Eddie Simmonds, an English language assistant in Rome, shares a few things you should remember if you find yourself in an unfamiliar place, hundreds of miles away from home.
To begin with, your students will be as nervous as you are
Standing at the front of my class on my first day at school, I felt excited and a little nervous.
'Hi, I am Eddie', I said. 'I study ancient history and Italian and I'm here as a language assistant. I really love living a half-hour walk away from the Colosseum. Does anyone have any questions so far?'
Although most of my students were only two or three years younger than me, the enthusiasm they greeted me with was incredible and it instantly helped me relax. When it came to them speaking English, though, I quickly realised that they were more anxious about testing their years of language-learning on a native speaker than I was about teaching them. Although I gave up on amateur dramatics many years ago, standing in front of the class, I felt the old performance buzz return.
Brush up on your English grammar before you go
Although I settled into teaching quite quickly, I've realised that there are ways to ease the process. Brushing up on your English grammar can boost your confidence and make you more valuable in the classroom. As a native speaker of the language, naturally, you won't struggle when helping with oral work. However, as a language assistant, you will also often be expected to explain grammar rules. My advice: be prepared.
Try to enjoy the different pace of life
When I arrived in Rome, I had a plan; get an Italian SIM card, open a bank account and sort out a tax code. After an initial disaster (maybe I haven't entirely left dramatics behind me) at the tax office where I spent three hours waiting around, I felt ready to give up. However, when I realised that I had time on my hands, and nowhere else I had to be, I was less frustrated by the process.
Once you accept that things might take a bit longer than you first expect, it can actually be quite a relief not to be in a hurry all the time. I have learnt to enjoy (or at least tolerate) time-consuming administrative tasks, like opening my bank account at the post office. One way to help the process is to make sure you always bring something to do with you wherever you go. I always see Italians waiting in line reading their books; all it takes is a little planning.
Learn what the hand gestures mean
Italian people are also famous for speaking with their hands. It took some time to get used to at first. It seems like they have a hand signal for everything – I've even started using them.
My students love learning to compare different hand gestures from both the UK and Italy, which can form the basis of an interesting lesson. I have seen that, in Italy, there are hand signals for ordering drinks at a bar, showing you are hungry without whispering a word, and even to express fear, among other things.
Keep your eyes open and tap into the local scene
Only by living here can you truly experience the 'real Rome', and get to spend time with Romans going about their day-to-day lives. Since I arrived, I have done my best to get involved. One way of finding out about things that are going on is by reading promotional flyers, which are all in Italian. They have led me to intimate music gigs in local cafés, that, as a tourist, I would have never have found out about.
There’s also a square I like to visit late in the evenings where I listen to live music and watch old couples spontaneously dancing to the band playing. As a language assistant, you have lots of free time to really get to grips with the local scene – enjoy it.
Become a regular… somewhere
Almost every morning, I pick up breakfast and a coffee at the same café near my house. I've become such a regular that, sometimes, I don't even have to place my order, as it's ready and waiting for me when I arrive.
I've got to know the owner of the café quite well and, whenever we chat, which is very often, it's always in Italian. I can feel that it's had a real impact on my fluency. Once, I wore my friend's Swansea City football shirt to the café, and now the owner thinks I'm a huge fan, although I'm not. That doesn't stop me looking up a few facts or updates about the club before I pop in, just to keep face.
Get involved with a local group
Activities like listening to local radio stations, reading the newspaper and living with native speakers of your target language are all really helpful when trying to immerse yourself in a language. Since living here, I have taken up boxing, which has already helped me improve my Italian substantially. When you are learning a sport, or a new skill, you often have to listen and follow instructions. As these tend to tie into physical responses, it can be really helpful, especially for visual learners, as you both listen to and watch someone show you how to do something. I've also made some friends at boxing, and picked up some quite specialised vocabulary.
