There are many reasons why somebody might choose to go into teaching English as a foreign language. The job allows you to travel and get first-hand experience of new people and cultures. It helps you to gain a greater understanding of your own language. And the very nature of the job helps to instil confidence and self-belief in you through its constant contact and communication with other people. If you still need to find your first position then you can use niche job sites like TeacherHit.com to find teaching jobs in Italy.
In order to get the most of this experience, one must learn the local language of where you are teaching. It can be one of the most rewarding elements of a teaching job. None of the other reasons mentioned above can be truly taken advantage of if you do not have the ability to speak the language of your host country.
This guest post was written by Amelie Bernard in her rough & tumble role of online marketer for teacherhit.com – a one stop shop for teaching jobs in Europe. She’s currently living it up in Paris, eating like crazy.
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How difficult is it to learn Italian?
Italian is not the easiest of the Latin languages to learn, nor is it the most difficult. Spanish is easier, and French is more difficult. Portuguese probably falls somewhere between the two, but is perhaps more similar to Spanish. So for the novice, the task at hand is quite a difficult one. (If you are interested you can find more information on Wikipedia about second language acquisition.)
If you work for an academy once you have arrived in Italy, there is almost certainly the opportunity to take an Italian course at a reduced rate with your own school. In some cases, perhaps where the school is a small one, the owner may actually be happy to give you lessons personally, and probably for free!
Do I need to take a course to learn while teaching in Italy?
Some people are of the opinion that just being in a country will mean that they automatically pick up the language. This is true for tiny daily things, but to get a real grasp of the language, you need to go back to school and start studying properly. For a new teacher this exercise in itself is an interesting one as straight away you become not only a new teacher, but also a student of a new language. This should be something you can use to your own advantage when thinking about how you teach.
So you sign up for a language program, either formally or informally, and you hit the books. This is the moment when you need to open yourself up to the culture you have found yourself in. Read the newspaper. Go to the cinema. Listen to the radio, or watch Italian MTV. TV in general is pretty dire in Italy, but watch the news, or find the least commercial channel, and try to follow what is going on. Listen to conversations and exchanges as they go on around you. Right here you have full immersion in the language you are trying to learn, don’t close yourself off to this opportunity, embrace it.
What about language exchanges in Italy?
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Another way to supplement your taught classes is by finding an Italian who would like to do a language exchange with you. You will have literally hundreds of people falling over themselves to do this with. Or at least they would like to, but they might be too shy to suggest it.
Take the initiative, place a little advert in a coffee shop you like to visit, or ask a more established teacher if they can point you in the direction of somebody they know. You can also use a language exchange site such as Italki to find language partners. Don’t agree to do this with just anyone, though. The person you talk to needs to be somebody you can actually have a conversation with. Or, more importantly, somebody you would want to have a conversation with if you both spoke the same language anyway.
Take the initiative, place a little advert in a coffee shop you like to visit, or ask a more established teacher if they can point you in the direction of somebody they know. You can also use a language exchange site such as Italki to find language partners. Don’t agree to do this with just anyone, though. The person you talk to needs to be somebody you can actually have a conversation with. Or, more importantly, somebody you would want to have a conversation with if you both spoke the same language anyway.
What are Italian students learning English like?
Finally, make friends with your students. In almost all cases you will be teaching adults similar in age to yourself. These people would love the opportunity to get some free English face-time in with the teacher. Understand and make sure they are aware that you too are a student. They will be more than happy to help you along.
Italians are a very proud and hospitable people. Once you develop a good relationship with your students, they will love to invite you out with them for a coffee and even ask you to meet their parents or family for dinner. More often than not their friends or family might not be great English speakers, so these occasions open up many more opportunities for you to interact with people who might not even be able to communicate in English.
Be open. Be proactive. Be willing to share. In no time at all you will be conversing (and gesticulating!) in Italian like a pro!
This guest post was written by Amelie Bernard in her rough & tumble role of online marketer for teacherhit.com – a one stop shop for teaching jobs in Europe. She’s currently living it up in Paris, eating like crazy.
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