Program Reviews

I have had two great summers with ACLE and home to be back for a third this year! Acle work in a fantastic, fun and creative way to teach English. It’s a hugely rewarding job that doesn’t even really feel like work. The look on the kids faces at the end of camp when they receive their certificates and workbooks is so worth it. The moment they realise what they have achieved throughout the week or fortnight is a moment to treasure.
I will never forget the friends I made either, with tutors from all over the world, each with a different background but all with a love to teach English in a creative way. I can’t wait to get back to Italy for another summer and more ACLE fun. Join ACLE if you love meeting new people, love working with children and love to travel, but most of all have a fantastic and rewarding experience.
You won’t regret it!

I loved my time with ACLE so much I went back every summer, for three years.
You meet so many amazing people from around the world, stay with incredible host families, teach some adorable (and some patience-testing) kids, and you get to travel one of the most stunning countries on earth... while earning money!

My summers with ACLE were honestly the most incredible times of my life! I made friends for life, and have learned so many valuable skills, which I hope will help me in my future career as an educator.

I spent my first summer with the ACLE program teaching English in Italy in 2016. I stayed from early June until the end of the season in mid-September. I had a phenomenal experience, and taught at six different camps starting in Rome, travelling to various small towns all over the country. The connections with host families are part of what makes the experience so special and personal. The families go out of their way to make you feel comfortable, and this helps significantly. I had no experience of teaching but the training made me feel very prepared for the classroom. The friendly colleagues I worked with supported me through each camp, and even though I worked with different people at each camp, team spirit was very evident. The children were well behaved all across Italy and it was an honour to interact with such happy, excitable children. Travel, accommodation and food was all covered which put my worries about finances at ease. I enjoyed travelling between camps on Saturdays, and I never travelled alone other than the week I came back from my holidays.

2016 was my second summer teaching with ACLE, because one was just not enough.
My ACLE journey started with a random email from someone at my university targeted at anyone studying Italian, English or teaching. I am actually a physics student but took an Italian course in my spare time and because of my love of Italy and lack of summer plans I went along to the meeting that this guy had organised to see whether the opportunity that he'd talked about could be interesting to me. I came out of the meeting totally inspired by how much fun it looked, and how worthwhile a cause it seemed.
I decided to apply, but having no formal teaching experience at all and very little experience working with children I didn't hold out much hope of getting the position, so when I did I was both very excited and very nervous that I wouldn't be any good at the job.
When I got to orientation, all of the teaching materials we needed for the summer were provided, and we were given a crash course in "the ACLE way". By the end of my first week teaching I felt I'd learned so much, I'd realised that I could do more than I ever thought and I had grown so much more confident.
The most important qualities for an ACLE tutor are enthusiasm and flexibility, everything else ACLE will either give/teach you at orientation or you will learn on the job.
I would recommend ACLE to anyone who wanted to meet people, work with kids, travel or just gain very valuable life experience!

Responsive and respectful children? Camp directors organizing and facilitating a smooth camp experience for tutors and children? Housed and fed by local, willing families? Interaction with English speakers from across the globe? Opportunities to travel with new friends and experience Italy as a tourist and a local?
Yes yes yes.

I lived with three totally different families in various regions in Italy- from living in a castle (you heard right) in Tuscany to a build-by-hand house by a family that grows their own fruit and veg, I have the most fantastic experiences. The families fed me local cuisine and assisted me I trip planning, the children were curious and willing to learn English and tried extremely hard to understand cultural differences and the tutors you are partnered with at camp will be life-long friends. You will have new respect for those learning multiple languages, realize that hand gestures and body language are vital for survival, be exhausted but well rewarded and walk away with songs and games to get a crowd off their feet (I am still singing the camp songs weeks later).

I would love to be back again for another life changing summer abroad- thank you for the time and effort poured into the running of such a program!

I have had an amazing experience with ACLE, and am thankful for the opportunity. ACLE is a wonderful program which promises what it offers. One thing I believe ACLE does very well is prepare you in the one week orientation for what you can expect as an English tutor in your future camps. We all felt nervous at orientation on Monday morning and had no idea what to expect, but by Friday afternoon I felt ready to take on camp. It's amazing what just one week can do! The orientation leaders are great and are very committed to helping you too. They were in your shoes, so they have tips to make you feel more comfortable. Another great thing is the way they organize and structure your week. They do it as if you were a kid at camp. The leaders teach you the songs by modelling them to you as if you were an Italian student (slow, repetitive and with hand movements). This was helpful because this is eventually how you will be teaching the kids. They did this for other aspects of camp, including how to run tribal games in the same fashion, as well as putting on a final show. During orientation you also meet so many people from around the world. It was one of my most memorable weeks. ACLE is a wonderful program that allows you to travel and get a taste of teaching, especially if you are considering teaching abroad in the future. Keep an open mind and be willing to try something new, that is the secret for a trip to remember. I definitely recommend it!

Like numerous other programs, ACLE provides the opportunity for native speakers of a language to travel overseas and apply teaching mechanisms of the same language in a place where it is not the dominant one. However, what makes ACLE such a better experience is not only it's revolutionary approaches to delivering teaching mechanisms in an non-stressful, action-packed environment, but also because it brings speakers of language from all over the world. Even from someone like me who grew up in a country very multicultural (Canada), I was so intrigued by how many different kids of people I met, and we all got to work together overseas in a beautiful country. Overall, ACLE has definitely been one my greatest life experiences so far, and I would be thrilled at the prospect of possibly returning next year.

The ACLE program was an unforgettable experience and very rewarding. If you love working with children, are family oriented and enjoy working in a team setting then this program is a perfect fit for you. This is more of a work trip then a leisure vacation as the training portion was loaded with useful training activities and demanded high energy at all times. Teaching in various schools across Italy was amazing as you got to see how different communities live across the country and had a short amount of time to also explore the various cities. I personally loved the program as teaching is my passion and I enjoyed getting to know the families I lived with. I would NOT recommend this program if you are looking to party and not take the responsibility of teaching english seriously. If you are also NOT interested in staying with families then I would also NOT recommend this to you as staying with a family is the most rewarding part and the families truly have a desire to spend time with you and get to know you therefore if you are not interested in this it would not be suitable for you. The longer you stay the more rewarding your experience is. I loved this experience and look forward to returning next summer!

I feel so fortunate to have been able to be a tutor with ACLE. Originally, I didn't think being a tutor would be too intense but after orientation, I knew the job would be tough. I enjoy working with children and although the job was more intense than I thought it would be, I wouldn't have it any other way! The children you work with adore you and the parents and other adults see how hard your work and respect you. You have the opportunity to work with tutors from many English-speaking countries so you learn about their cultures as well as Italian culture. This is a wonderful opportunity for people who enjoy being enthusiastic, energetic, and outgoing! I wish I would have discovered this program sooner so I could have done it every summer! Another huge benefit of this program is that you can do it without spending an absurd amount of money. Because of the study grant that ACLE provides, I spent about $800 for one month in Italy (including my flights to and from America, food, housing, souvenirs, and the orientation fee). My host families were all kind and hospitable. I became so close to one of my host families that they have insisted that I come back next summer to stay with them for a week or two when I'm done with camp! They bought me presents the night before I left and were so touched when I gave them a small gift I brought from America. I feel like I found a second family!

I definitely recommend this programme to anybody who is interested in having an unbelievable summer. It's amazing to meet so many wonderful, enthusiastic and energetic tutors from all over the world. I stayed with two generous and welcoming host families that couldn't do enough for me. Hearing the children using English words with more confidence, at the end of a camp is the most rewarding feeling. And most of all, it is so much fun! Thank you ACLE for giving me this opportunity.