This program was introduced at Liwara in 2017, although the languages teacher, Rosaria Rossi, first established it at St Helena Catholic Primary School in 2013.
This year, it continues to be offered to both Year 4 classes, once a week, for 50 minutes.
The students are increasingly given instructions in the target language, learning the various topics through a particular piece of artwork.
Any related art elements, as well as topic-related words or expressions, are also taught in Italian.
Cultural concepts are constantly embedded into each lesson.
Some of the artwork which has been produced so far this year, includes weaving a cool and warm colours lines study, which was initially also used for writing sentences about themselves.
Another successful activity was producing an Australian landscape, using paper bark, leaves and other natural material found around the school grounds.
Students then went on to add colour to some of those areas.
We made bowls using fabric, trims and glue to then describe them in Italian.
Linking Italian Art Immersion with Aboriginal Art is also in line with the WA Curriculum, making this program of further relevance.
Cultural Understanding is continually embedded into this program, by including such icons as Venice with its Carnevale, gondolas and masks; the Leaning Tower of Pisa; the Colosseum and much more.
At times, we also incorporate songs, such as Ci vuole un fiore to create artworks.
While the students listen to the song, they are able to improve their knowledge of the target language, such as their pronunciation and related grammar.
Furthermore, they are putting it into practice by producing their own interpretation of the song.
As they see a purpose to learning the language, students’ engagement is higher.
It also increases their sense of achievement and pride in their work.
