This year’s Italian sessions will be filled with games, songs and rhymes, dance and movement, oral interactions, circle work with Mario and a variety of authentic visual and written texts as students explore the vibrant Italian language and culture. All students take part in a weekly Italian session of one hour duration. Students in years 3-6 are also welcome to join the Coro dei Bambini (our Italian choir collaboration with Brunswick North PS). We rehearse one lunchtime per week, exploring traditional and contemporary Italian songs. These rehearsals culminate in a special celebratory performance in term 4. The Coro is a great way to enrich and deepen linguistic and cultural understandings and to build confidence with the language.
Term one focus: Ciao, come stai?
Through puppet play, songs, dance and movement, stories and language games Prep students will explore greetings, and learn to express some simple feelings. They will also learn to say yes and no, please and thank you and to follow simple instructions. In the year one and two neighbourhoods students will focus on greetings appropriate to the time of the day, to expressing feelings and engaging in simple oral interactions with the teacher and their peers. Students in the three/four and five/six neighbourhoods will expand their understandings of culturally appropriate ways to greet others, in formal and informal settings. They will extend their capacity to express feelings and emotions, making sure to make the correct agreement with the adjective: eg Io sono stanco (boy), Io sono stanca (girl). This concept of masculine/feminine adjectives is fundamental to the Italian language, and the use of formal and informal address is a key facet of social interactions. We will also focus on using expressions to ask permission (eg to go to the bathroom/have a drink) and to seek assistance in how to say/spell vocabulary.
Language acquisition and consolidation takes place through participation in games (oral and online), rhymes and songs, viewing of authentic video texts, reading texts in the target language and through regular and purposeful interactions with the teacher and classmates. Students are able to consolidate their learning at home by exploring the Languages Online website: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/italian/italian.htm
Students can enjoy a wide variety of Italian children’s songs and animations on the
Zecchino D’Oro/ Antoniano di Bologna channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/antonianodibologna