A two-week Teaching Essentials preparation course is conducted approximately three weeks before the start of the Thai school semester, giving enough time for training, placement and relocation to the internship. The teaching internship is a full semester 4-5 month teaching contract.
Since 2013, SEE TEFL conducted ten internship groups, and graduated 94 newly-trained teachers, who successfully completed the training course and were placed in paid internships.
The SEE TEFL Paid Internship is an ideal way for people who wish to experience living and working in Thailand as a paid English language teacher, but who are not ready to commit to a 4-week training course, or a teaching commitment longer than 5 months.
The Internship involves pre-arrival classroom familiarization training and 2 weeks of face-to-face classroom skills and cultural awareness induction training in Chiang Mai. After that, the Interns are offered a paid 1-semester (4-5 months) teaching job in a rural or provincial Thai formal school.
Teaching placements are normally for 1 semester of 4–5 months. However, placements that start at the beginning of the academic year (Semester 1) have the option of extending their placement to 1 academic year for no additional charge.
Teaching Essentials and English Teacher Internship
Our TEFL Internship induction training in Chiang Mai is focused on teaching essentials -- a two-week training course required before prospective teachers step into the classroom as a paid Intern. This course includes classroom management techniques, a straightforward teaching methodology, language awareness, cultural considerations, and includes some Thai language lessons.
Note that these lessons are an essential part of the training, as the teacher is able to put themselves in the position of a foreign language learner, and know what it feels like to be a student in their classroom.
Each TEFL Internship participant receives a guaranteed job with a salary of not less than 28,500 Thai Baht (THB) per month. This provides a comfortable, but not extravagant lifestyle in Thailand. It is possible to save money from this salary during the internship period, and afford at the end of the teaching placement a few months traveling Thailand and Southeast Asia and/or sitting on a beach under a palm tree, or trekking in the jungles.
Thai Holidays and Teacher Training Essentials
Our March/April Interns get to participate in the yearly water fight madness of the 5-day Songkran holiday celebrated to mark the start of the traditional Thai New Year. September/October's induction finishes approximately a month before Loy Krathong / Yi Peng, the 3-night festival of floating lights.
Teaching placements are always in formal schools in towns that are more typical of Thailand than the standard tourist destinations. There will be other foreigners in the internship placement town, but these are likely to be other teachers, adventurous travelers or expats. However, larger cities with western-oriented amenities are never more than a few hours away by local bus.
SEE TEFL and TEFL Internships
Over the past 12 years SEE TEFL has trained over 1,400 teachers of English as a foreign language. SEE TEFL is one of a few TEFL courses in Thailand fully licensed by the Ministry of Education, and the first TEFL provider in Asia to acquire ISO 9001:2008 quality management standards (first certified in 2009, and recertified again in 2012 and 2015).
Transportation to and around Thailand
- Budget flights to Thailand are available through Kayak and Orbitz, among others, and affordable domestic travel and throughout the region can be found on Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, Lion Air, and Nok Airways.
- Fixed-rate taxis cost between 150-200 Thai Baht (THB) (around $ 5 USD) from Chiang Mai airport to the resort accommodation and are available 24 hours each day.
- Traveling around Thailand by bus, train or plane is inexpensive and convenient. We will advise on transport between Chiang Mai and the placement school. Representatives of the placement school will meet Interns on arrival to transport them to their accommodation and school.
Extra Costs and Budgeting
It is recommended that Interns budget $ 25 USD per day to cover living expenses during the time between completing training and their first salary payment. This is currently approximately 900 Thai Baht (THB) per day. This period of time will range between 5 and 7 weeks, as salaries are usually paid at the end of the working month.
Thai Non-Immigrant B Visa Support for Training and Internship
SEE TEFL will coordinate and process paperwork from the placement school to support a non-immigrant B (Business) visa application. The paperwork process takes up to one month. Dependent upon time and location, it may be possible to obtain this visa before departure for Thailand. Otherwise, it can be obtained from a Thai embassy or consulate in a country that borders Thailand during the period between the end of onsite training and the start of the placement period. Hence, this visa will normally be obtained before the intern starts teaching.
A non-immigrant B visa is needed before a school can apply for a work permit. Once the intern receives their work permit, the visa will be extended to match the placement period.
If arriving in Thailand without a non-immigrant B visa, it's possible to complete onsite training with either a 60-day tourist visa, obtained from any Thai embassy or consulate, or arrive without a visa and receive 30-days visa exempt permission to stay. Please note that if arriving without a visa, Immigration may request to see evidence of an onward or return flight ticket. Both of these options can be extended for a further 30 days in Chiang Mai.
We will give more specific advice by email to each intern depending on their situation.
Visa costs are the responsibility of the intern. However, there is no additional charge for supporting paperwork. The cost of the work permit will be reimbursed by the placement school at the successful completion of the placement period.
Choosing Between a 4-Week TEFL and the TEFL Internship
The majority of TEFL teacher trainees will select the traditional [4-Week TEFL course](/4-week-tefl/). However, this unique TEFL Internship will appeal to some of our future English teachers.
Standard 4-week TEFL certification
- Offered nearly every month in Chiang Mai
- Work anywhere in Thailand, SE Asia or the world
- Choose the type of school, location and age group
- Comprehensive training
- Experience during training 6 observed teaching practices in real schools with a range of real students
- Fulfills a general employment requirement for TEFL teaching jobs around the world
TEFL Internship
- Offered twice per year (Apr/Oct), before the start of the Thai school semesters
- Guaranteed job
- Cannot choose the type of school, location and age group; internship locations depend upon availability when training finishes; however, we will endeavor to meet our Intern's preferences
- Experience the real Thailand
- Get paid a minimum of 28,500 Thai Baht (THB) per month. The average internship salary is 30,000 Thai Baht per month.
- 4-5 month commitment
- Inclusive 2-week training period with resort accommodation
