Paid TEFL Internship
- 2 Weeks of Onsite Training with accommodation
- plus a 4-5 Month Teaching Placement
- 120 Hour Onsite TEFL Certification
Course Summary
SEE TEFL offers a PAID 4-5 month placement for full-time English Teaching in Central and Northern Thailand with a minimum salary of 30,000 Thai Baht (THB) per month — included before placement is 2 weeks of face-to-face TEFL training with observed teaching practices at our training school in Chiang Mai + accommodation (while training). At the end of the placement period participants receive TEFL certification. These teacher training + paid internships are offered twice per year, at the beginning of both Thai school semesters.
It’s not necessary to possess previous teaching experience or to know any Thai language.
Download
your free guide here
Everything you need to know about becoming a TEFL teacher in Thailand – even without prior teaching experience.
- Be an English native speaker
- Hold a passport from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the USA
- Be a university graduate and hold a recognized bachelor’s degree
- Be no older than 45 and no younger than 21
- Be adaptable to new and unpredictable situations
- Be of good character and possess a friendly, patient and flexible personality
- Have basic IT skills
If you meet these requirements, you are eligible to join our Internship program. Please register here.
A police clearance needs to be provided as part of the paperwork requirements of a non-immigrant B (Business) visa application. This can be obtained from the Intern’s home country before departure for Thailand or in Chiang Mai from the Thai Police. Please contact us to discuss specific details.
Interns also need to bring to Thailand their original Bachelor’s degree diploma and university transcripts. These are required for non-immigrant B visa and work permit applications.
We can also accept applications from non-native speakers. Please forward by email a copy of your CV with photo and evidence of a language proficiency equivalent to at least IELTS Band 7. These documents will be forwarded to our placement schools who will decide whether they accept the applicant.
- Training from 19th – 30th September, 2022 followed by a paid teaching internship for 4-5 months
- Training from 17th - 20th April, 2023 followed by a paid teaching internship for 4-5 months
- Training from 25th September - 06th October, 2023 followed by a paid teaching internship for 4-5 months
There are three training components:
- Pre-arrival: Videos and assignments that introduce classroom management skills and review common grammar terminology.
- Post-arrival: 2 weeks of face-to-face group training that focuses on developing essential EFL classroom teaching skills and language awareness plus 4 observed teaching practices at local schools. In addition, there is 1 day of cultural awareness training.
- During placement: Ongoing support from SEETEFL trainers throughout the placement period.
Interns are paid at least 30,000 Thai Baht (THB) per month during the placement period. Thailand has low living costs, so this salary can provide a comfortable lifestyle while teaching in Thailand in local Thai communities.
This internship is actual paid employment by a school in Thailand. Interns must be employed by a school in order to obtain non-imm B visas and work permits.
- The standard fee for the complete program is $ 1,295 USD. This includes two weeks of Teaching Essentials training and comfortable resort accommodation during the 2-week onsite training period in Chiang Mai. Payment is made in two parts:
- $ 495 USD deposit payment, which reserves a place on the program
- $ 800 USD balance payment, which is due at the end of the first day of onsite training in Chiang Mai (See current exchange rates)
Note that payment includes 15 nights (shared room) resort accommodation at the EcoResort Chiang Mai during training. Single occupancy is also available. Some participants may want to consider various ideas for raising funds to cover the cost of the SEE TEFL Internship.
The training fee does not cover travel, accommodation, visa and work permit fees and associated costs.
There are no early bird discounts for the TEFL Internship
Central and Northern Thailand Provinces
Over the past five years we have placed interns in the Northern Thai towns of Khampaeng Phet, Utthai Thani, Phayao, Phitsanulok, Chiang Mai, Fang, Mae Hong Son and Nan. Bangkok placements are also available.
Placements are in formal Thai schools. Depending on availability at the time of placement, opportunities usually exist to teach in kindergarten (anubahn), primary school (pratom), secondary school (matayom) and colleges working Monday to Friday from around 7:30am to 4:30pm each day. A working week normally involves 18 – 23 teaching periods of between 50 and 60 minutes.
Outside of Chiang Mai and Bangkok, placements are in towns that are more typical of Thailand than 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.
The academic year in Thailand runs from early May to late March, with a break in early October. Our teacher placement and the two induction training sessions coincide with the start of the two academic semesters in early May (First Semester) and late October (Second Semester). The two week teaching essentials align with the start of a school semester, and the teaching Internship placements are for that length of time.
After completion of the 1 semester teaching placement period, interns receive full SEE TEFL Certification upon submission of a 2,000 word essay reflecting on their teaching experience. Intern certification (equivalent to 120 face-to-face training hours and 6 OTPs): pre-course training, on-site training, 1 semester placement and 2,000 word essay at the end of the placement period reflecting on their teaching/training experience. SEE TEFL provides detailed instruction/guidance.
Further Teacher Training and Teaching Internship Details
Since 2013, SEE TEFL has conducted sixteen internship groups, and graduated 160 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, language awareness and cultural awareness training with observed teaching practices at local schools in Chiang Mai. After training, 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
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, observed teaching practices with real students at local schools and cultural awareness training
Each TEFL Internship participant receives a guaranteed job with a salary of not less than 30,000 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
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.
SEE TEFL and TEFL Internships
Over the past 16 years SEE TEFL has trained over 2,000 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 quality management standards (first certified in 2009, and recertified again in 2012, 2015 and 2018). SEE TEFL is also a Training Qualifications United Kingdom (TQUK) training centre and has permission to conduct Ofqual regulated Level 5 TEFL training programs.
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
Interns enter Thailand and complete onsite training with either a 60-day Tourist Visa, obtained from any Thai embassy or consulate, or arrive without a visa and receive a 30-day Visa Exemption. 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.
After training SEE TEFL will coordinate and process paperwork from the placement school to support a non-immigrant B (Business) visa application. The paperwork process takes at least one month to navigate all the necessary Thai government departments. This visa can be obtained from a Thai embassy or consulate in a country that borders Thailand during either the period between the end of onsite training and the start of the placement period or shortly after the start of the placement period.
A non-immigrant B visa is needed before a school can apply for a work permit. Once the intern receives their work permit, this visa will be extended to match the placement period or longer.
We will give more specific advice by email to each intern depending on their situation.
Visa costs are the responsibility of the intern. Visa costs may include a journey to a Thai embassy or consulate in a country that borders Thailand to obtain a non-immigrant B visa.
There is no additional charge for visa support 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. 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 30,000 Thai Baht (THB) per month. The average internship salary is 35,000 Thai Baht per month.
- 4-5 month commitment
- Inclusive 2-week training period with resort accommodation
Inclusive Resort-style Accommodation Chiang Mai
Resort accommodation at the Eco Resort Chiang Mai, Bumrungrad Road with breakfast and swimming pool is included in the Internship fee for 15 nights during post-arrival training in Chiang Mai. Eco rooms are shared with other same-sex Interns. If there are odd numbers of interns, it's possible ECO will place a non-intern in one of the rooms. Single-occupancy can be arranged for an additional fee of $200 USD. The resort is a 5-minute walk from the SEE TEFL training center.
After training and during placement periods, Interns are responsible for the cost of their own accommodation. Placement schools outside of Chiang Mai will introduce their Interns to a range of accommodation options after arrival. In Chiang Mai we will refer Interns to a number of sources to find suitable accommodation. Comfortable 1-bedroom apartments cost between 3,000 and 6,000 Thai Baht (THB) per month. This will usually include air-conditioning, a double bed and a separate bathroom. Thai apartments rarely have kitchen areas as most Thais eat out as eating food at restaurants or takeaway from markets is very inexpensive.
