SATURDAY

(16/3/19)

In addition to teaching English during our time in Italy, we are being taught Italian. Our host Daniela arranged this for us and insists that in addition to learning the language we must experience Italian culture. Our first Italian class is on Monday, however on Saturday night Daniela took us to visit the nearby city of Castellammare – Castle on the Sea. As we arrived, the sun was started to set and the view across the sea to the Castle on the opposite side of the coast was spectacular. The sky tinted pink with candy floss clouds. The sand still dyed black from the volcanic eruption all those years ago.

We walked along the beach promenade to the other end of the coast line. My apple watch long since indicating to me that I had completed the necessary number of the steps of the day.  We reached funny looking ‘fountain’ – water flowing from 5 spouts spaced out along the harbour wall. Daniela explained that this was fresh water all the way from the top of the mountains which, incredibly, is naturally carbonated. As I drank from my cupped hands, I couldn’t comprehend how this water could possibly become fizzy on its travels down to the fountain. The water is named after the Madonna and is called “l’acqua dei navigalori” – The water of the navigators (the fishermen of the town). The residents of Castellammare claim the water can cure almost anything – with doctors still prescribing it to cure various medical conditions such as gall stones and infertility.

Daniela also introduced us to one of her favourite Italian snacks/desserts. We had a traditional Italian donut – deep fried and coated in sugar. I wish I had taken a picture before I inhaled it in 0.3 seconds. The donut shop exterior will have to suffice. It is already very clear to me within my 2 days of being here that Italians love sweet things. Very sweet.

We drove home via Pompeii and had the chance to see the main square and cathedral.

At the end of a very pleasant evening, Daniela opened up her home to us and invited us to have tea with her family. The food was incredible and the company even better. Since arriving, Daniela has made us feel extremely welcome and at home and could not do more for us.

I look forward to seeing more of the beautiful sights that are right on our doorstep.

(SECTION 2 – placement provider overview)

Hi,

I plan to use this blog to keep a record of my time here in Italy as part of my Learning from Life placement. I am working in a language centre teaching English to children, teenagers and adults. The centre is called Global Find and it is run by our hosts Daniela and, Ida, alongside another associate, Francesco, who works in accounting. Daniela regularly teaches classes within the school as well as planning and resourcing the lessons for the other 2 teachers who are employed by Global Find, Katia and Gilda. The school relies on mothertongue volunteering to support their growing business throughout the year. The school opened almost 2 years ago and has grown to provide over 100 students with regular English lessons – following the ‘Cambridge English’ curriculum. They have recently expanded their school to offer lessons within the nearby city of Pompeii.

The parents of the students are highly involved in discussing their child’s progress. Daniela and Ida regularly meet with parents to keep them up to date and discuss any issues. From what I’ve witness, parents are very focused on ensuring their children learn English from a Young age because of its preceived importance within modern society. A lot of university courses in Italy require a certain level of English to be achieveed within its entry requirements.

The teachers each bring an individual and unique teaching background to the school. Daniela previous worked in an English language school before setting up Global Find. In addition, she lived with her family in Scotland for a number of years while also returning in her early 20s to complete a university course at King’s College in Aberdeen. Gilda originates from England but relocated to Italy with her husband who is originally from this area. She is therefore bilingual and can provide a deeper understanding to the children by translate their new English vocabulary into the Italian translation. Katia is Italian but studied English at university and then went on to become an elementary school teacher in Scafati. She, like Gilda, is able to provide the translation to her pupils which mothertongue volunteers, like myself, cannot. She can also empathise with the pupils in her class because she has been in their position, having grown-up in Italy and learned English at a language school throughout her childhood.

The school relies on help from volunteers throughout the year to support their growing business. She has hosted bolunteers from the USA and English in the past. She looks for mothertongue speakers so the students can understand different ways the english language is spoken through different accents and dialects.

The students at the school range in age and abilities – from 3 years old to adult classes. Ability includes absolute beginner, beginner, intermediate and advanced and is given the scale from A1 – C2.

FRIDAY

Jemma, Lisa and I landed in Naples on Friday (15/3/19) and were thrown into the deep end, teaching our first lessons that evening. The school host classes in the morning – mainly private 1-2-1 lessons either in person or over video-call – and in the evening for children, teenagers and adult classes in a various of levels. There are additional classes on Saturday mornings for those who cannot attend during the week.

My class on Friday was from 6-7:30pm and consisted of 7 16-17 year olds completing B1 level. Students at this stage have a good understanding of conversation english and was working to improve their knowledge of grammar ahead of their exams in June. At the beginning of the lesson, I introduced myself and told the class about some of my interests and hobbies. They did the same in return before officially starting the lesson. The lesson plan was focused on fashion and learning vocabulary surrounding the types of clothes and pattern worn on a catwalk during a fashion show.

SATURDAY

On Saturday morning (10am-12pm), Lisa and I co-taught a lesson to the ‘Puppies’ who study pre-A1 level. The children are between the age of 4 and 7 and cannot read or write. The lesson was on vegetables. We used flashcards to teach the vocabulary (carrot, potato, leek etc.) and then proceeded to play games used their new words.

(SECTION 1)

Pictured above is my self-assessment audit from my professional practice in first year.

I set myself 3 goals:

Gain experience in planning for a number of different subjects which interest and excite the pupils in my class to ensuring they feel valued and supported within my classroom.

Develop classroom organisation and behaviour management skills (in line with the schools ‘relationships policy’)

Confidently use a number of formative assessment techniques

Looking back, I think I met these goals successfully and by the end of the 6-week placement I felt confident in all three of these areas.

This year, however, the setting I have chosen to attend while similar in its aim – to teach children and young people – it will impose a different challenge in the way of a language barrier.

Within this placement, I hope to gain a deeper knowledge of the Italian language – building on the Italian Stage 1 course I have been attending this year. I will receive weekly Italian language and cooking lessons while in Italy so I hope that throughout my 6 weeks at Global Find, I will feel comfortable to use my knowledge to build a relationship with the students. While I teach them english, the can feel a sense of empowerment by helping me to learn Italian.

Also, I am aware that adults can also attend lessons at the school so I hope to gain experience in taking adults classes and how to communicate professionally with them in this environment.

Lastly, I hope to further improve upon my classroom organisation and behavioural management skills. I feel that the language barrier may affect this greatly but I hope to learn strategies to work around this. I think in the future I will have a greater understanding and empathy for ESL students and the difficulties they face when moved to a English speaking lesson. I hope to be able to use my experience and the strategies I hope to learn throughout my career as a registered teacher.

(SECTION 1)

I have chosen to spend my learning from life placement working at Global Find in Italy. Global Find is a language centre in Scafatti, close to Pompeii. The language centre helps a wide range of students to learn English, improve their current knowledge and skills and to provide help for their CELI exams. I will be working with classes and 1-2-1 with students to help improve their English fluency.

I have chosen to work with Global Find as teaching English as a foreign language would be a completely new experience for me. It will also help me to develop professionally as I will be learning first-hand how people learn an additional language. I feel this placement would be beneficial throughout my continually professional development as it will provide me with the knowledge to help EAL students in future placements or with teaching other languages such as Italian or Spanish. I will have a much better understanding of practical strategies and techniques for language acquisition, I will also be immersing myself in another country whose first language is different to my own, so it will be a high learning curve for me.

I believe the benefits to be: further experience within an educational setting; experience working with international students, living and being immersed in another culture; opportunities to improve my communication skills within both professional and social settings, and improve my knowledge of the Italian language.

I will bring my passion for teaching to the school, which will hopefully result in interesting and engaging lessons for the students. My enthusiasm and passion for learning foreign languages will be a positive addition to the school. I am currently studying beginner level Italian so I hope that by March I will have a basic understanding of the language and will be able to communicate with the students and fellow teachers. I believe my interest in learning more about Italy as a country and its culture and history will make students feel engaged and excited about sharing their knowledge and experiences.

(Record of Planning – SECTION 1)

During the summer break last year, Jemma, Lisa and I contemplated the idea of going abroad for our Learning from Life placement in second semester. We found a website called ‘workaway.info’ where organisations, employers and hosts create profiles explaining the work they can offer. Volunteer make profiles in return to apply and communicate to possible hosts.

We made our profile in August and found Global Find soon after. Daniela was keen to accept 3 trainee teachers to assist in the running of her private English language school. (A fuller description of Global Find can be found on the post ‘Italy’ published on 19/3/19)

Lisa and I’s Profile:

“Hi!

We are both currently at university studying Education – to become primary school teachers (5-11yrs). As part of our second year placement, we must volunteer, somewhere of our own choosing, for 6 weeks to further our professional development. This is between the months of March and May. We are interested in gaining experience within different school settings and curriculums, while immersing ourselves in another culture.

Before university, we both completed a HNC certificate in Childhood Practice and are qualified nursery teachers (birth – 5yrs).

As you can see we have linked with our friend Jemma, who is also studying education. We would love to experience this opportunity together. As a group we have discussed ‘workaway’ and decided it would be most beneficial to us. We believe it would also benefit the host, if we could be placed together as we have a great working relationship as well as a friendship. We showed this last year during our placement as we supported each other and were able to bounce professional ideas off each other.”

Pictures of Global Find’s WorkAway profile:

“We are a Language school in the South of Italy. We are a Cambridge English Exams preparation centre and a CELI certified centre (Italian for Foreigners) accreditated by the university of Perugia.

We are a team of four professionals whose mission is to plan and deliver professional and professionalizing training courses. The objective is gaining a high position and high quality in teaching of foreign languages in our local area. It is aiming at becoming a landmark for all those who want to learn and become fluent in languages that are not their native one, with a specific attention to the English language and the Italian language for non-native speakers.

The Association aims to reach the objective in terms of results and brand equity in order to equal the investment in the first three years. The mission is to offer a teaching methodology that aims at the real learning of a foreign language. The Association wants to fill the still existing gap in the Italian public/private schools, through the communicative method. A method believed to reach the goals in a short time and give the students the possibility to become fluent in the foreign language they are studying, thanks also to specialised teachers and innovative teaching methods.”

(SECTION 1)