WorldStrides is proud to sponsor the Aventura Cultural Enrichment Immersion Program for high school and middle school Spanish teachers in partnership with our Program Director Tom Alsop. During an Aventura Cultural Program, you will interact with local teachers, learn first-hand about the fascinating culture of Cuba, Mexico, or Spain, and dramatically improve your Spanish skills through immersion in the language. Experience the exciting sights and sounds of the host country in real-time and real context—the streets are your classroom!
The value of travel for teachers
Aventura Cultural’s proven immersion methods will dramatically improve your Spanish, benefit your teaching skills, and provide a wealth of useful activities for your own classroom. The experience and knowledge you gain from Aventura Cultural will be invaluable to you, both professionally and personally. You’ll be able to live with a host family, receive close instruction in teams of four, work on mini-methods with Tom Alsop, and create your own personal culture project to use in your lessons.
Trip details for the summer Aventuras:
| Log in and enroll to lock in your place this summer! | ||
| Click on the links below to download the full PDF itinerary: | ||
| Aventura Cultural: La Habana | Information & enrollment | |
| Aventura Cultural: Madrid | Information & enrollment |
|
| Aventura Cultural: Guadalajara | Information & enrollment |
|
Tour expense and fundraising tips
- Expenses incurred in the immersion program may be eligible as a tax deduction related to your teaching profession. Please check with your tax advisor.
- For ideas on fundraising to help you raise money for the immersion program, please click here.
- Be sure to ask your local school district if there is any money available for travel programs such as the immersion program.
- Check to see if there are any state, regional, or national grants/scholarships available for immersion programs in Mexico or Spain.
Earn six hours of graduate credit in Spanish
You can earn up to six hours of graduate credit in Spanish for completing the Aventura program!
For further information, please contact Tom Alsop at MadridTomIndy@gmail.com or call him at 317-213-8764.
Introducing the Director of Aventura Cultural, Tom Alsop
Tom is a former high school Spanish teacher at Ben Davis HS, Indianapolis, IN. He has also taught Spanish at Butler University. Tom has directed 33 Spanish summer teacher immersion programs and traveled with more than 30 student groups to Spain, Mexico and Cuba. Tom was a past recipient of the ACTFL Nelson Brooks Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Culture. He is an accomplished author of some 400 books / videos / poster sets for Spanish – French teachers. You can find Tom’s books at Teacher’s Discovery, Teachers Pay Teachers and on Amazon. Tom is a co-author of Sparking Teacher Creativity in the World Language Classroom, scheduled to be published in April 2023, by Routledge, Taylor-Francis. He has served in the past on the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica Board as Regional Director, Vice-president, President and Director of Technology. He is a past president of IFLTA and the Indiana AATSP. Tom is a past member of the CSCTFL Board of Directors. In 2017 Tom was inducted into the Salón de Enseñanza y Servicio by the IFLTA and the Indiana AATSP. In 2020 Tom was awarded the CSCTFL Founders Award for leadership and promotion of world languages. Tom has an Apple Podcast called Tom’s World Language Café. It’s worth a listen!