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

I’d recommend Gotoco as it’s a great way to learn more about a vast country such as China, yet do a fulfilling activity such as volunteering with children. It’s great because the programme doesn’t feel entirely like super intense work all the time and there are still many opportunities for travel/nights out/socials. Gotoco is truly what you make of it and the Chinese teachers really tried to get me involved in as many activities as possible.

The final day of the Yangshuo camp was probably my most enjoyable experience. A conference was held with the Gotoco participants and the children. They got to ask us plenty of questions and we were able to get to know them better. The children were very emotional about their experience they had and told us how much we meant to them. This was a heart warming experience which encapsulated the great experience at Yangshuo.

Gotoco was truly an amazing and rewarding experience. The chance to meet people of all ages, learning more about the culture, teaching variables, and the overall challenges that you overcome are so worth it. Being a part of this program, also allows you to grow as a person! Great opportunity if you want to become a teacher! This program is a great opportunity to learn a lot about yourself, work loading experience. Working with different types of environments, like indoor and outdoor, arranging your schedule to accommodate hot or rainy days. This is also a great way to travel. Communication with the main coordinator is always the key to everyones success. This program also offers the great opportunity to obtain your Teaching English as a Second Language or Foreign Language Certification (TEFL).

I really enjoyed my time in China with Gotoco, the weekend trips away were definitely a highlight and something that I will remember for the rest of my life, especially the trip to Zhangjiajie where we visited the famous avatar mountians and Tianmen mountain! The application process was really easy. The teachers at the school were all really nice, however there was a lack of communication between the school and the volunteers on techniques for teaching which was frustrating at times. The food was great and everyone we met in public was very friendly and interested in who we were and where we were from. over all the trip was a great was to experience Chinese culture in such a unique way that I would have otherwise would have been very unlikely to witness.

Gotoco is a great and reputable organization. The financial piece of things is very favorable for Gotoco compared to other similar programs. I also think that the partnerships with local Chinese schools seem to be very positive and I enjoyed interacting with locals. The food was very good, and I enjoyed meeting and interacting with Chinese children. I also enjoyed learning to teach English in a classroom setting and developing that skill. It was also fun to explore nearby historical sites and cities. The application process was very smooth. I really liked the owners and teachers at the school. I also enjoyed the classroom teaching very much. I am more comfortable travelling in foreign countries. I feel more confident about teaching English in a classroom setting and working with young children. Overall I have gotten out of my comfort zone and developed greater flexibility.

Yangshuo is a gorgeous place with wonderful carst peaks and clean rivers. I highly recommend to visit this place!!! Don't forget to go bamboo rafting, it's so relaxing and unforgettable)
I love teaching kids, so this part was the most enjoyable activity for me. There are a lot of outdoor activities at Dahuwai, but my favourite ones were kayaking, white-water rafting and tea garden.
Taking part in Gotoco's projects gives you a great unique opportunity to explore China, to meet new friends, to improve your English skills, if you are not native speakers, to try to understand Chinese culture and its traditions and of course to try local food)
I gained a lot of very useful information and skills.
Don't forget to read all files on the site before your arrival to China, don't be lazy, it'll help you a lot 💯

It was great to be immersed in Chinese culture - meeting locals and eating the great food is something I really enjoyed. It made such a difference that free accommodation and a food stipend was provided; for me, this took a lot of stress out of the endeavour. Teaching the students, and forming personal bonds with them was a particular highlight. I found this really rewarding and these are the things that I think I will remember for the rest of my life.

I would definitely recommend this to another person, because I think this is great way to be immersed in Chinese culture (the food, the people, the place generally). It is a great way to take part in a unique, rewarding experience and form relationships with people one wouldn't otherwise have met (the students, but also the foreign teachers). It's a beautiful, interesting country which is really really interesting to learn about.

Having the privilege to work with Gotoco this summer has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. While at times challenging, the program pushed me outside of my comfort zone and has helped me to become so much more confident and assertive of myself. The opportunity to teach children was one of the most rewarding aspects, as over the course of the program you really become someone who they respect and admire. Also, being able to meet and spend time with other likeminded participants from all over the world was so much fun, particularly with the trip to Yangshou after teaching. Overall, this experience taught me a lot particularly about myself, therefore I would highly recommend this program to other students or graduates who are looking for something fun to do in the summer whilst also being able to obtain their TEFL.

Pros:
Practicing my Chinese and getting to know mainlander Chinese in their interests, thoughts, and beliefs. Having an independent experience internationally with lots of support through the school in terms of food, travel, and accomodations.
Solid support through WeChat, established school programs, and it being one of the few programs available to us that provides accomodation and food without upfront cost (beyond airfare). Teaching experience is an added bonus.

Cons:
Communication with Gotoco itself throughout the application process was fine, but responses were sometimes a little slow and inconsistent, especially when I had a couple problems that needed to be resolved. Overall still manageable; I liked the details.
This program was a solid choice for me personally as I was already familiar with Chinese culture (and thus didn't need cultural excursions) but was able to greatly enhance my Mandarin skills.
It was a super busy program and thus we had very little free time or breaks. As it was a summer camp, we had activities for twelve hours straight everyday with only a couple rest days in between. It was a very exhausting experience and there were several instances I did not think it was necessary for my presence to be at the activity

Teaching English in a China was an eye-opening experience. It was challenging yet rewarding. I would recommend! The highlight of teaching at a summer camp in Shenzhen was being submersed in Chinese culture from the start, whether this be good, language or traditions. Of course, watching the kids improve their English over the weeks with our help was incredibly rewarding! I really enjoyed going to Qingyuan and staying with a host family. We went rafting down a waterfall, had a bbq with family friends and went fishing near to the rice paddies. I have learnt how to communicate on a professional level to all ages and nationalities. I have learnt to organise my own travel. The camp has increased my self-awareness completely. We English were incredibly accommodating. Although thrown in at the deep end in terms of teaching, there was endless support. The programme was incredibly generous to us and really made it a cultural exchange.

You can rely on Gotoco: they are trustworthy and always want what's best for you. As for my program in itself, it was pretty intense but fulfilling at the same time... I did things I didn't even know I was able to do, so it was truly rewarding to see my improvements. Other highlights were made from meeting many amazing and different people, but also from stunning or strange places I discovered, as well as feelings of freedom and growth I could get. When you leave your country on your own to go somewhere new, you're out of your comfort zone, and that's how you experience new things, have incredible and surreal moments, and become more and more independent and confident. Whether you're on your own in a big Chinese city or in the middle of Chinese mountains, or the only foreigner in a crowded train station, you may have thoughts randomly coming to your mind saying 'I love China'. Joining Gotoco is an actual adventure that comes with breathtaking views and incredible people.