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

Volunteering with Gotoco was one of my favourite summer experiences, because whilst we were on an intense course to teach English, there was equally time given to us on the weekends to explore Bali. Amongst the teaching experience, Gotoco were well organised in providing answers for general queries e.g., accommodation, flights, start end dates etc. As well as the in country staff (shoutout to Lisha and Jared) who helped organise optional events on the weekend, from cultural experiences to hikes; the native staff who also made my experience as welcoming. I also found all the participants on the course so friendly and have made some great friends through this experience. Though I sometimes felt there were not enough staff to help out with the TESOL teaching course, as there were many participants in the program, we managed to get through it in the end as we had one another. Overall I would really recommend this program to anyone that wants to experience a new culture whilst learning to teach.

The highlight for me was that by the end of the trip I gained so much more self confidence; it's very rewarding to be able to say you successfully taught children a language that is not their 1st.

It was a great opportunity to do something different in the summer, get away for a chunk of time, meet new people, experience a different culture, and do something to help others whilst you are at it.

The ECC were a great programme to work for, the days were long but super fun as the camps just felt like you were just playing with the kids, making the job a lot more enjoyable!

My experience of the program was overwhelmingly positive. My most enjoyable moments were often during the actual teaching process, such as seeing my class notably improved in their ESL ability over the course of the program. I also made some lifelong friends during the program, and many of the trip's best moments were often informal moments during periods of relaxation between teaching and cultural immersion activities. My personal highlight were two particular planned excursions. The first of these was a sunrise trip up Mount Batur, the other was a trip to a turtle sanctuary on Bali's coast. Both of these provided a nice break from teaching activities and were an excellent form of cultural immersion. The school's teaching assistant was extremely helpful, and combined with the TESOL teaching, I never felt out of my depth despite some initial nerves. Overall, the program has vastly improved my teaching ability well beyond just ESL teaching. I now feel far more confident teaching English as a foreign language and am motivated to teach abroad as a future career.

This was the best decision I have ever made. It was the first time I'd ever travelled solo before and GOTOCO made me feel so supported and provided the most amazing opportunity. The accommodation was fantastic, the cultural activities arranged by the company were so special and it allowed me to build a genuine connection with the location I applied to (Bali). Not only is it a brilliant opportunity to see another part of the world, but the actual teaching side is unmatched the children are so enthusiastic to learn English and it's so fulfilling. Opportunities like this don't come easy to someone from my background, but GOTOCO made it possible for me to have the best summer of my life and I'll be eternally grateful. I believe everyone should have this experience at least once in their life. I couldn't recommend GOTOCO enough and I can't wait to participate again.

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.