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First-hand Experience in a Total-Immersion Language School
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"I work at a language school in Italy and can suggest how to choose one."
SIMO108
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For several years, both in high school and college, I studied foreign languages without much success. Bonjour! and ¡Muchas gracias! was the extent of my fluency after taking traditional linear language courses, and most other students only had a rudimentary facility as well. Then a few years ago, after visiting Europe during an extended summer vacation, I decided to study the Italian language but use a different approach.
After much research, I discovered that there were quite a few total-immersion language schools in Italy. I perused their catalogues (just three years ago, remember, very few institutions had Web sites on the Internet). I finally chose Eurocentro Firenze because they offered a comprehensive menu of courses and options, and it was there that my linguistic journey began.
First Day of School
As soon as I stepped through the portal at Palazzo Guadagni in Piazza Santo Spirito I realized that I was in an academic environment completely diverse from any other I had ever experienced. The school's motto, «Imparate l'italiano, vivete l'italiano», or "Learn Italian, Live Italian" indicated that only the target language would be used in all academic settings. In addition, living with an Italian family meant that I was constantly exposed to the language. At times frustrated, and in fits and starts, I began to communicate and understand the Italian language.
After the first three months of the initial semester, I had achieved an intermediate level on the final proficiency test. It was an accomplishment attainable only in that environment, and I was astounded at my own progress. My rapid language competence inspired me to formalize my studies, and so the following year I began Middlebury College's Italian School Year Abroad Program in Florence, Italy.
After graduating in the summer of 1997 I returned to the U.S. and immediately realized that the cultural, social, and technological phenomena called the Internet would influence teaching modalities in profound ways. Students began asking me to email homework results, take tests online, and suggest appropriate sites to augment their traditional studies. Soon we had built a community, and today I consult the Internet for myriad teaching resources and hold office hours online so students can chat together.
Virtual Classroom
Extending the total-immersion model into the virtual world, foreign language students can use media, Italian language software and attend online courses for language learning. Not everyone can attend school in Italy (!), but the Internet offers a revolutionary method to enable foreign language students to succeed in previously unimaginable ways.
In addition, practice speaking and listening using audio files, explore music sites for your listening pleasure, or contact an Italian school to begin a pen-pal friendship. If you can't travel to Italy, navigate webcam images to visualize yourself in the land of pasta and Chianti. As an electronic gateway to foreign language learning the Internet is a unique and dynamic experience that can inspire everyone to greater fluency.
