A day in the life of an ESL teacher in Italy

Oxford Seminars Teach English Overseas Country Profiles Western Europe A day in the life

Many thanks to Oxford Seminars for preparing me to go abroad and teach!

Arriving in Milan in August when the whole country was shut down for their month long holiday (ferragosta), was a defining moment in my life; whatever the name given to it, whether it is dubbed culture shock or just plain confusion, it certainly opened my eyes to another way of life. I thought (judging by the lack of people in a city as vibrant as Milan) it would be quite difficult finding work, however because almost everyone (including the English teachers) had left for the mountains or the sea, it was a great time to take advantage of those schools who were desperately searching for teachers for fall classes.

It was extremely hot, over 40 degrees each day, so walking was a task, never mind carrying a purse full of resumes and trying to look respectable while sweating through my clothes! In Europe air conditioning is not a basic necessity of life, as it in North America, so I found the heat wave that I encountered a shock to me - a Canadian who lives in air conditioning for the entire summer.

Teaching in Milan was an exciting learning experience; not speaking Italian was actually an asset in my classes, but not in my day-to-day life, so learning the language was my first task! It helped that I took French in school, but interacting face-to-face with people shouting and motioning every which way with their hands takes some getting used to! Luckily, I caught on quite quickly; by the end of the year I was actually telling stories in Italian. It became quite entertaining as I had to pretend I couldn’t understand when my students would try and speak to me in Italian. Feigning ignorance only worked for so long, when they would tell a joke and I would laugh - my cover was busted!

My students ranged in age from 10-50; I taught them conjugations and phrasal verbs, and they taught me about fashion, Italian culture and food! When I boarded the plane after a year spent in Italy I realized my students taught me as much as I taught them. Anyone who is thinking about working in Europe, especially one rich in culture and tradition need not look further than Italy.