On August 9th, 2022 one of our NTYers took an important step for a global communicator: he traveled towards a year of his exchange program. The chosen country for his international adventure was Norway – a very special country for Northway.

Our cherished NTYer, Henry, is a Northway student since his childhood and participated on many of the courses offered by the school: from Kid’s Box book to Business Book – each with its specificities for each stage of the foreign language learning process. 

The first steps, guided by Kid’s Box book, have opened the doors for experimenting the world in a different way: a world full of new words and new meanings that are so important in this stage of deep enthusiasm and curiosity that we call childhood. At this stage Henry could play, learn, experience and get to know his brand new surroundings – all of it enabled by the adventure of learning English! I could personally follow Henry’s development and see his interest for a new language grow stronger time after time. 

Soon, it was about time to move on to a new stage: learn with the Interchange book series. At this stage, Henry was a little more grown up and already had a solid foundation from Kid’s Box. The learning process flowed smoothly and he was able to communicate with ease since the introductory module. After a while, I spent some time without listening to him speaking English, a short period, but it was enough to surprise me with his progress when I finally got the chance to listen to him once again. In addition to providing this development, Interchange offered Henry a series of exercises that provoked important reflections in his life as a global citizen, providing information about cultural identity – which promotes tolerance between cultures through a greater understanding of cultural differences and similarities. As a result, I could see Henry growing as a global citizen, above all, aware and articulate.

And did he stop learning from then on? Not at all! Henry made his way to the Passages series, a series for advanced students. And he didn’t stop impressing in every exercise: listening, speaking, reading, writing. This series’ exercises also provoked important discussions on a global level, so in each exercise Henry could show his opinion, analytical potential, cultural understanding and wisdom, all in English! 

 When Henry concluded the series Passages, he soon started another one: Business Advantage. In this series he started to learn about the complex world of Business. Henry was once again discovering a new world and, surely, using English as a communication tool.

In addition to his experience as a student, Henry also became a teacher. In the past year, he volunteered as an English teacher at Instituto Granada. From that point on, Henry could enjoy the kind of happiness that only those who already had the opportunity to teach know: to pass on one’s knowledge. That was a rewarding experience that the foreign language, the students, Instituto Granada and Northway gave him.

After a long journey learning not only a foreign language but all the content that goes with this process – cultural learning, theoretical knowledge and personal development – now, Henry boards in a magnificent adventure in his life: his cultural exchange year! The chosen exchange program was the High School Study Abroad program made possible by the AFS organization. In this adventure he is sure to find challenges, but his whole story provides him lessons that can guide him throughout this amazing experience! And, of course, with this baggage of learning he’ll be able to fully enjoy all of the good adventures that only an exchange year could possibly offer! 

Because of his entire background, Henry becomes, at the age of 17, our global communicator model. His experience is the experience Northway wants to provide to all of our students, so that every NTYer can be great global communicators and citizens! Hooray for NTYers!