Studying abroad in Germany and Italy had me in a constant state of butterflies-in-my-stomach. Everything was an adventure: buying bread, taking classes, exploring the city, chatting with people from around the world until the wee hours of the morning. Sharing these types of experiences with others creates lifelong friendships, the experience of living abroad is a defining and unforgettable one that I wish for everyone.
Staff Spotlight: Andrea Leone-Pizzighella
Title:
DirectorPhotos
After working and doing research between Italy and the U.S. for about a decade, Andrea now lives full-time in Verona, Italy.
She earned a TESOL Certificate back in 2007, transformed it into a career in TESOL, and eventually into a Ph.D. in Educational Linguistics. As the Director of the TESOL Essentials Series, she draws on her own adventures in teaching as well as her research experiences to create an enriching experience for her student-teachers.
She earned a TESOL Certificate back in 2007, transformed it into a career in TESOL, and eventually into a Ph.D. in Educational Linguistics. As the Director of the TESOL Essentials Series, she draws on her own adventures in teaching as well as her research experiences to create an enriching experience for her student-teachers.
What is your favorite travel memory?
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
I started studying at Penn GSE in 2013, where I first came into contact with the academic/research side of TESOL. Before that, I had been working in the field without feeling like I had much support to back me up in my decisions about pedagogy, content, or interpersonal relationships with students. Since finding this research-based side to my practice, I have learned to listen more carefully to perspectives that differ from my own, but also to speak more confidently about my own decision-making.
Learning and teaching are inherently a collaboration, and one defines the other.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
We had a student who had been told (wrongly) that her foreign accent would make her a bad ESL teacher. She took our course with some reservations, and we discussed this issue continuously throughout her coursework. When she finished the course, she felt much more confident in her ability to teach not in spite of her accent, but because of her high-level bilingual abilities!
She immediately found a position at an organization supporting Latin@s in the restaurant industry, and she now sees the huge, indispensable value of her first language in ESL teaching.
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
I would choose the 135-hour TESOL Certificate, which is the most comprehensive course we offer.
Even if you have never taught a day in your life, you will come out of this 24+ week course ready to plan and teach your own ESL/EFL class, whether in the U.S., abroad, with children, or with adults.
Even if you are working full-time, raising children, studying at university, or traveling a lot for work, this course is very doable and doesn't require you to uproot yourself or interrupt your daily life in order to test the waters of a new career path.
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
At our core, the TESOL Essentials team is teacher-researchers, and Penn GSE is a non-profit institution. We want to give our students the best possible learning experience and the most applicable information we can offer so that they can turn around and use this information in communities that are important to them.
This course was designed entirely by Penn GSE faculty and is taught by instructors who really want to make an impact in the field of TESOL. I am proud that our team decided to apply any proceeds from this program to scholarships for student-teachers who do not have the financial means to enroll in Penn's Certificate or Master's programs. Creating a network of teachers helping teachers is one of our main priorities!
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
You have to continually innovate, and never rest on your laurels.
The consumers of your product are the most important factor: listening to them is the key to developing something that makes people excited!
We're glad that the online format of our course allows us to be nimble and flexible so that we can always keep with the times.