LA CIVETTA May 2017 | Page 34

Teaching and travelling: Italy in three months, six cities and six families

Teaching and travelling: Italy in three months, six cities and six families

By Sabrina Guselli

Second Year Law with Study in Continental Europe

“What am I going to do with myself over the summer break?” I knew that I wanted an opportunity to practise my language skills while earning some money, but was not really sure what was out there. My friend had mentioned that she had worked in France the previous summer at an activity centre with children, I thought a similar thing in Italy would be perfect for me: I love Italy, working with children and travelling!

Low and behold, a quick search on the internet, a click of a button and I stumbled across ACLE: a non-profit organisation who pride themselves on teaching English through theatre, song and activities. Their mantra, “emotions generate learning”, is at the heart of their organisation. They organise summer camps in Italy, where English-speaking tutors teach a class of Italian students anywhere from 4-16 years old and, as a team, are responsible for running the camp. They cover all accommodation, food and travel costs while you are working and send you to a different part of Italy every fortnight! They also give you a study grant to cover your costs while there. They expect enthusiastic, confident and organised tutors who are creative, excellent communicators, flexible and punctual. After an application form, a few paragraphs about my interest in the organisation, some videos (and a few law exams later!), I was off to Bella Italia!

And so my trip began! My first week was a week of intense training spent in the leafy mountain village of Castellaro, where I met tutors from all over the Anglophone world. We spent a week training altogether in the blistering Italian summer heat with a jam-packed schedule; it was an intense concoction of getting to grips with all the teaching material for different students, perfecting the camp songs, getting our creative juices flowing and teamwork. By the end of the week we were exhausted, but running on adrenaline ready for our first camp!