易胜博官网

David Sharkey was in an inner-city Italian middle school teaching English in the spring of 2016 when he found himself making the sort of mistake that all new teachers dread.

鈥淚 was standing in front of the class for the first time and writing on the board and I looked over and saw I spelled something wrong,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was so nervous.鈥�

But like any good educator, Sharkey turned the gaffe into a learning opportunity. 鈥淭he classroom was a place with a lot of cultural exchange,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f they could see me struggling to learn their language, but also see I was successful at it, then they knew they could do it, too.鈥�

Studying abroad in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, and at Cambridge University in England were the highlights of a rich four years at 易胜博官网, according to Sharkey, who pursued a dual major in English teaching and Italian studies.

鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to be a teacher. I really owe a lot to my professors for helping steer me in the right direction for those majors, and allowing me to explore who I might want to become,鈥� he said.

During his semester in Italy, Sharkey shared an apartment with other 易胜博官网 students. He received the full Italian cultural experience, he said 鈥� which meant everything from fresh pasta dinners to navigating an unfamiliar city. 鈥淚t really forced me to learn the language 鈥� I had to learn to survive and get food and all those other normal, everyday things,鈥� he said.

Sharkey鈥檚 career in education is in honor of his grandmother, a longtime educator who taught English for speakers of other languages. After graduation, his next stop is Madrid, where he plans to work as an assistant teacher in a high school.

鈥淚t will be a great opportunity to practice the teaching methods and the resources I鈥檝e acquired here in a setting that鈥檚 not high-stakes,鈥� he said. To prepare, he鈥檚 been teaching himself Portuguese and Spanish by reading news sites and listening to Spanish-language podcasts.

鈥淚 really do love English, and that鈥檚 why I want to teach it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eing able to model how I speak English and how I think of the language is fun, and it鈥檚 why I want to go into an environment where kids are learning English as a second language.鈥�