Teacher Feature: Lorenna Boyle

My name is Lorenna Boyle, and I teach Spanish III Honors, AP Spanish, IB SL and IB HL Spanish at Signature School in Evansville, Indiana. I also teach Theory of Knowledge and sponsor the Spanish Club and Viva Nuestra Cultura CAS Project. I am also the IUHPFL Signature School Sponsor Coordinator.

In the Evansville community I help the EVPL and Montessori Academy every year to celebrate Evansville Día de Los Muertos Festival. Teaching Spanish is not only teaching the grammar and the vocab. It is a great opportunity to open the door to so many different countries that students can learn about through their traditions, culture, literature, music, art, and of course…their food! 

I am a native of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México where IUHPFL used to have a site many years ago! Monterrey is a vibrant city that leads in education, and I grew up surrounded by opportunities to learn different languages, and I was able to learn English, Italian, and French. When I moved to Indiana in 1995, I noticed that IUHPFL was still strong. Since then, I have encouraged more than two hundred students to join the Spanish, French, or German programs. IUHPFL is a solid way for students to study, live, sleep, and eat in the culture of their choice. To live as a teenager a whole summer with a native family teaches students how different life is in other countries. It not only makes them appreciate that culture, but also makes them value what they have at home! It teaches them not only the language, but independence, social skills, and manners! 

The value of the IUHPFL experience is that students come back with a sense of pride in owning their knowledge by scoring high on their AP and IB exams. And when they score so high in their college entrance exams, they can easily double major or minor in the language!

If you as a student, educator, or parent have any doubts to allow your student to venture into this great experience, remember that they will be surrounded by a native family and by a great IU faculty team, who will guide and nurture their summer adventure. They will be asked to follow rules for their safety, and you will be kept well informed of their daily experiences! So, when they choose to travel in their college years, they will be the ones making good choices they have already learned to navigate. They will be the “experienced” college kids with fond memories of a marvelous high school summer eating gelato, hiking, swimming, visiting churches, museums, monuments, and talking to the city mayor!