Matthew Nolan joined our project at Whyville Education in Guangzhou in the summer of 2017. Please read in to view their feedback:

Could you please tell us about some of your most enjoyable moments of the trip?

I thoroughly enjoyed teaching at the school in Guangzhou. Every day, the students were very friendly and overall my experience was a positive one.
My most enjoyable moment of the whole trip was seeing the impression show in Yangshuo. I have never seen anything like it before.

Which were the highlights of the lessons, cultural excursions and outdoor activities?

I enjoyed the lessons I taught at the beginning of my program, as I had an older student. This made the subjects more interesting and we were able to develop interesting conversations as her English was quite good.
I enjoyed visiting the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall in Guangzhou the most. It was the most amazing building I have ever visited.
I also enjoyed visiting Baiyun mountain, the cable car made it very pleasant to visit the viewing point.

How would you say the overall experience has benefited you?

I have benefited from learning about a new culture, interacting with foreigners, working on my ability to communicate and travelling.
I would also like to say that I feel I have improved my English ability as I was able to practice it whilst teaching.

What was the best thing about your experience in China?

If there was one aspect of my experience in China which I really enjoyed, it would have to be the accommodation that I was provided with by my school. I had a hotel room to myself in a convenient location for 8 weeks. This made my stay very relaxing.

Would you recommend participating to a friend and if so why?

I would definitely recommend participating in the Gotoco TEFL program. I would tell them that they have a once in a lifetime chance to experience a new world, live in a foreign country and have a really fun summer spending time with bright young children who will make you smile every morning.