During these two brief periods, which only occur in the western state, Italian and Australian students can become virtual classmates.

This online exchange is the brainchild of Natascia Morlotti, an Italian teacher at Aranmore Catholic Primary School in Perth.

Having lived in Australia for 20 years, the enterprising and passionate teacher from the Lombard city of Bergamo recently introduced a cultural exchange program between Year 4 students at Aranmore Catholic Primary School and students at the San Paolo VI School in her hometown.

“One of my nephews attended San Paolo VI, so I personally contacted the teacher, Antonella Beati, who was already an expert in intercultural exchanges with England,” Morlotti said.

“My aim in developing the program was to emphasise the importance of intercultural exchanges, particularly for our younger students, by providing a fun social setting to enhance their language skills in a practical way.”

At the beginning of the 2021 school year, each of Morlotti’s students was paired with one of their counterparts in Italy, sparking an initial exchange of emails to get to know each other.

Then every week, when it was 2:00 pm in Perth and 8:00 am in Bergamo, the class headed to the library and each student would have a virtual conversation with their new Italian friend on Google Meet.

“Meanwhile, the rest of the class would complete online activities on Education Perfect, Language Nut and Quizlet,” Morlotti said.

“During the video call, the children interacted in both languages, first in Italian and then in English.

“They put into practice the notions and vocabulary they’d learned in the previous months, introducing themselves and describing their favourite sports or hobbies using the appropriate verbs and the correct gender agreement.

“The students were so excited; I hope to continue the exchange program with them when they’re in Year 5, because they’ll already know what to expect and will be even more enthusiastic.”

Each video call lasted 50 minutes and always began with the prayer Ave Maria, recited in both languages.