Teach English in Kings Cove - TEFL Courses

Having lived and taught in italy over the past six months, I have learnt a lot about the role of english within italian society. Coming from New Zealand, an isolated island where english is spoken by 99% of the population, I regretfully never felt the need to learn another language. I knew from a young age that there were many countries I could move to which would share a similar culture. My experience of traveling as a young person also reaffirmed this as those around me would always cater to my needs, i.e. speak english to me. The time I have spent living in italy has not only provided me with greater awareness of the role of english within a global society, but also highlighted the importance many countries place on learning english today. What I have understood from my time spent in italy is that a sound knowledge of english provides many with an alternative to living in a country on the verge of financial crisis. Just weeks after the government of Silvio Berlusconi have been pushed out of parliament, the new government, head by Mario Monti, have announced that unless new austerity measures are enforced, the future of italy cannot be saved. Unfortunately, this likely means that many schools already struggling to teach or cover the basics of english will lag and the presence of mother tongue teachers within the public school system will entirely disappear. The italian public school system requires foreign-language classes (usually english) starting in the first grade. The problem however is that as working teachers must be italian citizens, 99% of the time they are second language speakers and more often than not, they will be teaching english in conjunction with four other subjects that very day. The recurring problem I have heard from parents is that the time dedicated to english within school time is minute and that students are covering the same basic information every year. As a result of a less than ideal schooling system therefore many italians are turning to private institutes as an alternative. The solution however is not simply to be found in enrolling in a professional english Teaching Institute. My experience first hand of teaching at a reputable school in rome has exposed me to the corruption of many institutes which treat students purely as clients, cutting quality in order to maximize profits (and lets not enter the discussion of tax evasion). There are many schools here on the market and I have spoken to countless italians who are prepared to invest in education, but who don't know feel confident in the decision of how and where to do so. The other issue for many is price with most courses costing between one and three thousand euro for a course of sixty lessons. Learning a second language is expensive and for a country in recession, italians will certainly start to feel this. english is one of the most important languages in the world and my experience of growing up in New Zealand and being raised as a mother tongue, I believe, has sheltered me from the poignancy of this fact. Though I come from a country whose population is equal to the city of rome, my language is the same as that spoken in The united states, london, canada, australia, the list goes on. I do not mean to imply that this excludes myself from the perils of being a foreigner and the need to invest myself in another culture, but the reality of italy today and the value placed on the knowledge of english has made me all too aware of this fact. This article is intended simply to draw attention to the very real problem that I have come to understand today here in italy. That is, the problem of how english is taught at both public and private schools. Unfortunately I see these issues of quality and accessibility continuing and so to therefore the difficulty faced by many italians eager to access a quality language learning environment.