Teach English in a Homestay in Italy for 1, 2 or 3 Months

I stayed with a host family for 3 months in Italy. The family Greenheart Travel found was amazing. The program also took into account what I was hoping to have in a host family and then went and found a family that was an absolute perfect match. This program is very good at giving you resources as well, for actually teaching the family. They provide you with a google drive of lesson plans that you can search through and find which ones work best for you and your family! They also give you advice and support on culture shock and reverse culture shock so that you’re as prepared as you can be for that!

What an amazing adventure. My Host Family could not be More than they are: Wonderful Wonderful Human Beings and Friends for Life. Liliana and Paolo showed me how to Luve as an Italian; they proudly took me to see and experience at least half of their beautiful country. I stayed in homes of family and friends across Italy and up and down Italy. I visited Amazing places tourists don’t generally know - BELLISSIMO. We sang laughed and argued our way up and down and back and forth across Italia. Liliana and Paolo I Love You Both and will be back as promised.
Your country is beautiful, you certainly have the right to be so proud of it - voted the most beautiful country in the world in 2018, Your people are amazingly welcoming friendly and helpful.
Milano Metro ur um - lost again, wrong train again - wow another adventure, another place seen and experienced.
I cannot thank Greenheart enough for the experience you introduced me to.

I was able to spend 1 month in the Piedmont region of northern Italy doing the Italy Homestay Program. I had wanted to travel to Italy for a long time, and as a teacher, I have more time to travel than most do. Having traveled a decent amount in the past, one thing I knew that was important to me was to spend enough time in a place to really feel like you understand the culture and get to see the real country- not just the touristy places. I found this program and it seemed like it was exactly what I wanted. I would be part of a family, I would get to experience real Italian culture, and I would be able to stay within my budget.

The program was a great experience for me. It was exactly what I was looking for, and I would definitely do it again. I had a lot of flexibility to go see places in the city. I would either ride into the city with my host family when they went to work or I would take the bus in. It was nice to have this freedom to explore at my own pace during most days. Because I was staying with a family, I got to do many things that tourists would never get to do. I did some traveling in Italy after I finished up with my homestay, and as nice as it was to stay in nice hotels and eat meals out at restaurants and see famous places, I really feel that the homestay experience was the most meaningful and memorable part of the trip.

The program is very orderly and well run, and the staff is very helpful and kind.

Teaching English in an Italian household was an amazing experience! I learned so much, not only about another language, culture, and country, but about my own. I accomplished so much, learned so much, and above all, taught. I found a lot more of myself on this journey and I hope to find more on many other journeys. Everyone from Greenheart Travel were so supportive and right there when I needed them! Allison Yates helped me tremedously before I left. Without her, I'd be a lot more lost than I initially was when I first arrived. It was such a relief to be able to speak with her and get help along the way! My in-country director, Mariangela DeLuca, was also such a big help and always there when I needed her. I am so thankful for them and this opportunity! I will be back and I highly recommend to anyone else wanting to travel and learn!

I can't say enough positive things about my experience in the Greenheart Travel Teach in a Homestay program. I had been to Italy (to Siena) twice before as the assistant director of a study abroad program. I loved Italy, but really wanted to learn Italian, which I hadn't done staying by myself in an apartment. Looking for an inexpensive way to travel to Italy and be immersed in Italian, I stumbled upon this program, applied and was placed with a family in Cesena, Italy for one month.

My family welcomed me with open arms and quickly made me a part of their family, including me in outings with their friends and taking me to school functions of their three children. An unexpected but wonderful experience was the opportunity to be a guest teacher in the Italian elementary school where my host mom was a teacher. She got permission for me to collaborate with the English teachers at the school to get into every single English classroom in the school. The children were very excited to get to ask questions of an American, and I learned many things about the Italian school system that I didn't know before.
My teaching experiences involved helping the family's two pre-teen boys with their English homework and conversation, and preparing the oldest boy for his upcoming year abroad in an American school. I also taught the parents some English while simultaneously learning a lot of Italian! I also helped the next door neighbor with both her English and her Spanish (I am a Spanish professor).
I learned so much Italian that I was able to return to the US, test and be certified at an advanced low level of oral proficiency. There is NO WAY I could have done this studying Italian in the US, or even studying in Italy but not living with a family. The complete immersion was the key to my success. It wasn't easy by any means, and we had some good laughs at my blunders, but I can now speak Italian, and have made some good friends in the process. I miss my Italian family a great deal!

Allison Yates, the coordinator at Greenheart Travel, made everything very easy and stress-free. The communication was frequent and I knew if I had any problems while abroad I could get them quickly resolved. I am seriously considering applying to teach in a homestay again next summer, and have told many of my students and fellow teachers about this wonderful program!

I had a very unique experience for several reasons. The first is the location. Moncalieri is located on top of a hill and my host family had a backyard that looked out over Torino. The vista was just beautiful, and the family was a very sweet young family. Because the location was so remote, it was sometime difficult to go out on my own, but the family was very nice about driving me "down the hill" whenever I asked.

The children in my family were quite young, 2 and 5 years old, and this presented unique challenges for me in terms of teaching english. Their attention spans were shorter, so lessons and conversations had to happen in shorter spurts. I had very few low points, but when I did I wondered if perhaps the children were too young. It was difficult at times, especially if the children were tired, hungry or misbehaving. But in the end I think both boys learned quite a bit of english. Basic greetings, numbers, colors and lots of food and animals.

I am still processing this experience, but I feel it has changed me in many ways. I am more patient and I think my own teaching will improve as a result. I know some Italian which is fantastic. I got many wonderful photos and saw a part of the world I always wanted to see, but on a deeper level, more as a member of society as opposed to a tourist.

My favorite memory is probably Karaoke. I made friends with the nanny, Francesca, right away. She spoke no English, and I spoke little Italian, but we communicated through Google translate and lots of gesturing and laughter. She took me to do Italian Karaoke one Saturday, and I had so much fun singing in Italian with her and all her friends. I even did a solo to Whitley Houston which they played in English just for me! Many of the people I met that night are still sending me notes on facebook!

I do wish I had known more Italian before I left. Especially with young children it would be very useful.

The WEP representative and everybody from Green Heart travel was very supportive, and checked in with me frequently!

I will always treasure the experience I had, and it was the best semester off I have ever had!

I had a great time volunteering in a homestay in Italy. Being able to share the local culture, traditions, cuisine and believes was incredible. I was very lucky to match with three families who were happy to introduce me to their culture. I learned significant teaching skills and I gained valuable friends.
The program was very supportive by providing helpful information about my adjusting process with the families, for this reason, I truly recommend this program and I encourage many of you to take the leap.

If you take into consideration that, barely a month after returning home after my three-month homestay in Rome, I've already let the program managers know that I'm reapplying to tutor in another family next January, it's pretty obvious that my review is going to be positive!

The Greenheart Team matched me with a warm and welcoming family on the outskirts of Rome. The WEP rep called regularly and met me for coffee a couple of times throughout the stay. In order to integrate more fully into local life, I asked for and was given the opportunity to collaborate with other ESL teachers in two very different high schools. Being centrally located in Rome allowed me to hop a train on the week-end to explore surrounding provinces, such as Campania, Abruzzo and Umbria.

Rome took a little getting used to, but after the third week, I was hooked, and by the end of the stay, I couldn't bear to leave.

I only have one regret: our neighborhood. It was too far from the city center to be able to take advantage of Rome in the evening and a bit too dodgy for coming home by bus after dark. Rome offers many cultural events in the evening that I was unable to take advantage of.