Making a Decision: learn or not to learn; Italian or not Italian; Rome or not Rome!
By far the most difficult part about this “gap year” has been making decisions about what to do with my time. I sweat over the smallest details and panic whether I am choosing the right program. Until all suitcases are back in my hands in the final destination, I am physically unable to take that essential sigh of relief that nothing catastrophic has happened!
Rome wasn’t any different – hours were spent clicking around websites online trying to figure out who had the highest quality teachers, most interesting cultural program, best financial package, largest variety of types of accommodation . . . the list goes on. So what made me choose Torre di Babele?
- Quality of teachers: after teaching in Madrid for many months as well as giving piano lessons back at home, it’s clear when a teacher does and doesn’t plan a class. After watching the teacher tutorials that are posted on the Torre di Babele website, it was obvious that classes were well-planned, varied, and dynamic. As a teacher, I have also realized that knowing the grammar and knowing how to teach it are two very different skills, and these teachers knew both.
- Interesting cultural program: when living in Spain, I enrolled in another language school that offered a great cultural program so I wanted something that would match up in my expectations. The program looked fantastic! With a variety of guided tours, lectures about the language, and social events, it seemed like the perfect way to improve my Italian in a real life setting outside of the classroom.
- Accommodation: A lot of programs limit their types of accommodation to home-stays. While I have heard many great stories of students who have taken advantage of this opportunity, I was leaning more towards student accommodation. Therefore, I was thrilled when I saw that the school offered not only home-stays but also accommodation with other international or Italian students. My accommodation so far has been absolutely fantastic – clean, massive rooms, friendly flat mates, and a really helpful landlady who speaks in Italian and English so I can practice the language when I want to but if I have a problem, I can speak in my native tongue and get a solution faster! Very convenient!
- Financial Package: Money, money, money, as that ABBA song goes. I must admit, when looking at the prices on several of the language school websites, I did feel like a dagger had been plunged through my heart. After calculating the complete cost – accommodation and course all in one – Torre di Babele was the most economical, which was highly important to me! As a student on a rather tight budget, to say the least, cost plays a significant role in my decision process so I was more than happy to find a great school with a quality program at such a low cost.
The school has definitely lived up to all my expectations. It has been a great experience so far and I am looking forward to what the next couple of weeks have in store!
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page and describe your experience when choosing a language school. Maybe there are a couple of factors that I have left out. There are so many that could have played in your decision to learn a new language by full-immersion.
Ciao!
It’s my pleasure that I went through your blog. Information above is very interesting and looks natural. I would like to tell you that i really liked your awareness about the Italian language.