Gotoco FUNDED TEFL Adventures (Bali, Thailand, Colombia, Europe, SE Asia!) Reviews

Embarking on a trip to Italy for a month with complete strangers I have to admit I was nervous, however there was no reason to be. After the introduction part of the trip, which included teaching on how to run the camps during the days and cultural activities in the evenings we were sent out by train into Austria. While on camp we stayed with host families and were left to our own devices to run our own camps how we wanted, while being completely immersed in the local culture during the rest of the days. At the end of the camps we also had a short cultural trip to Venice, having the chance to completely explore and experience the city.

Gotoco is a great opportunity for gaining teaching experience and exploring the culture of a different country. It also allows you to gain a TEFL qualification, which is essential when wanting to teach English as a second language abroad. And yes, it really is fully funded! It might seem impossible at first but the Turin scheme fortunately makes it possible. A one-of-a-kind opportunity for travel. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to explore the world, teach and leave their comfort zone.

It was hard for me to believe that this programme was legit with all the generous funding, but it is, and it was incredible. My highlights from the Bali programme:
Water purification ceremony, cooking class (the food was amazing), wood carving, palm reading, painting class, eating delicious food which I might not have tried otherwise, staying in a villa with 45 other like-minded individuals. Exploring a new culture has been great for my personal growth and a change of perspective. The qualification is also a great opportunity for me to change my career plans / plans for work for the near future.

The organisation of this programme and all of its aspects were amazing. Everybody was super friendly and the trip was filled with so many fun cultural experiences. My school placement was exactly what I'd hoped for - we had an incredible host and the school was so much fun to teach at. We were able to see many different parts of Thailand and get fully immersed into the culture. The programme has inspired me to volunteer and continue travelling as much as possible. I would recommend Gotoco to everybody as it is such a great beneficial experience.

The most enjoyable moments of the trip for me were visiting Warsaw and Krakow after the three weeks volunteering, and being able to spend meaningful time exploring the country and culture.
Being able to explore poland after the three weeks was amazing, and having transport between cities via train was a great experience too. it was so nice making friends with all the other volunteers.
I think it's an amazing experience that helps grow your character and professional skills, i think i would recommend it to anyone who wants to work in a multicultural or teaching environment.

This gotoco trip was a fantastic way to dive into to a new environment and experience a new culture whilst also meeting new like minded people. Gotoco did an amazing job in making sure we were looked after and experienced the most of Thailand. We were placed in a local school and taught 5 days a week surrounded by local food and local Thai people from the community. Overall I have learned a lot and would definitely recommend this trip to friends and family if you are looking to experience a new culture.

Gotoco is a social enterprise that provides fully funded travel opportunities for volunteer English (TEFL) teachers, connecting people from different backgrounds and fostering cultural exchange.

Whilst on the programme, I worked in a primary school in Kalasin, Thailand, a small rural town in the Northeastern province of Isan.

Having had no prior experience of teaching or Thai culture, I was forced to adapt both in and out of the classroom – but I quickly fell in love with both!

Meeting local Thai people and making friends with them was the most enriching and rewarding part of the experience, as well as the teaching of course! Going into the experience, I thought that the other Gotoco participants would be the ones I would remember forever, but it was actually locals who gave me memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life!

Learning Muay Thai with a local retired fighter in his garden every day (after school, 5-7pm) was a particularly special highlight, and we were able to connect and stay friends despite not being able to speak each other's languages.

Overall, the process of immersing in another culture and community was so rewarding, and I cannot thank everyone in Kalasin - teachers, students and locals – enough for welcoming me into their town and giving me memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I couldn't recommend it enough!

At first Gotoco seemed too good to be true, I thought it was a scam. But I had a wonderful time on my placement in Southeast Asia; it's made me want to pursue teaching as a career. It's really a great opportunity for young people to live and work in a foreign country and opens up so many doors and opportunities. All other organisations that offer a similar thing charge a large amount of money, Gotoco is the only organisation I know that is free for its participants. It's a really great thing that they're doing.

Overall I had an incredible experience with Gotoco, working in schools with the YMCA in Bogota, Colombia. It was a great professional experience and significantly improved my confidence in the field of teaching and working with kids. Moreover, the opportunity to live in a foreign country was extremely rewarding - I improved my Spanish significantly and learnt so much about Colombian culture. Moreover I made some really solid friendships with local people. I also had the opportunity to travel on weekends, and after the program.

Just completed my 7 weeks teaching In Bali. I would highly recommend this course as it really lets the experience of culture take over. Although the course is based around teaching, you have so much free time to really spend investing in the culture and locations so close around , I was able to see almost all of Bali by the end of it all. I feel so accomplished and I wouldn’t be able to do it without this company. It’s so easy to apply, just do it! I was slightly sceptical at first but thankfully from seeing so many reviews and hearing such good things, I went for it. Best thing I have done.