Chiang Mai Volunteer Life
Menu

Apply

Volunteer Application

It takes about 10 minutes. There is no program fee — accommodation is free. Applications are reviewed personally by our coordinator.
About you

As written in your passport.

What should we call you?

We'll send a verification link to this address.

Include your country code, e.g. +44 7700 900000

You must be 18 or older.

Any experience is welcome — formal or informal. TEFL/TESOL holders, please mention it.

Education

The highest level you have completed.

e.g. English Literature, Business, Nursing

Where you studied (or are studying now).

Teaching training and English tests (optional — tick any you have)

No certificate? That is fine — many of our volunteers have none.

Teaching training

English tests

Course hours, year, scores or levels — e.g. 120-hour TEFL (2023), IELTS 8.0, CEFR C2, a teacher-training workshop.

What you can help with

When you volunteer with us you teach our Thai learners one-to-one on Microsoft Teams, and we match students to you. Please tick every course you feel confident talking about and guiding a learner through — as many as you honestly can.

You never have to invent material. Every one of our 1,900+ lessons comes ready-made: student slides, a teacher handout with a word-for-word script, expected answers, practice tasks and an easier / harder version, plus homework. One lesson is about 20 minutes of core content inside a 40-minute class; the rest is warm-up, free talk and a speaking challenge. Every lesson is tagged with a CEFR level and an age band.

So “I can teach Business English” means you are comfortable talking about workplace situations and guiding a learner through the script and role-play — not that you need a business degree. The lesson gives you the content; you bring natural English, patience and real-life examples.

Tick every course you feel confident teaching (at least one — as many as you honestly can)

Kids (ages 4–12)

What you would teach

Topics: Hello Friends, Colours, Counting, Shapes, My Body, My Family, Animals, Food, Toys, Feelings, Classroom, Weather, Getting Dressed, My Home, Days & Time, Places We Go, Sports & Hobbies, Story Time, Our World, Big Ideas, Present It…

In class you will: Sing or chant, use gestures and pictures, drill short sentences (“I like apples”), play simple games, praise a lot. Thai parents may sit in.

What you would teach

Topics: My First Game Words, Avatar & Pets, Building & Crafting, Playing With Friends, Adventures & Survival, Create Your Own Game, Smart & Safe Gamer, Online Life & Balance, Games & Society.

In class you will: Talk about Minecraft/Roblox-style worlds, describe avatars and builds, role-play inviting a friend to play, discuss screen time and online safety.

What you would teach

Topics: Letter Sounds, Short Vowels & CVC Words, Blends & Digraphs, Sight Words, Reading Sentences (magic-e), Reading Short Stories.

In class you will: Model sounds clearly (/a/ in “apple”, “bl” blend, “th”), blend c-a-t → cat, read sight words and short stories aloud with the child.

Teens & school (ages 7–18)

What you would teach

Topics: AI & Learning, Media Literacy (deepfakes, fake news), Gaming & Teamwork, Social Media, Online Safety, Digital Citizenship, Future Jobs, Entrepreneurship, Digital Money, Climate & Future, Future Cities, Global Culture, School & Society, Tech & Wellbeing.

In class you will: Lead short discussions on modern topics, ask for opinions, help a teenager build longer answers.

What you would teach

Topics: Classroom English, School Life & Subjects, Basic Reading & Writing, Reading & Comprehension (main idea), Writing Skills (topic sentence, paragraph), Presentations & Academic Thinking.

In class you will: Support what the student learns at school — reading passages, finding the main idea, writing a paragraph, opening a presentation.

What you would teach

Topics: School Speaking & Writing Tests, TOEFL Junior Skills, Workplace & TOEIC Basics, IELTS Speaking Part 1 / Part 2 (cue card) / Part 3 (discussion), Strategy & Mock Tests.

In class you will: Run speaking practice in exam format, time a 2-minute long turn, give feedback on fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

Adults — general English

What you would teach

Topics: First Words & Letters, I Am / This Is, Everyday Basics (please / thank you), Simple Sentences, Easy Questions & Answers, My First Conversations (“I don't understand”).

In class you will: Speak slowly, use pictures and gestures, repeat a lot, celebrate tiny wins. The learner may know almost no English.

What you would teach

Topics: Starting & Keeping a Conversation, Asking Questions, Small Talk & Longer Answers, Telling Stories (first / then / finally), Giving Opinions (I think… because), When You're Stuck & Sounding Natural.

In class you will: Be a friendly conversation partner, push for longer answers, model natural phrases.

What you would teach

Topics: Everyday Conversations, Daily Life, Shopping & Prices, Getting Around, Food & Health, Understanding the News, Current Events, Environment & Climate, Work & Education Today, Personal Finance, Banking & Investing, Economy & Cost of Living, Business & Financial Markets, Global Trade, Everyday Technology, Social Media, AI & Automation, Science & Health Tech, Global Affairs, Debating & Opinions.

In class you will: Discuss real-world topics at the learner's level — from “at the supermarket” (A2) to “AI and jobs” or “inflation” (C1).

What you would teach

Topics: Daily Life & Free Time, Eating Well, Exercise & the Gym, Health & the Body, Rest & Self-Care, Sleep / Stress / Burnout, Supplements & Nutrition, Health Check-ups, Beauty & Body Image, Mindfulness & Habits, Health Tech & Longevity, Hormones & Gut Health, Aging & Cosmetic Choices, the Wellness Industry, Ethics of Beauty & Surgery, Public Health & Misinformation, Philosophies of Longevity, the Future of Health & Aging.

In class you will: Talk about routines, fitness, food, sleep and (at higher levels) health science, aging and wellbeing ethics.

What you would teach

Topics: Tricky Sounds (R/L, V/W, TH), Final Sounds & Endings, Word Stress, Sentence Rhythm & Connected Speech, Listening Strategies, Sound Natural (shadowing).

In class you will: Model sounds Thai speakers find hard, correct final consonants and stress, run shadowing drills.

What you would teach

Topics: Speaking Checkpoints per level, Grammar & Vocabulary Review, Pronunciation / Fluency / Progress Checks.

In class you will: Run a checkpoint lesson that shows whether the learner is ready for the next level and write a short assessment.

Work & career

What you would teach

Topics: First Day at Work, Office Communication, Email & Chat, Phone & Online Calls, Meetings, Customer Service, Presentations, Problem Solving, Sales & Negotiation, Career & Growth.

In class you will: Role-play everyday office situations using the script and sentence frames (“Hello, this is … from …”, “Is this a good time to talk?”), correct politeness and tone, and let the learner practise with their own job.

What you would teach

Topics: Leading Meetings, Negotiation, Presentations, Persuasion, Leadership, Difficult Conversations, Global Teams, Strategy & Finance, Executive Writing, Executive Presence.

In class you will: Coach an experienced professional — challenge their arguments, refine nuance, discuss strategy, finance and leadership at near-native level.

What you would teach

Topics: Interview Basics & First Impressions, Talking About Yourself & Experience, Common Interview Questions (“Tell me about yourself”), Behavioural Questions (STAR method), Advanced & Executive Interviews (negotiating salary).

In class you will: Play the interviewer, run mock interviews, give feedback on answers, help tailor them to the learner's real job application.

What you would teach

Topics: Career tracks: Hotel (front desk, helping guests, handling problems) · Restaurant & Café (service, orders, menu, payment) · Retail & Shops · Healthcare (symptoms, explaining care, pharmacy, reassuring patients) · Teacher English · Sales & Customer Service.

In class you will: Role-play the customer, guest or patient while the learner practises their real job phrases.

What you would teach

Topics: Chat & Messaging, Everyday Email, Replying to Customers, Social Media & Personal Brand, Professional Writing (subject lines, clear emails), Editing & Writing with AI (proofreading).

In class you will: Review the learner's short writing live, fix tone and structure, discuss how to write for chat, email and social media.

What you would teach

Topics: Tenses (present perfect vs past simple), Future (will vs going to), Conditionals, Modals, Relative Clauses, Passive, Reported Speech, Comparison, Verb Patterns, Quantifiers, Causative, Emphasis.

In class you will: Explain a grammar point clearly, run controlled practice, then get the learner using it in speech.

Special purposes

What you would teach

Topics: Airport & Immigration, Hotel & Check-in, Getting Around (directions), Eating & Shopping Abroad, Problems & Emergencies (lost passport), Complaints & Getting Help, Travelling with Family & Stories.

In class you will: Role-play immigration officer, hotel staff, waiter, taxi driver; practise polite requests and complaints.

What you would teach

Topics: Daily Routines with Kids (wake up, meals, bedtime), Praise, Comfort & Manners, Play, Stories & Learning.

In class you will: Give Thai parents simple English they can use with their children at home, and practise it as a dialogue.

What you would teach

Topics: Getting Started, Slowly · Family, Health & Daily Life · Hobbies, Travel & Friends.

In class you will: Go at a relaxed pace, repeat kindly, talk about family, health, hobbies and travel. Many learners are retired beginners.

Anything else you could talk about or teach — your profession, hobbies, exam experience (IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL), career tracks you know (hotel, healthcare, retail…), languages, music, sport. This helps us match the right students to you.

Your Volunteer Stay Dates at Ban Bon Doi

Please select the exact dates you plan to stay and volunteer with us at Ban Bon Doi English Homestay, not the dates of your entire trip to Thailand.

Your start date should be the day you arrive at our accommodation. You are expected to begin your volunteer teaching activities the following day.

Your end date should be the day you plan to leave our accommodation.

Although daily teaching schedules can be flexible, your arrival and departure dates are very important because we organize our students’ lessons and teaching schedules based on your availability.

We kindly ask you to finalize your travel plans carefully before submitting your application. Please choose a period when you are genuinely available to stay with us, teach English, and participate in our cultural exchange program.

Changing your dates after confirmation may affect our students, other volunteers, and the teaching schedule. Thank you for understanding and respecting our planning process.

Minimum stay is 1 week. Our coordinator confirms your dates based on availability.

The day you arrive at our accommodation — teaching starts the following day.

The day you leave our accommodation.

Your stay

A preference only. Rooms are allocated on arrival by availability; private rooms cannot be guaranteed.

Your device for the sessions
Sessions are taught online through Microsoft Teams, so you need a laptop, tablet or computer with a camera and a microphone, plus headphones. We have a small number of notebooks and tablets that volunteers can borrow during their sessions, but they are limited, not always available, and a little older than what most people use at home. If it is not too difficult, please bring your own laptop or tablet so you can help our learners effectively. If you really cannot, just tell us on the application form and we will prepare a device for you.

This helps us prepare a device and a suitable room for you.

Food and health
We cook for volunteers and must be able to act in an emergency. This information is seen only by our team.

Food or other allergies. Write “None” if you have none.

Only what is necessary — for example a condition or medication our team should know about.

Why you
Please confirm
Tick each box to confirm you have read and agree.

What happens next

We’ll email you a verification link. Your application becomes active once you click it, and then our coordinator reviews it personally. Submitting this form does not mean you have been accepted.