Thailand
Training
The Peace Corps uses a competency-based training approach throughout the continuum of learning, supporting you from arrival in-country to your departure. Learn more about the Peace Corps' approach to training.
- Pre-service training in-country is conducted by Peace Corps staff, most of whom are locally hired trainers. To foster integration into the community, trainees live with a host family during training. Training covers technical, linguistic, cross-cultural, health, and safety and security topics.
- Technical training involves formal sessions and practical assignments working in the community.
- Language training incorporates formal lessons (five days a week in small groups) and a community-based approach. In addition to classroom time, you will have assignments in the community and with your host family. The goal is to establish basic social communication skills, with a plan to practice and further develop your language skills. You will be tested on language proficiency during service.
- Cross-cultural and community development training will help you understand your cultural values, those held in-country, and your role as a development facilitator. Training will cover concepts of time, power and hierarchy, gender roles, communication styles, relationships and self, and resiliency. You will also participate in cultural events and learn about local history and mentality.
You will be trained in health prevention, basic first aid, and treatment of medical illnesses found in-country. During the safety and security training sessions, you will learn how to reduce risks at home, at work, and during your travels. You will also learn strategies for coping with unwanted attention, how to identify safety risks in-country, and about Peace Corps’ emergency response and support systems.
Additional training during Volunteer service include in-service training after one to three months at your site, mid-service training, and close-of-service conference.
Pre-Service Training
Peace Corps/Thailand’s competencies are designed to be accomplished throughout the Volunteer’s 27 months of learning. A trainee may not be able to complete all learning objectives for a competency during pre-service training; however, he or she must show adequate progress toward achieving the competencies in order to become a Volunteer.Thailand’s core competencies for all trainees include the following:
- Integrate into the community
Facilitate participatory community development
- Exemplify professional
Peace Corps service Thailand’s competencies for Youth in Development (YinD) Volunteers):
- Develop skills for asset-based youth development
- Support youth to live healthy lifestyles and prepare for family life
- Prepare youth for the world of work
- Engage youth as active citizens
- Support caregivers, parents, and communities to have a stronger relationship with their children
Thailand’s competencies for Teacher Collaboration and Community Service (TCCS Volunteers):
- Facilitate improved teaching and learning skills and practices
- Build teaching and learning capacities in English
- Build teaching capacities in childhood literacy
Evaluation of your performance throughout service is a continual process, as Volunteers are responsible
24 hours a day, 7 days a week for personal conduct and professional performance. Successful completion
of PST is characterized by achievement of a set of learning objectives to determine competence. Failure
to meet any of the selection standards by the completion of training may be grounds for a withdrawal of
selection and disqualification from Peace Corps service.Progress in one’s own learning is a dialogue between you and the training staff. All of the training staff
will work with you toward the highest possible competencies by providing you with feedback on learning
objective performance throughout training. After reviewing and observing your performance, the country
director is responsible for making the final decision on whether you have qualified to serve as a Volunteer
in Thailand.
Technical Training
Woven into the competencies, the ability to communicate in the host country language is critical to being an effective Peace Corps Volunteer. So basic is this precept that it is spelled out in the Peace Corps Act: No person shall be assigned to duty as a Volunteer under this act in any foreign country or area unless at the time of such assignment he (or she) possesses such reasonable proficiency as his (or her) assignment requires in speaking the language of the country or area to which he (or she) is assigned. In order to help you prepare for your journey, the “Introduction to Language Training in the Pre-Service Training” and some pre-departure lessons are available for you to start learning and will be shared separately. Please review them.Language Training
As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you will find that language skills are key to personal and professional satisfaction during your service. These skills are critical to your job performance, help you integrate into your community, and can ease your personal adaptation to the new surroundings. Therefore, language training is at the heart of the training program. You must successfully meet minimum language requirements to complete training and become a Volunteer. Thailand language instructors usually teach formal language classes five days a week in small groups of four to five people. Your language training will incorporate a community-based approach. In addition to classroom time, you will be given assignments to work on outside of the classroom and with your host family. The goal is to get you to a point of basic social communication skills so you can practice and develop language skills further once you are at your site. Prior to being sworn in as a Volunteer, you will develop strategies to continue studying language during your service. Woven into the competencies, the ability to communicate in the host country language is critical to being an effective Peace Corps Volunteer. So basic is this precept that it is spelled out in the Peace Corps Act: No person shall be assigned to duty as a Volunteer under this act in any foreign country or area unless at the time of such assignment he (or she) possesses such reasonable proficiency as his (or her) assignment requires in speaking the language of the country or area to which he (or she) is assigned.Cross-Cultural Training
Cross-cultural training will provide opportunities for you to reflect on your own cultural values and how they influence your behavior in Thailand. You will also discuss the questions you have about the behaviors and practices you observe in Thailand, exploring the underlying reasons for these behaviors and practices.Cross-cultural and community development training will help you improve your communication skills and understand your role as a facilitator of development. Training will cover topics such as the concept of time, power and hierarchy, gender roles, communication styles, and the concept of self and relationships. Because adjusting to a new culture can be very challenging, you will participate in resiliency training which provides a framework and tools to help with adjustment issues. The host family experience provides a unique context for cross-cultural learning, and is designed to ease your transition to life at your site. Families go through an orientation conducted by Peace Corps staff to explain the purpose of PST and to assist them in helping you adapt to living in Thailand. Many Volunteers form strong and lasting friendships with their host families.