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

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!

Meeting other students on both programmes that I participated in has to be my highlight, I have made friends for life. Furthermore, living in China for a prolonged period of time was a great highlight as I felt as if I had the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of their culture and way of life. This may not have been possible if I had undertaken a shorter programme.

One of the most enjoyable days I had involved a group of Gotoco participants hiring mopeds and visiting the waterfall in Yangsuho. Later we borrowed a BBQ from one of the participants camps and had Chinese BBQ and swim in the river till late on secret beach.

I would recommend the programme to someone to gain free experience in teaching children and gaining important leadership skills. I think this has been an excellent way to see China and spend the majority of my summer.

Spending time in China this summer has been an incredible experience for me. Being there for 5 weeks meant that I was able to fully engulf myself within the Chinese culture and experience the area like a local. There were cheap things to do in my spare time which allowed me to experience activities which I wouldn't have the opportunity to do in the UK.

I feel that Gotoco provides you a great opportunity by connecting you with a partner school or camp in China which you may not have had any link to otherwise. This enables you to spend your summer making a difference to a set of lovely kids and do this all whilst still having the ability to explore a new country and culture within your summer holidays from Uni.

My experience at Zhuoyue English School in Yangshuo was incredible. Before I had even arrived at the camp, the programme organiser went above and beyond to ensure my stay would be safe and problem free. This included organising my taxi from the airport to the camp, which would have been difficult for me to organise independently given the language barrier. The accommodation was of outstanding standard, with a maid who came in most days to empty the bins and clean the floors, and our own personal balcony with an incredible view of the school. The children at the school were all lovely and as teachers we had plenty of resources to help us to organise our lesson plan for each day. We were also able to participate in the activities organised for the children, such as peanut pulling and tea picking, which gave us the ability to experience Yangshuo in a way which is non-accessible by tourists. Angie was kind enough to allow me to stay longer in the accommodation after my programme finished and gave me the opportunity to participate in English Corner where I was able to teach some of the adults for a few weeks. For this I am incredibly grateful and I would definitely recommend this programme to future volunteers.

I had an amazing time in China and I'm really happy I participated. I'd recommend anyone go because it will give them a better perspective on the world and improve their interpersonal skills massively.
Aside from teaching and meeting new people, the most enriching part of the trip was experiencing Chinese society. I have often read about the arguments for organising our society differently but it was really interesting to go to a country where most parts of life are organised by the government and see how that works for them.
Gotoco were very accommodating and made sure all the volunteers on our programme were satisfied.
I highly recommend this provider to anyone considering coming to China as they provide great opportunities with great value.