Four St Joseph’s College VCE students and two teachers will travel to Italy during the Easter holidays to challenge themselves and practice their language skills in the real world.
Languages Learning Leader, Andrea Romano, said there was no better way for students to accelerate their comprehension and dialogue skills, than by studying in the country of origin and fully immersing themselves in the culture.
“The idea of going to study in Italy formed late last year, when the students were discussing in class what they could do to really improve their listening and speaking skills,” he said.
“During VCE it’s not normally recommended for students to take time out of class but our students have a three week break these Easter holidays, due to a staff conference, so I suggested this could be a perfect opportunity to boost their skills before their exams.”
The students will attend the renowned Accademia Italiana of Salerno, where they will focus on fluency development and proficiency.
They will also be staying with Italian host families and participating in excursions on the weekends to create an amazing blend of experiences.
“Salerno is only 56 kilometres from Naples, nestled in the southern end of the Amalfi coast,” Mr Romano said.
“With a population of 135,000, it is the perfect place to connect with the Italian language and culture, with all its southern exuberance and easy access to significant sites such as Capri, Pompei, Positano and Rome.”
Mr Romano assisted the students in making contact with the school in Italy but said it was the students themselves and their supportive families who were the driving force behind getting it up and running.
“We are very grateful to have families who are so willing to support our students in their further education, and we hope this might inspire other students to pursue excellence in language and cultural awareness with courage and enthusiasm in the future,” he said.
Sam Chapman is one of the lucky Year 12 students who will be boarding a plane for Italy later this week, and while he admits he may face some challenges living and studying in a foreign country, he said he was very excited for his first overseas trip.
“My biggest challenge is going to be whether I can hold fluent conversations at school and with my host family but I feel very lucky for this once in a lifetime opportunity to boost my Italian studies and experience the culture first hand,” he said.
Principal Anne Marie Cairns said she was impressed by the students for showing the initiative to push themselves out of their comfort zones, and their families for supporting their growth and development.
“Investing time and money into an international study program demonstrates a real commitment on behalf of the students and their families and one that will ultimately lead to greater academic achievements and more culturally aware individuals,” she said.
The growth of the College over recent years has also resulted in a greater demand for language teachers. With a severe shortage of languages teachers in the country, two current staff members - Mr Matthew Scott and Miss Taylor Filkin - will also travel to the same school in Salerno to expand their own language skills and gain formal language qualifications in order to teach Italian at St Joseph’s moving forward.
“Here at St Joseph’s College we are very supportive of teachers who are interested in advancing their skills in specialist areas,” Ms Cairns said.
“We are very grateful to Mr Scott and Miss Filkin for identifying a gap in our workforce and for volunteering to broaden their teaching skills in a new subject area to enable us to increase our language offerings to students in the future.”