Teach in Thailand with CIEE | Guaranteed Placement Before Departure

In Pua district of Nan province, we are living in a much more remote and small town area compared to many of the other participants. I see videos and stories from friends in other areas and there is much more access to American food, busy city life, and public transportation. In Pua, there is little public transportation available and on the weekends, most people stay in their own houses and spend time with family. This makes for a more immersive experience, in my opinion. I am enjoying getting to know the locals and other foreign teachers who live here with their families.

When I first received my placement I was a bit disappointed. Like the dozens of other applicants I had list my preferences for the south or by Bangkok. Instead, I was placed in a Nakhon Phanom, a small town in Northeast Thailand right on the border with Laos. I could not be happier with my placement. Here I was able to immerse myself fully into my role as an educator and apart of my Isan community. The unique placement allowed for a very special experience. My students, the residents and my co teachers quickly welcomed me into their tight knit family that only a small town could boast. Students quickly learned that I loved Thai food and would give me various snacks to try. Residents would see me in town and give me lifts when it was too hot for me to be walking. Or give free Hong Thong and take me to bars just after one meeting. Co teachers would literally come to my house to check in on me when sick. While I didn’t get to experience the hustle and bustle of Bangkok or the beautiful beaches, I got something much more meaningful and precious. I had a new family. I am so grateful for my placement in the Amazing Isan region.

I taught with OEG for the second semester of the 2018 school year, and OEG was, and still continues to be even a year after my employment with them, a fantastic resource for interfacing with the infamously bureaucratic Thai immigration system. Most recently, I've received help with employment documents relating to Thai immigration, and what is usually a never ending ordeal of paperwork has been made pretty simple on my end with their great approachability and responsiveness. Not to mention that this help is only necessary because I am teaching in Thailand again this year due to my first experience being so great.

For your first experience in Thailand, OEG is the perfect choice because they provide you with an orientation that gets you acquainted with other new teachers and support staff as well as the basics of Thai language and culture. Once you get to your school, OEG provides support which makes it easier to get the necessary documentation to stay and work in Thailand and their support staff, many of whom are teachers here as well, are extremely friendly and helpful with any questions you might have.

Managing your expectations for the school facilities in Thailand is important, but most schools, from what I've heard and in my personal experience, have the means to accommodate any teaching style with enough effort on the teacher's part. If you use PowerPoint in the classroom, computers and classroom projectors are quite common. You will always at least have a blackboard and chalk, but if you're placed in a city you'll almost certainly have more. The school I was placed at had TVs in the classroom as well as a whiteboard and projector, and even air conditioning in most of the classrooms.

Overall I completely recommend this program and had nothing but good experiences in regards to everything OEG provided. If you want to teach abroad and haven't dealt with the Thai employment system before, doing this program is undeniably the best way to go. The initial cost is nothing compared to the information and experience it provides you with, and it makes your future trips abroad much easier to manage.

This is my second year teaching through CIEE (first Spain, now Thailand). and both times have been very positive experiences! They make the Visa process very easy and I received email responses extremely quickly for all my questions. Moving to Thailand can be very daunting but you are given extensive readings and cultural guides..not to mention a very intensive (but fun) orientation in Bangkok. The only down side is that you have no idea where you will be placed. You could be in the center of Bangkok, or 10 hours away from it. Every placement has its perks, and everyone's experiences are very different! Thailand is an incredible place and I can't wait to see what the rest of my time here brings.

Creating a new life halfway around the world may seem overwhelming and terrifying to some, but the constant support of CIEE helped my transition to be smooth and so worthwhile. This program helped me to step out of my comfort zone in making new connections and putting me in situations I never thought I would be able to accept. I ended up quickly falling in love with Thailand and I cannot thank CIEE enough for that. If you are considering this program even the slightest, stop thinking about it and send in the application! I promise it will be the best adventure yet.

Now, six months into the program, it is crazy to think how far I have come. I live two hours east of Bangkok in a rural town called Prachinburi. I am at the point where my favorite restaurant knows my meal by heart, students are constantly running up to me at the local market, and I know the ins and outs of the roads. A place that was so unfamiliar and unknown has now become my “home”. Partnering with CIEE has been so incredible and I can only encourage others to make the leap.

Thank you OEG for providing me with this incredible experience. I love my school, made incredible connections with my students/coworkers, and was able to enjoy the culture of my town. OEG set me up for success while providing support along the way. I never really needed it because I was so enveloped in falling in love with Thailand, but they clearly care for every participant of the program and are there if you need them. The orientation period fosters connections with like-minded people; people who I will probably stay in touch with for a long time. If you are open-minded and ready for an incredible cultural and personal experience, I highly suggest teaching in Thailand through OEG.
I spent a year in Thailand and am State-side now, but this program and Thailand itself made it very difficult to leave. I definitely left a part of my heart in Thailand!

Teaching in Thailand was an awesome experience. It was scary at first immersing myself in a new culture but that was my main goal. You have to get a little uncomfortable to grow and that’s exactly what I did. I was placed in a rural area 3.5 hrs north of Bangkok and I couldn’t be happier. Being located where I was gave me the opportunity to get a real Thai experience. Unlike many other foreign teachers, I wasn’t traveling every weekend. I did occasionally travel on school holiday and what not but traveling every weekend seemed exhausting to me. Instead I go to know the locals, made friends with my co-teachers and even hung out with my students on the weekend.
The food is amazing in Thailand and so are the people. Most of the people I met were extremely friendly!

I am currently participating in the CIEE Teach in Thailand Program. Coming to Thailand to teach is one of the best decisions I've made! It's an incredible opportunity to get out of your comfort zone, experience an entirely different culture, learn about yourself and the world, and make a positive impact. And you get to do it in such a beautiful country with the friendliest local people!

CIEE makes the process of teaching here so much easier than trying to do it on your own as they provide step by step guides and lists of everything you will need. They're also always willing to help, you just have to send them a quick email. There is an orientation when you arrive in Thailand to help you prepare for your journey as well as an opportunity to makes friends with others who will be teaching throughout the country. I cannot recommend this program enough!