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

There is no way I would have been able to get this experience if I was travelling around China on my own. This is the best possible way to get to know Chinese culture and learn about the country and the people as, by working with them, you actually get to know them yourself.

People think that all you have to gain from a programme like this is to discover whether or not teaching might be for you. This is completely wrong. I loved my experience teaching but teaching was only one element of my time abroad. Lots of what I learned was not teaching related, and my personal growth was impacted in other ways.

Additionally, Gotoco programmes provide a really good balance between immersing yourself in a different culture, and having people from home around you, so that you don't feel uncomfortably out of your depth.

Good experience thanks to the other students/foreign teachers on the programme but the school was very disorganised and it is more work than you think. However, I made good friends who I will definitely remain in contact with and the foreign teacher coordinator, Eric, was lovely! Eric helped us with anything we needed and spent his weekends showing us around the city: taking us to good food places, bars, historic sites and on hikes with great views. I would really recommend making the most of your weekends exploring and if you have time after your programme to go travelling around China.

I had an amazing summer volunteering with Gotoco in Yangshuo, China. Although I had never taught English before, I had such a fun and memorable time meeting and working with new kids and the teaching assistants. From this, I was able to learn about and explore the side of China that I would not have been able to see as a tourist, for example learning about cultural differences, trying new foods out and learning a little mandarin. I also improved my independence and organisation from leading classes of up to 30 students on my own, and navigating China without being able to speak the local language. The only suggestion I have to Gotoco is to improve communication with the volunteers during the application process. Overall, I definitely recommend participating!

The experience I had in China through gotoco was everything that they promised and more. Although there are still costs such as flights, vaccines etc. the fact that they offer you food and accomodation for free makes it so much more affordable and allows you to spend a much longer period in China. I spent 6 weeks as an intern in an English speaking center in Shanghai. It was a great and unique experience as I was able to get to know many of the chinese students who showed me aspects of Shanghai I would never have seen if I was there just as a tourist. The work aspect of the trip also helped me to develop skills I know will benefit me in the future. While there, I also got lots of free time to get to know the other participants and to explore China. Apart from some slow communications I had no problems with gotco and they were very helpful in ensuring everything went smoothly. I would highly recommend taking part to anyone!

I worked with children aged 6 to 10 at a residential summer camp in Jiangsu procince in East China. The camp promoted environmental awareness and citizenship responsibilities. Although I didn't do any conventional English classroom teaching per se, I accompanied the kids through an important process of learning outside the classroom and becoming more independent and developing their personalities.

Together with a big team of both Chinese and foreign counselors, I led and assisted various activities such as sports or arts and crafts. What I loved most about the camp was how close you got to the kids and how much trust they built up to you within two weeks. You'd see them grow and learn very quickly and although it was very exhausting and tiring at times, it was a very rewarding experience I will not forget.

Gotoco made it so easy and accessible for me to participate in this program and always offered great support, both before and during the program.

I would describe it as a once in a lifetime opportunity, it was simply breath taking to wake up each day surrounded by mountains, to eat mangos and swim in the Yulonghe river, take mopeds to secret beaches and waterfalls, and make some amazing life long friends. I am starting a teacher training course in September so teaching the children in the camp has really boosted my confidence, leadership, communication and team working skills. it has also shown me I could easily move and work abroad as a teacher. Meeting and teaching lots of different children of all abilities, meeting the other teacher and teaching assistants, learning about Chinese culture, living in a small remote village and doing just as the locals do are some of my highlights. :)

Gotoco is a great point of contact between schools in China and people who want to teach. It can be difficult to find places in China where foreigners, especially students with no qualifications yet, can work. By also offering the TEFL qualification it makes Gotoco even better.

I was based in a small village called Chaoyang, in the Yangshuo area, at Zhuoyue English School. I adored the kids in my classes as well as my TAs. Living in Chaoyang for 7 weeks was incredible, the scenery never lost its wonder and the locals were all very friendly. Our course coordinator (our boss?) at the school was a sweetheart and brought us mangos and took us to fancy restaurants on the weekend, couldn't ask for more.

My favourite memories of the trip are scootering to and from Yangshuo, only 20mins away and roughly £5 for the scooter rental for the full day (7am-12am)! An absolute steal!! Tea picking and tai-chi were also a lot of fun.
We were fortunate enough to be given free Chinese lessons twice a week as well which helped us pick up basic phrases such as ‘how much is this?’ (多少钱) and ‘have you eaten yet?’ (how you say hi to close friends, 你吃饭了吗)

I have discovered I really love teaching and am now confident enough in my own abilities to know I could become a real teacher in the future. I have also gained the confidence to navigate a foreign country by myself and can't wait to travel more of Asia and the world!

The time I have spent in China is unforgettable and the friends I have made are irreplaceable :)) If I have enough time and money next summer I would love to teach in China again.

It was a really exciting and challenging experience, great opportunity to develop yourself and meet likeminded people. I spent my summer program in Dongguan, in the south of China, somewhere I had never heard of before being accepted there. The school I was teaching at was full of friendly, helpful staff, and the children were all very eager to learn! Outside of the classroom, there were plenty of opportunities to explore the local area, such as going on a mountain hike, visiting traditional Chinese gardens and going for meals. The location was also close enough to Hong Kong that I was able to visit during one of my weekends off from teaching, and it was certainly worth the travel. At the end of the program, almost everyone went to Yangshuo together, which was the perfect end to the experience.