Help A Family In Italy Learn English
Live like a local with a screened host family and receive free room and board.
More information
COVID TRAVEL ALERT: 25 May 2021.
Effective May 16, travelers were allowed to travel to Italy without quarantining. You do need to take COVID tests before departure and upon arrival. Delta Airlines has the route to Rome and American Airlines has the route to Milan for now.
All COVID tests will be administered before you board your flight and upon arrival before going through immigration and customs. You need to provide a negative result for a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours of departure, and then take a rapid test just before boarding. You'll take another rapid test upon arrival in Italy.
Homestay Tutor In Italy
This is an immersion opportunity to learn Italian and enjoy the Italian culture and food for 1, 2, or 3 months. You'll live like a local with a carefully screened host family and you'll become a part of the community.
When your host family learns English, you're leaving a lifetime skill that they (and you) will never forget.
Overview
Teach English abroad in Italy for up to 15 hours each week and live like a local for up to 3 months when you help a family in Italy learn English. Don’t worry if you’ve never done this before! Your new host family is more interested in learning conversational English than they are grammar. You'll have so much fun living in Italy by simply speaking English the way you normally do at home. Also, you also have a unique opportunity to learn or improve your Italian!
In a matter of hours, you're walking around your new community like a real Italian citizen. It won’t take long for the locals to start recognizing you and for you to consider your host community your new, temporary home. It’s real and authentic. Get to know the locals. Wake up each day and feel a connection.
Eligibility And Fees
The program fee is $999 for 1, 2 or 3 months.
- Be between 18+. Yes, we can place "more mature" travelers!
- Native English speakers are preferred. If you are not a native English speaker and you have a clear accent, we may be able to place you.
- Have at least a high school diploma.
Included in the program fee:
- Personalized placement with a carefully screened host family. In other words, a place to call home in Italy.
- A comfortable private bedroom for the duration of the program.
- Tutor resources.
- Meals each day except when you’re not at the host home.
- Local support in Italy, 24/7.
- Pre-departure materials.
- Italian language immersion through your host family.
Not included in the program fee:
- Airfare to and from Italy.
- Meals when you're away from the host family and traveling on your own.
- Spending money.
- International insurance.
How does GeoVisions choose host families?
Host families contact us because they want to provide room and board to an English speaker who will help them with their conversational English. When there are children in the family, mostly they need help with their English homework, but many times the adults want to join in as well.
Families are screened. They have to show a need and a desire to host an English tutor. And they have to pass a background check, an interview by in-country staff and agree to a home inspection and provide photos of the home (inside and out). Tutors are promised their own private room but there are times a bathroom might be shared. Families provide meals except when the tutor is traveling.
We take our time making a match because it is impossible to change a host family based on location, for example. However, once you are on the program and if issues arise, we maintain emergency families and can step in and help. This is extremely rare.
Can I choose my location?
For the most authentic experience of living each day in Italy, you cannot choose your exact location.
What you can do is tell us the area where you’d like to be and whether or not you’d like a large city, a small town, or rural placement. And we’ll try our best.
Remember … the host families choose us when they need a live-in tutor and so timing is everything. There are many locations that you may not have considered prior to applying that are fantastic places in Italy. (We can tell you about many tutors that have loved their locations!)
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to get a visa?
For most homestay tutors, you'll enter the country on a tourist visa and you can stay 90-days. If you have concerns, check with the embassy of your destination.
When can I book my flights?
DO NOT book any flights until you are matched with your host family. They will go over several arrival dates with you. We'll tell you when it's safe to book your airfare.
How long can I stay on the program?
For Italy, you can stay up to 90-days. Then you must depart the entire Schengen Zone (all of the EU) for 180-days before you can return to any country.
If you're going to do any travel, don't accept a 3 -month position as a tutor. You won't have time to travel around at the end or before your program.
Also, don't surprise your host family. They might not be able to host you past the agreed-upon dates.
Do I need to speak the local language?
Nope! Although if you arrive with a little knowledge of the local language, it is going to be a little easier for you.
Do I have to have the classes prepared in advance?
Remember, your host family wants to learn conversational English. Most of what you have to do is just speaking as you normally would.
Our own tutoring book with lesson plans and games is provided to you before you depart.
I've heard bringing a gift for the host family is a good thing?
Who doesn't like a present? We recommend bringing something that represents where you are from. Maple syrup, pancake mix, a coffee mug are a few ideas.
Do I have free time?
We are asking you to tutor the family 15 hours a week. Outside of that commitment, you're free to explore. In fact, we hope you will!
Will my host family speak English?
Count on them knowing basic English. That's why you're there!
Can I be placed with a travel companion?
Host families for the most part have room for one tutor. If you want to travel with someone, we can try to find a family who would like a tutor and who lives nearby your host family. Or at least where you could see each other a few times during the week.
This is something you want to mention right from the start. Think of it as a puzzle. We can put it together, but it might take a little time.
How long does it take to be placed with a family?
If you can give us 90-days, we will succeed in an awesome placement. Some tutors want a last-minute placement. We charge extra for that. The longer we have to make the match, the better program you're going to have.
What can I do in my free time?
Outside of the 15 hours a week, the time is really yours to do what you like.
As you read the Blog posts from former tutors, here are a few things they've done:
- Take language courses
- Visit museums
- Take cooking classes (and bring home all those recipes to try)
- A long weekend traveling around
- Meeting new friends
What is the application process like?
Application Process
After you make sure that you meet the Homestay Tutor qualifications, the next step is to apply.
Click this button:
1. Submit the online application along with the $350, non-refundable deposit. This amount comes off your program fee.
2. You'll receive a link for a supplemental form and additional materials to submit.
3. We begin to match you with a well-screened host family.
4. We'll email you the host family information. Set up a Zoom call with the host family for your interview.
5. Once you and the host family agree that it's a good match, you and the family arrange the exact arrival and departure date.
6. Now you'll pay your 2nd $350 payment. You will have now paid a total of $700.
7. Find and purchase your flights.
8. Arrange your international health insurance.
9. If you need a visa, please arrange for your visa.
10. Make your final payment on your program fee 60-days before your departure. Remember, you will have already paid $700 by now.
11. Fly overseas and begin your Homestay Tutor program and cultural experience!
"Loved it so much I want to go back!
Signing up to volunteer to teach English to a family in Italy was the best decision I've ever made in my life, no joke. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. It was everything I wanted out of this experience! I also could not have been placed with a better family! They we're AMAZING people and we still keep in touch! The family was extremely welcoming and I felt at home immediately!
I made so many friends! They were all more than happy to show me around their city, and introduce me to their friends and families as well! I keep in contact with many of them, and they are begging me to come back! Anytime I travel I always get suggestions of things to do from locals. I prefer this over touristy suggestions on the internet! It's a completely different and unique way to experience a city!
"
Alexa Puzder
June 4, 2019
"Just be open to it all
Just be open to the experience and all it has to offer. There are days of frustration, nervousness, anxiety but those days don’t outweigh the absolutely amazing days. Give yourself time to adjust and once you do you’ll have an amazing time and learn so many different things. I’ve been here for two months and I already can see how much I’ve grown as a person. I do a lot of things that I’d never do back home and it’s all thanks to rolling with the punches and being open to all the possibilities of living abroad.
Every time I walk around Florence I discover something new. Italy has so much history. There are always new things to see. I also took language courses which helped me learn more about the country. Learning the language and its history was very important to me.
"
Miramanee Blackwell
May 8, 2019
"Geovisions Did A Great Job Of Matching Me Up With A Good Family.
I was very pleased with the GeoVisions program. They matched me up nicely, and the family was really fun to work with and get to know.
"
Nathaniel
July 21, 2019
Request More Information - Opportunities For You
This experience will look great on your CV or Resume. Learn Italian in an immersion setting. Contribute a skill that will last a lifetime.
There are no official "start dates." You can set your dates up with your host family in advance. Age range is 18+ and if you have a clear accent, you don't have to be a native-English speaker. Take the iTEP Conversation test and find out about your English level and accent.
Become A Homestay Tutor In Italy
Learn Italian While Teaching English
We would love to talk to you when you're ready!