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Teaching Monks in Thailand

Experience
Volunteer
Destination
Thailand
Duration
2 to 12 weeks
Ages
18 to 65

64 others looking at this too. Next opening is Jul 2023, with limited spots.

Trip overview

Exploring a destination thoroughly requires donning the local garb and engaging in local activities. Going there for a few days or weeks is excellent, but living and working there while taking part in day-to-day activities is what delivers the actual authentic experience.

Teaching at a Thai monastery is a great way to learn more about the Buddhist faith and culture. You will have the opportunity to teach a diverse group of people, including senior monks and nuns, young novices, adults from the community, orphans, migrant children, and kids from underprivileged backgrounds. As a volunteer, you will also get the chance to join Buddhist monks in their daily temple activities, such as guided meditations, learning about Buddhist traditions, listening to Dharma speeches, and witnessing and participating in Buddhist rituals.

Furthermore, Hua Hin and its outskirts are breathtaking. It's one of Thailand's most picturesque beach resort towns, and Travellers Choice has named it one of the top ten cities in Thailand and one of the world's top 20 exquisite places to retire in.

We provide a complete package for anyone enthusiastic about teaching English abroad. You'll be able to take advantage of our partnerships with local teaching organisations and complete a 60-hour approved TESOL course and cultural course online before you ever set foot in the country! You'll be able to take your newly acquired credentials practically anywhere around the globe and immediately begin positively impacting your students' lives. 

To get you started on your adventure to become an English teaching volunteer abroad, our team will help you with everything from obtaining a visa to arranging transportation to the monastery, as well as organising a variety of cultural events and excursions, providing local support, and more.

Experience a new culture, make lasting friendships, and cross amazing sights off your travel bucket list. This journey is ideal for recent graduates, non-degree holders, and experienced educators who have always dreamed of expanding their horizons, travelling around Asia, and seeing what it's like to be among the Thai buddhists.

Inclusions

60-hour online TESOL course

This interactive TESOL / TEFL course offers a solid foundation in English as a Second Language (ESL) education. It focuses on equipping you to teach successfully in a variety of settings, including volunteer teaching and assistant teaching. This course focuses on preparing volunteers to teach in non-traditional contexts.

Volunteer project placement

We’ll score you a guaranteed volunteering placement so you can start on your journey to make a difference to our planet.

Dedicated Trip Coordinator

Handpicked from an experienced team who’ve been there, done that, and is ready to guide you through your entire journey and leave no question unanswered.

Local Cultural Experiences

Depending on the length of your volunteer placement, you will join other travellers as you take part in all or some of the cultural activities, including a Thai cooking class, visit to Phraya Nakhon Cave, a Muay Thai class and trip to Kui Buri National Park.

‘Welcome to Thailand’ orientation

Get familiar with the country’s history and culture, plus you’ll learn more about your volunteer project and your responsibilities.

Comfortable Accommodation

Settle down in shared volunteer accommodation in Hua Hin. Complete with a TV, free WiFi and laundry facilities.

Buddhist Immersion

Become one with the monks - some experiences you can expect are guided meditations and blessings, learning about Buddhist history, attending Dharma talks and observing Buddhist activities - all at the monastery!

Personal Travel Concierge

You'll get a personal Travel Concierge to plan your flights, insurance or any other add-ons to synchronise perfectly with your trip. Deal with a real human and get personalized booking help that ticks all your boxes.

Return airport transfer

To take you straight to your initial volunteer accommodation in Hua Hin. Return transfer to the airport upon completion of your volunteer placement.

Pre-Departure Guide

Our in-depth pre-departure guide will have all the information you need about your trip & destination at your fingertips.

Trip visa guidance

Get your visa approved as cheap and easy as possible with advice and assistance from your Trip Coordinator.

Project supplies

Get equipped with all the supplies and materials you need to perform your volunteer duties.

Certificate of completion

In recognition of your hard work and dedication throughout the experience, and, it goes very well with your future resume. Employers will love this addition!

Ongoing local team support

Throughout your time here, you will have the support of a local expert. They will help to open up the wonders of Thailand, supporting your every need while you work and travel around the country.

24/7 Global Emergency Line

Feel confident knowing we have a worldwide emergency team on standby, 24/7/365, so you can feel safe and secure throughout your whole trip, no matter where you are in the world.

gWorld access

Stay organised with your personalised portal where you can keep all of your important documents and trip details in one spot and gain insider access to everything Global.

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Social

Travel alone but never lonely with Social! An exclusive social network inside our gWorld app to talk, share & meet-up with other Global Travellers in your region, with a dedicated Community Manager.

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Global Academy

Gain access to an ever-growing range of skills & languages to learn before & whilst you travel.

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Marketplace deals

Get exclusive access to deals and discounts through our online Marketplace. Save big on a huge range of products and services from our brand partners worldwide.

$250 off your next trip

The “Travel Bug” is a very real thing! Once you catch it, it really doesn’t go away! Book any other trip with us later and save $250. Why would you ever stop travelling?

Qualification

To qualify for this trip you must meet the following requirements:

  • Be between 18-65 years of age
  • Be a citizen of an eligible country
  • Have no criminal convictions in the past 5 years

Ask a question

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Trip details

The best and most enjoyable way to learn about a new place is by total immersion in its culture. Still, we're all human, and we understand how scary it may be to take the plunge. Your trip has been meticulously planned to provide maximum acclimation before arriving in Thailand.

Feel at ease knowing that you have our complete backing. There will be a Trip Coordinator available to help you out before you go and a committed crew waiting for you in Thailand to ensure everything goes well and you never feel out of place. As soon as your flight touches down at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, a personal transfer will be waiting to whisk you away to your accommodation.

Accommodation

In terms of housing, you will primarily reside in volunteer housing in Hua Hin. The space will have a familiar, cozy vibe; it will be air-conditioned and shared with other volunteers (gender-separate). You will receive a weekly food stipend of 1,000 baht, which, if used exclusively to purchase authentic regional cuisine, should cover most of your food costs.

You may confidently arrive in Hua Hin knowing that you will have an unparalleled Asian experience compared to any other tourist. There will be one main monastery and you, depending on your desire, may also spend time at one or more remote monasteries.

The Course

You will primarily teach from Monday to Friday, with occasional weekend duties. When that happens, extra time off will be spread out over the week. As a volunteer, you will teach conversational English to senior monks and nuns, young novices, people from the community, orphans, migrant children, and youths with very poor proficiency.

The session timetable is flexible and may be adjusted to meet the needs of the students. Classes will last an average of two to four hours and, more often than not, have a different number of participants each time due to attendance being entirely up to the students. Being adaptable and understanding is essential as a volunteer. 

Your daily duties will include teaching, leading seminars, and coordinating extracurricular activities. As a volunteer, you are not forced to engage in daily activities at the teaching site and will have plenty of spare time; nonetheless, the experience becomes more meaningful as you get more culturally integrated.

On top of that, you will also get a certificate of completion and have the opportunity to participate in a cultural activity every fortnight, such as cooking or Muay Thai lessons. A trip like this is excellent for your portfolio, CV, and personal growth since it will help establish everlasting friendships and expose you to another culture and way of living. 

Requirements 

You must be aged between 18-65.

What extra costs will I have? 

Flights, travel insurance, souvenirs, daily subsistence & spending money.

Trip itinerary

Prior to Arrival

In the lead-up to the experience, you will take a 60-hour online TESOL course that has received international accreditation. This trains volunteers to teach in both standard and non-traditional classroom settings. The course modules include TESOL/TEFL methodology, classroom, organising practical speaking classes, and lesson design, and may be completed even if you have a hectic schedule. It consists of four separate modules: Module One – TESOL Theory, Methods, and Lesson Planning Module Two – Teaching Speaking Module Three – Classroom Management Module Four – Teaching English in Non-Traditional Settings

Day 1

You will land in Bangkok at Suvarnabhumi Airport on the Sunday before your scheduled start date. A driver will be waiting for you at the airport, and you'll be transferred to Hua Hin to your initial accommodation.

Day 2-4

During your first few days in Hua Hin, we will provide training and classroom observation from certified educators. Here you can learn all about the monastic program, study methods, Thai culture, and daily life in the area. You will be provided with teaching materials and the liberty to supplement them with supplies purchased locally. In addition, as a volunteer, you will undergo a crash course in the Thai language from seasoned educators.

Ongoing

You'll lead a class most days for two to four hours, starting just after breakfast. The remainder of the day is at your leisure, so go out and see the city, make new friends, and soak up some genuine Thai culture. A cultural event is provided every other week. These may vary and are usually covered during orientation; examples include trips to Kuiburi National Park, Rescue P.A.W.S., Temple Cave and Beach, a Thai cooking class and some Muay Thai lessons too. Rest assured that we'll constantly be keeping in touch with you during your stay. If you need support or advice at any point during your trip, our team will be on hand to answer all your questions. Don't forget you can also jump on our social media pages or buzz our 24/7 emergency support line for urgent matters.

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Frequently asked questions

Why go with Global Work & Travel?

As the world’s leading gap-year and “work & travel” company, we offer you the ability to not only choose from a number of awesome experiences all over the world but, we'll be your support system from the very first moment you become a Global Traveller! We provide a premium service that allows you to pick the destination of your dreams, get our visa & pre-departure assistance, book great flights and organise the perfect travel insurance or tours for when you arrive. Plus, we’ll back it all up with some cool and exclusive tech features that are with you the entire time.

As a Global Traveller, you’ll get exclusive access to gWorld, our personalised app where you can keep all of your important documents and trip details in one spot and gain insider access to everything Global. This is where you will find exclusive Marketplace deals for discounts with our brand partners, a unique social network to connect you with other Global Travellers when you’re overseas, access to our Academy with an ever-growing range of skills & languages to learn as you travel, invites to bucket-list side trips with other travellers, local meet-ups and so much more. Think all of your favourite apps merged into one, but like, better?

And it doesn't even stop there. We continue to be there from the moment you land with a dedicated 24/7 emergency team, over 100 staff and ongoing support ensuring that you have the tools you need to feel like a local. That’s why 65,000+ Global Travellers from all over the world have chosen to turn their travel dream into reality with us and we can proudly brag that we’ve got the most & best reviews in the biz!

Why should I book now?

Covid-19 threw us a curve ball and pretty much halted all travel. This means that we have a backlog of travellers, just like you, who are desperate to get out and explore the world! Global Work & Travel works on a first-in-best-dressed basis. Booking earlier ensures that you don’t miss out on the best intake, season, placements and more! We recommend our travellers take 6-12 months to plan their trip for a reason - to make sure you’ve got everything organised perfectly, stress-free.

As a Global Traveller you’ll get exclusive access to gWorld, our personalised app where you can keep all of your important documents and trip details in one spot and gain insider access to everything Global. This is where you will find exclusive Marketplace Deals, a unique social network to connect you with other like-minded Global Travellers, access to our Academy with an ever-growing range of skills & languages, and so much more. Think all of your favourite apps merged into one, but like, better?

Why not give yourself something to look forward to by booking that trip!

Can I travel with a friend?

Yes you can! Simply tell your Trip Coordinator after booking that your friend is also going and they can link your profiles. For most of our trips we should be able to have you and your friends placed together or nearby. Meaning that you can live, work, play & travel together!

But wait there's more! Not only can you travel the world with your besties at your side, you can also earn some extra cash towards your own trip just by referring your friends to Global Work & Travel. You can learn more about the great referral rewards program inside your gWorld account once you join.

And for those who decide to go-it-solo, we’ve made it easier to meet other Global Travellers in the same region as you. Just like any other social platform, you’ll be able to interact, share, chat and meet with some really cool people who are doing trips just like you!

What happens if COVID affects my trip?

If you have to make any changes to your departure date, you’re protected with our Lifetime Deposit Guarantee and our Ultimate Corona Booking Flexibility. With this, we will change your trip dates for free. If this doesn’t fit around you and you can’t go on your trip anymore, we will give you a 100% refund in the form of a Trip Credit with us (See terms). If you’re unable to use it, you can also transfer that credit to someone else for them to put towards any trip too.

If you’re affected by Covid-19 while you’re overseas, you will have all the support you need from our team or partners in-country as well as have access to our 24/7 Global Emergency Line. We recommend travellers purchase Global Travel Cover travel insurance that provides Covid-19 medical protection too.

Do I need to be vaccinated to book?

As border restrictions for countries begin to ease, being fully vaccinated will maximise the number of locations you can visit. So while you are not legally required to be vaccinated, and it’s also not a requirement to travel with us, it will limit some of the countries that you can visit and may make it harder to travel through over the next 12-18 months. We highly recommend our travellers look at the current travel restrictions of their destination, speak with a medical professional or get in touch with our team for travel advice.

What happens if I want to cancel my trip?

Our Ultimate Corona Booking Flexibility means you can change your trip’s start date up to 84* days before departure without incurring any charges when you rebook it for any time (or even any other trip) in the next 2 years from your original start date.

In the event that you want to cancel your booking altogether, if you give us over 84* days notice you can do so with only a 50% cancellation fee. Your refund of the balance will come in the form of a Store Credit which you can put towards booking absolutely anything travel related with your Travel Concierge within the next 2 years!

*Some select trips excluded, including Teach (Spain, Italy & Czech Republic) and USA (Summer Camp, Working Holiday and Hotel Professional), and others as listed in Booking Conditions.

How it works

Make your decision

Choose your trip style and destination, and confirm your spot with a deposit. Then, open your gWorld account and celebrate, the hardest part is over and the fun is about to begin.

We become friends

You’ll be matched with a personal Trip Coordinator who knows all the ins & outs. They’ll guide you through everything we need to do together, so you can leave your worries behind.

Time to go

We’ll get your tickets in-hand and your transfers ready. Then, our in-country team or partner will have everything prepared for your arrival. It’s now time for the real adventure to start.

24/7 support

Never stress, knowing we’re there with you when you need us with ongoing & unlimited local team support and check-ins. And just in case, we’ve got an emergency team on stand-by, 24/7.

Still have questions?

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We're the experts

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Partner network

We have over 1,200 partners around the globe, so we have access to plenty of exclusive opportunities to make your trip the best it can be.

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