During five weeks abroad, the University of Arizona elementary education senior experienced language learning from both sides of the classroom.
Growing up in Chicago, Izzie Troia heard stories about Costa Rica from her childhood best friend, who is from the country. Those stories helped her choose where to study abroad. This past summer, Troia got to know Costa Rica through a group of first graders who, by age 7, already spoke at least three languages.
“Those kids taught me just as much as I taught them, if not more,” Troia said.
A senior in the University of Arizona College of Education, Troia is studying elementary education with an English as a Second Language endorsement and a minor in global education. During her five weeks in Costa Rica, she spent three weeks volunteering in the mornings at an international school, working primarily with first graders. She had long wanted to teach outside the United States. What she discovered in that classroom was how much she felt at home there.
“How well I fit in at this school gave me the confidence in my capabilities to chase my dreams,” she said.
Outside the classroom, Troia was learning how it felt to be the one searching for words. She lived with a host family about a 10-minute walk from the university and practiced her Spanish with them. When she couldn’t find the words she needed, hand gestures helped. She remembers how her hosts made her feel safe and welcome, even when they struggled to understand one another. For a future teacher who works with students learning English, that feeling stayed with her.
“As I work with English Language Learners, I find it important to put myself in their shoes,” Troia said.
Her coursework gave her other ways to get to know the community. In an art class, Troia and her classmates painted a mural at a neighborhood park. Residents brought them drinks and snacks as they worked. When it rained, neighbors invited the students into their homes. In another course, “Migration, Globalization, and Social Change,” Troia drew on her global education studies at U of A to contribute to discussions about culture and identity.
Troia had been nervous about making the trip alone. She came home with friends she still talks to and a first-grade classroom to think back on when she imagines teaching abroad again. Asked what the experience taught her about education, she pointed to something she could practice anywhere.
“The best way to learn is by listening to others who are different than you.”