The Project
Thailand English Teaching Internship

The priority projects requested by the communities of the region are English language teaching but program participants also assist with additional cultural and environmental activities. You will spend time working on local environmental and cultural awareness, and assist sustainable development and local capacity-building initiatives, all in and around the region’s breathtaking natural beauty, temples and ancient ruins of past kingdoms.

Project Aims

Ao Luk is a rapidly developing community found in the north of Krabi, bordering on Phang Nga and the Phang Nga bay. A new pier, numerous homestays and other community based tourism initiatives allow the people of Ao Luk to seek added income through tourist opportunities that allow them to develop in a way that respects their traditional ways of life and conserve the natural beauty of the region. By providing English language assistance and community development in Ao Luk, GVI volunteers put the skills and knowledge in the hands of the local people, which they can utilize to benefit their own lifestyle.

In Krabi, GVI supports the effort of its local partners to increase the long term benefits of tourism to the local population by:

• Supplying free communicative English language lessons to the local communities
• Training local teachers in English language teaching
• Supplying free English language lessons to local partner staff, guides and civil servants
• Supporting Thai culture and the efforts of organizations and communities to preserve it
• Supporting community environmental awareness
• Supporting tourist environmental and cultural awareness
• Increasing the capacity of the local community to benefit in a long-term, sustainable manner from the tourism coming into their area.

The Problem

Development in many tourist areas of Thailand have led communities to lose their local traditions and ways of life. Natural resources are regularly depleted and little native land remains as tourist development takes over beach fronts and forest lands. The local community of Ao Luk is committed to developing tourism that blends into their local lifestyle in the manner of community based tourism as well as protects their natural resources and habitats. Homestays, community resorts and community forests are all part of the latest tourist trend that allows the Ao Luk community to continue to live and respect their traditional ways of life.

How You Can Help

Volunteers will work at community centres, at the workplaces of local people and within the local schools to supply free English language lessons, as well as assisting in the creation of sustainable businesses funded by, and supplying funds to, local people rather than outside investors. Business ideas that rely upon the long-term conservation of the area's natural resources are supported wherever possible. In addition, volunteers will assist with environmental education and community projects when possible, allowing them to further get involved with and assist the community, even outside of the classroom.

Volunteers also have the opportunity to use the skills to develop lessons outside of the main community centre, and work with community members in the nearby villages or in their place of work.