Teaching internship & TEFL Certification (Thailand, Vietnam, Europe, China, India)

I think this program is brilliant. Its a small program so if I hadn’t have heard about it through university I wouldn’t have participated as it seemed too good to be true. But it really is different from other tefl programs on the market in that its fully funded as said. They book your flight, pay your accommodation and food (or provide a food stripend) and you get an amazing experience out of it. All you need to do is teach children English which is an amazing experience in itself, and complete your TEFL, which is also funded by gov grants. Then you get an added bonus of meeting new people, experiencing a new culture and having a couple days holiday when its all done!

I really enjoyed my time at the Bali, Indonesia 6 week teaching programme. It was great to experience a different and new country and their culture. It was also great to experience a potential career pathway which gave me an insight of what I would like to do in the future.

I made loads of friends and learned so much about the world and myself. I went onto doing another programme as I enjoyed this one so much. I loved travelling in between the programmes and would definitely recommend a Gotoco programme to everyone!

Is a great way to explore the world as well as build professional experience and get a recognised certification.
The most enjoyable moment of the trip was my week in the Amazon where I had the opportunity to stay with an indigenous family and experience their culture through immersion. I was also able to join University in the country to learn the language and make friends with so many people from diverse backgrounds. Finally working with kids was also very rewarding and they were very grateful for me to be there.

Applying for Gotoco was the best decision I ever made. It was a fantastic opportunity where I was able to experience the Italian culture, as well as gaining more skills on to how to teach children the best and achieve my TEFL qualification, which has allowed me to grow as a person and become more independent. In my first two weeks, I was worked in a summer camp in a small Italian town. My third and fourth week, I was placed in a summer camp in Bolonga, where I was worked with three other co-counselors, making great friendships. Both host families I stayed with were incredible and were so welcoming, and I still keep in contact with them now! This was an amazing experience, which I highly recommend.

I joined the gotoco program because it seemed like a fantastic way to travel, gain a TEFL qualification and help advance my career. I have no regrets taking on the program. In many ways it was more challenging thatn expected - basically doing a full time job unpaid (though with accommodation/food). I felt gotoco did not aptly prepare us for how to prepare and perform lessons and also did not have the best communication. However I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, met many friends and learnt a lot. I would definitely recommend to friends though would advise they prepare themselves outside of the program and dont expect great communication.

I was placed in a summer camp through the organization LSF in the Verona province, Italy. We started with a 1 week training in an Italian town near the beach, where I met co-counselors from across the world and had so much fun while training. We then moved with 2-3 other co-counselors to our designated summer camp locations and lived with host families. I had so much fun and learned so much. I loved meeting people from all over the world, getting a more personal understanding of Italian culture, and learning skills of how to teach children best. I lived in a small, semi-rural town near Verona so I appreciated learning what life is like there. One of my favorite moments was the final 'show' that students at my camp put together. They invested a lot of energy in it and everyone enjoyed it, especially the arts and crafts portion of it.

The application process with Gotoco was very straightforward and the Gotoco team answered my questions very quickly. I did not expect to be placed in a camp because I applied late, but Gotoco immediately forwarded my information to a camp and I received a response right away, which I greatly appreciate.

Overall, you'll learn a lot about being a summer camp counselor, will meet people from across the world and hopefully have lots of fun!

I enjoyed the host I stayed with and the opportunity to meet the students and the local teachers. Being placed with other volunteers was also very enjoyable. I feel like living in rural T allowed me to experience the real culture and understand my students better. Some good examples are: Watching the children remember the lessons I taught. Dancing and singing with the students during English camp, eating Thai hot pot in the evening with the teachers and the host while being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Jocking with the other volunteers while preparing lesson plans.

An overall fantastic experience that provided immense value to all those involved. A perfect first step into the experience of travelling paired with the perfect opportunity to give back to the local communities accommodating your stay.
The teaching allowed me to develop valuable skills in communication and patience and enhanced my experience of Bali significantly. Spending time with the kids felt really special and has left me with lasting positive memories, from teaching them to chant the lyrics to 'We Will Rock You' to introducing the game of duck duck goose to them and watching them run around endlessly in circles.