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

It was smooth and organised. The contact from Gotoco was friendly, reassuring, and constant, so I felt safe and happy about going to China. The specific information about my camp was a little misleading.

I would recommend going to teach English at a summer camp or school because it is a totally new and exciting experience that feels very rewarding. I would also recommend the Yangshuo trip after the programme because it was a lot of fun.

The highlight of being in China was the opportunity to be totally outside my comfort zone. Being far from home, immersed in a totally different culture and responsible for teaching and entertaining classes of children, meant I had to rapidly adapt and develop initiative and confidence.

Cover your rent/food bills, provide a great opportunity into the local culture and get the chance to gain a teaching qualification while teaching English to classes as big as 15 students. You meet some great people and have some very different experiences, scenery is amazing, especially around Guilin and Yangshuo. You can also interview business owners in the afternoon and the ability to discuss perspectives into local socioeconomic news.

You can rent scooters in the afternoon and visit many of the unique high-street shops, part of our daily schedule was taking the students into the city centres to interview travellers from outside of China, such as Australia and America. This was a great opportunity for the students to practice their English whilst also being able to talk to other travellers from outside of China.

Really enjoyed my summer in China with Gotoco. The work was really meaningful and the locations were beautiful. The kids were very sweet and made it much more rewarding.

joined a program in Beijing working with Wall Street English and adult learners of English. While not directly teaching students, I was able to gain valuable insights into the teaching process. This program has benefitted me by giving me a glimpse into Chinese culture and life. I have met so many new people from all over the world. With some of the lower level students, it was very difficult to explain concepts in English to them, but through trying different ways and acting out words, I was able to become a better communicator and teacher. I think Gotoco will give you a valuable experience in China at very reasonable cost (there is only the cost of the plane ticket and visa), and is a great chance to explore China as a university student.

Really good way to see China would strongly recommend the experience to others.

Had some issues at the first camp I was at but Gotoco helped with my movement from this camp to another very quickly and smoothly. They tried their hardest to keep me in the area and when that wasn't possible sent me to a very nice location in Yangshuo.

Please tell us about some of your most enjoyable moments of the trip?

My most enjoyable moments were going to yangshuo for the first time with my school. The surrounding nature was beautiful. I also enjoyed going tea picking with my class at the school.

What was the best thing about your experience in China?

My favourite part of the experience was making friends with the Chinese councillors as well the foreign ones. Additionally I enjoyed bonding with the children at both of my school's.

Would you recommend participating to a friend and if so why?

Because experiencing Chiba is something I think more people should do. Whilst the first placement was not as described the program handled this problem fairly well in sending us to a new place.

How would you say the overall experience has benefitted you?

I have picked up a fair amount of Chinese by myself as the first school did not provide Chinese lessons. I have also gained valuable experience in teaching children which will be useful in future work.

Learning how to travel in China was one of the most important things I learned on this trip.
It's an overall good experience to be forced to take responsibility for your actions, especially while travelling. With the language barrier, it's important to be culturally aware but also forces one to step out of their comfort zone. There were some difficulties with communication, but solving the issues and surviving is just part of traveling sometimes.
Teaching was a great experience and I had great emotional support to get through, even when the materials got lost or didn't exist along the way. Even with the difficulties in management or curriculum, we were able to get through them and give the kids a great experience.
Riding motorbikes in Yangshuo was one of the greatest feelings I had on this trip to China. Nevermind going places, just having one's own bike and riding it wherever was very rewarding and made up for moments of the trip that were not as great.
I've made long lasting friends through the people in this program, something I didn't expect to do. The people in this program will forever be close to my heart.

I had the best summer and met amazing people. Residential summer camps in China are super fun to be at. Gotoco is a great company for the opportunity to go and teach English in China and get a TELF. Plus, the stay at Yangshou in the hostel was a great experience and such an interesting place to visit.

I don't regret going in the slightest! I loved my summer camp although, it was in it's first year, so it was a little unorganised at times but so much fun. Because my camp was so new, there were some issues with how gotoco advertised the experience and how the camp actually was and what the camp expected of us, so another gotoco participant emailed gotoco and we got most things sorted after a meeting with the camp director. It was no problem for me after that! My only problem is gotoco's emails being slow and there not being a phone number to call for questions. I waited about a week for replies and all other gotoco participants I talked to also had slow email responses also.

Despite this, gotoco is a great way to go to China in the summer. I got to China with the correct VISA, I had an amazing summer, learned so much and received a TEFL!

I did my placement in Beijing, China for four weeks helping out as a teaching assistant in Wall Street English. I would highly recommend trying to get a placement in a big city because there is so much more to explore. Beijing has the Great Wall and the Forbidden City both of which are excellent tourist attractions. Another benefit is that I have met so many new people from all over the world. On the teaching side of things, with some of the lower level students, it was very difficult to explain concepts in English to them, but through trying different ways and acting out words, I was able to become a better communicator and teacher. I think Gotoco will give you a valuable experience in China at very reasonable cost (there is only the cost of the plane ticket and visa), and is a great chance to explore China as a university student.

The first thing to note is that your experience will vary widely depending on where you are posted, something you do not get much choice about. Mine was with a fairly large group on a proper campus, which was good, but also there was not much to do locally. The length of the programme also affects how it goes - two weeks was more than enough for me, and a two-month programme will be very different.
The teaching was fairly straightforward but hard work, everyday I had to draw up lessons plans and then deliver the lessons, in English, general British culture and in food. If you like teaching or want to teach, you'll enjoy it.
Yangshuo was the highlight of the trip. While it is a relatively sort stay (4 nights, often 3 days), it is very lively and social and you get to meet lots of other gotoco people. However, it is not much of a reward compared to what you get on other programmes, where you are often paid a lump sum.
Like similar programmes, it does provide a start (or end) point for travelling more widely in China, which is brilliant.

Had an amazing time living and teaching in Beijing. Gotoco were fantastic and provided help and support throughout the application and during our stay in China. If you want to spend a productive and fun summer this is the programme for you. We stayed in a lovely hostel which was less than ten minutes from the centre of Beijing and the organisation we worked for was full of wonderful people who would be extremely supportive. During the stay we visited loads of different places in Beijing and had an amazing time exploring the city. The food in Beijing is fantastic and even for vegetarian people there are always an amazing array of options. The teaching itself was extremely fun and rewarding. The staff of Gotoco was very welcoming and friendly and even invited us out for a meal on our first weekend there to make sure we were settling in alright.

Gotoco made travelling to China much easier and less daunting than it would have been on my own. The application process was smooth and they sort out any queries fairly quickly. Such a great way to earn a TEFL qualification and develop new skills. I was matched well to a programme I enjoyed, met interesting people and saw places I'd never heard of before. My accommodation was located in a caravan park so I didn't get to live like a real local and the kids' parents were paying very high fees to attend our summer camp - but the facilities were very good (apart from the days they switched off the water and the electricity). I massively improved my confidence teaching drama, singing, dancing and baking as well as leading outdoors activities and joining in with the painting and drumming classes. Most of the local teachers at the camp did not speak any English, so communication was challenging but we always had at least one teacher that could help us out. Also, the trip to Yangshuo was class - really worth the visit. I understand that experiences vary depending on which camp you are sent to and how organised they are but personally, I had an extremely fun and enriching experience which I'd highly recommend.