Everyone wants to just wake up one day, throw a few essentials in a backpack, jump on board that aeroplane and fly away to an exotic paradise free of stress and responsibilities. Many people, especially students, often talk about completing their studies and heading off on an enriching adventure travelling the world, teaching English in Thailand or somewhere in Asia or Latin America.

The sad reality though is that not everyone follows through with this dream to travel the world often because they find it too difficult and timely to organise a gap-year experience. This is because not everyone knows what steps to take in order to become an English teacher in Thailand and it really is extremely simple and stress-free.

We at TravelBud have taught in Thailand ourselves and therefore are fully aware of the extraordinary benefits of this experience to everybody wanting to see what the world outside of South Africa has to offer. We therefore give you the following steps to take in order to become an English teacher in Thailand.

Everyone wanting to teach English in Thailand is first required to apply online for the program. This includes answering certain basic questions as well as elaborating on why you feel this experience is for you and what you have to offer.

You are also required to submit your updated CV/resume and professional photo of yourself which will be reviewed by our job placement team in Thailand to assess your eligibility to teach English in Thailand.

Get accepted to teach English in Thailand

Our job placement team in Thailand will only accept applicants onto the program if they feel that they can 100% guarantee them a job placement at a school in Thailand.

Once accepted onto the program, a TravelBud team member will be in touch with you to answer all your questions, explain the program to you, and explain what your next steps are moving forward.

You will also receive a detailed information packing explaining everything you need to know in great detail.

Pay your enrollment fee and start to receive our excellent pre-departure support

The next step is for you to pay the program enrollment fee. Once the enrollment fee is paid, you will be enrolled in a TESOL course of your choice and receive all the necessary information and steps moving forward.

Book your flight to Thailand

Before you can apply for your Thai visa, you need to book your flights to Thailand.  Your TravelBud support manager will ensure that you are assisted every step of the way.

Apply for your visa and police clearance

Once your flights have been booked, you can now apply for your Thai visa. Visas take up to 2 weeks to be processed.

Arrange your travel insurance

We require that everyone going over to teach in Thailand goes over with comprehensive travel insurance to ensure that they are fully covered for any potential hazards or accidents that may occur during your travels.

We can assist you in in getting set up with highly affordable travel insurance tailored specifically to teaching in Thailand and to your length of stay in the country.

Please note that the embassies are not accepting the standard travel insurance received from one’s medical aid or credit card. It has to be topped up with extra travel insurance to be fully covered during your time teaching abroad in Asia. Please also note that the maximum amount of time medical aid/credit card travel insurance will cover one for is 90 days.

Purchase necessities and pack your bags

When it comes to packing those bags, be sure to pack the following necessities:

• Laptops for preparing lesson plans, uploading class grades, and general research for lesson plans and teaching techniques.
• Clothing: Casual clothes can be worn in Thailand but it is important to dress professionally for the classroom. Girls need to wear dresses and/or skirts and shirts that cover the knees and shoulders while guys need to bring along shirts, ties, smart shoes, and pants whilst teaching in the classroom and taking part in school activities. Appearance plays a crucial part of Thai culture and it is therefore important to gain the respect of your co-teachers and the local community by wearing respectful attire when at your school.
• Degree holders are required to bring with them original degree certificates

Fly to Bangkok, Thailand

You have your visa, air ticket, travel insurance, and all the other essentials – now it’s time to let the adventure begin. Head to the airport, bid farewell to friends, family, and loved ones and board that flight to the tropical paradise that is Thailand.

On arrival in Bangkok you will receive free airport pick-up and transport to the Hotel where you will stay the night (or several nights depending on your date of arrival) with all the other TESOL students on your course.

This is a great opportunity to get to know some of the other like-minded people on your TESOL course, all of which will be passionate travellers between the age of 20 and 30 from Western countries such as the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and of course, South Africa.

You will be provided with transport down to Hua Hin, the beach town where the TESOL course takes place, and be fully assisted with organising your accommodation in Hua Hin and getting settled in with bank and sim card setup on your first day of the course.

The TESOL course

It is required that everyone completes a 120-hour in-class TESOL course before being placed at a school to teach English in Thailand. The course offered through TravelBud’s is a step up from the generic online courses as:

• It is geared specifically towards teaching English in Thailand
• It includes a 5-day Thai cultural orientation to help teachers transition into their new environment and overcome culture shock. It includes lessons on Thai culture, language, history, politics, and society and also includes many fun cultural excursions including visits to a Thai Buddhist temple, an animal rescue shelter for the stray dogs of Hua Hin, the King’s Palace, a market visit to teach you how to shop like a local, Thai cooking classes and Muay Thai training. The week ends off with a celebratory welcome Beach Braai
• Real teaching experience at a local Thai school over 2 days to practice what you have learned on the course and receive constructive feedback from your TESOL instructor
• TESOL instructors who have all taught in Thailand themselves
• The fact that this course takes place in Thailand makes it far more relative

Read more about our in-class TESOL course in Thailand here

Guaranteed Job Placement in Thailand

During the TESOL course, the job placement team will be putting in the hours to market all TESOL students to the schools in Thailand and find everyone a job placement at a reputable school in Thailand.

Each student will have several meetings with the job placement team to discuss their preference of location in Thailand as well as the age of the children they’d prefer to teach, arrange interviews with schools, and finalise logistics for job placement.

Our job placement team has over 10 years experience working with a great deal of the schools throughout Thailand and therefore have the knowledge of which schools are and which schools are not reputable.

They have placed over 2000 English teachers in Thailand and now only work with the best schools that they have prior experience placing teachers at.

Let the teaching begin!

During your job placement, you will be provided with 24/7 support when needed and complete assistance with finding accommodation and getting settled in.

Your Thai co-teachers and students will all worship you and don’t be surprised when you begin to feel like a rock star at times.

English teachers are so well respected by the local community and the schools in Thailand. Now it is time to make use of what you have learned on the TESOL course and to do what you have come here to do; have the adventure of a lifetime while providing the future generations of Thailand with the irreplaceable ability to comprehend and communicate in English!