Sarah McNeill’s English Teaching in Thailand, ‘the experience of a lifetime’

Sarah McNeill, a B.Ed.4 Primary Education student, travelled to Thailand in June with the British Council to work as an English Teaching Assistant for two months.

As part of her experience she taught English to 10-12-year-old Thai children in Singburi Province; two hours north of Bangkok.

Comparing her placement experiences in Scottish schools, Sarah said:

Teaching placements in Scotland suddenly seemed like a walk in the park when on day one I was handed a microphone and left to teach fifteen classes of 60 Thai children who had never heard a Scottish accent before.

Over the two months, Sarah had the opportunity to develop her skills while also creatively overcoming language barriers using song, dance, games and non-verbal communication.

Sarah was lucky enough to be hosted by an incredible Thai family during her two months. They made her feel incredibly welcome and happily introduced her to Thai culture.

Sarah’s ‘experience of a lifetime’ offered her the opportunity to live, work and travel around South East Asia, somewhere she considers to be very beautiful.

Sarah offers very clear advice for anyone thinking about teaching abroad, particularly on a British Council programme:

Just do it!

For a more detailed account of Sarah’s experience teaching English in Thailand please see her blog.