At the end of 2021, Flinders University had long considered closing the Italian language program as a result of low student numbers.
The decision was put on hold thanks to the reaction of the Italian community and institutions present in Australia, and exactly one year ago he began his new role as professor of Italian studies.
With the new year already at the door, it’s time to assess where the course is today and what is predicted for its future.
"It has been a very busy year,” said Bona when asked about 2022.
“Nine courses to coordinate and ten to teach is quite a load.”
Fortunately for Bona, he was helped by two capable colleagues.
“Without them it would have been an impossible task,” he admitted.
“I was already too busy with the language courses, while the culture courses required more attention."
"It all worked out, and for that I have to thank the managers of my college who let me work calmly, the language colleagues who were always supportive.
“[As well as] Dr. Luciana d'Arcangeli, who was here before me and left at our disposal the excellent resources she created in previous years.”
“All of this has certainly made the work much more manageable."
Although the number of students has not increased, Bona is satisfied with the program’s current health.
"I’ve had the pleasure of teaching very passionate people,” he said.
“We’ve also achieved some important things like the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Italian Studies at Flinders University, which had not been possible to complete in 2021 - the year of the real anniversary.”
“Also, two students who came in first and third place at the national 'Premio Italia' competition with two very original short stories."
"Then, very importantly, came the decision to let me continue for a while longer,” he continued.
“The minimum goal was to get to the end of 2022 with all the courses still running.
“We did it and now I’ve been given two more years to lift the fortunes of our language and culture at this university."
This is great news for the entire community and bodes well for the future.
"One must always be optimistic, even if the situation remains complicated. The decline in enrollment is still ongoing and has become a concern for all other languages as well."
So, why does interest in foreign languages continue to decline in an increasingly interconnected world?
Stefano Bona believes there are both internal and external reasons.
"Let's face it,” Bona began.
“Studying a language other than our mother tongue requires a lot of mental effort because it forces us to learn from scratch how to read, write, listen and speak, as well as forces us to question ourselves and take on a new identity.
“Not to mention the need to learn grammar. All this only magnifies the paradox of Australian society: we pride ourselves on our multiculturalism, but in fact perpetuate Anglophone monolingualism."
According to the latest 2021 census, more than four hundred languages are spoken in Australia.
It is estimated that more than seven thousand are spoken in the rest of the world.
"To think that English as a global language allows us to get by everywhere and therefore we don’t need to learn other languages is a symptom of cultural arrogance and mental laziness," Bona continued.
"The government needs to realise that learning languages is a benefit to everyone and has immense intrinsic value.
“At the community level, it helps reduce social tensions. And at the international level, it helps us remain citizens of the world.
“Students in schools and universities should be encouraged to learn at least one Aboriginal and one foreign language."
"There is a need for more class hours and there is a huge need for teachers,” he declared.
“In the rest of the world it is compulsory to learn two or more languages even in many university degree programs.
“Why can't we do that here too?" he asked.
"As far as Italian is concerned, let's start with a fact: Australia is the country with the largest number of students of Italian outside of Italy, but … few really learn it.
“We need to find ways to create more incentives to learn it, building more bridges with the community to make it visible, attractive, and even useful.
"Students need to put it into practice when they leave the classroom.
"Adelaide is a lucky city in this respect: we have Italian radio stations, an extraordinary Italian Festival, an efficient Consulate, a very active Com.It.Es, as well as all the clubs, associations, the Dante Alighieri [Society].
“If this immense network managed to channel energies toward the promotion and visibility of our language with more conviction, we would make a huge step forward.
"We Italians have been very good at making Italian cuisine and style global landmarks; we can very well put our language on the list of status symbols too.
“And we’d have every reason to: Italian has long been considered one of the most beautiful languages in the world. In fact, according to one study, it’s even the sexiest!"
The language can also offer many professional opportunities.
"There is currently a desperate need for Italian teachers in primary and secondary schools,” he revealed.
“There are also important needs in the health and elderly care sector.
“Among my students, pharmacists have gotten jobs precisely because of their knowledge of Italian.
Finally, Bona makes an appeal:
"If anyone would be interested in supporting the future of Italian studies by funding scholarships for full immersion experiences or courses in Italian language and culture, they would find the doors wide open," he pitched.
