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

Staff were responsive and helpful, quickly finding me a suitable placement in which I was very happy.

I would recommend GOTOCO as a unique opportunity to challenge yourself by working abroad in an extremely different culture, build teaching skills, confidence and making new friends while also travelling.

The highlights of my experience in China were meeting and befriending Chinese people, this helped me build an understanding of the culture.

The welcoming environment of the camp I was working in was also a major positive. The places I was able to visit, rural and urban were enriched by the people I visited them with.

This programme provided me with a range of experiences I would not have had the chance to have otherwise.

Spending such an extended time in China, working with a multitude of Chinese people, making new friends and exploring the country have broadened me as a person.

Experience teaching has taught me the importance of approaching new challenges with enthusiasm and energy. For this, you will often be rewarded.

My programme was in two different locations, Wuhan and Beijing, which allowed me to experience two different cities in China. In both locations, I thought the accommodation (we stayed in university accommodation) and food provided were great.

I enjoyed interacting with the students and learning lots about Chinese culture. I also really enjoyed the time off from our program, getting to explore the city and its attractions, especially the Great Wall. It was also really nice to have a big group of Gotoco participants so it never got lonely and I ended up making lots of great friendships. I also really enjoyed the Yangshuo trip at the end, I would definitely recommend going!

Overall, this was an amazing way for me to spend my summer vacation. It allowed me to gain experience teaching, obtain a teaching qualification, meet new people and experience life in China.

This is a very unique program and it offers a great opportunity to visit and learn more about China. It was so rewarding to work with the kids and help them develop their skills and confidence in English. It was a reciprocal feeling as we also had a chance to build our skills in communication, organisation, and leadership. Traveling to China and meeting the local people as well as the foreign teachers who are from all over the world has made me more curious - I want to explore more! The Gotoco alumna is a diverse network and has really expanded my world. I would recommend this trip to someone who has a big sense of adventure, wonder (China's natural beauty is stunning), who is flexible and can quickly adapt to new situations, and is open to learning and feeling vulnerable at times.

The highlight of my experience was definitely bonding with the kids and meeting other camp counselors. Furthermore, it was invaluable in terms of gaining experience teaching and learning how to step out of my comfort zone (there was definitely some culture shock at first, but I learned how to manage it). The biggest benefit that I gained from this program was definitely in terms of teaching. I had never taught before and had always been curious to see what it was like, and this program gave me an unrivaled opportunity for a taster.
The staff was very friendly and helpful, always keen to listen to new ideas or even criticism and be proactive about it. Furthermore, the accommodation provided was very comfortable, and the food good and varied from day to day.

I had a great experience with Gotoco whilst at camp in Chengdu, it was cheap, engaging and so much fun, definitely the best experience of my life so far. It's such a good way to get to China and get to know local people and non-touristy areas. I would recommend this program to anyone. I saw so much of the local community. Ate so much local food at no cost to my wallet and experienced one of the largest cities on earth, which has an amazing nightlife, food, and people. The stay in Yangshuo was also a highlight, probably the most beautiful place I've ever been and was lovely to relax after working quite hard in Chengdu. If you think you'll like teaching and are a student interested in China, this program is definitely for you. The little money I did spend was definitely well spent.

My programme was in three different locations which allowed me to see places I had always wanted to visit including the Great Wall in Beijing and the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong which was amazing. A lot of my fondest memories are from the free time after lessons with the kids where I got to take them for sports activities I found this very enjoyable. Also the time I spent with other gotoco participants and other people in my schools allowed me to create lifelong friendships which I am very grateful for. There was many highlights of my experience, the amazing people I met and became friends with through gotoco participants, participants from other programmes and local people. Also getting to see a lot of China which was a country I was very interested in exploring and this programme give me the opportunity to do that. I think it is a great way for someone to spend their summer holidays if they think they might be interested in working with children in the future and are also interested in experiencing what life is like in China.

Undoubtedly I recommend going to China with Gotoco. Exploring China is a really exciting and extremely unique opportunity that such few people get to try. Gotoco are very supportive and great at advising you through China. Having free accommodation in Yangshou was a really great addition to the trip. I was also able to get bursay help with my trip which helped with the flights, then once you're out there staying in China is incredibly cheap. My school was in the style of a Summer Camp which was a nice change from classroom teaching. The school made a very large effort to let me to explore Jinan as well. Gotoco's application process is very fair and tries to tailor to your needs which was very helpful as I wanted to travel the whole of East Coast China.

Overall I really recommend Gotoco

A really fun and relatively cheap way to get TEFL and see China. We were well looked after and thanks to Gotoco, got to experience and explore so much! Would recommend to anyone despite the slightly stressful visa application process. The teaching portion was intense, but I became so much more confident and it was really enjoyable working with the kids, even though I had no experience doing so. Our school made sure to take us on days out to amazing places - having local guides means you can see so much more (and eat some of the best food!). It’s great to explore somewhere through the guidance of local people as we really got the most out of the city. It was also amazing that Gotoco allowed us to travel to Yangshuo with free accommodation, as we met so many more travellers of our age!