• Indoor Volunteer Programme

            The Indoor volunteer programme covers a variety of teaching – mainly aimed at teaching conversational English to hilltribe students – at our own school, Rai Som Wittaya. Designed and built by The Mirror Foundation (Chiang Mai), we currently have 233 students registered (2025) >> more details

Typically, the remote schools (that poor children attend) have very limited ability to teach English and so these children are cut off from this opportunity to escape poverty. Having the opportunity to practice conversational English with native speakers is an important and rare occurrence for many. Thus, English education reduces the risk of poverty, the risk of being exploited (i.e. trafficked) as well as engaging in other dangerous behaviours (i.e. drug-use).

             The Indoor volunteer programme teachs grades range from Kindergarten 1 through to Primary grade 6. The students are exclusively stateless, which means they have no citizenship in Thailand or anywhere else. This causes issues and obstacles in education, as well as finding a job in the workplace. Our school gives a rounded education based on a skills-oriented curriculum, designed to improve the future of every student.

Role and Responsibilities

            We teach English, focusing on building confidence in speaking. With the younger grades, we also focus on letter recognition and reading. We teach topics from the school curriculum, which specifies a particular theme for each week. Please stick to the curriculum, because this ensures we are not repeating topics and also ensures we are building meaningfully on language knowledge.

• Teaching English
  • onsite classroom teaching and educational activities
  • games and school-based activities
  • teach the teacher (childcare, primary)
• Lesson planning
  • Develop and write up lesson plans
  • Evaluate lessons and write up, post-class
• Resource development
  • Creating flashcards and other teaching resources
  • Treating the resources with care and attention
  • Cleaning where applicable

Montessori Method

            At Rai Som Education Center , we try to use or incorporate the Montessori Method of teaching. This method is an approach to early education that focuses on the capacity of children to absorb information when given the freedom and independence to learn at their own pace. Some basic principles include:

• Teachers should seek to guide rather than control
• Children should have the freedom to choose
• Children need to repeat activity as much as they can until the concept is achieved, moving at the child’s pace
• All children come to know the world through their senses and personal interests

            Learning Styles

                        Every person is different, and thus learns differently. By using a variety of teaching methods from each of these categories, teachers can accommodate their students’ different learning styles. For example:

• Visual learners learn through seeing:

best learn through visual aids (using pictures when describing things), diagrams, drawings, hand-outs, writing instructions down.

• Auditory learners learn through listening:

best learn through listening (lectures, discussions etc.). Methods include repeating words and concepts aloud, incorporating small-group discussion

• Kinaesthetic learners learn through moving, doing:

best learn through an active exploration of the world, learning through physical engagement such as role play.

            Teaching Tips

• Smile
• Respectively “Wai” the Thai teacher when you arrive
• Try to make the learning fun and playful
• Use simple and concise language. If you are teaching animals, hold a picture of a dog and just say ‘dog’, not, “this picture here is a dog, see the dog?”
• Speak slowly
• Use images to support your teaching
• Repeat the vocabulary you are teaching many, many times
• Only have one teacher explaining at one given time. Do not confuse the children by having a discussion of what is happening next, you should have rehearsed this already
• If you write on the board, please print, do not use script, the students will not understand
• When you have numerous resources, do not give to the students all at once, just one by one, otherwise they will feel overwhelmed and get confused
• Use small group work when possible. Taking risks in learning language is safer when not in front of a large class.
• For songs and games, ensure that within your planning you have a common version. Songs and games can vary slightly across cultures. Similarly, the noises for animals vary – the Thai noise for a pig is very different to the English– ensure you use the sounds the children know.
• Do not teach vocabulary in the same lesson that is similar in sound because this will confuse the children. Similarly, do not focus on letters that are similar (such as p and q, or b and d).Thai schools teach the alphabet, but students generally only know the alphabet when sung in sequence. If you point out random letters, they will struggle. Let’s help develop this skill in our lessons.
• Teach across curriculum areas, i.e. incorporate maths if possible. For example, picking up 8 red pencils.
• The human concentration span is about 15 minutes, so have various activities in your lessons. For example, speak the new vocabulary, write it down, sing a song with them, read a story with them, draw a picture with them. There are many ways to repeat the same vocabulary in different ways to ensure all learning styles are appreciated.

• Farming/Outdoor Programme

            The onsite farm is designed to help support the school by supplying food (rice and vegetables, fruit), and financial aid from paying guests. The childrens’ diet at home is generally poor and unhealthy. Lunches are their main meal of the day, and by growing and supplying fresh vegetables and fruit, we can help ensure a nutritious meal. Volunteers will help with all types of work, depending on the season and weather. It may include planting, weeding, harvesting, spraying (natural), and other jobs. >> more details