MELBOURNE - After 15 years as a primary school teacher, Elisa Genovese switched to Italian two years ago.
Born and raised in Melbourne to a family whose roots connect northern and southern Italy, Genovese always heard Italian at home.
“As a child I lived with my grandmother, who always spoke Italian to me,” she recalled.
“Then I studied the language at school for VCE and at university.
“I also travelled along the Peninsula.
When she began her new role at St Oliver Plunkett Primary School in 2021, Genovese had around 400 students, 90 per cent of whom had Italian origins.
“Most of them are familiar with Italian traditions and food, so more than the culture, we are concerned with the language in the classroom,” Genovese explained.
“Of course, we don’t have much time, we only have class once a week. The positive note is that I know all the students.”
After her first year, Genovese made some adjustments to her classroom and lecture approach, incorporating elements inspired by different methods which seem to have been successful.
“I have introduced a rubric with eight activities, some of which are compulsory and some of which are optional, at the students’ discretion, for both the written and oral portions,” she revealed.
“We also make use of apps, which allow children to choose in which area of their interest to build vocabulary.”
These strategies, accompanied by the Conti method for sentence construction and the introduction of gestures to accompany words, are giving Genovese the desired results. The teacher found that associating gestures with words works very well for the children, helping them remember vocabulary with ease and even correcting her when she forgets or confuses a gesture.
The school also organised a day to celebrate multiculturalism, during which an Italian lunch was served. The children were also told the stories of an old Italian migrant, with an entertainer recounting the experience of their grandfather through objects such as an old coffee pot or the machine for making tomato puree.
“The kids are very interested in the language. When they meet me they all greet me in Italian, using the different formulas we learned in class,” Genovese said with a smile.
The downside of being a language teacher, especially the only one at the school, is the lack of connections and participation with other colleagues.
“I compare myself with friends who teach Italian or colleagues from other schools, but I think there is a lack of network for us language teachers to compare and inspire each other.”
