Volunteer As An English Teacher

[jasreeve17]

jasreeve, ALL work by aliens requires a WP issued by Labour; it is specific as to what, where, who, whom, etc.

I understand PB, and you are correct.

Working for a well known uni (probably any uni) we just make it a uni project, get signed off from the dean and then it falls under a uni project within my existing work permit. I understand that this is a special case and I was cheeky to sideline the OP this way...

My problem is that the words 'volunteer' and 'pay' should never go together.

If you know this guy / set-up (being from CM) then because you have proven yourself a respected TV member, I'm happy to bow down to your superior knowledge on this issue.

EDIT to add: my uni actually built one of the new museums at Wat Chedi Luang, and I was happy to give my time in support of the students and teachers that struggled to get it off the ground.

Edited October 5, 2009 by jasreeve17

[walterego]

After having several posts deleted it would apear obvious that criticism of a sponsor is illegal.

Thank you for finally clarifying that you are a for profit organisation.

What a croc

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

John can you summarize the costs

$1000 USD for cert course

5000 baht for WP

$125 USD or equiv for Multi Non Imm O 'ED'

are there other fees or costs involved?

[Ulysses G.]

Thank you for finally clarifying that you are a for profit organisation.

Has Thai Visa ever denied being a business that would like to be profitable?

[ChouDoufu]

<br />John can you summarize the costs<br /><br />$1000 USD for cert course<br />5000 baht for WP<br />$125 USD or equiv for Multi Non Imm O 'ED'<br /><br />are there other fees or costs involved?<br />

<br /><br /><br />

cost of cert course is $1495 + accomodations

seems in line with other similar programs

[jasreeve17]

<br />John can you summarize the costs<br /><br />$1000 USD for cert course<br />5000 baht for WP<br />$125 USD or equiv for Multi Non Imm O 'ED'<br /><br />are there other fees or costs involved?<br />

<br /><br /><br />

cost of cert course is $1495 + accomodations

seems in line with other similar programs

Yes, inline with other business offerings.

Not inline with volunteering...

(Please look at the title of this thread - it is very misleading.)

Edited October 5, 2009 by jasreeve17

[Ulysses G.]

What kind of a reputation does the SEETEFL certificate have compared to the RSA/Cambridge CTEFLA and other TEFL certs? You are pretty much paying the same money, so should go for the one that will attract the most job offers. in case you decide that you could use some extra money at some point.

[PeaceBlondie]

A friend of mine taught EFL for 20 years; earned CELTA and DELTA. Came to teach in Thailand, and swears the employers don't know what a CELTA is.

[wolf5370]

What kind of a reputation does the SEETEFL certificate have compared to the RSA/Cambridge CTEFLA and other TEFL certs? You are pretty much paying the same money, so should go for the one that will attract the most job offers. in case you decide that you could use some extra money at some point.

George, SEETEFL is the name of the school, the qualification is a full 120Hrs TEFL (and as John has said before, the only one in Asia with ISO9001 accreditation).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lot of the usual 'its a con' (with no evidence) posters and people not bothering to read what's been said before posting their diatribe. The foundation, as I understand, is non profit making (and is actually run at a loss to SEETEFL). They ask for people to take their TEFL course first, for two main reasons I would suggest: 1-to help pay for the the thing (its the same price for non volunteers, so no con there) and 2-so they can learn about the individual and know that they have the necessary skills. Lets face it not all TEFL training courses are the same quality - you can even do them on-line with some schools with no teaching experience at all. Sorry, but this makes sense to me too.

Other places do similar schemes (someone mentioned CMU) but they almost invariable charge for it (not just pass on WP/VISA costs, but charge for volunteering, eh?). Even a lot of NGO (working holidays) charge - some a lot!

...and jasreeve17 going an about her being able to volunteer under her Uni course, erm, so what? Its hardly the same thing. Or is (s)he suggesting people pay for a full time university degree course so they can volunteer for a few hours a week? Weak argument, poor comparison.

A lot of temple schools, orphanages and government agencies (nurses/police/etc) need native speakers to teach them, but they do not have the funds to cover it, its niche projects like these that fill that gap. Some people just want to help, not to make money and not as a way to get a visa, but because they want to (and it would help if police and emergency services could speak to those of us not fluent in Thai - i.e. almost all of us). Some people do it illegally (no WP - its illegal - full stop), John is offering a scheme (like some others) that will sort out your WP for you so you can work legally (again for no charge other than the government fees).

So, please stop the knee-jerk poo-pooing and either find out about it (go there and ask - or email them your concerns) or find another thread - its painful!

[SEETEFL]

John can you summarize the costs

$1000 USD for cert course

5000 baht for WP

$125 USD or equiv for Multi Non Imm O 'ED'

are there other fees or costs involved?

Our course fees rose recently to US$1495 to reflect extra costs including being ISO certified. Our previous course fee was very low compared to other course providers but now the fee is comparable with other course providers.

It's less than 6,000 THB for the direct costs of the work permit, visa (non-immigrant 'O' Volunteer) and visa extensions.

There is a US$200 discount if you book your place on a course at least 45 days in advance. I'm prepared to offer a further US$200 refund to any volunteer who mentions this thread in their registration and stays with our foundation for at least 6 months. We actually offered, on this thread, two free places on our course back in June but only one person took up the offer. A free course, free training materials and free administration of 1-year visa and work permit!

Please note our courses for the rest of 2009 are full and unless there is a cancellation or postponement the next availability is on our course starting January 4th 2010

If someone would like to volunteer for the foundation, we would like to meet them first before they commit to the course. They can get to know us and we can get to know them. If we feel their motivation is sincere, we will happily offer them a place our the training course to become a volunteer with our foundation. On every course trainees give us feedback on their course. One of the questions asks would they recommend SEE TEFL teacher training to other potential teachers. 100% of responses over the last 3 years have been an emphatic 'yes'. Visit us and read the feedback forms yourself.

Our volunteers teach English to underprivileged Thais. There's no reason why the quality of teaching should be less for them than any other Thai.

Our programme is only one of many ways to volunteer as a teacher in Thailand. There are many choices.

John

seetefl.com

Edited October 6, 2009 by SEETEFL

[BlackArtemis]

Wow, great going John.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

John let's say a potential volunteer lives in CM. How much travel time is involved on average to visit these locations for each session? I imagine there are a variety of locations.

The reason I ask is that the teaching requirement sounds very reasonable but adding in additional travel time x number of required visits then eating up a lot of time.

Would a volunteer have to travel once ? twice? etc? to these locations per week to fulfill the 4 hour requirement?

[SEETEFL]

John let's say a potential volunteer lives in CM. How much travel time is involved on average to visit these locations for each session? I imagine there are a variety of locations.

The reason I ask is that the teaching requirement sounds very reasonable but adding in additional travel time x number of required visits then eating up a lot of time.

Would a volunteer have to travel once ? twice? etc? to these locations per week to fulfill the 4 hour requirement?

All of the current placements are within the city (muang) area.

We try very hard to work with the volunteer to find hours that fit his or her personal schedule.

For example, some volunteers are teaching just Sunday afternoons. Others complete a couple of hours in the early evening a couple of times a week. These are people who have day-time commitments during the week.

If your schedule is fairly open, we can place you in a temple school. These schools are usually very flexible towards the volunteer as they appreciate what the volunteer is doing for their students. The volunteer can tell the school his or her availability and the school will usually accept. For example, a couple of hours twice a week or two hours before lunch and two after. You are free to do as many hours as you wish.

Our English-speaking Thai staff coordinate all placements.

John

[SEETEFL]

Please note our courses for the rest of 2009 are full and unless there is a cancellation or postponement the next availability is on our course starting January 4th 2010

One of our future trainees postponed their place from October's course to March. Therefore, there is now a slot available on the course starting Monday October 19th.

Become a TEFL teacher and/or volunteer.

There is a US$200 discount from our normal course fee if a person mentions Thavisa in their registration.

It's a very good idea for interested people to visit us first before making a commitment.

John

http://seetefl.com