Teach English to Buddhist monks and local community members in Luang Prabang
Program Overview
Travel to the old French colonial city of Luang Prabang, where the Nam Khan river meets the mighty Mekong. A UNESCO World Heritage site and spiritual capital in north Laos, this city is a stunning blend of modernity and ancient Buddhist culture. This volunteer project offers you the unique opportunity to visit as more than a tourist.
To escape the cycle of poverty, many young boys in Laos choose to become monks. While they are then able to access inexpensive education, the schools are often overcrowded and under-resourced. By volunteering to teach English, you will help improve the quality of education that many receive and in turn enable them to access better opportunities and provide a higher standard of living for themselves and their families.
At the weekend volunteers will be free to sight see and explore the local area. Past volunteers have enjoyed sunsets from the top of Mount Phu Si, swimming in the Khuang Si Waterfalls, marveling at local temples, scenic boat trips up the Mekong to the Pak Ou Caves, trekking, rafting or taking an elephant tour.
Life on the Program
You will teach practical and conversational English to students of varying levels of ability. This challenging but rewarding role will allow you to gain unique insight into the Lao culture.
After teaching on the project Monday to Friday, weekends are your own. You can use your free time to relax, or venture out and discover more of Luang Prabang with your fellow volunteers. Luang Prabang is renowned as the place where South east Asian architecture and French colonial mansions collide to create a beautiful and unique setting.
GVI volunteers stay in a conveniently located guesthouse with private rooms and bathrooms. A food allowance is provided for you to spend on meals as you like, allowing you to sample the wide variety of flavours the city has to offer whilst you explore and mingle with the locals.
Project Details
With the rapidly growing tourist trade in Laos, English offers many people a way to make a better living and escape the cycle of extreme poverty. However, a severe lack of English speaking teachers has resulted in extremely overcrowded classes and deterioration in the quality of the lesson that can be delivered.
Our goal is to help deliver a consistent supply of enthusiastic native English-speaking teachers who are interested in working to help improve the current English language programs. By bringing volunteers in to teach we can help reduce class sizes and supplement the local community’s efforts to provide English language education.
How this project makes a difference:
In the ancient city of Luang Prabang, English is the most popular subject in school and it is not uncommon to see a high teacher to student ratio. You will be able to help these eager students learn English and receive a quality education.
Volunteer Testimonials
I am a science teacher and have done various Earthwatch projects and have been a TREC teacher and a Teacher at Sea. I was looking for something a little different as a volunteer experience and was...
I am a science teacher and have done various Earthwatch projects and have been a TREC teacher and a Teacher at Sea. I was looking for something a little different as a volunteer experience and was surfing the net and found the GVI Laos trip, which looked very interesting.
Personally, I feel that I am giving back and making a huge difference in some young peoples lives and hopefully helping them break out of a cycle of poverty. Professionally, I think whenever you teach in areas outside your comfort zone it makes you a better teacher and some of the skills learned in Laos I am bringing back to the classroom in the US. I also bring back to my classroom stories of experiences from other countries to give them a perspective of what it is like in other places.
In August 2011, I spent four truly incredible and adventurous weeks on GVI’s ‘Teaching English to Buddhist Novice Monks and Local Communities’ program in Luang Prabang, Laos. Just like everyone...
In August 2011, I spent four truly incredible and adventurous weeks on GVI’s ‘Teaching English to Buddhist Novice Monks and Local Communities’ program in Luang Prabang, Laos. Just like everyone else, I felt unprepared and very nervous about the task of teaching an actual class- but just after a few days I felt comfortable enough to teach by myself. I was fortunate enough to have a more experienced volunteer with me for the first two weeks, and in some classes we were also working with a Lao teacher. Even though I am currently studying English and French at Uni to become a teacher, I would not have expected teaching to be so much fun! The students were simply amazing- they were motivated, funny and working quite hard. Even though I couldn’t always get them to do their homework, they participated well in all of the lessons, and they always turned out more lively and funny than I had expected. Of all the wonderful memories I made in Laos, teaching was simply the best.
What I most recommend is to just go with whatever comes your way- planning is really not needed and often things go very differently from what you expected. Exactly this is what made this trip the best experience I’ve ever made- it was exciting and surprising, and I did and saw things I would never have thought I would or could!
A growing number of volunteers are now coming from retired people or those having a career break . These are individuals who have more time, often a number of different experiences in the...
A growing number of volunteers are now coming from retired people or those having a career break . These are individuals who have more time, often a number of different experiences in the workplace. They see opportunities through GVI to use these in different ways to help local communities in different countries. My partner Tricia and I, are such a couple. We started off on a GVI building project in Peru, and this year moved to teaching English to Monks and Novices in Laos. We enjoyed it so much we are returning next year. Why? Well, quite simply we really enjoyed it and we were inspired by the local project leader and the high level of motivation of the students. Resources were often basic but the whole project was well planned by GVI. We worked with a great group of other volunteers and the accommodation was good. We both felt that our combined contributions were making a real difference to students’ progress in speaking English. We also learned a lot about Laos culture and cuisine. After taking a cookery course while working in Luang Prabang I have now expanded my range of Asia dishes, but I miss my Beer Laos to go with them!
It was an amazing experience. To be able to interact with young novice Buddhist monks and know that you are actually making a positive impact on them seems almost a little surreal at first but then becomes so common place that it takes a moment when one grasps you on the arm and says "You are a very good teacher" to bring home exactly what you are doing.
But that is only a small part of it. The people that I met are what really made the Laos project something that will have a special place in my heart forever.
I could not leave a class without every passing student say “thank you very much, see you tomorrow” on a daily basis. Things don’t always go the way you plan here, but that is the epitome of Lao culture. As a teacher, you are seen with great respect by the community. The second you tell someone you are an English Teacher, they bombard you with questions.
I can only speak for myself when I say that this was a great experience. But I honestly believe that this is a chance worth taking.
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Program Details
Build Your Program
What's Included
- Pre-departure support and discounted services
- 24-hour emergency phone
- Airport pick-up (unless otherwise stated)
- Arrival orientation
- Long term experienced staff
- Safe and basic accommodations (usually shared)
- All meals (unless otherwise stated in field manuals)
- Welcome meeting
- Location orientation
- All necessary project training by experienced staff
- All necessary project equipment and materials
- 24-hour in-country support
- The rare opportunity to work closely with novice monks in a temple school
- Orientation on teaching methods and techniques, language, culture and religion
- Airport pick-up and transfer
- Private room in guesthouse accommodation in the ancient city Luang Prabang
- Learning about Lao culture, history, food, religion and language
- A guided tour of Luang Prabang to show you the sights and point out the best restaurants, internet cafe’s, banks, etc.
- Food allowance
What's Not Included
- Flights
- Medical and travel insurance
- Visa costs
- Personal kit
- Additional drinks and gratuities
- Extra local excursions
- International and domestic airport taxes
