Kids-English Thailand

I went from working a dead end job to teaching English at a high school in Thailand in the blink of an eye, all arranged and supported by the Kids English Thailand team. All I had to do was book a flight, provide some documents, and smile and nod. Orientation week was great, it's nice to be part of a group of people who are all going through the same experience. Unfortunately things didn't work out for me due purely to personal issues that were effecting my health. A nightmare scenario, being all the way in Thailand, as you can probably imagine. However, Matthew and the team at KET were more than understanding and supportive throughout the whole ordeal of me deciding it was best for me to leave. And that's all you can ask for. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't, for a variety of reasons. But having a team of professionals supporting your every move as a stranger in a foreign land sure makes things a lot easier, no matter what the outcome of your journey is. To summarise, as someone who didn't have the 'dream' experience of teaching English in Thailand, I am very grateful to have had the KET team supporting me every move from start to finish.

It was not an easy choice to go teach abroad when the opportunity beckoned but KET’s team made it less stressful than it could have been. They took care of all administrative tasks. All that was left to me was to just fly there and get to work. I thank them for making the process so easy. The team also tries to place teachers in schools together and that helps a lot with social life as you get to meet other foreign teachers just like you, so you are not alone. Thai culture was fascinating to me as it is completely different from what I was used to in Europe. The people are very respectful and keen on helping you if you are ever in trouble. It may be harder to breach the language barrier at first but if you are also polite and approachable, then you will be fine. The students were such a joy inside and outside the classroom. Due to their emphasis on showing respect, it was rare that I had to deal with troublesome students and even so, I didn’t have to do much to calm them down and resume the lesson. As long as you make your lessons interesting, you’ll be completely fine. Don’t forget that while you are expected to mold into their customs and culture, you are also a foreign teacher so share your own culture and don’t be afraid to show them different approaches that they are not used to. They will appreciate your effort. In terms of living in Thailand, it was way easier than I expected. I don’t even think I experienced culture shock but I was in wonderment during my entire time there. KET helped in finding affordable, comfortable and safe housing. The food was also really good and, as a spice lover, I still think back on the dishes I had over there. Regarding, healthcare, you will get your hospital card as soon as you go to your school and do your medical check. I had to visit the hospital a couple of times and the process was not only easy, but also fast. All in all, Thailand was like living in a dream, especially as someone who was at the beginning of their teaching career and had never lived abroad before. KET made that transition as smooth as possible, and if I were to return to teach in Thailand, it would definitely be through then again.

Every step of the way, both before flying out to Thailand and arriving in Thailand to teach, the KET team have gone beyond my expectations with the support they have provided. They literally help you with everything and the team are so welcoming, accomodating and supportive, which has helped me able to settle in Thailand so swiftly