's when Thailand found me.

After months of research on living and teaching in Thailand, I found no other organization that offered the structured support and guidance to live this dream like Greenheart Travel. From visa, resume, and cultural preparation, Greenheart made the adventure possible, easy, and informative. Kara answered every question that I had and continues to be in contact since I've been here. If you are reading this, it means you are thinking about embarking on this wild adventure...and as many Thais would say "why not?" Haha Go for it! It will change your life!

The TESOL course with XploreAsia prepares you in every way they can to not only be a great teacher but also how to culturally adjust to living in Thailand. Some participants from other partnered organizations with XploreAsia had horror stories of their preparation agencies...none of which I could relate to because Greenheart provided so much detailed information on what to expect and how to prepare.

Now, you might be asking "Is it all sunshine and rainbows?" Well, if you come in April or May, you have the sunshine part right as it is quite hot and the sun can be quite intense haha But as someone who hates cold weather, I lather on the sunscreen with a smile and carry an umbrella with me everywhere I go (comes in handy to shield the sun AND when it just randomly rains out of nowhere). Eventually you'll get used to the sweat...so don't sweat it ;-)

As far as adjusting to life in your placement city, you may experience a shock from going from being around people 24/7 during the TESOL course and having everything planned, organized, and easy to moving to your placement city alone, lost, and possibly not being able to communicate well. Buying the right size sheets at Tesco or Big C may be more of a complicated task than one realizes when you can't read the packaging and the sales assistant doesn't speak English haha After awhile you'll begin to adjust to venturing out on your own and depending on your placement, you may meet other foreign teachers who will help along the way. I live in the heart of Bangkok and I honestly think it has made my transition a bit more convenient and easier to adjust to. I quickly set out to make local Thai friends which has been a benefit in multiple ways! Thais knows all the good places to eat, the secrets of getting around, and best places to visit on holiday ;-)

There are many things I have come to love about Thailand. The food, the weather, the beautiful landscapes, and the low cost of living are just a few to mention about living in the "land of smiles." However, to me, the most important and refreshing has been the laid back "mai bpen rai" lifestyle. If you don't know what that means, look it up...you'll enjoy the research. It's been a game changer for me. Bringing me back to my point about Marie Kondo's "spark joy" mentality, I have come to love, embrace, and appreciate simplicity.

There is just something to be said about simplicity; it’s simply liberating and Thailand is a perfect environment to experience and embrace it. I am loving it more and more each day and if you were like me...stressed to the max all the time because of the rat race of your culture...I encourage you to simply ask yourself "why?" Then take a look at Greenheart's Teach in Thailand opportunity and ask yourself "why not?" haha You won't regret it.

I wish you the best on your quest for adventure.

Greenheart are fantastic at providing support from the moment you land in the country. I arrived and was picked up by a driver arranged by greenheart, and then driven to my hotel room (sharing with another teacher). We then spent the next week having all our important documents sorted, applications for teaching jobs filled out and phones sorted, as well as Thai lessons, culture lessons, teaching lessons and wonderful activities such as muai thai and visiting an elephant sanctuary. I felt 100% supported by greenheart staff to get a teaching job, although flexibility on this front was required on my part as this changed once or twice before it was finalised. as well as emotionally and psychically supported for the rest of my time in Thailand. I ended up working for a school and a learning centre in Ayutthaya, a beautiful historic town, the learning centre was fantastic, wonderfully organised and gave me a variety of students in terms of age and requirements. The school was far less organised and I had some trouble here trying to make my lessons a success, however, I felt i could call upon Greenheart should I encounter any problems. I found the culture and language lessons provided by Greenheart at the beginning very helpful, as well as technical support of getting a SIM card and bank account, all of which would have been very difficult to do alone. I had a wonderful placement and a perfect place to live, and still keep in touch now with some of the fellow teacher I met there. A fantastic experience, so much so that I decided to use Greenheart again in 2018 for a home stay programme in China.

When I first began researching teaching programs around Asia I never thought it was as complex and confusing as it is. I found Greenheart and they were encouraging and helpful. They don't hold your hand through every step, but they are supportive and make sure you feel informed and safe as you prepare for a huge leap into the unknown. As mentioned, the teaching world in Thailand/SE Asia can be complex. You'll work with partner organizations/agencies, since Greenheart doesn't actually serve or have access to every school in the country. Fortunately, I personally never had any major issues or emergencies while navigating some of the confusing transitions throughout the teaching process, but I always felt that Greenheart had my back and would have done their best to help had I needed it. I completed the TESOL course and initial placement, and fell in love with Thailand. I have since transitioned to other jobs, but I attribute a lot of my initial success to the fact that I came through Greenheart.

Teaching English in Thailand has been the most challenging and rewarding experience for me. I'm typing this review as I sit in my thai classroom watching music videos with my students on the last day of classes! I highly recommend this program to anyone who has a passion for adventure, travel, children, and being out of their comfort zone. I completed the TESOL course here in Thailand and met life long friends. In fact, four of us are backpacking Vietnam and Cambodia after we finish teaching! During the placement process, I was told I would be teaching 16-18 year olds (I am 22). I came into this experience assuming I would be teaching younger kids, so this was scary news at first. Now that I have been teaching them for 4 months, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Watching my seniors graduate was so special for me. I did something I never thought I'd be able to do and I couldn't have done it without Greenheart Travel.

Greenheart travel works with you from the visa preparation up until you're ready for your next adventure. They are very quick with replying to any concerns or questions you have about your program, accommodation, pay etc. I felt Greenheart always have an answer that was honest and accurate. Sarah, my program coordinator was very helpful and patient with me when I would e-mail her frequently with questions. They keep you in the loop with what is going on in their company as well as events and opportunities for Greenheart alumni. I always recommend Greenheart to friends and strangers when they are looking for an adventure similar to mine! I am so lucky to have gone through this company and experiened the year & a half away in Thailand that I did! I will forever cherish that experience.

I did the TESOL course in Hua Hin. What I expected to be just a step before starting teaching was a surprisingly amazing experience. The atmosphere it's just great, in only one week every one participating in the program become friends. The teachers and the stuff were also great, showing us around and helping us orginize extra excursions on the weekends.
I totally recommend doing the TESOL in Thailand instead of online.
After one amazing month, we were send to our placements. My school is a private one and it's great. I asked to be in the South teaching highschool but I am North teaching Highschools, but it is obvious that they cannot give everyone the perfect conditions, you have to accept that and you will fall in love with your place.

The decision to teach abroad is so empowering! The love from the students is validating and the ability to prove to yourself that you can leave everything familiar and comfortable to you and still overcome all challenges is the cherry on the cake. Adjusting to a big move like this is never easy, but I am so thankful to have gone through Greenheart Travel because they were incredibly supportive during those hard times. Everyone is genuinely there to help and support you through this journey because they KNOW what it's like to be in your shoes as they've all experienced the same endeavor. I think that is very important and key contributing factor to what makes them so amazing! I highly recommend taking on an adventure like this through Greenheart Travel! <3