I knew that I wanted to be involved with LITA as a group leader as soon as I heard Jordan describe the open-enrollment itinerary to my Spanish class. Since I was just a bit too old to participate as a student, I thought the next best thing would be to join the LITA team as a monitora!
I feel so fortunate to be able to spend my summers exploring Spain with fantastic LITA students. Being a group-leader is a weird mix of the roles of mom, teacher, older sister, and guide; and in wearing these many hats I am astounded at the amount of personal growth I experience each summer. In the fall I return to my classes inspired and re-invigorated. I am newly committed to creating an immersion environment in my classroom. I am brimming with new cultural knowledge to share with my students. I am reminded of why I love having the ability to forge friendships and live life in Spanish.
As a student, my own study abroad trips were fun experiences that sparked my desire to teach the language. However, I can safely say that the “typical” study abroad program has nada que ver with LITA. Besides the fact that with LITA students are able to experience first-hand the regional and linguistic diversity of Spain, while being privy to some of the most unique excursions around, the most meaningful parts of a LITA trip are the personal connections made. The LITA family includes our small, intimate group of Americans but, throughout the trip, grows to include Galician musicians, host families in Castilla y León, mountain guides in the Basque Country, hipster, flamenco artists in Barcelona, and different chefs and food producers around the country. The LITA students (and group leaders!) leave Spain with the sense that their experience was shared with a true family; that their host community is a place that they can call home.
From a language perspective, in the two summers that I have worked with LITA several students from my groups have remarked that they feel they learned more in their five weeks in Spain than they have in their many years of classroom practice. As a classroom teacher I naturally feel a bit conflicted (mainly under-appreciated!) at hearing such a comment. But, as I reflect, I believe that what the students view as an accelerated and sudden breakthrough in their language abilities is the culmination of all of their years of hard-work and study. The LITA experience becomes the outlet to tap in to all of that stored knowledge and put it to use through countless conversations, interactions, and friendships. The program supports each student by placing him or her in the most comfortable of surroundings –
a supportive LITA group, a hand-picked host family, a tailor-made internship experience. The LITA experience allows students to feel confident, capable, and connected in the foreign language.
I find myself sharing moments from my LITA summers with friends, family, and students all year long. The bonds created and memories formed with my tight-knit LITA groups are wonderful treasures that I will always carry with me. I urge all students with a desire to improve their language skills and to live life as a Spaniard to participate in a LITA trip. It’s a pretty great gig as a group leader, too!
- Brittany Croce, Group Leader, 2014 and 2016
