English is a very important and sought-after skill in Thailand; any child who can learn it efficiently will have many more opportunities available to them that they would not otherwise have had. Through this volunteer program, you can help children achieve exactly that, giving them the chance to complete their studies and gain new tools to better develop in their day-to-day lives. Each volunteer plays a key role in the care and teaching of the children in the program. This volunteer experience is particularly valuable because it also allows them to discover and understand Thai culture firsthand, just like any other Thai.
- In the program, there are around one hundred children aged 3 to 5 years old.
The role you can play as a volunteer depends on the particular school you choose and your interests: you may be assigned a Thai teacher to go to classes with you and support you in developing classes and lessons, or if you have the skills to plan your own lessons and confidence; you are free to lead a class on your own. When planning, we suggest that volunteers try to cover the four main English skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) within a one-hour period of a class.
Some topics you could cover in your first English lessons are animals, food, colors, numbers, weather, days of the week, months of the year, sports, places in the city, countries, things in the home and music. We also suggest that you use some activities such as memory, word searches, crosswords, skits, dialogues, bingo, bottle spinning (conversation and vocabulary, no kissing), Simon Says, and dictation.
In these schools, textbooks and exercise books are used in English classes, although it should be noted that certain books are beyond the abilities of the students who use them. We like volunteers to use the textbooks and workbooks as much as possible, as the children will continue to use them, but volunteers are also welcome to use creative resources in developing activities and lessons.
