Lead English Teachers in Thailand
An Overview
Teach in Thailand participants will work as Lead English Teachers at local Thai schools. Teachers will work a full-time schedule (40 hours per week). A typical schedule will include 20 to 25 hours in the classroom, and the additional time will include lunch breaks, planning periods, meetings, and extracurricular activities.
Available teaching positions are at elementary, middle, or high schools. While a curriculum or course outline may be provided, all teachers will be responsible for lesson planning, teaching, and classroom management. Employers will expect teachers to contribute meaningfully to students’ learning and focus on developing their English conversational skills. In exchange, employers will provide all teachers will rent-free housing. Housing may be individual or shared (private room) accommodation.
Some schools will hire teachers to teach English and other subjects, such as math, science, technology, social studies, and physical education. Applicants with educational backgrounds in these areas are encouraged to highlight this in the PLACEMENT PREFERENCES task in their CIEE application.
If you do not have experience teaching English as a foreign language, we highly recommend you enroll in CIEE’s 150-Hour TEFL Course. This course provides the necessary training for teachers to start teaching from the very first day. Participants can qualify for a salary increase of 32,000 Thai baht per month after completion of this course. Read Flora’s blog post as she shares her reasons to getting TEFL Certified after teaching in Thailand: Why I’m Choosing to Get TEFL Certified.
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FAQ's
The Thai school year begins in May and ends in the following March. CIEE participants can choose to depart in May (spring term) or October (fall term). For application deadlines, please visit the program page.
Teach in Thailand participants will work as Lead English Teachers in the classroom. While participants will have the support from their school coordinator, a Thai co-teacher is very unlikely.
Teachers will be given teaching materials. This may be a course outline or curriculum books. However, all teachers will be responsible for lesson planning. Read Isabel’s blog for advice on lesson planning in Thailand: Beginner’s Guide to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)
Most of our partner schools are in central, eastern or northeastern Thailand, but you can note your preferences in (region, age range, additional subjects) in your CIEE application.
Placements in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket are very competitive; only a very small number of placements are available in each term. To learn more about regions in Thailand, please open an application and read our Destination Thailand Guide.
Please read this handout: Special Considerations for Thailand.
CIEE, OEG and partner schools
expect for all Teach in Thailand participants to understand the teaching commitments required for this position. While CIEE participants will have multiple layers of support in-country, please understand professionalism is required. We are looking for teachers who are adaptable, have a positive attitude, are open to learning Thai, and are interested in a meaningful, cultural experience. To help gauge your readiness for this program, please take the Teach in Thailand survey.