Please note: the availability of each position will be confirmed at the beginning of every semester. This is one of the options we have offered in the past.

Please note: Prof. Fossà will assign the school position depending on the compatibility of the Interns’ own class schedule with that of the Institution considered.

• SCUOLE ELEMENTARI ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS (6-10 years of age)

• SCUOLE MEDIE MIDDLE SCHOOLS (11-13 years of age)

• LICEI HIGH SCHOOLS (14 - 18 years of age)

Interns will serve as “experts in English language” at these public elementary and middle schools near Trinity College Rome Campus. They will make a substantial contribution to the teacher’s program by participating in regular classes and by organizing conversation groups that they will lead independently. Class preparation is considered part of the time commitment of this internship. Candidates should be responsible, engaging, proactive and creative.

Requirements:

• proactive and positive attitude;

• basic computer skills;

• good social skills;

• teamwork skills;

• creativity

"This semester, I interned at Elementary School Gian Giacomo Badini, where I helped the teachers with their English lessons mostly by assisting with pronunciation when kids were reading out loud. [...]

I also would create some activities or lessons that the teachers or kids asked for. These included grammar worksheets and presentations on things in the United States/my hometown. [...]

My advice to any future interns who are excited about the schools is to be patient and flexible with some of the organizational aspects and really try to connect with the teachers and students you are working with. The kids are always really excited when I show up to their classes and it is really fun to see how kids are just goofy and silly no matter where you are." (E.S., Fall 2021)

“For the course of this semester, I worked at Scuola Elementare “Gian Giacomo Badini.”

I interned in two fourth grade classrooms and two fifth grade classrooms for about four hours a week. For both grades, I aided the teachers in leading English classes. Each class typically involved working from an English workbook to teach certain lessons. The workbooks included activities, vocabulary and listening comprehension. We also used used songs, games and worksheets to help the students better understand what they were learning.

The teachers would tell me what they wanted me to do each day before the lesson, and fully explained what they expected from me. All around, I found everyone to be extremely friendly and it was a great community to be a part of. I would advise future interns to go into this internship with a positive attitude about teaching and open mind to learn and understand Italian culture.

Interns must be flexible in order to adapt to the ways in which the school functions. Overall the whole experience was positive, and I am so grateful I was able to intern at the school.” (A. C-H., Fall 2019)

“This past semester I interned at Scuola Media “Ugo Foscolo” in Rome! I worked with four classes of eighth graders helping construct lessons for Sports, Music, and English classes by integrating English language skills into these activities.

This internship is an immersive experience and is wonderful for a student interested in a career in education. The school is a scenic twenty-minute walk from campus across the Tiber in Trastevere. Italian proficiency is helpful but is not required to succeed and build skills in this internship.

The professors that I worked with were very helpful and would make sure that I understood their directions and the students would help translate if there was confusion on either side. In the music class I taught a lesson on the Beatles to coincide with the songs the students were learning to play, I helped read and pronounce words for the English class and I gave a lecture on anti-doping in sports in addition to helping teach the students American sports terminology.

To succeed and get the most out of this internship the intern should be passionate about education and working with children and be willing to adapt and understand the differences in the education system. Overall, this internship was a great experience and I learned a lot about the Italian education system by experiencing it firsthand and I was able to identify some critical differences between their system and the education system in America.” (J.K., Spring 2019)

“For my internship placement, I worked at a nearby elementary school on the Aventine Hill for an average of six hours a week.

I assisted three teachers in the second, third, and fourth-grade classrooms. In each class, I created a variety of different lessons based on the students’ ability to speak and comprehend English. Typically, I would align my lessons with the material in their English books which allowed for a cohesive transition between assisting the teacher to leading/teaching the class myself. It was essential to communicate with my sponsor and teachers both in and out of the classroom.

In general, I did not find communication to be a large barrier because the teachers created a welcoming environment and often encouraged my questions or comments. I would suggest for future interns to approach this position with an open mind, a positive attitude, and a willingness to learn about a new culture and educational system.

Through this experience, I learned to have patience, flexibility and be able to adapt to new situations. Self-reflection, prompted by in-class conservation and assigned readings, encouraged me to reevaluate my daily expectations with my internship and provoked a deeper level of thought and analysis between cross-cultural communication and my experience within the Italian education system.” (C.H., Spring 2019)

“Scuola all'Aperto Gian Giacomo Badini is an elementary school located on the Aventine Hill at Via di Sant'Alessio 34, a three-minute walk from the convent.

I interned in the first and fifth grade English classes once per week, which added up to four classes per week. In the first-grade class I helped the teacher with her lessons. Sometimes I took a group of students into another room and reviewed a previous lesson with them. In the fifth-grade class I taught a lesson every week by myself on American culture.

The teacher gave me freedom in choosing the topics I taught, which included sports, food, and the educational system. I suggest interns try to get to know their teachers, as one's relationship with their teacher makes their experience all the better.

I also recommend that they embrace the family-like feel of the classroom. I loved walking into the classes to friendly faces and big hugs. You will get out of this internship as much as you put into it. It is a really fun and relaxing way to immerse yourself in the Italian culture and it was definitely the highlight of my semester!” (S.P., Spring 2019)