Thailand Programs Enrollment & Schedule Country Overview Job Prospects & Pay Food & Clothing Housing & Communication Excursions Photos & Travel Resources

Programs:

LANGUAGECORPS' FLAGSHIP PROGRAM IN THAILAND

LanguageCorps’ Flagship Program in Thailand has been designed to give you the skills and abilities to confidently live in Southeast Asia.

The goals of the program are to:

• Help you create a rewarding experience living in, working in, and learning about a new culture
• Teach you new skills
• Lead you toward the development of a wider, first-person perspective about the diversity of cultures and populations in a new and different part of the world

To help you accomplish these goals, LanguageCorps provides extensive training and orientation, job placement, and ongoing logistical support.

The Thailand Flagship Program is part of our exciting joint travel and training program for Flagship Program participants in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

This program allows participants in all 3 countries to:

• Participate in our most popular excursion to Angkor Wat
• Meet participants from other programs – extending their LanguageCorps network and making great contacts for future travel or vacations
• Consider the option of switching to a different country for their teaching (based on experience gained by traveling in Thailand and Cambodia)
• Learn about the options for obtaining an advanced degree and receiving academic credit for LanguageCorps TESOL training

Training and Orientation

• Airport pick-up and welcome tour of Bangkok, including accommodations, plus transportation to our Training Center in Pattaya
• TESOL Certification: 4-week course that includes joint training for all Southeast Asia Flagship Programs at our facility at Pannasastra University in Phnom Penh Cambodia, followed by in-country training and practice teaching at our facility in Pattaya, Thailand. The TESOL certification combines 90 hours of classroom-based instruction along with 20-30 hours of Teaching Practice at a local community resource (hospital, police station, city hall, orphanage, immigration office, etc.) so your teaching time directly benefits the community
• Thai Language and Cultural Awareness Training: 30 hours of work designed to:
    1.Give you the local language skills necessary for daily life in Thailand
    2.Put you in the learner’s seat, re-acquainting you with the struggle to acquire a new language
    3.Let you be part of the learning process
    4.Provide a major cultural overview and orientation to Thai customs – what’s polite and acceptable, how to fit in, the importance of making an effort toward understanding, etc.

Excursions

During your TESOL training, LanguageCorps will escort you on four different excursions:

• In and around the exciting city of Bangkok and the fast-growing Pattaya area, and including a trip to the picturesque beach island of Koh Larn in the Gulf of Thailand
• Joint excursion to Angkor Wat in Cambodia
• The popular island (Koh) Chang, south of Bangkok
• Vientiane, Vang Veng and the surrounding areas of Laos

Our Teachers confirm that these excursions contribute to a successful teaching and living abroad experience. You will develop a sense of the varied cultures and lifestyles of the area as you explore different regions of Thailand and Southeast Asia, and have many opportunities to hone your intercultural and language skills with the wonderful people of these friendly nations.

Job Placement

Following TESOL training, LanguageCorps offers three job placement options:

1. The first features guaranteed job placement at a select school within our primary focus area of the Eastern Seaboard (Greater Bangkok, Chonburi and Rayong Provinces). Assistance included as needed and requested: resume development, scheduling interviews, transportation to interviews, job selection, school contracts, and housing.

2. Job-placement assistance in other, specific areas. LanguageCorps staff/alumni living in popular areas such as Chiang Mai and Koh Chang are often available to assist you in finding a job. If you fell in love with a certain area during the “country exploration” trips, LanguageCorps will work to help you find a job there.

3. Explore a new region of Thailand, using the skills you learned in LanguageCorps training. Create your own, unique experience – trusting that LanguageCorps advice and support are just a phone call away.

Ongoing Logistical Support

• Comprehensive health insurance and medical-emergency evacuation coverage for a full year
• Accommodations during the four weeks of training, and until you have secured a job or for one week following training should you choose job-placement options 2 or 3 (see above)
• 24/7 Corps Advocate emergency support
• All fees for your initial visa, as well as visa document preparation assistance, and letters of introduction as needed
• LanguageCorps group “get togethers” throughout the year
• “Stay In Touch” package that includes a personal, international cell phone with paid initial phone time, pre-programmed with the Corps Advocate’s number, as well as internet access at the Training Center or a local cafe
• Pre-departure Information Package including a guide book, country facts, packing suggestions, vaccination information, etc., and personal assistance with pre-departure details and questions
• Career-oriented re-entry package to help market your international teaching experience and enhance your resume

NOT Included:

• Round-trip airfare to host country
• Personal expenses (meals, entertainment, local transport, living expenses, and personal shopping)
• “Upfront” costs following the training period, such as apartment security deposits and first month’s rent
• Visa costs and fees beyond the initial visa

The Program Fee for LanguageCorps’ Flagship Program in Thailand is US$4,395

All Program participants enjoy guaranteed job placement in the primary focus area. Pay varies depending on specific teaching assignment. Learn more about what you can earn in Job Prospects & Pay.

LanguageCorps requires a US$500 non-refundable deposit after acceptance. Balance is due two weeks prior to established date for departure from home country.

Note: The deadline for acceptance into the LanguageCorps Flagship Program and receipt of deposit is 45 days prior to the start date. However, to ensure placement in the program you desire, we advise applying two to six months prior to your intended start date. Late placements are sometimes possible; please contact us immediately if you are applying less than two months before your desired start date.

TESOL CERTIFICATION PROGRAM, THAILAND

LanguageCorps’ academic staff has over 30 years of experience in the English language-training field, both in pure academics and in day-to-day teaching in classrooms worldwide. The LanguageCorps TESOL certification course in Pattaya relies on this wealth of experience to combine the best and most current academic thinking in the TESOL field with decades of hands-on wisdom from practical teaching in remote areas of the world.

The 140+ hour, four-week course integrates the aspects of real teaching that we have found most important:

• Ninety hours of classroom-based Academic Inputs
• Thirty hours of Thai Language and Cultural Awareness Training
• Up to thirty hours of Teaching Practice

The program includes 8 days of joint training for all Southeast Asia Programs at our facility at Pannasastra University in Phnom Penh Cambodia, followed by in-country training and practice teaching at our facility in Pattaya, Thailand. While in Cambodia, you will have a tour of Phnom Penh, and the option of participating in our most popular excursion to Angkor Wat in Siem Riep, Cambodia. Transportation to and from Phnom Penh from Thailand is included.

LanguageCorps’ Thai Language and Cultural Awareness program is designed to:

• Give you the local language skills necessary for daily life in Southeast Asia
• Put you in the learner’s seat, re-acquainting you with the struggle to acquire a new language
• Let you be part of the learning process
• Provide a major cultural overview and orientation to Thai customs – what’s polite and acceptable, how to fit in, the importance of making an effort toward understanding, etc.

LanguageCorps’ Teaching Practice program is similarly goal-based:

• You will typically be seeing the same students on a regular basis for 8 to 10 hours each week, so your lessons will be continuous, one building-on and leading-to the next. The students you teach are actually your students, allowing you to plan from class to class based on student progress and need.
• Your teaching assignment will often be a local community resource (hospital, police station, city hall, orphanage, immigration office, etc.) so your teaching time directly benefits the community. By the end of the class, your students will have had thirty hours of English Language classes, free. This may not seem like much, but it is approximately the same number of hours a class in many public schools will get in one academic year.

The TESOL Certification Program fee is US$1,690

Accommodations and excursions are also available for an additional charge.

SHORT-TERM VOLUNTEER PROGRAM, THAILAND

Program Overview

Our Volunteer Program has been carefully crafted to ensure that your experience is as rewarding and enjoyable as possible - for you, and for your students. The eight week program includes two weeks of abbreviated TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) training at our training center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as well as housing, training in basic language and cultural traditions, airport pickup, a personal cell phone (for the duration of the program), visas, insurance, an excursion to Angkor Wat (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), and more. Perhaps most importantly, it includes six weeks teaching and changing lives at one of the LanguageCorps' partner orphanages or schools in or around Pattaya, Thailand. And in your free time you can enjoy cultural dinners with your peers, trips to the beach and countryside, and all the experiences a country as foreign and unique as Thailand has to offer. The program fee for the 8 week Volunteer Program is US$ 2,195, and each additional week is US$150.

Locations & Where You'll Be Teaching

Phnom Penh is the home of our combined training facility, which hosts the initial training for participants in all three LanguageCorps Southeast Asia programs. This facility is the result of a unique partnership between LanguageCorps and Pannasastra University – and the training you receive here can be applied towards an advance degree offered through the University. Teacher accommodations are provided in a villa or guesthouse in central Phnom Penh near the famous Russian Market. This convenient location provides easy access to sights and amenities, and is approximately 10-12 minutes from the University and the center of town.

After finishing your training in Cambodia you will head to Pattaya, Thailand's premier beach resort since the 1960s. It anchors the 15 km of golden sand which stretches along the coast from Naklua Bay to Jomtien Beach. Like most of coastal Thailand, Pattaya's climate is tropical, with average daily temperatures throughout the year around a warm and pleasant 80°F. Even in the rainy season, the rainfall is brief and the rest of the day is normally clear and sunny.

Teaching assignments will be at a LanguageCorps affiliated orphanage or school in Pattaya or other nearby cities, where you will be working with children or young adults. Most of the students are eighteen or younger, and are eager for the opportunity to learn English - which they may then leverage into jobs as English teachers, working in Tourism, or other professions such as computer science.

The Program

The LanguageCorps experience begins with your pre-departure package, helping you to properly plan and prepare for your trip. Your adventure teaching English in Thailand begins when you arrive at the airport in Bangkok. There you will be met by a member of the LanguageCorps staff, who will take care of any necessary visas, and begin to acclimate you to your new home. You will be provided with a cell phone which is yours for the duration of the program. The first two weeks of the program will be spent in basic TESOL training at our combined facility in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This course will give you many of the skills and experiences necessary to make your teaching adventure a successful one. With the groundwork for success laid, you will be ready to move on to your six week teaching assignment back in Thailand. Daily transportation is provided to and from your teaching assignment. This program was designed to allow you to spend the bulk of your time teaching, rather than in training, as well as giving you the opportunity to get to know some of both Vietnam and Cambodia. However, if you wish to take the full four week training course and achieve TESOL certification, please speak with your LanguageCorps representative. You will still be able to volunteer part-time during training, and we'd be happy to work with you to extend your teaching assignment.

The 8 week* Volunteer Program includes:

• Pre-departure package and assistance
• All required visas (including for training in Cambodia)
• Medical and evacuation Insurance
• Two weeks TESOL training*
• Round-trip travel from Thailand to Cambodia for training.
• Language and Cultural training
• Six weeks volunteer experience teaching in a partner orphanage or rural school
• Eight weeks housing
• Cell phone for duration of the program
• Welcoming tour and dinner with peers
• Gift to orphanage or school ($100 donation given in your name)
• Transportation to and from the orphanage/school
• Excursion to Siem Riep and Angkor Wat, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The program does NOT include:

• Airfare to/from Thailand
• Personal expenses, such as food, drink, shopping and social activites ($25-30 per week should suffice for food)

* Longer stays and TESOL Certification is available. Please contact us for additional information.

The Short-Term Volunteer Program fee in Thailand is US$2,195.