Teach English in a Public School in Italy for 3 Months

I participated in this program from February - May, 2025 as both a way to obtain teaching experience before deciding to pursue a TEFL certification, as well as explore Italy as much as I could over 3 months... and I certainly got what I was looking for, and some.

First off, I have to mention that two things will make or break this program for you: 1- being the host family, and 2- being your school placement. I was very fortunate to have an absolutely wonderful and welcoming host family that not only wanted to learn from me and spend time with me, but also allowed me to learn many things from them as well. By far, they were my favorite aspect of the entire experience.

As for the school experience, that was also great. I was placed at two different schools that were a 5-minute walk between one another and switched between them every few days. The students and fellow teachers were amazing, and I felt very included for the most part.

To avoid sugar-coating this entire review, I would like to advise people who do this program to bring more money than what is recommended on the Greenheart website. I had some "emergency" personal expenses that I did not take into consideration and found myself spending roughly $300 over what I had initially budgeted for this program. You simply never know what could happen while you're away from home for three months.

Another thing I would like to point out is that you must reeaallllyyy vocalize your experience level to the teachers once you enter your placement school(s). I often found myself getting criticized for "not coming prepared" with entire lessons or presentations in some of my classes, mainly during the first couple of weeks. I was somewhat treated like a professional English teacher with years of teaching experience or study under his belt, only to be met with disappointment from a couple of teachers when I requested to observe their first few lessons. Of course, this situation worked itself out over time as I became comfortable taking lead roles within the classrooms and the teachers figured out ways to best use me for the benefit of their students.

Despite this, I would be lying to myself and whoever reads this review if I didn't rate this experience a 5/5. Between the host family, the amazing students, the abundance of travel opportunities throughout Italy, and the AMAZING food, wine, and espresso, I had myself a marvelous experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. My host family and some of the friends I've met here are already talking about our next visits!

In my opinion, the 'Teach English for 3 months in Italy' is best suited for aspiring teachers, those thinking about getting a TEFL certification in the future, and those looking to boost their resume, especially those looking for international work/volunteer experience. However, anybody can do this program as long as you have an adventurous spirit and are transparent with your expectations!

I will gladly be staying connected with Greenheart International as I move to Thailand to do their TEFL course and teaching placement there :)

I have now completed 3 months teaching English abroad in Italy. Overall, this has been a great experience and I am extremely happy I did it! However, I would not recommend this particular program. There were some concerning aspects of this trip.
Number 1. The LACK OF COMMUNICATION. Communication from Greenheart was absolutely terrible. I would send emails and would no get a response until 2-3 weeks later (if any). They did not tell me where I was being placed until the end of November (I left end of January) and booking airplane tickets was expensive that late. They also did not tell me which grades/ages I would be working with until a few weeks before I left and still expected me to pack materials.
I often wondered if this program was a scam. I did not hear from them other than when they reminded me that I needed to pay the rest of the fee. When I had to pay the last large sum, I almost decided this company was a scam and didn't go, but decided to try it.
They also did not tell me about important holidays in Italy (when the school would be closed) so I could not plan anything until last minute. The last week of school was a half week due to a national holiday and therefore the program ended three days earlier than they had told me.
Overall, everything was very unorganized and everything was a surprise.

2. Host family.
Although I had a lovely host family that were very nice people, I do not believe that they were in a place in life to be hosting someone at this time (as they told me many times). I strongly believe that the program should have looked into this more. My family said that they applied 2 year earlier but did not get anyone placed with them. This year they were asked to host me and accepted, although this was not a good time for them. They were almost never home, and if they were they were very busy with their own lives (understandably). Often I would only see them for about 30 minutes at dinner, where they often fought and screamed at each other. There was also often no food in the house and I went many times without lunch or dinner. It was not much of a cultural exchange: my family almost never asked about me or my country and I was made to feel stupid if I asked about Italian culture.

3.Orientation
Orientation was pointless. It occurred a week after I had already been living in Italy. I do believe it would have been helpful it it occurred before I left home. However, everything they talked about I had found out for myself after I had arrived. All of the information would have been extremely helpful beforehand.
They also sent out a handbook that stated that orientation would take place over the first weekend in Turin with a group of people completing the program. Henceforth I booked my ticket to Turin expecting this to take place. Eventually I started asking questions and found out that was indeed not happening and that orientation would be online ( again, lack of communication).

Something good that came out of the program was the Facebook group. Although no one uses it, I was lucky that another girl completing the same program as me posted in it looking for connections. Luckily we started chatting and met up while in Italy. It was so nice to be able to chat with someone going through the same experience as you. Italy is extremely different from North America and had extremely challenging moments. I am extremely grateful that I met her and we were able to travel together on some weekends. We visited AMAZING places like Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Milan, and Turin and truly had the best time. Without her, I would have been extremely bored and depressed on the weekends. My family often did nothing with me and I would sit at home looking for something to do. There is much more free time here than in North America and without having something to look forward to on the weekends I do not think I would have been able to stay the entire 3 months.

My experience at the schools was overall great. At the secondary school (elementary level in North America) I was extremely welcomed by both staff and students. Most students were so excited to have me there and always waved and said hi to me. They treated me like a celebrity. I really enjoyed teaching my lessons each week and interacting with the students. Although, the language barrier was challenging and students in Italy have way less respect for their teachers compared to Canada. The school system is also completely different and old school compared to North America. Which was very challenging sometimes.
The primary school was very difficult to attend. They did not give me a schedule, and other classes from other schools would also show up and demand a lesson from me. Teacher did not speak English and they would all fight over my time and often were too aggressive towards me. I frankly hated going to the primary school, because of the teachers. However, the students were amazing and very interested and happy to have me. Somedays I was treated poorly by those teachers, and I paid A LOT of money to do this program which is why I am writing this review.

Overall, I am glad I did this experience. I love teaching and have enjoyed working with the students. I have enjoyed traveling on weekends and being in the country that is full of history. However, It is an expensive program where you work FOR FREE. There is a lot expected of you, even though you are the one paying to be here. So I believe that there must be a program out there that either is cheaper or pays you that may be a better option. Or simply just travel around Italy first before committing to living here. I do not think that I would do this program now knowing what I know. But I know everyone's experience is different.

I am writing this while still in Italy, having just completed my 10 weeks of teaching in Verbania, Italy. I could not recommend this program enough.

Greenheart provides incredible support and preparation, and the orientation we received was thorough. Orientation was also a blast because I was able to meet the other 20 teachers also being placed in the Piedmont region (most of them near Turin). Everyone was instant, effortless friends and all of my trips around Italy on the weekends involved at least one of these new friends, sometimes more (like the 10 of us who took on Florence for a weekend---such a blast).

I had 2 host families during my stay, and each one was fantastic. I consider them close friends now and living in their homes meant traveling with them to their favorite local spots, eating incredible meals together, and sharing our worldly perspectives around the dinner table over local wine. Staying with host families was certainly the most rewarding part of this adventure as I feel I got a very deep sense of Italy culture.

Teaching at the local middle school was a really great experience. It boosted my future teaching career so much. And, be warned, Italian school systems are very disorganized. If you can go with the flow, you'll be okay. That being said, be prepared to run an entire class by yourself because the teacher usually with you took the day off to go skiing. Be prepared for teachers who harshly yell at students and students who yell right back. It's a different system in a different culture so be prepared for it to take a lot of time and energy.

During my time, I've been able to travel to Florence, Venice (for Carnival no less), Naples, Rome, Genoa, Turin, Milan, and even into the Swiss Alps. Every day is an adventure and a chance to eat the most incredible food you've ever had in your life. And the gelato is so good, you'll seek out the best places in every town and have it at least 3 times a week. Embrace it.

I highly recommend this program for anyone who wants to be immersed in a culture, work hard at school, eat amazing food, and travel around Italy/Europe. I never had any issues.

This was the best! I taught middle schoolers in Verbania, Italy for three months and four years later, I think about that time in my life every day. Greenheart transformed how I saw traveling by giving me a purpose in an amazing lakeside community with a terrific homestay family. My host teacher was lovely and spoke English very well. I did not choose where I would go, but was extremely happy with my placement in Verbania. Most of the program participants are placed in Torino, where there is a rich historical culture and nightlife. I was actually a bit closer to Milan, where I went for day trips on a couple of weekends.

I am still in touch with a couple of my fellow teachers in the Greenheart program and was so lucky to have made such great friends to travel with while I was in Europe and remain close to long after the program. The orientation before you go to your homestay town or city was very helpful in meeting folks to travel with or even to meet up and explore their temporary home for a bit!

I was able to teach on the North Eastern side of Italy, about 45 minutes from Venice, and it was amazing. The teachers I worked with were very excited to utilize the skills I have and I found that I ended up learning a lot more than I ever thought I would! I taught primary, middle and high school Science, English, Media, and History 18 hours a week. The students were all very interested in learning English and it was a great opportunity to learn a lot about Italian culture. The host family I stayed with were incredibly welcoming, encouraged me to travel by train on my days off, took me to see different cities and famous sights around that area, and I was able to try numerous delicious dishes from all over Italy.

As someone who has traveled a fair amount, I felt prepared to step out of my comfort zone and really embrace Italian life, and my host family encouraged me to cook American meals and share American culture with them. The weekend before halloween, we carved pumpkins, had an American dinner, and also made pumpkin gnocchi!

SavannahMcDermott was an incredible asset for this program and was always timely in responding to emails and answering any questions I had. She was a great person to work with and I felt very prepared once I arrived in Italy because of all the behind the scenes work Savannah did. Thanks Savannah!

My three months in Italy was one I will always remember. The thing that made the most impact on me in my time in Italy was the hospitality of the Italians. The families that I stayed with, the teachers in the school I taught in and especially my students all welcomed me as part of their own. This made transitioning into my daily Italian life easy and I was reassured that I was in good hands.

The teaching experience is something that I also enjoyed. Whether you come with years of experience or none at all, the support and content you are given is there to make your lessons fun and enjoyable.

I highly recommend this program to anyone that is even having the slightest urge or curiosity about taking part. Because after the three months, you will definitely come out feeling accomplished, content and feeling like you want to go back.

I learnt a lot during this experience. I had lovely host families, I especially bonded with the first family and I already miss them so much! I always felt very very welcome by the families, neighbors,teachers,students and everyone else in the small town I lived in. The English teachers at the schools took me under their wing and were almost like other host mothers . The children at the school were lovely to teach, always cheerful and lively. I loved living in the European culture and walking through the streets of the cozy town i lived in. The school timetable was also very flexible and I was also able to go to Rome, Venice and Germany during this trip.

The biggest challenge I faced was the language barrier. Sometimes it can be isolating not understanding what people are saying around you or not being able to have a hearty conversation with anymore for a few weeks. The other challenge is living with the host families. Don't get me wrong, I'm so so glad I stayed with the wonderful families I was placed with and got to experience the local Italian culture first hand, however if you're thinking about doing this program just consider that for 3 months you will be a guest in someone else's home and you have to *always* be polite,friendly and clean up after yourself. Lastly, another challenge I faced was preparing the lessons. I prepared all the lessons for the 3 different years each week myself. I enjoyed this freedom, however I sometimes wished I had more help as I was not always sure what level of understanding the different classes had and sometimes my lessons were too easy or too hard for the class.

Overall this was an unforgettable experience! I was overwhelmed with love and generosity. I got to live out my dream of living in Europe for a few months and being able to teach young children. I will hold on to the beautiful memories I made in Italy for all my life.

After graduating from college and working a job I didn't love, I knew I needed something different. I could go back to school, change careers, or get a new job....but then I remembered how much I wanted to travel, and how many times people have said to me "you're so young, now is the time!"

So I did a ton of research, and found Greenheart Travel - and I'm SO glad I did. I knew I wanted to go to Italy because I minored in Italian and wanted to work on my language skills, and I knew that I was a bit too nervous to do a full year somewhere, so this 3 month program was perfect for me. I also wanted something social, and after seeing the Facebook page full of interactions of people currently and previously on the program, I knew that would be the case.

The best part of the program for me is being around other teaching assistants. Almost everyone in the program is in the Piedmont region, with Turin being the central city. Although we are all spread out, most of us have no problem getting into Turin for drinks or a dinner, and many of us have done traveling together. It's so reassuring to know that there are others you can call on if you have questions or concerns, or just want to vent about the things you miss from home. We also all got to meet each other at orientation, so we all had friends going into our host stays.

I was most hesitant about not having any teaching experience, and I didn't have the money to spend on a TEFL certification, but turns out that is totally fine for this program! I feel comfortable in the classroom even without any experience, since I am always in the room with another teacher and am getting guidance on how to structure lessons and what to teach about. You also have other the other teachers to reach out to for suggestions on games to play or lessons to teach.

I was also hesitant about not making any money, however getting housing and meals makes it a lot more doable. There are some possibilities of making money on the side (tutoring or giving music/sports lessons), but if you want to travel while you're on this program, you'll need to have money saved up ahead of time.

Overall, I would highly recommend this program. Especially if you want to be in Italy, there aren't many other programs available. There are a few things to consider (see below), so definitely do your research about Italy, especially the Piedmont region, and make sure this program is right for you and your needs!