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

I had a fantastic time, GOTOCO as an organisation is very down to earth, it's a few people who are passionate about what they do and helping others to be able to have the same life experiences they've been lucky enough to have. You end up having a lot of personal contact with someone from GOTOCO during the cultural tour (we had Matty!) and you realize how much they want to help you with any problems and want you as individuals to have a good time. They're a good balance between helping you when you need it but also encouraging you to sort some things out yourself, learning how to navigate booking accommodation and transport etc is after all invaluable.

The highlights are hard to list as there were so many! Meeting all the people and getting to really know them over the month was amazing and many of them will remain lifelong friends. The cultural tour was an amazing way to relax and see the country with everyone at the end and gave us a great starting point to then go on and continue travelling. The hotel we stayed at for our project was also lovely and there was loads to do and explore in free time!

Benefits of the programme: I felt more confidence exploring countries surrounding Poland that I normally wouldn't give a second look. I met a group of great people from both across this country and others and I tried a totally new experience in a teaching/ mentor setting that I never would've thought to do otherwise.

This was really despite all potential initial doubts, a fully-funded program (including pre-orientation for those of us who couldn't find flights right at the start date) that was such a nice break from the monotony of 'regular' life back home!

I would recommend this as a fantastic way of trying out teaching while also exploring a new country, culture and language. I have also made wonderful friends along the way and gained a new sense of independence and self-confidence.

I was lucky enough to be placed alongside two lovely young teacher volunteers like myself in central Thailand.

The programme has been wonderful. The host - head teacher Ratree and the Wat Chaisri school and local community in Thap Khlo - have been beyond hospitable and have treated me and the other teachers like their daughters. It has been an absolute honour to get to know them and work alongside them as well as discover Thailand.

I’ve loved the teaching experience and host school who have absolutely gone above and beyond in making us have a wonderful experience, get to know Thailand and also try out teaching in a supportive and encouraging environment!

My most enjoyable moments have been:
- receiving handmade jewellery from a student;
- surprising my classes by secretly learning classroom command words in Thai and using them when they were particularly confused or rowdy;
-trying out paddle boarding on the Chao Phraya river with my school's director;

I did a 1 month summer placement in Thailand with GotoCo and it was the best thing I have done my entire life! I could not recommend this enough to anyone. It was such a beautiful experience to meet people I would never have the opportunity to meet and made unbreakable bonds with the fellow local teachers at the school I worked at. I was so surprised to form such strong relationships. It was an incredible chance to experience Thai life and learn so much about the culture. We learnt so much from teaching the students and gained fantastic teaching experience, and also managed to learn a few Thai words too!

Poland - Angloville was very intense but fun. I greatly enhanced my communication skills during 40 minute conversation sessions with participants, but sometimes if back-to-back these could be draining, especially if the prompt cards were not engaging. However, the other mentors (Gotoco participants and others) were amazing and I liked the personal touch that at the end of the week we could write and receive notes to and from the students and other mentors.

Spain - Interway taught through activities rather than structured conversation sessions, so it was a much more relaxed environment. These activities were mostly entertaining but the students (teachers from Spain) thought that conversation sessions and subject-specific vocabulary sessions would have been more useful. I had a great time and again, the other mentors and leaders were a massive positive part of my experience.

The program has been hugely beneficial to me in so many ways. Firstly the opportunity to travel abroad and learn about other cultures is something I did not think I would be able to do for a long time. The experience and lessons I have learnt from independent travel will help towards my future career aspiration in international humanitarian work. Secondly, the opportunity to help a local community through teaching has given me first-hand experience in volunteering whilst building up my sense of responsibility.

Through this programme you can meet so many people from all over the world (from other Gotoco participants to the students) and this helped me realise that there are many opportunities to work and travel abroad, not just expensive programmes. Also, the opportunity to see different parts of a country (from big cities to rural areas where the placements took place) was invaluable. The cultural tour in Poland was amazing - it allowed us to see 2 major Polish cities (Warsaw and Krakow) and learn more about their histories and cultures. Also, in Spain we were able to see Grenada, Cordoba and Madrid as well as a small rural village, which I would not have been able to accomplish without Gotoco.

I spent two months in summer meeting new people, traveling the world and making an impact on the lives of those who are in need. It was all fully funded, including the flights, accommodation and the planned activities. the staff were amazing and the teaching experience itself has open my eyes to whole other world. although it seems like a scam i assure you, it is not. I too was hesitant at first but going on it now, I cannot believe how amazing the opportunity is. if you are wanting to spend time abroad as a student but still want to do something meaningful? I can't recommend this course enough.

I had such an enjoyable summer teaching English in Bali. The other Gotoco members were lovely and we got on really well. The children were really eager to learn and it was really rewarding to see their progress at the end of the 6 week period. As well as teaching, Gotoco organised cultural trips most weekends which allowed us to travel around the island and better understand the culture. I really enjoyed these trips and felt that I learnt a lot about Balinese culture. I would recommend this program to everyone!

I completed the English camp company summer camps in Italy through gotoco and had an amazing summer! I enjoyed exploring different areas of Italy that I would not have visited if not for the trip. It was fun to explore different cities and meet the host families family and friends. I enjoyed living with Italian families, learning about their culture and traditions. I also enjoyed the experience with the children, I found teaching English very rewarding. Travelling with the other tutors at the end was also a highlight. The cultural trip at the end was very fun with all the tutors, and some of us even continued travelling Italy for a few more weeks!

During my TESOL programme in Poland, I had an unforgettable fun time. I have met so many like-minded people that hopefully would become lifetime friendships. But honestly, the biggest highlight was working with the children. They were incredibly bright and easy to work with. I would definitely recommend this programme to anyone who wants to gain experience in teaching English as a foreign language as well as travel to a different country to explore its culture.

Both the English and Polish coordinators that we worked with were incredible when it came to the programme. The setting of the programme was very relaxed, which gave the children and us the opportunity to talk freely and really took the pressure off of us that would have probably been there in a classroom setting for example.