Summer 2025 Participant
I found hearing students speak correct English after a lesson to be the most rewarding. With my students, I did a lesson about preference verbs. Each student then had to use these verbs while speaking about their favorite foods. It was great practice for them and a great way for me to get to know them better!
Summer 2025 Participant
Don't be afraid to say something to the professors if something makes you uncomfortable or is not what you want it to be. The professors are really there to help you and want to make the experience good for you.
Summer 2024 Participant
For any future students, I would greatly suggest that when you decide to apply to this program, and I strongly suggest you do, that you should immediately start to study a little bit of Italian, because even by just knowing some basic conversation language or simple phrases, will help aid you in your adventures in Italy and having interactions without you having to rely on Google Translate so much.
Summer 2024 Participant
I learned so much on this trip, but maybe most importantly I learned how it feels to be a second language learner and what is really important to look for when teaching students who are second language learners.
Summer 2025 Participant
The most rewarding element of this program has to be the experience as a language learner in schools. Being put in an Italian school (and home), where I barely knew the language, helped to give me some perspective into what learning is like for my future students who may be ELL's.
Summer 2024 Participant
I found the most rewarding that I was in a small town, in which the citizens did not speak much English. This pushed me out of my comfort zone to try my best to communicate with them and I found it to be highly rewarding connecting with those around me. I also found that teaching the students English was also rewarding. They loved to learn and were so eager to participate. I found that when they were making connections and trying to speak to me, it was an indescribable feeling.
Summer 2024 Participant
For future students, I would say to embrace everything that happens. You're going to have embarrassing and terrifying moments, but you're also going to experience the best days of your life. Your host family and school are beyond thrilled that you are there. No matter how nervous you feel walking off the bus to meet your family for the first time or walking into your first day of school, you're going to get through it and you're going to ask yourself on the last day why you were ever so nervous. The emotions you have throughout the program fluctuate but theres no other fulfilling moment than on your last fews days and thinking about your last month and everything you got to accomplish.
Summer 2024 Participant
I learned that having a host family makes the experience so much more rewarding, fulfilling and meaningful. This is something that many people are hesitant about (myself included) at first but without the connections, I know this program would not have meant nearly as much as it did.
Summer 2024 Participant
I would say there were two elements of the program that I found most rewarding. First, knowing I had an impact on my host family means so much to me, and amazes me how strong of a bond you can create with minimal language and time. Second, when I would have mutual understanding when attempting to communicate with my host siblings and students was extremely rewarding. It's hard to describe in words but it's a moment in which both people's faces light up and both people nod in agreement and are smiling, signaling a mutual understanding.
