Cosa sta succedendo in Italiano?

What is happening in Italian?

NOTE:. This post was originally published in the Wattle Grove Primary School Newsletter, June_2021.

As you will be aware, Term 2 is a reporting term and this applies to all learning areas, including Italian. Children in Years 1 to 6 will all receive a grade across two strands of the curriculum (communicating and understanding), as well as an overall grade. These grades are derived from a variety of different assessment strategies and also take into consideration children’s engagement and participation in their weekly lessons. Data is stored for each student in the educational application iDoceo and must only be shared if requested by an individual student’s parent, class teacher or our school’s administration.

Signora Q and I have been extremely impressed with how well your children are achieving. As with any learning area, it is not always about natural ability. Learning a language takes commitment, regular practice and a desire to want to succeed. Our brains need to engage cognitively and we need regular exposure to the language. Clearly this is difficult with only 50 minutes of instruction time per week.

Whilst learning a language is more difficult for some than others, the science tells us that the best chance of achieving success is by starting our language learning journey as early as possible. As we age, our brains become ‘hard-wired’ to our native language, and cognitive ability to memorise, retain and apply our skills is significantly reduced. However, it is never too late to experience the personal satisfaction of being able to communicate in another language. Here at Wattle Grove, it is a blessing that a high percentage of our children are already proficient in more than one language. Many of these children are some of our top performing Italian students, and this is largely due to our brain’s ability to make connections between the different languages. The students for whom English is their second language, Italian will assist in enriching their English vocabulary due to many similar and familiar language roots.

For students (and family members) who would like to extend their learning, or perhaps commence learning a language for the first time, I am always happy to recommend programs that I personally have found rewarding, challenging, and best of all, fun!

Signora Isaia