Group Volunteering

By choosing to spend time on a volunteer placement you will see many new things, meet many new people, you will encounter new cultures, new languages, new ideas and experience events that just might change your life, so why not bring your friends along to share the adventure with you?

That is exactly what a group of students from North Carolina State University chose to do. Thirteen members of the prestigious Caldwell Fellows Scholarship program joined the Pai program, along with two advisors, to spend two weeks teaching English in village schools.

The first school was around 35 kms outside of Pai in a village so remote that you couldn’t even receive a mobile phone signal! Most of the students had never had any contact with 'farang' so when a group of fifteen volunteers descended on the school there was a mix of excitement and nerves (from both parties!). Luckily the nerves soon vanished with the help of some trusted English camp songs and by the end of the week all of the students had improved their English skills dramatically as well as receiving a huge confidence boost.

The second school was closer to Pai town and the students had a slightly better level of spoken English meaning that the week could be spent practicing their speaking skills. The group taught for 4 hours per day leaving them plenty of time to learn how to cook Thai food, trek in the surrounding mountains, visit the hot springs, practice their Thai and generally enjoy their time in the stunning surroundings of Pai.

Chaing Mai Teacher Training Program

As part of the ongoing development of our programs Travel to Teach will be offering an intensive training program for volunteers with limited teaching experience.

The week long course which starts this autumn will be a practical course that will cover essential topics such as how to develop lesson plans and manage the classroom as well advising you how to adapt your own teaching techniques to suit Thai classes. A weekend theory session will be followed by a weeks observation and assessed teaching.

For more information contact Charlotte.

Farming Project in Laos

Travel to Teach Laos which is based in Vientiane has launched two new projects this month.

Our Laos coordinator, Khamphat, has developed the Traditional Farming Technology and Demonstration Center which is geared towards helping Lao farmers learn and develop more innovative and effective ways of farming and gardening. The center will also be a place where farmers can meet and share ideas. This project is currently in the initial phases and volunteers are helping with development by means of research and idea building.

We have also just started teaching in the Center for Skill Development which is run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. There are a variety of classes offered at the Center including English, Computers, Electronics and Business, among others. Classes are free for poor students and school dropouts. A minimum fee is charged for those who can afford it.

Please note: Laos is one of the least developed countries in the world, so volunteers for this program should have a pioneering and adventurous spirit!

Volunteer(s) of the month

Rich Smith & Henry Miles

At the end of May we sadly said goodbye the two English volunteers Rich and Henry. During their 6 months in Thailand they taught at Tesseban 1 and joined several English camps in both Nongkhai and Phon Phisai. Both very creative and energetic, they never hesitated to take part in extra weekend teaching. Rich and Henry had their special technique to teach small kids how to read by learning to spell the sounds of the alphabet in Thai. They also contributed with the rather interesting Penguin song that many Thai students will never forget.

In just a few months, Rich amazingly learnt both how to speak and read (!) Thai. Henry kept the volunteers entertained with his excellent self composed music and great voice and in his final week performed an acoustic set in Surreal Bar

Rich and Henry both discovered a love for Thai cooking and karaoke. We hope they will keep this up and show everyone back home how it is done in Thailand. T2T wish them the best of luck in the future!

Please mail your comments on this newsletter to Travel to Teach.