Recent Italian language graduates become English high school teaching assistants in Italian high schools

The SITE (Study Intercultural Training Experience) program is an internship opportunity for recent US university graduates who have majored in Italian and want to gain a deeper understanding of the Italian language and culture. The selected students work as English teaching assistants in high schools in Lombardy, Italy for eight months and live near Milan.

This assistantship assists local English teachers while interns receive professional training in teaching methods. The University of Arkansas may nominate up to three students each year.

Last year, Adoette Vaughan (2023) was admitted to the IISS Ettore Majorana high school in Bergamo. She has taught English and American culture to students ages 14-19, planned creative oral lessons and courses on technical topics, and collaborated with teachers on lesson plans for classes with a wide range of language ability levels. She has also run two Cambridge Intermediate level exam preparation courses. Adoette engaged with the local community in Bergamo and the Italian school system and also had the opportunity to travel to various places in Italy and abroad.

Next fall, Leah Foster (2024) will leave to begin her internship at the Pascal-Mazzolari high school in the town of Manerbio in the northern province of Brescia. Leah is looking forward to learning about daily life in Italy, especially as she will be located in a lesser-known city and live with a host family. “I have many things that excite me about this upcoming adventure, but one that I am most looking forward to is immersing myself in Italian culture and being able to practice my Italian skills. Although I have studied it for several years, I know I will grow a lot in this area, so I feel ready to start this,” she said.

For more information about the SITE program, visit siteprogram.wixsite.com/site or email D’Eugenio at [email protected].