Travel Italy and Become TEFL-TP Certified with A.C.L.E.

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.

I've been a drama teacher for 13 years, and this program still had plenty to teach me! The orientation course was very good value for money; the days were packed with exercises and teaching strategies, the program was well organised, and we got three excellent meals a day.

Staying with host families was by far the highlight for me, where else would you get such an authentic view of Italian life and culture.

I taught in high schools, and the work was challenging, behaviour was sometimes an issue in the schools, as well as the heat. I had a hugely varied experience in only 3 weeks of camps, and this was mainly due to the different camp directors - you never know what to expect, and its really important to be flexible.

I spent a month in Italy last summer with A.C.L.E. and I have to say I had the BEST time! I met the most amazing fellow tutors that will be friends for life on orientation (which was really thorough, so I felt really well prepared to go to camps after) then had a great time singing silly songs and playing great games with the Italian kids. Thankfully I've also had a chance to work with A.C.L.E. since in London, taking Italian teachers on a tour of the sights and sharing fun teaching methods. I'm even going back this summer to help with this year's orientations! I couldn't recommend it enough, go and make epic memories exploring Italy! What have you got to lose!